US20110167706A1

US20110167706A1 - Sight for a firearm

Info

Publication number: US20110167706A1
Application number: US12/657,280
Authority: US
Inventors: Gaston Glock
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-01-14
Filing date: 2010-01-14
Publication date: 2011-07-14

Abstract

The invention relates to a sight which is fastened to a structural component of a firearm, preferably the carriage of a pistol. The invention is characterized in that the sight (4) has parallel to or in alignment with the axis of its base an internal thread and is secured by means of a screw (5) which can be screwed in from the interior of the structural component of the firearm. It is preferably provided that in the mounted state the leg (7) of the sight (4) protrudes into a through-opening (2) of the structural component of the firearm.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sight which is mounted at a carriage or another structural component of a firearm, preferably a pistol.
There are several configurations and types of fastening sights; for example, the sights may be of metal or synthetic material; they can be made of one piece with the carriage or a compatible component, for example; they may be made in one piece with the carriage or the structural component compatible therewith (in the following, the carriage is always referred to only as the carriage because of the easier readability) or are screwed to the carriage or they can also be connected to the carriage through frictional engagement.
For various reasons, sites of synthetic material have been found useful which have a leg by means of which they are inserted into a blind-endhole or through-hole of the carriage and are secured in this position by frictional engagement. These sites are simple and can be easily replaced without requiring a difficult assembly.
A sight of this type is known from US 217 717. In this reference, it is provided that the metal sight is at its hole provided with an external thread and can be screwed from below (inside) through a through-hole. The alignment and especially the maintenance of the alignment are completely unsatisfactory.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,757 to insert plastic sight with two cylindrical legs into blind-endbores and to anchor the legs by screwing an expanding screw by frictional engagement. The position results by coincidence from the equilibrium of forces; the mechanical stability is poor.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known from DE 10 2005 009 862, DE 199 10 643, and also U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,667 to provide a purely elastic fastening which of course is also not providing any adjustment and which is mechanically susceptible to trouble.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,542 discloses the fastening through plastic deformation of the leg of the sight; which requires a weak and imprecise fastening; and which requires special tools and a press head which is adapted to the leg.
It has now been found that during various applications in extremely rough operation of these plastic sights, these plastic sights are separated from their anchoring positions and can be damaged even though they are of synthetic material having excellent mechanical properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to provide a sight, or the fastening for a sight, particularly of synthetic material in which the seat as well as the mechanical strength are further increased.
In accordance with the invention, the objects are met by providing the sight parallel or in alignment with the axis of its base with an internal thread and to tighten or securing the sight by means of a screw which can be screwed in from the interior of the carriage. In this manner, the seat of the sight in the carriage is significantly improved wherein, when suitable screws are used, the necessity for using a tool by changing the sight can be kept low; in this manner, knurled head screws or screws with a hexagonal head, also provided with a slot, are accessible for any type of tool.
In a further development, the screw protrudes in the mounted state beyond the outer surface of the carriage so as to fill out the body of the sight to the extent possible completely, at least, however, by 60% of the height of the sight. In this manner, the mechanical fastening of the sight is significantly improved because any type of mechanical load, particularly impacts and contacts are transmitted directly from the sight to the metal screw. The sight itself can only be subjected locally to pressure which is a load to which the synthetic material is to a higher degree resistant.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows an exploded sketch;

FIG. 2 shows the situation in the assembled state with a partially torn-away carriage, and

