JP2001130869A - Crane provided with articulated arm - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a crane for moving a body to be moved such as a camera. SOLUTION: A camera 40 is fitted at a tip of an articulated arm 51. When the articulated arm 51 is delivered by a delivery/delivery back control part 2, a joint is made into a lock state and the shape is maintained to a linear state. By the articulated arm 51, the camera 40 can be moved in upper and lower, left and right and front and rear directions. When the articulated arm 51 is delivered back, the joint is made into an unlock state, can be bent and can be stored by being wound on a winding reel 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crane capable of moving a moving object such as a camera to a desired spatial position. More specifically, the present invention relates to a crane in which a joint is fixed when extended. The present invention relates to a crane having a multi-joint arm in which the joints are in a free state in a retracted state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A camera crane is used to take a picture from a desired spatial position at a photographing site. Camera cranes are roughly classified into two types: a type in which a photographer moves a camera and a camera to a desired position with a crane, and a type in which only a remote-controlled camera is moved to a desired position.

A conventional camera crane having a telescopic arm attaches a moving object such as a camera to the tip of the arm and moves the moving object to a desired position in space. The telescopic arm is a so-called "telescope"
For example, a linear arm segment having a length of about half or one-third of the entire arm length is nested therein, and the stored arm segments are sequentially protruded to obtain a desired arm segment. Length. However, in the camera crane having such a configuration, the length of the arm in the retracted state is only about half or one third of the total length in the extended state, and is considerably long even in the retracted state. However, the transportation work to the shooting site was quite troublesome. Furthermore, when the shooting site is indoors, it is impossible to move it indoors due to its long length, or there is a restriction in moving to another room, In some cases, it was impossible to achieve camera work, and the shooting mode was significantly limited.

Further, a crane for moving not only a camera crane but also other moving objects such as lighting equipment to a position in a desired space is of a so-called "telescope" type. It has the same problems as the camera crane described above.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and make it possible to significantly reduce the size of the entire apparatus. It is intended to provide a crane that has been constructed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a crane capable of significantly reducing the length of an arm in a stored state.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a camera crane in which the degree of freedom of a photographing mode is improved.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crane having an articulated arm for moving a moving object such as a camera to a desired position in space. It is characterized in that the joint is in a fixed state in the extended state, and is in a non-fixed state, that is, in a free state in the extended state. In a preferred embodiment, the articulated arm has a plurality of arm blocks, and a pair of adjacent arm blocks are flexibly connected to each other via a joint. The articulated arm further has a lock means for locking a pair of adjacent arm blocks in the extended state, and when the lock state is established, the pair of arm blocks are incapable of bending with each other. For example, in the extended state, the articulated arm is fixed in a substantially straight state, while in the extended state, the articulated arm is in a bendable state. Therefore, the articulated arm in the rewinded state can be wound on, for example, a take-up reel.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, when the multi-joint arm is extended, it is possible to control the extension direction up and down and to control the extension direction right and left. In a preferred embodiment, the vertical position of a moving object such as a camera can be controlled by controlling the extension / retraction control means of the multi-joint arm upward or downward. Further, by providing a horizontally rotatable disk and disposing the articulated arm thereon, it is possible to control the extending direction of the articulated arm to the left and right. Further, by providing the disk rotatably on the trolley, it is possible to move the entire crane apparatus to a desired position on a surface such as a floor or a ground surface.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a state in which two camera cranes 100 constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention are used in a studio.
The camera crane 100 has an articulated arm 51 having the camera 40 attached to an attachment portion at the distal end thereof, and shows a state in which the articulated arm 51 is linearly extended by a desired length. A feed / return control unit 2 for controlling the feed and return of the articulated arm 51 is rotatably supported by the main support 1, and a take-up reel 13 for winding up the articulated arm that has been fed back is provided. It is provided rotatably. The take-up reel 13 is rotatably supported by the main support 1 and the sub-support 14.
The main support 1 and the sub support 14 are rotatable disks 8
The disk 8 is rotatably mounted on the carriage 17. The cart 17 has a plurality of wheels 25. Therefore, first, the camera crane 100 is moved to a desired position by running on the floor in the studio, and then the multi-joint arm 51 is moved by the desired length by operating the feeding / returning control unit 2. And the upper and lower feeding directions are controlled.
By rotating, the left and right extension directions can be controlled, and the camera 40 can be moved to a desired shooting position. As described above, in the illustrated example, in particular, the multi-jointed arm 51 that has been returned is housed by being taken up on the take-up reel 13.
Has been significantly reduced in size and can be moved freely in the studio, thus giving a great deal of freedom in the manner of shooting.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a schematic perspective view of a camera crane 100 constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the camera crane 100, and FIG. FIG. The camera crane 100 of the illustrated embodiment has a trolley 17 with an appropriate number of wheels 25, so that the camera crane 100 travels on a surface such as a floor or the ground and moves to a desired position. Is possible. In one embodiment, the wheels 25 are mounted on the carriage 17 in a free-rotating state, so that the operator can grasp the carriage 17 or a handle (not shown) attached to the carriage 17 and push in a desired direction. Thereby, the carriage 17 can be made to travel.
Further, in another embodiment, it is also possible to mount a motor and a control device on the carriage 17 and rotate the wheels 25 by the motor to run the vehicle. In the illustrated example, the bogie 17 has a substantially rectangular shape, and bogie fixtures 26 are attached to the four corners so that the vertical position can be controlled.
For example, the bogie fixture 26 has a screw portion screwed with a screw formed in the through-hole of the bogie 17. Therefore, by rotating the bogie fixture 26, the bogie fixture 26 is moved in the vertical direction relative to the bogie 17. The position is controlled and it is possible to lock the carriage 17 in place by extending downward beyond the wheels 25. Further, when a level is mounted on the carriage 17, the carriage 17 can be set in a horizontal state by adjusting the carriage fixture 26.

