SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ILLUMINATING AND DESIGNATING OBJECTS THROUGH USE OF AN ADVANCED PHOTON EMITTER

Abstract

A system, device and method are provided with a uniquely self-contained and ergonomic design for facilitating improved target illumination, particularly of objects (including targets and aimpoints for employment of weapons) in low-light conditions, through employment of a weapon-mounted photon-emitting device that houses an easily interchangeable plurality of separate photon emitters in a single package.

Claims

1. An illuminator device, comprising: a main housing body; a plurality of photon emitters mounted at least one of on or in the main housing body; at least one power source within the main body housing, the at least one power source being configured to provide electrical power to at least one of the plurality of photon emitters; and control components configured to control one or more of the plurality of photon emitters, wherein the main body housing has a centerline that is configured to align with a center bore axis of a weapon to which the illuminator is mounted.

2. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the control components are in a form of tactile activation buttons.

3. The illuminator device of claim 2, wherein the tactile activation buttons are configured to individually turn on and off each of the one or more of the plurality of photon emitters.

4. The illuminator device of claim 2, wherein the tactile activation buttons are configured to individually adjust an intensity of emissions from each of the one or more of the plurality of photon emitters.

5. The illuminator device of claim 2, wherein the tactile activation buttons are each placed at a different height with respect to the main housing body.

6. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the tactile activation buttons are positioned on the main body housing to facilitate ambidextrous activation of the one or more of the plurality of photon emitters.

7. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein a first photon emitter and a second photon emitter of the plurality of photon emitters are arranged symmetrically with respect to, and parallel to, the centerline of the main housing body.

8. The illuminator device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first photon emitter and the second photon emitter is configured to emit high intensity light in a visible light spectrum.

9. The illuminator device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first photon emitter and the second photon emitter is configured to emit photon energy in an infrared spectrum.

10. The illuminator device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first photon emitter and the second photon emitter is configured to emit photon energy in an ultraviolet spectrum.

11. The illuminator device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first photon emitter and the second photon emitter is configured with at least one insert to modify photon emissions from the at least one of the first photon emitter and the second photon emitter.

12. The illuminator device of claim 11, wherein the at least one insert is at least one of a lens, a filter, a cover, a collimators, and a reflector.

13. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein a third photon emitter of the plurality of photon emitters is arranged on, and parallel with, the centerline of the main housing body.

14. The illuminator device of claim 13, wherein the third photon emitter is configured to emit laser energy in a form of a laser beam.

15. The illuminator device of claim 14, wherein adjustment mechanisms are provided on the main housing body to adjust the laser beam in two independent planes with respect to the centerline of the main housing body.

16. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the main housing body comprises a mounting accessory for mounting the illuminator device on a weapon.

17. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the at least one power source is one or more batteries housed internally within through tunnels in the main housing body.

18. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the main body housing is formed of an electrically-conductive material

19. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the main body housing is formed by a subtractive material manufacturing process.

20. The illuminator device of claim 1, wherein the main body housing is formed by an additive material manufacturing process.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Various exemplary embodiments of the systems, devices and methods for providing a unique illuminator or illumination tool for facilitating improved target illumination, particularly of objects (including targets and aimpoints for employment of weapons) in low-light conditions, through employment of unique weapon-mounted light-emitting or photon-emitting devices, according to this disclosure, will be described, in detail, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0039] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a first perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a second (partially-exploded) perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a first nominally top view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a second (partially-exploded) nominally top view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure; and

[0043] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a nominally bottom view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0044] The disclosed systems and methods for providing an improved illumination device, particularly one intended to conform to known governmental safety restrictions, and to address known operational shortfalls, through application of a unique design of a multi-emitter portable weapon-mountable illumination device, will generally refer to this specific utility or function for those systems and methods. Exemplary embodiments described and depicted in this disclosure should not be interpreted as being specifically limited to any particular configuration of the described elements, or as being specifically directed to employment in any particular use case, operational employment, or tactical engagement scenario, weapon-mounted or otherwise. Any advantageous combination of the disclosed schemes that may employ a particularly-configured illumination device including some or all of the disclosed features, centered on a plurality of photon-emitting (light energy emitting) devices is contemplated as being encompassed by this disclosure.

[0045] Specific reference, for example, to various configurations of a particularly unique ergonomic design of an illumination device should not be considered as limiting the configuration, or the application of the disclosed concepts to any particular limiting configuration of the respectively disclosed components, or necessarily to an illumination device that must include all of the disclosed components. The use of commonly-understood terms for light projection and photon-emitting devices is intended to be inclusive rather than exclusive, as the disclosed terms should be read to broadly encompass systems, devices, schemes and elements that may involve all manner of related illumination and designation applications for emitting visible and non-visible light, as that concept would be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art. This should be considered to apply equally broadly to the disclosed mounting concepts and to other weapon accessory mounting concepts that would be familiar to those of skill in the art.

[0046] It will be appreciated that features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments may be set forth in the description which follows, and in part may be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed embodiments. The features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and schemes particularly pointed out below. The features of the disclosed embodiments may become more fully apparent from the following detailed description.

