EP1818645B1 - Improved sight with mobile red dot - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a fixed light source (4) producing a collimated light beam projected onto a reflecting blade (17) e.g. semi-transparent beamsplitter plate, so as to obtain a red dot or reticle. The light source has a collimator with a convergent lens and a quasi punctual luminous source placed in a focal point (8) of the lens of the collimator. An adjusting device is arranged to enable adjustment of an inclination angle of a rotating mirror (9) in relation to the light beam, where the adjusting device is provided with several scales for different ammunition.

Description

The invention relates to a movable red dot sight.

The technique of the Red Point (fixed) for aiming at the rifle or the handgun has been known for a long time. It consists in projecting, through the aiming optics, a point - or more generally a luminous reticle - in such a way that the shooter only has to visually align this point on the target to obtain an accurate shot, without parallax.
This is done traditionally using a concave lens serving as a semi-transparent mirror, said lens collimating a point light source located on the side of the eye of the shooter. Such a device is described in the US Patent 3,963,356 .
In these devices, the direction defined by the beam of the collimated red dot gives the direction of the line of sight, so that if the shooter aligns the red dot on the target, it is supposed to be reached by firing the rifle or of the point weapon. However, the viewfinder must be simbleaut on the rifle, ie that it be set on the weapon in such a way that the line of sight corresponds to the axis of the shot.

The US Patent 4,402,605 describes a device that allows the simbleautage of the viewfinder; it consists of a secondary optics whose vertical and horizontal displacement relative to the primary optics can simbleauter the line of sight, respectively in elevation and azimuth.

The US Patent 5,369,888 , which forms a starting point for claim 1, describes a variant of a red-point viewfinder in which the simbleautage is obtained by adjusting the inclination of the collimating lens, by acting on the elasticity of the support thereof, using a set screw.

Traditionally we speak of "red dot" to designate the luminous reticle used in this type of viewfinder.

The actual color of the reticle may be different as long as it is visible.

The red dot is not necessarily punctual.

In the rest of the text, the term "red dot" will therefore be used in the broad sense to designate the light reticle, the viewfinder can use any visible light source and any form of reticle.

The application of the so-called red dot technique to firing munitions that have a non-ballistic trajectory tense, as in the case of grenades shooting, requires the realization of a movable red point whose height position must be adapted, according to the distance of the target, so that the shooter obtains the correct elevation of his weapon by aligning this point thus moved on the target.

The difficulty of making a moving red dot finder is that the range and angular resolution required for grenades up to several hundred meters results in costly and cumbersome devices.

The so-called "red dot" sights that have been proposed so far for the firing of curved trajectory ammunition are generally based on the use of an LCD display or a row of LEDs placed in the local plane. a lens, and whose moving image is superimposed on the field of view of the shooter by a system of mirror or fixed prism and semi-transparent separating blade.

Due to the angle of elevation to be covered, for example more than 30 ° in the case of a low speed grenade, and the necessary angular resolution, such a system has a large size of several tens of millimeters in width and height.

In addition, for large elevation angles, the dots on the display or the LED array are remote from the optical axis, and the rays that result are subject to geometric aberrations and parallax errors that requires additional corrective optics or additional device, which further increases the size and weight of the viewfinder.

A disadvantage of such a bulky type of viewfinder is that it is not very compatible with its use on a light individual weapon.

Another disadvantage of such a viewfinder is that, when placed on the top rail of a rifle, it is generally incompatible with the use of an outer bezel or sighting with two open eyes.

Yet another disadvantage is that existing viewers of this type are generally not totally ambidextrous.

The object of the invention is to avoid one or more of the aforesaid drawbacks and to provide a movable red dot sight with reduced dimensions that can be used on an individual weapon.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a movable red dot sight, comprising a fixed light source and a reflective plate, the light source generating a collimated light beam which is projected on the reflecting plate to materialize a red dot or reticle visible to the shooter by reflection on the reflecting plate, the beam being projected on the reflecting plate by means of a rotating mirror whose angle of inclination with respect to the light beam is adjustable.

To target a target, the shooter observes the target while seeking the elevation of his weapon for which the red dot is aligned with the target, sign that the weapon is in the correct shooting position.

The shooter can aim with two eyes open, observing the target next to the blade with one eye and the red dot projected on the blade with the other eye.

The reflective plate is preferably, however, a semi-transparent splitter blade, which allows the shooter to observe the target and the red dot through the splitter plate with one eye while also allowing a two-eyed open shot according to the preference of the shooter.

