US20080164168A1

US20080164168A1 - Device for retaining optical instruments

Info

Publication number: US20080164168A1
Application number: US11/999,922
Authority: US
Inventors: Victor G. Gramoy; William B. Raftery
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-01-08
Filing date: 2007-12-07
Publication date: 2008-07-10

Abstract

A retaining apparatus for retaining an optical device such as a range finder includes an outer skin which is typically mountable within a cup holder typically found on motorized vehicles like golf carts and all terrain vehicles. An interior chamber is formed in the apparatus in which the optical device is removably inserted. The outer skin may be formed as part of the optical device or be a separate member. The outer surface of the outer skin typically includes a portion which tapers downwardly and inwardly to facilitate retention of the apparatus within the cup holder. A mounting mechanism may be included for mounting the retaining apparatus on structures other than the cup holder, such as on an upwardly extending pole or atop an upwardly extending lip or wall. A securing mechanism may be provided for securing the optical device within the interior chamber and typically includes a strap.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/879,278 filed Jan. 8, 2007; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an optical instrument which is mountable in a cup holder. More particularly, the invention relates to an optical range finder or the like having an outer skin which has a mating configuration with the interior of a cup holder. Specifically, the invention relates to a range finder or the like which may be mounted in a cup holder of a mobile vehicle or on another portion of the vehicle to conveniently retain the range finder thereon.
2. Background Information
It has become relatively common to use optical range finders to determine the distance from the user of the range finder to a remote location. For example, in the sport of golf, optical range finders are used in order to determine the distance from the player to the flag or other portions of the golf course in order to allow the player to have a better knowledge of the distance he is trying to hit a golf ball. While such range finders are relatively small, they nonetheless may be somewhat cumbersome during a golf outing. Some of the range finders are provided with straps which may go around the golfer's neck for carrying the device. However, this is not particularly suitable during the swinging of a golf club.
Hunters also use range finders in order to determine the distance to a remote target. Range finders may also be used by farmers or other individuals measuring the acreage of their property. It is clear that people use range finders in a wide variety of activities and commonly use mobile vehicles such as ATV's, cars, boats, motorcycles and so on either during the activity or en route to the activity. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a convenient device for carrying and retaining the range finder on the vehicle so that it is always in a convenient location and so that it will not fall off of the vehicle during travel. In addition, various people use range finders during hiking, biking, watching birds or other activities in which they are walking. Thus, there is also a need in the art for a device for conveniently and securely carrying a device on the person's clothing or the like.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a retaining apparatus for retaining an optical device having optics for magnifying a remote image, the apparatus comprising: an outer skin adapted to mount within a cup holder; and an interior chamber formed in the outer skin and having an upwardly opening entrance opening adapted for removably inserting the optical device into the interior chamber.
The present invention also provides an apparatus comprising: an optical device; and an outer skin on the optical device adapted to mount within a cup holder.
The present invention further provides an apparatus comprising: an optical device; an outer skin on the optical device; and a mounting mechanism extending outwardly from the outer skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the golf cart with a first embodiment of the retaining device mounted thereon with the optical range finder disposed therein.

FIG. 1A is a side elevational view of an ATV with the first embodiment mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the retaining device showing the front side thereof.

FIG. 3 is a top-plan view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of the retaining device positioned above a cup holder with the range finder positioned above the retaining device.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 7 showing the retaining device inserted into the cup retaining device and the range finder inserted into the retaining device.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 and shows the retaining device and range finder rotated 90 degrees with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary top-plan view of a dash board portion of the cart showing several cup holders and a pair of the retaining devices of the first embodiment disposed in a respective pair of the cup holders.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10 showing the range finder in a first position within the retaining device.

