Optoelectronic gunsight
OwnerAlejandro Chavezinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gunsight for aiming a firearm comprises a projector, a viewing screen, an objective window and a plurality of intermediate walls extending between the viewing screen and the objective window. The projector may be positioned to project a reticle pattern onto a forward facing surface of the viewing screen. The viewing screen may be transparent or translucent so that the reticle pattern is visible to a user located rearward of the viewing screen. The projector comprises a light source and a liquid crystal light valve. The reticle pattern may have an appearance corresponding to a user provided image.
Claims24
A gunsight for aiming a firearm, the firearm having a barrel defining a bore, the bore extending along a bore axis, the bore axis extending in a forward direction and a rearward direction, the gunsight comprising:
- a viewing screen, an objective window and a plurality of intermediate walls extending between the viewing screen and the objective window, the viewing screen, the objective window, and the intermediate walls defining a sealed cavity filled with a dry, inert gas;
- a projector positioned and configured to project a reticle pattern onto a forward facing surface of the viewing screen, the projector comprising a light source and a liquid crystal light valve, the liquid crystal light valve comprising a first transparent sheet, a second transparent sheet, and a layer of liquid crystal material disposed between the first transparent sheet and the second transparent sheet, the liquid crystal light valve comprising a plurality of first sheet electrodes arranged in an array of rows and columns, each first sheet electrode being supported by an inner surface of the first transparent sheet, the first sheet electrodes in each row being electrically connected to a row line, the first sheet electrodes in each column being electrically connected to a column line, the liquid crystal light valve comprising one or more second sheet electrodes supported by the second transparent sheet;
- the liquid crystal light valve comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising a portion of the liquid crystal material disposed between one of the first sheet electrodes and one of the one or more second sheet electrodes, each pixel being capable of selectively assuming either a transparent state in which light from the light source passes through the liquid crystal material or an opaque state in which light from the light source does not pass through the liquid crystal material;
- a circuit card assembly operatively coupled to the projector, the circuit card assembly comprising a printed wiring board;
- an antenna fixed to the printed wiring board;
- a transceiver operatively coupled to the antenna for receiving signals from the user input device;
- a column driver electrically connected to the plurality of column lines of the liquid crystal light valve;
- a row driver electrically connected to the plurality of row lines of the liquid crystal light valve;
- control circuitry operatively coupled to the column driver, the row driver and one or more switches.
The gunsight of claim 8, wherein the raster image file comprises one of a JPG file, a BMP file, and a PNG file.
The gunsight of 1, further comprising an activity sensor operatively coupled to the control circuitry.
The gunsight of 1, wherein the cavity having a shape generally corresponding to a parallelepiped shape.
The gunsight of 1, wherein:
- the cavity has a maximum length extending in forward and rearward directions;
- the cavity has maximum height extending in upward and downward directions;
- and
- a ratio of the maximum length to the maximum height is less than 3.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.