Reticle unit and optical sight

Abstract

To provide a reticule unit and an optical sighting device which can increase the light volume of a dot, has excellent shock resistance and can be effectively manufactured.SOLUTION: A reticule unit 40 comprises: a reticule 41 including a sighting line 410; and an optical fiber 42 guiding a light from a light source to a center 410a of the sighting line 410 and forming a dot. A light entering part 42a for receiving the light is formed at one end of the optical fiber 42, and a light emission part 42b for emitting the light is formed at the other end 42b of the optical fiber 42. The light entering part 42a has a sphere with a diameter larger than a diameter of the optical fiber 42. The light emission part 42b has an inclined surface reflecting the light passing through the optical fiber 42. The optical fiber 42 is fixed along a part of the aiming line 410 so that the light emission part 42b is positioned at the center 410a of the sighting line 410.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a reticle unit for aiming at a target and an optical sight having this reticle unit.

Background Art

[0002] Optical sights such as rifle scopes are provided with a reticle for aiming at a target. A general reticle has a aiming line having a shape such as a cross, a T shape, an inverted T shape, a vertical line or a horizontal line. There are two types of reticles: a wire type and a glass substrate type. The wire type reticle is configured to form an aiming line by two wires orthogonal to each other. On the other hand, the glass substrate type reticle is configured to draw an aiming line on the surface of the glass substrate.

[0003] However, the reticle is built into the barrel of the optical sight. Therefore, in a low-illuminance situation, it becomes difficult to visually recognize the aiming line. Thus, a reticle unit that displays a dot of light at the center of the reticle has been proposed. The reticle unit includes a light source such as an LED and an optical fiber that guides the light from the light source to the center of the reticle to form a dot. A reticle unit having such a configuration is disclosed in FIGS. 12 and 13 of International Publication No. 2003 / 040800.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] As a first problem, in the conventional reticle unit, the amount of light of the dots formed by the optical fibers is small, and the dots are dark and difficult to visually recognize. The reason for the dark dots lies in the structure of the optical fibers. As disclosed in FIG. 13 of WO 2003 / 040800, the diameter of the optical fiber is the same as the line width of the aiming line and is extremely small. For this reason, the amount of light guided from one end face of the optical fiber to the other end face is extremely small. Further, as disclosed in FIG. 12 of WO 2003 / 040800, both end faces of the optical fiber, that is, the light inlet and the light outlet, are planes cut in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the optical fiber. For this reason, both the light inlet and the light outlet of the optical fiber have an extremely small cross-sectional area. In particular, the light inlet of the optical fiber can only let in a small amount of light. As a result, the amount of light of the dots formed at the light outlet of the optical fiber decreases. For example, in a high-illuminance situation such as during a sunny day, it becomes difficult to visually recognize the dots with a small amount of light.

[0006] Furthermore, since the light outlet of the optical fiber is a plane cut in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the optical fiber, the light incident on the optical fiber cannot be reflected in the direction of the user's eye, that is, in the direction of the eyepiece lens of the optical sight. For this reason, as disclosed in FIG. 13 of WO 2003 / 040800, the light outlet of the optical fiber is directly adhered to the center of the cross-shaped aiming line. However, since the adhesion area is extremely small, there is a problem that the light outlet of the optical fiber easily deviates from the center of the cross-shaped aiming line due to a strong impact during shooting.

[0007] As a second problem, it is difficult and time-consuming to manufacture an optical fiber of a predetermined length. The optical fiber used in the conventional reticle unit is manufactured through a process of cutting both ends respectively and a process of smoothing the cut surfaces of both ends. Since the optical fiber is very fragile, it often breaks or cracks due to the two cutting processes. For this reason, the defect rate in the cutting process is extremely high.

