Patent Publication Number: US-8966807-B2

Title: Adjustable front focus sight for a handgun

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claim priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/823,782, filed May 15, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is sights for firearms and, more particularly, front sights for handguns. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Various conditions can affect the aiming of a handgun. Wind, for example, can affect the steadiness with which a user can focus on a target. The user may also be in an awkward or cramped space, or have problems getting sufficient footing to be able to steady the handgun while aiming. The wind or lack of a firm footing may make it difficult to steady the handgun and focus the sight on the target. In addition, the user of the handgun may wish to aim the handgun differently depending on the type of ammunition being used or to account for the manner in which the ammunition behaves once it is discharged from the handgun. 
     It would be useful have an adjustable apparatus to narrow or focus the aim of a handgun so that the user could sharpen the aim regardless of environmental conditions, but especially in conditions in which it is otherwise difficult for the user to focus the aim of the handgun. It would also be useful to have a handgun sight that could be used differently depending on the ammunition being used. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     A rotatable, adjustable circular focus sight is installed in a front sight of a handgun. The focus sight has a circular opening that may be rotated to different positions in the front sight to sharpen and focus the aiming of the handgun to accommodate different types of ammunition and differing environmental conditions, not only under normal conditions, but also in conditions in which the wind, balance, and other environmental conditions may affect the aiming of the handgun, the steadiness of the user, and/or the accuracy of the discharged slug when the fire arm is discharged. Different parts or areas of the adjustable front sight may also be used differently depending on the different types of ammunition used in the handgun and the distance of the target from the handgun. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front side perspective view of the front of the barrel of a handgun showing a front sight of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of a schematically represented handgun showing a rear sight and an outer portion of the front sight of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the front sight of  FIG. 1  showing an adjustable focus sight in a first position. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the front sight of  FIG. 1  showing the adjustable focus sight in a second position. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the front sight of  FIG. 1  showing the adjustable focus sight in a third position. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the front sight of  FIG. 1  showing the adjustable focus sight in a fourth position. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear view of a schematically represented handgun showing the alignment of the outer portion of the front sight and the rear sight when viewed by a user from the rear of the handgun. 
         FIG. 8  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing the use of a pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 9  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing a first alternative pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 10  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing a second alternative pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 11  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing a third alternative pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 12  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing a fourth alternative pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 13  is an alternative embodiment of the focus sight showing a fifth alternative pattern of cross hairs in the focus sight. 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic showing the short range effect of the use of a Delrin® slug on the arc of the ammunition discharged from a handgun. 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic showing the short range effect of the use of a lead slug on the arc of the ammunition discharged from a handgun. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As used in this description, the terms right, left, up, upper, down, and lower refer to those same positions or directions on the properly oriented upright drawings referenced in the description. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a handgun  1  having a rear sight  2  and an outer potion  3  of a front sight  4 . The front sight  4  is mounted on a front end of a barrel of the handgun  1 . The rear sight  2  is mounted on a rear end of the barrel or other rear structure of the handgun. 
     The outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  is a rectangular tube having a square cross-section when viewed from either end along its longitudinal axis. The outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  has a centrally located threaded circular hole  6  therethrough. The outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  may also be made in shapes other than rectangular. The outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  may be flat on an upper side thereof and rounded, semicircular, or any other shape on a bottom side, provided suitable means are provided to secure the front sight  4  to the barrel of the handgun  1 . The upper side of the front sight  4  may also be shaped to provide another focus point such as a triangle shape, a wedge shape, a depression forming a semicircular depression, or even form another focus hole. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the rear sight  2  forms a three sided slot  5  which has a width sufficient to allow the square cross-section of the outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  to fit in and appear to fill the slot  5  when viewed from behind the rear sight  2 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . If the front sight  4  does not have a square cross-section, the rear sight  2  and the slot  5  may have a shape that cooperates with the front sight  4  when viewed from the rear sight  2  such that the font sight  4  appears to fill the slot  5 . 
     The rear sight  2  and the outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  may be made of any suitable, durable material including metal or plastic. Both the rear sight  2  and the outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  may be mounted to the handgun  1  in any suitable fashion know in the art. 
