Optical: systems and elements – Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels – By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-27
2001-06-19
Ben, Loha (Department: 2873)
Optical: systems and elements
Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels
By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
C359S632000, C359S815000, C359S409000, C359S809000, C002S006200, C002S006300, C002S414000, C002S442000, C345S008000, C352S039000, C352S057000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249386
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to helmet mounted appliances generally and more particularly to helmet mounted personal viewing systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Helmets are general head gear for a variety of mobile vehicles users, including from bicyclists, motorcyclists, pilots, etc. Generally, professional and military pilots of rotary-winged and fixed-winged aircraft have personally fitted helmets. Due to variation in body dimensions, such as different head size or eye location, attachments to the helmet which require precise positioning are custom fitted per pilot at the time of usage.
Among the attachments which require precise positioning are optical systems, such as night vision goggles and helmet mounted displays. In general, eye levels usually vary both horizontally and vertically; the inter-pupilary distance (IPD) (the distance between the two eyes) varies from between 52 to 72 mm, and the frontal position (the distance from the helmet edge to the eye line) varies by a similar range. Both these variants are products of varying head shape and size.
To date, helmet mounted displays are mounted onto the helmet by one of two methods. Option one entails an optical unit permanently mounted onto the helmet. In such a case, the optical unit id designed large enough to fit most users, and hence is usually excessively large and heavy.
The second option is to use a removable adaptable optical unit which is mounted onto the helmet before use and then adjusted to the personal dimensions of each user. This option, however, requires readjusting and repositioning the optical unit each and every time the optical unit is removed from the helmet of one user and remounted onto the helmet of another, as is frequently done with military platforms. Since it is common practice for one pilot to step out of the cockpit while another waits to get in, this time consuming procedure is routinely carried out numerous times per day.
An additional disadvantage of the removable adaptable optical unit is the excessive wear and tear on the connecting elements. If the connecting elements are produced to meet light weight requirements, they wear quickly; if the elements are produced to withstand constant removal, they generally are exceedingly heavy for comfortable wear.
Night vision goggles have an added difficulty. In order to produce a light weight unit, most night vision goggles have numerous plastic parts, such as plastic screws. The plastic parts are not especially durable under multiple adjustments and stresses, and deteriorate with each remount and subsequent readjustment of the system.
Two examples of prior art helmet mounted systems are described in EPO patent 0675692 B1 and French patent application 268866, both of which describe adjustable helmet mounted optical systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mount for an optical assembly for helmet mounted applications.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical and mount assembly which is removable, transferable from one helmet to another helmet, and which does not require readjustment before operation.
There is thus provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a helmet mounted system including a helmet which is custom fitted to a user, an optical system which is removably attachable to the helmet, an attachment which is fixedly attached to the optical system, and a mount which is custom fitted and fixedly attached to the helmet. The mount is located on the helmet such that once the attachment is snap-fit onto the mount, the optical system is in place for use by the user, without any further adjustment.
The system also includes an electrical connection connected to the optical system. Additionally the helmet is configured for use by any of the following group of users including a pilot, a motorcyclist, or a bicyclist. Furthermore, the optical system includes any of the following group including an image intensifier, a day
ight optical system, a monocular, a binocular, a binocular, a camera, an image intensifier/charge coupling device, a display, or any optical relay system used for optical image eye transfer from direct or indirect optical source/electro-optic.
There is therefore provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for pre-adjusting a helmet mounted system for a user, and including the steps of having a helmet custom fitted to a user's head, custom fitting a mount to the helmet; and attaching an optical system to the mount, thereby placing the optical system in place for use by the user, without additional adjustment.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3956773 (1976-05-01), Chisum
patent: 4100320 (1978-07-01), Chisum
patent: 4461553 (1984-07-01), Doerr et al.
patent: 5581806 (1996-12-01), Capdepuy et al.
patent: 5752276 (1998-05-01), Baudou et al.
patent: 5786932 (1998-07-01), Pniel
patent: 5914816 (1999-06-01), Soto et al.
patent: 5943174 (1999-08-01), Bryant et al.
patent: 6008779 (1999-12-01), Ellis
patent: 0675692 B1 (1993-12-01), None
patent: 2688661 (1992-03-01), None
Yaeli Joseph
Yona Zvi
Ben Loha
Eitan Pearl Latzer & Cohen-Zedek
Elbit Systems Ltd.
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