Sight with reflective collimating surface

Abstract

A target sight for mounting on a firearm includes an emitter for generating light, a collimator structured to reflect the light generated by the emitter to produce collimated light, and a planar sheet of transparent material including a reflective coating that is structured to reflect the collimated light in a direction towards the user of the target sight. The collimator may be located outside of a target light path of the sight.

Description

Atty. Docket No. 408406-0201SIGHT WITH REFLECTIVE COLLIMATING SURFACEFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This disclosure is directed to targeting sights or scopes, and, more particularly, to targeting sights having a new arrangement of components for transmitting light.BACKGROUND

[0002] Optical sights, such as reflex or red dot sights, provide a shooter a quick and easy way to sight a target compared to conventional iron sights. Conventional red dot sights include an aspherical lens having a partially reflecting coating on which an aiming point is projected. An LED, or other kind of light emitter, is commonly used as the light source to be reflected. When the emitter generates light and shines toward the aspherical lens, the emitted light reflects from the reflective coating, and the reflection is seen by the shooter as being superimposed on the target or field of view. This reflection is referred to as Point of Aim (PoA). In operation, the shooter aligns the target seen through the sight to the PoA generated by the sight to accurately aim the firearm at the target.

[0003] In conventional red dot sights, the reflecting element is a lens directly within the shooter's main view when aiming at a target. This lens is shaped to minimize distortion of the target or field of view from the shooter's perspective, although even very high quality lenses include at least some amount of distortion, which is undesirable. Additionally, because conventional sights require both a reflective lens and a corrective lens, manufacturing conventional sights can be costly and requires careful assembly of the multiple lenses.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Fig. 1 is a side view of a conventional target sight.

[0005] Fig. 2A is a perspective view of a target sight having a reduced distortion reflective arrangement, according to embodiments.

[0006] Fig. 2B is a partially exploded view of the target sight of Fig. 2A, showing components of the reduced distortion reflective arrangement.14931-9441-7004.1

[0007] Fig. 3 is a side view of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement showing an example light transmission path that may be incorporated into the target sight of Fig. 2A, according to embodiments.

[0008] Fig. 4 is a side view of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement showing an example light transmission path that may be incorporated into the target sight of Fig. 2A, according to additional embodiments of the disclosure.

[0009] Fig. 5 is a cutaway side view of a target sight with reduced distortion having an emitter located near the bottom of the sight, according to embodiments.

[0010] Fig. 6 is a cutaway side view of a target sight with reduced distortion having an emitter located near the bottom of the sight, according to embodiments.

[0011] Fig. 7 is a cutaway side view of a target sight with reduced distortion having an emitter and a lens located near the bottom of the sight, according to embodiments.

[0012] Fig. 8 is a side view of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement showing an example light transmission path, according to additional embodiments of the disclosure.

[0013] Fig. 9A is an exploded side perspective view of a lens stack arrangement for transparent components of a reduced distortion target sight, according to embodiments.

[0014] Fig. 9B is an exploded side view of the lens stack arrangement of Fig. 9A.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to reflective systems for illuminated aiming devices, such as target sights. Specifically, embodiments are directed to a reduced distortion reflective arrangement for generating an illuminated point of aim for a shooter through a target sight. The illumination can be in the form of an LED or other light emitter, holographic display, or any other suitable type of illumination.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a side view of a conventional target sight 100 and a light transmission path 150 typically implemented when generating an illuminated point of aim. As shown, conventional target sight 100 has an emitter 110, which serves as a light source for generating the illuminated point of aim. In known target sights such as conventional target sight 100, emitter 110 is directed toward a reflective lens 120. In this way, light generated from emitter 110 first follows transmission path 150 to reflective lens 120. In conventionaltarget sights, reflective lens 120 is typically an aspherical lens, and reflective lens 120 is coated with a reflective material to cause light from emitter 110 to change direction at reflective lens 120 and reflect back toward the shooter's eye. Accordingly, reflective lens 120 is configured to reflect light from emitter 110 along transmission path 150 so that light from emitter 110 travels through a transparent glass 130 to viewing window 140 and generates an illuminated point of aim visible in viewing window 140 that is superimposed over the target at which the shooter is aiming.

[0017] However, in target sights like conventional target sight 100, reflective lens 120 is positioned directly within in the shooter's line of sight— that is, light entering conventional target sight 100 from a target and / or field of view must also pass through reflective lens 120 to be visible to the shooter in viewing window 140. This poses several challenges. First, because reflective lens 120 must be both reflective and transparent to allow a shooter to view a target, the reflective material used to coat reflective lens 120 must be chosen to selectively reflect the wavelengths of light produced by emitter 110 while simultaneously passing all other wavelengths. Put differently, a specific coating must be selected so that light from emitter 110 reflects from reflective lens 120 to generate the illuminated point of aim, but all other wavelengths of light are allowed to pass through reflective lens 120 to maintain good visibility of the target. Even very high quality coatings distort colors in what the shooter sees when aiming at a target. Typical emitters 110 produce red or green colors, although other colors may be produced as well. Consequently, selecting which wavelengthspecific coating to use and then coating the reflective lens 120 with the selected coating increases overall costs and adds additional steps to the production of conventional sights.

