Gunsight

Abstract

A gunsight including a rear notch and a relatively smaller front notch, preferably in the form of a block of material having an open channel, formed therein and converging from a rear notch to a front notch, the sides of said channel preferably being of a light color such as yellow. Optionally, one or more lips may be mounted at predetermined distances in front of the front notch to provide elevation angle indices for firing at longer ranges, the lips preferably being provided with notches or marks to assist in determining the range of the target.

Description

This invention relates to gunsights and, more particularly, to gunsights for use on small arms such as pistols, rifles, grenade launchers and the like.

Conventional gunsights are principally of two types, namely "iron" or open sights and telescopic sights. Generally, open sights have two elements, a front blade sight and a notch or "peep" or aperture rear sight. The rear sight is often mechanically movable in order to adjust for elevation and/or windage.

One of the problems of open sights is that they are relatively slow to line up on the target, which is a substantial disadvantage in many military, police and hunting situations.

Another problem of open sights is that, for accurate shooting, the shooter must focus on the "sight picture" rather than on the target. As a result, the target must appear out of focus to the shooter thus making it difficult to follow a moving target, particularly against a non-contrasting background.

Still another problem of conventional open sights is that they perform rather poorly in low light conditions.

Another problem of conventional adjustable iron sights is that they are somewhat fragile and apt to be knocked out of alignment by rough handling of the firearm on which they are mounted.

Telescopic sights enable the shooter to focus on the target, but they are slow and difficult to get on the target and perform poorly in low light conditions as well as being fragile and expensive.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel type of gunsight which obviates the problems of the prior open sights and telescopic sights.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a gunsight which facilitates rapid target acquisition and the tracking of moving targets.

It is another object of this invention to provide a gunsight that performs well in low light conditions.

It is another object of this invention to provide a gunsight which enables the shooter to focus his eyes on the target area.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a rugged, inexpensive gunsight having no moving parts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a one-piece gunsight which enables aiming at two or more predetermined elevation angles.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a one-piece gunsight having a range-finding capability.

In accordance with the above and other objects, the present invention provides a novel gunsight preferably in the form of a one-piece elongated block of material adapted to be mounted on a gun and having an open channel, preferably of rectangular cross-section, formed therein. The sides and bottom of the channel, preferably of light color and matte finish, converge from the rear to the front, the rearward end of the channel forming a rear notch and the forward end of the channel forming a front notch. Normal aiming is accomplished by holding the gun so that the target area is framed by the front notch and the front notch is framed within the rear notch by equal portions of the light-colored sides and bottom of the channel.

Optionally, the gunsight of the present invention may be provided with the capacity for aiming at two or more predetermined angles of elevation by providing two or more lips disposed at predetermined distances and elevations in front of the forward notch and arranged so that they are out of sight during normal aiming, but successively come into view at successive angles of elevation. In addition, the range-finding capacity can be incorporated into the gunsight of the present invention by means of notches or marks on the lips, the widths of the notches or marks corresponding to the apparent size of a standard target at the range associated with each lip.

An advantage of the gunsight of the present invention is that it reduces or eliminates "muzzle awareness" or "front sight waver" which is distracting to shooters using conventional sights and interferes with performance.

Another advantage of the present gunsight is that it can be readily used with both eyes open, thus affording the shooter greater lateral vision.

Another advantage of the present gunsight is that it may be used on a wide range of different types of firearms, including handguns, rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers and the like, thus simplifying the problem of training a single individual in the use of several different types of firearms having different sighting systems.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth, by way of example, the principle of the present invention and the best mode contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the gunsight of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the gunsight of the present invention mounted on a handgun for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gunsight shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5a shows the correct sighting picture for the gunsight of the present invention.

FIGS. 5b-e show various incorrect sighting pictures for the present gunsight.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified gunsight according to the present invention including novel long-range aiming and range-finding features.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8a shows the correct sight picture for the gunsight of FIGS. 6 and 7 when the target is at normal range.

FIG. 8b shows the correct sight picture for the gunsight of FIGS. 6 and 7 when the target is at twice normal range.

FIG. 8c shows the correct sight picture for the gunsight of FIGS. 6 and 7 when the target is at three times normal range.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate form of gunsight according to the present invention.

Referring in detail to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a three-quarter perspective view of a preferred form of the gunsight of the present invention. The gunsight 1 is preferably in the form of a single unitary block of suitable material such as for example, steel, aluminum or plastic. While the gunsight 1 is preferably cast in one piece, it will be appreciated that other techniques, such as for example machining, may be used to form a body of suitable material into the desired shape.

