Hinged lid for battery compartment in a manually rotatable adjustment knob

摘要

A rotatable adjustment knob has a knob body mountable to an optical or electronic device for rotation about an axis extending outwardly from the device. The knob body has an opening into a battery compartment sized to receive a battery. A lid is pivotably attached to the knob body for movement between a closed position in which the lid covers the opening, and an open position in which the lid is pivoted away from the opening to provide access to the battery compartment. The lid remains attached to the knob body while in both the open and closed positions for rotation with the knob body about the axis. A resilient seal confronts the knob body and the lid while the lid is in the closed position to thereby seal the opening and the battery compartment. A latch releasably retains the lid in the closed position.

主权项

1. A rotatable adjustment knob configured to provide a user-selected input to an optical or electronic device having a battery-powered component and an annular mounting channel, the channel defining a seat having a surface at a bottom of the channel and an outer circumferential sidewall bordering the surface, the rotatable adjustment knob comprising:
a knob body mountable to the device for rotation about an axis extending outwardly from the device so that a degree of the rotation corresponds to the user-selected input, the knob body including a bottom face, an upper cylindrical sidewall section, a lower cylindrical sidewall section, and an opening into a battery compartment sized to receive a battery, the knob body, when mounted to the device, having:
the bottom face configured to confront and turn relative to the surface of the seat,the upper cylindrical sidewall section extending away from the channel and sized to be grasped and rotated relative to the outer circumferential sidewall, andthe lower cylindrical sidewall section extending within the channel and sized to confront the outer circumferential sidewall; an electrical contact housed within the battery compartment and providing a battery connection for the battery-powered component; a lid pivotably attached to the knob body for movement between a closed position in which the lid covers the opening, and an open position in which the lid is pivoted away from the knob body and the opening to facilitate access of the battery compartment, the lid remaining attached to the knob body while in both the open and closed positions for rotation with the knob body about the axis; a resilient seal bordering the opening and confronting the knob body and the lid while the lid is in the closed position; and a latch to releasably retain the lid in the closed position.