U.S. patent application number 17/272379 was filed with the patent office on 2021-10-21 for protected gunner's sight.
The applicant listed for this patent is RHEINMETALL LANDSYSTEME GMBH. Invention is credited to Rudiger BRITZEN.
Application Number | 20210325151 17/272379 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005704395 |
Filed Date | 2021-10-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210325151 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BRITZEN; Rudiger |
October 21, 2021 |
PROTECTED GUNNER'S SIGHT
Abstract
The invention relates to a gunner's sight having a housing,
wherein the housing has at least one opening. The housing therefore
is not arranged completely around the gunner's sight. At least one
sight is arranged in the housing and its line of sight leads out
from the opening. Also provided is at least one protection element
which is at least partially transparent. The protection element can
therefore constitute protection for the gunner's sight and can,
nevertheless, guarantee the continued functioning of the gunner's
sight as a result of the transparency of the protection
element.
Inventors: |
BRITZEN; Rudiger; (Unterlu,
DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RHEINMETALL LANDSYSTEME GMBH |
Unterlu |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005704395 |
Appl. No.: |
17/272379 |
Filed: |
August 20, 2019 |
PCT Filed: |
August 20, 2019 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2019/072257 |
371 Date: |
March 1, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41H 5/266 20130101;
F41G 3/22 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F41H 5/26 20060101
F41H005/26; F41G 3/22 20060101 F41G003/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 19, 2018 |
DE |
10 2018 122 973.9 |
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A gunner's sight with a housing, with at least one opening in
the housing, with at least one optics, which are arranged in the
housing such that the line of sight of the optics runs through the
opening, wherein at least one protective element is provided, which
is implemented to be at least partially transparent.
17. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
protective element can be transferred from a protective position to
a resting position and vice versa, wherein in the protective
position the protective element is at least partially arranged in
the opening and in the resting position is arranged outside the
opening.
18. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
transparent regions of the protective element are arranged in such
a way that in the protective position they are in the line of sight
of the optics.
19. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the transfer
of the protective element from the protective position to the
resting position and vice versa is carried out by motor.
20. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
transparent region of the protective element is reinforced so that
it withstands ballistic effects.
21. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the gunner's
sight comprises at least one additional detector.
22. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein shot
detection means are provided.
23. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 22, wherein after shot
detection by the shot detection means the protective element is
automatically transferred into its protective position.
24. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16, wherein the optics
in the housing are rotatably and/or pivotably arranged.
25. The gunner's sight as claimed in in claim 16, wherein the
housing comprises at least one sighting window.
26. The gunner's sight as claimed in claim 25, wherein the sighting
windows are implemented as positionally fixed, fully transparent
additional protection elements.
27. A vehicle with a gunner's sight as claimed in claim 16.
28. The vehicle as claimed in claim 27, wherein the gunner's sight
is arranged on or in a chassis of the vehicle.
29. The vehicle as claimed in claim 27, wherein the gunner's sight
is arranged on or in a tower of the vehicle.
30. The vehicle as claimed in claim 27, wherein the gunner's sight
is arranged rotatably and/or pivotably.
Description
FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a gunner's sight, such as
that in particular to be used on military vehicles. The gunner's
sight acts as a visual aid to the sighted target. The target can
thus be accurately detected, for example to aim a weapon at it.
BACKGROUND
[0002] As the gunner's sight is thus a sensitive element when
targeting a target in a combat situation, it is necessary to
protect this.
[0003] In the context of anti-tank defense, it is generally taught
to dazzle armored forces, for example military vehicles, in such a
way that the gunner's sight of the vehicle to be combated is
destroyed in such a way that starting or continuing the combat is
no longer possible due to the failed and/or destroyed gunner's
sight.
[0004] The availability of airburst munitions in the large and
medium-caliber range has exacerbated this threat to military
vehicles, as subprojectiles can now be deployed quickly in large
numbers and density, so that the probability that optics will be
hit is significantly increased.