[0018] Additionally, the curved shape of reflective lens 120 creates distortion of the image of the target and hinders the accuracy of the shooter's view. Since a shooter using conventional target sight 100 views a target through reflective lens 120, conventional target sight 100 must also include an additional corrective lens 122 to counteract the distortive effects of reflective lens 120. Further, manufacturing discrepancies between reflective lens 120 and corrective lens 122, or an imperfect glue joint that holds those lenses in place may lead to imperfect correction of the distortive effects, and overall distortion of the shooter's view remains a challenge. In addition to the need for wavelength-specific reflective coatings,described above, the need for multiple lenses in conventional target sights also leads to high manufacturing costs and complexities with assembling conventional target sights.

[0019] Figs. 2A and 2B illustrate a target sight 200 having a reduced distortion reflective arrangement according to embodiments of the disclosure. Specifically, Fig. 2A shows a perspective view of target sight 200, and Fig. 2B shows a partially exploded view of the target sight 200 revealing components of the reduced distortion reflective arrangement. As shown in these views, target sight 200 includes an emitter 210, a collimator 220, and a reflective glass 230. The emitter 210, collimator 220, and reflective glass 230 collectively provide the reduced distortion reflective arrangement by transmitting light from emitter 210 to a shooter's eye as an illuminated point of aim without the use of an aspheric lens or other distortive optical device, as described in further detail below.

[0020] Emitter 210 may be any type of light emitter, such as a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a micro-LED, an array of LEDs or micro-LEDs. In particular the LEDs or micro=LEDs may be made from organic materials, so-called Oreganic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Still other sources of illumination for the emitter 210 may include panel displays, such as Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) and displays made from OLEDs. Yet other emitters 210 may include holographic displays, or any other suitable type of illumination for emitter 210. The emitter may produce any color or range of colors. In some embodiments the emitter may be formed of multiple, individually controlled light emitters arranged in an array, such as those described in US Application 17 / 955,406, filed September 29, 2022, assigned to the assignee of the present disclosure and the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference it its entirety. As described below, the shape and other aspects of the collimator 220 may vary depending on whether the emitter 210 is a single-point light source, such as a single LED, or formed of a pattern of multiple light sources.

[0021] Target sight 200, in embodiments, includes a housing 202 to support emitter 210, in whatever form, collimator 220, and reflective glass 230. In particular, housing 202 has a slot 204 for receiving and securing reflective glass 230, in embodiments. Housing 202 may also have an opening or other support for receiving collimator 220, although such an opening is not illustrated in Figs. 2A-2B. Additionally, housing 202 is shaped to form a viewing window 240, through which a shooter views a target and / or field of view, as well as an illuminated point of aim transmitted to the shooter's eye using the emitter 210,collimator 220, and reflective glass 230. The viewing window 240 may be formed of an opening within the housing 202. In other embodiments the viewing window 240 may be formed of a transparent material such as glass, plastic, or crystal.

[0022] Although target sight 200 is shown in Figs. 2A-2B as having collimator 220 positioned or disposed on an upper portion of the sight and emitter 210 positioned or disposed near a lower portion of the sight— namely, near an area of target sight 200 structured to interface with the firearm— still other reduced distortion reflective arrangements are implemented in other embodiments. For instance, in some embodiments of target sight 200, collimator 220 is positioned on a lower portion nearest where target sight 200 interfaces with the firearm, and emitter 210 is positioned in an upper portion of the target sight. In embodiments, the position of collimator 220 is generally not placed within the shooter's direct line of sight— that is, collimator 220 is not generally visible by the shooter through viewing window 240. Relatedly, the position of emitter 210 within the sight 200 is positioned to direct light to the collimator 220 prior to traveling to the reflective glass 230.

[0023] The main functions of collimator 220 are to collimate the light generated by emitter 210 and to reflect the collimated light toward the reflective glass 230 where it can be viewed by the shooter. Referring first to the reflective properties, since, as described above, collimator 220 is not in the light path, it need not be transparent, and instead may be made with any type of reflecting surface. Collimator 220 may be formed of a material having a reflective coating, or may be made of or covered by a reflective material itself. If made from or covered by a reflective material, collimator 220 may be polished to a desired level of reflectivity. Unlike the reflective coatings in conventional sights, the reflective coating of collimator 220 need not be selected to pass any particular wavelengths, and instead can be selected to reflect all wavelengths of light, such as a mirrored or polished surface. In other embodiments, depending on the configuration of the sight, the coating on collimator 220 may be selected to reflect only the wavelengths of light generated by emitter 210, and to absorb other wavelengths. Such a coating may limit undesired, internal reflections of light inside the sight, such as light coming from the target. If a coating is used on the collimator 220 instead of a polished surface, the coating may be formed on any type of base material forming collimator 220, such as metal, plastic, or any other suitable substrate. The specificcoating or polishing level of the collimator 220 may be selected in conjunction with the particular light produced by emitter 210 to provide the best results based on the pairing of the emitted light and the reflective surface of collimator 220. Collimator 220 on a sight having a single emitter may have a different shape than a collimator on a sight having an emitter array or display screen.

[0024] The second function of collimator 220 is to collimate light generated from emitter 210 before reflecting it to reflective glass 230, where it can be viewed by the shooter. The reflective glass 230 may be formed of a single piece of glass, or, in some embodiments the reflective glass 230 may be formed of multiple distinct layers. The collimation process is described in detail below, but, in general, collimator 220 receives rays of light output from the emitter 210 in multiple directions and produces a reflection of the received light that has parallel rays. The collimated light is reflected by collimator 220 onto the surface of reflective glass 230, where it can be viewed by the shooter as the point of aim. Collimated light has little parallax, thus the shooter can accurately align the point of aim that has been collimated to the desired target no matter the particular location of the shooter's eye relative to the sight. Examples of the function of collimator 220 are described in more detail below.