The bottom surface 2 of gunsight 1 is adapted to be mounted on a firearm such as for example a handgun, rifle, shotgun or the like. The gunsight 1 of FIG. 1 may be mounted on a firearm by any suitable technique, such as for example, by means of dovetails 3 and 4. Further, the gunsight 1 may be cast integrally with an appropriate part of a firearm as a part of the original manufacture thereof.

An open channel 5 is formed in the top surface 6 of gunsight 1. The channel 5 converges from the rear toward the front of gunsight 1. The forward end of channel 5 forms a front notch 7 in the front surface 8 of gunsight 1 and the rearward end of channel 5 forms a rear notch 9 in rear surface 10 of gunsight 1. Front surface 8 and rear surface 10 of gunsight 1 are preferably relieved as shown in order to protect the edges of front notch 7 and rear notch 9 from damage as a result of possible rough handling of the firearm on which the gunsight 1 is mounted. The sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5 are preferably of matte finish and light color such as for example yellow. The lines 13 defining the junctions between sides 11 and bottom 12 are preferably of a dark color, such as for example black, in order to contrast with the light color of sides 11 and bottom 12 and provide a better sight picture as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation at about actual size of a pistol 15 on which the gunsight 1 of the present invention is mounted. The preferred location for mounting gunsight 1 on a semi-automatic pistol is the rearward portion of the slide 16 as shown in FIG. 2. No front blade sight is required. For illustrative purposes, gunsight 1 is held in position on slide 16 by dovetails 3 and 4 and set-screw 17. It is noted that the top surface 6 of gunsight 1 slants downward from rear to front as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pistol 15 and gunsight 1 shown in FIG. 2. The axis of channel 5 in the gunsight 1 is aligned with the barrel of pistol 15 as shown.

It will be noted that when the pistol 15 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is held at arm's length the distance between the gunsight 1 and the shooter's eye will be about 2 feet. This is roughly the preferred distance from the shooter's eye for the gunsight of the present invention. However, good results have been obtained with the gunsight of the present invention mounted on rifles and shotguns at distances from about 1 foot to about 3 feet from the shooter's eye. Generally, if the gunsight of the present invention is mounted too close to the shooter's eye, the shooter will have some difficulty in keeping the gunsight in adequate focus while focussing principally on the target area. If the gunsight of the present invention is mounted too far from the shooter's eye, the shooter may experience "muzzle awareness" similar to "front sight waver" in conventional sights, which may adversely affect performance.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the gunsight 1 taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3 and enlarged by a factor of about two for purposes of illustration. FIG. 4 shows that the bottom 12 of channel 5 slopes upward from rear notch 9 to front notch 7 at about the same angle that top surface 6 of gunsight 1 slopes downward from rear notch 9 toward front notch 7. The sides 11 of channel 5 converge inward from rear notch 9 to front notch 7 at the same angle.

FIG. 5a shows the correct sight picture for the novel gunsight of the present invention enlarged by a factor of about four for purposes of illustration. The target area 20 is centered in front notch 7 which, in turn, is centered in rear notch 9. Thus, the sight line connecting the shooter's eye to the target 20 passes through the center of rear notch 9 and the center of front notch 7. Because the sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5 converge on the sight line at equal angles, sides 11 and bottom 12 appear to the eye as areas of equal size and shape. Moreover, because the top surface 6 of gunsight 1 slopes downward from rear to front at the same angle, the upper edges 14 of sides 11 appear to define an area of sky that is equal in size and shape to sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5. Thus, the correct sight picture shown in FIG. 5a includes three equal truncated wedges, four if the sky is counted, which direct the shooter's eye onto the target area 20 centered in front notch 7. This effect is enhanced if the lines 13 are of a dark color to contrast with the light color of sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5.

FIGS. 5b-e show various incorrect sight pictures that may appear to a shooter using the gunsight of the present invention. More particularly, FIG. 5b shows a sight picture which would result in shots impacting to the left of target area 20. FIG. 5c shows a sight picture which would result in shots impacting to the right of target area 20. FIG. 5d shows a sight picture which would result in shots impacting above target area 20, and FIG. 5e shows a sight picture which would result in shots impacting below the target area 20. Reviewing FIGS. 5a-e, it will be appreciated that the human eye and hand have an instinctive tendency to produce a sight picture of the type shown in FIG. 5a. Moreover, it has been found that the correct sight picture, as shown in FIG. 5a, can be achieved extremely quickly so as to produce superior results under conditions which require snap shooting.

