Modular Housing for Sights

Abstract

The present invention relates to a modular housing for firearm sights, which is adaptable to various types of sights, in particular for optical or mechanical sights, including fastening elements, holes, projections and optionally an adapter plate, which allow the weapon to become lighter and more portable, in addition to allowing the adjustment and maintenance of the alignment of the sight even when it is necessary to remove and replace it.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Brazilian Patent Application No. BR 10 2023 025928-6 filed Dec. 8, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present invention relates to the field of firearms, more specifically to a modular housing for firearm sights adaptable to various types of sights, especially optical or mechanical sights.

Description of Related Art

Most pistols are manufactured with steel sights on the gun slide, as an integral part of the slide itself. Common steel sights on a pistol include a front sight called the front sight bead and located near the exit of the gun barrel, in addition to a rear sight called the sight lug or vertex and located at the rear of the slide; for a correct aiming, both sights must be aligned when aiming the pistol.

However, such sights supplied from the factory with the pistol body do not offer great precision due to the difficulty in performing their horizontal and vertical alignments, a fact that intensifies in critical moments of use of the pistol, when there is little time for a shooter to act.

Thus, it is common to attach optical sights to pistols, which provide a simple viewing focus consisting of a single illuminated aiming point in place of the front sight and rear sight of conventional iron sights. In this way, the accuracy and/or speed of a shooter with a pistol improve significantly. In addition, a shooter may be able to aim with the illuminated aiming point of an optical sight in environmental conditions that would make visual alignment of steel sights difficult or impossible, such as in low light conditions.

However, due to the design of most pistols, attaching an optical sight can be difficult, so that the pistol's slide needs to be modified at the factory to receive said sight. Furthermore, if it is necessary to change to a new optical sight, additional modifications to the pistol may be necessary, which may be unfeasible because machining of an already manufactured part is required.

Thus, the prior art presents devices or mounting sets for coupling optical sights to firearms, which are often fixed to some part of the weapon, generally to the rear of the slide.

An example of a device is presented by document U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,611 published on Dec. 16, 1986, which describes a rear sight for a weapon frame, wherein the rear sight includes an elongated sight body having at least one elongated front leg with a recoil shoulder of the front sight body, a sight blade slidingly attached to the rear of the sight body to allow windage adjustment, and means for pivotally attaching the sight body to the pistol frame or slide to allow elevation adjustment. The sight body fits within an elongated slot formed in the frame or slide of the weapon so that the recoil shoulder of the sight body engages a recoil shoulder of the frame to withstand the impact of the weapon recoil. The rear sight includes a simplified elevation adjustment system and a lateral adjustment system.

Another example is disclosed by document U.S. Pat. No. 9,062,936, available as of Aug. 21, 2014, which provides implementations of a mounting set for exchanging optical sights on a pistol. In some implementations, the mounting set comprises an adapter plate and a pistol slide having an adapter interface. In some implementations, the adapter interface of the pistol slide is configured to receive an adapter plate thereon. In some implementations, an optical sight may be attached to the adapter plate. In some implementations, the walls of the adapter interface may be constructed as a female portion of a dovetail joint. In some implementations, the ends of the adapter plate are constructed as a male portion of a dovetail joint. In this way, when the adapter plate is inserted into the adapter interface, a secure connection may be achieved. In some implementations, the adapter plate may have any shape suitable for mounting an optical sight thereon. In some implementations, an upper side of the adapter plate may include a recoil tab thereon.

However, despite existing solutions, prior art devices do not have the flexibility to be used by different models of sights, as they require the use of adapter plates.

Furthermore, sight coupling mechanisms of the prior art do not allow the alignment of the sights to be maintained when they are removed for cleaning or battery replacement, for example.

Therefore, the present invention is developed to solve the problems present in the prior art devices, providing a modular housing for firearm sights that can be used for different types of sights, in addition to allowing the adjustment to be maintained during the removal and replacement of the sight.

SUMMARY

A first objective of the present invention is to provide a modular housing for sights that can be adapted for different types of sights, especially optical or mechanical sights.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a modular housing for sights that does not require the use of adapter plates, reducing the number of elements present in the weapon, which makes it lighter and less prone to wear.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a modular housing for sights capable of maintaining the adjustment or alignment of the sight during its removal and replacement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The terms Fig., Figs., Figure, and Figures are used interchangeably in the specification to refer to the corresponding figures in the drawings.

The invention will be better understood from the detailed description of a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, which is made with the support of the attached figures, provided for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a firearm slide equipped with a modular housing for sights, according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a firearm slide equipped with a modular housing for sights, according to the present invention, wherein the housing elements are assembled and a sight is attached;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the a firearm slide equipped with a modular housing for sights, according to the present invention, wherein a sight is attached; and

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of a firearm slide equipped with a modular housing for sights, according to the present invention, wherein a sight is attached.

DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the proposed objectives, the present invention relates to a modular housing (A) for sights (5), which is located in a recess (R) of a slide (4) of a firearm.

The modular housing (A) comprises fastening elements (1, 3), holes, projections and optionally an adapter plate (2), as can be seen in FIG. 1.

The recess (R) is arranged in the rear portion of the slide (4) and can have different shapes, preferably a shape that matches the shape of the base of the sight (5), for better coupling. The sight (5) of the firearm also has holes for coupling in the region of the recess (R).

The holes of the modular housing (A) are arranged on the surface of the recess (R), preferably in pairs spaced apart from each other. The recess (R) is equipped with at least two holes, and preferably has four or more holes, depending on each type of sight (5) to be attached.

The holes in the modular housing (A) are intended for inserting the fastening elements (1, 3) for attaching the sight (5). The fastening elements (1, 3) can be of various types, such as screws, pins, metal bushings, with fastening by threads, pressure or mechanical interference. Preferably, the fastening elements (1, 3) comprise screws (1) and pins (3), which can have a diameter or width that is constant or variable throughout their length.

Preferably, the pins (3) have a cylindrical shape, although they can have any shape that best adapts to the hole in the base of the sight (5), and can have a polygonal prismatic shape, with triangular, quadrangular, pentagonal or hexagonal sides, among others.

Preferably, the pins (3) are inserted into holes located in the rearmost portion of the recess (R), or behind said recess, while the screws (1) are inserted into holes located in front of the holes for the pins (3), as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

In the assembled configuration of the housing (A), the pins (3) have most of their length inserted into the holes of the recess (R), while still maintaining an overlapping part outside the holes; that is, preferably the pins (3) have a length greater than the depth of their respective holes, with a part of the pins (3) remaining outside the holes.

The aforementioned overlapping parts of the pins (3) of the housing (A) are intended to be inserted into the holes located at the base of the sight (5), as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Thus, the pins (3) serve as support points for aligning the sight (5) in relation to the slide (4), whether for alignment on the horizontal plane or on the vertical plane, before the sight (5) is fixed to the recess (R) using the screws (1), which are inserted into the holes present in the sight (5) and in the recess (R), as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Furthermore, the pins (3) allow the alignment of the sights (5) to be maintained when they are momentarily removed for maintenance, such as due to cleaning or battery replacement.

The advent of the pins (3) has the advantage of bringing modularity to the housing (A) of the present invention, as it allows the housing (A) to be adaptable both to sights (5) that have bases with the respective holes, where the pins (3) can be coupled, and to sights (5) that have bases without the respective holes, wherein the pins (3) can be removed or kept absent from the housing (A).

Furthermore, the use of pins (3) has the advantage of making the weapon lighter and less prone to wear, by avoiding the use of adapter plates (2) of greater size and mass. However, if necessary, the modular housing (A) of the present invention allows the adaptation of an adapter plate (2) for coupling the sight (5) through fastening elements known from the prior art.

The modular housing (A) of the present invention also includes at least two projections arranged in the front portion of the recess (R), as seen in FIG. 1, which have a function similar to that of the pins (3), with such projections being fitted into front holes of the sight (5), serving as support points for coupling the sight (5).

Therefore, the modular housing (A) for sights of the present invention combines the benefits of making a firearm adaptable to different types of sights, whether optical or mechanical sights, fixed or adjustable, making the weapon lighter and more portable, in addition to allowing the alignment of the sight to be maintained even when it needs to be removed and replaced.

Claims

1. A modular housing for firearm sights, comprising a recess and screws, the modular housing comprising holes, projections and pins, wherein said holes and projections allow the coupling of said sight in said recess, so that said pins are inserted into holes of said recess and of said sight, allowing the adjustment and maintenance of alignment of said sight in relation to the bolt of the firearm.

2. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said pins have a length greater than the depth of their holes of the recess, so as to allow a portion of said pins to project out of said holes.

3. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said housing is adaptable both for sights that have bases having the respective holes, where said pins can be coupled, and for sights that have bases without the respective holes, wherein said pins can be removed.

4. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said screws and said pins can have a constant or variable diameter or width throughout their length.

5. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein, preferably, said pins are inserted into holes located in the rearmost portion of the recess, or behind said recess, while said screws are inserted into holes located in front of said holes for the pins.

6. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said pins allow the adjustment and maintenance of alignment of said sight both in relation to the horizontal plane and in relation to the vertical plane, even if said sight is momentarily removed from the firearm.

7. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said recess is provided with at least two holes, preferably four or more holes, depending on each type of sight to be attached.

8. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said projections are arranged in the frontmost portion of said recess and are fitted into said front holes of the sight, serving as support points for said attachment of the sight.

9. A modular housing for sights, according to claim 1, wherein said housing allows the adaptation of an adapter plate for coupling said sight.