CN107923725B

CN107923725B - Dual focal plane reticle for optical sighting device

Info

Publication number: CN107923725B
Application number: CN201680047964.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 戴维·M·汉密尔顿; 塞缪尔·J·汉密尔顿
Original assignee: Sheltered Wings Inc dba Vortex Optics
Current assignee: Sheltered Wings Inc dba Vortex Optics
Priority date: 2015-06-17
Filing date: 2016-06-15
Publication date: 2021-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2036-06-15
Also published as: EP3311098A4; JP2023076544A; JP6797141B2; EP3311098A1; PH12017502336A1; AU2016278051B2; AU2021203349A1; ZA201708548B; JP2021042953A; CA2989411A1; WO2016205346A1; NZ738314A; AU2023202468A1; CN113446901A; AU2016278051A1; CN107923725A; CN113446901B; EP3875885A1; JP2018524542A; CA2989411C

Abstract

A dual focal plane optical sighting device, such as a riflescope, has two focal planes, with a first reticle located at the first focal plane and a second reticle located at the second focal plane. The reticle at the first focal plane is a glass etched reticle; the reticle at the second focal plane is a wire reticle. The two reticles have different patterns or markings that provide the appearance of a single reticle or complementary marking when viewed through the optical sighting device.

Description

Dual focal plane reticle for optical sighting device

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority from U.S. patent application No. 14/742,415 filed on 17.6.2015, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to optical sighting devices for use with firearms. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to reticles for use in dual focal plane optical sighting devices.

Background

Reticles are used in optical sighting devices to aim and measure distances or dimensions of objects. Various types of reticles may be used in optical sighting devices such as riflescopes. Wire crosshairs have been used in reticles for many years.

Recently, glass etched reticles (glass etched reticles) have become popular in optical devices used in consumer, military and law enforcement markets. A glass etching reticle is a piece of glass having a pattern etched into the glass, and then various substances can be deposited into the etched pattern using a vapor deposition chamber. For black features, chromium is typically used. For "light" features, titanium dioxide or sodium silicate are typically used. This fine powder reflects light from the LEDs located at the edge of the reticle housing and out of the user's line of sight toward the user's eyes and makes the reticle pattern appear luminous and thus easily visible in low-light conditions.

Most variable power optical sighting devices have two focal planes. In general, the reticle may be positioned at the first focal plane, the second focal plane, or both. There are significant advantages and disadvantages to the first and second focal plane reticles.

The first focal plane reticle typically has smaller features, which typically prevents the use of wires because they are too large. Therefore, a glass etched reticle is typically used for the first focal plane reticle. Since the first focal plane is located in front of the zoom magnification system (i.e., the erector system), the reticle and the image will vary in size in proportion to each other: as the image becomes larger, the information on the reticle becomes larger at the same rate. One advantage of this is that any measurement indicia on the reticle is accurate at any magnification setting selected by the user. When the image is magnified, the information on the reticle will become larger with the image at the same rate, so all reticle markers will be accurate to their designed measurement scale. However, one disadvantage is that it may become difficult to see small objects because more of the viewable area is occluded, as the lines making up the reticle will become thicker to the user's eyes. If the lines are too thin, at low magnification (suitable for larger fields of view and moving objects) the lines may be too thin to be clearly visible. On the other hand, if the lines are thick and work well at low magnifications, they will appear too thick at higher magnifications.

In the second focal plane reticle, in contrast, the advantages and disadvantages are substantially opposite to those of the first focal plane reticle. When the magnification of the image is changed, the second focal plane reticle is not resized or scaled because it is located behind the erecting system. Thus, the second focal plane reticle is typically sized to the specific magnification setting of the riflescope. In order to make the measurement indicia on the second focal plane reticle accurate, the scope must be set at the exact magnification setting for which a given reticle is designed. Therefore, in order to use the measurement flag at another magnification, the user needs to mathematically calculate the difference for accurate use. Since the thickness of the lines on the second focal plane reticle does not change with the magnification setting, the lines can be optimized for the desired thickness and at any magnification the lines will present the same thickness to the user's eyes.

