CA1101645A - Method of forming mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrument - Google Patents
Method of forming mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrumentInfo
- Publication number
- CA1101645A CA1101645A CA312,458A CA312458A CA1101645A CA 1101645 A CA1101645 A CA 1101645A CA 312458 A CA312458 A CA 312458A CA 1101645 A CA1101645 A CA 1101645A
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Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A method resulting from proper use of a press-type mechanism by means of which reflective, mirror-forming layers in the form of coatings or conventional mirrors are transferred in pairs from right-angle master surfaces on prism-like blocks to right-angle mirror blocks, and the latter with the mirror-forming layers thereon are then delivered to the optical system of the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrument where they automatically become cemented porro relationship. The existence of the cementitious material which is used for the cementing operation compensates for discrepancies in manufacturing tolerances of either the mirror blanks or the binocular shell.
A method resulting from proper use of a press-type mechanism by means of which reflective, mirror-forming layers in the form of coatings or conventional mirrors are transferred in pairs from right-angle master surfaces on prism-like blocks to right-angle mirror blocks, and the latter with the mirror-forming layers thereon are then delivered to the optical system of the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrument where they automatically become cemented porro relationship. The existence of the cementitious material which is used for the cementing operation compensates for discrepancies in manufacturing tolerances of either the mirror blanks or the binocular shell.
Description
6~
The presen~ lnYention relates generally to mlrror-type binoculars or similar viewing instruments and has particular reference to a method of simultaneously forming eight (four palrs~ mirrors of either the replicated or th~ conventional type and then positioning ~he mirrors which orm a part of the optical system o a mirror-type binocular accurately in porro relationship within the bino~ular shell~
In a binocular which employs porro~rPlated mirrors~ if any one of the eight mirrors deviates a f0w thousandths of an inch in any plane with respect to the other mirror~, proper collimation will be lost. Moreover, with such a mirror deviation, it is practically impossible to determine which mirror is at fault or out of proper adjustment and, even if detection could be made, readjustment thereof would be a tedious task and hardly worth the efor~ from the standpoint of binocular production or manufacture~
The subject invention is specifically concerned with a novel method of simultaneously forming eight mirrors ln the form of four pairs of mirrors and then mount;ng or in~talling the pairs of mirrors in the shell of a binscular in accurate porro relationship. ~y utiLizing the present method, any existing small manufacturing tolerances which may be present in successive binocular shells or Ln sllccessive mi.rror blanks are automaticalLy ~ompensated for and the mirrors are delivered during each cvcle of operation and accurately positioned in their porro relationship and, thereafter, remain accurately and properly positioned in the binocular shell.
Briefly, the method of the present Ln~Jention is carr-led 6~LS
out by means of a press-type mechanism which embodies some of the physical aspeets of a co~ven~ional punch press in that it lncludes or embodies a bed or base and a ver~ically shiftable cooperating press head. Facillties are provided on the press base for selectively supporting khe binoculax shell in eith~r an upright or an inverted posi~ion. In between the base and head) i.e., above the base and beneath the head, there is removably disposed a block-supporting stage having mounted thereon our priæm-like master blocks, each of which is provided with two accurately ground right-angle master surfaces, there being eigh~ such surfaces in all with the surfaces being presented generally upwardly. Each mas~er surface is designed to have ormed thereon or applied thereto a reflective~ mirror forming la~er in the form of a coating or a conventional mirror for subsequent transfer to a mirror blank. Directl~ above the block-supporting stage and in vertical alignment with the four prism-like master blocks are four pxism caps having a pair of downwardly facing righ~-an~le surfaces which are shaped correspondingly to and precisely complement the eight upwardly facing rlght-angle master surfaces of tha four prism-like master blocks, such prism caps being mounted on and movable bodily with the vertically shiftable press head. Each pair of downwardly facing right-angle surfaces of a prism cap is designed to receive thereon in subs~antially coextensive relationship a rlght-angle mirror blank the inner or opposed sides of whieh con~titute mounting surfaces which are adapted to receive thereon the re1ective, mirror-forming layexs which previously were applied ko the master surfaces of the associated or subjacent prism-like master blo k on the block-suppor~ing stage~ Wi~h the latt~r in position beneath the press head, an ini~ial lowering o the head brings the mounting æurfaces o the right-angle mirror blanks into effective engagement with the reflective~ mirror-formîng layers on the master surfaces o~ the prism-like master blocks and a subsequent raising of the press head causes the layers to be picked of or removed from said master surfaces as the result of adherence to the mounting surfaces of the mirror blanks, the right-angle mirror blanks with the transferred reflective3 mirror~
forming layers thereon constituting the eight mirrors for the binocular being formed by use of the aforement~oned press-type mechanismO Thereafter, with the block-supporting stage removed from its normal operative position in the press-type mechanism and with the binocular shell assuming Pither ~ts upright or its inverted position on the press base, a second lowering or downward shif~ing of the press head will lower one set of two right-angle mirror blanks with the adhered ref~ective) mirror fonming layers thereon into the proper po~itîon in the binocular shell, thus supplying the optical system o the binocular with four of its mirrors. Reversing of the binocular shell on the prQss base and lowering the press head a second time in the same manner will bring the other set o~ two right-angle mirror blanks with the adhered reflective, mirror-forming layers thereon into position in the shell, thus supplying the remaining four mirrors for the optical system of the binocular~ An important ~eature of the present invention resides in the fact that a suitable cementit~ous coating ls applied to either the edges oE the ~irror blanks 3 the mlrror-receivlng edges of the binocular shell, or to both sets of such edges before either of the two mirror-carryi~g blanks is lowered into position with respect to the binocular shell which is intention~lly made to be somewha~ oversiz~ for loose fit of the blanks wi~h the mirrors thereon3 and the further fact that the press head is maintained in its lowered position for a period of time which is adequate for the epoxy or other cementitious materlal to become fully set or hardened. Thus, any discrepanci~s arising due to wide manufacturing tolerances in the construction of either ~he right-angle mirror blanks or mirror-seating apertures in the binocular shell will not affect the correct positloning of the mirrors in ~he shell since the press head will hold the mirror-carrying blanks fixedly positioned in their proper relationship with respect to the shell while the cementitious coating sets.
The provision of a method such as has brlefly been outlined above and posses~ing the stated advantages, constitute~ the principal obiect of the present invention.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method which i5 designed primarily for orming mirrors and mounting them properly in the shells of mirror-type binoculars and is characterized by simplicity, high efflciency) and comparatively low cost.
Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention not at this time enumerated wlll become readily apparent as the nature of the in~ention is better under5tood from a con-sideration of the following specification or detailed description.
,5 The i~ention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly pointed ou~ by the olaims at the conclusion hereof.
In the accompanying three shee~s of drawings forming a part of this specification, one physical and illustrative embodiment of the invention i8 shown.
In these drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view, illustrated in somewhat exploded fashlon, showing a press-type mechanism ~hich ~ to form the necessary number of mirrors for a mirror-type binocular and then properly to apply the mirror~ in the b~nocular shell in accordance with the method of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear perspective view of a portion of the press-type mecha~ism of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a binocular shell into which the mirrors are adapted to be placed by utilizing the mechanism of FIG~ l;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front perspective view of a portlon o~ the press type mechanism of FIG. 1, illu~trating a metho~ step whereby two pairs of mirrors are placed in the eyepiece apertures of the binocular shell of FIG. l; and FIG. S is an enlarged fragmentary front perspect~ve view similar to FIG. ~ but illustrating a method step whereby two pairs of mirrors are placed in the objective apertures of the binocular shell of FIG. 3.
Reerring now to the drawings in detall, and in particulax to FIG. 1, there is disclosed in this view a press-type mechanism 10 by me~ns of which a plurality of comparatlvely thin, reflective~ mixror-orming layers that are initially applied to the outside ri~h~-angle faces that exist Otl a first pair of prism-like master blocks 12 and 12' are trans-ferred to the inner right-angle surfaces that exist on a correspondlng pair of mirror blanks 14 and 14', while at the same time a plurality of similar re1ective, mirror~forming layers that are initially applied to outslde right-angle faces that exist on a second pair of prism-likP master blocks _ and 16' are transferred to the inner right-angle surfaces that exist on a corresponding pa;r of mirror blanks 18 and 18'.
A first opexation of the mechanism 10 serves to effect the aforementioned trans~er of eight reflective, mlrror-forming layers simultaneously from their respective master blocks 12, 12'~ 16 and 16' to the proper surfaces of the corresponding mirror blanks 14, 14'~ 18 and 18'. Thereafter~ by a second operation of the press type mechanism and after removal from the mechanism of the hereinafter described removable supporting member or stage on whlch the master blocks are mounted, the mirror blanks 14 and 1~' wi~h the mirror-forming layers thereon are caused to be applied to or inserted ln the body of a binocular shell such as thP shell which is illllstrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings and desi~nated in its ent:irety by the reference numeral 20, the binocular shell at this time being suppor~ed b~ the press-type tnechanism 10 ln what will be referred to herein as an înverted position as shown ln FIG. 4 where certain shell surfaces or edges present themselves upwardly or rec~ption thereon of the mirror blanks 14 and 14'.
~6-'~ $~
Application of the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to, or insertiorl thereof in,, ~he binocular shell 20 is then efec~ed by inverting the shell so that i~ is supported wi~h cer~ain other shell surfaces or edges presented upwardly and a third press mechanism operation is resorted ~o in order ~o cau~e ~he mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to be placed on such surfaces or edges as shown in FIG. 5.
