Patent Publication Number: US-6662486-B2

Title: Universal gun sight mount, adjustable for range

Description:
This application claims the Benefit of Provisional application No. 60/298,505 filed Jun. 18, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a universal gun sight mount, which is readily adjustable for firing at certain ranges. 
     There are electronic and optical gun sights available on the market. However, none of these sights has a quick range adjustment; a user has to “sight in” the gun sight for a particular distance, and for any other distance, the user has to “judge” up or down on the target to hit at the desired point. 
     This is especially hard for law enforcement personnel, who have to hit a target at quickly changing distances and at specific points with “less lethal munitions”. 
     The object of this invention is to provide a simple, universal gun sight mount, which allows a quick and accurate adjustment of the sight for quickly changing conditions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a gun sight mount including a base for mounting on a weapon, a universal mounting rail is pivotally mounted on one end of the base whose opposite end is provided with means for quickly adjusting the sight mounting rail to different predetermined stops for predetermined distances based on the weapon and munitions being fired from that weapon. 
     The universal gun sight mount is intended mainly for large-caliber, low-velocity weapons and munitions, e.g.—37 mm and 40 mm, and a variety of launchers and munitions available for use by law enforcement and military personnel. 
     The mount is fitted on top of a gun, usually onto the frame or barrel of the gun. The sight, particularly a gun sight that is an electronic or a “red dot” sight, fits onto a universal standard rail mounted on the base. The user will “sight in” the weapon at 20 meters. If the target is out to 50 meters, the user can quickly adjust the sight to 50 meters. The user quickly adjusts the sight by pulling out a locking knob and adjusting levers for moving the rail to the desired range. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the gun sight and mount, mounted on a weapon, 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of a particular embodiment of the gun sight mount, 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the mount, and 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment of the mount. 
    
    
     PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The gun sight mount includes a base  4 , which is fixed on top of the weapon  1 . A rail  3  for mounting a scope or a sight  2  is pivotally fixed to the base  4  by a hinge pin  7  and held in place by a locking mechanism  6 . 
     The locking mechanism  6  includes a locking knob  5 . The locking mechanism is set by pulling the knob  5  out of the notches  8  formed on the base  4  and moving the rail  3  up or down to the desired notch  8 , whereupon the knob  5  is re-engaged with the desired notch  8 . The notches  8  are machined according to the ballistic values of the particular munitions and caliber given. 
     The range adjustments are simply set by sighting in at a specific yardage and adjusted accordingly using the locking mechanism  6  with the preset notches  8 . 
     In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the universal gun sight mount includes a mount base  11 , which may be mounted on a gun frame or gun barrel. A sight mounting rail  12  is pivotally attached to the front of the mount base  11  by a rail hinge pin  19 , which extends laterally through the mount base  11  and the rail  12 . 
     Pivotally mounted at the bottom of the mount base  11  are levers  20 , pivotally mounted by a hinge pin  14 , which extends laterally through the mount base  11 . 
     A cam  13 , disposed between opposite flanges  12 ′ of the rail  12 , is fixed to the hinge pin  14  so that pivoting of the levers  20  will rotate the cam  13 . The cam&#39;s outer radial surface is formed so as to create recesses  22  located with predetermined spacings at distances from the hinge pin  14 , which increase from recess to recess. The recesses  22  receive a stop pin  15 , which extends laterally through the rail  12 . A tension spring  16  is connected to pins  17  and  18 , mounted to the mount base  11  and the rail  12 , respectively, and provides tension to maintain a firm engaging force between the stop pin  15  and the cam  13 . Pivoting the levers  20  causes the cam  13  to pivot, which in turn places the stop pin  15  in a different recess. The recesses are spaced at radially different distances from the hinge pin  14 , thus raising or lowering the sight upon pivoting of the cam  13 . The cam  13  is selected depending on the type of ammunition to be used. 
     FIG. 4 shows another embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 2, however the rail hinge pin  19 , around which the rail pivots relative to the mount base  11 , is located in this case near the center of the base. 
     The spring is arranged in this embodiment at the end of the mount base  1 , opposite the cam  13  on the opposite side of the rail hinge pin  19  and is a compression spring  21 . 
     The radially spaced distances on the cam are predetermined based on the weapon and the munitions being fired from the weapon, i.e.—there are different cam structures for different applications. 
     The cams and stop pins are preferably hardened or made of a superior grade metal or alloy so as to reduce wear resulting from use and eliminating the need for frequent sighting in.