Some trends in current aiming devices are noteworthy. For example, there is a tendency to increase the range of amplification in aiming devices. Scopes with an amplification range of 6X are not uncommon, and some scopes even have an amplification range above 10X. As the magnification range increases, it becomes more difficult to optimize the line thickness of the reticle used in the first focal plane because there is too much variation in the line size of the reticle within the magnification range. Another trend is to use one optical sighting device in long distance situations and in short distance situations. The increased zoom range makes it possible to have one optical sighting device that can be used for very close and very far situations. However, due to the above-mentioned advantages and disadvantages, it is difficult to find a reticle that is optimal for both long distance and short distance situations.

In the past years, some optical sighting devices have used bifocal plane reticles. This means that the apparatus contains two reticles; there is a reticle in each of the first and second focal planes. Typically, most dual-purpose (near and far distance applications) reticles will have a vertical line of sight and a horizontal line of sight with hash marks or some other shape that specifies a particular angular measurement (e.g., angular or milliradian) for remote firing. For short range shooting, it is preferable to use simple dots, horseshoes, dashed circles, or some other marker. Both reticles in all bifocal optical sighting devices known to the inventors to date are glass etched reticles.

Reticle lighting has been used in conventional style riflescopes for many years, but lighting problems also exist. Discussion of glass reticle technology will be useful background. Many years ago, glass reticles were invented because of their advantage of achieving a "floating" reticle feature. The term "floating" when applied to reticles means that any design can be placed on a glass surface without any other physical support, that is, the design does not need to be attached. Floating reticles are different from wire reticles in that the latter require that all reticle features be supported by being connected to a frame in some way, like a stencil (steel) or neon. The glass reticle makes any conceivable pattern possible. As described above, a glass reticle manufacturer will etch glass with a pattern and then fill the etched area with various different materials depending on different factors. Typically, chrome is used as a material for filling the etch used in the non-illuminated features. For illuminating features, glass reticle manufacturers typically use reflective materials such as, but not limited to, titanium dioxide and sodium silicate. Typically, in a glass reticle, there is a second piece of glass glued over the reticle pattern to protect the pattern, thereby forming a doublet.

However, most glass illumination reticles are not bright enough to be used in bright daylight situations because current technology cannot make them bright enough. There are exceptions to this generality, but they also have their disadvantages. Conventional reticle illumination involves the use of LEDs placed at the edges of the glass reticle. Light from the LED is reflected from the reflective material toward the eye of the viewer, forming an illuminated pattern. This method is used to produce a desired illumination pattern in low light conditions. Titanium dioxide and sodium silicate are in fact very fine ground powders of these materials. When light from the LED impinges on these materials, the light scatters in all directions. Some of which pass to the user's eyes. But this is clearly inefficient as it scatters light into various directions. The result is insufficient light reflected in bright daylight conditions.

An alternative way to provide brighter illumination is to use light transmitted through optical fibers to the center of the reticle to form a bright center point or other shape. This is currently used, for example, in Vortex Razor 1-6x24 scopes. The light transmitted through the optical fiber may be ambient light or may be provided by an LED or other suitable light source. Illuminating the fiber with an LED produces a very bright reticle that can be seen in bright sunlight and does not darken when the user removes his head from the shaft. The problem with this design is that it can only be used in the second focal plane. The reason is that placing in the first focal plane will require a much smaller illuminated shape to present the correct size to the user, and it is difficult to make the fiber small enough, or at least as small as the center point. In addition, the use of optical fibers makes it difficult to use glass reticle technology without the viewer seeing the fiber optic cable (which obstructs the field of view and distracts). Moreover, optical fibers have the disadvantage of having only an illuminated center point or chevron or other similar small and compact shape. But without multiple fibers, the broken entity is very difficult. Other illumination types may produce a fully illuminated reticle pattern or a center pattern other than a simple dot. For example, wire reticles having optical fibers illuminated by LEDs have been used.

