Dual focal plane reticles for optical sighting device

Abstract

To provide an optical sighting device.SOLUTION: A dual focal plane optical sighting device, such as a riflescope, has two focal planes with a first reticle at the first focal plane and a second reticle at the second focal plane. The reticle at the first focal plane is a glass etched reticle; the reticle at the second focal plane is a wire reticle. The two reticles have different patterns or markings providing the appearance of a single reticle or complementary markings when viewed through the optical sighting device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure, i.e., the present invention, generally relates to optical aiming devices for small firearms. In particular, the present invention relates to a reticle used in a dual focal plane optical aiming device.

[0002]

Description of Related Applications

Background Art

[0003] A reticle is used in an optical aiming system that aims at an object to measure the distance or size of the object. Various types of reticles can be used in optical aiming devices, such as a rifle scope (rifle telescopic sight). Wire crosshairs have been used for reticles for many years.

[0004] More recently, glass-etched reticles have become popular in aiming devices used in the civilian, military, and law enforcement markets. A glass-etched reticle is a piece of glass with a pattern etched therein, and various substances can then be deposited into the etched pattern using a deposition chamber. In the case of black features, chromium is commonly used. For "illuminated" features, titanium dioxide or sodium silicate is commonly used. This fine powder reflects light from an LED positioned at the edge of the reticle housing and out of the user's field of view and directs it towards the user's eye, making the reticle pattern appear illuminated, and thus easier to see even in low light situations.

[0005] Most optical aiming devices with variable magnification have two focal planes. Generally, the reticle can be placed at the first focal plane, the second focal plane, or both. Both the first focal plane reticle and the second focal plane reticle have significant advantages and disadvantages.

[0006] The first focal plane reticle generally has small features where the wires are too thick to normally use wire reticles. Therefore, glass etching reticles are generally used for the first focal plane reticle. Since the first focal plane is located in front of the zoom magnification system (i.e., the erector system), the reticle and the image change in size proportionally to each other. As the image gets larger, the information regarding the reticle increases at the same rate. One advantage in this regard is that any measurement mark on the reticle is accurate at any magnification setting value selected by the user. When the image is magnified, the information regarding the reticle appears to increase at the same rate as the image, and thus all reticle markings are accurate according to the designed measurement scale. However, one disadvantage is that when the lines making up the reticle become too thick for the user's eye, much of the observable area is hidden, making it difficult to see small targets. If the lines are made in a state where they are too thin, at low magnification (desirable for a wide field of view and moving targets), these lines are too thin to be clearly visible. On the other hand, if the lines are thick enough to work well at low magnification, these lines may appear too thick at high magnification.

[0007] In contrast, with the second focal plane reticle, the advantages and disadvantages are generally the reverse of those of the first focal plane reticle. The second focal plane reticle cannot be adjusted in terms of size or scale when the magnification of the image is changed, because the second focal plane reticle is placed behind the erector system. Therefore, the second focal plane reticle is generally sized to a specific magnification setting of the rifle scope. In order for the measurement marks on the second focal plane reticle to be accurate, the scope must be set to the exact magnification setting for which the given reticle is designed. Therefore, in order to use the measurement marks at a different magnification, the user will need to mathematically calculate the difference to enable accurate use. Since the thickness of the lines on the second focal plane reticle does not change with the magnification setting, it is advisable to optimize these lines to the desired thickness, and at any magnification, these lines will appear to the user's eye to be the same thickness.

[0008] There are some notable trends in current aiming devices. For example, there is a trend towards aiming devices having an expanded magnification range (range). It is not uncommon for a scope to have a 6X magnification range, and some scopes even have a magnification range of 10X or more. As the magnification range increases, it becomes difficult to optimize the line thickness of the reticle used within the first focal plane, because there is a very large change in the reticle line size beyond the magnification range. Another trend is to use one optical aiming device for both long-range and close-range situations. The increase in the zoom range can provide one optical aiming device that can be used for both very close and very remote situations. However, due to the advantages and disadvantages described above, it is difficult to find a reticle that is optimal for both long-range and close-range situations.