The viewfinder comprises a device for adjusting the angle of inclination of the rotating mirror with respect to the light beam, allowing adjustment of the viewfinder by adjusting the angle of the mirror according to the distance of the target and the type of ammunition.

• La figure 1 est une vue latérale schématique d'un viseur selon l'invention;
• la figure 2 est une coupe selon la ligne II-II de la figure 1;
• la figure 3 représente le viseur de la figure 1, mais dans une position de tir;
• la figure 4 représente une variante d'un viseur selon l'invention;
• les figures 5 et 6 représentent des vues respectivement en direction des flèches F5 et F6 dans la figure 4;
• les figures 6 correspond à la figure 5, mais pour une autre position de l'arme;
• les figures 7 et 8 représentent deux vues semblables à celles des figures 1 et 2, mais pour une variante d'un viseur selon l'invention;
• la figure 9 est une vue semblable à celle de la figure 5, mais pour un viseur selon les figures 7 et 8;
• la figure 10 est une autre variante de la figure 1;
• la figure 11 est une vue suivant la flèche F11 dans la figure 10;
• les figures 12 et 13 sont des figures semblables à la figure 11 mais pour des cibles à une distance plus grande;
• la figure 14 est une variante de la figure 11.

For the sake of clarity, some exemplary embodiments of a moving red dot viewfinder according to the invention are described below by way of illustration and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended drawings in which:

• The figure 1 is a schematic side view of a viewfinder according to the invention;
• the figure 2 is a section along line II-II of the figure 1 ;
• the figure 3 represents the viewfinder of the figure 1 , but in a shooting position;
• the figure 4 represents a variant of a viewfinder according to the invention;
• the Figures 5 and 6 represent respectively views towards the arrows F5 and F6 in the figure 4 ;
• the figures 6 corresponds to the figure 5 but for another position of the weapon;
• the figures 7 and 8 represent two views similar to those of Figures 1 and 2 but for a variant of a viewfinder according to the invention;
• the figure 9 is a view similar to that of the figure 5 , but for a viewfinder according to the figures 7 and 8 ;
• the figure 10 is another variant of the figure 1 ;
• the figure 11 is a view following arrow F11 in the figure 10 ;
• the Figures 12 and 13 are figures similar to the figure 11 but for targets at a greater distance;
• the figure 14 is a variant of the figure 11 .

The Figures 1 and 2 represent an improved viewfinder 1 with moving red dot which comprises a housing 2 intended to be mounted on a weapon 3, the housing 2 lengthening longitudinally substantially parallel to the axis of the barrel of the weapon 2.

Inside the housing 2 is a fixed light source 4 generating a collimated light beam 5 whose optical axis XX 'is in this case parallel to the axis of the barrel of the weapon 3.

In the example shown, the light source 4 is a collimator composed of a convergent lens 6 and a lamp or other light source 7, which is of the order of a tenth of a millimeter, located at the focus. 8 of the lens 6 and generating the red dot.

The collimated light beam 5 has a diameter A of the order of 15 to 20 millimeters, advantageously having transverse dimensions of width and height of the viewfinder 1 reduced compared to known viewfinders.

A mirror 9 is placed in the collimated beam 5 at an angle B with respect to the optical axis X-X 'of the generated light beam 5.

The mirror 9 is rotatably mounted in the housing 2 and is fixed for this purpose on a transverse axis 10 rotatably mounted between the side walls 11 of the housing 2.

An end 12 of the axis 10 of the mirror 9 passes through one of the side walls 11 of the housing 2 and carries a device 13 for adjusting the inclination angle B of the rotating mirror 9 with respect to the generated light beam 5, for example under form of a rotary knob that will allow the shooter to position the mirror 9 according to the distance of the target.

For this purpose, the adjustment knob 14 will advantageously be equipped with a scale 15 representing the distance from the target.

To increase the accuracy of the adjustment, it is possible to introduce in the device a mechanical reduction, so that a rotation of the button 14 causes a smaller rotation of the mirror 9.

Different adjustment knobs with graduations specific to different types of ammunition can be made to take account of the ballistic characteristics thereof.

The light beam 5 is projected through a window 16 into the casing 2 on a reflecting plate 17 to materialize a red dot or visible reticle for the shooter in the reflecting plate 17 which is mounted on an end 18 of the casing 2 at a fixed angle C, 45 ° for example, with respect to the optical axis XX 'of the generated light beam 5.

