TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an adjustable camera lens gear and, in particular, to a camera lens gear having an adjustable inner diameter.

BACKGROUND

[0002] United States Patent Application Publication Number 2015/0286028, which was published in the name of McCurry on October 8, 2015, discloses a follow focus apparatus for adjusting the focus of a camera lens. The apparatus includes a circular gear ring having opposed inner and outer surfaces and defining an open interior area. The inner surface has a planar configuration and a plurality of spaced-apart teeth are situated on the outer surface of the gear ring. The apparatus includes a sizing member selectively received in a cutout area defined by an inner surface of the gear ring so as to decrease an inner diameter by a predetermined amount. The apparatus also includes a sizing ring having a configuration received in the gear ring interior area. The sizing ring is configured to decrease the inner diameter of the gear ring by a predetermined amount. The sizing ring includes an outwardly extending projection configured to nest in corresponding notches defined by the gear ring inner surface so as to secure the sizing ring in the gear.

[0003] United States Patent Number 9,152,020, which issued to Luo on October 6, 2015, discloses an additional knurled ring for an optical lens. The additional knurled ring is composed of an annular portion and teeth distributed in a radial direction around the outside of the annular portion. The inner diameter and shape of the additional knurled ring match the outer diameter and shape of an adjusting ring of the optical lens. The additional knurled ring is movably connected with the outside of the adjusting ring of the optical lens. Since the additional knurled ring for the optical lens can be extended towards the front of the lens and beyond the front end of the optical lens, the interference of stray light with the imaging of the optical lens is blocked.

SUMMARY [0004] There is provided a camera lens gear comprising a first ring and a second ring. The second ring is coupled to the first ring and is rotatable relative to the first ring. There is a plurality of radially spaced-apart gripping members extending inwardly from the second ring. Rotation of the first ring relative to the second ring in a first direction causes the gripping members to move inwardly towards a center of the camera lens gear. Rotation of the first ring relative to the second ring in a second direction opposite to the first direction causes the gripping members to move outwardly away from the center of the camera lens gear.

[0005] There is also provided a camera lens gear comprising a first ring, a second ring and a tension ring disposed between the first ring and the second ring. The first ring, the second ring, and the tension ring are concentric with one another. The second ring is coupled to the first ring and is rotatable relative to the first ring. There is a spring disposed between the first ring and the tension ring. There is also a plurality of radially spaced-apart gripping members extending inwardly towards a center of the camera lens gear. Each of the gripping members has a pair of arms and a pad disposed at distal ends of the arms. A first one of the arms is connected to the second ring and a second one of the arms is connected to the tension ring. The spring transmits force to the tension ring as the first ring is rotated relative to the second ring in a first direction, thereby pushing the arms of the gripping members apart and causing the gripping members to move inwardly towards the center of the camera lens gear. The first ring may be configured to allow continued rotation relative to the second ring in the first direction after the gripping members engage a camera lens, thereby compressing the spring and applying a force to the camera lens. [0006] The camera lens gear may further include a ratchet mechanism to restrict recoil of the spring as the first ring is rotated relative to the second ring in the first direction. The ratchet mechanism may be releasable to allow rotation of the first ring relative to the second ring in a second direction opposite to the first direction, thereby pushing the arms of the gripping members together and causing the gripping members to move outwardly away from the center of the camera lens gear. The ratchet mechanism may include a pawl pivotably connected to the first ring and a toothed rib disposed on the second ring.

