Patent ID: 6288386
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: G02B,H05K

Abstract:
An electronic circuit for use in a monocular night vision device for electronically controlling a plurality of components within said device, said device having an objective lens assembly for receiving low intensity light, an image intensifier assembly comprising a variable gain image intensifier tube having a user-adjustable variable gain controller external to said tube for adjusting the light intensity level of a visible output image, a single eyepiece lens assembly for viewing said output image from said image intensifier assembly; and a non-metallic housing comprising an upper housing for receiving the objective lens assembly, image intensifier assembly, and eyepiece lens assembly, and a lower housing containing a battery cavity for receiving at least one battery to power said device, wherein said housing aligns said objective lens assembly with said image intensifier assembly and said eyepiece lens assembly along an optical axis, and wherein said upper and lower housing are coupled to one another along said optical axis, said electronic circuit comprising:a rigid printed circuit board (pcb) located within said lower housing having a plurality of contacts for enabling electronic communication with a plurality of components mounted thereon and with said variable gain image intensifier tube, said rigid pcb including a pair of contacts in electrical communication with said image intensifier tube for energizing said intensifier tube; anda flexible printed circuit board flexibly coupled to said rigid pcb and adaptable to the geometry of the upper and lower housings for electronically interconnecting components located within said upper and lower housings with said rigid pcb, said flexible pcb having a first circuit connection to said image intensifier tube and a second circuit connection to an adjustable potentiometer mounted external to said image intensifier tube on said rigid pcb, said flexible pcb operative for coupling said adjustable gain potentiometer mounted external to said image intensifier tube to said rigid pcb via said first and second connections.