[0009] In recent years, certain optical sighting devices have used a dual focal plane reticle. This means that the device has two reticles, with one reticle located at each of a first and a second focal plane. Generally, most dual-purpose (close and far applications) reticles have vertical and horizontal stadia lines with hash marks or some other shape indicating a particular angular measurement (e.g., minutes of angle or milliradians) for long range shots. For short range shooting, simple dots, horseshoes, broken circles, or some other marking are preferred. In all dual focal plane optical sighting devices known to the inventor at the present time, both reticles are glass etched reticles.

[0010] Reticle illumination has been used in traditional forms of riflescopes for many years, but there were lighting problems. An explanation of glass reticle technology is a useful technical background. Several years ago, glass reticles were invented because these glass reticles had the advantage of enabling the realization of "floating" reticle features. The term "floating", when applied to a reticle, means that any design can be placed on the glass without using any other physical support, i.e., this design does not need to be connected. A floating reticle is different from a wire reticle because in a wire reticle, all reticle features need to be supported by connecting them to the frame in some way, very similar to a stencil or a neon sign. Glass reticles allow any imaginable pattern. As described above, a glass reticle marker etches the glass in a pattern and then fills the etched areas with various other substances depending on different factors. Generally, chromium is used as a substance to fill the etched part so that it can be used for non-illuminated features. For the features to be illuminated, glass reticle markers generally use a reflective material such as titanium dioxide or sodium silicate (not limited to these). Usually, a glass reticle has a second glass piece joined over the reticle pattern to protect the pattern, thereby creating a doublet.

[0011] However, most glass illumination reticles are not bright enough to be used under bright daylight conditions, because current technology cannot make them bright enough. Although there are exceptions to this general view, glass illumination reticles also have drawbacks. In traditional reticle illumination methods, it is necessary to use LEDs arranged at the edges of the glass reticle. The light from the LEDs is reflected by a reflective material and travels towards the observer's eyes, thus creating an illumination pattern. As a result of adopting this method, a desirable illumination pattern can be obtained in situations where there is only a small amount of light. However, titanium dioxide and sodium silicate are, in fact, extremely finely pulverized powders of these materials. When the light from the LEDs hits these substances, the light scatters in all directions. A portion of that light reaches the user's eyes. However, this is clearly inefficient because it scatters the light in all directions. As a result, for the case of bright daylight conditions, the reflected light is not sufficient.

[0012] Another technique for providing bright illumination is to create a bright central dot or other shape using light sent through an optical fiber to the center of the reticle. This is currently used, for example, in the Vortex Razor 1-6×24 scope. The light sent through the optical fiber may be ambient light or may be provided by an LED or other suitable light source. When the optical fiber is illuminated by an LED, as a result, the reticle is extremely bright and visible even in bright daylight and does not become dark even when the user moves their head off-axis. The problem with this design is that this design can only be used on the second focal plane. The reason is that in order to place it on the first focal plane, the shape to be illuminated needs to be extremely small in order to appear of the correct size to the user, and it is difficult to make the optical fiber thin enough or at least difficult to make the central dot small. Also, using an optical fiber makes it difficult to use glass reticle technology by making the optical fiber cable invisible to the observer, and such an optical fiber cable obstructs the field of view and distracts attention. Furthermore, the optical fiber has the drawback that it can only illuminate a central dot or chevron or other similarly small and compact shape. However, separating real objects is extremely difficult without using multiple optical fibers. As a result of adopting other forms of illumination, a reticle pattern or central pattern that is sufficiently illuminated in addition to a single dot may occur. For example, a wire reticle with an optical fiber illuminated by an LED is used.