[0025] A benefit of shifting the location of collimator 220 outside the shooter's line of sight in the disclosed embodiments is that such location eliminates the need to include a corrective, aspheric lens within the sight 200. Recall from above that conventional sights, such as the sight 100 of Fig. 1, include a corrective lens 122 to correct for the collimating function of the reflective lens 120. Embodiments of the disclosure, however, locate collimator 220 outside of the target light path, and thus light from the target does not pass through any collimating lens in embodiments of the disclosure. Instead, both light from the target and the collimated light from collimator 220 is directed to reflective glass 230. And, as described further below, reflective glass 230 is planar and does not distort the image coming through the target sight 200 as in conventional sights. Therefore, embodiments described herein generate an illuminated point of aim without requiring lenses directly in the shooter's line of sight that would otherwise distort the shooter's perspective when looking through the viewing window 240. Thus, in some embodiments, no aspheric lenses are present in the light path of the sight 200.

[0026] Collimator 220 is shaped to minimize or eliminate the effects of spherical aberration when reflecting light toward reflective glass 230. In some embodiments, collimator 220 is aspheric. In this way, embodiments of collimator 220 include an aspheric shape or lens having a reflective coating or polished surface. In some embodiments, collimator 220 may be formed of or include Mangin mirror, which has a negative meniscus lens coupled with a reflective surface. In embodiments where collimator 220 is a Mangin mirror, light from emitter 210 hits a first surface of a first spherical radius, then subsequently hits a second surface of a second spherical radius, the second spherical radius being larger than that of the first surface. The second surface of the collimator 220 is a reflective surface having a broad spectrum coating, wavelength specific coating, or other form of reflective material suitable for performing the reflective function of collimator 220 described above. Still other shapes of collimator 220 are possible in other embodiments, other than using a Mangin mirror, to perform the collimating and reflecting functions of collimator 220 while reducing spherical aberration when reflecting light toward reflective glass 230. In some embodiments the collimator 220, is opaque, and passes no light through the collimator, and instead reflects, at least to some degree, all wavelengths of light.

[0027] Reflective glass 230, as shown in Figs. 2A-2B, is a planar sheet of glass configured to allow light from a target to pass through, toward a shooter's eye. Reflective glass 230 is positioned within target sight 200 such that it is angled away from the shooter's eye. In embodiments, reflective glass 230 is positioned at an angle ranging from 30-60 degrees measured from a bottom plane of the target sight 200. The angle of the reflective glass 230 positions the reflective glass 230 so light traveling from collimator 220 hits the reflective glass 230 and once again changes direction. More specifically, the angle of the reflective glass 230 positions the reflective glass 230 to change the transmission direction of the light to begin traveling toward the shooter's eye looking through viewing window 240.

[0028] For reflective glass 230 to reflect light traveling from collimator 220 in this way, a planar surface of reflective glass facing the viewing window 240— referred to herein as the viewing side— is coated with a reflective material. In embodiments, unlike any broad spectrum reflective coating of collimator 220, if used, the reflective material coating the viewing side of reflective glass 230 is wavelength specific. In other words, reflective glass 230 is coated with a material configured to reflect the light traveling from collimator 220 butnonetheless pass light traveling from the target. The coating of reflective glass 230 is selected based on the wavelengths of the color produced by emitter 210. Consequently, the viewing side of reflective glass 230 transmits both the illuminated point of aim from the collimator 220 and the image of the target and / or field of view to the shooter. The side of reflective glass 230 opposite the viewing side— referred to herein as the target side— is typically coated with an anti-reflective material, in embodiments. When coated with an anti- reflective material, the target side of reflective glass 230 reduces reflections from the target compared to transparent glass alone. Specifically, some embodiments of reflective glass 230 implementing an anti-reflective coating on the target side may reduce target reflections from 4% of transparent glass to approximately 1-2% with the anti-reflective coating.

[0029] Fig. 3 illustrates components of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300, according to embodiments of the disclosure. In particular, Fig. 3 shows an emitter 310 serving as a light source to generate an illuminated point of aim, and a collimator 320 and a reflective glass 330 for directing transmission paths 350a, 350b, and 350c of the generated light toward a shooter's eye. Emitter 310 may be a point source emitter, an array of individual emitters, or any of the other sources of light described above. The emitter 310, collimator 320, and reflective glass 330 may be implemented with a target sight such as the one just described with reference to Figs. 2A-2B, and the features of each component are thus also as described in conjunction with components of Figs. 2A-2B. The reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300 of Fig. 3, when implemented with a target sight, is oriented such that emitter 310 is positioned near a bottom portion of the target sight and collimator 320 is positioned near a top portion of the target sight. In other words, the reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300 is oriented as illustrated in Figs. 2A-2B. Nonetheless, as is described further below, still other arrangements are implemented in other embodiments.

[0030] The reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300 of Fig. 3 generates an illuminated point of aim visible to a shooter by first emitting light from emitter 310. The emitter 310 may take the form of any of the light sources described above. Emitter 310 generates light without a specific direction, and therefore light generated by emitter 310 follows several transmission paths simultaneously when initially traveling away from emitter 310. Example transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c are shown in Fig. 3, demonstratingexample directions of particular, simultaneous, travel between emitter 310 and collimator 320. It should be understood, however, that transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c are not the only transmission paths light generated by emitter 310 follows in implementation, and instead light from emitter 310 shines on a given portion of collimator 320 simultaneously.

