Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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SIGHTING DEVICE FOR FIRE ARMS
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The present invention relates to a sighting device for fire
arms, for direct or indirect shooting, particularly designed to enable and
facili~ate the sighting of a target when the am~iant light intensity is low
or null7 particularly at night. To those fire arms belong among others the
rifles, heavy or light machine guns, gatling gun, pistols, light anti-tank
arms, as well as mortars.
It is know from patent EP-O 128 753, to substitute the usual
front sight and rear sight of a sighting device by elements having the
shape of circular or polygonal rings one of them forming the rear sight is
provided with auto-luminescent points and of such dimensions that the
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,; shooter can align it within the other ring constituting the front sight forthe sighting operation. This device has the drawback to have no central
front sight grain or body. These two rings have alway cylindrical or
~3~ prismatic perpendicu1ar crosssections and have a small length with respect
to their diameter.
The shooting at night is of extremely low efficiency since the
~i target as well as the elements of the sighting device monted on the fire
;r arms are, either hardly seeaable by the shooter, or very difficult to put
`-! in line.
'~ This is particularly true at night, but also in dummy light,
-l i.e. during the hours or the moments preceding or following the night.
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The invention aims to remedy these drawbacks and provides for
a sighting device enhancing greatly the sighting conditions in the above
,~ described circumstances or in similar circumstances with lack of lighting.
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Furthermore, this sighting device enable to substantially
enhance the results of an average shooter in normal sighting
conditions.
The object of the present invention is to provided
: 5 the sighting device for a fire arm, characterized by the
combination on the arm of elements which substitute them-
selves respectively to an aiming notch and to a foresight,
both constituted by a first and a second cylinder, at least
, the first cylinder located towards a butt of the arm
`~ 10 presenting a rear end directed towards an eye of a shooter
;~ located in a first plane forming an angle with a second
plane perpendicular to a longltudinal axis of the first
cylinder so that the shooter sees a regular circle only when
its eye is located in a geometrical axis of the first
cylinder, the ~econd cylinder located at the vicinity of an
end of a barrel of the arm presenting a rear end directed
~', towards the eye of the shooter, which is located in a third
plane forming an angle with a fourth plane perpendicular to
an axis of the second cylinder as well as with the first
plane, the first and third planes forming respectively an
angle with the second plane and the fourth plane, comprised
between 20 and 60, or between 110 and ].50, the rear ends
of said first and second cylinders comprising a groove
filled with an auto-luminescent material for facilitating a
night sighting.
The attached drawing shows schematically and by way of example
the sighting device and variants of it as well as its use.
Figure 1 shows, along a lateral view, one embodiment of the
@ 30 sighting device.
Figure 2 shows, at greater scale, a longitudinal crosssection
of a cylinder constituting the rear sight of a fire arm.
n Figure 3 is a front view of the cylinder shown at Figure 2.
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Figure 4 shows, at greater scale, a longitudinal crosssection
of the cylinder replacing the conventional front sight of a fire arm.
Figure 5 shows schematically a cylinder formirlg a rear sight
and cut along a plan enabling a right handed person to use correctly the
! sighting device.
Figure 6 shows schematically a cylinder forming the rear sight
' cut along a plan enabling a left handed person to correctly use the=I sighting device according to the invention.
I; Figure 7 is a side view of an arm provided with a variant of
the sighting device.
Figures 8 and 9 show schematically what the shooter sees
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during it sighting.
The sighting device shown at Figures 1 to 4 comprises two
cylinders respectively bearing references 1 and 2. The same effect can be
obtained by cylindroldes or further by a cylinder and a cylindrold. The
sighting line is represented by a straight line bearing reference 3 and the
eye by 4.
in the embodiment shown by Figures 1 to 4, the cylindrical
element 1 replacing the front sight of a convectional sighting device is
provided in its center with a grain or sighting member 5 which is
positionned in any appropriate manner, by means of three rods 6 for
example. This sighting grain 5 is located inside the cylinder 1 between its
ends and is never located in one of the end planes of said cylinder 1. This
is due to the effect of protection against the lateral lumineous effects
and the possible deformations due to shocks a dust.
In this embodiment the cylinder 1 has a perpendicular
crosssection and its ends are located in planes perpendicular to its
longitudinal axis coinciding with the sighting line 3.
The edge of the cylinder 1 looked at by the shooter is
provided with a groove 7 intended to receive an auto-luminescent material,
for example, a fluorescent material.
This fluorescent material 8 will be covered by a translucid
material to protect it from whethering but enabling the refilling or
replacement, in due times, of the fluorescent material.
The cylinder 1 is mounted on a barrel of the arm (this term
has to be taken in its broadest meaning) through the intermediary of a
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stablizing member 9 of the barrel which carries an hexagonal axis 10 on
. which slides the part 11 carring an horizontal base plate 12 supporting
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what is called here the receiver 13 of the axis 14 bearing the cylinder 1.
The hexagonal shaft 10 is supported by the horizontal fork 15.
Of course, others mountings of the cylinder 1 onto the barrel
of a fire arm for direct shooting are absolutely possible and the standards
of these fire arms will be determinant for the mounting type used.
-, The second element of the sighting device according to the
invention is formed by a cylinder 2 which replaces the conventional rear
sight. This cylinder, the diameter of which is preferably slightly less
than the one of cylinder 1, comprises, as the first one, on the side
observed by the shooter, a groove 7' receiving also an auto-luminescent or
fluorescent material 8. This cylinder or cylindroid can also be provided
with a central sighting grain or member.