[0008] Even if both ends of the optical fiber can be cut well respectively, the cut end faces alone do not have sufficient optical smoothness. The end faces of the optical fiber are the entrance and exit of light and must be smooth enough not to cause optical problems. Therefore, in order to manufacture an optical fiber of a predetermined length, in addition to two cutting steps, two polishing steps for smoothing the cut surfaces at both ends are required.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a reticle unit and an optical sight that can increase the amount of light of dots, are excellent in impact resistance, and can be manufactured efficiently.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] (1) In order to achieve the above object, the reticle unit of the present invention has a peripheral portion with an open inside, a reticle provided with a sight line spanning the opening formed in the peripheral portion, and an optical fiber that guides light from a light source located on the outer peripheral side of the peripheral portion of the reticle to the center of the sight line to form a dot, and is a reticle unit including an incident light portion for incident light from the light source is formed at one end of the optical fiber, an outgoing light portion for emitting light is formed at the other end of the optical fiber, the incident light portion has a spherical surface with a diameter larger than the diameter of the optical fiber, the outgoing light portion has an inclined surface for reflecting light passing through the optical fiber, the optical fiber is fixed to the peripheral portion from the thickness direction of the peripheral portion so that the outgoing light portion is located at the center of the sight line and is fixed along a part of the sight line.

[0011] (2) Preferably, in the reticle unit of (1) above, the optical fiber has a diameter equal to or less than the line width of the sight line and is adhered along a part of the sight line.

[0012] (3) Preferably, in the reticle unit of (1) or (2) above, the optical fiber is made of a glass material, and the light incident portion is formed by thermally melting one end of the optical fiber.

[0013] (4) Preferably, in any of the reticle units of (1) or (2) above, an annular component for attaching the reticle inside the lens barrel is provided, and the reticle is fixed inside the annular component from the thickness direction of the annular component.

[0014] (5) Preferably, in any of the reticle units of (1) or (2) above, the annular component is provided with a notch portion into which the optical fiber is inserted from the thickness direction of the annular component.

[0015] (6) To achieve the above object, the optical sight of the present invention incorporates any of the reticle units of (1) or (2) above.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] According to the reticle unit and the optical sight of the present invention, the light amount of the dots can be increased, the impact resistance is excellent, and efficient manufacturing is possible.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, an optical sight and a reticle unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] <Optical sight> FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the optical sight 1 of the present embodiment. The optical sight 1 is, for example, a riflescope and is mounted on a rifle (not shown). The optical sight 1 includes an objective lens 20, an erecting lens 30, a reticle unit 40, and an eyepiece lens 50 on the optical axis 11 within the barrel 10. Further, a light source 60 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is disposed above the reticle unit 40 within the barrel 10.

[0020] The objective lens 20 forms an inverted image of an object (target). The erecting lens 30 converts the inverted image of the objective lens 20 into an erect image. The erecting lens 30 of the present embodiment includes two lenses shown in FIG. 1, and the magnification can be changed by approaching or separating these lenses. The magnification of the erecting lens 30 is not particularly limited and can be, for example, in the range of 0.75 times to 80 times.

[0021] The reticle unit 40 is disposed at a position conjugate with the inverted image of the objective lens 20 and coincides with the erect image of the erecting lens 30. The reticle unit 40 displays a crosshair 410 and a light dot 61 shown in FIG. 3. The crosshair 410 and the dot 61 are superimposed on the erect image of the erecting lens 30. A user of the optical sight 1 can observe by superimposing the crosshair 410 and the dot 61 on the erect image of the object (target) through the eyepiece lens 50.

[0022] <Reticle unit> FIGS. 2 to 4 show the configuration of the reticle unit 40 of the present embodiment. The reticle unit 40 includes a reticle 41, an optical fiber 42, and a metal frame 43.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the reticle 41 is composed of a peripheral portion 41a and a sight line 410. The sight line 410 spans a circular opening formed by the peripheral portion 41a. The reticle 41 of this embodiment is composed of a single thin metal plate. The material of the reticle 41 is not particularly limited, and for example, a metal plate of nickel alloy is used. The manufacturing method of the reticle 41 is not particularly limited, and for example, it is manufactured by electroforming. Electroforming refers to a casting technique in which metal ions decomposed by electrolysis are electrodeposited on the surface of a master model to a predetermined thickness. Also, for example, the reticle 41 may be manufactured by etching a metal plate.

