Patent Publication Number: US-10330434-B2

Title: Firearm sighting device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     In accordance with 37 C.F.R 1.76, a claim of priority is included in an Application Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, the present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/381,743, filed Aug. 31, 2016, entitled “Firearm Sighting Device”, the contents of the above referenced application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention involves a sighting device for use on firearms. More particularly, the present invention includes a firearm sighting device to assist in effecting proper and consistent aiming of long guns, which includes shotguns and rifles. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Firearms have been available for centuries. In particular, long guns, which include shotguns and rifles, have been in use since at least the 17 th  century. They utilize one or more projectiles which traverse the gun&#39;s barrel from pressurized gas formed by igniting a propellant. Sights have also been provided on such guns for centuries to improve the odds of successfully having the projectile(s) engage the target. Such guns can use open or closed sights or a single sight. Rifles typically have a front sight and a rear sight, while a shotgun typically has only a front sight. However, some shotguns that fire a single projectile can be provided with front and rear sights, and are commonly referred to as slug guns. 
     Utilizing both a front and rear sight improves shooting effectiveness. However, shotguns shooting shot shells typically rely on the skill of the shooter to effect proper aiming. Some of the shooters shoot in a manner called “instinct shooting” where basically, based on the shooter&#39;s experience, the gun is pointed from experience and the sight may not be used at all. However, many shooters do not have the experience to shoot this way or have fallen out of practice if they have not shot in a while. The less experienced shooter will utilize the front sight, and use the receiver top as a second or rear sight. However, positioning his/her head against the butt stock of the gun so that the eye is in proper alignment with the line of sight defined by the front sight and the receiver can take a period of time. When shooting skeet, trap, sporting clays or even hunting, the shooter does not have time to look down the barrel to effectively align the line of sight and the target. The shooter should instead focus solely on the target, and alignment of the gun should occur from alignment of the gun to the shooter&#39;s body. 
     Another problem with shooting long guns is recoil. For many long guns, recoil can be substantial, causing the gun to move backwards relative to the shooter and, in particular, the butt stock will typically move backwards relative to the cheek and jaw of the shooter, sometimes a substantial distance. Recoil felt by the shooter is determined at least in part by the amount of propellant shot, the weight of the gun, and the energy released by the propellant. The configuration of the gun also has an impact on recoil. During recoil, the entire gun and attachments move rearward, causing the shoulder of the shooter to also move rearward. Much of the total recoil energy is absorbed by the shooter and some is absorbed by the gun. 
     There is thus a need for a device for assisting the shooter to quickly effect alignment of the shooter&#39;s visual line of sight with the gun&#39;s line of sight that does not adversely affect the shooter from gun recoil. This is especially important when more than one target is involved. For example, “true pairs” in sporting clay shooting requires the shooter to make quick and proper alignment after recoil from the first target shot to accurately complete the second target shot. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Sighting assist devices are known in the art. One such device, known as a kisser, is used on bows. It assists the archer in consistently reaching an anchor point for the nock end of the arrow, while a front sight mounted to the bow handle forms front and rear sights to more effectively aim the bow. The kisser can be used with an auxiliary rear sight attached to the bow string. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 788,467, issued in 1905, discloses a sight finder that has a knob 4 for positioning at the corner of the mouth to achieve consistent alignment of the eye&#39;s line of sight with the gun sights. The sight finder appears to be permanently secured to the butt stock. The only movement in the structure is longitudinal movement of the knob 4. The knob 4 is fixed in spacing from the cheek side of the butt stock. It also appears that the knob 4 could cause damage to the corner of the mouth during recoil. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention involves the provision of an improved sight finder that can be used on long guns to help align a shooter&#39;s visual line of sight with the gun sight(s). 
     Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the instant invention to provide a sighting device that accommodates recoil induced contact of the device with the shooter. 
     It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide a sighting device that accommodates storage of the gun with mounted sighting device in a gun storage case. 
     It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide a sighting device that can be easily mounted and removed without stock modification. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a long gun with a sighting device mounted on the butt stock; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the sighting device and a portion of the butt stock; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of the sighting device; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of the sighting device in a package with instructions. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged side elevation view of an alternate sighting device mounted on a butt stock; and 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged end elevation view of the sighting device shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a long gun in the form of an over-and-under double barrel shotgun, designated generally  11 . While a double barrel shotgun is shown, it is to be understood that other forms of long guns can be utilized with the present invention. The gun  11 , as shown, includes barrels  12 ,  14  that are attached to and project forwardly from the receiver  15 , which houses portions of the action (not shown). A forearm  16  is also provided for gripping by a shooter&#39;s hand to stabilize and support the muzzle or distal end  17  of the gun  11 . Generally, a front sight  18  in the form of a bead for shotguns is attached to the upper barrel  12  at the muzzle end  17 . The front sight  18  can be of any suitable form, such as a brass bead, luminescent plastic bead or white bead as desired. The bead  18  and the top of the receiver  15  define a sighting plane usable by the shooter to aim the gun  11 . In the case of a break action shotgun, a lever  20  is provided to allow the shooter to open the gun, exposing the breach end of the barrels for loading and unloading. When opening such a gun, the barrel or barrels pivot on a hinge pin (not shown) mounted to the forward part of the receiver  15  and an ejector or extractor (not shown) moves the spent shell. A trigger  21  and trigger guard  22  are also provided. The trigger  21  and trigger guard  22  are positioned on the underside of the receiver  15  and the forward end of the butt stock  25 . The butt stock  25  projects rearwardly from the receiver  15 . The butt stock  25  can be in one of several forms; for example, a straight grip or a pistol grip. The grip portion of the butt stock  25  is designated generally  26 . The top or comb  28  of the butt stock  25  is utilized by the shooter for engagement with the shooter&#39;s cheek. Some shotguns and rifles are provided with an adjustable comb  28  as a means to better position the shooter&#39;s visual line of sight with the gun sight&#39;s line of sight  29 . The butt stock  25  is typically provided with a recoil pad  30  to help absorb some of the recoil energy. The construction of long guns is well known in the art. 
