Lens holders and eye guard for riflescopes and the like
A snap-fit holder for a lens or optical element includes an annular collar having a shoulder supporting the optical element and a sleeve that extends from the shoulder around and beyond the optical element. An annular retaining member includes a skirt fitted into the sleeve and pressed against the optical element opposite the shoulder. The skirt may include an outwardly projecting lip that snaps into a groove or notch formed in an inner surface of the sleeve to secure the retaining member to the collar and maintain a clamping force against the optical element. A resilient insert may be interposed between the optical element and either the collar or retaining member to provide a reaction force that tends to bias the collar and retaining member apart. Also disclosed are stacked kits of holders and an eye guard riflescopes and the like, to protect a user from recoil-related eye injury.
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This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/626,969, filed Nov. 10, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe technical field relates to optical devices, such as riflescopes, telescopes, and binoculars, for example; and, in particular, to holders for optical elements and eye guards for such optical devices.
BACKGROUNDKnown lens retention devices for lens holders include (1) threaded rings screwed together around a lens to sandwich the lens therebetween, (2) a collar including a inner circumferential shoulder for supporting a first lens surface and a flange that is swaged against an opposing second lens surface, and (3) a retaining ring (typically a flat split ring made of spring steel) that seats in an inner circumferential groove of a collar, against the periphery of a surface of a lens held by the collar. These known lens holders have many disadvantages. For example, threaded rings require expensive thread tapping and chasing operations, and drive slots or holes for receiving special driving tools. Moreover, the manual twisting motion required for assembly of threaded rings is ergonomically problematic for assembly personnel. In a swaged lens holder, the swaging operation exposes the lens to potential damage, may generate and introduce grit in the optical device, and inherently results in variations in the flatness of the retaining structure that can exert uneven pressure against the lens surface. Lens holders with retention rings require special installation tooling for each size retaining ring and may subject the lens to potential damage during assembly. It may also be impossible to remove a lens from a holder of the kind that utilizes a retaining ring or swaged flange without damaging the lens.
When using a riflescope on a high recoiling rifle, a shooter may occasionally be struck in the face by the eyepiece end of the riflescope when the rifle recoils. Some prior art riflescopes include a rubber eye guard ring attached to the eyepiece end of the riflescope housing, which can protect a user's eye and face from injury. However, not all riflescopes include rubber eye guards, and in some instances a rubber eye guard may not be required or desirable.
The present inventor has identified a need for improved lens holders and eye guards.
SUMMARYIn accordance with certain embodiments disclosed herein, a holder for an optical element, such as a lens, filter, or transparent protective element, includes an annular collar having an inner shoulder for supporting the optical element. The collar also includes a sleeve that extends from the inner shoulder around and beyond the optical element. An annular retaining member includes a skirt that is sized to fit into the sleeve and press against the optical element opposite the inner shoulder. An o-ring or other resilient insert may be interposed between the optical element and the inner shoulder of the collar to provide an opposing reaction force in response to pressing of the skirt against the optical element. In some embodiments, the skirt includes an outwardly projecting lip that snaps into and engages a groove or notch formed in an inner surface of the sleeve to secure the retaining member to the collar and maintain a clamping force against the optical element. To facilitate assembly and proper alignment of the retaining member on the collar, the distal end of the skirt may include a leading outside diameter that is sized to slidably fit within a leading inside diameter of the distal end of the sleeve, and to thereby function as a pilot for the lip.
In one alternate embodiment, the collar includes a deformable sleeve that is captured in and swaged by an internal swaging slot of the retaining member to retain the retaining member against the optical element.
The sleeve may include exterior (male) threads sized to mate with female threads of another device, such as an eyepiece housing of a riflescope or other optical device, for example. At the base of the exterior threads, the holder may include a outer shoulder for seating against a device to which the holder is threadably attached. An o-ring may be fitted around the sleeve and against the outer shoulder, to facilitate a tight seal. An end of the collar opposite the sleeve may include a tubular extension including internal threads for mounting other items to the holder, such as other lens holders or a male-threaded filter or cover, for example. In a preferred embodiment, the internal threads of the tubular extension have the same pitch, diameter, and thread profile as threads to which the exterior threads of the sleeve are designed to mate, to allow multiple holders to be threadably attached in a stacked arrangement.