[0024] The entire reticle 41, that is, the metal plate constituting the peripheral portion 41a and the sight line 410, is integrally continuous. As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical line 411 and the horizontal line 412 constituting the sight line 410 have the same line width. The line widths of the vertical line 411 and the horizontal line 412 are not particularly limited. When the reticle 41 is composed of a metal plate, the line widths of the vertical line 411 and the horizontal line 412 can be, for example, in the range of 10 μm to 500 μm, preferably 30 μm to 50 μm. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the center 41a of the sight line 410 coincides with the optical axis 11 inside the lens barrel 10 of the optical sight 1.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, the optical fiber 42 is adhered along the upper half of the vertical line 411 constituting the sight line 410. The optical fiber 42 has a length that reaches from the center 410a of the sight line 410 beyond the peripheral portion 41a and into the notch 43b of the metal frame 43. The diameter of the optical fiber 42 is the same as the line width of the sight line 410, preferably in the range of 30 μm to 50 μm. The material of the optical fiber 42 may be either glass or plastic. As the material of the optical fiber 42, preferably, synthetic glass or quartz glass is used. Synthetic glass has excellent durability and is less likely to break even if the diameter of the optical fiber 42 is small. On the other hand, quartz glass has excellent transparency and reduces the loss of light passing through the optical fiber 42.

[0026] At one end of the optical fiber 42, a light incident portion 42a for allowing light from the light source 60 to enter is formed. As shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 3, the light incident portion 42a of the present embodiment has a spherical surface with a diameter larger than that of the optical fiber 42. The light from the light source 60 is incident on the entire spherical surface of the light incident portion 42a. The surface area of the spherical surface of the light incident portion 42a is larger than the cross-sectional area of the optical fiber 42. As a result, more light is incident from the light incident portion 42a into the optical fiber 42. The spherical light incident portion 42a is formed, for example, by thermally melting one end of the optical fiber 42.

[0027] On the other hand, as shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 4, at the other end of the optical fiber 42, a light emitting portion 42b for emitting light is formed. The light emitting portion 42b is located at the center 410a of the aiming line 410. The light emitting portion 42b of the present embodiment is a 45-degree inclined surface, which reflects the light passing through the optical fiber 42 at a right angle. The light reflected by the inclined surface of the light emitting portion 42b is emitted in the direction of the eyepiece 50 along the optical axis 11. As a result, the light dot 61 shown in FIG. 3 is formed at the center 410a of the aiming line 410. The inclined surface as the light emitting portion 42b is formed, for example, by polishing the other end of the optical fiber 42.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the metal frame 43 is an annular component for attaching the reticle 41 inside the lens barrel 10. On the front surface of the metal frame 43, an annular recess 43a corresponding to the peripheral portion 41a of the reticle 41 is formed. The outer diameter of the recess 43a is the same as the maximum diameter of the reticle 41, and the inner diameter of the recess 43a is the same as the inner diameter of the opening of the reticle 41. The peripheral portion 41a of the reticle 41 is fixed to the recess 43a of the metal frame 43, and the metal frame 43 is attached inside the lens barrel 10. Although not shown, the metal frame 43 is attached inside the lens barrel 10 so as to be movable in the up, down, left, and right directions.

[0029] Furthermore, a notch portion 43b as described above is provided at the upper part of the metal frame 43. The light incident portion 42a of the optical fiber 42 is disposed in the notch portion 43b. The light from the light source 60 is irradiated toward the notch portion 43b and is incident on the entire spherical surface of the light incident portion 42a. As a result, more light is incident from the light incident portion 42a into the optical fiber 42.

[0030] <Operational effects> First, the reticle unit 40 of the present embodiment can increase the amount of light of the dot 61 formed at the center of the aiming line 410 and significantly improve the visibility of the dot 61. That is, the spherical light incident portion 42a allows more light to be incident on the optical fiber 42. As a result, the amount of light emitted from the light emitting portion 42b, that is, the amount of light of the dot 61 is increased. Further, the light emitting portion 42b which is a 45-degree inclined surface reflects the light that has passed through the optical fiber 42 in the direction of the eyepiece lens 50 along the optical axis 11. As a result, the light of the dot 61 reaches the user's eye directly without losing its light amount.

[0031] Second, the reticle unit 40 of the present embodiment is excellent in shock resistance. That is, most of the entire length of the optical fiber 42 is adhered to the reticle 41. As a result, even if the reticle unit 40 receives a strong impact during shooting, the optical fiber 42 does not easily come off from the reticle 41.

[0032] Third, the reticle unit 40 of the present embodiment can be manufactured efficiently. That is, the light incident portion 42a of the optical fiber 42 is formed by thermally melting one end of the optical fiber 42. As a result, it is difficult for processing defects to occur at one end of the optical fiber 42. As a result, the occurrence rate of defective products of the optical fiber 42 is reduced, and the reticle unit 40 can be manufactured efficiently.