Another system for making the illuminated pattern bright is a diffraction grating reticle. Schwaroch uses a diffraction grating reticle in its Z6 series of sighting telescope. This technique does produce a very bright center spot. The problem is the way in which the light is provided to the diffraction pattern. Us patent 7,804,643B 2 discloses a prism system that reflects light to a diffraction pattern to create a bright central spot. The problem with this design is that it relies on a relatively large prism system that needs to be placed on the edge of the scope housing. This arrangement makes it difficult to provide an illuminated reticle in the first focal plane because the larger housing arrangement may interfere with the scope adjustment knob. Another problem with this design is that the reticle moves more in the first focal plane while the adjustment knob is adjusted. Because the prism acts to focus the light rays onto the diffraction pattern, this design needs to focus on "moving objects," which means that the reflected light rays may not always be properly aimed at the diffraction reticle pattern. Even if this prism arrangement could be made to work in the first focal plane, there would still be the problem of having an undesirably large housing on the scope body.

Others have used diffraction grating reticles in the first focal plane using lenses incorporating very tight tolerances. This provides the desired daylight brightness in the first focal plane, but when the user moves their head off axis, the brightness is lost and in some cases the scope darkens to almost black.

Alignment of the bifocal plane reticle is also challenging. In many bifocal plane reticles, both reticles include vertical and/or horizontal reticle coverage lines or markers, including but not limited to "crosshair" lines. In addition, reticles also commonly employ other markers, including but not limited to: a reticle coverage (sub) mark, a hash (hash) mark, a dot, a horseshoe, or other shape or pattern. Such markers may provide information to the shooter including, but not limited to, measured distance, object size, and how to compensate for stays (holover) and crosswinds. The inclusion of lines or markings on both reticles makes it extremely important that the reticles are aligned with each other. If the reticle is misaligned for any reason, the user may see both sets of crosshairs and reticle coverage indicia, which may confuse and distract the shooter. This misalignment may occur because the reticle is not physically aligned or if the user simply offsets his head from the axis.

While illuminated reticles have been in use for many years, they have not been fully optimized. For example, it is known in the art to use a transparent Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) screen or other electronic reticle, but this technique can be improved. For example, U.S. patent application publication No. 2013/0033746 discloses transparent OLED screen reticles and other types of electronic reticles, as well as the shapes of various electronic reticles. However, one problem with electronic reticles including OLED reticles is that if battery power is lost, the same applies to reticles. In this case, there is no aiming option. Another disadvantage is that connecting the OLED screen to a magnification factor can be complicated. This difficulty leads to more opportunities for failure and increases cost and complexity.

Therefore, there is a need for a dual focal plane reticle that eliminates misalignment problems that exist when the first and second focal plane reticles include crosshairs and other indicia. There is also a need for a reticle with improved illumination and reticle options.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical sighting device of a riflescope according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the riflescope of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2, showing movable optical elements within the scope body;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an erecting system in an optical element of an optical sighting device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an optical sighting device having two focal planes and a reticle at each focal plane;

FIG. 5 is a view through a dual focal plane optical sighting device with dual reticles that are misaligned;

FIG. 6 is a view as seen when viewed through a dual focal plane optical sighting device using glass and an electronic reticle;

FIG. 7 illustrates an electronic reticle having a pattern of markings for use with a supersonic bullet;

FIG. 8 illustrates an observation reticle having a marking pattern for use with subsonic bullets;

FIG. 9A is a view as seen through a conventional bi-planar optical sighting device having a first focal plane reticle with line of sight and reticle coverage lines;

FIG. 9B is a view as seen through a conventional bi-planar optical sighting device having a second focal plane reticle with a line of sight and an aiming point;

FIG. 9C is a view as seen through a conventional biplane optical sighting device having a line of sight and reticle coverage indicia on first and second focal plane reticles, showing the reticles in alignment;

FIG. 10 is a view as seen through a conventional biplane optical sighting device having a line of sight and reticle coverage indicia on first and second focal plane reticles, showing the reticles misaligned and the optical sighting device in a demagnified position;

FIG. 11 is a view as seen through a conventional biplane optical sighting device having a line of sight on the first and second focal plane reticles showing the reticles misaligned and the optical sighting device in a magnified position;

FIG. 12 is a view through an optical sighting device of a glass etched reticle with reticle coverage lines;