     The front sight  4  has a threaded circular insert  8  which screws into the threaded circular hole  6  in the front sight  4 . The circular insert  8  has a circular focus opening or focus sight  9  therethrough as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4   5 , and  6 . The focus site  9  is an off-center hole in the circular insert  8 . The circular insert  8  may be a bolt with an off-center hole drilled through the bolt, or it may be a custom-made threaded insert. 
     The insert  8 , when threadably rotated, allows the position of the focus opening  9  to be changed. As the insert  8  is rotated, the focus sight  9  may be positioned in a left side of the front sight  4 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , in an upper side of the front sight  4 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , in a lower side of the front sight  4 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , or in a right side of the front sight  4 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The focus opening  9  may also, via rotation, be positioned in locations between the positions shown in  FIGS. 3 through 6 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, the insert  8  and focus opening  9  may be augmented by cross hairs  10  of various patterns, as shown in  FIGS. 8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 . The cross hairs  10  may be installed using metal wires securely connected to the insert  8  and extending across the focus opening  9 . If the cross hairs  10  are used, the focus opening  9  may be made either off-center in the insert  8  or in the center of the insert  8 . The cross hairs  10  may be in a variety of patterns as shown in  FIG. 8  (intersection lines across entire focus sight opening  9 ), FIG.  11 (angled lines),  FIGS. 12 and 13  (T-shaped in two different rotated positions). As shown in  FIG. 9 , in an alternate embodiment, the focus opening  9  may also be a pinhole  11  in the center of the insert  8  so as to provide an option for pin point aiming. 
     Depending on the weight of the slug of the ammunition, the distance of the handgun  1  from the target, and the speed of the slug as it leaves the barrel of the handgun  1 , the arc and path of the slug may vary. It has been found that the front sight  4  may be used to adjust for such differences. In the case of a lighter weight slug, such as a Delrin® slug, it is found that the focus sight  9  at a central location in the front sight  4  may be used quite satisfactorily and accurately at shorter distances due to the increased initial speed of the Delring® slug. 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 14 , the Delrin slug, due to its greater speed at the time of its discharge from the handgun  1 , will likely have less drop in the first 25-50 yards after it has been discharged from the barrel of the handgun  1 ; thus the focus sight  9  may be placed in a central location in the front sight  4 . With metal slugs, such as lead, it has been found that the arc of the slug will manifest itself more quickly due to the reduced speed of the slug, as shown schematically in  FIG. 15 . Accordingly, the focus sight  9  may be adjusted to the upper side (see  FIG. 4 ) of the front sight  4  when a lead slug is used. In the alternative, with a heavier slug, such as lead, it has been found that the top surface of the outer portion  3  of the front sight  4  may be used to aim the handgun  1  and, thus, accommodate the additional drop of the lead slug on its way to a short or medium range target. 
     In use, the user of the handgun  1  may rotate the insert  8  in the central circular hole  6  of the front sight  4  to adjust the position the focus opening  9  in the insert  8  when the user is aiming the handgun  1 . The focus sight  9  is particularly useful when the user of the handgun  1  must adjust for wind, terrain, and other environmental conditions. In such conditions the user may have unsteady footing or the environmental conditions may cause the user to move or be unable to steady the handgun  1 . The use of the focus sight  9  allows the user to pinpoint the target in the focus sight  9  and get a better aim on the target before discharging the handgun  1 . 
     In addition, the focus sight  9  allows the user to adjust the aim for wind conditions, for example, rotating the focus sight  9  to a left or right position to adjust for a cross wind, or up and down for distance and bullet drop conditions after firing. The use of the focus sight improves the accuracy of shots made by a user, as the user must steadily focus through the focus sight  9  before discharging the handgun  1 . In addition, the focus sight  9  is useful for aiming of the handgun  1 , even when the user is not in a difficult position or conditions to aim the handgun  1 . The adjustable focus sight  9  causes the user to focus more carefully in all aiming, and is thus useful in all conditions. In all of the uses described above, the cross hairs  10  option may be used. Moreover, as described above, the focus sight  9  may be used to compensate for the effects of the weight and aerodynamic aspects of different kinds of ammunition. 
     Indeed, the front site  4  may be used with a number of different inserts  8  and/or cross hair  10  patterns in order to provide the user with numerous aiming options. The inserts  8 , due to their threading, can be easily removed and replaced in the field with a different inserts  8 , as desired by the user. 
     Although this description references handguns, the front sight may also be used on other types of firearms such as rifles and shotguns.