Camera Support Head Locking Layout for Safe Plate Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing attachment systems for video/photographic equipment face challenges in ease of use and safety, particularly in preventing accidental release of the locking device, which complicates equipment balancing and can lead to equipment instability.
Innovation Solution
A support head with a seat that allows the attachment plate to slide longitudinally, featuring a retaining device with a tooth that moves between retracted, intermediate, and locking positions, and a safety device with a user-operable unlocking element, enabling safe and quick operation while preventing accidental release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety device is provided to prevent accidental release of the locking device, then the reliability of the attachment system is improved, but the device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to complicated management of equipment release steps
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device and locking device are merged into a single integrated mechanism. The retaining device with its tooth that moves between retracted, intermediate, and locking positions combines both safety retention and locking functions, eliminating the need for separate complex safety and locking mechanisms while maintaining reliability
2Reliability
If a safety device is provided to prevent accidental release, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation worsens due to difficult user interaction with multiple release steps
Solution Approach 1:
The control member for the locking device and unlocking element for the safety device are positioned on opposite sides of the seat, allowing both operations to be performed with one hand while holding the equipment with the other. This integration maintains security while dramatically simplifying user interaction compared to multi-step release procedures
3Ease of operation
If the attachment plate is inserted into the seat from above perpendicular to the support surface, then the ease of operation is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements worsen due to alignment constraints
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of inserting the plate from above perpendicular to the support surface, the plate is inserted from the side in a tangential manner parallel to the support base. This inversion of the insertion direction, combined with the retaining device that moves between retracted and locking positions, provides natural alignment guidance through the tooth profile while maintaining ease of operation and reducing manufacturing precision requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A support head for video/photographic equipment includes:a body on which a seat is formed, which is provided to receive an attachment plate of the video/photographic equipment, and on which body a first and a second region are defined, the regions are separated by the seat,a retaining device movable between a first position and a second position so that the attachment plate is free to enter or come out of the seat,a locking device for locking and unlocking the attachment plate in the seat, the locking device has a control member positioned on the first region of the body,a safety device to prevent the retaining device from accidentally moving from the first position to the second position, andan unlocking element of the safety device to allow the movement of the retaining device from the first to the second position, on the second region of the body.