The rotating base 4 is fixed substantially at the center of the carriage 17 and the disk 8 is rotatably held on the rotating base 4. For example, it is possible to protrude the rotation shaft above the center of the rotation base 4 and to rotatably mount the disk 8 to the rotation shaft via a rotation bearing (not shown). In the illustrated example, the rotary drive units 5 are provided at the four corners of the cart 17, and each rotary drive unit 5
6 and a pair of drive gears 22. First gear teeth are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the disk 8, and the auxiliary gear 16 meshes with the first gear teeth on the outer peripheral surface of the disk 8 to regulate the horizontal position of the disk 8. . Further, on the lower surface of the disk 8, second gear teeth are provided in an annular shape, and the drive gear 22 is provided.
Are in mesh with the second gear teeth. And at least one
Drive gears 22 are operatively connected to a reversible rotatable drive motor (not shown) mounted on the carriage 17;
It is possible to control the rotation of the drive motor by operating an operation panel (not shown) provided on the trolley 17, thereby rotating the disk 8 clockwise or counterclockwise. In another embodiment, a rotatable handle is provided on the trolley 17, the handle is operatively connected to at least one drive gear 22, and the disk 8 is rotated by manually rotating the handle. A configuration is also possible.

On the disk 8, a main support 1 is fixed substantially at the center thereof. The main support 1 has a columnar shape at the lower part, is fixed to the disk 8, and has an upper part. Is substantially U-shaped. A pair of sub-supports 14 is further fixed on the disk 8, and each sub-support 1 is fixed.
Reference numeral 4 has a substantially inverted U-shape. A lower rotating shaft 3 and an upper rotating shaft 19 are provided in an upper U-shaped portion of the main support 1. On the lower rotary shaft 3, a feed / return control unit 2 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable over a predetermined angle range. The multi-joint arm 51 extends through the inside of the extension / return control unit 2, and the extension state of the multi-joint arm 51 is controlled by the extension / return control unit 2 as described later in detail. . On the other hand, a lower end portion of a vertically arranged cylinder device 6 is fixed on the disk 8, and a rod 7 capable of retreating or advancing from the cylinder device 6 to the outside is provided in the cylinder device 6. The distal end of the rod 7 is connected to the feeding / returning control unit 2 via a connecting shaft 20. Therefore, by operating the cylinder device 6, the rod 7 is retracted into the cylinder device 6 or protrudes from the cylinder device 6, whereby the feed-out / return control unit 2 is rotated about the lower rotating shaft 3. Therefore, the extending direction of the articulated arm 51 can be set to a desired angle in the up-down direction. Instead of the cylinder device 6, the handle is manually rotated, and the rotational force is converted into linear motion by, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism to control the vertical movement of the rod 7 or the connecting shaft 20. Is also possible.