[0031] Once emitted light from emitter 310 reaches collimator 320, collimator 320 modifies the light generated from emitter 310, which is produced having multiple directions, to collimated light in which the light rays are parallel. Also, as mentioned with regard to Figs. 2A-2B, collimator 320 also has a reflective coating or a reflective surface on a surface facing emitter 310. Consequently, collimator 320 reflects and collimates the light emitted from emitter 310 and further directs it toward reflective glass 330 along the portion of transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c shown between collimator 320 and reflective glass 330. It should be noted that transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c are not necessarily illustrated to scale, and instead are present in the figures to illustrate the concept of collimating light from emitter 310.

[0032] Light reaching reflective glass 330 from emitter 310 encounters a reflective coating on the viewing side of reflective glass 330, just as described with regard to Figs. 2A- 2B. As mentioned, the reflective coating on the viewing side of reflective glass 330 is wavelength specific, in embodiments, allowing particular wavelengths of the light from emitter 310 to be reflected off the viewing side, while passing other wavelengths of light from the target. This light reflected off the viewing side then follows the remainder of transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c toward the shooter's eye. A small amount of light that is not reflected by the wavelength specific coating on reflective glass may be instead refracted toward the target along refraction paths 352a, 352b, 352c, which may be minimized by coating material selection and in other ways. In embodiments such as the example illustrated in Fig. 3, the final portions of transmission paths 350a, 350b, 350c from reflective glass 330 to the shooter's eye create an illuminated point of aim visible to the shooter. In embodiments, the parallel transmission paths 350, 350b, 350c collimated by collimator 320 and reflected from reflective glass 330 eliminate the effects of parallax and create an illuminated point of aim that does not move relative to the target, regardless of the position of the shooter's eye relative to the target sight.

[0033] In implementation of reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300, light traveling from the target and forming the image of the target for the viewer is not distorted by an aspheric lens as in conventional sights. Specifically, light from the target is able to freely pass through reflective glass 330— with reduced reflections, in embodiments implementing an anti-reflective coating on the target side— without being affected by collimator 320. Accordingly, reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300 maintains a true image of a target while generating an illuminated point of aim on the target. Additionally, because collimator 320 is shaped to minimize spherical aberration while performing the desired reflecting and collimating functions, reduced distortion reflective arrangement 300 generates a sharp illuminated point of aim, minimizing degradation of the light's visual quality to the shooter.

[0034] Fig. 4 shows components of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement 400, according to additional embodiments of the disclosure. In particular, Fig. 4 shows an emitter 410 serving as a light source for an illuminated point of aim, and a collimator 420 and reflective glass 430 for directing transmission paths 450a, 450b, 450c of the generated light toward a shooter's eye. The reduced distortion reflective arrangement 400 may be implemented with a target sight such as the one described with regard to Figs. 2A-2B, and the features of each of emitter 410, collimator 420, and reflective glass 430 are thus also as described with reference to Figs. 2A-2B. However, different from the example target sight illustrated in Figs. 2A-2B, reduced distortion reflective arrangement 400 is structured such that emitter 410 is near a top portion of the target sight and collimator 420 is near a bottom portion of the target sight. Reflective glass 430, in turn, is angled toward a shooter's eye in target sights implementing reduced distortion reflective arrangement 400.

[0035] In use, reduced distortion reflective arrangement 400 generates an illuminated point of aim in the same manner as does arrangement 300 of Fig. 3, and varies only in the positions or locations of emitter 410 and collimator 420 relative to the body of the sight 200.

[0036] Fig. 5 is a cutaway side view of a target sight 500 with reduced distortion having an emitter located near the bottom of the sight according to embodiments. In particular, Fig. 5 shows an emitter 510 serving as a light source for an illuminated point of aim, and a collimator 520 and reflective glass 530 for directing transmission paths 550a, 550b, 550c ofthe generated light toward a shooter's eye. The features and arrangement of each of the emitter 510, collimator 520, and reflective glass 530 provide the reduced distortion reflective arrangement described above with reference to Figs. 2A-2B and Fig. 3, the details thereof omitted for brevity.

[0037] Fig. 6 is a cutaway side view of a target sight 600 with reduced distortion having an emitter 610 located near the top of the sight according to embodiments. In addition, the illustration of Fig. 6 shows how a user may adjust the aiming position of the target light generated by the emitter 610 and how it changes relative to the target sighted by the user. Similar to the target sight 500 of Fig. 5, the target sight of Fig. 6 shows how the emitter 610 serves as a light source for an illuminated point of aim, and a collimator 620 and reflective glass 630 directs transmission paths of the generated light toward a shooter's eye. Fig. 6 additionally shows how the shooter can adjust where the light generated by the emitter 610 strikes the collimator 620, which, in turn, changes where the position of the target generated by light paths 650a, 650b, and 650c appears relative to the target being observed by the shooter through the sight 600. More specifically, a centrally imaged target is generated as illustrated by the light paths 650al, 650a2, and 650a3. Then, by adjusting the light emission path from the emitter 610, the target may be adjusted upward or downward relative to the image the shooter may see through the sight 600. For example, by adjusting the emitter 610 in a first direction, the target light path changes to a path illustrated by the light paths 650a2, 650b2, and 650c2, which raises the target relative to the sight 600, resulting in an aiming point, or reticle, that moves down relative to the sighted target. For instance, by raising the light paths 650a2, 650b2, and 650c2 a given amount the reticle is adjusted down relative to the target. Additionally, adjusting the emitter 610 to lower the light paths 650a3, 650b3, and 650c3 a given amount raises the reticle relative to the target seen through the sight 600. In the illustrated embodiments, the reticle may be adjusted up to, for example, 60 Minutes of Angle (60 MOA) in either the up or down directions. Other embodiments may allow for even more adjustment in either direction by adjusting the light emission path from the emitter 610, such as up to 100 MOA. Similar to the description of the sight 500 of Fig. 5, the features and arrangement of each of the emitter 610, collimator 620, and reflective glass 630 provide the reduced distortion reflective arrangementdescribed above with reference to Figs. 2A-2B and Fig. 4, the details thereof omitted for brevity.