FIG. 12 is similar to FIG. 11 and shows the range finder in an inverted position relative to that of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the cup holders of the golf cart of FIG. 10 with a part of the retaining devices and range finders disposed respectively in two of the cup holders and two cups in the other two cup holders.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the golf cart showing the retaining device mounted on one of the poles which supports the roof of the golf cart.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the retaining device showing the front side thereof.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view of a lower portion of the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the golf cart of FIG. 1 showing a pair of retaining devices of the second embodiment respectively mounted on the basket of the golf cart and the golf bag seated on the golf cart.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the retaining device of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing one of the cup holders in section with the third embodiment of the retaining device disposed therein.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the retaining or mounting device is shown generally at 10 in FIGS. 2-10; a second embodiment of the retaining device is shown generally at 100 in FIGS. 15 and 17; and a third embodiment of the retaining or mounting device is shown generally at 200 in FIGS. 18-19. Device 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in use with a golf cart 2 and more particularly mounted within a cup holder 4 disposed in the dash board area of golf cart 2 adjacent a steering column 6. Golf cart 2 has a body with a plurality of supporting poles 8 extending upwardly therefrom to support a roof 12 above the seating area of the golf cart. The front poles 8 extend upwardly and angle slightly rearwardly with respect to vertical. A basket 3 is mounted on the rear of rear pole 8 and includes an upper lip or edge 15 defining an entrance opening to an interior chamber of basket 3. A golf bag 7 is also mounted on the rear of golf cart 2 and has an upper lip or edge 9 defining an entrance opening to an interior chamber in which golf clubs 11 are removably inserted. FIG. 1A shows another mobile vehicle in the form of an all terrain vehicle or ATV 13 with a cup holder 4 mounted between the handle bars thereof. It will be evident that a cup holder such as cup holder 4 may be mounted in a suitable location on a mobile vehicle such as golf cart 2, ATV 13 or other such vehicles whether they have wheels or not. Device 10 is configured for the removable insertion of an optical device such as a range finder 5 so that range finder 5 is sufficiently secured in device 10 during the movement of a mobile vehicle such as golf cart 2 or ATV 13 while allowing easy removal therefrom when desired.
Device 10 is now described with greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-6. Device 10 comprises a skin which defines an interior chamber 14 having an entrance opening 16 which opens upwardly to allow range finder 5 to be removably inserted therethrough into interior chamber 14. The skin of device 10 serves as a holder for range finder 5 and is itself received within cup holder 4. The skin is preferably formed as an integral one piece member which is typically formed of rigid plastic although it may be formed of metal or other materials sufficient for the purpose. Device 10 has an upper portion 18 and a lower portion 20 connected thereto and extend downwardly therefrom. Upper portion 18 includes substantially flat front and rear walls 22 and 24 which are substantially parallel to one another, and first and second flat side walls 26 and 28 extending between and connected to front and rear walls 22 and 24 to form a continuous sidewall having a rectangular cross section or configuration as viewed from above (FIG. 3). A lip 30 extends upwardly and tapers outwardly from each of the walls of upper portion 18 to facilitate insertion of range finder 5 into interior chamber 14. First and second opposed notches 32 and 34 are formed in lip 30 and extend partially into the front and rear walls 22 and 24 to provide additional access for a finger and thumb in grasping ranger finder 5 for removal from interior chamber 14.
Lower portion 20 includes a flat front wall 36, a flat rear wall 38 (FIGS. 3-5) and first and second side walls 40 and 42 having convex outer surfaces which are frustoconical and circumferentially truncated by walls 36 and 38. More particularly, each of side walls 40 and 42 lie along a common right cone and taper downwardly and inwardly so that they are adapted to mate with the inner surfaces with cup holder 4 as discussed further below. Walls 36, 38, 40 and 42 form a continuous sidewall having a generally rectangular cross section or configuration as viewed from above (FIG. 3) with arcuate walls 40 and 42 providing curved ends to the generally rectangular configuration. Front wall 36 is a continuation of front wall 22 so that walls 22 and 36 lie in a common plane. Likewise, rear wall 38 is a downward continuation of rear wall 24 so that walls 24 and 38 lie in another common plane. Thus, front walls 22 and 36 form a T-shaped front wall. Likewise, rear walls 24 and 38 form a T-shaped rear wall substantially the same as the T-Shaped front wall. As thus seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, lower portion 20 is mounted in an offset manner on upper portion 18 and more particularly