Volumetric LED alignment aid for sighting device

Abstract

An apparatus and method of manufacturing a sighting device mountable to a gun to assist a shooter in aiming at a target. The apparatus comprises an optical element and a light source which provide feedback to the user regarding alignment with a target. The alignment aid optical element is a ring of transparent material with a user-facing, contoured surface with an inner and outer edge. The contoured surface is coated with a reflective material that reflects a narrow band of light wavelengths. The apparatus further comprises a light source coupled to a mount located at a focal point of the lens wherein the emission of light from the light source faces the lens. The wavelengths emitted from the light source correspond to those of the coatings on the lens.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target, the method comprising: creating a disk optical element comprising a concave surface by grinding an optical material; reducing a curvature of an outer edge of the concave surface to less than that of the concave surface by further grinding the outer edge; coating an inner concave surface of the disk optical element with a first coating comprising a first dielectric film reflecting a first narrow band of light wavelengths; coating the outer edge of the concave surface of the disk optical element with a second coating comprising a second dielectric film reflecting a second narrow band of light wavelengths; housing the disk optical element within a frame body; and providing a dual wavelength LED located at a focal point of the disk optical element wherein an emission of light from the LED faces the disk optical element, wherein the dual wavelengths match the first and second narrow band of light wavelengths from the first and second dielectric films, respectively.

2. The method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 1, the method further comprising: creating a spherical disk optical element by grinding the optical material.

3. The method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 1, the method further comprising: creating a parabolic disk optical element by grinding the optical material.

4. The method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 1, the method further comprising: coating a convex surface of the disk optical element with a third coating, wherein the third coating comprises an anti-reflective material.

5. The method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 1, wherein: the first dielectric coating reflects a first narrow band of light wavelengths between 560 nm and 520 nm.

6. The method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter aiming at a target of claim 1, wherein: the second dielectric coating reflects a second narrow band of light wavelengths between 700 nm and 635 nm.

7. A sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target, the sighting device comprising: a disk optical element comprising an outer edge, the outer edge comprising: a transition line; a user-facing edge; and a non-collimating contoured surface extending between the transition line and the user-facing edge, wherein the non-collimating contoured surface includes a first, coating disposed thereon and wherein the contoured surface is configured to reflect light at a divergence angle that varies from the transition line to the user-facing edge; a frame housing coupled to the disk optical element; and a light source configured to emit light towards the disk optical element.

8. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 7, wherein: the disk optical element further comprises: a concave surface disposed proximal to the transition line of the outer edge, the concave surface comprising: a collimating contoured surface; and a second coating disposed on the collimating contoured surface.

9. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 8, wherein: the first coating is patterned.

10. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 8, wherein: the light source comprises a dual wavelength LED; the first coating comprises a first dielectric film; the second coating comprises a second dielectric film; and the dual wavelengths of the LED match a first and a second narrow band of light wavelengths from the first and the second dielectric films, respectively.

11. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 10, wherein: the second narrow band of light wavelengths is within a range of 560 nm to 520 nm.

12. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 10, wherein: the first narrow band of light wavelengths is within a range of 700 nm to 635 nm.

13. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 8, wherein: the light source comprises a first single wavelength LED and a second single wavelength LED; the first coating comprises a first dielectric film; the second coating comprises a second dielectric film; the wavelengths of the first single wavelength LED match a first narrow band of light wavelengths from the first dielectric film; and the wavelengths of the second single wavelength LED match a second narrow band of light wavelengths from the second dielectric film.

14. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 8, wherein: the light source comprises a fiber optic light collector.

15. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 7, wherein: the outer edge forms a U-shape.

16. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 7, further comprising: a third coating disposed on a surface of the outer edge that is substantially opposite from the non-collimating contoured surface, wherein the third coating comprises an anti-reflective material.

17. The sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target of claim 7, wherein: the divergence angle increases from the transition line to the user-facing edge.

18. A method of manufacturing a sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target, the method comprising: creating an optical element with a concave surface by grinding an optical material, wherein the optical element is a ring; reducing a curvature of the ring to less than that of the original concave surface by further grinding the ring; coating the ring with a dielectric film reflecting a narrow band of light wavelengths; housing the disk optical element within a frame body; and providing a light source located at a focal point of the optical element wherein the emission of light from the light source faces the optical element, and wherein a wavelength of the light matches the narrow band of light wavelength from the dielectric film.

