Passive proximity battery control circuit for night vision goggles

Claim 2

A night vision goggle assembly, comprising: a headgear frame; a goggle with an On-Off switch-controlled electrical circuit; a bracket on said headgear frame for removable attachment of said goggle; and circuit means responsive to the removal of said goggle from said bracket for automatically deactivating said electrical circuit.

Claim 3

The goggle assembly of claim 1 wherein said circuit means includes proximity sensor means for sensing the detachment of said goggle from said headgear.

Claim 4

The goggle assembly of claim 2 wherein said proximity sensor means comprises a magnetically operated circuit.

Claim 5

The goggle assembly of claim 3 wherein said proximity sensor means comprises a magnet and a magnetic operated relay.

Claim 6

The goggle assembly of claim 1 further including means for preventing the reactivation of said electrical circuit upon the reattachment of the goggle to the headgear.

Claim 7

The goggle assembly of claim 5 further including latching means responsive to the reattachment of said goggle to said headgear, and responsive to the cycling of said On-Off switch for reactivating said electrical circuit.

Claim 8

The goggle assembly of claim 6 wherein said latching means comprises a bistable circuit element operative to direct electrical current to said electrical circuit in one state, and operative to remove current therefrom when in another state.

Claim 9

The goggle assembly of claim 7 wherein said bistable circuit element draws no energy when in either said state.

Claim 10

The goggle assembly of claim 8 wherein said bistable element comprises a magnetic latching relay.

Claim 11

The goggle assembly of claim 9 further including means for pulsing said relay.

Claim 12

The goggle assembly of claim 10 wherein said means for pulsing comprises a capacitor switchably connected to a source of electrical power.

Claim 13

The goggle assembly of claim 7 further including means for activating said bistable element to deactivate said electrical circuit when said goggle is removed from the headgear, and means for pulsing said bistable element for activating said circuit when said goggle is reattached to said headgear and when said On-Off switch is cycled.

Claim 14

A circuit for use with a night vision goggle having a battery operated image intensifier, and detachably mounted to a headgear, comprising: an On-Off switch operative to selectively supply battery current to said image intensifier; magnetic coupling means between said goggle and said headgear; and magnetic responsive means responsive to the proximity of said magnetic coupling means for interrupting current through said switch when said goggle is detached from the headgear.

Claim 15

A circuit for use with a night vision goggle having a battery operated image intensifier, and detachably mounted to a headgear, comprising: an On-Off switch operative to selectively supply battery current to said image intensifier; magnetic coupling means between said goggle and said headgear; and magnetic responsive means responsive to the proximity of said magnetic coupling means for interrupting current through said switch when said goggle is detached from the headgear.

Claim 16

The circuit of claim 13 further including switch means connected between said magnetic responsive means and said On-Off switch for maintaining the interruption of battery current after reattachment of said goggle to said headgear.

Claim 17

A battery deactivating circuit for use with a night vision goggle removably attachable to a headgear, comprising: switch means for switchably connecting a battery to an image intensifier; and bistable means responsive to a first signal corresponding to the detachment of said goggle from said headgear for operating said switch means and disconnecting said battery from said image intensifier, and responsive to a different signal for operating said switch means and connecting said battery to said image intensifier.

Claim 18

A battery deactivating circuit for use with a night vision goggle removably attachable to a headgear, comprising: switch means for switchably connecting a battery to an image intensifier; and bistable means responsive to a first signal corresponding to the detachment of said goggle from said headgear for operating said switch means and disconnecting said battery from said image intensifier, and responsive to a different signal for operating said switch means and connecting said battery to said image intensifier.

Claim 19

The battery deactivating circuit of claim 15 wherein said first signal is automatically generated by a magnetic coupling means connected between said goggle and said headgear, and said different signal is manually generated.

Claim 20

The battery deactivating circuit of claim 15 wherein said bistable means is of the type which consumes no battery power when in a stable state.

Claim 21

The battery deactivating circuit of claim 17 wherein said bistable means comprises a magnetic latching relay.

Claim 22

A night vision goggle assembly, comprising: a night vision goggle; a headgear to which said goggle is removably mountable; a magnetic switch mounted to said goggle; a magnet attached to said headgear, and magnetically coupled to said magnetic switch when said goggle is attached to said headgear; a latching relay with contacts, and with a first and second coil responsive to electrical excitation thereof for switching a switch pole to a respective reset contact and a set contact of said latching relay; a first parallel circuit including said first coil in series with a first capacitor and switchable by said magnetic switch to a battery when said goggle is detached from said headgear, and including a resistor switchable by said magnetic switch to said first capacitor and said first coil when said goggle is attached to the headgear; a manually-operated On-Off switch on said goggle, said On-Off switch including an On contact and an Off contact; an image intensifier connectable to said On contact; an second parallel circuit including a second capacitor in series with said second coil and switchable to said battery by the contacts of said latching relay, and including a first means for connecting said On contact to said battery through said latching relay contacts, and means for connecting said second capacitor and said second coil to said battery through said Off contact and through the contacts of said latching relay.

Claim 23

A night vision goggle assembly, comprising: a night vision goggle; a headgear to which said goggle is removably mountable; a magnetic switch mounted to said goggle; a magnet attached to said headgear, and magnetically coupled to said magnetic switch when said goggle is attached to said headgear; a latching relay with contacts, and with a first and second coil responsive to electrical excitation thereof for switching a switch pole to a respective reset contact and a set contact of said latching relay; a first parallel circuit including said first coil in series with a first capacitor and switchable by said magnetic switch to a battery when said goggle is detached from said headgear, and including a resistor switchable by said magnetic switch to said first capacitor and said first coil when said goggle is attached to the headgear; a manually-operated On-Off switch on said goggle, said On-Off switch including an On contact and an Off contact; an image intensifier connectable to said On contact; an second parallel circuit including a second capacitor in series with said second coil and switchable to said battery by the contacts of said latching relay, and including a first means for connecting said On contact to said battery through said latching relay contacts, and means for connecting said second capacitor and said second coil to said battery through said Off contact and through the contacts of said latching relay.

Claim 26

The method of claim 20 wherein said disconnecting step is carried out by sensing the proximity of the night vision goggle with respect to the headgear.

Claim 27

The method of claim 21 wherein the sensing step is carried out by sensing magnetic coupling between the goggle and the headgear.