Eye Guard Accessory for Optical Aiming DevicesAn eye guard accessory for detachably mounting to a riflescope or other optical aiming device preferably comprises a short tubular ring having opposing first and second ends. The first end may include exterior (male) threads sized to mate with interior (female) threads of an eyepiece housing of a riflescope or other optical aiming device, and the second end supports a cushioning element. The cushioning element may comprise an annular overmolded section of soft elastomer that wraps over a rim of the second end. The overmolded elastomer may also extend over an outer shoulder of the ring located medially of the first and second ends, for seating against the end of the eyepiece housing when the eye guard accessory is threaded onto the sighting device. The tubular ring may further include, at its second end, a tubular extension that extends from the eyepiece housing of the optical aiming device, when the eye guard is installed. Internal threads may be formed in the inner surface of the tubular extension for receiving other items, such as an externally-threaded filter or eyepiece cover, for example. The internal threads of the eye guard may be of the same pitch, diameter, and thread profile as the interior threads of the eyepiece housing of the optical aiming device.
In some embodiments, the cushioning element of the eye guard is combined with a lens holder structure and retaining ring, such as the one described above.
Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Throughout the specification, reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “some embodiments” means that a particular described feature, structure, or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment. Thus appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” or “in some embodiments” in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described devices, features, structures, and characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventions can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In some instances, well-known structures, materials, and operations are omitted or not described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the embodiments.
With reference to
Collar 120 and retaining member 140 are preferably made of a durable material, such as metal or high-strength plastic, but may also be made of other materials. Collar and retaining member 140 may be formed of an aluminum alloy to match a rate of thermal expansion of common aluminum alloy housings used for optical devices such as riflescopes. Optical element 110 is preferably formed of an optical material, such as optical glass or plastic. Resilient insert 150 may be made from a synthetic rubber or other elastomeric material that is chemically stable. However, any of a variety of materials commonly used for o-rings and other resilient sealing members may be used for resilient insert 150.
With reference to
Lip 160 may encircle skirt 144 to provide an even distribution of clamping force around the periphery of optical element 110. However, in alternative embodiments (not shown), lip 160 may comprise a plurality of bumps or pawls distributed around skirt 144, which fit in notches formed in sleeve 130, or vice versa. In still other embodiments, lip 160 and groove 166 are formed elsewhere on collar 120 and retaining member 140. For example, in one embodiment (not shown), retaining member 140 includes an outer skirt portion that extends around sleeve 130 and that includes an inner groove that engages an outwardly projecting lip encircling the outer surface of sleeve 130.
Internal swaging slot 196 advantageously may prevent optical element 110 from being subjected to damage during swaging. The depth of internal swaging slot 196 may also be carefully selected to tightly fit swage rib 190 and prevent inadvertent overtravel of retaining member 140″. The embodiment of
With reference to
For purposes of the claims, the term “lens” should be construed to include conventional lenses having one or more curved surfaces for causing light to diverge or converge, as well as flat optical elements such as filters, protective window elements, and other flat circular or non-circular disc-shaped optical elements. Moreover, although the embodiments shown in the figures include optical elements that are circular and lens holders having cylindrical-shapes, the scope of the disclosure is intended encompass non-circular optical elements and non-circular and non-cylindrical lens holders, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Sleeve 130 may include external (male) threads 220 sized to mate with female threads of another device (not shown), such as an eyepiece housing of a riflescope or other optical device, for example. At the base of external threads 220, holder 100 may include an outer shoulder 230 for seating against a device to which the holder 100 is threadably attached. In the embodiments of
Tubular extension 260 may include internal threads 270 for mounting other items to holder 100, such as other lens holders or a male-threaded filter or cover, for example. In a preferred embodiment, internal threads 270 have the same pitch, diameter, and thread profile as the female threads to which male external threads 220 of sleeve 130 are designed to mate. The alternating external threads 220 and internal threads 270 of holder 100 allow multiple like holders to be threadably attached in a stacked arrangement, as shown in
With reference to
Second end 328 supports a cushioning element 340 (corresponding to elastomeric layer 250 of
Tubular ring 310 may further include, at its second end 328, a radially outwardly stepped tubular extension 356 that projects axially (i.e. longitudinally) from the eyepiece housing of the optical aiming device when eye guard 300 is installed. Internal threads 326 of eye guard 300 may be of the same pitch, diameter, and thread profile as the interior threads of the eyepiece housing of the optical aiming device. Alternatively, internal threads 326 may be of a size that is different from the interior threads of the eyepiece housing, such that the eye guard 300 functions as a thread converter for the optical aiming device.
