Abstract:
A cover for use with an optic device to hold and display shooting information. The cover may have resilient retention members that allow a display to be releasably attached and detached from the cover. The display may be made from a single substrate or multiple substrates in order to make the shooting information contained thereon highly visible in a variety of conditions and shooting preferences.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the field of optic sighting devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices and methods for conveniently retaining sighting and other information. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Avid shooters, e.g. a hunter, competition shooter, military, law enforcement officer, etc., rely on many different pieces of information in order to make accurate and precise shots. Some information is based upon environmental factors such as distance, minute of angle, elevation hold value, wind hold value, pressure, temperature or elevation. Some information is based upon the equipment being used, for example scope height, muzzle velocity, and/or the ballistic being used, for example bullet class, bullet speed, bullet&#39;s ballistic coefficient and bullet drag model. This information is commonly referred to in the shooting industry as data on personal equipment or DOPE. 
         [0003]    Due to the amount of different DOPE that can affect the precision and accuracy of a shot and the variability of the same, keeping track of such DOPE can be challenging for shooters. Some shooters use dope log books to enter the information themselves. Other shooters may use a number of pre-calculated DOPE charts from which a shooter can look up the information needed. Having such information readily available when a shooter is making a shot can also be challenging. In some situations, such as hunting, flipping through pages of a log or book can cause the target to become suspicious and flee. Therefore a need exists for holding such information in a readily accessible location. 
         [0004]    To attempt to solve this problem, some shooters have begun cutting portions of their logs or books into a circular or disc shape and taping or gluing them to the inside of their optic covers. Many shooters use an optical device such as, but not limited to a scope, when shooting. In order to protect the lenses of the optical device from scratches, shooters will use covers. Some covers, called flip cap or flip open covers, fit on the end(s) of the optical device and have a cap that can be closed when the optical device is not in use or opened when the shooter intends on using the optical device. When the flip cap is open, the eyepiece of the optical device is available for use by the shooter with the cover&#39;s cap off to the side or above the optical device. Since the inside of the cover&#39;s cap is available for use and faces the shooter when the cover is open, the inside of the cap is a convenient place to hold a shooter&#39;s DOPE. 
         [0005]    One company called Scope Dope states that it offers “a quick reference ballistic data disc designed to fit inside the cover of a ‘flip-open’ riflescope cap . . . made from heavy die cut vinyl.” Scope Dope also states that a shooter can then “pre-record critical data using the waterproof permanent pen onto the data disc.” The discs offered by Scope Dope can be attached to a cap by using glue or tape. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    As mentioned above, prior attempts to create DOPE displays that can be attached to the inside of a cover cap have not been fully optimized. Although such DOPE discs allow a shooter to write some information he or she desires onto the disc, such information is limited to the preprinted spaces for specific information. Further, although such a disc can fit many different models of flip cap covers, the disc has to be secured to the cover such as by tape or glue. If a shooter glues the disc to the cover, the disc, and the information on the disc, cannot be changed for changing environmental factors or if a different gun or bullet is used. If a shooter tapes the disc to the cover, the disc may be changed, but the tape will lose its tack from the frequent switching of discs and environmental factors such as moisture or dirt. This can result in the disc falling out of the cover cap and/or requiring the shooter to install a new piece of tape in the cover cap at inconvenient times such as during hunting. Furthermore, the removal of a disc from a cap cover held by tape during some activities, such as hunting, can cause the target to become suspicious and flee. 
         [0007]    The applicant has discovered that a need exists for the secure retention of DOPE information at a convenient location, such as the inside of a flip cap cover, and, at the same time, permit such information to be removed and replaced. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, the invention provides a cover for an optical device. The optical device includes a cap and a means for releasably and securely holding a display such that the display can be selectively removed from the means for releasably and securely holding a display. The means for releasably and securely holding a display is permanently attached to the cap. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, the invention provides a cover for an optical device. The optical device includes a body capable of attaching the cover to the optical device. A cap is connected to the body such that the cap can be opened or closed, the cap having an interior portion. The optical device also includes a display with a perimeter and at least one resilient retention member attached to the interior portion of the cap for retaining the display, capable of temporarily deforming to receive and release the display. The display having at least one indent formed in its perimeter such that the display may be released from the at least one resilient retention member at least through use of the at least one indent. 