While in the preferred form of the present invention, channel 5 is of square or rectangular cross-section resulting in square front and rear notches 7 and 9 respectively, it will be appreciated that the principle of the present invention embraces gunsights having channels with different cross-sections, such as for example U-shaped or V-shaped cross-sections.

Because the gunsight of the present invention allows the shooter to focus his aiming eye on the target area 20 surrounding the impact point, the shooter can readily keep his other eye open and focused on the target. This feature allows the shooter greater lateral vision and promotes rapid target acquisition and facilitates the tracking of moving targets.

It will also be appreciated that the channel 5 may be formed in the side rather than the top of gunsight 1, and that gunsight 1 may be mounted on the side rather than the top of a gun as may be desirable in the case of a large gun such as for example a rocket launcher or recoilles rifle.

The clear view of the target afforded by the gunsight of the present invention provides good performance in low-light conditions. Performance under low-light conditions is also enhanced by the fact that the sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5 are preferably of a light color, such as for example yellow. Performance under low-light conditions can be further enhanced by the use of radium paint on the sides 11 and bottom 12 of channel 5, but only a small amount of radium should be used in order that the radium paint does not glow so brightly as to obscure the target.

As an example of specific dimensions of a gunsight according to the present invention, front notch 7 may be about 1/16 in. wide and about 1/16 in. high, rear notch 9 may be about 3/16 in. wide and about 3/16 in. high and the length of channel 5 may be about 1 1/2 in. It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention is not limited to such dimensions. For example, front notch 7 may be somewhat smaller or larger depending in part on the distance of the gunsight from the shooter's eye. If front notch 7 is too small, it will not afford a clear view of the target. On the other hand, if front notch 7 is too large, accuracy will be impaired.

It will also be appreciated that front notch 7 may be somewhat smaller or larger in relation to rear notch 9 within the scope of the present invention. More particularly, the dimensions of front notch 7 may be in the range from about one-fifth to about four-fifths of the dimensions of rear notch 9. However, if front notch 7 is either too small or too large in relation to rear notch 9, performance will be impaired.

A remarkable feature of the present gunsight is that it enables accurate aiming in spite of its exceptionally short sight radius. While the sight radius of conventional open sights may be about 5 inches in the case of a small pistol to about 36 inches in the case of a rifle, the length of sighting channel 5, which defines the sighting radius of the present gunsight may be in the range from about 3/4 inches to about 5 inches within the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, if the sighting channel 5 of the present gunsight 1 is too short, accuracy will be impaired and if it is too long, there may be a noticeable wavering of the front notch 7 as a result of the unavoidable unsteadiness of the shooter's hold, thus distracting the shooter from focusing and concentrating fully on the target area with concommitant impairment of performance. This phenomenon is similar to the "front sight waver" and "muzzle awareness" experienced with conventional sights.

Further, while in the preferred embodiment of the present invention the sides 11 of channel 5 converge at an angle of about 3 1/2.degree. to about 5.degree., the present invention embraces gunsight in which the sides of the sighting channel 5 converge at angles in the range from about 1 1/2.degree. to about 10.degree.. That is, the sides 11 and bottom 12 of the channel 5 converge on the sight line at angles in the range from about 3/4.degree. to about 5.degree.. This range of angles of convergence provides the proper balance between a sufficiently clear view of the target area 20 and an adequate view of the bottom 12 and sides 11 of channel 5 to permit fast and accurate sighting.

Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawings, there is shown a plan view of a modified form of gunsight according to the present invention somewhat enlarged for purposes of illustration. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the modified gunsight taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6. As in the case of gunsight 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the gunsight 21 of FIGS. 6 and 7 is preferably made of a single piece of suitable material cast or machined in the desired form.

An open channel 5 is formed in the top surface 6 of the rear portion of gunsight 21. Channel 5 is preferably of square or rectangular cross-section and converges from rear notch 9 to front notch 7. Hence, to the rear of "front" notch 7, the modified gunsight 21 is similar to the gunsight 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. However, the gunsight 21 extends forward from "front" notch 7 and includes a pair of lips 22 and 23 which serve as indices for predetermined angles of elevation so as to allow the shooter to aim accurately at targets at predetermined ranges. Sides 24 of gunsight 21 protect lips 22 and 23 from damage due to possible rough handling of the firearm on which gunsight 21 is mounted.