[0013] Another system used for bright illumination patterns is a diffraction grating reticle. Swarovski uses a diffraction grating reticle in its Z6 line of scopes. This technology produces a very bright central dot. The problem lies in the way light is brought to the diffraction pattern. U.S. Patent No. 7,804,643 (B2) discloses a prism system that reflects light towards the diffraction pattern to produce a bright central dot. The problem with this design is that it utilizes a relatively large prism system that needs to be placed on the edge of the scope housing. This configuration makes it difficult to place the illuminated reticle within the first focal plane, because the large housing by its nature may well obstruct the scope turret. Another problem with this design is that the reticle moves more significantly within the first focal plane while the turret is being adjusted. Since the prism functions to focus the light onto the diffraction pattern, this design requires focusing onto a "moving target", which means that the reflected light may not always be properly aimed onto the diffraction reticle pattern. Even if this prism configuration is made to work within the first focal plane, the problem of providing an undesirably large housing on the scope body will still exist.

[0014] There is also a technology that uses a lens in connection with very tight tolerances to use a diffraction grating reticle within the first focal plane. This provides the desired daylight brightness within the first focal plane, but when the user moves their head off-axis, the brightness is lost and in some cases the scope goes almost completely dark.

[0015] Alignment of dual focal plane reticles is also a challenge. In many dual focal plane reticles, both reticles include vertical and / or horizontal stadia lines or markings (including but not limited to) that include a "crosshair" line. Additionally, the reticles typically also employ other markings (including but not limited to) such as subtension markings, hash marks, dots, horseshoes or other shapes or patterns. Such markings can provide the shooter with information including (but not limited to) the measured distance, object size, and how to compensate for holdover and crosswind. Providing lines or markings on both reticles makes alignment of the reticles with respect to each other extremely important. If the reticles are misaligned for any reason, the user may see two sets of crosshairs and subtension marks that confuse the shooter and distract the shooter. Such misalignment can occur because the reticles are physically misaligned or because the user simply turns their head off-axis.

[0016] Illuminated reticles have been used for many years, but such reticles are not fully optimized. For example, the use of transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) screens or other electronic reticles is already known in the prior art, but improvements have been made to this technology. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0033746 discloses transparent OLED screen reticles as well as other forms of electronic reticles and various electronic reticle shapes. However, one problem with electronic reticles including OLED reticles is that when the battery power runs out, the reticle is also the same. In this situation, there is no aiming option. Another drawback is that it can be complicated to connect the OLED screen to match the magnification. Such problems increase the risk of failure as well as cost and complexity.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0017] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 7,804,643 (B2) [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0033746 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0018] Therefore, there is a need for a dual focal plane reticle that eliminates the alignment problem that exists when both the first focal plane reticle and the second focal plane reticle include crosshairs and other marks. There is also a need for a reticle and reticle options with improved illumination conditions. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0019] The optical aiming device has an objective lens system, an eyepiece lens, and an erector lens system with a central axis that forms an optical system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane. The first focal plane is located near the objective lens system, and the second focal plane is located near the eyepiece lens. The optical system has a first reticle located at the first focal plane and a second reticle located at the second focal plane. The reticle at the first focal plane is a glass etching reticle, and the reticle at the second focal plane is a wire reticle. The first reticle and the second reticle have at least one first marking and at least one second marking that complement each other to create the appearance of a single reticle when viewed along the central axis.

[0020] Another embodiment of the present invention is an optical lens system including a main body having a central axis, an objective lens system provided in the main body, and an eyepiece lens also provided in the main body. The objective lens system and the eyepiece lens are part of an erector lens system including a first focal plane and a second focal plane. A first reticle is disposed at the first focal plane, and a second reticle which is a wire reticle is disposed at the second focal plane. The first reticle includes at least one first marking, and the second reticle includes at least one second marking. The first marking and the second marking do not overlap with each other when viewed along the central axis.

