Supports – Stand – Plural leg
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-01
2004-02-10
Chan, Korie (Department: 3632)
Supports
Stand
Plural leg
C248S188700, C248S436000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06688565
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multi-leg stand, and more particularly to a tripod having a locking element that can be vertically moved to equally angularly space three legs of the tripod to stably support a vertical main tube or to fold the three legs to one side of the main tube for easily storage of the tripod. The locking element also enables the legs in the spaced position to stand stably without the risk of unexpected folding thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A tripod is frequently used to support a camera in taking a photo, particularly in professional photography, or to support a lighting fixture on a stage.
FIGS. 1A
to
1
D shows the structure of a currently available tripod. As shown, the tripod includes a hollow connecting bar
91
, into which a vertical tube (not shown) is inserted to support a lighting fixture or other photographic apparatus on a top thereof; a turning bolt
92
horizontally screwed into the connecting bar
91
for conveniently fixing or loosening the vertical tube to or from the connecting bar
91
; and four turning elements
81
,
82
,
83
, and
84
sequentially connected to a lower end of the connecting bar
91
from top to bottom.
As can be more clearly seen from
FIGS. 1C and 1D
, the second, the third, and the fourth turning element
82
,
83
, and
84
respectively have a leg
93
sideward extended from a wall thereof. All the legs
93
have a downward bent distal end. Please refer to FIG.
1
D. The first turning element
81
is fixed to the lower end of the connecting bar
91
and has a V-shaped notch
81
a
provided at a lower edge thereof for engaging with a reverse V-shaped projection
82
a
provided on an upper edge of the second turning element
82
to restrain the second turning element
82
from turning relative to the first turning element
81
. The second turning element
82
is provided at a lower edge with two notches
82
b
and
82
c
for selectively engaging with a projection
83
a
provided on an upper edge of the third turning element
83
. Similarly, the third turning element
83
is provided at a lower edge with a projection
83
b
for selectively engaging with one of two notches
84
a
,
84
b
provided on an upper edge of the fourth turning element
84
.
The conventional tripod shown in
FIGS. 1A
to
1
D also includes an upper central tube
98
, a lower central tube
99
, and a bottom cap
96
sealing a lower end of the lower central tube
99
. The four turning elements
81
to
84
are actually sequentially mounted around the upper and the lower central tube
98
,
99
. A bolt
95
is disposed in the central tubes
98
,
99
to downward extend a lower end through the bottom cap
96
to engage with a nut
97
. A spring
94
is put around the bolt
95
at a section thereof located in the lower central tube
99
. When the spring
94
is elastically extended, the third and the fourth turning element
83
,
84
are allowed to disengage from each other to turn about the lower central tube
99
. At this point, an operator may select to engage the projection
83
b
with one of the two notches
84
a
and
84
b
for the legs
93
to space from one another for use, as shown in
FIG. 1A
, or to locate at the same side for storage, as shown in FIG.
1
B.
In the above-described conventional tripod, it is the spring
94
that controls the locating of the turning elements
83
,
84
and the legs
93
. With this structure, the legs
93
of the tripod tend to move and cause dangers when they are unexpectedly impacted or collided. When the tripod with the legs in the spaced position is tilted over due to any external force, the photographic apparatus or lighting fixture supported on the tripod would become damaged, and workers nearby the tripod might be injured.
Another problem with the above-described conventional tripod is the third and the fourth turning element
83
,
84
may be freely turned leftward or rightward. A negligent operator might have to take more time to set the turning elements
83
,
84
and the legs
93
to their correct positions.
Moreover, due to a pull force of the spring
94
, the operator must apply a consideraby large force to disengage the projection
83
b
from the notch
84
a
or
84
b
in order to turn the turning elements
83
,
84
. Under this condition, the turning of the turning elements must be completed with two hands and is therefore inconvenient to the operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a multi-leg stand having legs that could be conveniently angularly spaced or folded by an operator with only one hand.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-leg stand having legs that are not subject to the risk of unexpected folding even if they are impacted by a strong external force.
To achieve the above and other objects, the multi-leg stand of the present invention mainly includes a vertical main tube and a tripod structure connected to a lower end of the main tube. The tripod structure includes an inner tube around which a locking element and three unions are sequentially mounted from top to bottom. Three legs are separately connected at inner ends to the three unions. When the locking element engages with the first union at a first locking position, the three legs are folded to locate at the same side of the main tube, and when the locking element engages with the first union at a second locking position, the three legs are equally angularly spaced and radially extended. And, when the locking element is in a releasing position on the inner tube, the three unions may be freely turned in one direction with only one hand to quickly and accurately move into the folded or the spaced position.
Since the locking element must be manually pushed upward to enable turning of the unions, the unions are always firmly held to the locked position after the legs are moved to their spaced position without the risk of being unexpectedly folded.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1921026 (1933-08-01), Garman
patent: 2706609 (1955-04-01), Sullivan
patent: 4377269 (1983-03-01), Sellner
patent: 5871185 (1999-02-01), Phillips et al.
patent: 6138977 (2000-10-01), Tsai
patent: WO-9013240 (1990-11-01), None
Chan Korie
Kupo Co., Ltd.
Rabin & Berdo P.C.
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