In the example shown, the reflecting plate 17 is mounted on the housing 2 by means of a rotation hinge 19 which makes it possible to fold down the reflecting plate 17 on the housing 2 of the viewfinder 1 when the latter is not in position. function, so as to reduce the bulk of the assembly.

The reflecting plate 17 is preferably a separating plate which is semi-transparent.

The use and operation of viewfinder 1 are as follows.

At rest, that is to say when we aim in the axis of the weapon 3 with an elevation E which is zero as represented in the figure 1 , the angle of repose B of the mirror 9 is preferably 45 °. The angle D is at this moment 0 °.

The shooter 18 makes an estimate of the target distance and adjusts the proper inclination B of the mirror 9 by using the distance control knob 14.

The light beam 5 is projected onto the reflecting plate 17 and is reflected as illustrated in FIG. figure 3 towards the shooter to materialize a red dot or reticle that the shooter can observe to infinity when the shooter's eye is in the light beam reflected by the reflecting plate 17.

When the mirror 9 rotates, the deviation of the angle D of the beam is twice that of the angle B of the mirror 9. In other words, if the mirror 9 rotates for example by 15 ° with respect to the position of rest of 45 °, the angle D goes from 0 ° to 30 °.

The inclination B of the mirror, a function of the distance of the target, thus determines the angle D under which the red point is seen by the shooter, and therefore the elevation angle E which is given to the weapon 3, as represented in the figure 3 , when the shooter aligns the red dot or the reticle on the target 21 which, in the case where the reflecting plate 17 is a semi-transparent separating plate, is visible through this blade 17.

In the case where the reflective plate is not semi-transparent, the shooter must aim both eyes open to observe the target with one eye and the red point with the other.

Also, if the back of the semitransparent reflective plate is dirty and does not aim through, the shooter can always aim both eyes open.

An advantage of the viewfinder 1 according to the invention is that, the quasi-point light source 7 being always located at the focus 8 of the collimator lens 6, the geometric aberrations are reduced, and the lens 6 can have a small aperture and therefore a relatively small diameter and focal length.

The transverse dimensions of the viewfinder 1, determined by the diameter A of the collimated beam, can therefore be small.

In another embodiment of the viewfinder 1, the device 13 for setting the mirror 9 is achieved by a motor controlled by a ballistic computer, not shown in the figures, for automatic adjustment.

This calculator, when it is communicated the distance of the target 21, calculates the angle B to give the mirror 9 and actuates the positioning motor.

The computer can perform the ballistic calculation determining the elevation angle E, taking into account the characteristics of ammunition fired.

The computer can also be associated with a rangefinder which automatically measures the distance of the target 21 when it is actuated by the shooter.

The disadvantage of the viewfinder 1 as shown, is that the small diameter of the collimator, and therefore of the collimated beam, has the consequence that the shooter will have trouble finding the angle E which brings the eye 20 into the beam 5, otherwise said, to find the red dot.

To solve this problem, the viewfinder 1 can be adapted as follows.

A first adaptation consists in placing a handlebar 22 at the point of convergence 23 of the axes of the beams reflected on the reflecting plate 17, as indicated in FIG. figure 4 .

When the angle of inclination B of the mirror 9 is varied, the axis 24 of the light beam reflected on the reflecting plate 17 always passes through this point of convergence 23, regardless of the inclination B of the mirror 9.

The point of convergence 23 corresponds in fact to the symmetrical position of the axis of rotation 10 with respect to the reflecting plate.

A second adaptation is illustrated from the figure 5 and consists in providing a narrow reflecting plate 17, placed in a transparent matte frame diffusing with two transparent lateral strips 25 ', so that the part of the light beam incident on the reflecting plate 17 which projects beyond the reflecting plate 17 will be diffused by the frame 25 and will appear as a marker 26 in the form of a red spot visible by the shooter, regardless of the position of his eye 20.

With these two adaptations it will be sufficient for the shooter to align the mark formed by the spot 26 and the handlebar 22 to find the red dot or reticle, which will allow him to target the target 21 without parallax error or azimuth, as shown in the figure 6 in the case of a semi-transparent separating blade.

The figures 7 and 8 show a variant of a viewfinder 1 according to the invention, in which the mark 26 is made brighter by concentrating the lateral edges of the generated beam 5 at the location of the frame 25, for example by passing the beam 5 through two cylindrical lenses 27 positioned on either side of the optical axis XX 'of the generated beam 5, or by any other optical device.

The concentration of the side edges of the generated beam 5 also makes the mark 26 thinner as illustrated in FIG. figure 9 , which facilitates its alignment on the handlebars 22.

