Laser rangefinder sighting apparatus and method

Abstract

A sighting assembly comprising a housing having a first portion and a second portion has mounted within the first portion thereof a laser rangefinder comprising a laser transceiver for transmitting a laser beam toward a target and for receiving a reflected laser beam from the target. The laser rangefinder is coupled to a display for indicating the distance to the target. Mounted within the second portion of the housing is a sight for viewing the target. The sighting assembly further includes at least one attachment on the housing for securing the assembly to a weapon.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying example drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a portion of a weapon system in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a laser rangefinder sighting assembly forming part of the weapon system depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation view, in cross section, of the weapon system of FIG. 1 as seen along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, illustrating schematically the views seen by the shooter;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a portion of a weapon system in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation view in cross section of the weapon system of FIG. 4 as seen along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section of a sighting assembly for use in a weapon system in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a sighting assembly for use in a weapon system in accordance with another alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a sighting assembly for use in a weapon system in accordance with a further alternative embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a portion of a sighting assembly for use in a weapon system in accordance with yet another alternative embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. A sighting assembly comprising: a housing having a first portion and a second portion;a laser rangefinder mounted within the first portion of the housing, the laser rangefinder comprising a laser transceiver for transmitting a laser beam toward a target and for receiving a reflected laser beam from said target, the laser rangefinder being coupled to a display for indicating the distance to the target;a sight mounted in the second portion of the housing for viewing the target; andat least one attachment on said housing for securing the assembly to a weapon.

2. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the sight comprises a scope.

3. The assembly of claim 2 in which: the scope includes a reticle.

4. The assembly of claim 3 in which: the reticle comprises elevation graduations.

5. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the laser transceiver transmits and receives substantially along a first optical axis and the sight views the target along a second optical axis.

6. The assembly of claim 5 in which: the first and second optical axes are fixed relative to each other.

7. The assembly of claim 5 in which: the first and second optical axes are separate, parallel axes.

8. The assembly of claim 5 in which: the first and second optical axes are substantially coaxial.

9. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the sight comprises a scope enclosing a reflecting surface positioned to intercept the first and second optical axes, the reflecting surface being adapted to (1) redirect the laser beam transmitted by the laser transceiver to travel along the first optical axis; and (2) redirect the laser beam reflected from the target to travel toward the transceiver.

10. The assembly of claim 9 in which: the reflecting surface comprises a mirror fixed relative to the housing.

11. The assembly of claim 9 in which: the mirror is smaller than the total optical diameter of the scope.

12. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the sight comprises a scope enclosing a beam splitter positioned to intercept the first and second optical axes, the beam splitter being adapted to (1) redirect the laser beam transmitted by the laser transceiver to travel along the first optical axis; (2) redirect the laser beam reflected from the target to travel toward the transceiver; and (3) transmit a view of the target along the second optical axis to an eyepiece of the scope.

13. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the display is mounted on the upper portion of the housing.

14. The assembly of claim 1 in which: the display is mounted within an eyepiece of the scope.

15. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a processor responsive to an output of the laser rangefinder for providing to said display information representative of the distance to the target.

16. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a processor connected to an output of the laser rangefinder for providing a control signal responsive to said output, said control signal being coupled to adjust an optical sighting element carried by the scope to automatically correct for projectile deflections.

17. A weapon system, comprising: a weapon;a scope attached to said weapon for viewing a target;a trajectory compensating system which provides a distance which indicates the projectile drop of a projectile fired by said weapon; andan adjustment system coupled to said scope for adjusting the alignment of said scope relative to said weapon in response to said distance signals.

18. The system of claim 17, in which: said adjustment system adjusts the elevation angle of said scope in response to said distance signal.

19. The system of claim 17, further including: a display for displaying the distance between said weapon and said target in response to said distance signal.

20. A method of sighting a target comprising: providing a weapon comprising a projectile bore having an axis, the weapon having mounted thereon (1) a sighting assembly comprising a laser rangefinder coupled to a range display and having an optical axis, and (2) a scope having a graduated reticle and an optical axis, said optical axes and said bore axis being parallel;sighting through said scope to acquire an image of said target;reading the display to determine the range to said target; andadjusting the orientation of the weapon to compensate for projectile deflection based on the range.

21. The method of claim 20 in which: the projectile deflection comprises projectile drop and the adjusting of the weapon orientation comprises adjusting the elevation of the weapon.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising: prior to adjusting the orientation of the weapon, adjusting an optical element of the scope in response to the determination of range.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein: the adjusting of the optical element is performed automatically.