Bracket-integrated back-up optical sight

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6338219
  • Patent Number
    6,338,219
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, June 8, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 15, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
An optical sight is integrated into a bracket that can support an optical scope. The bracket defines a bore therethrough such that an optical line-of-sight is defined that is parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope. A post extends vertically upward into the bore at a forward end of the bracket in a way that the post's outboard end can be selectively positioned in the bore along a vertical line extending through the bore. A plate with a viewing aperture formed therethrough is mounted across the bore at an aft end of the bracket in a way that the viewing aperture can be selectively positioned along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to the vertical line defined by the post.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates generally to optical sights, and more particularly to an optical sight that is integrated into an optical scope's mounting bracket to serve as a back-up optical sight.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Optical scopes for weapons have become increasingly sophisticated as they make use of advanced optics and/or lasers. For ease of assembly and replacement in case of failure, the optical scope is typically mounted onto a bracket that is attached to a weapon. Unfortunately, a replacement optical scope may not be readily available in a field application. In such instances, the weapon may be useless unless the weapon is equipped with a back-up optical sight.




One type of back-up optical sight is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,965. This back-up optical sight includes a peepsight and post that flip up adjacent to the weapon's optical scope. However, the peepsight and post can be easily damaged and add weight to the weapon.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a readily available back-up optical sight for a weapon.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a back-up optical sight for a weapon that is compact and rugged.




Still another object of the present invention is to provide a back-up optical sight for a weapon that is always aligned with the weapon's optical scope.




Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a back-up optical sight that does not add weight to a weapon.




Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.




In accordance with the present invention, an optical sight includes a base such as a bracket that can support an optical scope. The bracket defines a bore therethrough such that an optical line-of-sight is defined that is parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope that would be coupled to the bracket. A post is adjustably mounted in the bracket to extend vertically upward into the bore at a forward end of the bracket so that the post's outboard end can be selectively positioned in the bore along a vertical line extending through the bore. A plate having an aperture formed therethrough is adjustably mounted to the bracket across the bore at an aft end of the bracket in a way that the aperture can be selectively positioned along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to the vertical line defined by the post.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view from the forward end of an embodiment of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight according to the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view from the aft end of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight;





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view taken along the central longitudinal plane of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight illustrated in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


4





4


in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

is an enlarged isolated view of the post used in the forward portion of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight; and





FIG. 6

is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the aperture plate used in the aft portion of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, a bracket-integrated back-up optical sight is illustrated in forward and aft perspective views, respectively, and is referenced generally by numeral


10


. By way of illustrative example, back-up optical sight


10


is shown and will be described using an optical scope mounting bracket


12


for the United States Marine Corps' shoulder-launched multi-purpose assault weapon (SMAW). However, it is to be understood that the present invention could make use of other optical scope mounting brackets or any other part of a weapon or weapon accessory that is properly positioned to serve as a back-up optical sight and that can be modified as will be described herein.




As is known in the art, mounting bracket


12


is attached to a weapon using mounting hole


120


. Once attached to the weapon, mounting bracket


12


can be rotated about mounting hole


120


to adjust the range of an optical scope (not shown) attached to mounting bracket


12


. This range adjustment is provided by a range drum (not shown) cooperating with a range drum receiver


121


on mounting bracket


12


. The optical scope is attached to a mounting rail


122


, the design of which is not a limitation of the present invention. Once attached to mounting rail


122


, the line-of-sight of the optical scope changes with the rotational movement of mounting bracket


12


in order to set the range of the weapon to which it is attached.




In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, mounting bracket


12


is modified to provide a line-of-sight therethrough that is parallel to that of the line-of-sight of the optical scope that will be mounted thereto. For example, referring additionally to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, mounting bracket


12


can be configured or constructed to have a bore


124


at its forward end


125


and a bore


126


at its aft end


127


coupled to an internal slot


128


of mounting bracket


12


. The combination of bore


124


at forward end


125


, internal slot


128


and bore


126


at aft end


127


, provide the necessary line-of-sight through mounting bracket


12


. By integrating the line-of-sight in mounting bracket


12


and by making it parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope that attaches to mounting rail


122


, range is simultaneously set for the optical scope and for the present invention's optical sight.




Mounted in the bracket's line-of-sight is a post


14


(

FIG. 1

) serving as the forward portion of optical sight


10


, and a plate


16


(

FIG. 21

, serving as the aft portion of optical sight


10


. More specifically, post


14


includes a threaded portion


140


and a cylindrical portion


142


as best seen in FIG.


5


. Threaded portion


140


is threaded into mounting bracket


12


such that cylindrical portion


142


extends vertically into bore


124


. Threaded portion


140


has a head end


144


that is constructed (e.g., slotted, hex head, hex depression, etc.) to receive a screw/nut driver or hex head wrench so that cylindrical portion


142


can be raised/lowered in bore


124


.




Plate


16


provides the user with a viewing aperture


160


at aft end


127


of mounting bracket


12


. As illustrated in

FIG. 6

, viewing aperture


160


has a cylindrical portion


162


coupled to a conical portion


164


. Cylindrical portion


162


is sized to set the correct aperture size for optical sight


10


as is known in the art. Conical portion


164


expands angularly away from cylindrical portion


162


to eliminate the “tunnel effect” as a viewer's eye


11


looks through cylindrical portion


162


. At its top edge


166


and bottom edge


168


, plate


16


is shaped to form a dovetail fit with a corresponding dove tail notch


129


cut in aft end


127


.




Since it may be necessary to adjust the horizontal position of viewing aperture


160


, plate


16


can slide horizontally in slot


129


. That is, viewing aperture


160


can move along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to the vertical line defined by cylindrical portion


142


of post


14


. To adjust and fix the horizontal position of plate


16


, a variety of structures could be used. By way of example, screws


130


and


132


(e.g., hex head screws) are provided on either side of mounting bracket


12


as best seen in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, respectively. More specifically, each of screws


130


and


132


are threaded into mounting bracket


12


such that their longitudinal axes are parallel to the horizontal plane in which plate


16


can move, and such that their screw heads abut opposing side edges


167


and


169


, respectively, of plate


16


. To move plate


16


and viewing aperture


160


horizontally, one of screws


130


and


132


is backed out of mounting bracket


12


while the other is screwed into mounting bracket


12


.




The advantages of the present invention are numerous. By integrating an optical sight into an optical scope's mounting bracket, a back-up optical sight is provided should the optical scope fail. Further, since the bracket-integrated optical sight is aligned with the optical scope that would be attached to the bracket, the ranging operation performed by moving the mounting bracket simultaneously performs the ranging operation for the back-up optical sight. The bracket-integrated back-up optical sight is rugged and compact since it is fully protected within the confines of the existing optical scope mounting bracket. In addition, inclusion of the bracket-integrated back-up optical sight actually makes the weapon lighter since material is removed (e.g., bored out) from the optical scope's mounting bracket.




Although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. For example, post


14


could be mounted in other ways to allow its vertical adjustment and plate


16


could be mounted in other ways to allow its horizontal adjustment. The present invention could be incorporated into any optical scope's mounting bracket provided there was room to do so. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.



Claims
  • 1. An optical sight, comprising:a base having a bore therethrough that defines an optical line-of-sight; a post having an outboard end, said post being adjustably mounted in said base to extend vertically upward into said bore at a forward end of said base wherein said outboard end can be selectively positioned in said bore along a vertical line extending through said bore; and a plate having an aperture formed therethrough, said plate being adjustably mounted to said base across said bore at an aft end of said base wherein said aperture can be selectively positioned along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to said vertical line.
  • 2. An optical sight as in claim 1 wherein said base is a mounting bracket capable of supporting an optical scope having a line-of-sight, and wherein said optical line-of-sight of said bore is parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope mounted on said mounting bracket.
  • 3. An optical sight as in claim 1 wherein said post is threaded into said base.
  • 4. An optical sight as in claim 1 wherein said plate is dovetailed to said base to allow said plate to move along said horizontal line.
  • 5. An optical sight as in claim 1 wherein said aperture has a first portion through which a viewer sights and a second portion adjoining said first portion, and wherein said first portion is cylindrical and said second portion is a conical shape that expands away from the viewer.
  • 6. An optical sight as in claim 1 further comprising means for adjusting position of said plate.
  • 7. An optical sight as in claim 1 further comprising:a first screw threaded into said base parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said first screw abuts a first edge of said plate; and a second screw threaded into said base parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said second screw abuts a second edge of said plate opposing said first edge.
  • 8. An optical sight, comprising:a bracket for supporting an optical scope having a line-of-sight, said bracket having a bore therethrough that defines an optical line-of-sight parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope; a post having an outboard end, said post being adjustably mounted in said bracket to extend vertically upward into said bore at a forward end of said bracket wherein said outboard end can be selectively positioned in said bore along a vertical line extending through said bore; and a plate having an aperture formed therethrough, said plate being adjustably mounted to said bracket across said bore at an aft end of said bracket wherein said aperture can be selectively positioned along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to said vertical line.
  • 9. An optical sight as in claim 8 wherein said post is threaded into said bracket.
  • 10. An optical sight as in claim 8 wherein said plate is dovetailed to said bracket to allow said plate to move along said horizontal line.
  • 11. An optical sight as in claim 8 wherein said aperture has a first portion through which a viewer sights and a second portion adjoining said first portion, and wherein said first portion is cylindrical and said second portion is a conical shape that expands away from the viewer.
  • 12. An optical sight as in claim 10 further comprising means for adjusting position of said plate.
  • 13. An optical sight as in claim 12 wherein said means for adjusting comprises:a first-screw threaded into said bracket parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said first screw abuts a first edge of said plate; and a second screw threaded into said bracket parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said second screw abuts a second edge of said plate opposing said first edge.
  • 14. An optical sight, comprising:a bracket for supporting an optical scope having a line-of-sight, said bracket having a bore therethrough that defines an optical line-of-sight parallel to the line-of-sight of the optical scope; a post having an outboard end, said post being threaded into said bracket to extend vertically upward into said bore at a forward end of said bracket wherein said outboard end can be selectively positioned in said bore along a vertical line extending through said bore; and a plate having an aperture formed therethrough, said plate being dovetailed to said bracket and extending across said bore at an aft end of said bracket wherein said aperture can be selectively positioned along a horizontal line that is perpendicular to said vertical line.
  • 15. An optical sight as in claim 14 wherein said aperture has a first portion through which a viewer sights and a second portion adjoining said first portion, and wherein said first portion is cylindrical and said second portion is a conical shape that expands away from the viewer.
  • 16. An optical sight as in claim 14 further comprising means for adjusting position of said plate.
  • 17. An optical sight as in claim 16 wherein said means for adjusting comprises:a first screw threaded into said bracket parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said first screw abuts a first edge of said plate; and a second screw threaded into said bracket parallel to said horizontal line such that a head of said second screw abuts a second edge of said plate opposing said first edge.
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION

The invention described herein was made in the performance of official duties by employees of the Department of the Navy and may be manufactured, used, licensed by or for the Government for any governmental purpose without payment of any royalties thereon.

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