Pan, tilt and roll tripod head

Claim 1

A pan, tilt and roll tripod head, comprising: a base having means for attachment to a tripod, said base having an upright post thereon; a cylindrical, diametrically split trunnion rotatably mounted on said post for panning motion about one axis; a clamp bracket journalled on said trunnion for tilt motion about another axis perpendicular to the post, said clamp bracket being split and having extended, normally separated arms; a head bracket pivotally mounted on the end of said arms remote from the trunnion for motion about a roll axis orthogonal to the pan and tilt axes; frictional locking means including a substantially cylindrical plug on said head bracket, and a socket in one of said clamp bracket arms to receive the plug, said plug and socket having a corresponding axial taper converging to the inner end of the socket; clamp means including a clamp rod passing through said plug and said clamp bracket arms and having a clamp nut bearing against the other of said arms, and a spring coupled to the clamp rod to bias said arms together and lock said plug frictionally into said socket; a trigger connected to said clamp rod for axial movemment of the clamp rod against said spring to release clamping pressure on said clamp bracket; and locking release means between said head bracket and said clamp bracket, operable by movement of the clamp rod beyong that required to release clamping pressure on the clamp bracket, to unlock the plug from frictional grip in the socket.