A take-up reel 13 is rotatably provided on the upper rotary shaft 19, and the multi-joint arm 51 can be wound and stored on a take-up drum 13a of the reel 13. In the illustrated example, the winding drum 13a has a substantially hexagonal cross section, and the winding drum 13a and the upper rotating shaft 19 are integrally connected. Is the sub support 1
4 is connected to a rotating shaft of a motor 12 (not shown in FIG. 2) via a one-way clutch (built-in the motor 12). That is, the take-up reel 13 is always provided with a rotational force of a constant torque in the take-up direction by the motor 12, and as soon as the multi-joint arm 51 is returned, the take-up reel 1 is driven by the drive rotational force of the motor 12.
3. It should be noted that the rotation force applied by the motor 12 to the take-up reel 13 is set to be smaller than the supply force applied to the multi-joint arm 51 by the supply / return control unit 2 described later. When the feed-out / feed-back control unit 2 applies a feed-out force to the articulated arm 51, the one-way clutch is disengaged and the upper rotating shaft 19 is released.
And the motor 12 are separated from each other, and the take-up reel 13 is freely rotated. Therefore, even if the motor 12 is constantly rotated in the winding direction, there is no adverse effect on the extending operation of the articulated arm 51.

Next, the articulated arm 51 of the camera crane 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the articulated arm 51 is composed of a plurality of arm blocks 11, and these arm blocks 11 are formed by connecting the ends of a pair of adjacent ones so as to be rotatable with each other by, for example, a pin. The pin connecting portion 11a defines a joint. As shown in FIG. 5, the base end of the articulated arm 51 is fixed to the take-up drum 13 a of the take-up reel 13 via the fixture 21. In the illustrated example, the length of one side of the hexagonal shape of the winding drum 13a is
1, and the corresponding arm blocks 11 are in contact with the respective flat surfaces on the outer peripheral surface of the winding drum 13a except for the surface to which the fixing tool 21 is fixed. It has been taken. In the illustrated example, the multi-joint arm 51 is wound on the take-up reel 13 almost triple, and the multi-joint arm 51 is fed out from the take-up reel 13 to the outside via the feed / return control unit 2. . A moving object mounting portion 36 is provided on the distal end arm block 35 of the multi-joint arm 51 that is extended to the outside from the feeding / returning control unit 2, and the camera 40 as the moving object is mounted on the moving object mounting portion. 36 (see FIG. 2).

As will be described in detail later, the multi-joint arm 51 wound on the take-up reel 13 and stored.
Can be extended to the outside by the extension / return control unit 2, and the articulated arm 51 can be extended, for example, linearly. On the other hand, the multi-joint arm 51 in the extended state can be returned by the feed / return control unit 2 and wound on the take-up reel 13 to be in the housed state. And the articulated arm 51
When the joint 11a is extended outside by the extension / return control unit 2, the joint 11a is fixed (locked).
Accordingly, the pair of adjacent arm blocks 11 is in a state where the relative positional relationship is fixed and it is impossible to bend each other via the joint 11a. For example, the articulated arm 51
When it is fed out of the feed-out / feed-back control unit 2 to be in the extended state, the shape is fixed, for example, in a state of being extended in a linear state. In another embodiment, when the articulated arm 51 is extended and extended, the shape may be fixed to a curved state having a predetermined curvature. On the other hand, when the multi-joint arm 51 is moved back by the extension / return control unit 2, the joint 11a is in an unlocked state, and therefore, the pair of adjacent arm blocks 11 is connected to each other by the joint 11a. And bendable through. If so, the articulated arm 51
Can be wound up on the take-up reel 13 and stored. In addition, in another embodiment, instead of winding and storing the returned articulated arm 51, it is also possible to store it in a meandering shape, for example. That is, according to the present invention, when the multi-joint arm 51 is in the extended state, the joint 11a is in a fixed state, but in the extended state, the joint 11a is in a free state. It can be stored in a bent state, and can be stored not only in the form of being wound and stored on the take-up reel 51 but also in a meandering shape or in other desired forms. is there. Since the articulated arm 51 can be stored in a bent state, the storage space can be minimized, and the storage space can have an arbitrary shape according to the conditions of the application example. It has the advantage that it is possible.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5 in particular, the extension / return control unit 2 for controlling the extension state of the articulated arm 51 will be described in detail. In the illustrated example, the feed-out / rewinding control unit 2 includes an appropriate number of main rollers 2a and auxiliary rollers 2b respectively disposed on both sides along a path having a predetermined shape (in the illustrated example, a linear path). , A drive roller 9, a pair of drive belts 10 wound around rollers on each side, and a long lever 2c rotatably supporting the main roller 2a and the auxiliary roller 2b. The lever 2c has a substantially central portion rotatably supported by the lower rotary shaft 3, and is pivotally supported by the distal end of the rod 7 of the cylinder device 6 via a rotary shaft 20 at the left end in FIG. I have. Therefore, by operating the cylinder device 6 to control the rod 7 to retreat and advance, the lever 2c rotates clockwise or counterclockwise around the lower rotation shaft 3 over a predetermined angle, and a desired upward or downward angle in the extending direction is desired. It is possible to set to the angle of. Furthermore,
A series of main roller 2a, auxiliary roller 2b, and drive roller 9 are provided along the upper side of the lever 2c, and an endless drive belt 10 is provided so as to extend over them, forming an upper drive row 2-1. are doing. Further, a series of main rollers 2a and auxiliary rollers 2b are provided along the lower side of the lever 2c, and the endless drive belt 1
0 to form a lower drive train 2-2.
A drive path having a predetermined shape (in the illustrated example, a linear shape) is defined between the upper drive row 2-1 and the lower drive row 2-2, and the multi-joint arm is provided via this path. 5
1 passes in the feeding direction or the returning direction.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the articulated arm 51 is brought into frictional contact with the drive belt 10 of the upper drive train 2-1 and the drive belt 10 of the lower drive train 2-2 in the drive path. Since the drive belt 10 of the drive train 2-1 is driven to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise by the drive roller 9, the articulated arm 51 is controlled to move in the extending direction or the returning direction. In the illustrated example, the driving force is transmitted to the articulated arm 51 by frictional contact.
In another embodiment, first irregularities are formed at regular intervals on the upper and lower surfaces of the articulated arm 51, while second irregularities are also formed at corresponding intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the drive belt. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the driving force is transmitted from the drive belt 10 to the articulated arm 51 by the first and second concave and convex portions meshing with each other. For example, by forming recesses at predetermined intervals in the multi-joint arm 51 and forming protrusions at corresponding intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the drive belt 10, the protrusions of the drive belt 10 are located in the recesses of the multi-joint arm 51. By being inserted, the drive belt 10
It is possible to transmit the driving force in the extending or returning direction to the articulated arm 51 from the motor.

