Deployable monitoring device having self-righting housing and associated method
First Claim
1. A deployable monitoring device comprising:
- a housing having a base and an opposed end disposed along an axis, the housing being configured to have a center of gravity disposed about the base so as to be self-righting along the axis such that the housing, when righted, is supported by the base;
a video capturing device operably engaged with the housing and configured to capture video data of a scene external to the housing; and
at least one stabilizer device operably engaged with the housing about the base thereof, the at least one stabilizer device extending radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface of the base, and configured to be capable of stopping rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing, so as to facilitate self-righting thereof.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A deployable monitoring device is provided comprising a self-righting housing and a video capturing device. The housing has a base and an opposed end disposed along an axis, with a center of gravity disposed about the base, and is self-righting along the axis. The housing, when righted, is supported by the base. The video capturing device captures video data of an external scene. At least one stabilizer device is operably engaged with the housing about the base. Each stabilizer device extends radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface thereof, and is configured to stop rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing. The video data can be transmitted by a transceiver module to a station remotely disposed from the housing, to provide a remote visual depiction of the scene. An associated method is also provided.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A deployable monitoring device comprising:
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a housing having a base and an opposed end disposed along an axis, the housing being configured to have a center of gravity disposed about the base so as to be self-righting along the axis such that the housing, when righted, is supported by the base;
a video capturing device operably engaged with the housing and configured to capture video data of a scene external to the housing; and
at least one stabilizer device operably engaged with the housing about the base thereof, the at least one stabilizer device extending radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface of the base, and configured to be capable of stopping rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing, so as to facilitate self-righting thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of viewing a scene from a station disposed remotely thereto, said method comprising:
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deploying a monitoring device to the scene, the monitoring device comprising a video capturing device and a transceiver module operably engaged with and disposed within a self-righting housing;
receiving video data of the scene at the remotely disposed station from the video capturing device, via the transceiver module, the video data thereby providing a remote visual depiction of the scene; and
stopping rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing and so as to facilitate self-righting thereof, with at least one stabilizer device operably engaged with the housing about the base thereof, the at least one stabilizer device extending radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface of the base. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A deployable monitoring device comprising:
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a self-righting housing defining an axis;
a video capturing device operably engaged with the self-righting housing and configured to capture an image external to the self-righting housing; and
at least one stabilizer device operably engaged with the housing about a base portion thereof, the at least one stabilizer device extending radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface of the base, and configured to be capable of stopping rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing and so as to facilitate self-righting of the housing.
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60. A method of remotely viewing an image, said method comprising:
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deploying a monitoring device comprising a video capturing device and a transceiver module operably engaged with a self-righting housing;
receiving an image of a scene external to the self-righting housing, the image being captured by the video capturing device, at a station remotely disposed with respect to the housing, via the transceiver module; and
stopping rotation of the housing about the axis before the housing is righted, following deployment of the housing and so as to facilitate self-righting of the housing, with at least one stabilizer device operably engaged with the housing about a base portion thereof, the at least one stabilizer device extending radially outward of the base and substantially axially along an outer surface of the base.
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Specification