[0021] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is an optical system for an optical sighting device including an objective lens system, an erector system, and an eyepiece lens. A glass etching reticle having a marking pattern is disposed at the first focal plane between the objective lens system and the erector system. A wire reticle having stadia lines is disposed at the second focal plane between the erector system and the eyepiece lens. The glass etching reticle and the wire reticle are aligned such that when the reticles are viewed through the eyepiece lens, the marking pattern of the glass etching reticle appears to be superimposed on the stadia lines of the wire reticle.

[0022] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, one or more aspects of the present invention can achieve a certain specific purpose, while one or more other aspects can bring about the achievement of a certain other specific purpose. Other objects, other features, other benefits and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in the description of the summary and disclosed embodiments of this invention. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above content and any reasonable inferences drawn from such content with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

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Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary double focal plane optical aiming device 10 including a scope body 12, an objective lens side end 40, and an eyepiece lens side end 50. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the aiming device of FIG. 1, showing the basic components of the optical system 14 and the movable optical element 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical system 14 includes an objective lens system 16, an erector system 25, and an eyepiece lens 18. FIG. 2 shows a rifle scope embodiment of the present invention having a body 12, but the optical system 14 can also be used in other types of aiming devices. The erector system 25 may be provided within the movable optical element 15. In FIG. 2, the movable optical element 15 further includes a collector 22 and a first focal plane reticle 55 and a second focal plane reticle 57. In use, the movable optical element 15 is adjusted by adjusting the turret assembly 28 and the turret screw 29.

[0025] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the optical system 14, showing how light rays move through the optical system 14. The optical system 14 may include additional optical components, such as a collector 22, and it is well known in the art that certain components, such as the objective lens system 16, the erector system 25, and the eyepiece lens 18, may themselves have a number of components or lenses. The illustrated optical system 14 is depicted as a basic form for the description of an embodiment of the present invention, but it should be noted that other optical system variations with more or fewer structural components than this are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the basic components of an embodiment of a dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 having an objective lens side end 40 and an eyepiece lens side end 50. The focal plane located near the objective lens side end 40 is the first focal plane 20 (FFP). The focal plane located near the eyepiece lens side end is the second focal plane 30 (SFF). Light enters the objective lens side end 40, passes through the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10, and proceeds through the eyepiece lens side end 50. As the light passes through the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10, the light is focused to form a clear image for the user's eye at the first focal plane 20 and the second focal plane 30. Magnification occurs in the erector system 25 disposed between the first focal plane and the second focal plane. Figure 4 further shows a controller 82 and a switch 84 as optional components. The controller 82 may have a chip with memory for storing various reticle patterns or other information used by the device.

[0027] In one embodiment of the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10, a glass reticle 60 (e.g., a glass etching reticle) is positioned at the first focal plane 20, and an electronic reticle 70 (e.g., an OLED reticle) is positioned at the second focal plane 30. The pattern applied to the glass reticle 60 may be, for example, a crosshair with hash marks, and the pattern of the electronic reticle 70 may be dots as seen in FIG. 6. It should be understood that many other forms and shapes of reticle patterns may also be used.

[0028] In an alternative embodiment, the electronic reticle 70 is disposed on the same focal plane as the glass reticle 60. In yet another alternative embodiment, the electronic reticle 70 is positioned at the first focal plane 20 and the glass reticle 60 is positioned at the second focal plane 30. In additional embodiments, a wire reticle may be used at any of the focal plane positions.

[0029] In any dual focal plane optical sight, the two reticles must be properly aligned so that when they are observed by the user from the eyepiece, they appear to be in alignment as can be understood in FIG. 8. If they are not properly aligned, the reticles may appear misaligned to the user's eye as shown in FIG. 5. If the alignment of the first focal plane reticle and the second focal plane reticle is off by just a fraction of a millimeter, this condition will be immediately noticeable to the user. When the two reticles are correctly aligned, this condition is referred to as the "true position".

