SUPPORT FOR OPTICAL EQUIPMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to supports for optical equipment and in particular to formable supports for optical equipment.

BACKGROUND ART

Typical and well known supports for optical equipment, such as still and video cameras, monoculars, binoculars and telescopes, include tripods and monopods of varying sizes. Another type of support is a formable support in the form of a container or bag which is filled with particulate matter such as rice or other grain. The bag is typically rectangular prismatic or cylindrical. Typically known to the skilled addressee as a "bean bag", the support is useful for steadying a camera thereupon on uneven surfaces, for example, a fence post, a boulder, the ground, an automobile's roof, or a windowsill of an automobile. The bean bag conforms or is relatively conformable to the surface it is placed on, while providing an upper formable surface for the camera to be pushed into for support. While useful, bean bags can be awkward to use with cameras that have extending or extendable lens, such as relatively heavy single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, where the extended lens moves the centre of gravity forward of the camera's body and makes the camera less stable. Bean bags are still able to be used with such cameras, however the user must form the bean bag to support the camera and in particular the camera's lens.

It is an object of at least one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art, or at least to provide a suitable alternative thereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a formable support for optical equipment, the support comprising a flexible container for particulate or formable material and having an outer surface, a portion of which is preformed for supporting an elongate lens structure of the optical equipment.

Preferably the support comprises a second outer surface, wherein the first mentioned outer surface is adjoined to the second outer surface, and the first outer surface is raised relative to the second outer surface.

Preferably the container comprises a first closable compartment having a first interior space and a second closable compartment having a second interior space, the first interior space being non-communicative with the second interior space, and wherein the first outer surface is a surface of the first closable compartment and the second outer surface is a surface of the second closable compartment.

Preferably the first outer surface is preformed by having an indentation for supporting the lens thereupon.

Preferably the container is closable by a zip means or a hook and loop fastening means.

Preferably, the support comprises a cover attached to the support and having a closable opening, wherein the cover is configured to be stowed within the support when the support is in use and to be drawn out from the support and inverted thereabout to enclose the support when the support is not in use. Preferably, the closable opening has draw-string means for closing the closable opening.

Preferably the support comprises at least one internal storage compartment having a closable opening on an outside surface thereof. Further preferably the storage compartment is sealed from the material. Preferably, the cover forms the storage compartment when it is within the support.

Preferably the optical equipment comprises a camera having a camera body and a lens extending from the camera body, and the second outer surface is adapted for supporting the camera body thereon. Alternatively, the optical equipment comprises a still camera, a video camera, a binocular, a monocular or a telescope.

Preferably the particulate material is at least one of sand, rice, beans, polystyrene beads, gravel, soil and grain. Preferably the formable material is formable gel.

Preferably the container is formed from one or more of a fabric, neoprene, rubber or plastic.

The spatial terms "upper", "underside", "raised", etc have been used for convenience, and are not to be taken as absolute terms but rather as relative terms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a formable support according to the present invention, with a camera illustrated thereupon in dotted outline;

Figures 2 to 5 are front, rear, plan and underside views, respectively, of the support illustrated in Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the support illustrated in Figure 1 , with a cover drawn out therefrom; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the support illustrated in Figure 1 with the cover enclosing it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Figure 1 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a formable support 10 for a camera such as a single lens reflex (SLR) camera 12 having a camera body 14 and a lens 16 extending from the camera body 14. Whereas the preferred embodiment is described for use with an SLR camera, it will be appreciated that the support 10 may be adapted to support any film or digital still or video camera with a lens extending from its respective camera body, whether or not the lens is permanently extended from its corresponding body or only extended when the camera is in use. It may also be adapted for use in supporting other optical equipment, such as monoculars, binoculars and telescopes.

Referring in particular to Figures 2 to 4, the support 10 has a first camera body support portion 18 and a lens support portion 20 attached to the camera body support portion 18. The lens support portion 20 has an outer surface in the form of a lens support surface 22 for supporting a lens 16. The lens support surface 22 is curved to abut a greater surface area of the lens than would be capable if the lens support surface 22 was flat. The curvature of the lens support surface 22 therefore aids in support of the lens.

The camera body support portion 18 has an outer surface in the form of a body support surface 24 for supporting the camera body, as illustrated in Figure 1. The lens support surface 22 is raised relative to the body support surface 24 to accommodate the shape of the camera, or the lens 16 with respect to the camera body 14.

