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US 12,656,082 B2Granted
Macro alignment reticle sight system
AssigneeGrace Engineering Corp.
InventorNathaniel E. Grace
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aiming device is provided including an illumination device and an optical element wherein the illumination device projects a primary dot and at least one secondary alignment dot distal from the primary dot to aid a user in obtaining a view of the primary dot when the aiming device is in an aligned mode, the primary dot is visible within a field of view of the user, but the secondary alignment dot is not visible. When the aiming device is in a misaligned mode, the secondary alignment dot is visible to the user, but the primary dot is not. The secondary alignment dot provides instruction to the user to realign the aiming device relative to the field of view of the user so that the aiming device transitions to the aligned mode. A related method of operation is provided.
Claims17
A sight comprising:
- a single light source that projects one and only one primary dot and one and only one secondary alignment dot on an optical element,
- wherein the one and only one primary dot is in the form of a single chevron or a single, solid, circular mark,
- wherein the one and only one secondary alignment dot is a single circle that surrounds the primary dot,
- wherein the primary dot is displayed to a user within a field of view of the user, but the secondary alignment dot is not displayed within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in an aligned mode and the user aims at a target with the sight, the primary dot being an aiming dot that is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with a weapon to which the sight is mounted,
- wherein the secondary alignment dot is displayed within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in a misaligned mode, to provide instruction to the user to realign the sight relative to the field of view of the user so that the user can align the primary dot with the target,
- wherein the secondary alignment dot is normally hidden from the user, is unperceivable to the user, and is not displayed within the field of view of the user, when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon while the user aims at the target with the sight,
- wherein the secondary alignment dot is positioned outside of a line of sight of the user while the user aims at the target with the sight in the aligned mode, such that the secondary alignment dot remains obstructed from view of the user until a misalignment of the primary dot occurs,
- wherein the secondary alignment dot is distal from the aiming dot so that a user is prevented from simultaneously viewing any of the secondary alignment dot, nor any other secondary alignment dot, along with the aiming dot when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon,
- wherein only the aiming dot, and nothing else, is displayed on the optical element for the user to view, when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon while the user aims at the target with the sight,
- wherein the primary dot and the secondary alignment dot remain simultaneously projected by the single light source in the aligned mode, but with the secondary alignment dot positioned within a region of the optical element so that the secondary alignment dot is not projected toward the user in the field of view,
- wherein the primary dot and the secondary alignment dot remain simultaneously projected by the single light source in the misaligned mode.
8 more elements
A sight comprising:
- a light source that projects one and only one secondary dot around one and only one primary dot on an optical element;
- wherein the one and only one primary dot is in the form of a single chevron or a single, solid, circular mark,
- wherein the one and only one secondary dot is a single circular reticle that surrounds the primary dot,
- wherein the primary dot is visible to a user within a field of view of the user, but the secondary dot is not visible to the user within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in an aligned mode,
- wherein the secondary dot is visible to the user within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in a misaligned mode to provide instruction to the user to realign the sight relative to the field of view of the user,
- wherein the primary dot and the secondary dot reflect from a reflective surface of the optical element so as to display at least one of the primary dot and the secondary dot selectively to the user depending on the orientation of the sight within the field of view of the user,
- wherein the primary dot is an aiming dot in the form of an aiming dot that is aligned with a target in the aligned mode to engage the target with a weapon to which the sight is mounted,
- wherein the secondary dot is normally hidden from the user, is unperceivable to the user, and is not displayed within the field of view of the user, when the primary dot is the aiming dot and when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon while the user aims at the target with the sight,
- wherein the secondary dot is distal and discontinuous from the aiming dot so that a user cannot simultaneously view any of the secondary dot, nor any other secondary dot, along with the aiming dot when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon,
- wherein only the aiming dot, but not the secondary dot, is displayed on the optical element for the user to view, when the aiming dot is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon while the user aims at the target with the sight.
7 more elements
A method of operating a sight, the method comprising:
- reflecting one and only one primary dot and one and only one secondary dot simultaneously from an optical element within a sight in both an aligned mode and a misaligned mode;
- displaying the primary dot as an aiming dot for alignment with a target to engage the target with a weapon within a field of view of the user, but normally not displaying the secondary dot within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in the aligned mode while the aiming dot is aligned with the target to engage the target with the weapon;
- displaying the secondary dot within the field of view of the user when the primary dot is not displayed within the field of view of the user, when the sight is in the misaligned mode;
- and
- instructing the user with the secondary dot to move the sight so the primary dot comes into the field of view, so the sight transitions from the misaligned mode to the aligned mode,
- wherein a single light source projects the secondary dot and the primary dot onto a lens of the optical element,
- wherein the aiming dot is a single chevron or single, solid, circular mark and only the single chevron or single, solid, circular mark, and nothing else, is displayed in the field of view, when the single chevron or single, solid, circular mark is aligned with the target in the aligned mode to engage the target with the weapon while the user aims at the target with the sight,
- wherein the secondary dot is a single circular reticle around the primary dot.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.