         [0010]    In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a display for shooting firearms with a sighting device having a cover. The cover includes a first substrate having a first color and a second substrate having a second color different than the first color and fixed to the first substrate to form a display. The first substrate is engraved such that the second substrate is exposed through the engraved first substrate and conveys shooting information. The display is shaped such that it may be firmly retained by the cover and has a perimeter formed such that the perimeter may be used to remove the display from the cover. 
         [0011]    It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can lead to certain other objectives. Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in this summary and descriptions of the disclosed embodiment, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above as taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view showing the attachment of an optic cover to a sighting device. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a closed optic cover attached to one end of a sighting device and an open optic cover attached to another end of the sighting device. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  an isometric view of an optic cover with the cap open and retaining a display. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged isometric view of a closed optic cover. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a cross-section view of the optic cover of  FIG. 4  along the line  5 - 5 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of an optic cover with the cap open and the display removed. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of an optic cover with the cap open and the display removed. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment of an optic cover with the cap open and the display removed. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment of an optic cover with the cap open and the display removed. 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a display. 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is an isometric view of a cross section of the display of  FIG. 10  taken along the line  11 - 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    A cover for an optic device in accordance with the present invention helps shooters conveniently and securely releasably retain shooting information on a cap of the optic cover. A display in accordance with the present invention can be securely attached to and detached from the cap of an optic cover to readily display shooting information. 
         [0024]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , one aspect of the present invention provides a flip cap style cover  10  for an optic device  11  such as a scope or other sighting device. As seen in  FIG. 2 , a cover can be used on each end of the optic device  11 . The cover  10  includes a cap  12  attached to the cover, such as, for example, by a hinge  13  such that the cover can be opened and closed as seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Other constructions for attaching a cap  12  to a cover  10  are known in the industry, the use of which would not defeat the spirit of the invention. The cover  10  can also include a body  14  for attaching the cover to an optic device  11 . 
         [0025]    Another embodiment of the invention is a cap  12  as will be described, for attaching to an existing cover body so as to retrofit the cap  12  to any aftermarket optic cover available. 
         [0026]    The cap  12  has an interior portion  16 , seen in  FIG. 3 , and an exterior portion  18 , seen in  FIG. 4 . When the cap  12  is in the closed configuration, such as, when the optic device  11  is not being used, the exterior portion  18  of the cap  12  is exposed to the environment and the interior portion  16  of the cap faces the optic device  11  as seen in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0027]    When the cap  12  is in the open configuration as seen in  FIG. 3 , such as, when a shooter desires to use the optic device  11 , the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  faces the shooter. When using two covers  10 , such as shown in  FIG. 2 , the exterior portion  18  of the cap  12  of the second cover will also face the shooter when open. If the cap of each cover is set up to open in a different direction, both the interior portion  16  of the first cap and the exterior portion  18  of the second cap will be visible to the shooter. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  is capable of holding a display  20  which can show information such as DOPE. In one embodiment, the display  20  is round in shape and held by the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  by tabs  22  permanently attached thereto, such as by integrally forming the cap and tabs, which resiliently hold the display  20  in place. For example, the tabs  22  can be made of a resilient plastic that will temporarily deform when sufficient force is applied. To further encourage deformation upon application of pressure, the tops of the tabs  22  could also be angled. Thus, when the display  20  is pushed on the tabs  22 , such as by a shooter, the tabs deform to receive the display and allow the display to slide past the deformed tabs and to be seated. Once the display  20  is seated, the tabs retake their original shape and thereby securely hold and firmly retain the display  20  in place. This embodiment provides a balance between ease of removal of the display  20  and securement of display while shooting. 
         [0029]    Although the embodiment described above discloses that the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  releasably retains a display  20 , the exterior portion  18  of the cap or both the interior portion and the exterior portion could be capable of retaining displays. For example, when a cover  10  is used on each end of an optic device  11 , it may be desirable to have the cap  12  from the first cover releasably retain a display  20  on the interior portion  16  and the cap  12  from the second cover releasably retain a display  20  on the exterior portion  18  such that two displays are visible to the shooter when using the optic device. 
         [0030]    In another embodiment, the display  20  is held by a resilient annular ridge, ring or flange of the cap  12 . As seen in  FIG. 7 , the annular flange  23  extends along the perimeter of the interior portion  16  of the cap  12 . Although the annular flange  23  is shown as a continuous flange, the flange could also be intermittent along the interior portion  16 . Similar to the tabs  22  above, the annual flange  23  can be made of a resilient material such that the annular flange will deform when the display  20  is being seated and thereafter retake its original shape to hold the display in place. 