The support 10 is a container formed from a fabric material and configured to be filled, at least partially, with particulate material. Any suitable particulate material may be used, such as sand, rice, beans, polystyrene or other beads, gravel, soil and/or grain. Other suitable particulate material may be used where appropriate. Alternatively, the container may be formed from rubber, plastic or polymer, neoprene, or other suitable flexible material. Also, in place of particulate material, formable material such as gel, or putty-like material may be used to at least partially fill the container. As such, the support 10 is formable to support a camera pushed thereinto. Also, an underside surface

26 of the support 10 is sufficiently formable to accommodate the shape of the surface upon which the support 10 is placed.

In this embodiment, the camera body support portion 18 has a separate interior space compared with the lens support portion 20, such that the particulate material of the camera body support portion 18 is kept separate from that in the lens support portion 20. Each of support portions 18 and 20 is separately tillable with particulate material. As illustrated in Figure 5, an opening 27 is provided on the underside surface 26 of the camera body support portion 18 and allows a user to fill or empty the camera body support portion 18 with particulate material. The camera body support portion opening

27 is closable using a closing means in the form of a zip 28. Similarly, as illustrated in Figure 2, the lens support portion 20 has an opening 29 which allows the user to fill the lens support portion with particulate material, the lens support portion opening 29 being closable by a closure means in the form of a zip 30. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, the camera support 10 also

comprises a cover 31 which is attached at one end to an opening 32 on the support 10, the opening 32 being closable by closure means in the form of a cover zip. The cover 31 is used to cover the support 10 when not in use. To do so, the cover 31 is drawn out from the support 10 through opening 32, as illustrated in Figure 6. It is then inverted about the support 10. A draw-string device 34 is provided at the other end of the cover 31 to close the other end, as illustrated in Figure 7. The cover 31 may be used as an internal storage compartment when stowed in the support 10. Also, when in use covering the support 10, the cover 31 may also be used as a storage compartment. Whether used as an internal storage compartment when stowed, or as a storage compartment when used as a cover, it may be useful to store photographic or related items such as photographic film, lens filters, batteries, flash memory-type storage cards (e.g. Compact Flash, Secure Digital (RTM), Multimedia Cards, Memory Sticks (RTM), etc). In an alternative embodiment, the cover 31 is adapted to store the camera when not in use. In another alternative embodiment, the cover 31 has a zip or similar closure means in place of the draw-string device 34. Therefore, when stowed and used as an internal storage compartment, it is sealed from the interior spaces of the camera body support portion 18 and lens support portion 20. Therefore, whatever may be stored within the cover 31 need not be contaminated by any particulate material contained within the camera body support portion 18 or the lens support portion 20.

The support 10 of the present embodiment is useful for supporting a camera on uneven surfaces such as unlevel or uneven ground, fence posts or fence railings, automobile windowsills, and so on. It is also useful for supporting a camera on non-level surfaces such as an automobile bonnet or roof, a non- level table, chair, etc. The formable nature of the camera support 10 allows the user to form the support 10 sufficiently stably on a surface that it is on and then to form the support 10 sufficiently about the camera by moving the camera on or pushing the camera on the support 10. Compared with the

prior art discussed above, the lens support portion 20 provides for a much more secure support of a camera on a support 10. By having a lens support portion 20 the user is able to position the support 10 on a surface and then the camera on the support 10 relatively faster and is therefore able to take a desired photograph more quickly when compared with set-up time required for the prior art support.

As will be understood, alternative arrangements of the above described embodiment can be achieved, such as having no or more than one internal storage compartment, or having only one interior space such that only one opening on the support 10 is required to fill or partially fill both the camera body support portion 18 and then lens support portion 20 with particulate material. Also, in an alternative embodiment, the support 10 is provided sealed with particulate material therein and does not include either zip 28 or zip 30. However, it is preferred that the support 10 can be emptied and filled by a user to allow the user more flexibility in terms of particulate material used to fill a support and the degree of filling of the support. That is, it may be desired in certain situations to fill the support 10 to a greater or lesser amount. Also, if the user intends to take photographs in a location where he knows suitable particulate material is available, such as on a beach where sand is available, the support 10 may be taken by the user to the photographic location with no particulate material therein and would therefore be lighter and easier to transport.

While the invention has been described in reference to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than limitation and that changes may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined by the appended claims.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes the claims)

and/or shown in the drawings may be incorporated in the invention independently of other disclosed and/or illustrated features.