Further, although the drive belt 10 is used in FIG. 5, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only the rollers are used without using the drive belt. In that case,
Each roller comes into contact with the articulated arm 51 through friction or mechanical coupling to transmit a driving force to the articulated arm 51 and set the articulated arm 51 to a predetermined extended shape. In still another embodiment, an endless drive chain can be used instead of the drive belt 10. Further, in FIG. 5, the drive roller 9 is provided only in the upper drive train 2-1.
0-1 and the lower drive train 2-2 may be provided in one or both of them. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the driving roller 9 can be motor-driven by being operatively connected to a motor provided at an appropriate location. Further, in another embodiment, it is possible to provide a handle rotatable by manual operation on the drive roller 9 and to rotate the drive roller 9 manually.

The upper drive train 2-1 and the lower drive train 2-2 are connected to each other by friction or mechanical contact with the multi-joint arm 51 to transmit a driving force in the extending direction or the returning direction. When the multi-joint arm 51 has a function of moving the 51 in the extending or returning direction, and the articulated arm 51 is moved in the extending direction via a drive path between the upper drive train 2-1 and the lower drive train 2-2. It is important to set a predetermined feeding shape such as a straight line shape. That is, as will be described in detail later, when the articulated arm 51 is set in a predetermined extended shape, the joint 11a is locked or fixed, and the articulated arm 51 is fixed in a non-flexible state. Is done. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 5, when the multi-joint arm 51 is moved back, the left end of the upper drive train 2-1 is curved upward, and the winding of the take-up reel 13 is performed. The multi-joint arm 51 is moved along this curved shape by the take-off force.
In the state a, the locked state is released, the state becomes free, and the state becomes bendable. Therefore, the articulated arm 51 that has been returned
Becomes freely bendable and can be wound on the take-up reel 13.

