Weapon Sight Illumination via Rear Light Source
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing illuminated open sights for handguns are not easily adaptable to varying barrel lengths and often project visible light directly onto the target, making them detectable and requiring complex fiber optic or electrical connections.
Innovation Solution
An open sight design featuring a rear sight with internal illumination sources and a diffuse reflective front sight, where the front aiming mark is illuminated indirectly by a rear-facing light source, eliminating the need for external cables or wires and minimizing visibility of the light beam to adversaries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If fiber optic cables or electrical wires are used to transfer light from the rear sight to the front sight, then the sight can be illuminated, but the device complexity increases and adaptability to different barrel lengths decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the illumination function from a centralized source and distributes it to multiple locations. The rear sight housing contains multiple light sources that independently illuminate both the rear aiming marks and the front aiming mark, eliminating the need for complex fiber optic or electrical connections between components.
Solution Approach 2:
The rear sight housing serves multiple functions: it houses the aiming marks, contains the light sources, and provides structural mounting points. The light sources simultaneously illuminate both the rear and front sights, making the system multi-functional and reducing overall complexity.
2Ease of operation
If a laser light source is used to project an illuminated aiming mark directly on the target, then the sight is easier to use, but the light source requires substantial power and the shooter's position becomes detectable
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single high-power laser to project light onto the target, the invention uses multiple lower-power light sources located in the rear sight housing. Each light source illuminates specific aiming marks locally, reducing total power consumption while maintaining ease of operation through clear visual alignment marks.
3Illumination intensity
If a laser beam is projected towards the target, then the aiming mark is visible on the target, but the position of the shooter becomes easily detectable by an adversary
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of projecting light forward from the front sight or laser onto the target, the invention inverts the approach by placing light sources in the rear sight housing that illuminate the front aiming mark from behind. This causes light to travel through the weapon barrel backward toward the shooter, making the shooter's position undetectable while still providing clear aiming marks.
4Volume of moving object
If all electronic components are placed inside a single compartment at the front sight, then the sight is compact, but it is not viable for small weapons such as handguns
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the sight system into separate modular components: a rear sight housing containing the aiming marks and light sources, and a front sight assembly with aiming marks. This segmentation allows each component to be independently sized and configured, making the overall system adaptable to different weapon platforms including handguns with varying barrel lengths.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a compact, adaptable, and covertly illuminated sight for handguns, with all electronic components contained within the rear sight, allowing for easy alignment and enhanced low-light visibility without projecting a visible light spot directly on the target.
Implementation Method 1
The illumination means comprises a light source, and in one embodiment, the light source is an incoherent light source such as a light emitting diode (LED)
Implementation Method 2
The front sight means comprises reflective means for reflecting light back from the illumination means
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An open sight for use on weapons such as handguns is introduced. The open sight features two rear aiming marks (5, 6) which are illuminated by an artificial light source mounted in the rear sight (1). A third aiming mark (7) in the front sight (2) is illuminated by a forward- facing light source also mounted in the rear sight (1). The front sight is dimensioned to substantially block the forward directed beam to reduce the visibility of the illumination forward of the weapon.