is offset between side walls 26 and 28 of upper portion 18. More particularly, first side wall 40 of lower portion 20 is stepped inwardly from first side wall 26 of upper portion 18 toward side wall 28 by a first ledge wall 44 so that the top of the outer surface of side wall 40 which is closest to first side wall 26 defines therebetween a normal distance D1 (FIG. 6). Likewise, second side wall 42 is stepped inwardly from second side wall 28 toward side wall 26 by a second ledge wall 46 so that the top of the outer surface of side wall 42 closest to side wall 28 defines a normal distance D2 from side wall 28 which is less than distance D1. Interior chamber 14 thus includes an upper substantially rectangular upper chamber 45 and a lower chamber 47 which is narrower than upper chamber 45 in the direction defined between side walls 26 and 28.
Lower portion 27 includes a bottom wall 41 which is connected to and extends inwardly from each of walls 36, 38, 40 and 42. A hole 43 is formed centrally in bottom wall 41. Bottom wall 41 thus has a pair of parallel opposed edges which are connected respectively to lower ends of walls 36 and 38. Bottom wall 412 also includes a pair of arcuate edges which are respectively connected to the lower ends of walls 40 and 42.
Device 10 also includes an alternate mounting mechanism comprising a C-shaped hook 48 which is pivotally mounted on front wall 22 via a mounting bracket 50 attached to front walls 22 and 36. A spring 52 biases hook 48 to a stowed position (FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 6). Hook 48 may be pivoted outwardly to overcome the bias of spring 52 to a mounted position shown in FIG. 14. Hook 48 includes upper and lower horizontal segments 54 and 56 with a vertical segment 58 extending between and connected to segments 54 and 56. Lower horizontal segment 56 is pivotally disposed within a horizontal passage 60 formed between an elongated arch 62 and the outer surface of front wall 22. Spring 52 includes a hook 64 which engages a vertical segment 58 upwardly of lower segment 56 in order to provide sufficient force for biasing hook 48 into abutment with the outer surface of front wall 22 in the stowed position. Hook 48 further includes upper and lower feet 66 and 68 which are connected respectively to upper and lower segments 54 and 56 distal segment 58 and extend toward one another with respective terminal ends 70 and 72 thereof defining therebetween a space which serves as an entrance opening 74 to a pole-receiving space 76 which is bounded by segments 54, 56 and 58 and feet 66 and 68.
The primary operation of device 10 is now described with reference to FIGS. 7-13. As previously noted, device 10 is configured to removably receive range finder 5. Range finder 5 includes a housing 78, user optics 80 typically including a pair of spaced lenses, laser optics 82 and a display 84 which projects outwardly from housing 78. In short, the user of range finder 5 views a remote target on display 84 via user optics 80. Display 84 and user optics 80 are used to align the laser optics 82 with a remote target so that a laser beam transmitted from a laser-producing mechanism of laser optics 82 is reflected off of the remote target and sensed by a laser reflection sensor of laser optics 82 in order to determine the distance from range finder 5 to the remote target. One example of such a range finder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,992 granted to LaBelle et al. Similar range finders are sold, for example, under the registered Trademark Bushnell. The outer surface of housing 78 when received in interior chamber 14 of device 10 slidably engages the inner surfaces of the various walls of upper portion 18 so that housing 78 is disposed in upper chamber 45 and display 84 is disposed in lower chamber 47 in the position shown in FIG. 11.
Each of cup holders 4 includes a frustoconical side wall having an frustoconical inner surface 86 defining an interior chamber 88 in which lower portion 20 of device 10 is disposed with the outer surfaces of each of walls 40 and 42 abutting inner surface 86 in a mating fashion so that lower portion 20 typically wedges into cup holder 4. Most preferably, the tapered outer surfaces of side walls 40 and 42 has a substantially identical taper to that of inner surface 86 to provides a secure frictional engagement therebetween to prevent inadvertent removal of lower portion 20 from within interior chamber 88 while allowing said removal with a reasonable amount of force by the user. Especially where this taper is not identical, it is preferred that the lower surfaces of ledge walls 44 and 46 or another outer surface of the skin of device 10 be seated atop an upper surface 90 of cup holder 4 in order to provide additional stability to device 10 when mounted in cup holder 4.