[0007] The first ring may be an inner ring and the second ring may be an outer ring. The second ring may be a gear ring. The first ring and the second ring may be coupled together by a projection and a corresponding recess. The projection and the corresponding recess may have complementary dovetail shapes in section. There may be a plurality of tapered grooves circumferentially spaced-apart on the first ring. The first ring may include a cylindrical base portion and a tapered top portion. The top portion may be tapered inwardly towards the center of the camera lens gear. [0008] There is further provided a camera lens and a camera lens gear in combination. The camera lens has at least one of a focus ring, a zoom ring and an aperture ring. The camera lens gear has a center and comprises a first ring, a second ring and a tension ring disposed between the first ring and the second ring. The second ring is coupled to the first ring and is rotatable relative to the first ring. There is a spring disposed between the first ring and the tension ring. There is also a plurality of radially spaced-apart gripping members. Each of the gripping members has a first arm extending inwardly from the second ring, a second arm extending inwardly from the tension ring, and a pad disposed at distal ends of the arms. The spring transmits force to the tension ring as the first ring is rotated relative to the second ring in a first direction, thereby pushing the arms of the gripping members apart and causing the gripping members to move inwardly towards the center of the camera lens gear so as to operatively engage one of the focus ring, the zoom ring and the aperture ring of the camera lens. [0009] The first ring may be configured to allow continued rotation relative to the second ring in the first direction after the gripping members engage the focus ring, the zoom ring or the aperture ring of the camera lens, thereby compressing the spring and applying a force to the camera lens. There may be a ratchet mechanism to restrict recoil of the spring as the first ring is rotated relative to the second ring in the first direction. The ratchet mechanism may be releasable to allow rotation of the first ring relative to the second ring in a second direction opposite to the first direction, thereby pushing the arms of the gripping members together and causing the gripping members to move outwardly away from the center of the camera lens gear so as to release the camera lens. The first ring, the second ring, and the tension ring may be concentric with one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable camera lens gear;

[0011] Figure 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 ;

[0012] Figure 3 is a front perspective view of a first ring of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 ;

[0013] Figure 4 is a front plan view of the first ring of Figure 3;

[0014] Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the first ring of Figure 3;

[0015] Figure 6 is a rear plan view of the first ring of Figure 3;

[0016] Figure 7 is a plan view of a tension ring of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 ; [0017] Figure 8 is a front perspective view of a second ring of the camera lens gear of

Figure 1 ;

[0018] Figure 9 is a front plan view of the second ring of Figure 8;

[0019] Figure 10 is a rear perspective view of the second ring of Figure 8;

[0020] Figure 11 is a rear plan view of the second ring of Figure 8;

[0021] Figure 12 is a front plan view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 ;

[0022] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A- A of Figure 12;

[0023] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Figure 12;

[0024] Figure 15 is a front plan view of the tension ring, the second ring and a plurality of gripping members extending from the tension ring and the second ring;

[0025] Figure 16 is a front plan view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 shown in use with a camera lens, the gripping members of the camera lens gear being shown in a fully retracted position;

[0026] Figure 17 is a front plan view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 shown in use with a camera lens, the gripping members of the camera lens gear being shown in a partially extended position;

[0027] Figure 18 is a front plan view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 shown in use with a camera lens, the gripping members of the camera lens gear being shown in a fully extended position; [0028] Figure 19 is a front plan view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 shown in use with another camera lens; and

[0029] Figure 20 is a perspective view of the camera lens gear of Figure 1 shown in use with a follow focus system. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Referring to the drawings and first to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown an adjustable camera lens gear 10. The camera lens gear 10 includes first, second, and third rings in the form of a front ring 12, a gear ring 14, and a tension ring 16. The front ring 12, the gear ring 14 and the tension ring 16 are concentric with one another in this example. The front ring 12 and the gear ring 14 form two half portions of the camera lens gear 10 with the tension ring 16 disposed in between the front ring 12 and the gear ring 14. The front ring 12 is coupled to the gear ring 14 and is rotatable relative to the gear ring 14. In this example, the front ring 12 is an inner ring and the gear ring 14 is an outer ring. There is also a plurality of gripping members, for example, gripping members 18, 20 and 22 radially spaced-apart on the camera lens gear 10 and extending inwardly towards a center 11 of the camera lens gear 10.