[0005] Modern gunner's sights have sensitive optical paths and
complex stabilization systems due to the high demands on resolution
and light sensitivity, so that hitting a single subprojectile is
mostly already sufficient to achieve a total failure of the
affected optics.
[0006] In this context, a gunner's sight is understood to be not
only the device for directing a weapon, but also the device for
guiding the vehicle, the so-called commander optics.
[0007] From the prior art gunner's sights are known for this
purpose which are provided with protective elements. These can
completely seal gunners' sights. However, this also blocks the line
of sight of the optics, so that these remain inoperative. Such
protective elements are known from DE 10 2013 100 331 A1, for
example.
[0008] In this embodiment the problem arises that, if the gunner's
sight is operative, it is at least partly unprotected and can
therefore be disabled by a hit, as mentioned above. Alternatively,
the optics are protected but inoperative.
SUMMARY
[0009] The object of the present invention is therefore to reveal a
gunner's sight which can be protected by at least one protective
element. This protective element is intended to influence the
function of the gunner's sight as little as possible, so that the
gunner's sight is protected but operative.
[0010] This object is achieved by the features of the present main
claim.
[0011] A gunner's sight is therefore proposed which has a housing
and at least one opening in the housing. At least one optics are
then arranged in the housing in such a way that the line of sight
of the optics runs through the opening. Due to the proposed
housing, the gunner's sight is at least partially protected. The
housing can be protected against ballistic action for this purpose,
and only the optics producing the line of sight remains unprotected
due to the opening.
[0012] According to the invention, at least one protective element
is now provided, which is at least partially transparent.
Preferably, the transparent region of the protective element is
reinforced, so that it can also withstand ballistic action. It is
proposed to use armored glass for this purpose, for example.
[0013] The protective element can now be arranged in such a way
that it is at least partially located in the opening and thus
protects it. In this position the protective element at least
partially completes the protection of the housing. The line of
sight of the optics then runs through the transparent region of the
protective element.
[0014] Due to a protective element of such a design, it is possible
to protect the gunner's sight from ballistic threats and still keep
it functional. The transparent region leads to slight optical
performance losses of the optics depending on the material
used.
[0015] In order to achieve the requirements for reconnaissance,
identification, and target capture performance over several 1000
meters, today gunner's sight are designed for very high resolution
performance and high light sensitivity. For this reason, the number
of elements in the optical path is minimized and the elements are
of highly quality.
[0016] At the same time, however, in particular the usage profile
of armored personnel carriers includes use cases in which the high
resolution performance is not required at all due to the short
distance to the target. These use cases are overcoming targets
(close combat, a few 100 meters) and use in urban areas. In
addition, in these scenarios the threat of the effect of small
caliber weapons (assault rifle and machine gun fire) increases
significantly.
[0017] For this reason, the accuracies to be achieved with the
optics are often not required at all, so that minor losses in
optical performance can be neglected.
[0018] However, in order to allow full performance over a long
distance, it is proposed in a special embodiment that the
protective element can be transferred from a protective position to
a resting position and vice versa. This means that the protective
element is at least partially arranged in the opening of the
housing in its aforementioned protective position. In this
protective position, the aforementioned protective effect on the
gunner's sights can be exerted.
[0019] However, the protective element can also be placed outside
the opening, which corresponds to the aforementioned resting
position. In this resting position, the protective element does not
fulfill its aforementioned protective function but does not
diminishes the optical performance of the gunner's sight due to the
fact that it is not arranged in the line of sight of the optics.
The protective element can be arranged at an edge of the opening or
outside the housing or as part of the housing.
[0020] Thus, by the transfer from the protective position to the
resting position and vice versa depending on the application,
protection for the aforementioned condition of the gunner's sight
can be guaranteed or the full optical performance of the gunner's
sight can be used.