[0038] Fig. 7 shows a target sight 700 having a reduced distortion reflective arrangement with an offset emitter 710, according to embodiments of the disclosure. Specifically, Fig. 7 shows an emitter 710 positioned within a housing 702 of the target sight 700. The emitter 710 serves as a light source to generate an illuminated point of aim, and in some embodiments, the emitter 710 is a single LED or micro LED, or an array of LEDs or micro LEDs, such as OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). However, still other sources of illumination may be used for the emitter 710 in additional or alternative embodiments, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or other display used to generate an image. Similar to embodiments described above with regard to Figs. 2-6, the target sight 700 has a collimator 720 and a reflective glass 730 for directing transmission paths 750a, 750b, and 750c of the generated light toward a shooter's eye through the front glass 742 of the viewing window 740. Accordingly, features of each components are as described in conjunction with components of Figs. 2-6.

[0039] Different from the embodiments of Figs. 2-6, however, the target sight 700 has a compensation lens 712 positioned above the emitter 710. As shown, the target sight 700 is oriented such that the emitter 710 is positioned near a bottom portion of the target sight 700, nearest where the target sight 700 would interface with a firearm. The emitter 710 is also positioned such that it is offset from the collimator 720. In other words, relative to an imagined axis along the shooter's line of sight, the emitter 710 is positioned past an end of the collimator 720. As mentioned with regard to the embodiments of Figs. 2-6, the emitter 710 generates light without a specific direction, and therefore light generated by the emitter 710 follows several transmission paths simultaneously when traveling away from the emitter 710.

[0040] With the emitter 710 being offset from the collimator 720, the image ultimately viewed by the shooter through the viewing window 740 could be distorted without additional compensation. More specifically, the image could be distorted by the keystone effect due to the angle of the transmission paths between the emitter 710 and the collimator 720, if the compensation lens 712 were not present to change the transmission paths. For this reason, compensation lens 712 is positioned above the emitter 710 toredirect light from the emitter 710 and ultimately reduce the keystone effect on the image viewed by the shooter. Other distortion effects of the emitter 710, in addition to the keystone effect, may also be corrected by the compensation lens 712. As shown, the compensation lens 712 is disposed within the housing 702 of the target sight 700, but the compensation lens 712 is not within the shooter's line of sight. Put differently, the compensation lens 712 is not visible through the viewing window 740, and the compensation lens 712 does not encounter light entering the target sight 700 from the target end. Rather, the compensation lens 712 is only present in the transmission paths 750a, 750b, and 750c of the light generated by the emitter 710.

[0041] Light from the emitter 710 therefore travels through compensation lens 712, the curvature of which directs the light toward the collimator 720. Just as described with regard to Figs. 2-6, the collimator then modifies the light to be collimated light, in which the light rays are parallel. The collimator 720 also has a reflective coating or a reflective surface on a surface facing the emitter 710, and thus the collimator 720 reflects and collimates the light from the emitter 710 and directs it toward the reflective glass 730, along transmission paths 750a, 750b, and 750c shown between the collimator 720 and the reflective glass 730. The light then encounters the reflective coating on the viewing side of the reflective glass 730, as described with regard to Figs. 2-6. The light reflected off the viewing side of the reflective glass 730 then follows the remaining portions of the transmission paths 750a, 750b, and 750c, passing through the front glass 742 of the viewing window 740 to reach the shooter's eye.

[0042] As mentioned, the presence of compensation lens 712 between the emitter 719 and the collimator 720 assists in directing light from the emitter 719 toward the collimator such that keystone effects are reduced. And, because the compensation lens 712 sits within a lower portion of the housing 702 of the target sight 700, below the viewing window 740, the compensation lens 712 sits outside of the shooter's line of sight. Accordingly, compensation lens 712 corrects for keystone and / or other distortion in the sighting image generated by the emitter 710, without adding any distortive effects to the target image a shooter sees through the viewing window 740.

[0043] In embodiments, the target sight 700 is implemented as a machine gun optic, which are generally taller than optics for pistols or rifles. However, it should be noted thatembodiments of the target sight 700 are not limited to particular implementations with specific firearms. Rather, the target sight 700 is implementable with any firearm configured to accommodate the housing 702 of the target sight 700 without interfering with other firearm components, such as traditional iron sights.

[0044] Fig. 8 illustrates components of a reduced distortion reflective arrangement 800, according to yet another embodiment of the disclosure. Similar to the embodiments described above with regard to Figs. 2-7, the reduced distortion reflective arrangement 800 has an emitter 810 serving as a light source to generate an illuminated point of aim. The reduced distortion reflective arrangement 800 also has a collimator 820 and a reflective surface 830 for directing transmission paths 850a, 850b, and 850c of the generated light toward a shooter's eye. The reduced distortion reflective arrangement 800 can be implemented with a target sight, such as the one described above with regard to Figs. 2A- 2B, and the emitter 810 and collimator 820 are just as described in conjunction with the same components of Figs. 2A-2B. Accordingly, the emitter 810 may be a point source emitter or an array of individual emitters, and the collimator 820 is configured to collimate the light generated by the emitter 810.

[0045] Different from the previously described embodiments, the reflective surface 830 is formed on an interface between transparent glass components. More specifically, reflective surface 830 is formed on a diagonal of a transparent cube 832. The transparent cube 832, in configurations such as the one shown in Fig. 8, is formed by adhering or attaching a first wedge 834 to a second wedge 836. In such configurations, each of the first wedge 834 and the second wedge 836 is a right triangular prism formed from a transparent material, such as glass or plastic, configured to allow all wavelengths of light to pass through. In this way, light traveling from a target being viewed by a shooter will pass through the transparent cube 832 without being distorted by the presence of the transparent cube 832.

[0046] Either of the first wedge 834 or the second wedge 836 may be coated with a reflective material to create the reflective surface 830. In some embodiments, the surface of the first wedge 834 interfacing with the second wedge 836 is coated with the reflective material, forming the reflective surface 830 on the first wedge. The reflective surface 830 may thus be positioned at an angle ranging from 30-60 degrees, depending on the angles ofeach triangular prism forming the first wedge 834 and the second wedge 836. As will be described in further detail below, the angle of the reflective surface 830 is chosen to change the transmission direction of light traveling from 820, directing the light toward a shooter's eye to form an illuminated point of aim.

[0047] In some embodiments, the reflective material used to create the reflective surface 830 is wavelength specific. In other words, in embodiments forming the reflective surface 830 on the first wedge 834, an angled surface of the first wedge 834 interfaces with a corresponding angled surface of the second wedge 836. The angled surface of the first wedge 834 is coated with a material configured to reflect the light traveling from the collimator 820 but pass light traveling from the target. Accordingly, the reflective material may be selected based on the wavelengths of the color produced by the emitter 810, and a viewing side of the transparent cube 832 transmits both the illuminated point of aim from the collimator 820 and the image of the target or field of view. In some embodiments, other portions of the first wedge 834 and the second wedge 836, or both, are coated with an anti- reflective material to reduce internal reflections.

[0048] As shown, the emitter 810 is positioned directly below the transparent cube 832. More particularly, the emitter 810 is aligned with a center of curvature of the collimator 820, along an imagined axis passing through the center of curvature of the collimator 820 and the center of the transparent cube 832. This imagined axis is a vertical axis relative to the components illustrated in Fig. 88— that is, the axis is orthogonal to what would be the shooter's line of sight through the transparent cube 832.

[0049] Because portions of the transparent cube 832, other than the reflective surface 830, are configured to allow all wavelengths of light to pass through, light initially leaving the emitter 310 without a specific direction passes through the transparent cube 832 without being redirected, following the example transmission paths 850a, 850b, and 850c shown between the emitter 810 and the collimator 820. As previously mentioned, embodiments of the reduced distortion reflective arrangement form the reflective surface 830 such that light traveling from the collimator 820 is reflected off the reflective surface 830. However, light encountering the reflective surface 830 from the direction of the emitter 810 is not reflected in this way, and the light instead passes through to continue traveling toward the collimator 820. Placement of the transparent cube 832 directly in thepath between the emitter 810 and the collimator 820 thus does not distort or otherwise redirect the light generated by the emitter 810.

[0050] Once light from the emitter 810 passes through the transparent cube 832 and reaches the collimator 820, the collimator 820 and the reflective surface 830 act just as described above with regard to Figs. 2-7. That is, the collimator 820 collimates the light such that the light rays are parallel, and it directs the collimated light toward the reflective surface 830 of the transparent cube 832 along the portions of example transmission paths 850a, 850b, and 850c shown in Fig. 8. Light reaching the reflective surface 830 is then reflected toward the shooter's eye along the example transmission paths 850a, 850b, and 850c, and a small amount of light not reflected by the wavelength-specific material forming the reflective surface 830 may be refracted toward the target along example refraction paths 852a, 852b, and 852c.

[0051] Embodiments of the disclosure as described above thus generate an illuminated point of aim for a shooter without using any lenses in the shooter's line of sight. In this way, embodiments generate the point of aim without distorting the image of the target from the shooter's perspective. Additionally, embodiments of the disclosure reduce manufacturing costs relative to the manufacturing of conventional sights, due to the lack of lenses and the ability to implement cost efficient, non-transparent reflective materials with the disclosed collimators.

[0052] Figs. 9A-9B show a lens stack arrangement 900 for implementation with a target sight, according to embodiments. In particular, the lens stack arrangement 900 may be implemented with any of the target sight embodiments shown and described above with regard to Figs. 2 and 5-7. The lens stack arrangement 900 assembles into the target sight housing 902 of a target sight, which has a viewing window 940 through which a shooter views a target, field of view, and / or an illuminated point of aim or reticle. When the lens stack arrangement 900 is assembled, a front glass 942 is positioned in the viewing window. The lens stack arrangement 900 also has a reflective glass 930, which is just as described above with regard to the reflective components of Figs. 2-7. In embodiments such as the example shown in Figs. 9A-9B, a combination of gaskets and wedge components are assembled to hold the front glass 942 and reflective glass 930 in a fixed position within the target sight.

[0053] Specifically, a reflective glass gasket 934 and a front glass gasket 944 are used to secure the reflective glass 930 and the front glass 942. When assembled, the front glass gasket 944 surrounds the edges of the front glass 942, and a first wedge 904 is pressed against a first side the front glass gasket 944. Pressing the first wedge 904 against the front glass gasket 944 creates a pressure seal and secures the front glass 942 in a fixed position in the viewing window, while the front glass gasket 944 protects the front glass 942 from damage. Then, the reflective glass gasket 934 surrounds the edges of the reflective glass 930, which is pressed against a second side of the first wedge 904 with a second wedge 906 to create a pressure seal. When pressed by the second wedge 906, the reflective glass 930 is fixed in an angled position, as described above with regard to the reflective components of Figs. 2-7. In embodiments, the reflective glass gasket 934 and the front glass gasket 944 are made of rubber, silicone, or another pliable material.

[0054] In embodiments, the lens stack arrangement 900 assembles without adhesives. In other words, the lens stack arrangement 900 assembles within the housing 902 of a target sight only by press-fit. In some embodiments, the lens stack arrangement 900, or portions of it, may be held in place by snapover fixtures or features formed in the housing 902. Because the lens stack arrangement 900 can be press-fit into the housing 902, assembly is fast and efficient. And, compared to using adhesives, the press-fit assembly shown in Figs. 9A-9B minimizes opportunities to introduce defects that may damage the transparent glass or otherwise interfere with a shooter's view when using a target sight. In other embodiments the lens stack arrangement 900, or portions of the arrangement, may be held within or fastened to the housing 902 by adhesives, screws, pins, or other suitable hardware.

[0055] Additionally, the reflective glass gasket 934 and the front glass gasket 944 provide shock absorption for the lens stack arrangement 900. More specifically, the pliable material forming the gaskets absorbs shock if a firearm implementing a target sight with the lens stack arrangement 900 is dropped, struck, or otherwise dealt an impact. This increased shock absorption leads lens stack arrangement 900 to be more durable, further reducing potential damage to the target sight over time.

[0056] The embodiments described above implement various reflective arrangements for generating an illuminated point of aim, reticle, or other image for a shooter using atarget sight. In each of the described embodiments, transparent glass components allow light from the target or field of view to pass through the target sight. In other words, all wavelengths of visible light pass through transparent glass components in the shooter's line of sight, such that the shooter is able to view the target they are aiming at. In many of the embodiments described above, these transparent glass components comprise a front glass in the viewing window, where the shooter views the target, and an angled glass having a reflective surface for reflecting the image generated by an emitter. These glass components may be assembled in a target sight using adhesive materials, but adhering the components can take a significant amount of time during manufacturing. And, adhesives may introduce more opportunities for errors or defects in the assembly, leading to possible distortion of the generated image.

[0057] The previously described versions of the disclosed subject matter have many advantages that were either described or would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill. Even so, all of these advantages or features are not required in all versions of the disclosed apparatus, systems, or methods.

[0058] Additionally, this written description makes reference to particular features. It is to be understood that the disclosure in this specification includes all possible combinations of those particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular example configuration, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in the context of other example configurations.

[0059] Also, when reference is made in this application to a method having two or more defined steps or operations, the defined steps or operations can be carried out in any order or simultaneously, unless the context excludes those possibilities.

[0060] Furthermore, the term "comprises" and its grammatical equivalents are used in this application to mean that other components, features, steps, processes, operations, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article "comprising" or "which comprises" components A, B, and C can contain only components A, B, and C, or it can contain components A, B, and C along with one or more other components.

[0061] Also, directions such as "vertical," "horizontal," "right," "left," "up," and "down", or any versions thereof, are used for convenience and in reference to the views provided infigures. But the target sight and reduced distortion reflective arrangement may have a number of orientations in actual use. Thus, a feature that is vertical, horizontal, to the right, or to the left in the figures may not have that same orientation or direction in actual use.

[0062] Although specific example configurations have been described for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A target sight for mounting on a firearm, comprising: an emitter for generating light; a collimator structured to reflect the light generated by the emitter to produce collimated light; and a planar sheet of transparent material including a reflective coating separate from the collimator, the planar sheet of transparent material structured to reflect the collimated light in a direction towards a user of the target sight.

2. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the collimator is opaque and reflects all wavelengths of visible light.

3. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter generates light having a wavelength, and in which a reflective coating of the collimator is selected to reflect the wavelength of light generated by the emitter.

4. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the collimator is a mirrored surface.

5. The target sight according to claim 4, in which the collimator is a polished metal surface.

6. The target sight according to claim 4, in which the collimator is a reflective surface disposed on a curved substrate.

7. The target sight according to claim 6, in which the substrate is a plastic material.

8. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the collimator is a Mangin mirror.

9. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the collimator is located outside of a target light path of the sight.

10. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the reflective coating is disposed on a first planar surface of the transparent material, the transparent material being further coated with an anti-reflective coating on a second surface of the transparent material that is opposite the first planar surface.

11. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter is a point emitter.

12. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter comprises an array of individual light emitters.

13. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight above a midline of the transparent material and the light from the emitter is generated in a downward direction toward a base of the sight.

14. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight below a midline of the transparent material and the light from the emitter is generated in an upward direction away from a base of the sight.

15. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight aligned with a center of curvature of the collimator along an axis orthogonal to a user's line of sight through the target sight.

16. The target sight according to claim 1, in which the emitter is mounted to the target sight offset from an end of the collimator in a direction toward a viewing window of the target sight.

17. The target sight according to claim 16, further comprising a lens structured to direct light from the emitter toward the collimator.