In the example of FIG. 5, when the curved portion is formed in a part of the upper drive train 2-1 and the articulated arm 51 runs along the curved portion, the joint 11a of the articulated arm 51 is moved.
Is released, but in another embodiment, such a curved portion may not be provided. That is, when the multi-joint arm 51 receives the winding force of the take-up reel 13, the multi-joint arm 51 is given an upward bending force at the left end of the upper drive train 2-1. Joint 1 of joint arm 51
1a is because the locked state is released. Further, in another embodiment, the multi-joint arm 51 is moved downward by its own weight after being returned through the upper and lower drive trains 2-1 and 2-2, and is housed in a meandering shape, for example. In this case, the articulated arm 51 is turned downward by its own weight when passing through the left end of the lower drive train 2-2.
The locked state of “a” is released.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a first guide roller 23 is rotatably provided on the lever 2c, and a second guide roller 24 is rotatably provided on the main support 1. ing. These first and second guide rollers 23 and 24 are arranged between the take-up reel 13 and the pay-out / return control unit 2 to make the articulated arm 51 smoothly move. This prevents the articulated arm 51 from becoming loose between the take-up reel 13 and the pay-out / feed-back control unit 2 or being bent in an undesired form. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, an arc-shaped guide rail 18a which is symmetrical with respect to a vertical line passing through the lower rotary shaft 3 is fixed to the lower side of the lever 2c, so that the main support is provided. It is in rolling contact with a third guide roller 18b rotatably provided on the body 1. With such a configuration, compared to a case in which the long strip lever 2c is rotatably supported only at one point of the lower rotary shaft 3, only the three guide rails 18a and the third guide roller 18b are used. Since the point is supported and the supporting force is shared by the many points, the rotational movement of the lever 2c can be made smoother. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a counterweight 15 is fixed on the lower surface of the disk 8 substantially opposite to the cylinder device 6. This counter weight 15
When the multi-joint arm 51 is extended to the maximum length, a moment opposing the moment acting on the main support 1 with the lower rotating shaft 3 as the central axis is applied to the main support 1 to stabilize the camera crane main body. Set to have weight. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the counterweight 15 is fixed on the lower surface of the disk 8,
It is preferable that the counterweight 15 applies a moment to the main support 1 so as to cancel the moment corresponding to the moment acting on the main support 1 corresponding to the extension length of the articulated arm 51. Therefore, in another embodiment, the weight of the counterweight 15 is increased in accordance with the extension length of the articulated arm 51, or the counterweight 15
It is desirable that the radial position on the disk 8 be moved outward.

Next, with reference mainly to FIG. 6, a detailed configuration of one embodiment of the articulated arm 51 usable for the camera crane 100 of the present invention will be described. The articulated arm 51 is configured by connecting a plurality of arm blocks 11 to each other, and one embodiment of the arm block 11 is shown in FIG.
To (E). The arm block 11 includes a column-shaped main body front portion 30 which is substantially laid sideways, and a main body front portion 3.
0, and a main body rear portion 31 having a cylindrical cutout portion that is formed integrally with and substantially laid down,
The main body front part 30 and the main body rear part 31 constitute the arm block 11 integrally. The main body front portion 30 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a first locking portion 29 having a predetermined width W over a predetermined length is formed along the outer peripheral surface of the front portion. The first locking portion 29 has a predetermined thickness and a front portion 30 of the main body.
Are provided along the outer peripheral surface of the, and each side wall thereof is defined by an inclined surface 29a which is inclined in an inverse pyramid shape toward the outside in the radial direction. Furthermore, the front part 3 of the main body
The locking pin 32 is fixed along the central axis of the 0-column shape. In the illustrated example, the locking pin 32 is
The parts protruding to the outside from both sides of the body
It has a shape whose diameter increases as it moves away from it. Further, a front key groove 29b extending in the horizontal direction over a predetermined length is formed near the lower surface of the main body front portion 30.

On the other hand, the main body rear portion 31 of the arm block 11
Is formed with a pair of disk-shaped projections 31b, 31b projecting rearward from both side surfaces on the rear end side.
The rear end of the main body rear portion 31 between the pair of protrusions 31b, 31b has an arc shape corresponding to the columnar shape of the main body front portion 30. A wedge-shaped second locking portion 31 a having a width W ′ is formed at the arc-shaped rear end of the main body rear portion 31, and the second locking portion 31 a can insert the first locking portion 29. The shape and dimensions are set. That is, the second locking portion 3
The width W 'of 1a is substantially the same as the width W of the first locking portion 29, but is set slightly smaller than that. A pin hole 33 is formed at the center of the disc-shaped projection 31b,
This pin hole 33 is provided with a locking pin 3 of another arm block 11.
2 is set to a shape and a dimension that can be accepted. That is, in the present embodiment, the diameter of the pin hole 33 increases toward the outside, so that when the locking pin 32 of another arm block 11 is inserted into the pin hole 33, the adjacent arm block 11 are prevented from being displaced in the lateral direction. Further, the main body rear part 31
A rear key groove 31c is provided in the vicinity of the bottom surface over a predetermined length in the horizontal direction, and a key 28 having a lower projection 28a is slidably housed in the rear key groove 31c. Further, a through-hole 34 is formed through substantially the center of the main body front part 30 and the main body rear part 31.

Next, a configuration in which a plurality of the arm blocks 11 described above are connected to form the multi-joint arm 51 will be described. The main body front part 30 of the first arm block 11 is positioned inside the main body rear part of another second arm block 11, and in this case, the locking pin 32 of the main body front part 30 of the first arm block 11 is moved to the second arm block 11 The first and second arm blocks 11 are brought into a connected state by being inserted into the pin holes 33 of the rear portion 31 of the main body. By connecting a plurality of arm blocks 11 in this manner, the articulated arm 5
1 is formed.