[0047] Various embodiments of the disclosed devices may be discussed in detail below. While specific implementations may be discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art may recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.

[0048] Details of the unique features of the disclosed systems and methods will now be described generally with reference to the following detailed figures, which are provided for illustration purposes only, and depict an exemplary configuration of an improved illumination device according to this disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a first perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a second (partially-exploded) perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a first nominally top view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a second (partially-exploded) nominally top view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a nominally bottom view of an exemplary embodiment of a weapon mountable photon-emitting device according to this disclosure.

[0050] As shown in varying levels of detail in FIGS. 1-5, a weapon mountable photon-emitting device 100 according to this disclosure may be provided. The device 100 may have a main housing body 105. A plurality of photon emitters 115, 117, 125 may be mounted on or in the main body housing 105. The main housing body 105 may be formed or fabricated of an electrically conductive material. The main housing body 105 may enclose at least one completely through passage 110 (enclosed tunnel, second not shown) that facilitate the routing the mounting of a power source, which may be in a form of a battery, and/or electrical power components and/or wiring that may power one or more of the plurality of photon emitters 115, 117, 125. The enclosed tunnel 110 may be closed at one end with a battery cap 120, 122. The photon emitters 115, 117 in a preferred arrangement may consist of two emitters in a symmetrical arrangement that may be usable to provide general illumination for visually identifying objects including targets, supplemented by a third photon-emitter 125, which may be in a form of a laser, and which may be centrally located to provide a light source that can be precisely used to designate targets. The photon emitters 115, 117 may be selectable and allow use of multiple light wavelengths, including wavelengths of light in the visible and non-visible spectra, as needed. For example, a user or operator may be able to select for emission high intensity visible light from one or the other of the photon emitters 115, 117, or separately ultraviolet light at 320 nm from one of the photon emitters 115, 117, or separately infrared light at 1000 nm from one of the photon emitters 115, 117, while also, or alternatively, selecting for emission a laser designator from the third photon emitter 125.

[0051] The main housing body 105 may be formed of any suitable conductive material. Embodiments of the main housing body 105 may be formed according to known manufacturing methods. In embodiments, the main housing body 105 may be formed by means of a subtractive manufacturing process. Subtractive manufacturing, as used in this disclosure, is an umbrella term for various controlled machining and material removal processes that may start with solid blocks, bars, or rods of material. The materials may include, but are not limited to, plastics, metals, and other materials that are shaped by removing material through processes that may include cutting, boring, drilling, and grinding. These processes may be manually operated, and/or may be controlled with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and similar automated technologies. In alternative embodiments, the main housing body 105 may be formed by means of an additive manufacturing process. For example, the main body housing 105 may be formed from unique application of the technology commercially referred to as a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). DMLS may generally be described as additive manufacturing in nature, using a variety of alloys, melted and fused together by a laser. DMLS components are built layer by layer in a pressurized container, thus making it possible to design the components with organic geometries, internal features and challenging passages that could not be cast or otherwise formed or manufactured in conventional subtractive manufacturing methods. Additive manufacturing is ideal for complex parts and assemblies that have multiple components that traditionally would have had to be machined and/or produced separately and welded together, but can now be consolidated into a single piece geometry.

[0052] One or more control components may be integrated into the main housing body 105, and may be usable to control emissions from each of the photon emitters 115, 117, 125. In embodiments, the one or more control components may be in a form of tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134. The tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 may be integrated into the main housing body 105. The one or more tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 may be usable to activate internal switching mechanisms or circuits that in turn power discreet electrical circuits within the device 100 to, for example, turn the photon emitters 115, 117, 125, on and off, and/or to control an intensity of emissions from one or more of the photon emitters 115, 117, 125. In embodiments, no external electrical switching mechanisms or apparatus may be required to activate the device 100, or the photon emitters 115, 117, 125, but provisions and recesses may be provided to add external electrical wiring as needed, or preferred by the user or operator.

[0053] It should be understood that a preferred design may provide an improvement to the ergonomics of the device 100, as shown, when used in conjunction with modern weapons and weapon manipulation techniques. The tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 may have a profile with respect to the rest of the device 100, and particularly the main body housing 105 and thus may be easier to locate and to activate/manipulate, even in low ambient light conditions. As shown, the tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 may be placed at different heights respectively to the main housing body 105, or to each other, to improve the user's or operator's ability to differentiate between tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 without a need to view the device 100. In embodiments, the device 100 may be designed and manufactured to be ambidextrously activated, with the inclusion of redundant tactile activation buttons 132, 134, where appropriate, or tactile activation buttons 130 that may be available particularly to be actuated with either hand. In embodiments, the tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 may be usable to adjust or select an intensity of the emission from the photon emitter 115, 117, 125.

