Multi-Axis Rangefinder Mount for Shooting Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shooting devices, such as bows and rifles, face challenges in accurately calibrating and aiming rangefinders due to difficulties in aligning and adjusting the position of rangefinders with respect to the sighting devices, particularly with laser rangefinders, which require an easy-to-use and inexpensive mounting system to facilitate accurate trajectory compensation.
Innovation Solution
A mounting device that is articulable and adjustable along multiple axes (x, y, z) to align and calibrate rangefinders with respect to the sighting device, allowing for precise alignment of the user's line of sight and the rangefinder's view path, using a platform with articulable linkage and journal boxes to enable adjustments and secure the position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rangefinder is mounted on a shooting device, then the user can determine the distance to the target, but the rangefinder is offset from the sighting device making accurate calibration difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting device incorporates adjustable mechanisms that allow the rangefinder to be dynamically repositioned along multiple axes (x, y, z) and rotated about multiple axes. This dynamic adjustability enables the user to calibrate the rangefinder by moving it until its view path intersects with the line of sight through the sighting device at the target, thereby resolving the calibration difficulty caused by the initial offset.
2Ease of manufacture
If the rangefinder position is fixed to avoid interference with line of sight and projectile path, then mounting is simplified, but accurate alignment with the sighting device becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than fixing the rangefinder in a single static position, the mounting device provides multiple degrees of freedom through adjustable linkages and articulation points. This allows the rangefinder to be positioned anywhere within a workspace volume, enabling both simple initial mounting and subsequent precise alignment to compensate for trajectory and offset.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting device extends the adjustment capability into three-dimensional space, allowing adjustment along x, y, and z axes as well as rotation about multiple axes. This multi-dimensional adjustment capability provides the necessary freedom to align the rangefinder view path with the sighting device line of sight while maintaining clearance from the projectile path.
3Measurement precision
If an adjustable mounting system is used to align the rangefinder with the sighting device, then calibration accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting device is divided into multiple independent adjustment mechanisms, each responsible for a specific degree of freedom (adjustment along x, y, z axes and rotation about multiple axes). This segmentation allows each mechanism to be simple and focused on a single function, making the overall system easier to manufacture and adjust compared to a monolithic complex mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and apparatus for mounting accessory devices on projectile launching devices is described. Particularly, a mounting system for rangefinders which facilitates rotary movement of mounting elements about multiple axes and linear movement of mounting elements along multiple paths is described. In the case of a device for mounting rangefinders on shooting devices, the mounting device enables the position of the rangefinder to be fixed prior to mounting the rangefinder on the shooting device so that the rangefinder when mounted is aligned and calibrated to the viewfinder of the shooting device. This enables a user to compensate for the trajectory of a projectile over the range or distance between the user and the target.