The articulated arm 51 thus constructed
Is delivered through the delivery / return control unit 2, the pair of adjacent first and second arm blocks 1
1 are arranged in a straight line with each other when they are fed out through the path of the feed-out / feed-back control unit 2, and in that case, they are arranged in the second locking portions 31 a of the main body rear portion 31 of the preceding first arm block 11. The first locking portion 29 of the main body front portion 30 of the second arm block 11 is inserted. When the multi-joint arm 51 is further extended through the extension / return control unit 2, the first arm block 11
Key 28 engages with the control projection 27 fixed to the lever 2c, and the key 28
c to the outside and the subsequent second arm block 11
Is inserted into the front key groove 29b of the front part 30 of the main body. Therefore, the first and second arm blocks 11 are in the locked state,
That is, the state is fixed. In this case, the key 28 may be configured to be held in frictional contact with the front key groove 29b, while a leaf spring is provided in the front key groove 29b, and the inserted key 28 It is also possible to adopt a configuration for retaining the pressure. That is, the key 28 is moved to the front keyway 29b.
It is desirable to provide a means for preventing the key 28 from unintentionally falling out when housed inside.

On the other hand, the articulated arm 5 in the extended state
In the case where 1 is fed back by the feed-out / return control unit 2, the lower projection 28a of the key 28 engages with the control projection 27 and is prevented from moving for a while. The key 28 inserted into the front key groove 29b gradually escapes from the front key groove 29b, and is finally stored in the rear key groove 31c. Thereby, the first and second arm blocks 11
Is released from the locked state (fixed state) by the key 28 to be in the unlocked state. Further, when the multi-joint arm 51 is bent upward at the end of the feeding / returning control unit 2 by the winding force of the winding reel 13, the first locking portion 29 of the subsequent second arm block 11 precedes. The first arm block 11 is released from the state of engagement with the second locking portion 31a, and the first and second arm blocks 11 are released from the fixed state and become free.

Further, since the arm block 11 has a through hole 34 penetrating the center thereof, when the arm block 11 is formed as an articulated arm 51, a through hole is formed therethrough. For transmitting a remote control operation signal, a camera cable, and the like.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the moving object mounting portion 36 provided on the tip arm block 35 of the articulated arm 51 and mounting the camera body 40 and the remote control head 50 as the moving object. 3 shows a detailed configuration.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the camera body 40 is mounted on a known remote control platform 50, and the remote control platform 50 is mounted on the distal arm block 35 by the moving object mounting section 36. A bracket 41 that holds the rotating shaft 42 in a horizontal state and rotatably is fixed to the moving body mounting portion 36. A main support bar 49 extends downward integrally with the rotating shaft 42, and is connected to the remote control head 50 at the tip thereof. A pair of first and second auxiliary support bars 43 and 46 are provided integrally with the rotating shaft 42, and rotatably hold the first and second gears 44 and 47 at their respective distal ends. The first and second gear rails 45 and 48 having an arc shape are attached to the tip arm block 35.
Are fixed, and the first and second gears 44 and 47 mesh with the first and second gear rails 45 and 48, respectively. According to such a configuration, regardless of the posture of the distal end arm block 35, the remote control head 50, and thus the camera body 40, is always kept horizontal by its own weight. The first and second gears 44 and 47 and the gear rail 4
The engagement with 5, 48 is for absorbing the inertia acting on the remote control head 50 when the articulated arm 51 is moved, thereby preventing the remote control head 50 from pendulum movement. belongs to. Thus, in another embodiment, instead of gears and gear rails,
It is also possible to adopt a configuration utilizing rolling friction between the roller and the arc rail. It should be noted that a conventionally known gyro mechanism can be used as the moving object mounting portion 36.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a camera crane 200 constructed according to another embodiment of the present invention. still,
Components corresponding to the components in the above-described embodiment are denoted by corresponding reference numerals. This camera crane 200 also has an articulated arm 51 ′, which is a take-up reel 1 rotatably supported about a rotation axis 19.
3 and is stored in a state where it is fixed (locked) in a linear state when it is fed out by the feeding / returning control unit 2 '. That is, the articulated arm 51 '
Has a plurality of arm blocks 11 ′, and when these arm blocks 11 ′ are fed by the feed / return control unit 2 ′, a locked state, that is, a fixed state, between a pair of adjacent arm blocks 11 ′. And maintained in a straight line. On the other hand, when the feed-back / feed-back control unit 2 'rewinds, the locked state between the pair of adjacent arm blocks 11' is released and becomes the unlocked state, that is, the free state, and the multi-joint arm 51 'is freely bent. State. Therefore, in this state, the multi-joint arm 51 ′ can be wound up and stored on the take-up reel 13. In this embodiment, the camera body 40 is directly mounted on the tip arm block 36 of the articulated arm 51 '. The camera body 40
Can be attached to the distal end arm block 36 via a remote control pan head, a gyro mechanism, or the like.

