Adjustable camera enclosure

• US 9,983,462 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2016
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parabit Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Parabit Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Leiponis, Robert J., Vega, Luis, Schmitz, Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Diep, Trung
• Application Number:
  US15/395,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20170192343A1
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/02 Bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/561 Support related camera accessories
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils

Abstract

An adjustable camera enclosure is provided. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the adjustable camera enclosure includes a housing including a hollow interior defining a longitudinal axis and at least one aperture in a wall of the housing; a beam disposed through an end of the housing into the hollow interior of the housing such that the beam is disposed along the longitudinal axis, where the housing is slidable over the beam along the longitudinal axis to extend and retract the housing relative to the beam; a camera disposed within the hollow interior of the housing, where a lens of the camera is oriented to the at least one aperture of the housing in a direction away from the housing; and a base coupled to the beam, where the base is rotatable about the longitudinal axis to rotate the beam and the housing about the longitudinal axis.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a housing including a hollow interior defining a longitudinal axis, the housing including a first end and a second end and at least one aperture in a wall of the housing;

a beam including a first end and a second end, the first end of the beam disposed through the second end of the housing into the hollow interior of the housing such that the beam is disposed along the longitudinal axis, wherein the housing is configured to be slidable over the beam along the longitudinal axis to extend and retract the housing relative to the beam;

the hollow interior of the housing configured to receive a camera such that a lens of the camera is oriented to the at least one aperture of the housing; and

a base coupled to the second end of the beam, wherein the base is configured to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis to rotate the beam and the housing about the longitudinal axis.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mounting member coupled to the base such that the base is rotatable about the mounting member, wherein the mounting member is configured to be fixedly mounted to a surface.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the camera includes at least one cable and the beam includes a compartment disposed within the interior of the beam and wherein at least a portion of the cable is disposed within the compartment.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the beam, the base and the mounting member each include an aperture, the aperture of the beam disposed on the second end of the beam, and the apertures of the beam, the base, and the mounting member each align, wherein the apparatus further comprises a conduit including a first end and a second end and a hollow interior, the conduit disposed through each of the apertures of the beam, the base, and the mounting member such that the first end of the conduit extends into the compartment of the beam, the conduit fixedly coupled to the mounting member.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second end of the conduit is disposed through an aperture of the surface and the cable extends from the compartment through the first end of the conduit into the hollow interior of the conduit and out of the second end of the conduit, the cable configured to be coupled to at least one computing device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a bearing including an aperture, wherein the base includes a slot in a surface of the base, the slot configured to receive the bearing such that the aperture of the bearing is aligned with the apertures of the beam, the base, and the mounting member and the conduit is disposed through and coupled to the bearing, the bearing configured to enable the base to rotate about the conduit.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the mounting member includes a slot and the base includes an extension member extending perpendicularly from the surface of the base into the slot of the mounting member, the slot of the mounting member and the extension member of the base configured to limit the rotational motion of the base relative to the mounting member.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the length of the at least a portion of the cable disposed within the compartment is greater than the distance from a first side of the compartment to an opposite side of the compartment along the longitudinal axis.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the compartment includes an inner wall and at least one guide that extends from the inner wall in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the at least one guide configured to prevent the at least a portion of the cable from becoming tangled within the compartment and to maintain the length of the at least a portion of the cable.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cable is looped around the at least one guide.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beam includes a slot aligned along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and the housing includes an extension member extending from an inner wall of the housing into the slot of the beam, the slot of the beam and extension member of the housing configured to define and limit the extension and retraction of the housing over the beam along the longitudinal axis.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beam includes a plurality of apertures aligned along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and the housing includes a spring plunger disposed through a wall of the housing, the spring plunger biased toward the hollow interior of the housing, each of the plurality of apertures configured to receive the spring plunger when the housing has been extended or retracted relative to the beam along the longitudinal axis such that the spring plunger is aligned with an aperture of the plurality of apertures, wherein when the spring plunger is received by the aperture of the plurality of apertures, a position of the housing relative to the beam is maintained.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the spring plunger includes a knob extending from the wall of the housing in a direction away from the housing configured such that when the knob is pulled in a direction away from the housing, the spring plunger is released from an aperture of the plurality of apertures to allow the housing to be advanced or retracted along the longitudinal axis over the beam.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a camera mounting assembly configured to mount the camera within the hollow interior of the housing such that the camera can be tilted in a direction toward the first end of the housing or in a direction toward the second end of the housing.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lid coupled to the first end of the housing and a camera mounting assembly coupled to the lid and extending from the lid into the hollow interior of the housing, the camera mounting assembly configured to mount the camera within the hollow interior of the housing.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the camera mounting assembly includes a first extension member and a second extension member, each of the first extension member and the second extension member coupled to the lid and extending into the hollow interior of the housing, the camera mounting assembly further including a camera mount coupled to each of the first and second extension members, the camera mount including an aperture, the camera disposed through the aperture of the camera mount, the camera mount configured to be tilted about the first and second extension members of the camera mounting assembly to tilt the camera toward the first end of the housing or the second end of the housing.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the housing includes a slot in the wall of the housing, the slot aligned in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and having a first end and a second end, the first end of the slot disposed closer to the first end of the housing than the second end of the slot, the apparatus further comprising a lever disposed through the slot of the housing and coupled to the camera mount such that when the lever is advanced to the first end of the slot, the camera is tilted toward the second end of the housing, and when the lever is advanced to the second end of the slot, the camera is tilted to the first end of the housing.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the camera mounting assembly includes a third extension member coupled to the lid and extending into the hollow interior of the housing, the third extension member including a fastening member configured to fasten the cable to the third extension member such that an excess amount of cable is maintained between the fastening member and the camera, wherein a length of the excess amount of cable is greater than a distance from the fastening member to the camera.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a camera window disposed through the at least one aperture of the housing.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a housing including a hollow interior defining a longitudinal axis, the housing including a first end and a second end and at least one aperture in a wall of the housing;

a beam including a first end and a second end, the first end of the beam disposed through the second end of the housing into the hollow interior of the housing such that the beam is disposed along the longitudinal axis, wherein the housing is configured to be slidable over the beam along the longitudinal axis to extend and retract the housing relative to the beam;

the hollow interior of the housing configured to receive a camera, such that a lens of the camera is oriented to the at least one aperture of the housing;

a base coupled to the beam, wherein the base is rotatable about the longitudinal axis to rotate the beam and the housing about the longitudinal axis; and

a mounting member coupled to the base such that the base is rotatable about the mounting member, wherein the mounting member is configured to be fixedly mounted to a surface.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a housing including a hollow interior defining a longitudinal axis, the housing including a first end and a second end and at least one aperture in a wall of the housing;

a beam including a first end and a second end, the first end of the beam disposed through the second end of the housing into the hollow interior of the housing such that the beam is disposed along the longitudinal axis, wherein the housing is configured to be slidable over the beam along the longitudinal axis to extend and retract the housing relative to the beam;

a camera mounting assembly configured to mount a camera within the hollow interior of the housing such that a lens of the camera is oriented to the at least one aperture of the housing, the camera mounting assembly further configured to enable the camera to be tilted in a direction toward the first end of the housing or the second end of the housing;

a base coupled to the beam, wherein the base is rotatable about the longitudinal axis to rotate the beam and the housing about the longitudinal axis; and

a mounting member coupled to the base such that the base is rotatable about the mounting member, wherein the mounting member is configured to be fixedly mounted to a countertop surface.