As will be se~ forth in detail subsequently when the nature of the press-type mechanism 10 is better undexstood, deposition of the mirrox-carryi~g blanks on or Ln the binocular shell is made with extreme accuracy so that the various resul~ant binocular mirror~ assume their desired and necessary porro relationship in the opt~cal system of the binocular, the exac~itude of their posi~ioning being ~he result of cementing or bonding of such mirror-carry~ng blanks in place so that any sm~ll di~crepanci~s in the manufacture of successive mirror~
carrying blanks or binocular shells will be compensated ~or.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings wherein the details of the pre~s-type mechanism 10 are best illustrated9 such mechanism involves in its general organization a press base 30 which is in the form of a generally rectangular block-like body and has the medial region thereof formed wlth a transversely extending stepped trollgh-llke recess 32. Projecting vertically upwardly from the ba~e 30 at a location adjacent to the rear side ~ace of the press base is a cylindrical col-lmn 3 on which th~re is mounted for vertical sliding movement a press head 36. The lower end of the column 34 i~ ~ixedly secured to =
the base 30 in any suitable manner. The press head is provided s with a vertically extending sleeve 38 which closely encompasses the column 34 and constitutes the means by which the head is vertically slidable on the col~nn.
The illustrated press-type mechanism 10 is essentially a hand press9 and vertical movements of the head 36 on ~he column 34 are afected under the control of a lever 40 which is provided on one end portion with a hand grip 42 and has the central portion plvoted to the sleeve 38 by way of a horizontal pivot-forming bolt 44 which extends through a horizontal hole 10 in the lever and into a screw-~hreaded socket in ~he sleeve 38 and permits the lever to swing up and down in a vertical plane.
The other end portion of the lever 40 constitutes one link 46 of a two-link toggle joint 48, the other llnk 50 of the toggle joint having one end thereo pivotally connected by a horizontal pivot pin to the free or outer end o~ the link 46 and its other end pivotaLly connected by a horizontal pivot pin 52 to one side of a reaction collar 54 which is normally fixedly fastened by a set screw 56 to the upper end region of the column 34. When the lever 40 as viewed in FIG. 2 is swung in a counterclockwise direction,it operates through the medium of the toggle joint 48 to slide the press head 36 downwards, and when the lever is swung in th~ opposite direction~ iOe.,clockwi~e, it operates through the medi~m of said toggle joint to slide the press head upwards on the cylindrical eolumn 34. If Lt ls desired to change or vertically adjust the up and down slidlng movement o the press head, the set screw 56 is loosened and then the collar 54 is adjusted upwards or downwards, depending upon whether the stroke of the press head is to be raised or lowered. A~ter proper vertical adjustment of ~he collar 54 on the upper end region of the column 34, the se~ screw 56 is ~igh~esled so as to lock the collar in its adjusted position. ~ereas the press-type mechanism 10 has been described and illustrated as a hand-operated mechanism, lt is, o course, contemplated that the mechanism may be power-operated.
The ver~ically shiftable press head 36 includes a body portion 58 which is generally of inverted L shape design and has a horizontal upper portion 60 and a vertical lower portion 62. The upper portion 60 is suitably fixedly connected to the vertically extending sleeve 38 and projects laterally and forwardly therefrom. The lower portion 62 carries at its lower end a blank-supporting ixture 64, ~he nature and function of which will be described in detail presentlyO The press base 30 is horizontally elongated and embodiPs at its end portions a pair of upstanding posts 66 and 68 having the upper ends thereof provided with notches 70, such notches being designed for removable xeception therein of the reduced ends 72 of an elongated horiæontally extending supporting member or stage 74 for the aforementioned prism-like master blocks 12, 12' and 16, 16'. For convenience of description herein, such mas~er blocks will be referred to hereinafter as "master prisms" or simply as "prism," while the supporting member 74 will be referred to as the "prism supporting stage," such terrninology also being employed in the claims ~t the conclusion hereof.
Before entering into a description of the specific nature of the blank~supporting fLxture 64, the pr-Lsm-support-Lng stage 74 and the means whereby the binocular shell 20 is supported on ~he n~9_ press base 30 for reversal of its position thereon as previous^Ly descrihed, i t is deemed e~:pedient to indicate the nature of the four mirror blanks l4, 14' and 18J 18', as well as the nature of the binocular shell 20 to which such blanks are to be applied in porro relationship. Actually, the aforementioned binocular shell 20 is in th~ form of an assembly which comprises two principal parts in the form of a pair of shell halvas 75 and 76, each of which ls provided with an internally-threaded objective rim 78 înto which a lens-containing objective barrel (not shown) is adapted to bethreadedly received, and an internall~-threaded eyepiece rim 80 into which a lens~containing eyepiece barrel (also not shown) is adapted to be threadedly or cementitiously received. As i5 conventional practice, tha two objective rlms 78 of the shell halves 75 and 7~ are hingedly connected ~ogether by a suit~ble hinge arrangemen~ 82 in order ~hat the in erpupillary dis~ance between the eyepiece lenses which are f~tted into the eyepiece rims 8Q of the two shell halves may be adjusted either outwards or inwards. The hinge arrangement 82 is hidden from view in FIG. 3 of the drawlngs but appears in FIG. 4 and will be discussed subsequently. Each o~ the two hingedly connected shell halves is pro~lded w~th a generally right angular hollow shell body 84 which presents two sets o~ generally arched eflges which are adapted to receive thereover the peripheral regions or edges of one of the aforementioned mirror-carrying blanks~
i.e., mirror blank 14, mirror blank L4', mirror blank 18 or mirror blank 18'. When the mirror-carrying blanks ar~ properly positioned with respect to the bodles 84 of the shell halves, 6~;
they are fixedly or permanently secured in place by a cementing or bonding operation as will be described prese~tly~ and when the varîous mirror blanks to which reflective mirror-formlng layers have been applied are all in place on the bodies of the shell halves and the eyepiece and objective barrels are threadedly received in the rims 78 and 80) the form~rly open shell halves 75 and 76 are closed and the binocular is then complete and in readiness for use. When each shell halve is completed with the various ~irrors and lenses installed therein, 10 it forms one o the two telescopes of the binocular which ls formed by way o the mechanism and method which constit~te the present invention ~
Considering now the nature of the four mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18', the two mirror blanks 14 and 14' are smaller in siæe than are the two mirror blanks 18 a~d 18'. They fit on the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76 of the binocular shell 20 in the vicinity of the internally-threaded eyepiece rims 80 and, thereore, they will be hereinafter referred to as "eyepiece mirror blanks." The mirror blanks 18 and 18' fit on the bodies 84 of the two shell halves in the vicinity of the threaded objective rims 78 and, therefore, they will be hereinafter re~erred to as "objective mirror blanks."
Each eyepiece mirror blank, 14 or 14' as the case may be, is compri.sed of two generally oval flat plates 90 which are of unequal siæe and extend at a right angle to one another and are connected together by a short, 1at, narrow bridge piece 92. As will be described presently, the inside or opposing faces of the plates 90 constitute mounting surfaces that are adapted to reeeive thereon reflective, mirror~orming layers. The larger objective mirror blanks 18 and 18' are similarly construc~ed and the parts ther~of have been respectively designated by the sarne reference numerals.
The aforementioned blank-supporting fixture 64 which is carried at the lower end of the vertical portion 62 of the vertically slidable press head 36 of the mechanism 10 ls of rectangular block-like design and the underneath side thereof is provided with a downwardly facing ractangular recess 100 which is of major proportions and has ixedly but shiftably secured therein by mea~s of hoxizont~lly extendlng anchoring screws 102, a pair o side~by-side alongated prism caps 1~4 and 104', the latter, although not sc illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, are of slightly le~s length than the downwardly facing rectangular recess 100 and are adapted to have between their ends and the ends of the recess one or more shims (not shown~
in order that they may be lengthwi~e adjusted as desired and then locked in place by tightening of the anchoring screws 102.
Said prism caps 104 and 104' are shaped to fonm downwardly facing inverted V shaped recesses the surfaces of which extend at a right angle to one another and precisely complement the outer faces of the two objective mirror blanks 18 and 18', A saddle-like member 106 is fixedly secured to the underneath slde o~ the blank supporting fixture 64 a~ one end thereof and in slde-by side relation with the recess 100. Xt extends at right angles to said recess 100 and is formed with two downwardly facing rectangular recesses 108 and 108l wi~hi.n which there are respecti~ely moun~ed and shiftably held by anchoring scx2ws 110, two prism caps 112 and 112'. The lat~er are longitudinally or l~ngthwis~
adjustable by way of shims (not shown) in the same manner as the prism caps 104 and 104' and are shaped to form downwardly facing inverted V-shaped recesses ~he surfaces of which are at a right angle to one another and precisely complement the outer faces of the two eyepiece mirror blanks 14 and 14t. As will be described in greater detail subsequently, when the replicated mirror-orming me~hod of the present invention which is carried out by the use of the press mechanism 10 is set forth, the opposed right angle surfaces of the inverted V-shap~d rPcesses which are formed in the various pri~m caps 104, 104' and 112 and 112' are precision ground or lapped to an extremely high degree so that they are smooth and plan~r and hence are ~o designed or formed as ~o receive thereon by vacuum adherence the mirror blanks 18j 18' and 14, 14' respectively.
Considering further the nature or design of the afore-mentioned prism-supporting stage 743 such stage is in the form o an elongated bar-like member 114 the reduced ends 72 of which are designed for removable re~eption in the aforemen~ioned notches 70 in the upper ends of the posts 56 and 68. An elevated cradle 116 is mounted on a medial region of the member 114, extends lengthwqse of said member, and serves to support therein the aforementioned master prisms 16 and 16' in s~de-by-side relation, suitably horizontally ext~ndlng anchorlng screws 118 at one end of the cradle belng provided for fixedly but shi~tably holding said prisms in position within the cradl.e 116, It is to be understood that the master prism~l6 and 16' are of less length than the distance between the upstanding end walls of the 6 ~ ~
~radle 116 and also that shims (not shown) ad~ cent to the ends o the master prisms 16 and 16' will be employed in order lengthw~se to adjust said master prisms into their proper operativP positions. It ls also to be understood tha~ after proper positioning of ~he shims, the anchoring screws 118 will be tightPned i.n order to lock said prisms in their adjusted positions. A cradle 120 which is similar to the cradle 116 but disposed at a lower level extends trans-versely of the bar-like mPmber 114. It is secured in a recess 1 in a medial region of said bar-like member and is, itself, formed with a pair of longitudinally aligned recesses 124 which receive therein the master prisms 12 and 12', suitably horizontally anchorlng screws 126 being provided or holding such prisms fixedly but shiftably in place. Shims (not shown~
are used at the ends of the recesses 124 in order lengthwise to adjust the master prisms 12 and 12l to ~heir proper operative posi~ions.
