Articulated stabilizer frame for monopod

#The present invention is broadly concerned with improvements in photographic equipment and, more particularly, to improvements in monopod support devices for cameras.

#While satisfactory images are often recorded using handheld cameras, the quality of still and moving images is often improved by steady support of the camera recording the images. Handheld image capture devices such as smart phones, cameras, camcorders, and the like are prone to shake, shudder, and vibration. This negative effect is magnified when zooming in on a subject, as is often done in photography for sports, action news events, art, nature, and the like.

#Historically, cameras have been supported by structures having multiple legs, such as tripods. The widely spaced points of ground contact of a tripod provide a stable platform for a camera against vertical and lateral forces. However, tripods tend to be relatively heavy, take up a considerable ground or floor area, and can be trip hazards to persons not aware of their presence. The use of tripods can be awkward in tiered type seating structures such as bleachers, stadiums, and the like. For these reasons, tripods are sometimes restricted at many public events and venues, such as sporting events and the like.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a monopod camera support apparatus including an embodiment of an articulated stabilizer frame of the present invention shown in a horizontal orientation.

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the monopod camera support apparatus with the stabilizer frame shown in an upwardly folded orientation.

#FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus at reduced scale with the stabilizer frame shown in a downwardly folded orientation to engage a horizontal support structure.

#As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.

#Referring to the drawings in more detail, the reference numeral 1 generally designates an embodiment of a camera support apparatus incorporating an articulated stabilizer frame 2 according to the present invention. The apparatus 1 generally includes an elongated camera support member or monopod 3 and a clamp structure 4 which joins the stabilizer frame or loop 2 to the monopod 3 in such a manner as to enable articulation of the loop 2 with respect to the clamp structure 4 and the monopod 3.

#The monopod 3 may be a conventional monopod camera support member adapted for supporting a camera 10 (FIGS. 3, 5, and 7. The illustrated monopod 3 includes multiple telescoping sections 12 which can be selectively extended or retracted by the use of section clamp mechanisms 14. The section clamp mechanisms 14 may be conventional types of clamp mechanisms which be operated to compress or release a split end (not shown) of a monopod section 12 where it engages an adjacent section 12. The illustrated monopod 3 is shown with a padded sleeve 16 near an upper end 18 thereof and a padded tip or cap 20 at a lower end 22 thereof.