An alternative solution for focusing the light marker 26 may be created by the beam of a laser diode or laser pointer, located in the same horizontal plane as the light source 7 of the red dot, and projected parallel to the optical axis XX 'of the collimator on the diffusing matte frame 25 of the viewfinder 1.

This laser beam can be stretched laterally by a suitable optical device, so as to form a linear mark or a line which forms the light mark (26).

The advantage of this alternative is that the size of the marker 26 remains constant regardless of the angle of the mirror 9.

The figure 10 represents another variant in which the light source 7 of the collimator for generating the red dot or reticle is formed by an LED 28 having an intensity and an emission angle adequate, placed behind a mask 29 located at the focus 8 of the collimator and pierced with a circular hole 30 or another shape at the location of the optical axis X-X '.

This variant makes it possible to produce a light source 7 of reduced dimensions which is important for the precision of the viewfinder 1.

Indeed, the angle under which the red dot is projected to infinity and therefore its apparent size at a determined distance, is proportional to the size of the light source 7 of the collimator and inversely proportional to the focal length thereof. .

$$0,5\times 300/40=3,75\mathrm{m\; à}\mathrm{300}\mathrm{m}$$

For example, in the case of a focal length of 40 mm, a circular light source 7 of 0.5 mm radius will give a red dot whose apparent radius will be: $$0,5\times 100/40=1,25\mathrm{my}100\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="5"\; label="m"\; filenames="imgf0001.png,imgf0002.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">m</figure-callout>}$$

$$0,5\times 300/40=3,75\mathrm{my}\mathrm{300}\mathrm{m}$$

It is therefore necessary that the light source 7 has a reduced dimension so that the red dot has an apparent size compatible with the targeted target 21, 0.1 to 0.2 mm radius.

However, it should be noted that the size of the light source 7 determines the amount of light collected by the lens 6 of the collimator, and consequently the brightness of the light marks 26 projected onto the matte frame 25 of the viewfinder 1. There is so antagonism between the requirement of a small red dot size and the need to obtain markings 26 sufficiently bright for the prior alignment of the line of sight on the handlebar 22.

To reconcile these two constraints, it is advantageous to use, instead of a circular point to be positioned on the target, a mark or reticle of greater surface area within which the shooter will have to write the target 21. It can be act, for example, two pointers 31 flanking the target 21 as illustrated in the Figures 11 to 12 , showing the perception of the reticle and the target 21 by a shooter aiming at a target at different distances, for example at 100, 200 and 300 meters respectively.

According to yet another variant, as represented in the figure 14 , it is also possible to include in the reticle supplementary scales 32, 33 which enable the shooter to shift his firing axis in order to correct, during firing at great distances, the error of trajectory due to the rotation of the munition about its axis. , better known as Magnus effect.

The figure 14 gives an example of reticle which comprises on a horizontal axis 34 an additional graduation 33 to be used for shooting beyond 300 meters in the case of grenades low speeds.

Instead of having an additional graduation 33 on the fixed reticle, it is also possible to provide a simple reticle such as that of the figure 11 is automatically moved laterally by a device controlled by the ballistic computer according to the type of ammunition used and the distance of the target, so as to correct the trajectory deviation of the ammunition due to the Magnus effect.

The position of the reticle can also be moved perpendicularly to the optical axis by an adjustment device so as to harmonize the sight with the launcher.

The additional advantage of using a reticle having a marked horizontal axis 34 is that it constitutes a marker that helps the shooter, when aiming, to keep his weapon in a strictly vertical position, thus avoiding the so-called "cant" errors. that occur when the weapon is tilted laterally.

This effect can be amplified by using a free mask to pivot around the optical axis XX 'of the collimator, and weighted with an unbalance whose effect is to maintain the reticle level, "in the manner of a wire to lead".

The inclination of the reticle with respect to the vertical axis of the diffusing frame will increase the visibility by the shooter of a possible lack of verticality of his weapon during the aiming.

In addition, if the viewfinder 1 is controlled by a ballistic computer equipped with an inclinometer that instantly measures the deflection of verticality of the weapon, the computer can cause, by a suitable mechanism or device, an inclination of the reticle or a horizontal mark around the optical axis of the collimator proportional to the deflection of verticality of the weapon, possibly amplified with respect thereto, so as to accentuate the perception that the shooter will have when aiming.