The upper edges of lips 22 and 23 are parallel to the bottom edge of "front" notch 7, and the upper edge of lip 22 falls just on or below line 25 shown in FIG. 7 which is substantially parallel to the normal sight line described in connection with the gunsight 1 of FIGS. 1-5 so that both lips 22 and 23 are out of view when the gunsight 21 is aimed at a target at normal range. FIG. 8a shows the correct sight picture greatly enlarged for purposes of illustration for the gunsight 21 when aimed at a target 20 at normal range. It will be noted that the sight picture shown in FIG. 8a is similar to the correct sight picture as illustrated in FIG. 5a for the gunsight 1 of FIGS. 1-4.

A notch 26, or other suitable indicium, is formed in the center of lip 22 to assist the shooter in determining the range of the target 20. For example, if it is desired to provide the capability of aiming at a target located at twice the "normal" range corresponding to the sight picture of FIG. 8a, the width of notch 26 should be one-half the width of "front" notch 7. The depth of notch 26 can be used to indicate the proper angle of elevation for aiming at a target at a predetermined longer-than-"normal" range. For example, notch 26 may be formed so that when the bottom edge of notch 26 appears to coincide with the bottom edge of "front" notch 7 the end sight 21 is correctly aimed at a target at twice "normal" range. The bottom edge of notch 26 and the bottom edge of "front" edge 7 thus establish a second sight line 27 at a predetermined angle of elevation in relation to "normal" sight line 25.

FIG. 8b illustrates the correct sight picture for aiming at a target 20 at twice normal range. The apparent width of standard-sized target 20 bears the same relationship to the width of notch 26 as the width of standard target 20 at "normal" range bears to the width of notch 7 shown in FIG. 8a. Thus, the width of notch 26 enables the shooter to ascertain that the target 20 is at twice normal range and prompts him to align the gunsight 20 so that the bottom edge of notch 26 coincides with the bottom edge of front notch 7 as shown in FIG. 8b.

The upper edge of lip 23 falls just below sight line 27 so that it is out of view when the gunsight 21 is aimed at a target at twice "normal" range as illustrated in FIG. 8b. The upper edge of lip 23 and the upper edge of lip 22 establish a third sight line 28 at an angle of elevation which may be appropriate for aiming at a target at three times "normal" range, for example. Lip 23 is provided with a mark 29 or other suitable indicium to assist the shooter in ascertaining the range of the target. For example, if sight line 28 is appropriate for targets at three times "normal" range, the width of mark 29 should be one-third the width of notch 7.

It will be appreciated that the angles of sight lines 27 and 28 in relation to normal sight line 25 shown in FIG. 7 have been somewhat exaggerated in order to more clearly illustrate the relationships between lips 22 and 23 and notch 7.

FIG. 8c illustrates the correct sight picture for gunsight 21 when aimed at a standard target 20 at three times "normal" range. The apparent width of target 20 corresponds to the width of mark 29 thus prompting the shooter to align the gunsight 21 so that the upper edge of lip 23 coincides with the upper edge of lip 22.

The area 22a which is the rearward surface of lip 22 and the area 23a which is the rearward surface of lip 23 may be of the same light color and matte finish as the bottom 12 and sides 11 of channel 5. Alternatively, area 22a and area 23a may be of different colors if it is desired to make them more easily distinguishable to the eye of the shooter. Optionally, the edges of lips 22 and 23 and the edges of notches 7 and 26 may be thinly outlined in order to sharpen their appearance to the eye of the shooter.

Referring now to FIG. 9 of the drawings, there is shown an alternate form of gunsight according to the present invention. The gunsight of FIG. 9 includes a front member 31 having a front notch 32 and a rear member 33 having a rear notch 34. The dimensions of front notch 32 are in the range from about 1/5 to about 4/5 of the dimensions of rear notch 34. The width of front notch 32 is preferably in the range from about 1/32 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch depending in part on the distance between front notch 32 and the shooter's eye. The distance between front element 31 and rear element 33 is in the range from about 3/4 of an inch to about 5 inches. The rear surface 35 of rear element 33 is preferably of matte finish and dark color. The rear surface 36 of front element 31 is preferably of matte finish and a light color such as, for example, yellow. Optionally, front element 31 may extend upwardly and outwardly at an angle of about 45.degree. from the upper corners of front notch 32, and rear surface 36 of front element 31 may be provided with dark lines 38 extending downwardly and outwardly at an angle of about 45.degree. from the lower corners of front notch 32 so that the correct sight picture of the alternate form of gunsight shown in FIG. 9 will be visually similar to the correct sight picture illustrated in FIG. 5a. That is, edges 37 of front element 31 of the alternate form of gunsight shown in FIG. 9 will appear visually similar to the edges 14 of gunsight 1 shown in FIGS. 1-4, while the lines 38 on the back surface 36 of front element 31 of FIG. 9 will appear visually similar to the lines 13 of the gunsight 1 of FIGS. 1-4.

While the principles of the present invention have been illustrated by reference to a preferred embodiment and certain modifications thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other modifications and adaptations of the present gunsight may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A gunsight comprising a body of material adapted to be mounted on a gun having a barrel, said body of material having an open channel formed therein in the direction of the barrel of said gun, the rearward end of said channel forming a rear notch and the forward end of said channel forming a front notch, and the sides of said channel converging from rear to front at an angle in the range from 1 1/2.degree. to 10.degree., so that when said gun is correctly aimed at a target, the target appears framed in said front notch and said front notch appears framed in said rear notch.

2. A gunsight comprising an elongated block of material having a bottom surface, and a top surface, said bottom surface of said block of material being adapted to be mounted on a gun having a barrel, said top surface of said block of material having an open channel formed therein in the direction of the barrel of said gun, the rearward end of said channel forming a rear notch and the forward end of said channel forming a front notch, the dimensions of said front notch being in the range from 1/5 to 4/5 the dimensions of said rear notch, so that when said gun is correctly aimed at a target, the target appears framed in said front notch and said front notch appears framed in said rear notch.

3. The gunsight of claim 2 wherein the shape of said rear notch is similar to the shape of said front notch.

4. The gunsight of claim 3 wherein the sides of said channel are defined by the surface including all straight lines connecting similar points of said front notch and said rear notch.

5. The gunsight of claim 4 wherein said front notch and said rear notch are square notches.

6. The gunsight of claim 5 wherein the normal sight line from the eye of the user to the target passes through the center of said rear notch and the center of said front notch.

7. The gunsight of claim 6 wherein the sides and bottom of said channel form equal angles with said sight line.

8. The gunsight of claim 7 wherein the angle formed between said sight line and the bottom and sides of said channel is in the range from 3/4.degree. to 5.degree..

9. The gunsight of claim 8 wherein the bottom and sides of said channel are of a light color.

10. The gunsight of claim 9 wherein the bottom and sides of said channel have a matte finish.

11. The gunsight of claim 9 wherein the lines defined by the junction of the bottom of said channel with the sides of said channel are of a dark color.

12. The gunsight of claim 9 wherein the color of the sides and bottom of said channel is yellow.

13. The gunsight of claim 6 wherein the length of said channel is at least 3/4 inch.

14. The gunsight of claim 6 further comprising a first lip mounted a predetermined distance in front of said front notch, the upper edge of said first lip being substantially parallel to the bottom edge of said front notch and disposed so as to be out of view when said gunsight is viewed along said normal sight line, but in view when the gun is elevated for long range use.

15. The gunsight of claim 14 further comprising a first indicium carried by said first lip, said first indicium having a predetermined vertical dimension such that the bottom edge of said first indicium appears to coincide with the bottom edge of said front notch when said gunsight is viewed at a first angle of elevation.

16. The gunsight of claim 15 wherein the ratio the width of said first indicium carried by said first lip to the width of said front notch is substantially equal to the ratio of the target range corresponding to said normal sight line and the target range corresponding to said first angle of elevation.

17. The gunsight of claim 16 wherein said first indicium comprises a rectangular notch.

18. The gunsight of claim 17 further comprising a second lip mounted a predetermined distance in front of said first lip, the upper edge of said second lip being substantially parallel to the upper edge of said first lip and disposed so that it appears to coincide with said bottom edge of said rectangular notch in said first lip when said gunsight is viewed at said first angle of elevation, and appears to coincide with said upper edge of said first lip when said gunsight is viewed at a second angle of elevation.

19. The gunsight of claim 18 further comprising a second indicium carried by said second lip, the ratio of the width of said second indicium to the width of said front notch being substantially equal to the ratio of the target range corresponding to said normal sight line and the target range corresponding to said second angle of elevation.

20. A gunsight comprising a front notch and a rear notch, the dimensions of said front notch being in the range from 1/5 to 4/5 of the dimensions of said rear notch and the distance between said front notch and said rear notch being in the range from 3/4 inch to 5 inches, so that when said gun is correctly aimed at a target, the target appears framed in said front notch and said front notch appears framed in said rear notch.

21. The gunsight of claim 20 wherein said rear notch comprises the rearward end and said front notch comprises the forward end of an open channel formed in a unitary block of material.

22. The gunsight of claim 20 wherein said front notch is carried by a front element and said rear notch is carried by a rear element.

23. The gunsight of claim 22 wherein the rear surface of said front element is of a light color and the rear surface of said rear element is of a dark color.