         [0031]    In another embodiment, the display is held by at least one post  24  of the cap  12 . The one or more post(s)  24  could be made from a resilient material and located at the center of the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  as seen in  FIG. 8 , or located around the circumference of the interior portion  16  of the cap  12  similar to the tabs  22 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 , the post  24  is slotted and has a top portion with a diameter bigger than the corresponding hole  26  in the display  20 . When the display  20  is placed onto the post  24 , such that the hole  26  is above the post, and downward pressure is applied, the slot allows the top portion of the post to compress and thereby fit through the hole. After the display  20  is past the top portion, the top portion of the post  24  returns to its original size to thereby hold the display in place. When the display  20  is removed, the upward force applied to the post  24  by the display, causes the top portion of the post to compress to fit back through the hole  26  such that the display is removed. 
         [0032]    In yet another embodiment, the display is held by a magnet  28 , or magnets, permanently attached to the cap  12  as seen in  FIG. 9 . The display  20  could be made from a material that is attracted to the magnet(s)  28  or have such a material attached to it. 
         [0033]    The retention configurations described above allow the display  20  to be rotated up to 360 degrees while being held by the cap  12 . Although such rotation is not necessary, it allows the information shown on the display  20  to be right side up and readable regardless of the shooter&#39;s preferred orientation for the cap  12 , for example, above the optic device  11  or to the side such as shown in  FIG. 3 . The resilient retention member configurations described above are also economical to manufacture. 
         [0034]    The display  20  includes a means for removing the display from the cap  12 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 10 , the display  20  has a number of indents  30  formed in the perimeter of the display. The indents  30  are sized and positioned in the display  20  such that the indents allow the shooter to selectively remove the display from the tabs  22  of the cap  12 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the indents  30  allow the display  20  to be removed by use of a fingernail or the bullet, such as the tip or rim of the casing. Although the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6  allows the display  20  to be removed without the use of tools, configurations requiring the use of a tool to release and remove the display  20  from the cap  12  would not defeat the spirit of the invention. 
         [0035]    The display  20  should be made of a material that is resistant to environmental conditions such as water, ultraviolet light, heat, cold, etc., as may be experienced while shooting. For example, the display  20  when exposed to moisture, ultraviolet light and/or temperatures in the range from about −20° F. to 120° F. does not substantially deform in its shape or substantially change color so as to affect the performance of the display. The display  20  can also have information permanently affixed thereto or therein as seen in  FIG. 10  or have permanent spaces for a shooter to fill in such information or DOPE. 
         [0036]    In one embodiment, the display  20  can be made or formed from layers of plastic coupled or fixed together. As seen in  FIG. 11 , the display  20  is made from coupling or fixing a top substrate  32  to one side of a middle substrate  34  and coupling or fixing a bottom substrate  36  to another side of the middle substrate. The top and bottom substrates  32 ,  36  can be thinner than the middle substrate  34  and of a color different than the middle substrate. The top and bottom layers or substrates  32 ,  36  can be laser engraved so as to remove portions of the top and bottom layers thereby exposing the middle layer or substrate  34  of a different color. Such engravings can also be used to cut the display  20  to the desired size and shape from a larger sheet or sheets of material. Using three layers allows both sides of the display  20  to contain information such as DOPE. 
         [0037]    One example of such a display entails using bright yellow outer layers and a black middle layer. The contrast of the yellow and black allows the information, such as shooting information, to be easily conveyed or seen at night as would the use of photo-chromatic material. Other applications or user preferences could suggest different color combinations. 
         [0038]    Other numbers of layers can also be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, a two layered display could be made with just the top layer  32  and the middle layer  34 , in which case the middle layer  34  would also be the bottom layer. Further, the display  20  could be made from one substrate such as, for example, if the display is made from a material that is attracted to the magnet  28  as seen in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0039]    Other methods of adding information such as DOPE to a display include, but are not limited to printing on the display, attaching stickers to the display with information printed on the stickers or allowing such information to be written on the stickers by a shooter or allowing a shooter to write directly on the substrate. The use of such methods would not defeat the spirit of the invention. 
         [0040]    It is anticipated that a shooter could be carrying multiple displays  20  with different types of information during an activity, for example long range target practice. The shooter could quickly and easily change to a display  20  with the appropriate information for the firearm, bullet and/or environmental conditions being faced at that time. 
         [0041]    Although the invention has been herein described in what is perceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments set forth above. Rather, it is recognized that modifications may be made by one of skill in the art of the invention without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention and, therefore, the invention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to the subject matter of the appended claims and the description of the invention herein.