[0030] In the dual focal plane optical aiming device 10, the first focal plane 20 and the second focal plane 30 are preferably located at a considerable distance from each other, and the reticles themselves are physically quite small (however, through the eyepiece, these reticles may appear large). For example, a glass etching reticle is about 10 microns as a whole, and some reticles have lines with a thickness of 0.005 mm. In another embodiment, the first focal plane and the second focal plane may be separated by a length of 50 to 100 mm within the body of the aiming device. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain an accurate alignment state over this distance. For the alignment of such small reticles, extremely slight movement is required. In the case where the dual focal plane optical aiming device includes two glass etching reticles, the alignment must be mechanically performed with high precision, which is difficult to achieve and costly. As a variant, when the dual focal plane optical aiming device includes two electronic reticles, as a result of a power outage, the reticles do not appear at all. Thus, one advantage of providing one glass reticle 60 and one electronic reticle 70 in the dual focal plane optical aiming device 10 is that the complexity and cost of mechanically aligning the two reticles are reduced. The dual reticle alignment method can be simplified by having few or even no mechanical alignment means required depending on the manufacturing process used. For example, the electronic reticle 70 can be aligned digitally with the glass etching reticle 60 using a computerized or automated process. Some OLED screen reticles have a gas of less than 5 microns. This is about half of the line width of the glass reticle, so it is easy to align the digital reticle. Furthermore, when a power outage occurs in the optical aiming device, the glass reticle remains visible to the eye and remains in a state of serving as a backup aiming solution.

[0031] The dual focal plane optical sight 10 may further include, for example, a memory chip or an internal processor within the controller 82, and this optical sight has various electronic reticle options, such as the dots in FIG. 6, the broken circles in FIG. 5, or the horseshoe shape. Additionally, by using a user interface, such as a screen or a dial, it is possible to switch between various reticle options. Once the two reticles in the dual focal plane optical sight 10 are aligned digitally, the electronic reticle options can be optimized to work with the glass reticle 60 to provide the user with many reticle options to choose from.

[0032] In some embodiments, it can be said that the optical sight 10 is particularly useful for firearms that can accommodate both supersonic and subsonic bullets. For example, the.300 Blackout bullet is a bullet that can be used in any way, although in other rifles, it is advisable to use different bullets according to each function. Supersonic is fast and carries a lot of energy. Subsonic is very quiet, especially when used in a suppressor or silencer attached to a rifle. A certain shooter, such as a specific special operations shooter, prefers to have both options and also prefers to exchange the bullet types used based on the mission.

[0033] The optical sight 10 of the present invention can accommodate this compatibility. In one embodiment, the optical sight 10 is adapted to be used with supersonic and subsonic bullets. The optical sight 10 may preferably have a controller 82 including a memory chip or an internal processor that displays at least two marking patterns on the electronic reticle. The first pattern 75 indicates a holdover or angle marking for supersonic bullets, and the second pattern 80 indicates a holdover or angle marking for subsonic bullets. The second pattern has a greater spacing between markings than the first pattern.

[0034] Further, when the glass reticle 60 is in a second focal plane with several hash marks and the electronic reticle 70 is in the first focal plane, a switch 84 provided on the riflescope changes a series of drop dots or other "holdover" aiming points or angular markings based on the bullet being used (supersonic versus subsonic). Using different colors, shapes, or any combination thereof, the holdover features can be distinguished from each other depending on whether supersonic or subsonic is selected. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, pressing the switch 84 provided on the side of the device 10 causes the dots to change between a supersonic pattern (FIG. 7) and a subsonic pattern (FIG. 8). The supersonic and subsonic patterns can also be illuminated in different colors from each other to further distinguish them. Any combination of color and / or shape can be used to distinguish and show supersonic and subsonic. Since the subsonic is the slower bullet, this bullet will exhibit a greater bullet drop over a given distance than the supersonic bullet. As a result, the holdover dots need to be spaced further apart as shown by comparing FIGS. 7 and 8, the purpose of which is to accommodate this greater bullet drop. Also in this case, one advantage of the second focal plane reticle shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 with glass etching markings is that even when the battery power runs out (and thus the illuminated dots from the first focal plane reticle are not available), the shooter still benefits from the second focal plane reticle for reference.

