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| United States Patent | 5801774 |
| Link to this page | http://www.wikipatents.com/5801774.html |
| Inventor(s) | Seo; Jin-Woo (Seoul, KR) |
| Abstract | A camcorder includes a detachable viewfinder assembly to enable more
convenient and comfortable viewing of a viewfinder. The viewfinder
assembly includes a support plate, a strap body, and a viewfinder
rotatably connected to the strap body. According to the present invention,
one of the viewfinder and the strap body is fixedly connected to the
support plate. The support plate is preferably mounted so as to be
rotatable relative to the camcorder. The viewfinder is preferably an LCD
display. The strap body may also be provided with a handstrap, which
offers an alternative means for a user to hold the camcorder. The
viewfinder according to the present invention may therefore be laterally
movable and tiltably movable. |
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Title Information  |
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Drawing from US Patent 5801774 |
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Camcorder with detachable and rotatable viewfinder assembly |
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| Publication Date |
September 1, 1998 |
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| Filing Date |
November 24, 1995 |
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| Priority Data |
Nov 25, 1994[KR]31338/1994 |
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Title Information |
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Public's "Guesstimation" of Royalty Value
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Market Review |
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Technical Review |
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Claims |
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What is claimed is:
1. A camcorder comprising:
a camcorder body a first strap body disposed at a side of said camcorder
body, and a first operating unit provided with a camcorder function
control, and
a viewfinder assembly detachably mounted on said camcorder body,
comprising:
a support plate detachably mounted on said camcorder body such that said
support plate is rotatable relative to said camcorder body,
a second strap body fixedly mounted on said support plate, and
a tiltably rotatable viewfinder mounted on said second strap body.
2. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said camcorder body includes a first
mounting shoe provided thereon and said support plate includes a mounting
foot constructed and arranged to be detachably received by said first
mounting shoe.
3. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said viewfinder has a protruding
annular engaging section formed on one side thereof and having a hole
formed in a central portion thereof for passing a signal cable
therethrough, said signal cable electrically connecting said viewfinder
and said second strap body.
4. The camcorder of claim 3, wherein said second strap body includes an
annular recessed section formed on one side thereof and a plurality of
substantially semicircular protrusions formed on an upper surface thereof.
5. The camcorder of claim 4, wherein said protruding annular engaging
section of said viewfinder is received by said annular recessed section of
said second strap body and is fixed by a plurality of screws passed
through a circular elastic plate.
6. The camcorder of claim 5, wherein said circular elastic plate includes a
plurality of holes centrally formed thereon and contacting said
semicircular protrusions formed on said annular recessed section of said
second strap body, whereby a range of relative rotation between said
viewfinder and said second strap body is limited.
7. The camcorder of claim 2, wherein said second strap body includes a
second mounting shoe provided thereon.
8. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said first and second strap bodies
include first and second straps attached thereto, respectively.
9. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said first and second strap bodies are
provided with first and second camcorder function controls, respectively.
10. The camcorder of claim 2, wherein said mounting foot is rotatably
mounted on a shaft connected to said support plate, whereby said support
plate is rotatable about said shaft.
11. The camcorder of claim 10, comprising a tightening member provided on
said shaft and constructed and arranged to selectively fix said mounting
foot relative to said first mounting shoe.
12. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said camcorder function control is a
zoom control.
13. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said camcorder function control is a
recording control.
14. The camcorder of claim 9, wherein said second camcorder function
control is a zoom control.
15. The camcorder of claim 9, wherein said second camcorder function
control is a recording control.
16. The camcorder of claim 1, wherein said viewfinder is a LCD screen.
17. The camcorder of claim 1, further comprising a second viewfinder.
18. A camcorder comprising:
a camcorder body having a first strap body disposed at a side thereof, and
a first operating unit provided with a first camcorder function control;
and
a viewfinder assembly detachably mounted on said camcorder body,
comprising:
a support plate mounted on said camcorder body such that said support plate
is rotatable relative to said camcorder body and selectively releasable
therefrom,
a viewfinder fixedly mounted to said support plate; and
a second strap body rotatable mounted on said fixedly mounted viewfinder.
19. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said camcorder body is provided with
a mounting shoe and said support plate has a mounting foot constructed and
arranged to be detachably received by said mounting shoe.
20. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said viewfinder has a protruding
annular engaging section at a side wall thereof and having a hole in a
central portion for passing a signal cable therethrough, said signal cable
electrically connecting said viewfinder and said second strap body.
21. The camcorder of claim 20, wherein said second strap body includes an
annular recessed section formed on a side wall thereof and having a
plurality of semicircular protrusions formed on an upper surface thereof.
22. The camcorder of claim 21, wherein said annular engaging section of
said viewfinder is inserted into said annular recessed section of said
second strap body and is fixed by a plurality of screws through a circular
elastic plate.
