U.S. patent application number 14/319140 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-31 for method and apparatus for aligning laser to optical system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Daniel James Periard, Nicholas Vitalbo. Invention is credited to Daniel James Periard, Nicholas Vitalbo.
Application Number | 20150377588 14/319140 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54930122 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-31 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20150377588 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Periard; Daniel James ; et
al. |
December 31, 2015 |
Method and Apparatus for Aligning Laser to Optical System
Abstract
An improved method and apparatus for aligning laser systems to
optical systems at long distances. An embodiment of this uses a
reflective material with markings which reflects light back along
its angle of incidence to permit a user to align the two
systems.
Inventors: |
Periard; Daniel James;
(Copley, OH) ; Vitalbo; Nicholas; (Norton,
OH) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Periard; Daniel James
Vitalbo; Nicholas |
Copley
Norton |
OH
OH |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54930122 |
Appl. No.: |
14/319140 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
434/22 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41G 3/326 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F41G 3/26 20060101
F41G003/26 |
Claims
1. A method of aligning a laser system to an optical system
comprising reflecting a laser off a target comprised of a
reflective material, whereby said laser system can easily be
aligned at long distances.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said laser system is mounted upon
a weapon.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said laser system has a mechanism
for adjusting the orientation of its lasers.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said optical system is mounted
upon a weapon.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein said optical system is a
telescopic rifle scope.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said reflective material is
attached to a support material.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said reflective material and said
support material are comprised of fabric.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said reflective material includes
a marking upon it to enhance visibility.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein said marking is shaped like a
cross.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein said laser system is mounted upon
said optical system.
11. A target comprising a reflective material that reflects
incoming light back along its incidence angle, a support material
that said reflective material is attached to, and a marking that
increases visibility, whereby said target will enable user to align
a laser system to an optical system at long distance.
12. The target in claim 11 wherein said reflective material and
said support material are fabric.
13. The target in claim 12 wherein said support material has a
string and a weight attached.
14. The target in claim 12 wherein said reflective material and
said support material provide means for said target to be rolled
up.
15. The target in claim 11 wherein said support material is a rigid
material.
16. The target in claim 15 wherein said support material has a
mounting hole.
17. The target in claim 10 wherein said marking is in the shape of
a cross.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of PPA Ser. No.
61/841,615, filed 2013 Jul. 1 by the present inventors, which is
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Discussion of Prior Art
[0003] This application relates to aligning a physically separate
laser to a direct-view optical system for use on distant
targets
[0004] 2. Prior Art
[0005] Modern lasers and laser rangefinders are used by long range
shooters to illuminate a target and measure the distance to a
target, respectively. These devices include several lasers,
including a visible one that the shooter can use to align the laser
rangefinder to an optical device that is used to see the target.
One challenge in using the visible laser to align the device to the
direct-view optical system is that the laser is difficult to see in
full daylight. The brightness of the sun overwhelms the eye's
ability to see the laser, even with an optical system. Currently,
users desiring to align their laser system to their optical system
have to perform the alignment at short distances or during periods
of low ambient illumination (before dawn or after dusk) so that
they can see the laser spot. These short distances are much less
than the distances that some users shoot targets at, which could be
over 1000 meters. Aligning the systems at short distances
introduces parallax into the alignment, making it difficult for the
user to properly lase a long distance target. If misaligned, the
laser rangefinder will suffer a decrease in performance, most
likely returning the incorrect range to target.
[0006] The alignment target in U.S. Pat. No. 6,815,838 to
Daubenspeck on 2002 Feb. 20 is appropriate for use with
semiconductor devices, but not in an outdoor setting or at long
distances. The method described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,494 to
Varshneya on 2002 May 20 details a means for aligning a small arms
transmitter, but fails to address how to see the laser at long
distances. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,815 to Parikh on 1994 Apr. 29
describes a system to align a weapon mounted laser with the
weapon's boresight, but it is a complex optomechanical system, and
unsuitable for field work. It is also tailored specifically for a
particular laser system in a training environment.
[0007] Forrest describes an apparatus for boresighting a firearm in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,162 on 1983 Aug. 8 that shines a collimated
light source through the barrel, which is acceptable for aligning a
rifle scope, but provides no means to align a laser to the scope.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,836 to Cameron on 1990 Feb. 5 describes a
means similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,162, using a barrel-mounted
laser to align a rifle scope, but does not address how to align a
laser for long distances.
ADVANTAGES
[0008] One advantage of one or more aspects is to allow the user to
more easily see the laser spot in various ambient lighting
conditions, especially at longer distances. Another advantage is
that alignment target may reduce the time it takes for a shooter to
align the laser to a telescopic scope. Another advantage is that
the target will allow the user to more precisely align the laser
system to the optical system. Other advantages include ease of use,
low complexity, and low cost. These and other advantages will
become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and
accompanying drawings.
DRAWINGS--FIGURES
[0009] FIG. 1 shows various aspects of a target supplied with a
reflective material and support backing in accordance with one
embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 2 shows example of weapon-mounted laser system emitting
a laser that is reflected by one embodiment of a target
[0011] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of method for aligning
weapon-mounted laser system with one embodiment of a target
[0012] FIG. 4 shows an illustration of the steps in FIG. 3
[0013] FIGS. 5A and 5B shows various aspects of a target supplied
with flexible materials in accordance with another embodiment.