[0035] Regarding any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the glass etching or non - electronic reticle may further have hashed basic angular markings (MOA or MRAD) to be usable even when the battery power runs out, and the dots correspond to the cross - wind speed.

[0036] To solve the above alignment problem, it is preferable to separate the elements of the reticle in the first and second focal planes and overlay these elements on each other so that the reticle markings in the first focal plane and the reticle markings in the second focal plane have a complementary shape. An example of this alignment problem is shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, which show views through an optical sighting device 10 including a first focal plane reticle 100 and a second focal plane reticle 200. As shown in FIG. 9, the first focal plane reticle 100 (FIG. 9A) is disposed at the first focal plane 20, and the second focal plane reticle 200 (FIG. 9B) is disposed at the second focal plane 30. The first focal plane reticle 100 has first focal plane vertical and horizontal stadia lines 102, 104. The second focal plane reticle 200 has second focal plane vertical and horizontal stadia lines 202, 204. FIG. 9C shows the optical sighting device 10 in the zoomed-out position, and the reticles 100, 200 are in a completely aligned state. In the illustrated embodiment, the first focal plane reticle 100 further has a plurality of subtense marks 106, and the attached numbers 108 are distributed and arranged along the stadia lines 102, 104.

[0037] When the reticles 100, 200 are in perfect alignment, the first focal plane stadia lines 102, 104 are indistinguishable from the second stadia lines 202, 204. However, if the reticles 100, 200 are out of alignment for any reason (including when the user simply moves their line of sight out of perfect alignment with the central axis 150 of the optical sight 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2)), the user is provided with a view similar to that in FIG. 10, which shows the first focal plane stadia lines 102, 104 that are visibly separate from the second focal plane stadia lines 202, 204. A view similar to that in FIG. 10 is particularly confusing for the user because all the lines are of the same thickness, and it is not immediately obvious which stadia lines belong to which reticle. When the optical sight 10 is zoomed in, as shown for example in FIG. 11, the first focal plane stadia lines 102, 104, the subtense lines 106, the numbers 108, and any other markings increase in size and thickness, while the second focal plane stadia lines 202, 204 and the target dots 206 do not change. The increase in the thickness of the lines on the first focal plane reticle 100 tends to make the field of view less visible than the user might prefer.

[0038] FIGS. 12 and 13 show a solution to the above alignment problem, namely, separating the reticle elements in the first and second focal planes so that the markings in the first and second focal planes overlap or form complementary shapes when viewed through the device eyepiece. FIG. 12 shows a glass etched reticle 300 that has subtense lines 302 and numbers 304 but no stadia lines. The glass etched reticle 300 is difficult to use by itself. Of course, any other suitable markings may be provided on the glass etched reticle 300 without departing from the scope of the invention. In this embodiment, the glass etched reticle 300 is disposed at the first focal plane 20.