FIG. 3 shows the detail III on a larger scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a carriage 1 of a firearm in whose front region is located a through-opening 2 which is oblong in the cross-section thereof. Along the axis 3 of this opening, displaced upwardly or downwardly in the manner of an explosion, is an inventive sight 4 and a corresponding fastening screw 5.
FIG. 2 shows the assembled state, wherein, for a better illustration, a part of the carriage 1 is broken away.
FIG. 3 shows detail III on a larger scale. It can be seen that the sight 4 is composed of an inner body 15 and an outer sleeve 6, wherein the inner body forms a leg 7 which can be inserted rapidly and tightly into the through-opening 2. Parallel to the axis 3, preferably in alignment with the axis 3 of the through-opening (FIG. 1), the inner body 15 has at its leg 7 and past the leg 7 an internal thread 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner body 15 of the sight 4 also forms a sight point 9 which facilitates aiming with the firearm.
The screw 5 has an external thread which matches the internal thread 8. When the screw is screwed into the sight 4, the screw pulls the sight 4 with its surface 10 against the outer surface of the carriage 1 and rests in turn with the surface 11 of its head 12 on the sight of the thread against the inner surface of the carriage 1, so that the sight 4 securely rests against the firearm.
In the illustrated embodiment, the shaft 13 of the screw 5 has such a length that it extends practically through the entire sight 4. The sight 4 has a matching through-opening and is seated essentially like a nut on the screw 5. For forming a through-opening, the outer sight body 6 also has a corresponding recess 14.
From the principal construction illustrated in FIG. 3, it can be seen that any mechanical load acting on the sight 4 essentially only leads to a compressive force acting on the sight while the bending forces resulting therefrom are absorbed by the screw 5. The illustrated screw has a head 12 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is constructed as a hexagonal head, of course, it may also be a knurled head if a manual screwing or separating are intended; and it is possible, in addition to constructing the head as a hexagonal head, to provide the head 12 additionally with a slot in order to be able to act on the head by means of a screw driver for slotted screws; instead of a slot it is also possible to provide a cross-shaped indentation, or a recess for a socket head cap, or a combination of several or all of these types of fastening members.
Suitable materials used for the sight are the materials which are already used in the field of plastic sights, particularly thermoplastic materials, such as polyamide (PA), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), but also various duroplastic materials. The screw may be of steel, particularly stainless steel, so called “Nirosta”, or another metal, particularly an aluminum alloy or also brass. In those cases in which the fastening of the sight is of major significance, it is also possible to use high-strength plastic material, possibly fiber-reinforced.
The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment; rather the invention can be modified in various ways. For example, the sight according to the invention can be used in any weapon in which the provision of a through-hole in an analogy to the through-opening is possible and in which the area in the interior of the carriage or other weapon part is accessible for mounting or dismounting the screw. The through-opening can have a cross-section which is different from the illustrated oblong cross-section; the cross-section of the oblong hole should deviate from the circular cross-section because of the adjustment of the sight about the axis 3, however, other adjusting elements are conceivable.
Of course, the sight 4 can be constructed as a single piece; in that case, the optical marking may be a color application or an inserted blade; the illustrated embodiment is advantageous because of its stability. It is not necessary to provide the shaft 13 of the screw 5 nor the through-opening or the blind-end bore of the sight, over the entire length with a thread; because of that property of the screw of observing the bending loads and the tensile stresses of the sight, a tight fit between the screw and the sight as much as possible over the entire length of the shaft of the screw should be observed; for reasons of manufacture, an embodiment with a continuous configuration and provided with a thread is advantageous with respect to costs.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

Claims

1. Sight fastened to a structural component of a firearm, preferably a pistol, wherein the sight (4) has parallel to or in alignment with the axis of its legs an internal thread and is secured by a screw (5) to be screwed in from the interior of the structural component of the firearm, wherein, in the mounted state, the leg (7) of the sight (4) projects into a through-opening (2) of the structural component of the firearm, wherein the screw (5) protrudes beyond the outer surface of the structural component or the carriage (1) and protrudes in the direction of the axis of the screw (5) at least to 60% of the height of the sight into the sight.

2. The sight according to claim 1, wherein it protrudes at least to 90% of the height of the sight into the sight.

3. The sight according to claim 1, wherein the structural component is the carriage (1) of the firearm.

4. The sight according to claim 1, wherein the sight has a through-opening for receiving the screw (5).

5. The sight according to claim 1, wherein it consists of an inner body (15) and an outer sleeve (6), wherein the inner body has a leg (7) which can be inserted into the through-opening (2) of the structural component.