23. The camcorder of claim 22, wherein said circular elastic plate includes
a plurality of holes, said holes being centrally formed thereon and
contacting said semicircular protrusions formed on said annular recessed
engaging section of said second strap body, whereby a range of relative
rotation between said viewfinder and said second strap body is limited.
24. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said second strap body includes a
second mounting shoe provided thereon.
25. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said first and second strap bodies
include first and second straps attached thereto, respectively.
26. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said first and second strap bodies
are provided with first and second camcorder function controls,
respectively.
27. The camcorder of claim 19, wherein said mounting foot is rotatably
mounted on a shaft connected to said support plate, whereby said support
plate is rotatable about said shaft.
28. The camcorder of claim 18, comprising a tightening member provided on
said shaft and constructed and arranged to selectively fix said mounting
foot relative to said first mounting shoe.
29. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said camcorder function control is a
zoom control.
30. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said camcorder function control is a
recording control.
31. The camcorder of claim 26, wherein said second camcorder function
control is a zoom control.
32. The camcorder of claim 26, wherein said second camcorder function
control is a recording control.
33. The camcorder of claim 18, wherein said viewfinder is a LCD screen.
34. The camcorder of claim 18, further comprising a second viewfinder.
35. A detachably mountable viewfinder assembly for a camcorder, comprising:
a support plate;
a strap body; and
a viewfinder rotatably mounted relative to said strap body;
wherein one of said strap body and said viewfinder is fixedly mounted on
said support plate.
36. The viewfinder assembly according to claim 35, wherein said support
plate includes a mounting foot mounted on a shaft connected to said
support plate, said mounting foot being rotatable relative to said support
plate.
37. The viewfinder assembly according to claim 36, wherein said viewfinder
is an LCD display. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camcorder with a detachable and
rotatable liquid crystal display (hereinafter called the "LCD") assembly
having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body attached thereto, and
particularly to a camcorder with a detachable and rotatable LCD assembly
having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body attached thereto, so
that a user of camcorder can more easily picture a desired object by
providing a detachable and rotatable LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD
viewfinder and a strap body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a conventional camcorder includes an LCD
viewfinder mounting shoe 6 on a predetermined portion of the upper surface
of a camcorder body 1 for mounting a light or an LCD viewfinder 9. The LCD
viewfinder 9 is tightened to the camcorder body 1 by a fixing member 11.
In addition, a tiltable viewfinder 2 is provided on one side of the
camcorder body 1, and a strap body 3 is disposed at one side of the
camcorder body 1.
A zoom switch 4 and a socket 7 are provided on the upper surface of the
strap body 3, and a recording button 5 is disposed at the rear surface
thereof. A strap 8 is disposed at one side of the strap body 3.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional camcorder equipped with an LCD viewfinder. As
shown therein, the LCD viewfinder 9 is detachably engaged to the shoe 6 of
the camcorder body 1.
A signal cable 10 is connected between the socket 7 and the LCD viewfinder
9.
When using the camcorder, a user holds the strap 8 and controls the
recording button 5 and the zoom switch 4 (see FIG. 4).
Meanwhile, when picturing a desired object using the LCD viewfinder 9,
since the signal cable 10 is connected between the socket 7 and the LCD
viewfinder 9, the LCD viewfinder 9 receives a video signal from a certain
element of the camcorder body 1.
However, when a user pictures a desired object using the LCD viewfinder,
i.e., not using the viewfinder 2, it is difficult to hold the camcorder
because the user must hold the LCD viewfinder relatively away form his
eyes in order to clearly focus on it.
In addition, it is difficult to use the zoom switch and the recording
button at the same time while viewing the LCD viewfinder because the strap
are not rotatable or tiltable. This makes gripping the camcorder awkward.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
camcorder with a detachable and rotatable LCD assembly having a tiltable
LCD viewfinder and a strap body, which overcomes the problems describe
above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a camcorder with a
detachable and rotatable LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and
a strap body, so that a user can more easily view a desired object
To achieve the above objects, in accordance with a first embodiment of the
present invention, a camcorder is provide with a detachable and rotatable
LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body. The
camcorder includes a camcorder body having a first strap body disposed at
one side thereof, a first operating unit having a first zoom control
switch and a first recording button, a strap disposed at one side of the
first strap body, and a shoe disposed at a predetermined portion of the
upper surface of the camcorder body; and an LCD assembly member including
a second strap body fixed to a predetermined portion of a substantially
rectangular support plate by a plurality of fixing members such as screws,
and an LCD viewfinder tiltably mounted on the second strap body.
