US007418738B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 7,418,738 B2

Prendergast (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 2, 2008
(54) VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM 5,339,464 A 8/1994 Dor
FOR HELMET MOUNT FOR NIGHT VISION 5,347,119 A 9/1994 Connors
DEVICE 5,408,086 A 4/1995 Morris et al.
5,467,479 A 11/1995 Mattes
(75) Inventor: Jonathon R. Prendergast,
g Newport
p 5,469,578 A 11/1995 Mattes
Beach, CA (US) 5,471,678 A 12/1995 Dor
s 5,506,730 A 4/1996 Morley et al.
- 5,542,627 A 8/1996 Crenshaw et al.
(73) Assignee: Norotos, Inc., Santa Ana, CA (US) 5,581,806 A 12/1996 Capdepuy et al.
sk - - - - - - 5,648,862 A 7/1997 Owen
(*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 5,703,354 A 12/1997 Wannagot et al.
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 5,914,816 A 6/1999 Soto et al.
U.S.C. 154(b) by 676 days. 6,457,179 B1 10/2002 Prendergast
6,462,894 B1 * 10/2002 Moody ....................... 359/815
(21) Appl. No.: 11/050,992 6,472,776 B1 10/2002 Soto et al.
6,606,114 B1* 8/2003 Gordon et al. ................ 348/64
(22) Filed: Feb. 4, 2005 6,957,449 B2 * 10/2005 Prendergast ...... ... 2/422
7,219,370 B1* 5/2007 Teetzel et al. ................... 2/6.2
(65) Prior Publication Data * cited by examiner
|US 2006/017.4401 A1 Aug. 10, 2006 Primary Examiner—Danny Worrell
(51) Int. Cl (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Christie, Parker & Hale, LLP.
A42B I/24 (2006.01) (57) ABSTRACT
(52) U.S. Cl. .................................................. 2/22: 2/6.6
(58) Field of Classification Search ...................... 2/6.2, A helmet mount includes a helmet block, a chassis attached to
2/6.7, 422, 410, 421 the helmet block, the chassis adapted to receive the night
See application file for complete search history. vision device, and a vertical adjustment assembly for verti
cally adjusting a night vision device relative to a user’s eyes
(56) References Cited while the helmet mount is secured to the helmet and the night
|U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS vision device is received in the helmet mount. The vertical
adjustment assembly includes a front and back plate that are
1,226,101 A 5/1917 Marsden slidably connected, wherein the front plate is coupled to the
2,284, 180 A 5/1942 Thomas chassis and the back plate is coupled to the helmet mount, and
4,449,787 A 5/1984 Burbo et al. a gear drive system. Rotating a lever on the gear drive system
4,553,873 A 11/1985 Salice
4,689,834 A. 9/1987 McCarthy et al. rotates the gear so that the vertical position of the chassis is
4,697,783 A 10/1987 Kastendieck et al. changed relative to the helmet block. The gear driven system
4,987,608 A 1/1991 Cobb further includes at least one biasing means placed between
5,176,342 A 1/1993 Schmidt et al. the front plate and the back plate and may include a tapered
5,179,735 A 1/1993 Thomanek shaft.
5,226,181 A 7/1993 Polednak et al.
5,331,684 A 7/1994 Baril et al. 16 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
U.S. Patent Sep. 2, 2008 Sheet 2 of 9 US 7,418,738 B2

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U.S. Patent Sep. 2, 2008 Sheet 3 of 9 US 7,418,738 B2
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U.S. Patent Sep. 2, 2008 Sheet 6 of 9 US 7,418,738 B2
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3 4
through the eye pieces 20 of the night vision device. This
position will be referred to as the “use” position. However, the
flip-up mount also allows the operator to rotate the assembly
10 around a shaft 70, allowing the operator to stow the night
vision device 14 completely above the line of sight of the
operator, to permit normal, unobstructed vision. This position
will be referred to as the “stowed” position.
The flip-up helmet mount 10 allows for vertical adjustment
of the night vision device 14 relative to the user’s eyes. In one
exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a gear drive
mechanism 21 is provided to allow vertical adjustment of the
chassis 50 (FIG. 1). In describing the vertical adjustment
achieved by the gear drive mechanism 21 as shown in FIGS.
4 and 5, the helmet block 40 will be considered proximal to
the gear drive mechanism 21 and the chassis 50 will be
considered distal to the gear drive mechanism. Moreover,
vertical movement in the proximal direction (i.e. towards the
helmet block 40) will be considered “up,” while vertical
movement in the distal direction (i.e. towards the helmet
chassis 50) will be considered “down.” Accordingly, FIG. 4
shows the gear drive mechanism 21 in the up position, while
FIG. 5 shows the gear drive mechanism in the down position.
The gear drive mechanism 21 comprises an assembly 25
that attaches to the helmet block 40. The assembly 25 has a
front plate 22 and a back plate 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). When
the gear drive mechanism 21 is incorporated into a fully
assembled helmet mount 10, the front plate 22 and the back
plate 30 are slidably connected to each other, while the back
plate is rotatably coupled to the helmet block 40 and the front
plate is adjustably coupled to the chassis 50.
As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front plate 22 and the
back plate 30 of the assembly 25 are connected in a dovetail
type interface. In one exemplary embodiment, the connection
is a double dovetail type interface. Specifically, the front plate
22 and the back plate 30 are slidably engaged by aligning a
pair of parallel protruding ridges 23 extending vertically
across an engaging surface 24 of the front plate with a pair of
recesses 32 that have been machined into an engaging surface
27 of the back plate. Dovetail alignment of the protruding
ridges 23 of the front plate 22 with the recesses 32 of the back
plate 30 engages the front and back plates in such a way that
the plates of the assembly 25 only move relative to one
another by precisely sliding vertically up and down.