FIG. 13 is a view through an optical sighting device of a wire reticle having vertical and horizontal sight lines and a sighting point;

FIG. 13A is a detailed schematic view of the wire reticle of FIG. 13 taken generally along line A-A in FIG. 13;

FIG. 13B is a side schematic view of one embodiment of a fiber aiming point for use with a wire reticle;

FIG. 14 is a view through a dual focal plane optical sighting device having the glass reticle of FIG. 12 at a first focal plane and the wire reticle of FIG. 13 at a second focal plane showing the reticles aligned and the scope in a demagnified position according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a view through the dual focal plane sighting device of FIG. 14 showing the reticle aligned and the scope in a magnified position;

FIG. 16 is a view through the dual focal plane sighting device of FIG. 14 showing the reticle misaligned and the scope in a demagnified position;

FIG. 17 is a view through the dual focal plane sighting device of FIG. 14 showing the reticle misaligned and the scope in a magnified position; and is

18A-18C are embodiments of alternative first focal plane reticle patterns for use with the dual focal plane aiming device of FIG. 14.

Disclosure of Invention

An optical sighting device includes an objective lens system having a central axis, an eyepiece and an erector lens system forming an optical system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane, the first focal plane being adjacent the objective lens system and the second focal plane being adjacent the eyepiece. The optical system has a first reticle at a first focal plane and a second reticle at a second focal plane. The reticle at the first focal plane is a glass etched reticle and the reticle at the second focal plane is a wire reticle. The first reticle and the second reticle include at least one first indicium and at least one second indicium that complement each other to form the appearance of a single reticle when viewed along the central axis.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is an objective lens system having a body with a central axis and an objective lens system disposed within the body. An eyepiece is also disposed within the body. The objective lens system and the eyepiece are part of an erector lens system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane. A first reticle is arranged at a first focal plane and a second reticle, which is a wire reticle, is arranged at a second focal plane. The first reticle includes at least one first indicia and the second reticle includes at least one second indicia. The first and second marks do not overlap each other when viewed along the central axis.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention is an optical system for use in an optical sighting device that includes an objective system, an erector system, and an eyepiece. A glass etched reticle having a pattern of marks is positioned at a first focal plane between an objective system and an ortho system. A wire reticle including a line of sight is positioned at a second focal plane between the erector system and the eyepiece. The glass etched reticle and the wire reticle are aligned such that the pattern of marks of the glass etched reticle appear to be superimposed on the line of sight of the wire reticle when the reticle is viewed through the eyepiece.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects disclosed herein can serve some purposes, while one or more other aspects can lead to some other purposes. Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure and description of embodiments of the present disclosure. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will become apparent from the foregoing and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.

Detailed Description

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 having a scope body 12, an objective end 40, and an eyepiece end 50. Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of the targeting device of fig. 1, showing the basic components of the optical system 14 and the movable optical element 15. As shown in fig. 2, the optical system 14 includes an objective lens system 16, an erect image system 25, and an eyepiece 18. Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of the riflescope of the present invention having a body 12, but the optical system 14 may be used with other types of sighting devices. The erector system 25 may be included within the movable optical element 15. In fig. 2, the movable optical element 15 further comprises a light collector 22 and a first focal plane reticle 55 and a second focal plane reticle 57. When in use, adjustment of the adjustment knob assembly 28 and adjustment knob screw 29 causes adjustment of the movable optical element 15.

Fig. 3 shows a close-up view of optical system 14 in cross-section, illustrating how light rays pass through optical system 14. The optical system 14 may have additional optical components such as a collector 22, and as is well known in the art, certain components such as the objective system 16, the erect system 25, and the eyepiece 18 may themselves have multiple components or lenses. The optical system 14 shown here is drawn as a basic system for illustrating one embodiment of the invention, but it should be understood that variations of other optical systems having more or fewer structural components are also within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the basic components of one embodiment of a dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 having an objective lens end 40 and an eyepiece lens end 50. The focal plane adjacent to the objective lens end 40 is the first focal plane 20 (FFP). The focal plane closer to the eyepiece end is the second focal plane 30 (SFP). Light enters the objective end 40 and continues through the bifocal planar optical sighting device 10 and through the eyepiece end 50. As the light rays pass through the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10, the light rays are focused to form a sharp image to the user's eye at the first focal plane 20 and the second focal plane 30. The magnification occurs in the erector system 25 between the first focal plane and the second focal plane. Fig. 4 also shows an optional component controller 82 and switch 84. The controller 82 may comprise a chip with memory for storing various reticle patterns or other information used by the device.