DRAWINGS--REFERENCE NUMERALS
TABLE-US-00001 [0014] Weapon-mounted laser system with adjustment
mechanism 12 Weapon-mounted optical system 14 Weapon 16 Light
source 18 Reflective Target 20 Reflected light 22 Telescopic Scope
Markings 24 Reflective material 26 Support structure 28
Retroreflector 30 Flexible reflective material 32 Flexible support
material 34 Flexible string 36 Weight 38 Target markings 40
DETAILED DESCRIPTION--FIRST EMBODIMENT--FIG. 1
[0015] One embodiment of the target 20 is illustrated in FIG. 1.
The target 20 consists of a reflective material 26 attached to a
support structure 28. The reflective material 26 may consist of a
plurality of retroreflectors 30 that reflect incoming light 18 back
in the direction from which it entered the retro reflector 30.
[0016] In one embodiment, the reflective material 26 is an adhesive
sheet, such as 3M reflective sheeting for traffic signs, which is
attached to a support structure 28. The reflective material 26 can
come in other forms, such as transfer films, fabrics,
pressure-sensitive adhesive films, etc. In one embodiment, the
support structure 28 is aluminum; however, the support structure 28
can consist of any material that protects the reflective material
26 from normal wear, such as nylon fabric or plastic sheets.
OPERATION--FIRST EMBODIMENT--FIGS. 2-4
[0017] FIG. 2 shows the basic configuration of one embodiment. The
method or arrangement of mounting the optical system 14 and laser
system 12 upon the weapon 16 will be well known to those with
ordinary skill in the mechanical and shooting arts. The method of
adjusting the laser system's 12 alignment will be well known to
those with ordinary skill in the shooting arts.
[0018] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of how to align the laser system 12
with the optical system 14 using one embodiment of the target 20.
The target 20 is affixed at a short distance, with its reflective
surface pointed back at the laser system. The laser system 12,
mounted on the weapon 16 along with the optical system 14, is
configured to emit its light 18. The weapon 16, with attached laser
system 12 and optical system 14 is scanned back and forth near the
target until the reflected light 22 is visible through the optical
system 14 on the target 20. The offset from the optical system's
markings 24 is noted, and the adjustment mechanism of the laser
system 12 is used to move the reflected light 22 on the target 20
until the reflected light 22 is located in the center of the
optical system's 14 field of view. This results in a coarse
alignment of the laser system and optical system.
[0019] The target 20 is then moved to the desired shooting range or
maximum effective range of the weapon and affixed there. The
process of activating the light source 18, scanning the optical
system 14 near the target 20, and adjusting the laser system 12 is
repeated at this longer range to refine the alignment between
optical system 14 and laser system 12.
[0020] FIG. 4 shows an illustration of what will be seen through
the optical system 14 while performing the process described in
FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION--ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT--FIGS. 5A and B
[0021] FIG. 5A shows an additional embodiment of target 20 that
uses a fabric reflective material 26 and nylon fabric support
structure 28. This embodiment includes a cross marking 40 on the
reflective material 26 to assist with alignment, however, the
marking could consist of different shapes, such as a box, dot,
circle, etc. This embodiment also includes a flexible string 36
attached to the support structure 28 so that the target 20 can be
hung from various available structures. Additionally, this
embodiment may include a weight 40 sewn into the support structure
28 that helps prevent the target 20 from moving when used
outdoors.
[0022] FIG. 5B shows how the embodiment can be rolled up around the
weight 40 so that the target 20 can be stowed in a bag, backpack,
or pocket.
CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE
[0023] Accordingly, the reader will see that at least one
embodiment of the target provides a low cost, lightweight, reliable
apparatus that can be used by persons of almost any skill level to
align a laser system to an optical system. From the description
above, a number of advantages of some embodiments of our alignment
apparatus and method become evident: [0024] 1. The use of
reflective material will permit a user to see a laser at much
further distances, which increases the accuracy of the alignment
between a laser system and an optical system, as well as decreasing
the time required to align the two. [0025] 2. The use of reflective
material will permit a user to align the two systems outdoors
during the day. [0026] 3. The use of flexible materials will permit
a user to carry an embodiment with him for alignment in the field.
[0027] 4. The use of markings on the reflective material will
permit a user to easily see the target and align the optical system
upon it.
[0028] While our above description contains many specificities,
these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but
rather as an exemplification of several embodiments thereof. Many
other variations are possible: [0029] The support structure 28 may
be either flexible or rigid. [0030] The support structure 28 may be
eliminated if the target 20 is to be affixed to a permanent
structure. [0031] The target 20 may be shaped in other forms, such
as circular or man-shaped. [0032] The size of the target 20 may be
changed, such as increasing its size for alignment at long ranges,
or made smaller for portability [0033] The reflective material 26
may be of different form, such as a flexible fabric or an adhesive
sheet. [0034] The target 20 may have different mechanisms for
hanging it at range, such as magnets for attaching to a metal
surface, or a flexible wire, or rope for hanging on a nail. [0035]
The reflective material 26 and support structure 28 may be of a
different color. [0036] The reflective material 26 may have
markings on it that could allow a user to align the system more
quickly, such as a grid pattern, a dot, or similar. [0037] The
target 20 may have weights in it to help stabilize it in high
winds. [0038] The target 20 may have a mechanism for supporting a
flexible embodiment, causing it to pop out when deployed. [0039]
The reflective 30 may have a different design, such as spherical or
corner. [0040] The target 20 could take the form of a single
retroreflector, such as a corner cube.
[0041] Thus, the scope of the embodiments should be determined by
the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the
examples given.
* * * * *