While slidability between the front plate 22 and the back
plate 30 is desirable, there should also be enough friction
between the plates to prevent movement between them until
the desired time. In one exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, the front and back plates 22, 30 are held in tension
to prevent unnecessary and undesired movement between
them. As such, a pair of leaf springs 28 may be used to aid in
maintaining tension between the ridges 23 and recesses 32 of
the dovetail assembly. The leaf springs 28 may be housed in
leaf spring recesses 37 on a front surface 84 of the back plate
30. Other biasing means for maintaining tension may be used.
For example, coil springs may be used in place of leafsprings.
In one exemplary embodiment, the leaf springs 28 may be
made from full hard stainless steel and beryllium copper.
Other resilient materials may also be used with harder mate
rials providing a higher spring rate than softer materials when
all other elements are equal. The leaf springs 28 preferably
have a width between about 0.095" and 0.115", with wider
leaf springs providing a higher spring rate than narrower
springs when all other elements are equal. The leafsprings 28
preferably have a thickness of between about 0.012" and
0.015", with thicker springs providing a higher spring rate
than thinnersprings when all otherelements are equal. As will
be apparent to those of skill in the art, leaf springs 28 of
varying widths, thicknesses and materials may be used
depending on the amount of tension desired.
Additionally, it has been found that the angle of a side wall
31 of the ridges 23 affects the amount of force needed to
overcome the friction of the dovetail arrangement. Thus, in
one exemplary embodiment, the angle of the side walls 31 is
about 15 degrees from the vertical. Additionally, the angle of
the side walls 31 may vary about 10 degrees in either direc
tion, where increasing the angle will reduce the locking effect
10 of the tapers and decreasing the angle will enhance the lock
ing effect of the tapers.
The back plate 30 is coupled to the helmet block 40 by
passing a cylindrical shaft 69 through a pair of apertures 44 in
a proximal end of the back plate 30. The shaft is received by
15 a transverse bore (not shown) of the helmet block 40, thereby
coupling the back plate to the helmet block. The back plate 30
is still rotatably coupled to the helmet block 40 so as to allow
the night vision device to be moved from either a stowed or
use position.
20 The front plate 22 may be connected to the chassis 50 is
such a way that allows for tilt adjustment of the chassis. For
example, the front plate 22 may be coupled to the chassis 50
through a pair of apertures 58 through which a shaft (not
shown) may be passed.
25 Once the back plate 30 has been coupled to the helmet
block 40 and the front plate 22 has been coupled to the chassis
50, and the front plate and back plate are slidably engaged by
dovetail alignment of their respective ridges 23 and recesses
32, the assembly 25 provides adjustable movement between
30 the helmet block and the chassis. Normally, the helmet block
40 is considered to be fixed or stationary, as when it is
mounted to a helmet 12. Therefore, when the night vision
device 14 is in the use position, as opposed to the stowed
position, the back plate 30 is normally considered stationary
35 for purposes of the vertical adjustment of the night vision
device with respect to the user’s eyes. Consequently, the
vertical adjustment of the night vision device 14 is accom
plished by vertical movement of the front plate 22, which is
coupled to the chassis 50 and in turn to the night vision device.
40 Therefore, the front plate 22 moves up and down while it is
slidably engaged with the relatively stationary back plate 30.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gear drive mechanism 21
comprises an assembly 25 having a front plate 22 and a back
plate 30 that are slidably engaged in a dovetail interface, a
45 lever 41, a cylindrical shaft 51, and a partially toothedgear 60.
As shown in FIG. 3, the front plate 22 in one exemplary
embodiment has an integral bushing 29 machined onto afront
surface 84 of the front plate. The integral bushing 29 has an
aperture 26 through its center that extends through the front
50 plate 22. The shaft 51 is horizontally disposed through the
aperture 26 in the integral bushing 29 and the front plate 22,
and extends through an elongated aperture 36 in the back
plate 30. A washer 52 may be placed between the lever 41 and
the bushing 29 to facilitate rotation of the lever.
55 When the shaft 51 is disposed in the front plate 22, a shaft
tip 86 extends from the integral bushing 29 of the front plate
22 and is adapted to fit into a bore 42 in the lever 41. When the
shaft 51 is inserted into the bore 42 on the lever 41, a through
hole 68 on the shaft 51 aligns with a through hole 88 in the
60 lever. A pin 38 is then inserted into both through holes 68, 88
to fixedly couple the lever 41 to the shaft 51. Additionally, the
shaft 51 may be inserted through a washer 54 placed between
the gear 60 and a back surface 94 of the back plate 30 to
facilitate rotation of the gear drive mechanism 21.
65 The lever 41 has a domed portion 90 surrounding the bore
42. The outer surface of the domed portion 90 transitions into
a transverse wing member 46 with opposed gripping surfaces
 US 7,418,738 B2
9 10
13. The helmet mount as in claim 12, wherein the biasing means for biasing the means for slidably attaching the
means is a coil spring. chassis to the helmet block in tension, the means for
14. A helmet mount for a night vision device comprising: biasing adapted to permit sliding between the chassis
a helmet block; and the helmet block at any point of engagement.
means for mounting the helmet block to a helmet; 5 15. The helmet mount of claim 14, wherein the means for
a chassis; biasing is a leaf spring.
means for mounting the night vision device to the chassis; 16. The helmet mount of claim 14, further comprising a
means for slidably attaching the chassis to the helmet tapered shaft and wherein the means for biasing is a coil
block; spring.
means for vertically adjusting the means for slidably 10
attaching the chassis to the helmet block; and #: :#: ::: ::: :#: