Optical instruments for visual inspection

Abstract

To provide a visual optical device and a firearm equipped with the same, which allows both right-handed and left-handed users to access a control section, and which allows easy access to the control section without being blocked by other structures and even while wearing gloves. The viewing optic has a housing including a front surface including an optical element, a rear surface including a rear cover, a left side surface, a right side surface, and a top surface, with controls located on the top surface. The viewing optic can be a miniature red dot sight, such as a closed-type red dot sight.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross - Reference to Related Applications) This application is the present application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 076,457, filed on September 10, 2020, claims the priority thereof, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] (Technical Field) The present disclosure relates to optical devices for visual recognition. In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a small red dot sight for firearms.

Background Art

[0003] A small red dot sight (MRDS) is a non - magnifying reflector generally used in small firearms such as rifles and pistols. The MRDS projects light towards the user using a reflective optical system to view a target field and an illuminated red dot reticle. The MRDS can be either a sealed type in which all optical elements are completely housed by a housing, or an open type in which at least a part of the optical elements is not housed by the housing.

[0004] The control unit of an MRDS is generally located on the side of the MRDS housing or on top of the base. These control units generally allow the user to adjust the brightness of the MRDS. The location of the control unit is extremely important. The control unit needs to be quickly and easily accessible to the shooter in a variety of situations. If located on the side of the housing, right-handed or left-handed shooters tend to have an advantage depending on which side the control unit is on. Furthermore, if a small firearm is holstered, the control unit may be obstructed or inaccessible, making adjustment before drawing the firearm nearly impossible. Having the control unit on top of the base is useful for MRDS that can be operated with both hands, but the space available to reach the control unit is limited, and it is difficult to adjust the control unit while wearing gloves. Also, due to the open design of MRDS, the user's fingers will obstruct the emitter when using the control unit. Therefore, the user cannot observe the brightness of the MRDS while making adjustments.

[0005] For the reasons stated above, having a control unit located on the MRDS housing that provides two-handed operation and does not obstruct the emitter during adjustment is a significant advantage. Similarly, having a control unit that is accessible while the firearm is in a holster is also a significant advantage. Therefore, there is a great need for a mounting system that can address these concerns. [Overview of the project]

[0006] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides an optical device for viewing. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical device for viewing comprises a housing having a front surface including an optical element, a rear surface including a rear cover, a left side surface, a right side surface, and a top surface, and a control unit located on the top surface.

[0007] In one embodiment, the control is a brightness control unit. In another embodiment, the control unit comprises at least two adjustment means. In one embodiment, the at least two adjustment means are pressable buttons. In a further embodiment, the top surface includes a recess, and the control unit is housed within the recess. In yet another embodiment, the control unit comprises a portion of an elastomer material.

[0008] In one embodiment, the optical device for viewing is a small red dot sight, preferably a closed-type small red dot sight.

[0009] In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a firearm. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the firearm comprises a viewing optical device, the viewing optical device comprising a housing having a front surface including an optical element, a rear surface including a rear cover, a left side, a right side, and a top surface, and a control located on the top surface.

[0010] In one embodiment, the optical sight is a small red dot sight, preferably a closed-type small red dot sight. In one embodiment, the firearm is a handgun.

[0011] In one embodiment, the control unit includes at least two adjustment means. In a further embodiment, the at least two adjustment means are pressable buttons. In one embodiment, the top surface includes a recess, and the control unit is housed within the recess. In another embodiment, the control unit includes a portion of an elastomer material.

[0012] Embodiments of this disclosure are disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. This disclosure is not limited in its application to structural details or the arrangement of components illustrated in the drawings. This disclosure can be practiced or implemented in other embodiments or in various other ways. Similar reference figures are used to indicate similar components. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]This is a front perspective view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a rearward perspective view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a front view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a rearward perspective view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This is a left side view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This is a right side view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a top view of a small red dot sight according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure with the button removed. [Figure 9] This is a front perspective view of the housing according to an embodiment of the disclosure, with the housing indicated by dashed lines. [Figure 10] This is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1, taken along line 10-10, which indicates the LED light path, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Before describing embodiments of this disclosure in detail, it should be understood that the application of this disclosure is not limited to the structural details and component arrangements described or illustrated in the following description or drawings. Other embodiments of the technology of this disclosure are possible, and can be implemented or performed in various ways. Furthermore, it should be understood that the expressions and terms used herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered limiting.

[0015] Numerical ranges in this disclosure are approximations and, unless otherwise indicated, may include values ​​outside the range. Numerical ranges include all values ​​from lowest to highest in increments of one unit, provided that there is at least a two-unit gap between any lower and higher value. For example, if a compositional, physical, or other property such as molecular weight, melt index, or temperature is between 100 and 1000, all individual values ​​such as 100, 101, 102, and partial ranges such as 100 to 144, 155 to 170, and 197 to 200 are explicitly enumerated. For ranges containing values ​​less than 1 or decimals greater than 1 (e.g., 1.1, 1.5, etc.), one unit is considered to be 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, or 0.1, as necessary. For ranges containing single-digit numbers less than 10 (e.g., 1 to 5), one unit is usually considered to be 0.1. These are merely examples of what is specifically intended, and all possible combinations of numerical values ​​between the listed minimum and maximum values ​​are deemed to be expressly described in this disclosure. Numerical ranges are provided in this disclosure, in particular, for the relative amounts of components in the mixture, and for the various temperature and other parameter ranges described in the methods.

[0016] Figures 1 to 7 show a viewing optical device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In the particular embodiments shown, the viewing optical device 100 is a miniature red dot sight (MRDS), and for the purposes of the present disclosure, “viewing optical device” and “MRDS” can be used interchangeably. When mounted on a firearm, the viewing optical device 100 displays a reticle to facilitate alignment of the firearm’s trajectory with the target.

[0017] In the illustrated embodiment, the MRDS100 has a housing 10 and a base 20. The housing 100 has a front 12, a rear 14, a left side 16, a right side 18, and a top surface 22. The front 12, rear 14, left side 16, and right side 18 extend substantially upward from the base 20. The front 12 and rear 14 extend between the left side 16 and the right side 18. The top surface 22 extends between the upper edges of the respective front 12, rear 14, left side 16, and right side 18. The resulting housing 10 includes an illumination system and other components that enable the operation of the viewing optical equipment. The front 12 houses an optical element, in this case a lens 30, and the rear 14 houses a rear transparent cover 32, such as glass. The base 20 of the housing 10 is provided with several screws, including mounting screws 40 and various adjustment screws 42. Furthermore, a battery (not shown) is fixed to the housing 10 and protected by a battery cap 45.

[0018] As shown with reference to Figures 1 and 2, the control unit 50 is located on the upper surface 22 of the housing 10. In a particular embodiment shown, the control unit 50 is provided as two pressable buttons 52, 54, one of which is configured to increase the brightness of the MRDS 100, and the other is configured to decrease the brightness of the MRDS 100. However, in further embodiments, the control unit 50 may be any type of adjustment means, such as a pressable button, toggle, knob, or slide. Furthermore, the control unit 50 may include, but is not limited to, a single control unit or any number of such adjustment means, including three or more control units. Similarly, one or more of the control unit 50 may be configured to adjust characteristics of the MRDS other than brightness.

[0019] In one embodiment, the control unit 50 includes a part of an elastomer material or a rubber-like material. As shown in FIGS. 1-2 and FIG. 8, in such an embodiment, the buttons 52, 54 are discrete portions of a rubber or silicone material included in the recess 60 on the upper surface 22 of the housing 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the recess 60 includes actuating portions 62, 64 corresponding to the positions of the buttons 52, 54. The actuating portions 62, 64 are electrically conductive with an internal mechanism that controls a specific characteristic to be adjusted, which is brightness in this embodiment. FIG. 9 shows the housing 10 in phantom lines to better visualize the relative positional relationship of the control unit 50, the lens 30, and the rear cover 32. In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 10 in combination with the control unit 50 forms a shell for protecting the lens 30, the rear cover 32, and the internal components of the viewing optical device 100. In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the buttons 52, 54 are made of a material softer than the surrounding housing 10 and form a "buffer portion" directly above the lens 30 and the rear cover 32. Even if the MRDS 100 drops directly onto its upper surface 22, this "buffer portion" redirects the force passing through the left and right side surfaces 16, 18 of the housing around the lens 30 and the rear cover 32.

[0020] By disposing the control unit 50 on the upper surface 22 of the housing 10, right-handed and left-handed users can equally access the control unit 50. This is in contrast to providing one or more control units on the side surface of the housing. Also, the control unit 50 provided on the upper surface 22 of the housing 10 is not blocked or congested by other structures, so the user can easily access the control unit 50 even while wearing gloves. For example, in existing MRDSs where the control unit is disposed on the upper surface of the base 20, such as open-type MRDSs, any button or other adjustment means is generally near the lens and / or the protective cover. Therefore, the adjustment area is extremely narrow and it is difficult to operate while wearing gloves.