In one embodiment of the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10, a glass reticle 60 (such as a glass etched reticle) is positioned at the first focal plane 20 and an electronic reticle 70 (such as an OLED reticle) is positioned in the second focal plane 30. For example, the pattern on the glass reticle 60 may be a cross-hair with hash marks, and the pattern of the electronic reticle 70 may be dots as shown in fig. 6. It should be understood that many other types and shapes of reticles and reticle patterns may be used.

In an alternative embodiment, the electronic reticle 70 is placed on the same focal plane as the glass reticle 60. In yet another alternative embodiment, the electronic reticle 70 may be positioned at the first focal plane 20 while the glass reticle 60 is positioned at the second focal plane 30. In further embodiments, a wire reticle may be used in either focal plane position.

With any bifocal plane optical sighting device, the two reticles must be properly aligned so that when the user views the two reticles from the eyepiece, the reticles appear to be aligned as shown in FIG. 8. If not properly aligned, the reticle may appear misaligned to the user's eyes as shown in FIG. 5. It will be apparent to the user if the alignment between the first and second focal plane reticles deviates by only a fraction of a millimeter. When two reticles are properly aligned, they are said to be in a "true position".

In a bifocal optical sighting device 10, the first focal plane 20 and the second focal plane 30 can be quite far apart, and the reticle itself is physically quite small (although they can appear large through the eyepiece). For example, a glass etched reticle is typically about 10 microns, and some reticles have lines with a thickness of 0.005 mm. As another example, the first focal plane and the second focal plane may be spaced apart by a distance of 50-100mm within the body of the aiming device. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely align at this distance. Alignment of such a small reticle requires very little movement. If the dual focal plane optical sighting device has two glass etched reticles, the alignment must be done mechanically to a high degree of accuracy, which is difficult and costly to accomplish. Alternatively, if the dual focal plane optical sighting device has two electronic reticles, a power failure results in no reticle at all. Thus, one advantage of having one glass reticle 60 and one electronic reticle 70 in the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 is that the complexity and cost of mechanically aligning the two reticles is simplified. Dual reticle alignment may be simplified by requiring less or even no mechanical alignment depending on the manufacturing process used. For example, the electronic reticle 70 may be digitally aligned with the glass etching reticle 60 using a computerized or automated process. Some OLED screen reticles have pixels below 5 microns. Since this is about half the line width of a glass reticle, it is easier to align the digital reticle. Furthermore, if the optical sighting device fails, the glass reticle will remain visible and function as a backup sighting solution.

The dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 may also have, for example, a memory chip or internal processor within the controller 82 that contains various electronic reticle options, such as dots in fig. 6, dashed circles in fig. 5, or a horseshoe shape. In addition, a user interface such as a screen or dial may be used to switch between the various reticle options. Once the two reticles within the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 are digitally aligned, the electronic reticle options can be optimized to work with the glass reticle 60 and provide the user with a number of reticle options to choose from.

In some embodiments, the optical sighting device 10 may also be particularly useful for firearms that can accommodate supersonic and subsonic rounds. For example, a class 300 blackout bullet is a bullet that can be used in any manner, but in other rifles, different bullets can be used for each function. Supersonic speeds are faster and carry more energy. Subsonic speeds are quieter, particularly when used in conjunction with a muffler or silencer on a rifle. Some shooters, such as special combat shooters, prefer to have two options and prefer to use the types of bullets interchangeably depending on the mission.

