Compensation mechanism for the elimination of manual backpan on camera cranes and jib arms
First Claim
1. A system for automatically compensating for unwanted arc of a camera when panned on a crane arm or jib comprising:
- a motor for panning the camera;
a motion sensor located on said arm or jib, said motion sensor being connected to a servo amplifier in such as a manner as to compensate for angular pan movement of said arm or jib by panning said camera in a reverse direction; and
a means to turn the compensation on and off.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A new circuit is connected to the pan servo amplifier 38 of a camera remote pan head 44 for the purpose of eliminating the need for manual backpan. The circuit comprises a tachometer 20 mounted on the pan arm of a camera crane or jib arm 28 and connected to switch 32 and potentiometers 34 and 36. The switch and potentiometers select between three options for operation: an off position, a one to one reverse correspondence between the panning movement of the crane arm 28 and the panning movement of the pan head 44, and a variable reverse correspondence between the panning movement of the crane arm 28 and the panning movement of the remote pan head 44. The output is summed to a servo amplifier 38 which drives the remote head pan motor/tachometer 40. A number of means for alternative implementation are also suggested.
19 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for automatically compensating for unwanted arc of a camera when panned on a crane arm or jib comprising:
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a motor for panning the camera; a motion sensor located on said arm or jib, said motion sensor being connected to a servo amplifier in such as a manner as to compensate for angular pan movement of said arm or jib by panning said camera in a reverse direction; and a means to turn the compensation on and off. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for compensating for arc of a camera mounted on a support arm experienced during angular panning movement of the support arm, comprising the steps of:
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sensing angular panning velocity at the support arm and producing a first signal corresponding thereto; controlling panning position of the camera relative to the support arm by automatically panning the camera in a reverse direction relative to the support arm in a desired proportion to the first signal; and providing for adjustment of the desired proportion during movement of the support arm. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. An automatic backpan system comprising:
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a crane including a base and a horizontally rotatable crane arm pivotally connected thereto; a first sensor sensing angular velocity of the crane arm relative to the base; a camera head pivotally mounted to one end of the crane arm such that the camera head is horizontally rotatable with respect to the crane arm; a camera head motor connected to the crane arm for horizontally rotating the camera head with respect to the crane arm; a controller connected to the camera head motor for controlling rotation of the camera head to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotation of the crane arm at a velocity in selected proportion to the angular velocity of the crane arm relative to the base; means for adjusting the selected proportion. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. In a camera crane having a crane arm pivotally mounted to a base to pan over a horizontal arc, an automatic backpan system for controlling the horizontal orientation of a camera head rotationally connected to the end of the crane arm, comprising:
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a first sensing means for producing a first signal proportional to a first angular velocity between the crane arm and the base; a motor for horizontally rotating the camera head with respect to the crane arm at a second angular velocity; a second sensing means for producing a second signal proportional to the second angular velocity between the crane arm and the camera head; at least one adjustment means for producing a third signal, the third signal comprising a variable multiplied by the first signal, the variable being selectable by a user; a servo amplifier accepting input signals including at least the second signal and the third signal and producing as output a fourth signal which controls the angular velocity of the motor, wherein the fourth signal is proportional to a difference between the second signal and a sum of all other input signals. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification