Patent · US Expired

Remotely controlled pan and tilt television camera

US4855838A · kind A · utility

62Cited by
7References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 27, 1988
Grant dateAug 8, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 27, 2008

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N23/555
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An elongated remotely controlled pan and tilt television camera, ideally suitable for inspecting pipeline interiors, is able to be constructed with extremely small transverse dimensions due to compact packaging of control mechanisms disposed in the camera front end inside an optical dome. An outer gimbal is rotatable (i.e., panned) relative to the camera front end and is in the form of a frame within which an inner gimbal is mounted to be rotatable (i.e., tilted) relative to the outer gimbal. A lens, a lens focus control motor and a tilt motor are all mounted on the inner gimbal so as to be movable therewith. The pan motor is positionally fixed in the camera housing and rotates the outer gimbal by means of a drive cable and pulley secured to the outer gimbal. A CCD detector is located remotely from its associated electronics circuitry on a CCD circuit board secured to the inner gimbal so that the detector is movable with the lens and receives an optical image therefrom. The electrical signals representing the image and produced by the detector are processed into appropriate video format by circuitry disposed in fixed position within the camera housing. The lens is an automatic iris…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.