[0054] Generally, it is intended that the enclosed tunnels (see, e.g., element 110), which may house the batteries and may be capped at proximal ends with battery caps, 120, 122, may be capped at distal ends by one or more of the photon emitters 115, 117, and may be advantageously arranged symmetrically with respect to a centerline of the main housing body 105, which may be intended to align with a center bore axis of a weapon to which the illuminator 100 may be mounted for use. This symmetrical arrangement may make efficient use of negative space that is ubiquitously found on modern weapon platforms. By using the negative space, the device 100 may occupy as little volume on the host weapon as possible.

[0055] In embodiments, symmetrical attachment to a weapon may be facilitated by at least one conventional or particularly configured mounting accessory or adapter 140 (see FIG. 5). Note here that although FIGS. 3 and 4 nominally depict a “top” view and FIG. 5 nominally depicts a bottom view, there is no restriction on the device 105 being employed in an inverted condition in which the mounting accessory or adapter 140 may be used to engage the weapon under the barrel thereof. The mounting accessory or adapter 140 may be advantageously configured to facilitate removable engagement with a variety of weapons without specific or special additional configuration of the weapons. In embodiments, the mounting accessory or adapter 140 may be usable to cooperate with standard weapon accessory mounting rails temporarily or permanently configured on, or attached to, weapons. These standard weapon accessory mounting rails may include, but not be limited to, configurations as conventional universal, Picatinny/NATO, Weaver, Dovetail or other proprietary rails.

[0056] In embodiments, the battery covers 120, 122 may have a tapered thread geometry that allows for battery replacement to be undertaken with greater ease than with non-tapered battery cap threads (see, e.g., element 150) and without removal of the device 105 from the weapon to which it is attached via the mounting accessory or adapter 140 or otherwise.

[0057] Embodiments of the device 100 may have one or more extended battery caps 120, 122, or extended conductive extension tubes (e.g., an extension of element 150) that can house additional batteries and thereby increase the capacity of available output power supplied to the photon-emitters 115, 117.

[0058] In embodiments, the third centrally-located photon-emitter 125, which may be in a form of a laser, may have adjustment mechanisms 155 that allow for an emitted laser beam for target designation to be adjusted in two independent planes with respect to the centerline of the main housing body 105, and thus the host weapon's projectile point of impact, when mounted on a host weapon.

[0059] In addition to use of the tactile activation buttons 130, 132, 134 to adjust or select an intensity of the emission from the photon emitter 115, 117, an intensity of the emissions from the photon emitters 115, 117 may be modified through the use of one or more inserts 160, 162. The inserts 160, 162 may include, but not be limited to, lenses, filters, covers, collimators, reflectors, or any other common modifiers of the photonic emissions, and the like.

[0060] All of the various components of the exemplary device 100, as depicted in FIGS. 1-5, may be connected internally in myriad configurations, and may be connected to various weapons according to the discussion above in upright, inverted and any other angle interplay, as may be supported by the depicted and described mounting accessory or adapter 140, or otherwise.

[0061] It should be appreciated that, although depicted in FIGS. 1-5, as an essentially integral unit, various disclosed elements of the exemplary device 100 may be arranged in any combination of sub-systems as individual components or combinations of components, integral to the single unit, or external to, and in wired or wireless communication with the single unit of the exemplary device 100. Moreover, as it is anticipated that for combat/tactical hardness all of the depicted components from the switches to the power supplies to the photon emitters are described in a manner that leads to a conclusion that those components are in wired communication with one another, this disclosure should not be read to preclude wireless communication, for example between the switches and the photon emitters that the switches are intended to activate. Such wireless communications may be by RF radio signal, optical interfaces, NFC devices and other wireless communicating devices according to RF, Wi-Fi, WiGig and other like communications protocols. In other words, no specific configuration as a strictly wired integral unit is to be implied by the depiction in FIGS. 1-5.

[0062] Embodiments within the scope of this disclosure may also include methods for uniquely employing the exemplary improved illuminator device 100, as discussed in general above.

[0063] Although the above description may contain specific details, these details should be construed as illustrative and not construed as limiting the disclosure in any way.

[0064] Other configurations of the described embodiments may be part of the scope of the disclosed embodiments. For example, the principles of the disclosed embodiments may be applied to each individual user or operator where each user or operator may individually employ a different configuration of an improved illuminator device 100, as needed. This enables each user or operator to make use of the benefits of the disclosed embodiments even if any one of a large number of possible applications do not need all of the described features or functionalities. In other words, there may be multiple instances of the disclosed systems and schemes each being separately employed in various possible ways at the same time where the actions of one user or operator, or even a particular configuration of a device 100 employed by one user or operator in a configuration of the photon emitters 115, 117, may not affect the actions of other users or operators using separate and discrete embodiments.

[0065] The above-described exemplary systems and methods reference certain conventional components to provide a brief, general description of suitable operating and employment scenarios in which the subject matter of this disclosure may be particularly well suited for familiarity and ease of understanding.

[0066] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of the disclosed subject matter may be practiced in myriad configurations for carrying into effect the disclosed object or target illumination, identification and engagement schemes with embodiments of the disclosed device as particularly depicted and described.