Etat Francais

Bruno M Saintours-Payerne

Guillaume A Gay-Chatain

Paul R Montjallard

Andre Mechulam

An observation post for military equipment such as a turret for an armored car comprising a structure having an opening through which at least the head of an observer can pass, and a sealable enclosure for the opening including an inner transparent cap fitted at the opening, and an outer armored hatch cover for covering the inner cap. The outer cover can be selectively opened and closed independently of the inner cap. The transparent cap may also be operable independently of the armored cover and advantageously the cap and the armored cover are respectively pivotable about a common axis. A closure latch can be carried by the armored cover for automatically locking the cover when it is closed, the closure latch being unlocked from within the observation post by manually operating a handle. A closure latch can also be carried by a frame of the cap for automatically locking the cap when it is closed, the latch being unlocked from within the observation post.

Military observation post

An observation post such as a turret having an observation opening allowing passage of the head of an operator therethrough, the opening being preferably closable by an armored hatch cover. An external viewing device is mounted outside the turret and is employed by the operator with his head disposed in the observation opening, and an internal viewing device is mounted inside the turret below the external viewing device and parallel thereto, the internal viewing device being of greater precision and having a reduced field of view as compared to the external viewing device. The viewing devices are coupled together to be maintained parallel to one another. A set is mounted in the turret for the observer and is disposed substantially parallel to the observation opening, the seat being connected to the support structure of the equipment by a deformable kinematic system by which the seat can be displaced between a maximum elevated position in which the eyes of the seated operator are at the level of the external viewing device and a minimum lowered position in which the eyes of the operator, in the same seated attitued, are at the same level as the internal viewing device. A locking mechanism serves for locking the seat in these two extreme positions, the locking mechanism including an actuator acted on by the operator for releasing the locking mechanism to allow the unlocked seat to be lowered from the elevated position, under the weight of the operator seated in the seat, against the action of an elastic system, which acts to raise the seat from the extreme lowered position when the weight of the operator has been released from the seat and the locking mechanism is unlocked.

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St. Etienne, France

Bruno M Saintours-Payerne