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US 4,596,484 AGranted
Lock for telescoping tubular support
AssigneeVelbon International Corporation
InventorKoma Nakatani
Life of this patent
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AssigneeVelbon International Corporation
InventorKoma Nakatani
Estimating the term…
A lock for a tubular telescoping support such as tripod leg includes a clamping lever for locking inner and outer members against telescoping displacement and load bearing portions interposed between the two members such that the locking force applied by the clamp is circumferentially distributed among the clamp and two load bearing portions to thereby prevent flattening of the inner tube under locking clamp force.
A lock for an adjustable support of the type having an inner tube telescopically slideable within an outer tube, said lock comprising:
A lock for an adjustable support of the type having an inner tube telescopically slideable within an outer tube, said lock comprising:
In a telescoping support such as a tripod leg comprising an inner cylindrical tube telescopically slideable within an outer cylindrical tube, a locking lever for applying radially inward locking force to a first area of said inner tube through a first window opening defined in the outer tube to thereby urge the opposite side of the inner tube against an area of the outer tube diametrically opposed to said window opening, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Locking in intermediate non-discrete positions: with a clamp locking the telescoping members by swinging a handle provided with a locking cam
By telescoping, with or without folding: undercarriages for supports with one single telescoping pillar
By telescoping, with or without folding: undercarriages for supports with three or more telescoping legs
For translational movement: by friction
Term ended 5 Oct 2004 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to extendable supports and mechanisms for locking the same at arbitrarily extended positions, and is more particularly directed to a lock for a telescoping tubular leg, particularly for use in a tripod of the type used in photographic or cinematographic applications among others.
2. Background of the Invention
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lock according to this invention installed on a telescoping tubular support such as a tripod leg.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of the lock assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an axial cross section taken along line III--III in FIG. 2.
With reference to the drawings generally and FIG. 1 in particular a lock mechanism 10 is affixed to the outer tube 1 within which is telescopically slidable an inner tube 2 of reduced diameter. The lock comprises a camming lever 19 provided with a cam element 14 mounted by means of a shaft 15 between the arms of a U-shaped band 6 extending about the outer tube 1. A lever base 13 is positioned between the arms of the band 6 and also between the cam element 14 and the outer tube 1.
Turning now to FIG. 2, the intermediate or bottom portion of the U-shaped band 6 overlies a first window opening 4 which may be rectangular in shape and is cut in the outer tube 1. A generally cylindrical sleeve insert 3 is coaxially interposed between the inner tube 2 and the outer tube 1. A second window opening 5 is cut in the sleeve insert 3, and is aligned with the first window opening 4 as best appreciated in FIG. 3.
The camming lever 19 is provided with a cam element 14 which has portion of reduced radius 14a and portion of greater radius 14b. The band 6 is drawn against the window opening 4 when the camming lever is brought to its down or locked position shown in FIG. 2, in which the portion of greater radius 14b acts against the concave surface 18 of the lever base 13. The band 6 is released by moving the lever 19 approximately 90 degrees upwardly to an erect position in which the cam portion of smaller radius 14a moves into the cam recess 18 of the base 13.