~en the prism-supporting stage 74 is ln its operative position on the posts 66 and 68, the prisms 16 and 16' directly underlie the prism caps 104 and 104' respectively and are in precise vertical alignment therewith. Similarly, when the stage 74 is in place on the posts 66 and 68) the prisms 12 and 12' directly und~rlie the prism cap~ 112 and 112' respectively and are in precise vertical alignment therewith~ Such vertical alignm0nt of parts is to a certain extent made possible by reason of a verticall~ extending, shouldered, anti-torque guide post 127 which depends from the collar S4. The upper end of such post is screw-threaded, extends through a vertical hole in the collar, and is fixedly secured in place by means of a nut 128. The intermediate and lower portions of the anti-torque post project ln~o an open-sided slot 129 in ~he sleeve 38 with tha result that the sleeve is ree to slide vertically on the column 34 but is pre~rented frsm rotati.rlg relatively to said post. Instead of employing or using the anti-torque post 127 to prevent the sleeve 3g from rotating relatively to the column 34~ a second column (not shown), ;n s~de-by-side relation with the column 34 may be utilized.
As previously stated, the bi~ocular shell 20 is capable of being removably mounted on the press base 30 and is also capable of being reversed thereon so that it may assume either the inverted position in which ~t is shown in FIG. 4 or the upright pos~tion in which it is shown in FLG. 5, Accordingly, and with reference to FIGS. 1, 4~ and 5 of the drawings, an elongated transversely e~tending hinge mount 130 is fixedly secured ~o the upper face of the press base and has secured thereto the fixed hinge leaves 132 of a pair of side-by~side but spaced apart p~ecision hinge assemblies 134. The swinging 2Q or movable hlnge leave~ 136 of the assemblies 134 serves ~o support a shell mounting plate 138 so that it is capable of being swung back and forth between an extended horizontal position as shown in FIG. 4 and a folded or retracted position as shown in FI~. 5. In lts extended horizontal posltlon, the mounting plate projects partially acro~s the stepped ~rough-like recess 32 and in its folded or retracted position the mounting plate extends in reentrant fashion over the upper face of the press base 30 (see FIGS. 1 and 5), overlies the hinge mount 1309 ~1.5-and finas reaction support on a reetangular plate 140 which is suitably fixedly mounted on the upper -face of the press base 30.
As best shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the blnocular shell mounting plate 138 is ~ormed with a palr o sem:i-circular recesses 142 which are adapted removably to receive therain the objective rims 78 of the blnocular shell 20. Anchorlng screws 144 extend diagonally through the distal edge region of the shell mounting plate 138 and in~o the restricted mouth portions of the recess 142 and serve when tightened to hold said objective rims 78 securely in the recesses to the end that the binocular shell 20 ls fixedly secured to the moun~ing and hence capable of swinging back and forth with it. As shown in FIG. 4, when the objectlve rims 7~ of the binocular shell 20 are properly installed in the recesses 142 and the binocular mounting plate 138 is in its horizontal ex~ending positlon wherein it overlies the recess 32 ln the press base~ the shell assumes its inverted posi~ion (see FI&. 4). When the mounting plate 138 ls folded back over the upper ~ace of the press base 30 as shown in FIG. 5~ the binocular shell 20 assumes its upright position as portrayed in FIG. 3. In the upright position of the shell, one set of arched edges of the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76 underlie and are in vertical alignment wi.th the prism caps 104 and 104'. In the inverted position of the binoeular shell 20 as shown in FIG. 4 oE the drawlngs, i.e., when the mounting plate 138 overlies the recess 32, the other set o~
arched edges of the bodies of the two shell halves underlLe and are in vert~cal alignment with the prLsm caps 112 and 112'.
As heretofore indicated, the reflective, mirror-forming layers are in the form of either coatings for application to the downwardly :acing moun~ing surfaces of the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 169 16' or conventional rnirrors. If the layers are in the ~orm of coatlngs, they are applied to such mounting surfaces of ~he mirror blanks by way of a so-called "replication"
method.
In the utilization of thP press mechanism 10 for the purpose of creating or forming reflective surfaces or mirrors by the so-called replication method and then i~ talling them in binocular shells such as the shell 20 of FIG. 3, a separator coating and a reflective (mirror) coating are applied in any suitable or well-known manner to each of the right-angle surfaces of the ~our prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16' either before or aft~r such prisms are mounted in their respPctive cradles 106 and 116.
With the thus coated prisms propexly installed in the cradles on the stage 74, the latter is mounted in the notches 70 in the upper ends of its supporting posts 66 and 68, while the press head 38 is maintained in ;ts fully raised position. Thereaf~er, the mirror blanks 1~, 14' and 18, 18l are caused to receive a coating of an epoxy resin ox other suitable adhesive on ~heir inner or opposed faces and the blanks are installed Ln proper registry within the respective inverted V shaped recesses in the prîsm caps 112, 112' and 104, 104' 7 positioning of the blanks preferably being maintained by vacuum adhesion as previously mentioned. So far as an epoxy or other adhesive is concerned i~ is con~emplated that one will be selected which upon hardening or drying will not dlstort, warp or otherwise darnage the re1ective coatings on the right-angle surfaces of ~he four prisms. Accura~e positioning of the blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18i within their respec~ive prism caps may be attained by means of locating protuberances 150 on ~he inner surfaces of the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps. There-after, by means of the lever 40, the press head 36 i5 lowered to an lntermediate pOSitiOII, i.~. ~ until all eight right-angle prism cap surfaces regis~er under pressure with the corresponding right-angle surfaces of the prisms 12~ 12~ and 16, 16'. The pressure is maintained until the epoxy or other adhesive on the inner or oppos~d faces of the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 187 has hardened, polymerized ox otherwise become se~, after which the press head 36 is raised. Upon such raising of the press head, the reflective coatings on the prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16' are plcked upg 50 to speak, or tran~ferred to the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 187 18' with the press head and mirror blanks assuming the positions in which they are illustrated in FIG. 4.
If the reflective, mirror-orming layers for application to the downwardly facing mounting surfaces of the mirror blanks are in the orm of conventional mirxors, they are first positioned so that their non-reflective or body portions are on the top and face upwards and are then manipulated 80 that their reflective sur~aces are positioned in abutment wlth ~he right-angle surfaces are positioned in abutment with the right-angle surfaces of the four prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16'. It is contemplated that when conventional mirrors are used as the reflective, mlrror-forming layers, they will be releasably held in abutment with the right angle surfaces of the aforemention2d four prisms by sultable -1~
suction mean~ (not shown3. After proper mounting o~ the conventional mirrors in place, the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18 ' are caused to receive a coating of epoxy resln or other suitable adhesive on their inner or opposed faces and the blanks are installed in proper reg-istry wi~hin the respective inverted V-shaped recesses in the caps 112, 112' and 104, 104'. Thereafter, by means of the lever 40, the press head 36 is lowered to an intermedia~e position, i.e., until all eight right-angle prism cap surfaces regis~er under pressure with the corresponding right-angle suraces of the prisms 12~ 12' and 16, 16'. The pressure is maintained until the epoxy or other adhesive on the mirror blanks has hardened or set and thereafter the press head 36 is raised after dis-continuance of the suction which is used to hold the co~entional mirrors releasably mounted on the right~angle surface~ of the four prisms. Upon raising of the press head, the conventional mirrors are in adhered relation with the downwardly facing mounting surfaees of the mirror blan~s with the press head and mirror blanks assuming the positions in which they are illustra~ed in FI~. 4.
In the present specifîcation, the term "reflective, mirror-forming layers" is in~nde-l to mean mlrrors which are either formed by the aforementioned replication method or are conventional mirrors.
With the binocular moun~ing plate 138 in the position in which it is shown in FIG. 4 with the bi nocular shell 20 in i~s inverted position, and with ths prism-supporting stage 74 removed from its operative position on the posts 66 and 68 ~0 r~5 a coating of epoxy resin or ~ther suitable adhesive or cementitious matarial is applied to the o~ er or peripheral edge portions of the mirxor-carrylng blanks 14, 14' or to the inner or mating arched edge portions o the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76l or to bo~h sets of such edges, after whi~h the lever 40 may be again manipulated to low~r the press head 36 and thus bring ~he edges o~ the mlrror blanks 14 and 14' into register with said inner arched edge portions o~ the bodies 84, thereby placi~g ~he mirror-carrying blanks 14 and 14' accurately in the binocular shell and or proper collimation with the remaining mirror carxying blanks 18 and 18' which are subsequently to be applied to the bînocular shell 20. The epoxy resin or other adhesive or cementitlous material is allowed to harden or become set so that the positioning of the mirror blanks 14 and 14' as effected b~ the press head 36 becomes a pexmanent one, after which the press head 36 is raised, thus leaving the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps 112 and 112' empty as shown in FI&. 5 but returning the mirror blanks 18 and 18' to their raised positions.