The optical sighting device 10 of the present disclosure can accommodate this interchangeability. In one embodiment, the optical sighting device 10 is adapted for use with supersonic and subsonic bullets. The optical sighting device 10 can include a controller 82 including a memory chip or internal processor for causing at least two marker patterns to be displayed on the electronic reticle, a first pattern 75 illustrating dwell (hold over) or angle markers for use with supersonic bullets, and a second pattern 80 illustrating dwell or angle markers for use with subsonic bullets, the second pattern having greater spacing between the markers than the first pattern.

In addition, when the glass reticle 60 is in the second focal plane with several hash marks and the electronic reticle 70 is in the first focal plane, the switch 84 on the riflescope changes a series of drop points or other "dwell" aiming points or angle marks based on the bullet used (subsonic versus supersonic). Depending on whether supersonic or subsonic is selected, different colors, shapes, or any combination thereof may be used to distinguish between dwell features. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 7 and 8, the switch 84 on the side of the press 10 changes point between the supersonic pattern (fig. 7) and the subsonic pattern (fig. 8). The supersonic and subsonic patterns may also be illuminated with different colors to further distinguish them. Any combination of colors and/or shapes may be used to represent between supersonic and subsonic. Since subsonic velocity is a slower bullet, a greater bullet drop distance is seen within a given distance than a supersonic bullet. As a result, the dwell points need to be spaced more apart to accommodate this greater number of bullet drop distances, as illustrated by comparing fig. 7 and 8. Also, one advantage of the second focal plane reticle with glass etched indicia illustrated in fig. 7 and 8 is that in the event of a battery power failure (and therefore the illuminated point of the first focal plane reticle is not available), the shooter still has the benefit of the second focal plane reticle for reference.

In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, a glass etch or non-electronic reticle may also be used to hash the underlying angle signature (MOA or MRAD) if the battery power fails, where the point corresponds to the crosswind speed.

The alignment problem noted above can be solved by separating the elements of the reticle in the first and second focal planes and superimposing these elements such that the reticle marks in the first focal plane and the reticle marks in the second focal plane are complementary. An example of such an alignment problem is shown in fig. 9 to 11, which show views through an optical sighting device 10 comprising a first focal plane reticle 100 and a second focal plane reticle 200. As shown in fig. 9, a first focal plane reticle 100 (fig. 9A) is disposed at the first focal plane 20 and a second focal plane reticle 200 (fig. 9B) is disposed at the second focal plane 30. The first focal plane reticle 100 includes a first focal plane vertical line of sight 102 and a first focal plane horizontal line of sight 104. The second focal plane reticle 200 includes a second focal plane vertical line of sight 202 and a second focal plane horizontal line of sight 204. Fig. 9C shows the optical sighting device 10 in the demagnified position with the

reticles

100, 200 fully aligned. In the illustrated embodiment, the first focal plane reticle 100 further includes a plurality of reticle coverage markers 106 and reference numerals 108 distributed along the line of

sight

102, 104.

When the

reticles

100, 200 are fully aligned, the first focal plane lines of

sight

102, 104 are indistinguishable from the second focal plane lines of

sight

202, 204. However, if the

reticles

100, 200 are misaligned for any reason, including when the user simply moves their line of sight out of full alignment with the central axis 150 (see fig. 1 and 2) of the optical sighting device 10, the user is presented with a view similar to that in fig. 10, which fig. 10 shows the first focal plane lines of

sight

102, 104 visible separately from the second focal plane lines of

sight

202, 204. A view similar to that in fig. 10 is particularly confusing for the user, as all lines are of the same thickness, and it is not readily apparent which line of sight belongs to which reticle. When the optical sighting device 10 is zoomed in as shown in FIG. 11, the first focal plane lines of

sight

102, 104, the reticle coverage area line 106, the number 108, and any other indicia increase in size and thickness, but the second focal plane lines of

sight

202, 204 and the target point 206 do not change. The increased thickness of the lines on the first focal plane reticle 100 tends to blur more of the field of view than the user prefers.

Fig. 12 and 13 show a solution to the above-described alignment problem, i.e. separating the elements of the reticle in the first and second focal planes, such that the first and second focal plane indices are superimposed or complementary when viewed through the eyepiece of the device. For example, fig. 12 shows a glass etched reticle 300 with reticle coverage lines 302 and numbers 304 but no line of sight. In itself, the glass etched reticle 300 would be difficult to use. Of course, any other suitable indicia may be included in the glass-etched reticle 300 without departing from the invention. In this embodiment, a glass etching reticle 300 is disposed at the first focal plane 20.

