Rotatable heliborne beam for supporting metric photo-cameras suitable to industrial stereophotogrammetric surveys

• US 4,669,843 A
• Filed: 12/09/1985
• Issued: 06/02/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AGIP SpA (GALP - Petroleos e Gas de Portugal SGPS SA)
• Original Assignee: AGIP SpA (GALP - Petroleos e Gas de Portugal SGPS SA)
• Inventors: Bozzolato, Giovanni
• Primary Examiner(s): GRIFFIN, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US06/806,973
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 354/74, 354/113, 244/118 R
• US Class Current: 396/12
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures

Abstract

Heliborne beam for supporting at its two ends metric photocameras suitable to industrial stereophotogrammetric surveys, constituted by a plurality of cylindrical tubular sections linked in sequence with each other by means of flanges, and supported manually rotatable, but not longitudinally sliding with their center section inserted inside three clamp collars mounted, through double-effect cylindrical shock absorbers, on a base or bench fastened on to the floor of helicopter'"'"'s cabin; at the end of the beam, two cylindrical housings with aerodynamic closure elements and provided with "eyelid" door, inside which the photocameras are supported by means of a frame linked to the housing by means of two respectively radial and axial shock absorbing units, and provided with two inner guides into which the side supporting pins of the said photocamera are inserted.

Claims

1. Heliborne beam, about 6 meters long, for supporting at its two ends two metric photocameras suitable to industrial stereophotogrammetric surveys, said beam being cantilevering from the two sides of a helicopter, perpendicularly to the axis of the same helicopter, characterized in that it is constituted by a cylindrical tubular structure very rigid and of considerable weight, formed by a plurality of sections linked in sequence with each other by means of large-dimension flanges, of which the centre section is rotatably supported by three clamp-collars each supported by two double-effect cylindrical shock absorbers, of column shape, fastened on opposite sides relatively to the longitudinal axis of the same section on a base or bench which is bolted on to the helicopter cabin'"'"'s floor by means of nut-bolts fastened to the same guides usually used for fastening the seats, the two side collars of the three being in shoulder cooperation with two corresponding shoulder washers fastened on to the said centre section, while the centre collar is partly split into two parts, to create a circumferential slot through which a rack fastened on to the outer circumference of said beam'"'"'s center section extends, said rack inmeshing with a worm provided with handwheel for the manual turning by 180°

of the beam around its own longitudinal axis, which is rotatably supported on said centre collar, means being moreover provided to support the metric photocameras provided with respective telecamera for the aiming check, in a way cushioned and insensible to vibrations, inside cylindrical housings solid with the beam ends, each cylindrical housing being completed by aerodynamic closures of hemispherical or ovoidal shape, of which one is stationary in the portion which is positioned forward during the transfer flight, and one is partly movable with doors of the "eyelid" type, actuated by a small electrical motor acting on two gear wheels inmeshing with each other, and respectively solid with the two door'"'"' eyelids, and means being moreover provided for the telecontrol and the remote check of said photocameras, the control devices and the check monitors being installed on said base or bench inside the helicopter'"'"'s cabin.

2. Heliborne beam according to claim 1, characterized in that the said means for supporting the metric photocameras provided with respective telecamera for the aiming check in a way cushioned and insensible to the vibrations within cylindric housings solid with the beam'"'"'s ends consist in a cylindrical support frame into two inner guides provided in two opposite brackets of which the photocamera support side pins are inserted, said frame being linked to its respective outer housing by means of two shock absorber units, the first unit being constituted by two superimposed threes of double-effect shock absorbers positioned in radial direction, and equally spaced apart from each other by 120°

, whilst the second unit is constituted by three coaxial pairs of shock absorbers, they too of double-effect type, positioned according to the generatrices of the cylindrical frame, and i.e. perpendicularly to the foregoing, equally spaced apart from each other by 120° and

staggered relatively to the shock absorbers of the first unit.

3. Heliborne beam according to claim 1, characterized in that the said tubular cylindrical structure is formed by three equal sections linked in sequence.

4. Heliborne beam according to claim 1, characterized in that said beam cantilevers from the two helicopter'"'"'s sides through matching semicircular ports open in the two swings of the helicopter cabin side doors.