It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the claims.
Claims
1. A snap-fit holder for an optical element having opposing first and second faces, comprising:
- an annular collar including an inner shoulder for supporting the first face of the optical element via a periphery thereof, and a sleeve that extends from the inner shoulder and around the optical element, the sleeve including an inner surface having a groove or notch formed therein;
- an annular retaining member including a skirt sized to fit into the sleeve and press against a periphery of the second face of the optical element opposite the inner shoulder, and an outwardly-projecting lip that engages the groove or notch; and
- a resilient member interposed between the holder and the optical element.
2. The holder of claim 1, wherein the sleeve is tubular.
3. The holder of claim 1, wherein the skirt is tubular.
4. The holder of claim 1, wherein the skirt and the sleeve are both circular.
5. The holder of claim 1, wherein the collar or the retaining member, or both, are formed of a metal.
6. The holder of claim 5, wherein the metal includes an aluminum alloy.
7. The holder of claim 1, wherein the collar or the retaining member, or both, are formed of a plastic resin.
8. The holder of claim 1, wherein the sleeve includes an outer surface on which male threads are formed.
9. The holder of claim 8, wherein the collar further comprises an outer shoulder located at the base of the male threads.
10. The holder of claim 1, wherein the collar further comprises a tubular extension opposite the sleeve.
11. The holder of claim 10, further comprising an elastomeric material molded around the tubular extension.
12. The holder of claim 8, wherein the collar further comprises:
- an outer shoulder located at the base of the male threads;
- a tubular extension opposite the sleeve; and
- an elastomeric material molded around the tubular extension and the outer shoulder.
13. The holder of claim 10, wherein female threads are formed in an inner surface of the tubular extension.
14. The holder of claim 10, wherein:
- the sleeve includes an outer surface on which male threads are formed to mate with threads in an optical device of a first pitch and diameter; and
- the female threads have a second pitch and diameter that is the same as the first pitch and diameter.
15. The holder of claim 10, wherein:
- the sleeve includes an outer surface on which male threads are formed to mate with threads in an optical device of a first pitch; and
- the female threads have a second pitch that is the different from the first pitch.
16. The holder of claim 1, wherein the resilient element comprises an o-ring positioned between the inner shoulder of the collar and the first face of the optical element.
17. The holder of claim 1, wherein the resilient element provides a water-tight seal between the optical element and the collar.
18. The holder of claim 1, wherein:
- the inner shoulder includes a retaining channel facing the optical element, and the resilient element is seated in the retaining channel.
19. The holder of claim 1, wherein the retaining member further includes a flange extending radially outward from the skirt.
20. A snap-fit holder for an optical element having opposing first and second faces, comprising:
- an annular collar including an inner shoulder for supporting the first face of the optical element via a periphery thereof, and a sleeve that extends from the inner shoulder and around the optical element, the sleeve including an inner surface having an inwardly-projecting lip;
- an annular retaining member including a skirt sized to fit into the sleeve and press against a periphery of the second face of the optical element opposite the inner shoulder, the skirt including a groove formed therein that engages with the lip of the sleeve to retain the collar and retaining member together about the optical element; and
- a resilient member interposed between the holder and the optical element.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 10, 2005
Publication Date: May 11, 2006
Applicant: Leupold & Stevens, Inc. (Beaverton, OR)
Inventor: Daniel Campean (Portland, OR)
Application Number: 11/271,049
International Classification: G02B 7/02 (20060101);