18. The target sight according to claim 1, further comprising: a gasket surrounding the planar sheet of transparent material, a first wedge structured to interface with a first side of the gasket, and a second wedge structured to interface with a second side of the gasket.

19. The target sight according to claim 18, in which pressing the gasket between the first wedge and the second wedge creates a pressure seal to fix a position of the planar sheet of transparent material.

20. A target sight for mounting on a firearm, comprising: an emitter for generating light; a collimator structured to reflect the light generated by the emitter to produce collimated light;a planar sheet of transparent material separate from the collimator and including a reflective coating, the planar sheet of transparent material structured to reflect the collimated light in a direction towards a user of the target sight; and a transparent window disposed between the planar sheet of transparent material and an operator of the target sight.

21. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the transparent window is formed of a plastic transparent material, a glass transparent material, or a crystal transparent material.

22. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the transparent window is formed of plastic.

23. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the transparent window is an opening formed in a housing of the sight.

24. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the collimator is opaque and reflects all wavelengths of visible light.

25. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the collimator is a mirrored surface.

26. The target sight according to claim 25, in which the collimator is a polished metal surface.

27. The target sight according to claim 25, in which the collimator is a reflective surface disposed on a curved substrate.

28. The target sight according to claim 27, in which the substrate is a plastic material.

29. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the collimator is located outside of a target light path of the sight.

30. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter generates light having a wavelength, and in which a reflective coating of the collimator is selected to reflect the wavelength of light generated by the emitter.

31. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the collimator is a Mangin mirror.

32. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the reflective coating is disposed on a first planar surface of the transparent material, the transparent material being further coatedwith an anti-reflective coating on a second surface of the transparent material that is opposite the first planar surface.

33. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter is a point emitter.

34. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter comprises an array of individual light emitters.

35. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight above a midline of the transparent material and the light from the emitter is generated in a downward direction toward a base of the sight.

36. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight below a midline of the transparent material and the light from the emitter is generated in an upward direction away from a base of the sight.

37. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight aligned with a center of curvature of the collimator along an axis orthogonal to a user's line of sight through the target sight.

38. The target sight according to claim 20, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight offset from an end of the collimator in a direction toward the transparent window.

39. The target sight according to claim 38, further comprising a lens structured to direct light from the emitter toward the collimator.

40. The target sight according to claim 20, further comprising: a gasket surrounding the planar sheet of transparent material, a first wedge structured to interface with a first side of the gasket, and a second wedge structured to interface with a second side of the gasket.

41. The target sight according to claim 40, in which pressing the gasket between the first wedge and the second wedge creates a pressure seal to fix a position of the planar sheet of transparent material.

42. The target sight according to claim 40, further comprising a second gasket surrounding the transparent window.

43. A target sight for mounting on a firearm, comprising: an emitter for generating light;a collimator structured to reflect the light generated by the emitter to produce collimated light; a first wedge of transparent material having an angled surface; a second wedge of transparent material attached to angled surface of the first wedge; and a reflective coating disposed on the angled surface of the first wedge, the reflective coating configured to reflect the collimated light in a direction towards a user of the target sight.

44. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the collimator is opaque and reflects all wavelengths of visible light.

45. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the emitter generates light having a wavelength, and in which a reflective coating of the collimator is selected to reflect the wavelength of light generated by the emitter.

46. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the collimator is a mirrored surface.

47. The target sight according to claim 46, in which the collimator is a polished metal surface.

48. The target sight according to claim 46, in which the collimator is a reflective surface disposed on a curved substrate.

49. The target sight according to claim 48, in which the substrate is a plastic material.

50. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the collimator is a Mangin mirror.

51. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the collimator is located outside of a target light path of the sight.

52. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the emitter is a point emitter.

53. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the emitter comprises an array of individual light emitters.

54. The target sight according to claim 43, in which the emitter is mounted to the sight aligned with a center of curvature of the collimator along an axis orthogonal to a user's line of sight through the target sight.

55. A target sight for mounting on a firearm, comprising: an emitter for generating light; a collimator structured to reflect the light generated by the emitter to produce collimated light; a lens structured to direct light from the emitter to the collimator; a planar sheet of transparent material including a reflective coating, the planar sheet of transparent material structured to reflect the collimated light in a direction towards a user of the target sight; and a transparent window disposed between the planar sheet of transparent material and an operator of the target sight.

56. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the emitter is mounted to the target sight offset from an end of the collimator in a direction toward the transparent window.

57. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the transparent window is formed of a plastic transparent material, a glass transparent material, or a crystal transparent material.

58. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the transparent window is an opening formed in a housing of the sight.

59. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the collimator is opaque and reflects all wavelengths of visible light.

60. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the collimator is a mirrored surface.

61. The target sight according to claim 60, in which the collimator is a polished metal surface.

62. The target sight according to claim 60, in which the collimator is a reflective surface disposed on a curved substrate.

63. The target sight according to claim 62, in which the substrate is a plastic material.

64. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the collimator is located outside of a target light path of the sight.

65. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the emitter generates light having a wavelength, and in which a reflective coating of the collimator is selected to reflect the wavelength of light generated by the emitter.

66. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the collimator is a Mangin mirror.

67. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the reflective coating is disposed on a first planar surface of the transparent material, the transparent material being further coated with an anti-reflective coating on a second surface of the transparent material that is opposite the first planar surface.

68. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the emitter is a point emitter.

69. The target sight according to claim 55, in which the emitter comprises an array of individual light emitters.

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