As shown in FIG. 8, device 10 is positioned within one of cup holders 4 so that side wall 28 faces the adjacent cup holder 4. It will be appreciated that the offset nature of portion 20 with respect to portion 18 when arranged in this position allows greater room for the insertion of a drink within the adjacent cup holder 4 than would be possible if side wall 26 would be facing the adjacent cup holder 4. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate position in which device 10 has been rotated 90° with respect to the position shown in FIG. 8, likewise, providing an even greater amount of space for insertion of a cup into the adjacent cup holder 4 as result of rear wall 24 facing the adjacent cup holder 4. FIG. 12 also shows that range finder 5 may be inserted into device 10 in a position which is inverted with respect to that shown in FIG. 11. Thus, housing 78 is disposed in upper chamber 45 while display 84 is positioned outside and above interior chamber 14 with no portion of range finder 5 disposed in lower chamber 47. FIG. 13 shows a pair of devices 10 mounted within a respective pair of cup holders 4 and with a respective pair of range finders 5 disposed therein. FIG. 13 also shows a pair of cups 92A and 92B disposed with a respective pair of cup holders 4. FIG. 13 thus and more particularly illustrates the positioning of side wall 28 toward cup 92A and the cup holder in which it is disposed in order to provide sufficient room for cup 92A to be positioned within associated cup holder 4.
While the exemplary embodiment shows that each of side walls 40 and 42 has a frustoconical surface, lower portion 20 may be formed with various outer surfaces which allow it to fit within cup holder 4. Most preferably, such an outer surface tapers downwardly and inwardly in order to provide a wedging engagement with inner surface 86 of a given cup holder 4 in order to increase the frictional engagement therebetween and provide greater stability to device 10 when mounted in cup holder 4. It is also contemplated that various materials may be used to form the outer surface of lower portion which are for example, compressible and expandable or inwardly and outwardly flexible in order to provide a laterally outwardly projecting force against inner surface 86 when the lower portion is inserted therein to provide stability. However, the use of a frustoconical or other outer surface which tapers downwardly and inwardly provides a desirable grip with the inner surface of the cup holder which is simple, durable and cost effective.
FIG. 14 shows the alternate mounting of device 10 on pole 8 of golf cart 2 via the use of hook 48. To mount device 10 on pole 8, hook 48 is positioned substantially perpendicular to front wall 22 as shown by the dashed lines so that pole 8 may be received through entrance opening 74 into pole receiving space 76. Hook 48 is then pivoted upwardly as shown at arrow A so that upper segment 54 engages pole 8 and upper foot 66 hooks around pole 8 to prevent the removal of pole 8 through opening 74. As shown in FIG. 14, upper segment 54, arch 62 of hook 64 and lip 30 engage pole 8 to provide a frictional engagement to hold device 10 in place. It is noted that numerous other types of mounting mechanisms other than hook 48 may be used to mount device 10 on pole 8 or the like. Such an alternate mounting mechanism may be handy if the golf cart does not provide sufficient number of cup holders for the primary mounting of device 10 therein or if all of the cup holders are otherwise being used.
With reference to FIGS. 15-17, device 100 is now described. Device 100 is similar to device 10 although device 100 varies in several ways some of which will be immediately apparent upon comparison of FIG. 15 and FIG. 2. Device 100 includes an outer skin configured to fit securely within cup holder 4 in the same manner as device 10. The outer skin defines an interior chamber 102 with an entrance opening 104 through which range finder 5 is removably insertable in the same manner as device 10. The outer skin or housing of device 100 includes upper and lower portions 106 and 108 analogous to portions 18 and 20 of device 10 so that lower portion 108 fits in the same mating configuration within cup holder as does lower portion 20 of device 10. Upper portion 106 includes flat front and rear walls 110 and 112 and arcuate first and second side walls 114 and 116 which have convex outer surfaces and lie substantially along a common circle. Upper portion 106 is free of an outwardly flared lip such as lip 30 of device 10, but includes first and second notches 118 and 120 formed respectively in front and rear walls 110 and 112 similar to notch 32 and 34. Lower portion 108 include flat front and rear walls 122 and 124 and first and second arcuate side walls 126 and 128 so that walls 122-128 are substantially the same as the analogous walls of lower portion 20 of device 10. Front walls 110 and 122 form an inverted L-shaped front wall. Likewise, rear walls 122 and 124 form an inverted L-shaped rear wall substantially the same as the inverted L-shaped front wall. Lower portion 108 also includes a bottom wall 130 having formed therein a slot or depression 132 extending upwardly from the lower surface of bottom wall 130 and from front wall 122 to rear wall 124. Lower portion 20 is offset between side walls 114 and 116 of upper portion 18 by a horizontal ledge wall 134 connected to the lower end of front and rear walls 110 and 112 and side wall 116 and at the upper end of side wall 128. Unlike device 10, device 100 includes only a single ledge wall 134 inasmuch as side 126 of lower portion 108 and side wall 114 of upper portion 106 are directly connected to one another.
Device 100 further includes a mounting bracket 136, a hook 138 rotatably mounted on bracket 136 about a first substantially horizontal axis X, and a strap 140 which is rotatably mounted on bracket 136 about a second substantially horizontal axis Y which is substantially perpendicular to axis X. Hook 138 includes substantially horizontal upper segment 142 rotatably mounted within a passage formed by an arch 144 of bracket 136. Hook 138 further includes an offsetting segment 146 which is connected to and extends outwardly in a forward direction from upper segment 142 in order to laterally offset a generally vertical segment 148 which extends downwardly from segment 146. A lower horizontal segment 150 is connected to the lower end of vertical segment 148 with a foot 152 extending upwardly from lower segment 150 distal segment 148. A spring 153 is provided to spring bias lower segment 150 of hook 138 inwardly toward front wall 110.