Fig. 13 shows a wire reticle 400 having horizontal and vertical line of

sight

402, 404 and a target point 406. In this embodiment, the wire reticle 400 does not include any reticle coverage lines and is arranged at the second focal plane 30. In one embodiment of the invention, the wire reticle 400 may include an illuminated target point 406. As shown in fig. 13A, the illuminated target point 406 may be illuminated by an optical fiber 408, and the optical fiber 408 may be aligned with and follow one of the line of

sight

402, 404. The optical fiber 408 shown in fig. 13A is enlarged so that it is visible in the illustration, but in practice the fiber appears to disappear in the wire line of

sight

402, 404 and is not visible to the user except for illuminating the target point 406. Although in the illustrated embodiment, the optical fiber 408 is positioned in front of the vertical line of sight 404, it may be positioned in front of the horizontal line of sight 402 or in front of any other wire included in the wire reticle 400 without departing from the invention.

Fig. 13B shows a side view of the optical fiber 408 and the target point 406, the target point 406 being presented to the user as a bright spot when the LED 410 is lit. The LEDs 410 may be battery powered and may be any suitable color. It is also possible to provide LEDs 410 that can change color, allowing the user to select a preferred color. One end of the optical fiber 408 may optionally include a light collector 412, the light collector 412 serving as a variety of funnels to capture as much light 414 as possible. The other end of the fiber 408 is cut at a 45 degree angle, which reflects light passing through the fiber toward the user's eye. Before traveling to the user's eye, light rays 414 are collected by collector 412, pass through fiber 408, and reflect off target point 406. The aiming point 406 visible to the viewer is actually the light ray 414 reflected from the end of the 45 degree cut of the fiber 408. As light passes through the optical fiber 408 and illuminates the end of the optical fiber opposite the light source. Thus, in an alternative embodiment, the optical fiber 408 may include a 90 ° bend at the location of the target point 406 such that the end of the optical fiber 408 opposite the light source is directed toward the user's eye without having to cut the optical fiber at an angle. Although in the illustrated embodiment the LEDs 410 are described herein as illuminating the target point 406, any suitable light source may be used without departing from the invention, such as a prism, OLED system, other non-LED light, or by exposing the ring of optical fibers 408 to ambient light that may be collected and transmitted to the target point 406.

Aligning the glass etched reticle 300 and the wire reticle 400 creates the illusion of viewing a single reticle when viewed through the optical sighting device 10. Unlike prior bifocal planar optical sighting devices that include reticles having indicia overlaid on one another as described above, the use of a glass etched reticle 300 in conjunction with a wire reticle 400 eliminates any double vision problems as shown in fig. 9-11.

FIG. 14 shows a view through the dual focal plane optical sighting device 10 according to the present invention showing the glass etched reticle 300 (FIG. 12) and the wire reticle 400 (FIG. 13) fully aligned and the optical sighting device in a reduced position. The view shown in fig. 14 is almost the same as the view shown in fig. 9. FIG. 15 shows another view of the optical sighting device 10 through a dual focal plane, showing the device in a magnified position. In the magnified position, the marks on the glass etched reticle 300 increase in size and thickness, but the lines of

sight

402, 404 and the aiming point 406 on the wire reticle 400 remain the same size. Fig. 15 also shows the

reticles

300, 400 fully aligned.

Fig. 16 shows what happens if the

reticles

300, 400 are misaligned or the user moves their line of sight off axis and the optical sighting device 10 is in a reduced position. Unlike the view of fig. 10, where there are two sets of lines of

sight

102, 104, 202, 204 that the user must distinguish, the lines of sight are included only on the wire reticle 400. Thus, slight misalignment, despite that shown in FIG. 16, is less noticeable and the optical sighting device 10 remains easy to use. Even when the optical sighting device 10 is in the enlarged position as shown in fig. 17. Although the markings on the glass etched reticle 300 increase in thickness and size, there is no bolded line of sight that the user must face, making the field of view more usable. Of course, any other indicia may be included on the glass etched reticle 300, and variations to the lines of

sight

402, 404, the aiming point 406, or any other indicia may be used on the wire reticle 400 without departing from this invention.