[0031] The front ring 12 is shown in greater detail in Figures 3 to 6 and comprises a generally annular body 24 having a central opening 26. The annular body 24 in this example includes a cylindrical base portion 28 and a tapered top portion 30. The top portion 30 is tapered inwardly from the base portion 28 towards the central opening 26 in this example. There is also a plurality of grooves, for example, grooves 32, 34 and 36 circumferentially spaced-apart on the top portion 30. The grooves 32, 34 and 36 are generally trapezoidal in shape and are tapered inwardly from the base portion 28 towards the central opening 26 in this example. As best shown in Figures 5 and 6, the base portion 28 includes a notch 38 and a pin 40 proximal to the notch. The pin 40 receives a pawl 42, shown in Figure 2, to pivotably couple the pawl 42 to the front ring 12. Referring back to Figure 5, there is a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart projections, for example, projections 46, 48 and 50 extending about the base portion 28. In this example, respective distal portions 52, 54 and 56 of the projections 46, 48 and 50 have dovetail-shaped cross- sections. There is also a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart recesses, for example, recesses 53, 55 and 57 extending about the base portion 28 as best shown in Figure 6.

[0032] The tension ring 16 is shown in greater detail in Figure 7 and includes an annular member 17. There is a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart flanges, for example, flanges 19, 21 and 23 extending outwardly from the annular member 17. The flanges 19, 21 and 23 are generally semicircular in this example but may be other shapes. A corresponding one of through holes 25, 27 and 29 extends through each of the flanges 19, 21 and 23. There is also a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart recesses, for example, recesses 31, 33 and 35 extending about the annular member 17 and adjacent to the flanges 19, 21 and 23. The recesses 31, 33 and 35 of the tension ring 16 align with the recesses 53, 55 and 57 of the front ring 12 to form pockets which each house a corresponding one of compression springs 110, 112 and 114 shown in Figure 15. For example, Figure 14 shows the compression spring 112 housed in a pocket 115 formed by recess 55 of the front ring 12 and recess 33 of the tension ring 16.

[0033] Referring now to Figures 8 to 11 , the gear ring 14 is shown in greater detail and comprises an annular member 13 provided with a plurality of teeth 15 on an outer surface thereof. There is a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart recesses or grooves, for example, grooves 60, 62 and 64 extending about a first side 57 of the gear ring 14. The grooves 60, 62 and 64 are curved in this example and have dovetail-shaped cross-sections which are complementary in shape to the distal portions 52, 54 and 56 of the projections 46, 48 and 50 of the front ring 12 shown in Figure 5. This allows the front ring 12 and the gear ring 14 to be coupled together as shown in Figure 13. In particular, Figure 13 shows the distal portion 56 of the projection 50 of the front ring 12 received in the groove 60 of the gear ring 14. The front ring 12 and the gear ring 14 are thereby interlocked to restrict separation thereof. [0034] Referring back to Figures 8 and 9, there are ribs 66, 68 and 70 extending adjacent to the grooves 60, 62 and 64. The ribs 66, 68 and 70 are curved in this example. One of the ribs 66 is provided with a plurality of teeth 72 as best shown in Figure 2. Referring back to Figure 8, there are further recesses extending about the gear ring 14, for example, recesses 74, 76 and 78 disposed circumferentially between the grooves 60, 62 and 64. Each of the recesses 74, 76 and 78 is provided with a corresponding one of holes 80, 82 and 84 as best shown in Figure 9. Figures 10 and 11 show a second side 59 of the gear ring 14. There is a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart recesses, for example, recesses 86, 88 and 90 extending about the second side 59 of the gear ring 14. The recesses 86, 88 and 90 are generally crescent- shaped in this example.

[0035] As best shown in Figure 12, each of the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 in this example includes a pair of arms and a gripping pad disposed at distal ends of the arms. The gripping member 18 includes a first arm 92, a second arm 94 and a gripping pad 96. The gripping member 20 includes a first arm 98, a second arm 100 and a gripping pad 102. The gripping member 22 includes a first arm 104, a second arm 106 and a gripping pad 108. The arms of the gripping members are curved in this example but may be straight in other examples. The gripping pads are substantially rectangular in shape in this example but may be other shapes in other examples. There are also springs located at distal ends of the arms of the gripping members to maintain the orientation of the gripping pads as shown by springs 116 and 118 for the gripping member 18 in Figure 14.