[0033] <Other modifications> The reticle unit and the optical sight of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments. The configuration of the above-described embodiments can be changed to, for example, the configuration described below.

[0034] The material of the reticle is not limited to metal. The material of the reticle can also be glass. In this case, the aiming line is drawn on the surface of the glass substrate. On the surface of the glass substrate, it is possible to draw an aiming line with a line width thinner than that of the aiming line 410 of the metal reticle 41. That is, the line width of the aiming line drawn on the surface of the glass substrate can be, for example, in the range of 2 μm to 200 μm, preferably 2.5 μm to 50 μm.

[0035] Also, the aiming line of the reticle is not limited to a configuration integrally provided on a metal plate by methods such as electroforming or etching. The aiming line may be composed of one or a plurality of wires. Furthermore, the design of the aiming line is not limited to the cross shape of the embodiment. The term "line of sight" includes various figures composed of one or a plurality of lines for aiming at a target. The design of the aiming line can be, for example, a T shape, an inverted T shape, a vertical line, or a horizontal line. Also, when the aiming line is composed of a plurality of lines, the line widths of each other may not be the same.

[0036] The position of the reticle unit in the lens barrel is not limited to the position in FIG. 1. The reticle unit 40 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged at a position where an erect image is formed by the erect lens 30. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the reticle unit 70 may be arranged at a position where an inverted image is formed by the objective lens 20. Here, the image of the aiming line of the reticle unit 70 arranged at the position in FIG. 5 is magnified to a predetermined magnification by the erect lens 30. For this reason, it is preferable that the reticle unit 70 arranged at the position in FIG. 5 is made of glass capable of drawing an aiming line with a thinner line width.

[0037] The position of the light source within the lens barrel is not limited to the positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The position of the light source can be changed according to the design of the aiming line. For example, in the case of a cross-shaped aiming line 410 such as that of the present embodiment, the light source 60 can be arranged either above, below, to the left, or to the right of the aiming line 410. When the aiming line is T-shaped, the light source 60 can be arranged either below or to the left and right. When the aiming line is an inverted T-shaped, the light source 60 can be arranged either above or to the left and right. When the aiming line is a vertical line, the light source 60 can be arranged either above or below. When the aiming line is a horizontal line, the light source 60 can be arranged either to the left or right.

Explanation of Signs

[0038] 1 Optical sight (rifle scope) 10 Lens barrel 11 Optical axis 20 Objective lens 30 Erecting lens 40 Reticle unit 41 Reticle 41a Peripheral part 410 Aiming line 410a Center 411 Vertical line 412 Horizontal line 42 Optical fiber 42a Light incident part 42b Light emitting part 43 Metal frame 43a Concave part 43b Notch part 50 Eyepiece 60 Light source 61 Dot 70 Reticle unit

Claims

1. an inner open peripheral portion; a reticle having a line of sight spanning an aperture formed in said periphery; and one optical fiber for directing light from a light source to the center of the line of sight to form a dot. The optical fiber is arranged in a state where it is superimposed on the line of sight toward the eyepiece, a light input portion for inputting light from the light source to one end of the optical fiber; a light output portion for outputting light is formed at the other end of the optical fiber; the light entrance portion has a spherical surface with a diameter larger than a diameter of the optical fiber, the light output section has an inclined surface that reflects the light passing through the optical fiber toward an eyepiece lens, which is a direction opposite to the line of sight, and the inclined surface is located at a position facing a center of the line of sight, A reticle unit, wherein the optical fiber is fixed to the peripheral portion from a thickness direction of the peripheral portion so that the light exit portion is located at the center of the aiming line, and is fixed along a portion of the aiming line.

2. 2. The reticle unit according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber has a diameter equal to or smaller than a line width of the aiming line and is bonded along a portion of the aiming line.

3. 3. A reticle unit according to claim 1, wherein said optical fiber is made of a glass material, and said light entrance portion is formed by thermally fusing one end of said optical fiber.

4. an annular part for mounting the reticle in a lens barrel; 3. The reticle unit according to claim 1, wherein the reticle is fixed to the inside of the annular part in a thickness direction of the annular part.

5. 5. The reticle unit according to claim 4, wherein said annular part is provided with a notch into which said optical fiber is inserted from a thickness direction of said annular part.

6. 3. An optical sight having a reticle unit according to claim 1 or 2 built in a lens barrel.

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