According to a remarkable particularity of the invention, the
, cylinder 2, replacing the conventional rear sight is cut in a slanded
manner, on the side observed by the shooter, along inclined planes P or P'
cutting respectively the axis of the cylinder and the plan containing the
sighting line with an angle comprised between 20 and 60 for a right ;
~ handed person and 110 to 150 for a left handed person, these angles being
`I measured between the axis of the cylinder and the precited ~utting plan
~Figures S and 6).
~ The shooter will see in the darkness or dummy light a
4' fluorescent circle and the associated sighting grain and he will see a
regular circle, fluorescent, only when his eye will be located in the
geometrical axis of the cylinder or cylindroide 2. For any positlons where
the pupil of the eye of the shooter is not in alignment with the
geometrical axis of the cylinder 1, the inclined cut of the cylinder 2 will
appear as a more or less pronounced ellipse.
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The shooter is therefore conscient that the cylinders or
cylindroides 1 and 2, as well as the pupil of his eye are on a same axis
- when to fluorescent material, provided on the edge of the cylinder 2 facing
;'~ the shooter appears as a perfect or sensibly perfect circle. This first
condition is essential for the shooter to see that the position of his eye~1
is correct with respect to the straight line 3 comprising the geometrical
axis of the cylinders or cylindroides 1 and 2. He then has to locate the
target on the sighting line with the help of the setting in concentric
position of the fluorescent or luminescent circles appearing on the edges
of the cylinders or cylindroides 1 and 2, which face him.
~r The alignment at night or in the darkness, of the elements
forming the front and rear sights, is therefore considerably facilitated by
the original conception of the sighting device according to the invention.
The provision of the cut of the cylinder 2 forming, on the side of the
shooter, an ellipse or a circle to appear if the eye of the shooter is out
of the sighting line or correctly aligned on said sighting line, is another
very remarkable characteristic of the sighting device for direct or
indirect shooting with fire arms according to the invention. This feature
is essential since it permits an instinctive sighting and ensures a correct
position of the eye with respect to the arm eliminating numerous sighting
errors often due to a lateral tilting of the arm.
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~` The crosssection plan leading to the schematic Figures 5 and 6
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determines for a right handed and a left handed person complementary
planes. In the case of Figure 5, the angle is intended to enable a right
handed person to verify the alignement which is necessary of the pupil of
his eye, the cylinder 2 and the cylinder 1.
, Figure 6 shows an angle ~ intended for a left handed shooter,
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the cutting planes being respectively P and P'.
The cylinder 2 can be mounted in any appropriated manner on the
arm in function of the type of said arm. hccording to Figure 1, the
cylinder 2 is mounted on a vertical fork 16 bearing the distance zeroing
member 17.
From the above description of a sighting device according to
the invention, it is to be noted that there is an inversion between the
front sight being part of distance setting device and the rear sight, which
was up to now always mounted at the front end of the barrel.
It is evident that besides that the invention is not lim1ted to
the embodiment here given by way of example and that many modifications can
be made. As already said, the type of mounting of the cylinder or
cylindroides 1 and 2 is only function of the type of arm to which the
Si ghting device is incorporated. For indirect shooting arms, as mortars,
and others arms of the same kind, the sighting device is used in a similar
way but evidently with different mounting means. Finally it is to be noted
that the edge of the cylinders or cylindroides looked at by the shooter is
not necessarily fluorescent. Others luminescent means can be thought of.
It is to that end absolutely possible to feed by a DC current
battery, adequate luminescent or luminous elements.
A variant of the device is shown at Figure 7 where it is to be
seen that the rear sight formed by cylinder 1 is also cut obliquely at its
end directed towards the eye 4 of the shooter. This cylinder 1 is
positionned so that the great axes of the ellipses formed by the rear
openings of the cylinder 1 and of the cylinder 2 forms an angle between
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-1them, angle preferably equal to 90.
In such a realization the shooter sees when he puts his eye
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near the sighting line first two ellipses constituted by the edges of
cylinders 2 and 1 respectively, then putting his eye nearer to the sighting
line the ellipses a and b get nearPr to circles and when the eye 4 of the
shooter is exactly on the sighting line (Figure 9) the two ellipses a and b
are seen as only one circle. Then the shooter has only to make the sighting
grain or body S colncide with the target.
In this sighting device the cylinder 2 does not need to be
placed in the proximity of the eye of the shooter9 one can advantageously
place the cylinder 2, for example, at two-third of the distance separating
the eye 4 from the cylinder 1. It is important to note that the sighting
being made in a geometrical manner, it is not necessary to seek to realize
a sighting line having an optimal length. This enables to place the
.~ cylindroide 2 in the proximity of the ejection chamber of the cartridge
cases to use the lighting caused during this ejection to reload the
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auto-luminescent material.
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The use of cylinders 1,2 of a non-neglectable length, about 2
to 6 cm for example, enables a concentration of the light rays onto the
.';~; sighting line and enhances the visibility of the target.
Furthermore the plan containing the rear face of the cylinder 2
replacing the rear sight is preferably contained in a plan perpendicular to
a plan perpendicular to the longitudinal symetry plan of the weapon
; enabling an easy sighting when putting the weapon on the shoulder.
A consequence of this original sighting device is that the two
~ cylinders 1,2 can be fast with the barrel, the setting of the distance to
i the target ~correction of the curvation of the trajectory) being made by a
displacement of the central sightling body or any other member replacing
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~ it, for example a rear sight placed in the plan of symPtry of the arm i
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then the said central sighting grain or body is no more located on the axis
of the said cylinders 1,2.
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