The take-up reel 13 and the pay-out / rewind control unit 2 'are supported on a support 1', and the support 1 'is mounted on a base 58 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The base 58 is fixed on the trolley 17, and the trolley 17 can be moved on the surface by the wheels 25. Further, in the present embodiment, a remote controller and a servo control unit 52 are provided on the carriage 17, and the operator operates an operation panel and / or a handle on the control unit 52, whereby the multi-joint arm 51 is operated. It is possible to control the feeding state, the vertical position, the horizontal position, and the like of the ', and also control the photographing operation of the camera body 40. The cables extending between the control unit 4 and the camera body 40 can be accommodated in the above-mentioned through-hole penetrating the articulated arm 51 '. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the upper rotating shaft 19 is mounted on a sliding body 59a, and the sliding body 59a is moved on a guide plate 59b fixed to the top of the main support 1 'in the figure. It is provided slidably in the left-right direction. Therefore, as the articulated arm 51 'is extended, the take-up reel 13 can function as a counterweight by sliding the sliding body 59a in the opposite direction.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed configuration of one embodiment of the articulated arm 51 'which can be used in the camera crane 200 of FIG. That is, the articulated arm 51 '
Has a plurality of arm blocks 11 ', each of the arm blocks 11' has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a pair of adjacent arm blocks 11 'for rotatably connecting them. A part 53 is provided. Further, a locking projection 54 is provided at the tip of the arm block 11 ', and an insertion hole 55 is formed at the rear end. Therefore, when the articulated arm 51 'is extended and brought into a linear state, the locking projection 5 of the arm block 11' is formed.
4 is inserted into the insertion hole 55 of the adjacent arm block 11 ', and the pair of adjacent arm blocks 11' is locked to each other, that is, is fixed integrally. In this case, for example, it is desirable to provide a resilient means such as a spring in the insertion hole 55 and to hold the locking projection 54 with a predetermined holding force when the locking projection 54 is inserted. Since the arm block 11 'has a substantially U-shaped cross section, a through hole is formed along the center of the articulated arm 51', and the cable 57 and the like can be accommodated therein.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show another embodiment which can be applied to the camera crane 200 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the articulated arm 51 'having a plurality of arm blocks 11' is in a retracted state in which it is wound on a take-up reel 13 ', and is in an unfolded state. In, the adjacent arm blocks 11 'are locked and fixed in a linear form. A moving object such as a camera can be attached to the tip arm block 36 of the articulated arm 51 '. The take-up reel 13 ′ is provided with a take-up drum 13 a ′ rotatable around a rotation shaft 13 ′, and the arm block 1 at the base end of the articulated arm 51 ′.
1 'is connected to the winding drum 13a' via a connecting portion 21 '.

An extension / return controller 2 'for controlling the extension state of the articulated arm 51' is provided.
The feeding / returning control unit 2 'is rotatably supported around a rotation axis 3'. In the present embodiment, the feed / return control unit 2 'has a plurality of rollers 62, and these rollers 62 are arranged so as to form an upper drive row and a lower drive row. A drive path is defined between the lower drive train and the lower drive train, and the multi-joint arm 51 ′ travels in the drive path. That is, in the drive path, the articulated arm 51 'is in frictional contact with these rollers 62, and at least one roller 62 is driven or rotated by a motor or manually to move the articulated arm 51' in the extending direction or the unwinding direction. Advance in the return direction. Further, the feed-out / feed-back control unit 2 'is connected to the cylinder rod 7', so that by moving the cylinder rod 7 'up and down, the feed-out direction of the articulated arm 51' can be controlled up and down. is there.

FIG. 11 shows a substantially cylindrical lower cover 58 covering the lower structure of the camera crane 200. FIG. 12 shows a stored state in which a substantially dome-shaped upper cover 59 is further mounted. As described above, the camera crane 200 does not have any difficulty in transporting the camera crane 200 in the housed state since there is no particularly long portion.

Although the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention should not be limited to only the above-described specific embodiments, but should not depart from the technical scope of the present invention. Of course, various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiments, a camera crane using a camera as a moving object has been particularly described in detail. However, the present invention should not be limited to a camera as a moving object, but may be a lighting fixture or the like. The present invention can be applied to an object to be moved to a desired position in space.