[0039] FIG. 13 shows a wire reticle 400 having vertical and horizontal stadia lines 402, 404 and a target dot 406. The wire reticle 400 has no subtense lines at all, and this wire reticle is disposed at the second focal plane 30 in this embodiment. In one embodiment of the present invention, the wire reticle 400 may include an illuminated target dot 406. As shown in FIG. 13A, the illuminated target dot 406 may be illuminated by an optical fiber 408, and the optical fiber 408 may be aligned with and follow along one of the stadia lines 402, 404. The optical fiber 408 shown in FIG. 13A is exaggerated so that it can be seen in the figure, but in reality, the optical fiber is made invisible within the wire stadia lines 402, 404 and is not visible to the user except for the illuminated target dot 406. In the illustrated embodiment, the optical fiber 408 is positioned in front of the vertical stadia line 404, but this optical fiber may be positioned in front of the horizontal stadia line 402 or any other wire provided on the wire reticle 400, and this does not depart from the scope of the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 13B is a side view of the optical fiber 408 and the target dot 406, which appears as a bright dot to the user when the LED 410 is illuminated. The LED 410 is preferably powered by a battery and the LED can be of any suitable color. It is also possible to provide an LED 410 whose color can be changed, and the user can select a preferred color. One end of the optical fiber 408 may optionally include an optical collector 412 that serves as a funnel-shaped device to capture as much light 414 as possible. The other end of the optical fiber 408 is cut at an angle of 45°, and this cut reflects the light that has passed through the optical fiber towards the user's eye. The light 414 is collected by the optical collector 412, passes through the optical fiber 408, is reflected by the target dot 406, and then travels to the user's eye. The target dot 406 that appears to the observer is actually the light 414 reflected by the 45° cut at the end of the optical fiber 408. When the light passes through the optical fiber 408, this light illuminates the end of the optical fiber on the side opposite the light source. Thus, in a modified embodiment, the optical fiber 408 may have a 90° bend at the location of the target dot 406, so that the end of the optical fiber 408 on the side opposite the light source faces the user's eye without the need to cut the optical fiber at an angle. The LED 410 is here described as illuminating the target dot 406 in the illustrated embodiment, but any suitable light source, such as a prism, an OLED system, other non-LED lamps, can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention, or illumination may be performed by shining ambient light on a loop of the optical fiber 408, collecting the ambient light, and sending it to the target dot 406.

[0041] By aligning the glass etching reticle 300 and the wire reticle 400, an illusion of observing a single reticle is created when viewed through the optical aiming device 10. Different from the existing dual focal plane optical aiming devices having reticles with markings overlapping each other as described above, by using the glass etching reticle 300 in combination with the wire reticle 400, problems such as double vision as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 are eliminated.

[0042] FIG. 14 is a view seen through the dual focal plane optical aiming device 10 of the present invention, showing a state where the glass etching reticle 300 (FIG. 12) and the wire reticle 400 (FIG. 13) are in a perfect alignment state and the optical aiming device is in the zoom-out position. The figure shown in FIG. 14 is substantially the same as the figure shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 15 is another view seen through the dual focal plane optical aiming device 10, showing a state where this dual focal plane optical aiming device is in the zoom-in position. In the zoom-in position, the marks on the glass etching reticle 300 are increased in size and thickness, but the stadia lines 402, 404 and the target dot 406 on the wire reticle 400 remain the same size. FIG. 15 also shows the reticles 300, 400 in a perfect alignment state.

[0043] FIG. 16 shows a state that occurs when the reticles 300, 400 are in a misaligned state or when the user moves their line of sight off-axis and the optical aiming device 10 is in the zoom-out position. Unlike the figure of FIG. 10 when there are two pairs of stadia lines 102, 104, 202, 204 that the user has to identify, the stadia lines are provided only on the wire reticle 400. Thus, even in a slight misaligned state as shown in FIG. 16 where this clarity is much lower, the optical aiming device 10 remains easily usable. The same is true when the optical aiming device 10 is in the zoom-in position as shown in FIG. 17. Even when the thickness and size of the marks on the glass etching reticle 300 are increased, there are no thick stadia lines that the user has to deal with and the field of view becomes extremely usable. Of course, any other markings can be provided on the glass etching reticle 300, and the stadia lines 402, 404, the target dot 406, or any other variations of the markings on the wire reticle 400 can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0044] Figures 18A through 18C illustrate some exemplary embodiments of additional reticle patterns that can be provided within the first focal plane. Of course, any other suitable reticle pattern can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0045] In addition, the above-described electronic reticle 70 can be used within the first focal plane 20, in which case the electronic reticle 70 does not have the vertical and horizontal stadia lines present in the wire reticle 400. The display flexibility of the electronic reticle 70 is desirable in providing the shooter with various reticle pattern options that can be superimposed on the features of the wire reticle 400.