Strap 140 is mounted on mounting bracket 136 by front and rear snaps 154A and 154B which serve as pivots adjacent opposed ends of strap 140 about which strap 140 rotates about axis Y. More particularly, each snap 154 includes a first snap portion mounted on strap 140 and a second snap portion mounted on bracket 136 so that the snap portion on strap 140 releasably snap fits onto the snap portion on bracket 136 and is rotatably mounted thereon about axis Y. The snap portions of each snap 154 are thus removably mounted on one another so that strap 140 may be removed from bracket 136. In addition, one of the snap fit engagements may be released to move strap 140 to a released position out of contact with the range finder to allow its removal from within device 100.
Thus, strap 140, which forms a closed loop with the housing or outer skin of device 100, is rotatable between the operational securing position shown in FIG. 17 and the stowed position shown in FIG. 15 with a lower portion thereof disposed within depression 132 abutting lower wall 130. In addition, strap 140 may be rotated from the securing position in which it engages and secures range finder 5 within interior chamber 102 to a released or releasing position in which strap 140 is typically out of contact with range finder 5 and allows its removal from interior chamber 102. In the stowed position, a forward portion of strap 140 is disposed closely adjacent or in abutment with the outer surface of front walls 110 and 122 while a rear portion of strap 140 is disposed closely adjacent to or in abutment with the rear surface of rear walls 112 and 124. Strap 140 is thus in a U-shaped configuration in the stowed position and is closely adjacent or abuts the outer skin of device 100 from adjacent its first end to adjacent its second end. Strap 140 may be rotated about axis Y to the operational position in order to engage range finder 5 when disposed within interior chamber 102 to assist in retaining range finder 5 therein. Strap 140 may thus be lengthened and shortened or loosened and tightened in order to allow movement thereof into and out of depression 132 and around range finder 5 when positioned in device 100. Most preferably, strap 140 is an elastic strap or contains elastic materials which allow strap 140 to stretch to allow for the lengthening and shortening thereof and also provide a force for retaining range finder 5 within interior chamber 102 when strap 140 is in the operational position and for retaining strap 140 within depression 132 in the stowed position.
As shown in FIG. 17, hook 138 may be used in order to mount device 100 on basket 3, golf bag 7 or the like. More particularly, hook 138 may be rotated about axis X so that lower segment 150 is spaced outwardly from front wall 110 to define a space therebetween for receiving therein lip 15 of basket 3 or lip 9 of golf bag 7. Spring 153 helps secure hook 136 onto lip 15, lip 9 or various other types of structures, such as a belt worn by an individual who is walking.
Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, device 200 is now described. Instead of utilizing a separate holder in which a range finder may be disposed, as with device 10 and range finder 5, device 200 combines the range finder and the retaining concept into one unit configured to securely mount within a cup holder 4. Device 200 includes a housing 202, user optics 80A, laser optics 82A and display 84A. Device 200 is thus itself a range finder with a housing 202 configured for mounting in cup holder 4. The functional aspects of the range finder and device 200 are the same of that as range finder 5. More particularly, housing 202 has an outer skin with a frustoconical outer surface 204 which tapers downwardly and inwardly in order to provide a wedging frictional engagement between outer surface 204 and frustoconical surface 86 of cup holder 4 in essentially the same manner as device 10 except that outer surface 204 extends circumferentially in a continuous manner as opposed to the circumferentially truncated walls 40 and 42 of device 10. Thus, device 200 provides an outer surface which tapers downwardly and inwardly in a mating fashion with inner surface 86 of cup holder 4 in order to retain device 200 therein during travel of golf cart 2 or other vehicle.
The present invention thus provides devices 10 and 100 for mounting securely within a cup holder and for removably receiving therein a range finder 5. Thus, devices 10 and 100 are configured for use with present range finders such as range finder 5. Devices 10 and 100 also include alternate mounting mechanisms which allow for the mounting of said devices on various parts of mobile vehicles, belts or other structures as previously described. The present invention further provides device 200 or a range finder which itself is configured for mounting within a cup holder without the need for an additional holder such as device 10 into which range finder may be removably disposed in.
In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.
Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Claims