Fig. 18A-18C show some illustrative examples of additional reticle patterns that may be included in the first focal plane. Of course, any other suitable reticle pattern may be used without departing from the invention.

Furthermore, the previously described electronic reticle 70 may be used in the first focal plane 20, wherein the electronic reticle 70 would not include the vertical and horizontal lines of sight present in the wire reticle 400. The flexibility of the electronic reticle 70 display is desirable to provide the shooter with a variety of reticle pattern options that can be superimposed on the features of the wire reticle 400. FIG. 18A is a

While the invention has been described herein in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiment described above. Rather, it is recognized that modifications may be made by persons skilled in the art of the invention without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention, and the invention is, therefore, to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents of the subject matter of the claims and the specification which follow.

Claims

1. An optical sighting device comprising:

a body having a first end and a second end and having a central axis;

an objective lens system disposed within the body;

an eyepiece disposed within the body;

an erector lens system disposed within the body; the objective lens system, the eyepiece lens, and the erector lens system forming an optical system having a first focal plane and a second focal plane, the first focal plane being adjacent to the objective lens system and the second focal plane being adjacent to the eyepiece lens;

a first reticle located at the first focal plane and having at least one reticle coverage mark without horizontal and vertical lines of sight;

a second reticle located at the second focal plane and having a horizontal line of sight and a vertical line of sight;

wherein the first reticle and the second reticle provide complementary indicia that create the appearance of a single reticle when viewed along the central axis.

2. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the first reticle is a glass etched reticle.

3. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the second reticle is a wire reticle.

4. The optical sighting device of claim 2, wherein the first reticle includes close-spaced point markings.

5. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the first reticle has a pattern of indicia.

6. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the second reticle includes at least one target point.

7. The optical sighting device of claim 6, wherein the at least one target point is illuminated by an LED.

8. The optical sighting device of claim 7, wherein the at least one target point comprises an optical fiber having a first end and a second end, wherein light enters the first end and illuminates the second end.

9. The optical sighting device of claim 8, wherein the optical fiber includes a light collector at the first end.

10. The optical sighting device of claim 8, wherein the second end includes an angled cut, wherein the light is reflected off of the angled cut.

11. The optical sighting device of claim 8, wherein the optical fiber is aligned with and follows one of a horizontal line of sight and a vertical line of sight.

12. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the first reticle or the second reticle is a wire reticle.

13. The optical sighting device of claim 12, wherein the second reticle is a wire reticle having at least one target point illuminated by an LED, the target point including an optical fiber having a first end and a second end, the first end including a light collector and the second end including an angled cut, wherein light from the LED passes through the optical fiber and reflects off of the angled cut.

14. The optical sighting device of claim 1, wherein the second reticle has at least one target point illuminated by an LED, the target point comprising an optical fiber having a first end and a second end, the first end including a light collector and the second end including an angled cut, wherein light from the LED passes through the optical fiber and reflects off of the angled cut.

15. The optical sighting device of claim 14, wherein the optical fiber is aligned with and follows one of a horizontal line of sight and a vertical line of sight.

16. An optical system for use in an optical sighting device, the optical system comprising:

an objective lens system;

an erector system;

an eyepiece;

a glass etched reticle positioned at a first focal plane between the objective lens system and the erector system, the glass etched reticle having a pattern of marks without a horizontal line of sight and a vertical line of sight;

a wire reticle at a second focal plane between the erector system and the eyepiece, the wire reticle comprising a horizontal line of sight and a vertical line of sight;

wherein the marker pattern of the glass-etched reticle appears to be superimposed on the horizontal line of sight and the vertical line of sight of the wire reticle when the glass-etched reticle and the wire reticle are viewed through the eyepiece.

17. The optical sighting device of claim 16, wherein the wire reticle at the second focal plane further comprises an illumination feature.