With the prism-supporting stage 74 still removed from its nonmal or operative position on the upstanding posts 66 and 68 of the press base 30, th0 binocular mounting plate 138 is rotated or swung throughout an anglP of approximately 180~ so as to fold it back upon the reaction supporting plate 140 as shown in FIG. 5 and thus bring the binocular shell 20 into its upright position as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Thereafter, an epoxy resln or other suitable aclhesive or cementitious coating is appliecl to the outer or perlpheral edge portlons of the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18', or to the exposed inner or mating arched edge portions of the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76, or to both such set~ of edges, and the press head 3~ i5 again lowered past its intermediate position so as to bring the thus adhesively-coated edges together and positio~ the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 1~' in proper place in the binocular shell 20 so that all four mirror blanks are now accurately positioned for proper collimatîon. After the epoxy resin or other adhesive or cementitious material has been allowed to set or harden, the press head 36 is again raised, thu~ withdrawîng the prism caps 104 and 104' from the deposîted mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18'. The binocular is then completed except for the application to the eyepiece and objective rîms 80 and 78 of their associated eyepiece and objective lens-carrying barrels whichhave not ~een disclosed herein. It is, however, contemplated that so far as the eyepiece barrels of the binocular are concerned, they wîth proper lenses ixedly mounted therein may be applied to the eyPpiece rims 80 of the shelL 20 at the same time a~ the mirror blanks 18 and 18' are mounted in the binocular shell when the press-type mechanism is used when its parts are positioned as shown in FIG. 5. In this connection7 ît is contemplated that the fixture 64 would be provîded outwards of the prism caps 104 and 104' with laterally extendîng extensions (not shown) having downwardly ~acing sockets for receiving snugly the le~s-equipped eyepiece barrels. Before final low ring of the pX8SS head 36 in connection wlth application of the mîrror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to the shell 20, the lens-equipped eyepLece barrels while in the aforementioned downwardly extending sockets would have their lower rim reglons coated with suitahle epoxy material to the end that during final lowering o the press head 36 to effect applicatlon of the mirror blanks 18 and 18' to the blnocular shell ~0~ the lower portions of the lens-equipped eyepiece barrels would seat within the eyep~ece rims 80 where they would become ~ixedly mounted in place upon hardening of the epoxy material.
After application of the four palrs of mirror-carrying blanks to the binocular shell 20, the objective rims 78 o~ the sh~ll may then be withdrawn from the recesses 142 by loosening the anchoring screws 144 thus freeing the binocular shell 20 from the mounting plate 138. Since the press head 36 now assumes its fully raised position with the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps 112, 112' and 104, 104' now devoid of mirror blanks, the press~type me~hanism 10 ls ready ~or a succeeding cycle of mirror forming and ins~alling operations.
It is to be noted at this point tha~ the method of usin~
the press-typ2 mechan~sm as described abovè insures positive accuracy of mirror installation in the binosular shell 20.
Ths center-to center distance between the rim-receiving recesses 142 in the mounting plate 138 and between the set-screw adjusted prisms and the mirror ~lanks, and all other dimensional aspects of the pre~s-type mechanism are calculated according to the engineer~ng exigencies so that when the objective rims 78 of the binocular shell 20 are received in the recesses 142, the shell is in every respect properly oriented to receive the mirror-carrying blanks 1~, 14' and 18, 18' accurately therein.
Any discrepancies due to rnanufacturing tolerances in making the binocular ~hell 20 or the mirror blanks themselv~s is co~-pensated for by epoxy or other adhesive correction which takes place during setting of the adhesive coatings while the highly accurate press-type mechanism remains effective to hold the various parts accurately in position, ~hereby resulting in the binocular being automatically and accurately collimated.
The inve~tion is not to be limited ~o ~he exact arrange-ment of parts or particular method steps either as shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this speci~ica'tion as various changes therein may be resorted to withou~ departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, although the method of use of the press mechanism 10 results in application of the mirror~carrying blanks 14 and 14' to the binocular shell 20 during the first lowering of the press head 36 aftPr the stage 74 has been removed and the application of the mirror blanks 18 and 18' during the second lowering of the press head3 these two operations may be reversed so that the mirror blanks 18 and 18' are applied to the shell assembly 30 prior to application of the mirror blanks 14 and 14'. F~rthermore, by modiying the shape characteristics of the prism caps 104, 104' and 112~ 112', the prism-like master blocks 12, 12' and 16, 16', the shell assembly 20, or the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18', variously as required~ various shapes of mirrors may be applied to a bino~ular shell by utilizing the basic principles of the invention as outlined above. In addition to the above, it is contemplated that the steps o first applying the re1ective, mirror-forming layers to the mirror blanks 14, 14~ and 18, 18' and then mounting the mirror-carrying blanlcs in the binocul.ar shell 20 may be ~23 accomplished or carried out hy the use of two press-type mechanisms instead of one. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is ~he same ~o ~e limited.
The presen~ lnYention relates generally to mlrror-type binoculars or similar viewing instruments and has particular reference to a method of simultaneously forming eight (four palrs~ mirrors of either the replicated or th~ conventional type and then positioning ~he mirrors which orm a part of the optical system o a mirror-type binocular accurately in porro relationship within the bino~ular shell~
In a binocular which employs porro~rPlated mirrors~ if any one of the eight mirrors deviates a f0w thousandths of an inch in any plane with respect to the other mirror~, proper collimation will be lost. Moreover, with such a mirror deviation, it is practically impossible to determine which mirror is at fault or out of proper adjustment and, even if detection could be made, readjustment thereof would be a tedious task and hardly worth the efor~ from the standpoint of binocular production or manufacture~
The subject invention is specifically concerned with a novel method of simultaneously forming eight mirrors ln the form of four pairs of mirrors and then mount;ng or in~talling the pairs of mirrors in the shell of a binscular in accurate porro relationship. ~y utiLizing the present method, any existing small manufacturing tolerances which may be present in successive binocular shells or Ln sllccessive mi.rror blanks are automaticalLy ~ompensated for and the mirrors are delivered during each cvcle of operation and accurately positioned in their porro relationship and, thereafter, remain accurately and properly positioned in the binocular shell.
Briefly, the method of the present Ln~Jention is carr-led 6~LS
out by means of a press-type mechanism which embodies some of the physical aspeets of a co~ven~ional punch press in that it lncludes or embodies a bed or base and a ver~ically shiftable cooperating press head. Facillties are provided on the press base for selectively supporting khe binoculax shell in eith~r an upright or an inverted posi~ion. In between the base and head) i.e., above the base and beneath the head, there is removably disposed a block-supporting stage having mounted thereon our priæm-like master blocks, each of which is provided with two accurately ground right-angle master surfaces, there being eigh~ such surfaces in all with the surfaces being presented generally upwardly. Each mas~er surface is designed to have ormed thereon or applied thereto a reflective~ mirror forming la~er in the form of a coating or a conventional mirror for subsequent transfer to a mirror blank. Directl~ above the block-supporting stage and in vertical alignment with the four prism-like master blocks are four pxism caps having a pair of downwardly facing righ~-an~le surfaces which are shaped correspondingly to and precisely complement the eight upwardly facing rlght-angle master surfaces of tha four prism-like master blocks, such prism caps being mounted on and movable bodily with the vertically shiftable press head. Each pair of downwardly facing right-angle surfaces of a prism cap is designed to receive thereon in subs~antially coextensive relationship a rlght-angle mirror blank the inner or opposed sides of whieh con~titute mounting surfaces which are adapted to receive thereon the re1ective, mirror-forming layexs which previously were applied ko the master surfaces of the associated or subjacent prism-like master blo k on the block-suppor~ing stage~ Wi~h the latt~r in position beneath the press head, an ini~ial lowering o the head brings the mounting æurfaces o the right-angle mirror blanks into effective engagement with the reflective~ mirror-formîng layers on the master surfaces o~ the prism-like master blocks and a subsequent raising of the press head causes the layers to be picked of or removed from said master surfaces as the result of adherence to the mounting surfaces of the mirror blanks, the right-angle mirror blanks with the transferred reflective3 mirror~
forming layers thereon constituting the eight mirrors for the binocular being formed by use of the aforement~oned press-type mechanismO Thereafter, with the block-supporting stage removed from its normal operative position in the press-type mechanism and with the binocular shell assuming Pither ~ts upright or its inverted position on the press base, a second lowering or downward shif~ing of the press head will lower one set of two right-angle mirror blanks with the adhered ref~ective) mirror fonming layers thereon into the proper po~itîon in the binocular shell, thus supplying the optical system o the binocular with four of its mirrors. Reversing of the binocular shell on the prQss base and lowering the press head a second time in the same manner will bring the other set o~ two right-angle mirror blanks with the adhered reflective, mirror-forming layers thereon into position in the shell, thus supplying the remaining four mirrors for the optical system of the binocular~ An important ~eature of the present invention resides in the fact that a suitable cementit~ous coating ls applied to either the edges oE the ~irror blanks 3 the mlrror-receivlng edges of the binocular shell, or to both sets of such edges before either of the two mirror-carryi~g blanks is lowered into position with respect to the binocular shell which is intention~lly made to be somewha~ oversiz~ for loose fit of the blanks wi~h the mirrors thereon3 and the further fact that the press head is maintained in its lowered position for a period of time which is adequate for the epoxy or other cementitious materlal to become fully set or hardened. Thus, any discrepanci~s arising due to wide manufacturing tolerances in the construction of either ~he right-angle mirror blanks or mirror-seating apertures in the binocular shell will not affect the correct positloning of the mirrors in ~he shell since the press head will hold the mirror-carrying blanks fixedly positioned in their proper relationship with respect to the shell while the cementitious coating sets.
The provision of a method such as has brlefly been outlined above and posses~ing the stated advantages, constitute~ the principal obiect of the present invention.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method which i5 designed primarily for orming mirrors and mounting them properly in the shells of mirror-type binoculars and is characterized by simplicity, high efflciency) and comparatively low cost.
Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention not at this time enumerated wlll become readily apparent as the nature of the in~ention is better under5tood from a con-sideration of the following specification or detailed description.
,5 The i~ention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly pointed ou~ by the olaims at the conclusion hereof.
In the accompanying three shee~s of drawings forming a part of this specification, one physical and illustrative embodiment of the invention i8 shown.
