Swivel Camera Mount Locking Mechanism for Flexible Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital cameras mounted on user-worn devices, such as helmets or wrists, are locked in a fixed orientation, making it inconvenient or dangerous to capture images or videos outside the camera's line of sight, as users must physically rotate their head or wrist to change the camera's view.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable swivel camera mount system with a release lever and detent mechanism allows the camera to be easily reoriented by rotating the swivel component and locking it into place using a secure coupling mechanism, enabling flexible camera positioning without requiring physical changes in the user's body orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the camera is mounted on a user-worn device with a fixed orientation mount, then the mounting structure is simple and stable, but the camera cannot be reoriented to capture images or videos from different angles
Solution Approach 1:
The mount structure transitions from a fixed orientation to a dynamic, rotatable configuration. The swivel component enables the camera to rotate around the mounting axis, allowing the user to capture images or videos from multiple angles without changing body position. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction by providing orientation flexibility while maintaining a relatively simple mounting structure through controlled rotational movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is divided into distinct functional components: a base mount attached to the user-worn device, a rotatable swivel component, and a camera holder. This segmentation allows the swivel component to independently provide rotational movement while the base mount maintains stability. The modular design achieves versatility without proportionally increasing overall structural complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the camera mount allows rotation to change viewing angles, then the camera can capture images from different orientations, but the mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The swivel mechanism introduces a single rotational degree of freedom around the mounting axis, providing camera reorientation capability. This controlled dynamic movement allows the camera to sweep through different viewing angles while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical structure compared to multi-axis gimbals or complex positioning systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable mount serves multiple functions: it maintains a stable fixed orientation when needed, enables rotation to different viewing angles when needed, and provides a locked position mechanism to secure the camera at desired angles. This multi-functionality achieves versatility without requiring separate mechanisms for each function, thereby limiting the increase in structural complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the camera is locked in a fixed orientation on the mount, then the mounting structure is simple and stable, but the user must physically rotate their head or wrist to change the camera's line of sight
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable mount allows the user to change the camera's line of sight by rotating the swivel component rather than physically moving the head or wrist. This dynamic adjustment mechanism significantly reduces the time and effort required to reorient the camera, directly improving ease of operation and eliminating the time loss associated with body movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mount system provides self-service reorientation capability, allowing the user to adjust the camera angle independently without requiring physical movement of the body. The rotatable design enables the camera to serve multiple viewing directions from a single fixed mounting position, making the system adaptable to different shooting scenarios without user intervention beyond simple rotation.
4Ease of operation
If the user must physically change body orientation to capture images outside the camera's line of sight, then the mounting structure remains simple, but the operation becomes inconvenient or dangerous in particular environments
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable mount provides a safe alternative to physical body movement by enabling camera reorientation through mechanical rotation. In challenging environments where physical movement may be dangerous or impractical, the user can adjust the camera angle by rotating the swivel component, thereby improving both ease of operation and user safety without compromising reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A swivel mount locking apparatus is configured to mount a camera system onto a target user, an object, or a surface. The camera system is mounted on a swivel component which can be rotated to a variety of different positions relative to a base component. To fix the camera position, a locking protrusion of a release lever in the base component is compressibly inserted into a detent located on the swivel component. When a new orientation of the camera system is desired, a user may forcibly pivot the release lever away from the swivel component to decouple the locking protrusion from the detent. The user can then rotate the mounted camera system and the swivel component to the new orientation relative to the base component. At the new orientation, the user may recouple the locking protrusion of the release lever into a different detent of the swivel component, thereby fixing the camera system into the desired, new orientation.