Television – Special applications – Observation of or from a specific location
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-31
2001-07-31
Le, Vu (Department: 2713)
Television
Special applications
Observation of or from a specific location
C348S143000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06268882
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a television camera apparatus used for surveillance applications.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Surveillance television cameras are commonly mounted onto a wall, pole, ceiling or other fixed base positions by using an extended arm, known as a camera mount. The extended arm or the camera mount includes a swivel joint which permits the positioning of the horizontal and vertical axis of the camera in order to direct the camera lens toward its intended observation end. Other surveillance cameras are mounted onto a remotely controlled positioning device such as pan-tilt heads consisting of a fixed body which is attached to a wall, pole or ceiling and a movable body to which a television camera is attached. The remotely controlled pan-tilt head employs motors and power transmission assemblies consisting of gears or rollers or belts and pulleys or chains and the like and such pan-tilt heads are generally constructed so that the television cameras rotate angularly about their vertical and horizontal axes. In many cases the television cameras are covered by a housing which is bulky and as a result the entire camera assembly, be it remotely controlled or fixedly positioned, becomes large and heavy and this is very disturbing to the architecture of buildings and interiors.
Some well-known dome housing for television cameras and and/or television cameras mounted inside dome enclosure are commonly used for concealing the camera and diminishing the damage to the building architecture or the interiors. However, such dome-shaped housing and enclosure made of plastic materials are difficult to manufacture with a perfect optical clearance, and therefore such domes cause optical distortions and introduce other optical imperfections into the optical path of the television camera lens.
Other well-known television cameras are fixedly mounted inside a housing having dome-shaped covers and/or dome-shaped enclosures in which the lens faces a portion of the dome which has a good optical clearance. Such dome-shaped television cameras are re-positioned by rotating the entire dome along with the television camera and thereby ensuring that the television camera lens remains positioned against the same clear optical path or portion of the dome. However, even such rotating domes do not provide a perfect clear optical path and moreover, such domes rotating with the television cameras are complicated in their structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide television cameras that can be concealed and that are enclosed in a dome shaped enclosure having a perfect and clear optical path and which can be fixedly positioned to observe a given scene, or remotely controlled to reposition the television camera lens by angularly rotating the dome structure about its horizontal and vertical axes for observing different scenes.
Another object of the present invention is to mount television cameras that are enclosed in a dome shaped case so as to be concealed when mounted on wall or other vertical surfaces or recessed inside a wall or other vertical structure.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a direct drive pan and tilt motors for remotely positioning the pan and tilt axes of a television camera enclosed in a dome shaped enclosure having a perfect and clear optical path. A direct drive positioning device incorporating a slip ring assembly in the central shaft of the motor is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/112,120 filed Jul. 8, 1998.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5153623 (1992-10-01), Bouvier
patent: 5818519 (1998-10-01), Wren
patent: 5852754 (1998-12-01), Schneider
Elbex Video Ltd.
Helfgott & Karas, PC.
Le Vu
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