In these drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view, illustrated in somewhat exploded fashlon, showing a press-type mechanism ~hich ~ to form the necessary number of mirrors for a mirror-type binocular and then properly to apply the mirror~ in the b~nocular shell in accordance with the method of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear perspective view of a portion of the press-type mecha~ism of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a binocular shell into which the mirrors are adapted to be placed by utilizing the mechanism of FIG~ l;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front perspective view of a portlon o~ the press type mechanism of FIG. 1, illu~trating a metho~ step whereby two pairs of mirrors are placed in the eyepiece apertures of the binocular shell of FIG. l; and FIG. S is an enlarged fragmentary front perspect~ve view similar to FIG. ~ but illustrating a method step whereby two pairs of mirrors are placed in the objective apertures of the binocular shell of FIG. 3.
Reerring now to the drawings in detall, and in particulax to FIG. 1, there is disclosed in this view a press-type mechanism 10 by me~ns of which a plurality of comparatlvely thin, reflective~ mixror-orming layers that are initially applied to the outside ri~h~-angle faces that exist Otl a first pair of prism-like master blocks 12 and 12' are trans-ferred to the inner right-angle surfaces that exist on a correspondlng pair of mirror blanks 14 and 14', while at the same time a plurality of similar re1ective, mirror~forming layers that are initially applied to outslde right-angle faces that exist on a second pair of prism-likP master blocks _ and 16' are transferred to the inner right-angle surfaces that exist on a corresponding pa;r of mirror blanks 18 and 18'.
A first opexation of the mechanism 10 serves to effect the aforementioned trans~er of eight reflective, mlrror-forming layers simultaneously from their respective master blocks 12, 12'~ 16 and 16' to the proper surfaces of the corresponding mirror blanks 14, 14'~ 18 and 18'. Thereafter~ by a second operation of the press type mechanism and after removal from the mechanism of the hereinafter described removable supporting member or stage on whlch the master blocks are mounted, the mirror blanks 14 and 1~' wi~h the mirror-forming layers thereon are caused to be applied to or inserted ln the body of a binocular shell such as thP shell which is illllstrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings and desi~nated in its ent:irety by the reference numeral 20, the binocular shell at this time being suppor~ed b~ the press-type tnechanism 10 ln what will be referred to herein as an înverted position as shown ln FIG. 4 where certain shell surfaces or edges present themselves upwardly or rec~ption thereon of the mirror blanks 14 and 14'.
~6-'~ $~
Application of the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to, or insertiorl thereof in,, ~he binocular shell 20 is then efec~ed by inverting the shell so that i~ is supported wi~h cer~ain other shell surfaces or edges presented upwardly and a third press mechanism operation is resorted ~o in order ~o cau~e ~he mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to be placed on such surfaces or edges as shown in FIG. 5.
As will be se~ forth in detail subsequently when the nature of the press-type mechanism 10 is better undexstood, deposition of the mirrox-carryi~g blanks on or Ln the binocular shell is made with extreme accuracy so that the various resul~ant binocular mirror~ assume their desired and necessary porro relationship in the opt~cal system of the binocular, the exac~itude of their posi~ioning being ~he result of cementing or bonding of such mirror-carry~ng blanks in place so that any sm~ll di~crepanci~s in the manufacture of successive mirror~
carrying blanks or binocular shells will be compensated ~or.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings wherein the details of the pre~s-type mechanism 10 are best illustrated9 such mechanism involves in its general organization a press base 30 which is in the form of a generally rectangular block-like body and has the medial region thereof formed wlth a transversely extending stepped trollgh-llke recess 32. Projecting vertically upwardly from the ba~e 30 at a location adjacent to the rear side ~ace of the press base is a cylindrical col-lmn 3 on which th~re is mounted for vertical sliding movement a press head 36. The lower end of the column 34 i~ ~ixedly secured to =
the base 30 in any suitable manner. The press head is provided s with a vertically extending sleeve 38 which closely encompasses the column 34 and constitutes the means by which the head is vertically slidable on the col~nn.
The illustrated press-type mechanism 10 is essentially a hand press9 and vertical movements of the head 36 on ~he column 34 are afected under the control of a lever 40 which is provided on one end portion with a hand grip 42 and has the central portion plvoted to the sleeve 38 by way of a horizontal pivot-forming bolt 44 which extends through a horizontal hole 10 in the lever and into a screw-~hreaded socket in ~he sleeve 38 and permits the lever to swing up and down in a vertical plane.
The other end portion of the lever 40 constitutes one link 46 of a two-link toggle joint 48, the other llnk 50 of the toggle joint having one end thereo pivotally connected by a horizontal pivot pin to the free or outer end o~ the link 46 and its other end pivotaLly connected by a horizontal pivot pin 52 to one side of a reaction collar 54 which is normally fixedly fastened by a set screw 56 to the upper end region of the column 34. When the lever 40 as viewed in FIG. 2 is swung in a counterclockwise direction,it operates through the medium of the toggle joint 48 to slide the press head 36 downwards, and when the lever is swung in th~ opposite direction~ iOe.,clockwi~e, it operates through the medi~m of said toggle joint to slide the press head upwards on the cylindrical eolumn 34. If Lt ls desired to change or vertically adjust the up and down slidlng movement o the press head, the set screw 56 is loosened and then the collar 54 is adjusted upwards or downwards, depending upon whether the stroke of the press head is to be raised or lowered. A~ter proper vertical adjustment of ~he collar 54 on the upper end region of the column 34, the se~ screw 56 is ~igh~esled so as to lock the collar in its adjusted position. ~ereas the press-type mechanism 10 has been described and illustrated as a hand-operated mechanism, lt is, o course, contemplated that the mechanism may be power-operated.
The ver~ically shiftable press head 36 includes a body portion 58 which is generally of inverted L shape design and has a horizontal upper portion 60 and a vertical lower portion 62. The upper portion 60 is suitably fixedly connected to the vertically extending sleeve 38 and projects laterally and forwardly therefrom. The lower portion 62 carries at its lower end a blank-supporting ixture 64, ~he nature and function of which will be described in detail presentlyO The press base 30 is horizontally elongated and embodiPs at its end portions a pair of upstanding posts 66 and 68 having the upper ends thereof provided with notches 70, such notches being designed for removable xeception therein of the reduced ends 72 of an elongated horiæontally extending supporting member or stage 74 for the aforementioned prism-like master blocks 12, 12' and 16, 16'. For convenience of description herein, such mas~er blocks will be referred to hereinafter as "master prisms" or simply as "prism," while the supporting member 74 will be referred to as the "prism supporting stage," such terrninology also being employed in the claims ~t the conclusion hereof.
Before entering into a description of the specific nature of the blank~supporting fLxture 64, the pr-Lsm-support-Lng stage 74 and the means whereby the binocular shell 20 is supported on ~he n~9_ press base 30 for reversal of its position thereon as previous^Ly descrihed, i t is deemed e~:pedient to indicate the nature of the four mirror blanks l4, 14' and 18J 18', as well as the nature of the binocular shell 20 to which such blanks are to be applied in porro relationship. Actually, the aforementioned binocular shell 20 is in th~ form of an assembly which comprises two principal parts in the form of a pair of shell halvas 75 and 76, each of which ls provided with an internally-threaded objective rim 78 înto which a lens-containing objective barrel (not shown) is adapted to bethreadedly received, and an internall~-threaded eyepiece rim 80 into which a lens~containing eyepiece barrel (also not shown) is adapted to be threadedly or cementitiously received. As i5 conventional practice, tha two objective rlms 78 of the shell halves 75 and 7~ are hingedly connected ~ogether by a suit~ble hinge arrangemen~ 82 in order ~hat the in erpupillary dis~ance between the eyepiece lenses which are f~tted into the eyepiece rims 8Q of the two shell halves may be adjusted either outwards or inwards. The hinge arrangement 82 is hidden from view in FIG. 3 of the drawlngs but appears in FIG. 4 and will be discussed subsequently. Each o~ the two hingedly connected shell halves is pro~lded w~th a generally right angular hollow shell body 84 which presents two sets o~ generally arched eflges which are adapted to receive thereover the peripheral regions or edges of one of the aforementioned mirror-carrying blanks~
i.e., mirror blank 14, mirror blank L4', mirror blank 18 or mirror blank 18'. When the mirror-carrying blanks ar~ properly positioned with respect to the bodles 84 of the shell halves, 6~;
they are fixedly or permanently secured in place by a cementing or bonding operation as will be described prese~tly~ and when the varîous mirror blanks to which reflective mirror-formlng layers have been applied are all in place on the bodies of the shell halves and the eyepiece and objective barrels are threadedly received in the rims 78 and 80) the form~rly open shell halves 75 and 76 are closed and the binocular is then complete and in readiness for use. When each shell halve is completed with the various ~irrors and lenses installed therein, 10 it forms one o the two telescopes of the binocular which ls formed by way o the mechanism and method which constit~te the present invention ~
Considering now the nature of the four mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18', the two mirror blanks 14 and 14' are smaller in siæe than are the two mirror blanks 18 a~d 18'. They fit on the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76 of the binocular shell 20 in the vicinity of the internally-threaded eyepiece rims 80 and, thereore, they will be hereinafter referred to as "eyepiece mirror blanks." The mirror blanks 18 and 18' fit on the bodies 84 of the two shell halves in the vicinity of the threaded objective rims 78 and, therefore, they will be hereinafter re~erred to as "objective mirror blanks."
Each eyepiece mirror blank, 14 or 14' as the case may be, is compri.sed of two generally oval flat plates 90 which are of unequal siæe and extend at a right angle to one another and are connected together by a short, 1at, narrow bridge piece 92. As will be described presently, the inside or opposing faces of the plates 90 constitute mounting surfaces that are adapted to reeeive thereon reflective, mirror~orming layers. The larger objective mirror blanks 18 and 18' are similarly construc~ed and the parts ther~of have been respectively designated by the sarne reference numerals.