The masks 29 corresponding to these various reticles can be made, in particular, by photolithography, which allows dimensions of the order of one tenth of a millimeter, with resolutions of one hundredth of a millimeter.

It is clear that the reticles do not necessarily have to be red, but reticles of other colors, for example yellow-green, can also give a good contrast.

A non-monochromatic light source, called "white" light, may also be used.

It is also clear that the housing 2 can have any shape.

Instead of mounting the reflecting plate 17 in a mat frame 25, it is also possible to replace the frame 25 with one or two side strips 25 ' diffusing.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the examples described above, but that many modifications can be made to the movable red dot sights described above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. following.

Claims (21)

1. Sighting device with a moving red point comprising a fixed light source (4) and a reflecting blade (17), whereby the light source (4) produces a collimated light beam (5) which is projected onto the reflecting blade (17) so as to obtain a red point or reticle which is visible to the shooter by reflection on the reflecting blade (17), whereby the beam (5) is projected onto the reflecting blade (17) by means of a rotating mirror (9) of which the inclination angle (B) in relation to the light beam (5) can be adjusted.
2. Sighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reflecting blade (17) is a semi-transparent beamsplitter plate.
3. Sighting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises an adjusting device (13) to adjust the inclination angle (B) of the rotating mirror (9) in relation to the light beam (5), making it possible to adjust the angle (B) of the mirror (9) as a function of the distance of the target (21) and of the type of ammunition.
4. Sighting device according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjusting device (13) is provided with a scale (15) representing the distance of the target (21).
5. Sighting device according to claim 4, characterized in that the adjusting device (13) is provided with several scales (15) for different types of ammunition.
6. Sighting device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the adjusting device (13) comprises a motor for adjusting the angle (B) of the mirror (9) and a ballistic calculator which controls said motor and which makes it possible to calculate and to set the required angle of the mirror (9) as a function of the distance of the target (21) and of the type of ammunition used.
7. Sighting device according to claim 6, characterized in that the ballistic calculator is equipped with a range finder which automatically communicates the distance of the target (21) to the latter as soon as the shooter triggers the measurement.
8. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light source (4) comprises a collimator with a convergent lens (6) and a light source (7) placed in the focal point (8) of the lens (6) of the collimator.
9. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the diameter (A) of the produced light beam (5) is small, preferably in the order of 15 mm or less.
10. Sighting device according to claim 8, characterized in that the light source of the collimator (7) is quasi punctual, preferably with a diameter in the order of some tenths of a millimeter.
11. Sighting device according to claim 8 or 10, characterized in that the light source (7) is formed of a LED (28) placed behind a mask (29) situated in the focal point (8) of the lens (6) of the collimator and in which is provided a hole (30) at the optical axis X-X' of the produced light beam (5).
12. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a fore-sight (22) placed in the point of convergence (23) of the axes (24) of the beams reflected on the reflecting blade (17).
13. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a lateral diffusion strip (25') at one or either side of the reflecting blade (17) onto which a luminous reference (26) is projected parallel to the axis (X-X') of the collimated beam (5) on said lateral strips (25').
14. Sighting device according to claim 13, characterized in that the luminous reference (26) is formed by the collimated beam (5) itself.
15. Sighting device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the luminous point of reference (26) is formed by condensing the exterior parts of the produced collimated beam (5) by means of an optical device.
16. Sighting device according to claim 13, characterized in that the luminous reference (26) is formed of the beam coming from a laser pointer whose axis is mainly parallel to the axis (X-X') of the collimated beam (5).
17. Sighting device according to claim 16, characterized in that the beam of the laser pointer is laterally expanded by an appropriate optical device so as to form a line which constitutes the luminous reference (26).
18. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reticle comprises several marks (32-33) which correspond, each for a determined distance of the target (21), to the required sighting correction so as to take into account the deviation of the trajectory of the ammunition due to the Magnus effect.
19. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the position of the reticle (26) is automatically moved in the lateral direction by a device controlled by the ballistic calculator as a function of the type of ammunition used and the distance of the target (21), so as to correct the deviation of the trajectory of the ammunition due to the Magnus effect.
20. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reticle (26) comprises at least a horizontal reference (33) and in that the ballistic calculator is equipped with an inclinometer which measures the vertical deflection of the fire arm, whereby this calculator provokes, by means of an appropriate device, an inclination of the reference or of the reticle round the optical axis (X-X') of the collimator in proportion to the vertical deflection of the fire arm, such that it will be better perceived by the shooter while aiming.
21. Sighting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reflecting blade (17) is collapsible.

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