Image-inverting system for a sighting telescope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10162167-B2
Application number	US-201715446333-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2017
Priority date	Mar 2, 2016
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

The invention concerns an image-inverting system for a sighting telescope, where the image-inverting system has at least two mutually displaceable lenses in a tube of the image-inverting system parallel to an optical axis of the image-inverting system, where displacement of the at least two displaceable lenses modifies the reproduction scale at which an image projected onto a first image plane of the image-inverting system is shown on a second image plane of the image-inverting system, where the at least two displaceable lenses are arranged in any position between the first and the second image plane, where a surface of the inside of a tube facing the optical axis having at least one absorption area with absorption zones for absorbing incident light and with sliding surfaces located between neighboring absorption zones for bearings of the at least two displaceable lenses, where the total area of the sliding surfaces is smaller than the total area of the absorption zones, where the at least one sliding surface is arranged at a different distance from the optical axis than the at least one absorption zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image-inverting system for a sighting telescope, where the image-inverting system has at least two lenses arranged in a tube of the image-inverting system, where the at least two lenses are mutually displaceable parallel to an optical axis of the image-inverting system, where displacement of the at least two displaceable lenses modifies a reproduction scale at which an image projected onto a first image plane of the image-inverting system is shown on a second image plane of the image-inverting system, characterized in that a surface of the inside of the tube facing the optical axis has at least one absorption area, wherein the absorption area comprises absorption zones for absorbing incident light and sliding surfaces located between neighboring absorption zones, said sliding surfaces support bearings of the at least two displaceable lenses, where a total area of the sliding surfaces is smaller than a total area of the absorption zones, where a distance of the sliding surfaces relative to the optical axis differs from a distance of the absorption zones relative to the optical axis.

2. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein a ratio of an area content of the at least one absorption zone and an area content of the at least one sliding surface is greater than or equal to 2:1.

3. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one absorption zone has a distance from the optical axis that is at least 30 μm larger or smaller than that of the at least one sliding surface.

4. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein a longitudinal section parallel to the optical axis of the inside of the tube has sliding surfaces and absorption zones placed alternately one after the other.

5. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one absorption zone has at least one groove running diagonally to or across the optical axis, where the at least one groove in the surface of the tube facing the optical axis is formed by removing material forming one wall of the tube, where the sliding surfaces are formed of at least one stop ridge formed of material of the wall of the tube that has not been removed.

6. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one stop ridge has a width with a value from a range between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm.

7. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one groove has a depth with a value from a range between 0.05 mm and 1 mm.

8. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one groove has a width at its widest point with a value from a range between 0.2 mm and 2 mm.

9. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one groove is formed by a screw-shaped depression in a wall of the tube on the inner surface of the tube that faces the optical axis and running around the optical axis.

10. The image-inverting system as per claim 9 , wherein at least one screw-shaped circular groove has a gradient with a value from a range between 0.2 mm and 2 mm.

11. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein an angle bisector of an opening angle of the at least one groove is slanted towards the first image plane of the image-inverting system.

12. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one groove has a leading edge in the direction of the first image plane and that merges into the least one stop ridge and a back edge running diagonally to the leading edge, where the leading edge and the back edge form an acute angle to each other and the leading edge makes an angle with the optical axis with a value taken from a range between 20° and 24°.

13. The image-inverting system according to claim 12 , wherein a transitional area between the back edge and the leading edge has a radius of curvature smaller than 0.05 mm.

14. The image-inverting system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one absorption zone has multiple grooves placed one after another in the direction of the optical axis.

15. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has a length whose value comes from a range between 80 mm and 150 mm.

16. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has an external diameter smaller than 35 mm.

17. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein a value of the reproduction scale between the first and second image plane of the image-inverting system is at least 7 in the position of the at least two displaceable lenses that corresponds to the largest magnification of the image-inverting system.

18. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the value of the reproduction scale between the first and second image plane of the image-inverting system is at least 0.9 in the position of the at least two displaceable lenses that corresponds to the smallest magnification of the image-inverting system.

19. The image-inverting system according to claim 18 , wherein the value of the reproduction scale between the first and second image plane of the image-inverting system is a maximum of 1.2, in the position of the at least two displaceable lenses that corresponds to the smallest magnification of the image-inverting system.

20. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the position of the at least two displaceable lenses that corresponds to the largest reproduction scale at which the image projected on the first image plane of the image-inverting system is shown upright and magnified on the second image plane of the image-inverting system, the at least one absorption area is located behind the at least two displaceable lenses when viewed from the direction of the at least two displaceable lenses.

21. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the bearings of the at least two displaceable lenses is executed as a tubular sleeve, where at least three glide stops are arranged on the external surface of each bearing to support the particular bearing on the surface of the inside of the tube that faces the optical axis.

22. The image-inverting system according to claim 21 , wherein the tube whose surface facing the optical axis has the at least one absorption zone has at least one longitudinal channel running parallel to the optical axis and placed in a guide rod that can be twisted around the optical axis, where the guide rod has at least two curved guide channels and each of the bearings has at least one tappet that engages both in the longitudinal channel and in one of the at least two guide channels, where the tappets of different bearings engage in different guide channels, where at least one reinforcing ring is placed touching the sheath surface of the guide rod such that it grasps the sheath surface in a ring.

23. The image-inverting system according to claim 1 , wherein the position of the first image plane and the position of the second image plane of the image-inverting system are constant, independently of the current position of the at least two displaceable lenses, viewed in the direction of the optical axis.

Assignees

• Swarovski Optik Kg

Inventors

• Öttl Peter
• Nagiller Rudolf

Classifications

• G02B23/16 Primary

  Housings; Caps; Mountings; Supports, e.g. with counterweight · CPC title

• G02B23/00 Primary

  Telescopes, e.g. binoculars; Periscopes; Instruments for viewing the inside of hollow bodies; Viewfinders; Optical aiming or sighting devices · CPC title

• G02B7/021

  for more than one lens · CPC title

• G02B7/10

  by relative axial movement of several lenses, e.g. of varifocal objective lens · CPC title

• F41G1/38

  Telescopic sights specially adapted for smallarms or ordnance (telescopic sights in general G02B); Supports or mountings therefor · CPC title