[0036] There is a pin at each proximal end of the first arms of the gripping members as shown by pin 99 of the first arm 98 of the gripping member 20 and pin 105 of the first arm 104 of the gripping member 22 in Figure 2. The pins are received in the holes 80, 82 and 84 of the recesses 74, 76 and 78, shown in Figure 9, to pivotably connect the first arms 92, 98 and 104 of the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 to the gear ring 14 as best shown in Figure 15. There is also a pin at each proximal end of the second arms of the gripping members as shown by pin 95 of the second arm 94 of the gripping member 18, pin 101 of the second arm 100 of the gripping member 20, and pin 107 of the second arm 106 of the gripping member 22 in Figure 2. The pins 95, 101 and 107 are received in the through holes 25, 27 and 29 of the tension ring 16, shown in Figure 7, to connect the second arms 94, 100 and 106 of the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 to the tension ring 16 via the flanges 19, 21 and 23 as best shown in Figure 15. [0037] Referring now to Figures 16 to 18, the camera lens gear 10 is shown in use with a camera lens 120. Figure 16 shows the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 of the camera lens gear 10 in a fully retracted position. As the front ring 12 is rotated relative to the gear ring 14 in a first direction indicated by arrow 122, the compression springs 110, 112 and 114, shown in Figure 15, transmit the force to the tension ring 16, thereby pushing the arms of the gripping members apart. This causes a scissor- like extension of the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 towards the center of the camera lens gear 10 as shown in Figure 17. When the gripping pads 96, 102 and 108 make contact with the camera lens 120 as shown in Figure 18, further inward movement of the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 is restricted. However, the front ring 12 can continue to be rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 122, thereby compressing the springs 110, 112 and 114 and applying a force to the camera lens gear 10. The pawl 42 and the teeth 72 on the rib 66 of the gear ring 14, shown in Figure 15, cooperate to function as a ratchet mechanism to restrict the recoil of the springs 110, 112 and 114. This results in a loaded, constant pressure system that grips the camera lens 120 concentrically. The gear ring 14 can then be rotated to adjust, for example, the focus of the camera lens. For example, Figure 18 shows the camera lens gear 10 operatively coupled to a focus ring 124 of the camera lens 120 to allow the camera lens 120 to be focused by rotating the camera lens gear 10. It will however be understood by a person skilled in the art that the camera lens gear 10 may alternatively be coupled to other portions of a camera lens such as a zoom ring or an aperture ring thereof. [0038] The camera lens gear 10 can be removed from the camera lens 120 by first depressing a lever 44 of the pawl 42, shown in Figures 2 and 15, to release the system tension. The front ring 12 can then be rotated in a second direction indicated by arrow 126 which is opposite to the first direction indicated by arrow 122. This causes the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 to retract outwardly from the center of the camera lens gear 10 to release their grip on the camera lens 120.

[0039] It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the camera lens gear disclosed herein may be used to grip camera lenses of different diameters. For example, Figure 19 shows the camera lens gear 10 gripping another camera lens 130 which has a greater diameter than the camera lens 120 shown in Figures 16 to 18. Accordingly, in this example, the gripping members 18, 20 and 22 grip the camera lens 130 in an extended position which is between the fully retracted position shown in Figure 16 and the fully extended position shown in Figure 18. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the gripping members can be extended to any position between the fully retracted position and the fully extended position.

[0040] Referring now to Figure 20, the camera lens gear 10 is shown in use with a follow focus system 140. The camera lens gear 10 is operatively coupled to a lens 142 of a camera 144 which is mounted on the follow focus system 140. In this example, the camera lens gear 10 is operatively coupled to a focus ring 146 of the lens 142. The follow focus system 140 includes a gear 148 and a knob 150. The knob 150 is linkedly connected to the gear 148 such that rotation of the knob 150 drives the gear 148. The gear 148 of the follow focus system 140 engages the gear ring 14 of the camera lens gear 10 so that rotation of the knob 150 drives the gear 148 which in turn drives the gear ring 14. As the gear ring 14 rotates, the focus ring 146 of the lens 142, which is gripped by the gripping members of the camera lens gear 10, rotates as well, thereby adjusting the focus of the lens 142. Accordingly, the lens 142 can be focused by rotating the knob 150 of the follow focus system 140.

[0041] It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that many of the details provided above are by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is to be determined with reference to the following claims.