Stacked-Ring Camera Tripod for One-Handed Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional camera tripods are cumbersome and inefficient in terms of compactness, weight, and ease of use, particularly when it comes to adjusting camera position and mounting/dismounting, as they often require multiple hands and have protrusions that can snag during storage or transport.
Innovation Solution
A close-pack, high-aspect-ratio camera tripod with a hub, legs, and a chassis featuring a center column, pivot control ring, and stacked control rings that allow for rapid adjustment and locking of camera position with minimal hand movement, enabling compact storage and efficient transport by collapsing into a cylindrical form with minimal negative space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional camera tripods are designed with traditional structures, then they provide basic camera support functionality, but they are cumbersome and have protrusions that can snag during storage or transport
Solution Approach 1:
The tripod legs are designed to nest within each other in a telescopic arrangement, allowing the entire tripod to collapse into a compact cylindrical form. The center column nests within the hub assembly, and the chassis collapses around the central axis, creating a nested structure that minimizes volume for storage and transport without protruding elements that could snag.
2Productivity
If conventional tripods have traditional mounting mechanisms, then they can secure cameras, but they require multiple hands and are inefficient for mounting/dismounting
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting mechanism combines multiple functions into a single integrated system. The quick-release plate on the chassis integrates with a latch mechanism that can be operated by one hand. The stacked control rings merge pan control, tilt control, and locking functions into a unified interface that allows rapid adjustment and secure mounting with minimal hand movement, eliminating the need for multiple hands to operate separate mechanisms.
3Productivity
If conventional tripods have separate control mechanisms for pan and tilt, then they provide adjustment capability, but they lack rapid adjustment and require repositioning hands
Solution Approach 1:
The control system merges pan and tilt adjustment mechanisms into a stacked arrangement of concentric control rings. The first control ring controls pan rotation, the second control ring controls tilt rotation, and both can be operated from the same hand position. This integrated design allows rapid sequential adjustment without requiring the user to reposition their hand across separate control elements, while the stacked configuration maintains a compact form factor.
4Productivity
If conventional tripods have traditional center column designs, then they support camera weight, but they do not allow rapid adjustment of camera position
Solution Approach 1:
The center column is designed with dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing it to be quickly extended, retracted, and repositioned along the central axis. The column incorporates a rapid adjustment mechanism that maintains structural integrity and load-bearing capacity while enabling fast changes in camera height and position. The design allows the column to transition between fixed and adjustable states, providing both strength and rapid reconfigurability.
Data Source
AI summary
A tripod includes: a leg section; a hub section; and a head containing a stacked ring control system that enables a user to rapidly adjust pitch, yaw, and roll of a camera—mounted to the head—relative to the leg section and to rapidly install, lock, and remove the camera with a single hand in the same location. More specifically, the tripod includes a set of stacked control rings that fall to hand in one compact location and thus enable a user to manipulate the position of a camera mounted to the tripod and to quickly mount and dismount the camera from the tripod.