Optical Bridge Composite Rails Stopblock Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical bridges for attaching and adjusting night vision devices on head-worn devices are heavy due to metal fabrication, limiting user comfort and requiring complex mechanisms for adjustments like pupillary distance.
Innovation Solution
An optical bridge with lightweight rails, such as fiber-reinforced composite materials, that allow for adjustable positioning of optical devices via stopblocks and adapter pods, enabling interpupillary distance adjustment without threaded rails, allowing for unconstrained sliding and secure re-fixing along the rail.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal fabrication is used for the bridge body, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials for the bridge body that combine strength with reduced weight. The bridge body is constructed using materials that provide the necessary structural integrity while being significantly lighter than traditional metal fabrication, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
2Manufacturing precision
If threaded rails and gears are used for adjustment, then positioning precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex threaded rails and gears from the adjustment mechanism. Instead, it uses a simplified system with rails that allow direct sliding movement of the optical device, combined with a locking mechanism that secures the position. This extraction of unnecessary components reduces device complexity while maintaining positioning precision through the locking feature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical threaded adjustment system with a sliding rail system. The threaded mechanism is substituted with a simpler rail-and-lock system where the optical device slides along the rail and is secured by a locking mechanism, reducing mechanical complexity while achieving the same positioning function.
3Adaptability or versatility
If hinges and threaded rods are used for adjustment, then adjustment range is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes hinges and threaded rods from the adjustment mechanism, replacing them with a sliding rail system. This simplifies the operation by allowing the optical device to slide freely along the rail for adjustment and be easily locked into position, making the adjustment process more intuitive and easier to operate while maintaining the required adjustment range.
Data Source
AI summary
Optical bridges including a bridge body configured to be mounted directly or indirectly onto a head-worn device and at least one rail operatively engaged with the bridge body, in which the at least one rail having a first end and a second end. The optical bridges also include a first stopblock located at or proximate to the first end and a second stopblock located at or proximate to the second end. The at least one rail has a first side portion located between the first stopblock and the bridge body and a second side portion located between the second stopblock and the bridge body. Systems including an optical bridge and one or more optical devices directly or indirectly releasably coupled to the optical bridge are also provided.