[0021] Placing the control unit 50 on the upper surface 22 of the housing enables the user to make adjustments with the firearm within the holster, which may not always be possible with a control unit placed on the side or base of the MRDS. For example, if a competitive shooter wishes to make a brightness adjustment to compensate for some incoming cloud cover, the shooter cannot remove the firearm from the holster to make this adjustment in accordance with the rules of the match, but can make the adjustment with the MRDS 100 disclosed herein that has the control unit 50 on the upper surface 22 of the housing 100.

[0022] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the optical path of the LED for the MRDS 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the optical path 200 is completely housed within the housing 10, and the MRDS 100 is a closed-type MRDS. In a further embodiment, a part of the optical path may be exposed. In any case, it will be understood that placing the control unit 50 on the upper surface 22 of the housing 10 prevents the optical path and the user's line of sight from being blocked when the user makes adjustments.

[0023] While the mounting system is described with reference to the MRDS, various other sighting optics may have a control unit on the top surface, as described herein. As used herein, the term “sighting optics” refers to a device used by a shooter or spotter to select, identify, or monitor a target. “Sighting optics” may rely on visual observation of the target, or on other images of the target, such as infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), radar, thermal, microwave, or magnetic imaging, radiation including X-rays, gamma rays, isotopes and particle beams, night vision, ultrasound, sound pulses, sonar, seismic vibrations, magnetic resonance, gravity receptors, radio waves, television and cell receptors, or broadcast frequencies. The image of the target presented to the shooter by the “sighting optics” device may be unaltered or may be enhanced by means of, for example, magnification, amplification, subtraction, superposition, filtration, stabilization, template matching, or other means. The targets selected, identified, or monitored by the “visual optical device” may be within the shooter’s line of sight, in the tangential direction of the shooter’s line of sight, or the shooter’s line of sight may be obstructed while the target acquisition device presents the shooter with a focused image of the target. The image of the target acquired by the “visual optical device” may be analog or digital, and may be shared, stored, archived, or transmitted within a network of one or more shooters and spotters by video, physical cable or wire, IR, radio waves, cellular connection, laser pulse, optical, 802.11b, or other wireless transmission using protocols such as HTML, SML, SOAP, X.25, SNA, Bluetooth®, serial, USB, or other suitable image distribution methods. In one embodiment, the visual optical device is an MRDS, and more specifically, a closed-type MRDS.

[0024] While various embodiments of the MRDS have been described in detail, modifications and variations thereto are possible, and it will be clear that all of them fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. With respect to the above description, the optimal dimensional relationships of the parts of the disclosed technology, including variations in size, material, shape, form, function, and methods of operation, assembly, and use, will be readily apparent and obvious to those skilled in the art, and all relationships equivalent to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are to be encompassed by the invention. Thus, the above shall be considered an illustration of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since many modifications and variations are readily conceivable to those skilled in the art, it is not desirable to limit the invention to the exact structure and operation illustrated and described, and therefore all appropriate modifications and equivalents that fall within the scope of the invention can be exercised. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 10 Housing 20 base 30 lenses 50 Control Unit Buttons 52 and 54

Claims

1. Optical instruments for visual inspection, A housing having a front surface including an optical element, a rear surface including a rear cover, a left side surface, a right side surface, and a top surface, wherein the top surface has a recess provided with an elastomer material, A control unit disposed within the recess on the upper surface, comprising a control unit which is a discrete portion of the elastomer material, Equipped with, The control unit is made of a softer material than the surrounding housing and forms a buffer portion directly above the optical element and the rear cover, in the optical device for viewing.

2. The optical device for viewing according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is a brightness control unit.

3. The optical viewing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes at least two adjustment means.

4. The optical viewing device according to claim 3, wherein the at least two adjustment means are pressable buttons.

5. The optical sighting device according to claim 1, wherein the optical sighting device is a small red dot sight.

6. The optical sight for viewing according to claim 5, wherein the small red dot sight is a closed-type small red dot sight.

7. A system comprising a visual optical device and a firearm as described in claim 1, wherein the visual optical device is connected to the firearm.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the optical device for viewing is a small red dot sight.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the optical device for viewing is a closed-type small red dot sight.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the firearm is a handgun.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the control unit includes at least two adjustment means.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least two adjustment means are pressable buttons.

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