[0037]

According to the present invention, there is provided a crane which can be reduced in size as a whole. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the crane which can position a to-be-moved body, such as a camera, to a desired position in space quickly and with a high degree of freedom is provided. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the crane which minimizes the assembling work in a use site is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a camera crane 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The schematic diagram which showed the use condition in the studio of 00.

FIG. 2 shows a camera crane 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of a 00.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the camera crane 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the camera crane 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view showing the internal structure of the camera crane 100 shown in FIG.

6 (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) show a detailed configuration of an arm block 11 that can be used for the camera crane 100. It is a figure, a schematic front view, a schematic right side view, a schematic sectional view taken along line II, and a schematic perspective view.

FIG. 7 shows a distal arm block 35 of an articulated arm;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a moving object mounting portion between a remote control head and a camera body mounted thereon;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a camera crane 200 configured according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are camera cranes 2;
FIG. 3 is a schematic left side view, a schematic front view, and a schematic plan view showing an arm block 11 ′ as one embodiment that can be used for 00.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment applicable to the camera crane 200 of the present invention.

11 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of FIG. 10 and a state where the lower cover 58 is mounted.

12 is a schematic front view showing a state in which an upper cover 59 is attached to the configuration of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100, 200: Camera crane 1: Main support 2: Feeding / returning control unit 3: Lower rotating shaft 6: Cylinder device 7: Rod 8: Disk 11: Arm block 13: Take-up reel 14: Sub support 17 ： Bogie 35 ： End arm block 36 ： Mounted body mounting part 40 ： Camera 51 ： Multi-joint arm

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A crane having a multi-joint arm, comprising: a plurality of joints having a plurality of joints in which the joints are fixed when extended and the joints are unfixed when extended. Storage means for storing the arm in the retracted state, a payout / return control means for extending the arm from the storage means and returning the arm to the storage means;
A crane comprising: 2. The arm according to claim 1, wherein the arm has a plurality of arm blocks, and a pair of adjacent arm blocks among the plurality of arm blocks are connected to each other via a joint so as to be freely bendable. A crane characterized by being made. 3. The arm according to claim 2, wherein the arm has a lock means for locking the pair of arm blocks, and the lock means is locked when the arm is extended. The pair of arm blocks are made to be unbendable with each other, and when the arm is turned back, the locking means is brought into the unlocked state, and the pair of arm blocks are made to be bendable with each other. And crane. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the lock unit comprises:
A first engagement member provided on one of the pair of arm blocks and a second engagement member provided on the other,
When the first and second engaging members are in the engaged state, the locking means is in the locked state, and when the first and second engaging members are in the disengaged state, the locking means is unlocked. A crane that is locked. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feed-out / feed-back control means includes a rotatable driving body at least partially in contact with the arm. The arm is extended when the driving body is rotated in the forward rotation direction, while the arm is extended when the driving body is rotated in the negative rotation direction opposite to the positive rotation direction. crane. 6. The crane according to claim 5, wherein the driving body is in frictional contact with the arm. 7. The driving body according to claim 5, wherein the driving body has a first unevenness formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and the first unevenness can be engaged with a second unevenness formed on the arm. A crane, characterized in that: 8. The crane according to claim 5, wherein the driving body is driven and rotated by motor driving or manual driving. 9. The crane according to claim 1, further comprising a feed-out direction restricting means for restricting a feed-out direction of the arm. 10. The delivery direction restricting means according to claim 9, wherein the delivery / return control means sets the delivery direction of the arm to an upward angle or a downward angle over a predetermined angle range around a predetermined rotation axis. A crane characterized in that it can be regulated. 11. The arm according to claim 1, wherein the storage means has a rotatable reel, and the arm in a state where the arm is returned by rotating the reel is provided. A crane characterized in that it can be wound on a reel. 12. The storage device according to claim 11, wherein said storage means includes a reversible rotatable take-up motor, and said take-up motor has a constant rotation at a level lower than the unwind force by said unwind / rewind control means. A crane characterized by constantly applying a rotational force in a winding direction to the reel by force. 13. The disc according to claim 1, wherein the disc is rotatable about a vertical axis, and the storage means and the feed-out / feed-back control means are respectively positioned at predetermined positions on the disc. A supporting means for supporting the crane. 14. The crane according to claim 13, further comprising a bogie capable of rotatably supporting the disk and traveling on a surface. 15. The arm according to claim 1, wherein the arm has an attaching means for attaching an object to be moved to a desired position in a space. crane. 16. The crane according to claim 15, wherein the object to be moved is a camera, and the mounting means is provided at a tip of the arm.