The aforementioned blank-supporting fixture 64 which is carried at the lower end of the vertical portion 62 of the vertically slidable press head 36 of the mechanism 10 ls of rectangular block-like design and the underneath side thereof is provided with a downwardly facing ractangular recess 100 which is of major proportions and has ixedly but shiftably secured therein by mea~s of hoxizont~lly extendlng anchoring screws 102, a pair o side~by-side alongated prism caps 1~4 and 104', the latter, although not sc illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, are of slightly le~s length than the downwardly facing rectangular recess 100 and are adapted to have between their ends and the ends of the recess one or more shims (not shown~
in order that they may be lengthwi~e adjusted as desired and then locked in place by tightening of the anchoring screws 102.
Said prism caps 104 and 104' are shaped to fonm downwardly facing inverted V shaped recesses the surfaces of which extend at a right angle to one another and precisely complement the outer faces of the two objective mirror blanks 18 and 18', A saddle-like member 106 is fixedly secured to the underneath slde o~ the blank supporting fixture 64 a~ one end thereof and in slde-by side relation with the recess 100. Xt extends at right angles to said recess 100 and is formed with two downwardly facing rectangular recesses 108 and 108l wi~hi.n which there are respecti~ely moun~ed and shiftably held by anchoring scx2ws 110, two prism caps 112 and 112'. The lat~er are longitudinally or l~ngthwis~
adjustable by way of shims (not shown) in the same manner as the prism caps 104 and 104' and are shaped to form downwardly facing inverted V-shaped recesses ~he surfaces of which are at a right angle to one another and precisely complement the outer faces of the two eyepiece mirror blanks 14 and 14t. As will be described in greater detail subsequently, when the replicated mirror-orming me~hod of the present invention which is carried out by the use of the press mechanism 10 is set forth, the opposed right angle surfaces of the inverted V-shap~d rPcesses which are formed in the various pri~m caps 104, 104' and 112 and 112' are precision ground or lapped to an extremely high degree so that they are smooth and plan~r and hence are ~o designed or formed as ~o receive thereon by vacuum adherence the mirror blanks 18j 18' and 14, 14' respectively.
Considering further the nature or design of the afore-mentioned prism-supporting stage 743 such stage is in the form o an elongated bar-like member 114 the reduced ends 72 of which are designed for removable re~eption in the aforemen~ioned notches 70 in the upper ends of the posts 56 and 68. An elevated cradle 116 is mounted on a medial region of the member 114, extends lengthwqse of said member, and serves to support therein the aforementioned master prisms 16 and 16' in s~de-by-side relation, suitably horizontally ext~ndlng anchorlng screws 118 at one end of the cradle belng provided for fixedly but shi~tably holding said prisms in position within the cradl.e 116, It is to be understood that the master prism~l6 and 16' are of less length than the distance between the upstanding end walls of the 6 ~ ~
~radle 116 and also that shims (not shown) ad~ cent to the ends o the master prisms 16 and 16' will be employed in order lengthw~se to adjust said master prisms into their proper operativP positions. It ls also to be understood tha~ after proper positioning of ~he shims, the anchoring screws 118 will be tightPned i.n order to lock said prisms in their adjusted positions. A cradle 120 which is similar to the cradle 116 but disposed at a lower level extends trans-versely of the bar-like mPmber 114. It is secured in a recess 1 in a medial region of said bar-like member and is, itself, formed with a pair of longitudinally aligned recesses 124 which receive therein the master prisms 12 and 12', suitably horizontally anchorlng screws 126 being provided or holding such prisms fixedly but shiftably in place. Shims (not shown~
are used at the ends of the recesses 124 in order lengthwise to adjust the master prisms 12 and 12l to ~heir proper operative posi~ions.
~en the prism-supporting stage 74 is ln its operative position on the posts 66 and 68, the prisms 16 and 16' directly underlie the prism caps 104 and 104' respectively and are in precise vertical alignment therewith. Similarly, when the stage 74 is in place on the posts 66 and 68) the prisms 12 and 12' directly und~rlie the prism cap~ 112 and 112' respectively and are in precise vertical alignment therewith~ Such vertical alignm0nt of parts is to a certain extent made possible by reason of a verticall~ extending, shouldered, anti-torque guide post 127 which depends from the collar S4. The upper end of such post is screw-threaded, extends through a vertical hole in the collar, and is fixedly secured in place by means of a nut 128. The intermediate and lower portions of the anti-torque post project ln~o an open-sided slot 129 in ~he sleeve 38 with tha result that the sleeve is ree to slide vertically on the column 34 but is pre~rented frsm rotati.rlg relatively to said post. Instead of employing or using the anti-torque post 127 to prevent the sleeve 3g from rotating relatively to the column 34~ a second column (not shown), ;n s~de-by-side relation with the column 34 may be utilized.
As previously stated, the bi~ocular shell 20 is capable of being removably mounted on the press base 30 and is also capable of being reversed thereon so that it may assume either the inverted position in which ~t is shown in FIG. 4 or the upright pos~tion in which it is shown in FLG. 5, Accordingly, and with reference to FIGS. 1, 4~ and 5 of the drawings, an elongated transversely e~tending hinge mount 130 is fixedly secured ~o the upper face of the press base and has secured thereto the fixed hinge leaves 132 of a pair of side-by~side but spaced apart p~ecision hinge assemblies 134. The swinging 2Q or movable hlnge leave~ 136 of the assemblies 134 serves ~o support a shell mounting plate 138 so that it is capable of being swung back and forth between an extended horizontal position as shown in FIG. 4 and a folded or retracted position as shown in FI~. 5. In lts extended horizontal posltlon, the mounting plate projects partially acro~s the stepped ~rough-like recess 32 and in its folded or retracted position the mounting plate extends in reentrant fashion over the upper face of the press base 30 (see FIGS. 1 and 5), overlies the hinge mount 1309 ~1.5-and finas reaction support on a reetangular plate 140 which is suitably fixedly mounted on the upper -face of the press base 30.
As best shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the blnocular shell mounting plate 138 is ~ormed with a palr o sem:i-circular recesses 142 which are adapted removably to receive therain the objective rims 78 of the blnocular shell 20. Anchorlng screws 144 extend diagonally through the distal edge region of the shell mounting plate 138 and in~o the restricted mouth portions of the recess 142 and serve when tightened to hold said objective rims 78 securely in the recesses to the end that the binocular shell 20 ls fixedly secured to the moun~ing and hence capable of swinging back and forth with it. As shown in FIG. 4, when the objectlve rims 7~ of the binocular shell 20 are properly installed in the recesses 142 and the binocular mounting plate 138 is in its horizontal ex~ending positlon wherein it overlies the recess 32 ln the press base~ the shell assumes its inverted posi~ion (see FI&. 4). When the mounting plate 138 ls folded back over the upper ~ace of the press base 30 as shown in FIG. 5~ the binocular shell 20 assumes its upright position as portrayed in FIG. 3. In the upright position of the shell, one set of arched edges of the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76 underlie and are in vertical alignment wi.th the prism caps 104 and 104'. In the inverted position of the binoeular shell 20 as shown in FIG. 4 oE the drawlngs, i.e., when the mounting plate 138 overlies the recess 32, the other set o~
arched edges of the bodies of the two shell halves underlLe and are in vert~cal alignment with the prLsm caps 112 and 112'.
As heretofore indicated, the reflective, mirror-forming layers are in the form of either coatings for application to the downwardly :acing moun~ing surfaces of the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 169 16' or conventional rnirrors. If the layers are in the ~orm of coatlngs, they are applied to such mounting surfaces of ~he mirror blanks by way of a so-called "replication"
method.
In the utilization of thP press mechanism 10 for the purpose of creating or forming reflective surfaces or mirrors by the so-called replication method and then i~ talling them in binocular shells such as the shell 20 of FIG. 3, a separator coating and a reflective (mirror) coating are applied in any suitable or well-known manner to each of the right-angle surfaces of the ~our prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16' either before or aft~r such prisms are mounted in their respPctive cradles 106 and 116.
With the thus coated prisms propexly installed in the cradles on the stage 74, the latter is mounted in the notches 70 in the upper ends of its supporting posts 66 and 68, while the press head 38 is maintained in ;ts fully raised position. Thereaf~er, the mirror blanks 1~, 14' and 18, 18l are caused to receive a coating of an epoxy resin ox other suitable adhesive on ~heir inner or opposed faces and the blanks are installed Ln proper registry within the respective inverted V shaped recesses in the prîsm caps 112, 112' and 104, 104' 7 positioning of the blanks preferably being maintained by vacuum adhesion as previously mentioned. So far as an epoxy or other adhesive is concerned i~ is con~emplated that one will be selected which upon hardening or drying will not dlstort, warp or otherwise darnage the re1ective coatings on the right-angle surfaces of ~he four prisms. Accura~e positioning of the blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18i within their respec~ive prism caps may be attained by means of locating protuberances 150 on ~he inner surfaces of the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps. There-after, by means of the lever 40, the press head 36 i5 lowered to an lntermediate pOSitiOII, i.~. ~ until all eight right-angle prism cap surfaces regis~er under pressure with the corresponding right-angle surfaces of the prisms 12~ 12~ and 16, 16'. The pressure is maintained until the epoxy or other adhesive on the inner or oppos~d faces of the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 187 has hardened, polymerized ox otherwise become se~, after which the press head 36 is raised. Upon such raising of the press head, the reflective coatings on the prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16' are plcked upg 50 to speak, or tran~ferred to the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 187 18' with the press head and mirror blanks assuming the positions in which they are illustrated in FIG. 4.