[0046] Although the invention has been described in a form that is recognized herein as its most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the specification is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. On the contrary, as will be understood, modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention, and accordingly, the present invention should be construed to include the content of the appended claims and any legitimate equivalents of the description of the present invention herein.

Claims

1. An optical aiming device, having a body with a first end and a second end and having a central axis, having an objective lens system provided in the body, having an eyepiece provided in the body, having an erector lens system provided in the body, the objective lens system, the eyepiece, and the erector lens system form an optical system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane, the first focal plane is located near the objective lens system, and the second focal plane is located near the eyepiece, having a first reticle located at the first focal plane, having a second reticle located at the second focal plane, the first reticle includes at least one first marking, the second reticle includes at least one second marking, the at least one first marking and the at least one second marking are markings of complementary shapes that create the appearance of a single reticle when viewed along the central axis, an optical aiming device.

2. The optical aiming device according to claim 1, wherein the first reticle is a glass etching reticle.

3. The optical aiming device according to claim 1, wherein the second reticle is a wire reticle.

4. The optical aiming device according to claim 2, wherein the first reticle includes at least one subtension marking.

5. The optical aiming device according to claim 2, wherein the first reticle includes mil dot markings.

6. The optical aiming device according to claim 3, wherein the second reticle includes at least one stadia line.

7. The optical aiming device according to claim 1, wherein the first reticle has markings forming a pattern.

8. The optical aiming device according to claim 1, wherein the second reticle includes at least one target dot.

9. The optical aiming device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one target dot is illuminated by an LED.

10. The optical aiming device according to claim 9, wherein the at least one target dot has an optical fiber with a first end and a second end, and light enters the first end and illuminates the second end.

11. The optical aiming device according to claim 10, wherein the optical fiber has a light collector located at the first end.

12. The optical aiming device according to claim 10, wherein the second end has an inclined cut, and the light is reflected by the inclined cut.

13. The optical aiming device according to claim 10, wherein the optical fiber is aligned with the stadia line and extends along the stadia line.

14. The optical aiming device according to claim 1, wherein either the first reticle or the second reticle is a wire reticle.

15. The second reticle is a wire reticle having at least one target dot illuminated by an LED, the target dot having an optical fiber with a first end and a second end, the first end having a light collector, the second end having an inclined cut, and the light from the LED passing through the optical fiber and being reflected by the inclined cut, the optical aiming device according to claim 14.

16. An optical aiming device, having a body with a first end and a second end and having a central axis, having an objective lens system provided in the body, having an eyepiece provided in the body, having an erector lens system provided in the body, the objective lens system, the eyepiece, and the erector lens system forming an optical system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane, the first focal plane being located near the objective lens system, and the second focal plane being located near the eyepiece, having a first reticle located at the first focal plane, having a second reticle located at the second focal plane, the first reticle including at least one first marking, the second reticle including at least one second marking, the at least one first marking and the at least one second marking not overlapping each other when viewed along the central axis, the optical aiming device, wherein the second reticle is a wire reticle.

17. The second reticle has at least one target dot illuminated by an LED, the target dot having an optical fiber with a first end and a second end, the first end having a light collector, the second end having an inclined cut, and the light from the LED passing through the optical fiber and being reflected by the inclined cut, the optical aiming device according to claim 16.

18. The optical fiber is aligned with the stadia line and extends along the stadia line, the optical aiming device according to claim 17.

19. An optical system for an optical aiming device, wherein the optical system includes an objective lens system, includes an erector system, includes an eyepiece lens, includes a glass etched reticle disposed at a first focal plane between the objective lens system and the erector system, the glass etched reticle having a marking pattern, includes a wire reticle located at a second focal plane between the erector system and the eyepiece lens, the wire reticle having stadia lines, the marking pattern of the glass etched reticle appears to be superimposed on the stadia lines of the wire reticle when the reticle is viewed through the eyepiece lens, the optical system.

20. The wire reticle located at the second focal plane further has an illuminated feature, the optical system according to claim 19.

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