[0021] It is proposed to arrange the transparent regions of the
protective element in such a way that in their protective position
they are in the line of sight of the optics. Since the gunner's
sight can have multiple optics, the protective lens may also be
designed with multiple transparent regions so as not to cover any
sight lines in the protective position. Therefore all transparent
regions of the protective element are positioned so that they are
each arranged in a line of sight of the optics in the protective
position.
[0022] Likewise, embodiments with multiple protective elements are
possible, wherein each protective element then has only one
transparent region. In this embodiment, a device is then provided
for each optics used. Finally, a protective element can also be
provided which has a large transparent region, which can then be
arranged in all lines of sight of the optics.
[0023] Preferably, the transfer of the protective element from the
protective position to the resting position and vice versa is
carried out by motor, wherein an electric motor is preferably
proposed for this purpose. However, the transfer of the protective
element to the various positions can also be carried out
hydraulically or pneumatically. Finally, a manual transfer is also
possible.
[0024] As already described, the gunner's sight may have multiple
optics, for example for different wavelengths. Furthermore,
gunner's sights may include additional detectors. Such detectors
can be laser units, for example for distance measurement, but also
various other sensors such as proximity sensors, magnetic sensors,
metal detectors, etc. can be integrated into the gunner's sights.
In order to protect these against failures, these additional
detectors can also be protected by the protective element, such
that the protective element is also positioned in the regions of
the opening in which these detectors are arranged. Depending on the
type of detector, these must then also be placed in a transparent
region in the protective element in its protective position or in a
region of the protective element in which the protective element is
equipped with a material such that the function of the detector is
largely preserved.
[0025] In another, preferred embodiment it is proposed that the
gunner's sight is equipped with shot detection means. These shot
detection means do not necessarily have to be present in the
gunner's sight. Networking can also be used with suitable shot
detection means.
[0026] By means of the shot detection means it can be determined
when a ballistic threat to the gunner's sight occurs. In this case,
a warning can be produced with appropriate signals, after which a
corresponding operator can then transfer the protective element
into its protective position.
[0027] In a further preferred embodiment it is proposed that the
protective element is automatically transferred into its protective
position if a threat has been detected by the aforementioned shot
detection means. For this purpose, the connection or networking of
the shot detection means with the motorized position transfer of
the protective element automatically transfers the protective
element from a resting position into its protective position by
motorized means when the threat is detected.
[0028] The aforementioned automatic transfer to the protective
position reduces the likelihood of a failure of the gunner's sight
due to a ballistic threat.
[0029] In a further preferred embodiment, the gunner's sight
according to the invention is designed in such a way that the
optics therein are arranged rotatably and/or pivotably. Thus, the
optics can cover a larger area than optics in a fixed position in
the housing.
[0030] Furthermore, it is optionally proposed that the housing
comprises at least one sighting window, through which the sight
lines of the optics in the gunner's sight can run.
[0031] Sighting windows have the advantage that the optics are
protected from dirt and dust, wherein the sighting windows alone do
not provide protection against ballistic threats.
[0032] In the case of the embodiments with the sighting windows,
the transparent regions of the protective element must then be
designed in such a way that they correspond to the sighting windows
in order to avoid obscuring lines of sight.
[0033] Preferably, the proposed gunner's sight is used in vehicles,
especially in military vehicles. For this purpose, the gunner's
sight may be arranged in the chassis of the vehicle or in the tower
of the vehicle. In order to ensure that the widest possible field
of view can be covered, it is further preferably proposed to
arrange the gunner's sight rotatably and/or pivotably on or in the
chassis or the tower.
[0034] The gunner's sight according to the invention can be
installed on vehicles. This means that it is placed on the chassis
or the tower and protrudes therefrom. Likewise, however, it can
also be integrated in the chassis or tower, so that mostly only the
opening protrudes out of the chassis or the tower.
[0035] To transfer the protective element according to the
invention from its resting position to the protective position or
vice versa, the protective element can be pivoted, rotated, or
moved. In the event of pivoting, it is swiveled in front of the
opening of the housing of the gunner's sight from outside the
housing. It is also possible to bring about the position transfer
by horizontal or vertical movement of the protective element.