19. A sighting device to assist a shooter in aiming at a target comprising: an optical element with a concave surface, wherein the optical element is a ring; wherein the ring includes a coating comprising a dielectric film reflecting a narrow band of light wavelengths; wherein the optical element is housed within a body; and a light source located at a focal point of the optical element in a direction where the light source faces the optical element, and wherein a wavelength of light from the light source matches the narrow band of light wavelength from the dielectric film.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description when considered in connection with the following illustrative figures. In the figures, like reference numbers refer to like elements or acts throughout the figures.

(2) FIG. 1 depicts a cross-sectional side view of a light source and optical element of a sighting device with a collimating contoured surface and a non-collimating contoured surface outside the inner edge.

(3) FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional side view of a sighting device with a ring optical element.

(4) FIG. 3 depicts an isometric view of the non-collimating portion of the optical element present generally present in the anticipated embodiments of the invention.

(5) FIG. 4 depicts a radial cross-section of the hoop of the ring optical element.

(6) FIG. 5 depicts an isometric cross-section of a sighting device with a round optical element.

(7) FIG. 6 depicts an isometric cross-section of a sighting device with a parabolic optical element.

(8) FIG. 7 depicts an isometric cross-section of a sighting device with a rectangular optical element.

(9) FIG. 8 depicts an isometric cross-section of a sighting device with two single wavelength light sources.

(10) FIG. 9 depicts a front view of a sighting device with the second coating of the optical element cross-hatched/patterned.

(11) FIG. 10 depicts an isometric cross-section of a sighting device in which disk optical element is assembled from several disk optical sub-elements.

(12) Elements and acts in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and have not necessarily been rendered according to any particular sequence or embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) In the following description, and for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the invention. It will be understood, however, by those skilled in the relevant arts, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, known structures and devices are shown or discussed more generally in order to avoid obscuring the invention. In many cases, a description of the operation is sufficient to enable one to implement the various forms of the invention, particularly when the operation is to be implemented in software. It should be noted that there are many different and alternative configurations, devices and technologies to which the disclosed inventions may be applied. The full scope of the inventions is not limited to the examples that are described below.

(14) FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 shows an apparatus for assisting a shooter in holding an aiming eye within an aiming volume 10 in accordance with the present invention, having a disk optical element 20 and a light source 30 affixed to a body 40 so that a first incident light ray 50 and a second incident light ray 180 with distinct wavelengths produced by the light source 30 are aimed at the disk optical element 20. In one embodiment, the light source 30 comprises a single dual wavelength LED. FIG. 3 depicts the orientation of the user's aiming eye 120 aligned to an aiming axis 130 that is collinear with the longitudinal axis 140 passing through the center of disk optical element 20.

(15) In an embodiment with a single light source 30, the light source 30 is a dual wavelength LED. In another embodiment with a single light source 30, the light source 30 is a fiber optic light collector.

(16) The disk optical element 20 is formed by grinding an optical material. In some embodiments, the disk optical element 20 comprises a concave surface 80 formed by grinding an optical material. The disk optical element 20 further comprises an outer edge 90 of the concave surface 80 with a curvature less than that of the concave surface 80. There is an interface between the concave surface and outer edge 90 of which there is no reduction of curvature. In some embodiments, the disk optical element 20 is spherical. The disk optical element 20 may also be parabolic or rectangular.

(17) The disk optical element 20 has a user-facing surface 60 with a transition line 70 separating regions of the surface with a concave surface 80 forming a collimating contour and an outer edge 90 forming a non-collimating contour, as well as a user-facing edge 170. As depicted in FIG. 2, the transition line 70 also forms an aiming boundary 250 between the aiming area 260 and the non-aiming area 270, both the aiming area and non-aiming are oriented orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 140. As shown in FIG. 4, as incident light rays 50 impinge on the user-facing surface 60 at a reflection point 100, the incident light rays reflect off the user-facing surface 60 as a reflection line 110. At any reflection point 100 the reflection 110 will have a reflection angle 120 that is bisected by a bifurcation line 130 orthogonal to a reflection plane 140 that is tangent to the user facing surface 60 at the reflection point 100.