To achieve the above objects, in accordance with a second embodiment of the
present invention, a camcorder is provided with a detachable and rotatable
LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body. The
camcorder includes a camcorder body having a first strap body disposed at
one side thereof, a first operating unit having a zoom switch for zooming
an object to be pictured and a recording button, a strap disposed at one
side of the first strap body, and a shoe disposed at a predetermined
portion of the upper surface of the camcorder body; and an LCD assembly
including a second strap body, and an LCD viewfinder tiltably mounted on
the second strap body and fixed to a predetermined portion of a
substantially rectangular support plate by a plurality of fixing members
such as screws.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional camcorder.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a conventional camcorder in use.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional camcorder equipped with
an LCD viewfinder.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a conventional camcorder equipped with an LCD
viewfinder in use.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a camcorder equipped with a detachable
and rotatable LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap
body, according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the camcorder illustrated in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a camcorder equipped with a detachable and
rotatable LCD assembly having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body
according to the present invention in use.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a disassembled LCD assembly and a
camcorder according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an LCD assembly having an LCD
viewfinder and a strap body so as to show an engaging state therebetween.
FIG. 10 is a side view of an LCD viewfinder according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The construction of a camcorder with a detachable and rotatable LCD
viewfinder assembly according to a first embodiment of the present
invention will now be explained.
Referring to FIG. 5, a first shoe 16 is provided on a predetermined portion
of the upper surface of a camcorder body 11 for mounting a light or an LCD
viewfinder 19.
In addition, another viewfinder 12 is tiltably disposed at one side of the
camcorder body 11, and a first strap body 13 is disposed at one side of
the camcorder body 11, spaced apart from the viewfinder 12.
The LCD viewfinder assembly includes a rectangular support plate 40, an LCD
viewfinder 19, and a second strap body 33.
A first operation unit having a first zoom control switch 14 and a first
recording button 15 is disposed at one side of the first strap body 13.
In addition, a socket 17 is disposed at a predetermined portion of the
first strap body 13, and a first strap 18 is disposed at one side of the
first strap body 13.
A foot 21a of the support plate 40 is inserted into the first shoe 16 of
the camcorder body 11.
A second strap body 33 is fixedly mounted on a predetermined portion of the
upper surface of a support plate 40 by, for example, a plurality of screws
81. Here, the foot 21a have a threaded fixing member 21 threaded onto a
threaded shaft 21b and the support plate 40 are detachable from the first
shoe 16 of the camcorder body 11. In addition, the threaded shaft 21b is
tightly rotatably fixed to the support plate 40, so that a user can
picture a desired object at different angles by rotating the LCD assembly
in a desired direction about the threaded shaft 21b. Moreover, the
threaded shaft 21b is fixed to the foot 21a by way of fixing member 21.
In addition, a second operation unit having a second zoom control switch 34
and a second recording button 35 is provided at the second strap body 33.
Meanwhile, the LCD viewfinder 19 is rotatably engaged to a predetermined
portion of the second strap body 33 through an annular engaging section
52, a hollow annular section 51 extending inwardly from one side wall of
the second strap body 33 and having at least spaced-apart two semicircular
protrusions 53a formed on the upper surface thereof, and an elastic plate
53b having a plurality of holes centrally formed on the outer edge portion
thereof for limiting the rotation of the LCD viewfinder 19 and aligned
with the semicircular protrusions 53a formed on the upper surface of the
hollow annular section 51. Here, the annular engaging section 52 and the
elastic plate 53b are fixed by two screws 54 to each other. Annular
engaging section 52 has a hole 52a formed therethrough through which
signal cables connecting the LCD viewfinder 19 and the second strap body
38 extend.
Meanwhile, a second shoe 36 is provided on a predetermined portion of the
second strap body 33 for mounting a light or a microphone thereon by a
plurality of screws 82.
The operation of a camcorder with a detachable and rotatable LCD assembly
having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a second strap body will now be
explained with reference to accompanying drawings.
When a user views a desired object using the LCD viewfinder 19, the user
holds the first strap 14 of the first strap body 13 or the second strap 38
of the second strap body 33, after mounting the LCD assembly on the first
shoe 16 by inserting the foot 21a into the first shoe 16 and connecting
the second strap body 33 and the socket 17 by the signal cable 20. In
addition, the user checks the picture being recorded through the LCD
viewfinder 19, while controlling the first zoom control switch 14 or the
first recording button 15, or the second zoom control switch 34. At this
time, when the user wishes to view an object at a wide angle or at a
tele-angle, the user can rotate or tilt the LCD viewfinder, so that the
user can picture a desired object at a desired different angle by rotating
the LCD assembly or tilting the LCD viewfinder 19.
A second embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing a
detachable and rotatable LCD assembly having a rectangular support plate,
an LCD viewfinder, and a second strap body. Here, the LCD viewfinder is
fixed to a predetermined portion of the upper surface of the support
plate, and is rotatably connected to the second strap body. Here, the
second strap body is not fixed to the support plate.
As described above, a camcorder with detachable and rotatable LCD assembly
having a tiltable LCD viewfinder and a strap body includes a detachable
and rotatable LCD assembly so that a user can more easily picture a
desired object at a desired different angle.
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Description |
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