Finally, the transfer of the various positions by a rotary movement
is conceivable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] Further features are derived from the attached drawing.
[0037] In the figure:
[0038] FIG. 1: shows a perspective view of a gunner's sight
according to the invention.
[0039] FIG. 1 shows a gunner's sight according to the invention
with a housing 1. The housing does not completely enclose the
gunner's sight, so that an opening 6 is provided in the housing
1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] At least one optics 4 are located in the gunner's sight,
wherein these are arranged so that the line of sight of the optics
4 runs through the opening 6.
[0041] According to the invention, a protective element 7 is now
provided, which is implemented to be at least partially
transparent. This protective element 7 can now be transferred from
a protective position into a resting position and vice versa. In
the drawing this happens by the protective element 7 being moved
vertically upwards from a drawn resting position, so that the
protective element 7 is then at least partially arranged in the
opening 6.
[0042] The protective element 7 is designed in such a way that it
is either fully or partially transparent. In the partially
transparent embodiment, the protective element has transparent
regions that are not ordered so that no line of sight of the optics
4 is obscured. The optics 4 can be arranged to be mounted movably
in the housing 1 and thus the course of the line of sight is
displaced by the position change of the optics 4. The transparent
regions of the protective element 7 must be designed in such a way
that none of the possible lines of sight of the optics 4 are
obscured.
[0043] The transfer of the protective element 7 from the resting
position to the protective position and vice versa can be done
manually or by motor. For the motorized transfer it is proposed to
use an electric motor or a hydraulic drive or a pneumatic drive.
For manual position transfer, a lever or gearbox which is manually
operated could be provided.
[0044] The protective element 7 is designed in such a way that it
can withstand ballistic effects. This also includes the transparent
regions of the protective element 7. For this purpose, it is
proposed to design the protective element 7 of armored glass. But
other transparent materials are also possible if they can withstand
ballistic effects.
[0045] The gunner's sight according to the invention can comprise
further detectors 5 in the housing 1. If they also require a line
of sight or an optical line, the transparent regions of the
protective elements 7 in the protective position will also be
arranged so that they do not obscure the sight line or the optical
line of the additional detectors.
[0046] Additional shot detection means are not drawn since these do
not have to be arranged in the vicinity of the gunner's sight. They
can be networked with the gunner's sight. These shot detection
means are capable of detecting ballistic threats and, if necessary,
issuing signals so that protective measures can be initiated.
Protective measures then also include the transfer of the
protective element 7 into the protective position.
[0047] Preferably, the transfer into the protective position can be
done automatically after threats are detected by the shot detection
means.
[0048] Also shown in FIG. 1 are two sighting windows 2,3. The
optics 4 are arranged behind these. The optics 4 can be pivoted or
rotated and project their line of sight through these sighting
windows 2,3. The sighting windows 2,3 have the function of ensuring
additional protection, namely from dirt and dust. These sighting
windows are fixed in position and completely transparent.
[0049] Preferably, the gunner's sight shown is used on a vehicle,
in particular a military vehicle. The gunner's sight can be
arranged on or in the chassis or tower of the vehicle. In order to
cover as wide a field of view as possible, it is proposed to
arrange the gunner's sight rotatably and/or pivotably.
[0050] The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned
features. Rather, further embodiments are conceivable. Thus,
multiple protective elements could be provided, which can be
positioned in front of different sighting windows. The protective
element may be located at an edge of the opening in its resting
position. However, the protective element may also be placed
outside the housing in its resting position. The protective element
is then rotated or pivoted or moved back and forth between its
positions. A combination of these position transfers is also
possible.
REFERENCE CHARACTER LIST
[0051] 1 Housing
[0052] 2 First sighting window
[0053] 3 Second sighting window
[0054] 4 Optics
[0055] 5 Detector
[0056] 6 Opening
[0057] 7 Protective element
* * * * *