MONOCULAR BRIDGE ASSEMBLY
Disclosed is a bridge assembly for a monocular optical device. The bridge assembly allows for an attached optical device to be positioned in front of either the user's left or right eye. This repositioning of the optical device is achieved by laterally sliding the adapter plate, which connects the optical device to the bridge assembly, to align the eyepiece of the optical device with the desired eye. In some implementations, the ridge assembly is configured to enable the user to adjust the pupillary distance of the optical device.
1 . A bridge assembly for a monocular optical device, the bridge assembly comprising:
a mounting shoe;
a stem portion attached to the mounting shoe;
a sliding arm member slidably coupled to the stem portion; and
an adapter plate slidably coupled to the sliding arm member, the adapter plate includes an attachment interface to which the monocular optical device is coupled;
wherein:
the adapter plate is configured to be laterally displaced between a first position that places the monocular optical device in front of a first eye of a user and a second position that places the monocular optical device in front of a second eye of the user.
2 . The bridge assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sliding arm member comprises an upper portion that includes a dovetail rail and a lower portion that includes a dovetail rail, the dovetail rail on the upper portion is slidably coupled to a rail receiving receptacle on an underside of the stem portion, and the dovetail rail on the lower portion is slidably coupled to a rail receiving receptacle on a top side of the adapter plate.
3 . The bridge assembly of claim 2 , wherein the rail receiving receptacle on the stem portion includes a pair of parallel engagement members configured to cooperate with the dovetail rail on the upper portion of the sliding arm member; the rail receiving receptacle on the adapter plate includes a pair of parallel engagement members configured to cooperate with the dovetail rail on the lower portion of the sliding arm member.
4 . The bridge assembly of claim 3 , wherein the sliding arm member further comprises a longitudinally extending detent track on a top side of the sliding arm member and a longitudinally extending detent track on a bottom side of the sliding arm member; the stem portion includes a ball plunger assembly disposed within a bore in a downwardly facing surface of the rail receiving receptacle, a spring-loaded ball of the ball plunger assembly is in operational contact with the longitudinally extending detent track on the top side of the sliding arm member; the adapter plate includes a ball plunger assembly disposed within a bore in an upwardly facing surface of the rail receiving receptacle, a spring-loaded ball of the ball plunger assembly is in operational contact with the longitudinally extending detent track on the bottom side of the sliding arm member.
5 . The bridge assembly of claim 4 , wherein the sliding arm member further comprises a first slot and a second slot; the first slot extends through the sliding arm member, between the top side and the bottom side thereof, and includes an interior annular ledge that divides the first slot into a top groove and a bottom groove, an overtravel stop is slidably positioned within the bottom groove of the first slot and fixed in position by a fastener nested within the top groove; the second slot extends through the sliding arm member, between the top side and the bottom side thereof, and includes an interior annular ledge that divides the second slot into a top groove and a bottom groove, an overtravel stop is slidably positioned within the bottom groove of the second slot and fixed in position by a fastener nested within the top groove; the overtravel stop in the first slot and the overtravel stop in the second slot define the first position and the second position, respectively, of the adapter plate.