If the reflective, mirror-orming layers for application to the downwardly facing mounting surfaces of the mirror blanks are in the orm of conventional mirxors, they are first positioned so that their non-reflective or body portions are on the top and face upwards and are then manipulated 80 that their reflective sur~aces are positioned in abutment wlth ~he right-angle surfaces are positioned in abutment with the right-angle surfaces of the four prisms 12, 12' and 16, 16'. It is contemplated that when conventional mirrors are used as the reflective, mlrror-forming layers, they will be releasably held in abutment with the right angle surfaces of the aforemention2d four prisms by sultable -1~
suction mean~ (not shown3. After proper mounting o~ the conventional mirrors in place, the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18 ' are caused to receive a coating of epoxy resln or other suitable adhesive on their inner or opposed faces and the blanks are installed in proper reg-istry wi~hin the respective inverted V-shaped recesses in the caps 112, 112' and 104, 104'. Thereafter, by means of the lever 40, the press head 36 is lowered to an intermedia~e position, i.e., until all eight right-angle prism cap surfaces regis~er under pressure with the corresponding right-angle suraces of the prisms 12~ 12' and 16, 16'. The pressure is maintained until the epoxy or other adhesive on the mirror blanks has hardened or set and thereafter the press head 36 is raised after dis-continuance of the suction which is used to hold the co~entional mirrors releasably mounted on the right~angle surface~ of the four prisms. Upon raising of the press head, the conventional mirrors are in adhered relation with the downwardly facing mounting surfaees of the mirror blan~s with the press head and mirror blanks assuming the positions in which they are illustra~ed in FI~. 4.
In the present specifîcation, the term "reflective, mirror-forming layers" is in~nde-l to mean mlrrors which are either formed by the aforementioned replication method or are conventional mirrors.
With the binocular moun~ing plate 138 in the position in which it is shown in FIG. 4 with the bi nocular shell 20 in i~s inverted position, and with ths prism-supporting stage 74 removed from its operative position on the posts 66 and 68 ~0 r~5 a coating of epoxy resin or ~ther suitable adhesive or cementitious matarial is applied to the o~ er or peripheral edge portions of the mirxor-carrylng blanks 14, 14' or to the inner or mating arched edge portions o the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76l or to bo~h sets of such edges, after whi~h the lever 40 may be again manipulated to low~r the press head 36 and thus bring ~he edges o~ the mlrror blanks 14 and 14' into register with said inner arched edge portions o~ the bodies 84, thereby placi~g ~he mirror-carrying blanks 14 and 14' accurately in the binocular shell and or proper collimation with the remaining mirror carxying blanks 18 and 18' which are subsequently to be applied to the bînocular shell 20. The epoxy resin or other adhesive or cementitlous material is allowed to harden or become set so that the positioning of the mirror blanks 14 and 14' as effected b~ the press head 36 becomes a pexmanent one, after which the press head 36 is raised, thus leaving the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps 112 and 112' empty as shown in FI&. 5 but returning the mirror blanks 18 and 18' to their raised positions.
With the prism-supporting stage 74 still removed from its nonmal or operative position on the upstanding posts 66 and 68 of the press base 30, th0 binocular mounting plate 138 is rotated or swung throughout an anglP of approximately 180~ so as to fold it back upon the reaction supporting plate 140 as shown in FIG. 5 and thus bring the binocular shell 20 into its upright position as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Thereafter, an epoxy resln or other suitable aclhesive or cementitious coating is appliecl to the outer or perlpheral edge portlons of the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18', or to the exposed inner or mating arched edge portions of the bodies 84 of the shell halves 75 and 76, or to both such set~ of edges, and the press head 3~ i5 again lowered past its intermediate position so as to bring the thus adhesively-coated edges together and positio~ the mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 1~' in proper place in the binocular shell 20 so that all four mirror blanks are now accurately positioned for proper collimatîon. After the epoxy resin or other adhesive or cementitious material has been allowed to set or harden, the press head 36 is again raised, thu~ withdrawîng the prism caps 104 and 104' from the deposîted mirror-carrying blanks 18 and 18'. The binocular is then completed except for the application to the eyepiece and objective rîms 80 and 78 of their associated eyepiece and objective lens-carrying barrels whichhave not ~een disclosed herein. It is, however, contemplated that so far as the eyepiece barrels of the binocular are concerned, they wîth proper lenses ixedly mounted therein may be applied to the eyPpiece rims 80 of the shelL 20 at the same time a~ the mirror blanks 18 and 18' are mounted in the binocular shell when the press-type mechanism is used when its parts are positioned as shown in FIG. 5. In this connection7 ît is contemplated that the fixture 64 would be provîded outwards of the prism caps 104 and 104' with laterally extendîng extensions (not shown) having downwardly ~acing sockets for receiving snugly the le~s-equipped eyepiece barrels. Before final low ring of the pX8SS head 36 in connection wlth application of the mîrror-carrying blanks 18 and 18' to the shell 20, the lens-equipped eyepLece barrels while in the aforementioned downwardly extending sockets would have their lower rim reglons coated with suitahle epoxy material to the end that during final lowering o the press head 36 to effect applicatlon of the mirror blanks 18 and 18' to the blnocular shell ~0~ the lower portions of the lens-equipped eyepiece barrels would seat within the eyep~ece rims 80 where they would become ~ixedly mounted in place upon hardening of the epoxy material.
After application of the four palrs of mirror-carrying blanks to the binocular shell 20, the objective rims 78 o~ the sh~ll may then be withdrawn from the recesses 142 by loosening the anchoring screws 144 thus freeing the binocular shell 20 from the mounting plate 138. Since the press head 36 now assumes its fully raised position with the inverted V-shaped recesses in the prism caps 112, 112' and 104, 104' now devoid of mirror blanks, the press~type me~hanism 10 ls ready ~or a succeeding cycle of mirror forming and ins~alling operations.
It is to be noted at this point tha~ the method of usin~
the press-typ2 mechan~sm as described abovè insures positive accuracy of mirror installation in the binosular shell 20.
Ths center-to center distance between the rim-receiving recesses 142 in the mounting plate 138 and between the set-screw adjusted prisms and the mirror ~lanks, and all other dimensional aspects of the pre~s-type mechanism are calculated according to the engineer~ng exigencies so that when the objective rims 78 of the binocular shell 20 are received in the recesses 142, the shell is in every respect properly oriented to receive the mirror-carrying blanks 1~, 14' and 18, 18' accurately therein.
Any discrepancies due to rnanufacturing tolerances in making the binocular ~hell 20 or the mirror blanks themselv~s is co~-pensated for by epoxy or other adhesive correction which takes place during setting of the adhesive coatings while the highly accurate press-type mechanism remains effective to hold the various parts accurately in position, ~hereby resulting in the binocular being automatically and accurately collimated.
The inve~tion is not to be limited ~o ~he exact arrange-ment of parts or particular method steps either as shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this speci~ica'tion as various changes therein may be resorted to withou~ departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, although the method of use of the press mechanism 10 results in application of the mirror~carrying blanks 14 and 14' to the binocular shell 20 during the first lowering of the press head 36 aftPr the stage 74 has been removed and the application of the mirror blanks 18 and 18' during the second lowering of the press head3 these two operations may be reversed so that the mirror blanks 18 and 18' are applied to the shell assembly 30 prior to application of the mirror blanks 14 and 14'. F~rthermore, by modiying the shape characteristics of the prism caps 104, 104' and 112~ 112', the prism-like master blocks 12, 12' and 16, 16', the shell assembly 20, or the mirror blanks 14, 14' and 18, 18', variously as required~ various shapes of mirrors may be applied to a bino~ular shell by utilizing the basic principles of the invention as outlined above. In addition to the above, it is contemplated that the steps o first applying the re1ective, mirror-forming layers to the mirror blanks 14, 14~ and 18, 18' and then mounting the mirror-carrying blanlcs in the binocul.ar shell 20 may be ~23 accomplished or carried out hy the use of two press-type mechanisms instead of one. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is ~he same ~o ~e limited.
Claims (16)
1. The method of creating a plurality of mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a viewing instrument in order to establish a reflective portion of the optical system of the instrument, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support, positioning a plurality of mirror blanks presenting mounting surfaces, one for each mirror, in register with the shell, applying a reflective, mirror-forming layer to each of a plurality of master surfaces, one for each blank, and placing the master surfaces with the layers thereon in intermediate positions between their respective blanks and the shell, simultaneously bringing the mirror blanks and master surfaces into effective mating engagement with each other so as to transfer the layers from the master surfaces onto the mounting surfaces and produce mirrors on the blanks, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate position, and causing the mirror-carrying blanks to be mounted in the shell.
2. The method set forth in claim 1 and wherein the shell is positioned on a fixed base reaction support, the mirror blanks are positioned in vertical register with the shell, the mirror blanks are lowered simultaneously into effective mating engagement with the master surfaces, and the blanks with the mirrors thereon are lowered toward the reaction support to effect mounting thereof in the shell.
3. The method of claim 2 including the additional steps of applying a quantity of an adhesive or cementitious material to
3. The method of claim 2 including the additional steps of applying a quantity of an adhesive or cementitious material to
Claim 3 continued the edges of the mirror blanks immediately prior to mounting of the blanks with the mirrors thereon in the shell, and allowing the blanks to remain in their lowered positions during setting of the material.
4. A method of creating a plurality of mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a viewing instrument in order to establish a reflective portion of the optical system of the instrument, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support, positioning a plurality of mirror blanks presenting mounting surfaces, one for each mirror, in register with the shell, applying a reflective mirror-forming coating to each of a plurality of master surfaces, one for each blank, and placing the coated master surfaces in intermediate positions between their respective blanks and the shell, simultaneously bringing the mirror blanks and master surfaces into effective mating engagement with each other so as to transfer the coatings from the master surfaces onto the mounting surfaces and produce replicated mirrors of the blanks, applying separator coatings to facilitate transfer of the reflective mirror-forming coatings to the master surfaces immediately prior to application thereto of the reflective coatings, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate position, and causing the blanks with the replicated mirrors thereon to be mounted in the shell.
5. The method of claim 4 including the step of further facilitating transfer of the reflective mirror-forming coatings from the master surfaces to the blanks by coextensively coating the mounting surfaces of the blanks with an adhesive.