(18) As depicted in FIG. 4, in the concave surface (collimating contour) 80 and at the transition line 70, the reflection line 110 is oriented collinearly to a reference line 150 that is collinear to the aiming axis 130 and aimed towards the user's aiming eye 120. In the outer edge (non-collimating contour) 90, the reflection line 110 is aimed towards the user's aiming eye 120 at a divergence angle 160 to the reference line 150 which starts at 0° at the transition line 70 and increases to a maximum value at the user-facing edge 170.

(19) In an embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the concave surface 80 is covered by a first coating 190, typically comprised of a layer of a thin dielectric material, that reflects only the wavelength corresponding to the second incident light ray 180. In some embodiments, the first coating 190 is a collimating coating. The outer edge 90 is covered by a second coating 200, comprised of a material that may be similar to the first coating 190 and which reflects only the wavelength corresponding to the first incident light ray 50. In some embodiments, the second coating 200 is a non-collimating coating. In some embodiments, the second coating 200 may be comprised of the same material as the first coating 190, but with a pattern applied to it.

(20) In some embodiments, the first dielectric coating 190 reflects a first narrow band of light wave lengths between 560 nm and 520 nm. The second dielectric coating 200 reflects a second narrow band of light wavelengths between 700 nm and 635 nm. In this embodiment, the reflections would be red and green, respectively. In other embodiments, the first coating 190 and second coating 200 may reflect different wavelengths corresponding with different colors.

(21) In some embodiments, there may be a third coating disposed on the outer surface of the lens 170. In this embodiment, the third coating may comprise an anti-reflective material.

(22) The disk optical element 20 is coupled to the inner surface of the body via a frame 40 at a body-to-optic angle 210. The light source 30 is affixed to a mounting surface 220 that is in a recessed slot 230 of the body post 240 that extends away from the disk optical element 20 location towards the user's aiming eye 120.

(23) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, when the user's aiming eye 120 is within an aiming volume 280 defined as a forward and rearward projection of the aiming area 260 along the aiming axis 130, a first visual indicator 290 corresponding to the reflection line 110 reflecting from the concave surface 80 appears. When the user's aiming eye 120 is in the non-aiming volume 300, defined as a forward and rearward projection of the non-aiming area 270 along the aiming axis 130, a second visual indicator 310 corresponding to the reflection line 110 reflecting from the outer edge 90 appears.

(24) In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 2, all the features of the embodiment of FIG. 1 remain, except that the disk optical element 20 is replaced by a cylindrical optical element 320 with a central void 330 where the aiming volume 280 passes through the cylindrical optical element 320. In this embodiment, the disk optical element 30 comprises a ring 320 in which the inner surface of the disk optical element is a center cavity 330 of the ring 320. When the user's aiming eye 120 is in the aiming volume 280, no visual indicator appears since the second incident light ray 180 passes directly through the central void 330. In this embodiment, only the second dielectric coating 200 is disposed as the first dielectric coating 190 would be located where the central void 320 of the ring shaped disk optical element 20 is.

(25) In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a partial disk optical element 340 and transition line 70 are configured such that the outer edge 90 section of the user-facing surface 60 forms a U-shape, instead of a ring shape. This represents that the outer edge 90 need not fully encircle the concave surface 80, creating a parabolic disk optical element.

(26) In alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the disk optical element 20 is a rectangle instead of a circle. This represents the flexibility of the invention with respect to altering the shape of the disk optical element 20 and the corresponding structure of the body 30, The disk optical element 20 may comprise other shapes such as by non-limiting example, quadrilaterals, trapezoids, parabolas, or regular polygons.

(27) In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 8, an additional light source 350 is affixed to the body 30. In this embodiment, two single wavelength LEDS match a first narrow band of light wavelength from the first dielectric film, and a second narrow band of light wavelength from the second dielectric film, respectively.

(28) In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the second coating 200 is cross-hatched so that there are alternating lines of the second coating 200 and the bare user-facing surface 60. This creates an additional visual pattern 370 for the user's aiming eye 120 when viewing the non-aiming volume 300.

(29) In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the disk optical element 20 is assembled from several disk optical sub-elements 360.

(30) It will also be understood that the size, shape, and other aspects of the structures themselves may vary somewhat from the preferred embodiment that is illustrated, so long as they perform the requisite functions.

(31) It is therefore to be recognized that these and various other alterations, modifications, and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts described above without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention as defined by the claims.