1. A retaining apparatus for retaining an optical device having optics for magnifying a remote image, the apparatus comprising:

an outer skin adapted to mount within a cup holder; and

an interior chamber formed in the outer skin and having an upwardly opening entrance opening adapted for removably inserting the optical device into the interior chamber.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a tapered outer surface on the outer skin which tapers downwardly and inwardly and is adapted to frictionally engage an inner surface of the cup holder.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising first and second flat upwardly extending parallel walls on the outer skin; and a third wall connected to and extending between the first and second flat walls and defining the tapered outer surface.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the tapered outer surface is frustoconical.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a lower chamber of the interior chamber; and an upper chamber of the interior chamber which is wider than the lower chamber.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of the lower and upper chambers has a generally rectangular cross sectional shape.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising first and second flat upwardly extending parallel walls on the outer skin.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising upper and lower ends on the outer skin; and wherein the first and second walls extend from adjacent the upper end to adjacent the lower end.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising upper and lower segments on each of the first and second walls; and wherein the upper segments are respectively wider than the lower segments.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an upwardly extending wall on the outer skin adapted to be received in the cup holder; and a ledge wall connected to and extending outwardly from the upwardly extending wall and adapted to be seated on an upper surface of the cup holder.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an upwardly extending lower wall bounding the interior chamber; an upwardly extending upper wall bounding the interior chamber and spaced outwardly from and extending upwardly of the lower wall; a ledge wall connected to and extending laterally between the lower and upper walls; and an upper surface on the ledge wall adapted for seating thereon a portion of the optical device.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a securing mechanism on the outer skin movable between a securing position for securing the optical device within the interior chamber and a releasing position for releasing the optical device.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a strap on the securing mechanism extending upwardly of the entrance opening in the securing position.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising a pivot on the outer skin at which the strap is pivotally connected to the outer skin so that the strap is pivotally movable between the securing position and the released position.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a mounting mechanism connected to and extending outwardly from the outer skin and adapted to mount the outer skin on a structure other than the cup holder.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a C-shaped member on the mounting mechanism defining a pole-receiving space having an entrance opening whereby the space is adapted to receive an upwardly extending pole therein via the entrance opening for mounting the outer skin on the pole.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a hook on the mounting mechanism comprising a first segment extending outwardly from adjacent the outer skin and a second segment connected to and extending downwardly from the first segment so that the second segment and the outer skin define therebetween a downwardly opening space adapted to receive an upwardly extend lip for mounting the outer skin on the lip.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 in combination with the optical device; and wherein the optical device is a range finder.

19. An apparatus comprising:

an optical device; and

an outer skin on the optical device adapted to mount within a cup holder.

20. An apparatus comprising:

an optical device;

an outer skin on the optical device; and

a mounting mechanism extending outwardly from the outer skin.