6. The method of claim 4 including the steps of further facilitating transfer of the reflective mirror-forming coatings from the master surfaces to the blanks by applying an epoxy resin coextensively to the mounting surfaces and causing the blanks to remain in mating engagement without mirror distortion with the master surfaces until such resin has polymerized.
7. The method of creating a plurality of mirrors and introducing them into the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in order to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing upwardly, positioning a pair of composite mirror blanks 3 each presenting two right-angle transfer surfaces so that one blank registers with said one open side, applying a reflective mirror-forming coating to each of a series of four master surfaces and placing the coated master surfaces in intermediate positions between the blanks and shell and in vertical register with respective transfer surfaces thereabove, simultaneously bringing the mirror blanks and master surfaces into effective mating engagement with each other so as to transfer the mirror-forming coatings and produce replicated mirrors on the blanks, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate positions, causing the two right-angle transfer surfaces of said one blank with their replicated mirrors thereon to be applied simultaneously into the upwardly facing open side of the shell, repositioning the shell on the reaction support by inverting the same so that the other open side thereof faces upwardly, and finally causing the two right-angle transfer surfaces of the other blank with their replicated mirrors thereon to be applied simultaneously into the
7. The method of creating a plurality of mirrors and introducing them into the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in order to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing upwardly, positioning a pair of composite mirror blanks 3 each presenting two right-angle transfer surfaces so that one blank registers with said one open side, applying a reflective mirror-forming coating to each of a series of four master surfaces and placing the coated master surfaces in intermediate positions between the blanks and shell and in vertical register with respective transfer surfaces thereabove, simultaneously bringing the mirror blanks and master surfaces into effective mating engagement with each other so as to transfer the mirror-forming coatings and produce replicated mirrors on the blanks, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate positions, causing the two right-angle transfer surfaces of said one blank with their replicated mirrors thereon to be applied simultaneously into the upwardly facing open side of the shell, repositioning the shell on the reaction support by inverting the same so that the other open side thereof faces upwardly, and finally causing the two right-angle transfer surfaces of the other blank with their replicated mirrors thereon to be applied simultaneously into the
Claim 7 concluded other upwardly facing open side of the shell.
8. The method of creating a plurality of mirrors and introducing them into the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in order to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing upwardly, positioning a pair of composite mirror blanks each presenting two generally downwardly facing right-angle mounting surfaces on a vertically shiftable head-like carrier so that one of the blanks registers with said one open side, applying a reflective mirror-forming layer to each of a series of four master surfaces and placing the surfaces with the layers thereon in intermediate positions between the carrier and the shell and in vertical register with respective mounting surfaces thereabove, lowering the carrier and blanks vertically to bring the right angle mounting surfaces into effective mating engage-ment with their respective layer-carrying master surfaces so as to transfer the layers to the mounting surfaces and produce mirrors on the blanks, raising the carrier vertically to free the master surfaces, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate positions, lowering the carrier vertically to apply said one blank to the upwardly facing open aide of the shell, thus closing said side and placing the mirrors on such blank in the optical system, raising the carrier vertically to free the shell, repositioning the shell on the reaction support with its other open side facing upwardly and in vertical register with the other blank, and again lowering the carrier vertically to apply
8. The method of creating a plurality of mirrors and introducing them into the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in order to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing upwardly, positioning a pair of composite mirror blanks each presenting two generally downwardly facing right-angle mounting surfaces on a vertically shiftable head-like carrier so that one of the blanks registers with said one open side, applying a reflective mirror-forming layer to each of a series of four master surfaces and placing the surfaces with the layers thereon in intermediate positions between the carrier and the shell and in vertical register with respective mounting surfaces thereabove, lowering the carrier and blanks vertically to bring the right angle mounting surfaces into effective mating engage-ment with their respective layer-carrying master surfaces so as to transfer the layers to the mounting surfaces and produce mirrors on the blanks, raising the carrier vertically to free the master surfaces, withdrawing the master surfaces from their intermediate positions, lowering the carrier vertically to apply said one blank to the upwardly facing open aide of the shell, thus closing said side and placing the mirrors on such blank in the optical system, raising the carrier vertically to free the shell, repositioning the shell on the reaction support with its other open side facing upwardly and in vertical register with the other blank, and again lowering the carrier vertically to apply
Claim 8 concluded the other blank to the other open side of the shell, thus closing such side and placing the mirrors on the latter blank in said optical system.
9. The method set forth in claim 8 including the additional step of applying a quantity of an adhesive or cementitious material to the edges of each mirror blank immediately prior to applying such blank to the shell.
10. The method set forth ? and wherein the adhesive or cementitious material which is applied to the edges of each mirror blank is in the form of an epoxy resin, and the blanks are caused to remain applied to the shell until such resin has polymerized.
11. The method of forming a pair of mirrors for use as part of the optical system of a mirror-type viewing instrument, said method comprising applying a reflective, mirror-forming layer to each of two adjacent right-angle master surfaces of a prism, taking a one-piece mirror blank having a pair of right-angle mounting surfaces for mating engagement respectively with the master surfaces of the prism and mounting it in a correspondingly shaped V-shaped recess in a prism cap, effecting such relative movement of the prism and prism cap as to move the latter together and bring the mounting surfaces of the mirror blank into mating engagement respectively with the master surfaces of the prism and thereby effect transfer of the reflective, mirror-forming layers on said master surfaces to
11. The method of forming a pair of mirrors for use as part of the optical system of a mirror-type viewing instrument, said method comprising applying a reflective, mirror-forming layer to each of two adjacent right-angle master surfaces of a prism, taking a one-piece mirror blank having a pair of right-angle mounting surfaces for mating engagement respectively with the master surfaces of the prism and mounting it in a correspondingly shaped V-shaped recess in a prism cap, effecting such relative movement of the prism and prism cap as to move the latter together and bring the mounting surfaces of the mirror blank into mating engagement respectively with the master surfaces of the prism and thereby effect transfer of the reflective, mirror-forming layers on said master surfaces to
Claim 11 concluded the mounting surfaces, and then effecting such relative movement of the prism and prism cap as to move them apart as a preliminary to removal of the mirror blank with the mirror-forming layers on the mounting surfaces thereof from the recess in the prism cap.
12. The method of introducing two pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors into the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in porro relationship to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising positioning the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing upwardly, positioning said pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors on a vertically shiftable carrier so that one pair registers with said upwardly facing open side of the shell, lowering said carrier to apply said one pair of right angularly disposed mirrors to the upwardly facing side of the shell and thus introduce the same into the optical system of the shell, raising the carrier vertically to free the shell on the support, repositioning the shell on said support with its other open side facing upwardly and in vertical register with the other pair of right angularly disposed mirrors, and again lowering the carrier vertically to apply said last mentioned pair of mirrors to said other upwardly facing open side of the shell and thus introduce them into the optical system of the shell.
13. The method set forth in claim 12 and including the additional step of applying a quantity of an adhesive or cementitious material to the edges of the right angularly disposed
13. The method set forth in claim 12 and including the additional step of applying a quantity of an adhesive or cementitious material to the edges of the right angularly disposed
Claim 13 concluded mirrors immediately prior to applying such mirrors to each upwardly facing open side of the shell.
14. The method of claim 11 and including the additional step of facilitating transfer of the reflective 3 mirror-forming layers from the master surfaces of the prisms to the mounting surfaces of the blank by coextensively coating with an adhesive material, before the first mentioned relative movement of the prism and prism cap occurs, one of the two pairs of opposed surfaces of the blank and the reflective, mirror-forming layers.
15. The method of claim 11 and including the additional step of facilitating transfer of the reflective, mirror forming layers from the master surfaces of the prism to the mounting surfaces of the blank by coextensively coating with an adhesive material, before the first mentioned relative movement of the prism and prism cap occurs, said mounting surfaces of the blank.
16. The method of introducing two pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors in the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in porro relationship to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising position-ing the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing in one direction, removably mounting said pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors on a carrier so that one pair registers with and faces said one open side of the shell, effecting relative movement of the carrier and support towards one another in order to apply said one pair of right angularly disposed mirrors to said one
16. The method of introducing two pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors in the open-sided shell of a binocular telescope in porro relationship to establish the reflective portion of the optical system of such telescope, said method comprising position-ing the shell on a reaction support with one open side facing in one direction, removably mounting said pairs of right angularly disposed mirrors on a carrier so that one pair registers with and faces said one open side of the shell, effecting relative movement of the carrier and support towards one another in order to apply said one pair of right angularly disposed mirrors to said one
Claim 16 concluded open side of the shell and thus introduce the same into the optical system of the shell, effecting relative movement of the carrier and support away from one another in order to free the shell on the support, repositioning the shell on said support with another open side thereof facing in said one direction and so that it registers and faces the other pair of right angularly disposed mirrors, and again effecting relative movement of the carrier and support towards one another in order to apply said last mentioned pair of mirrors to said another open side of the shell and thus introduce them into the optical system of the shell.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US05/854,648 US4140567A (en) | 1977-03-28 | 1977-11-25 | Method of forming mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrument |
| US854,648 | 1986-04-22 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1101645A true CA1101645A (en) | 1981-05-26 |
Family
ID=25319239
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA312,458A Expired CA1101645A (en) | 1977-11-25 | 1978-10-02 | Method of forming mirrors and mounting them in the shell of a binocular or like viewing instrument |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1101645A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN115268011A (en) * | 2022-09-29 | 2022-11-01 | 中国科学院长春光学精密机械与物理研究所 | Gravity unloading device for reflector |
-
1978
- 1978-10-02 CA CA312,458A patent/CA1101645A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN115268011A (en) * | 2022-09-29 | 2022-11-01 | 中国科学院长春光学精密机械与物理研究所 | Gravity unloading device for reflector |
| CN115268011B (en) * | 2022-09-29 | 2022-12-09 | 中国科学院长春光学精密机械与物理研究所 | Gravity unloading device for reflector |
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