     Neither the line of sight  29 , nor the shooter&#39;s line of sight, is typically well defined relative to one another, particularly when there is no rear sight. The skill of the shooter compensates for this deficiency. The present gun construction improves on this by providing an improved gun construction which includes a butt stock mounted kisser device, designated generally as  41 . 
     The kisser device  41  includes means, designated generally  43 , for attachment to the butt stock  25  and a projection  45 . In the illustrated structure, the means  43  includes a base  47  and a securement device  49 . Preferably, the base  47  and projection  45  are an integral structure and of molded construction. As shown, the base  47  is in the form of a flexible plate, flexible enough to conform to the contour of the butt stock  25 . The attachment device  49  is in the form of a double-sided adhesive pad  51  adhered to an inside face  53  of the base  47 . The pad  51  has an inside face  55  that provides an adhesive face for securement to an outer face of the butt stock  25 . Preferably, the base  47  is sufficiently flexible to allow it to conform to the shape of the butt stock  25  when it is secured thereto with the attachment device  49 . In a preferred embodiment, the attachment device  49  is constructed to allow its detachment from the butt stock  25  in an easy manner. These adhesive pads are preferably constructed from silicone or a polymeric material with an adhesive layer on both sides. Such adhesive devices are known in the art, and are used on Command brand hangers where stretching of the adhesive pad allows its selective detachment from what the pad is adhered to. It has also been found that Scotch Brand acrylic adhesive dots can also be used. 
     The kisser device  41  includes a projection  45 . In the illustrated embodiment, the projection  45  is in the form of an arm that has a free end  61  and an attached end  62 . From the attached end  62  to the free end  61 , the projection  45  is spaced from the base  47  and projects at an angle, A, from the outer face of the base  47 . The projection  45  in the illustrated structure on  FIG. 3  shows that its height dimension, H, exceeds its thickness dimension, T. Preferably, the height H is at least 4 times the thickness T for the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 . This allows for bending of the projection  45 , principally toward and away from the butt stock  25 . In a most preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the projection  45  is angled up (angle B) at about a 45 degree angle and back toward the rear of the gun by about 10-15 degrees (angle A). It has been found that this compound angle places the tip of the projection  45  near the edge of the mouth of the shooter. By reversing the orientation of these angles, bending of the projection  45  can be in the reverse direction, or up and down for the configuration of the kisser device  41  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Preferably, the projection  45  is curved to bias the projection  45  to bend inwardly about its attached end  62  during recoil so its free end  61  will pass by the shooter&#39;s mouth. The projection thus has a concave curvature to its inner surface and a convex curvature to its outer surface. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the base  47  and projection  45  are of an integral structure and can be formed by a molding process. The material used to form the base  47  and projection  45  is preferably an elastomer or plastic polymer. Examples of such material include rubber, silicone rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene and the like. The material can also be of a type that allows it to be reformed to a desired configuration by the temporary application of heat, i.e., thermoformable or heat formable. The physical properties of the material selected and the dimensions thereof are such as to allow the projection  45  to bend when coming into contact with the shooter&#39;s head, for example, at the corner of the shooter&#39;s mouth when a shot is fired. The hardness of the material, particularly for the projection  45 , should be on the order of less than about 90 when measured on a Shore A scale. The anticipated bending of the projection  45  should be within the elastic limit of the material used. The projection  45  is configured to move toward the butt stock  25  to allow it to collapse and be adjacent the butt stock for storage of the gun  11  in a case, and return to its original position when removed from confinement. Also, the modulus of elasticity (Young&#39;s Modulus) needs to be low enough to provide the structural rigidity to hold the projection  45  in a desired position for positioning the shooter&#39;s head while allowing easy bending during recoil. Likewise, the area moment of inertia of the projection  45  needs to be selected to allow for the proper bending of the projection  45  during shooting while also supporting the projection  45  in the desired normal position. The projection  45  has a length L between the ends  61 ,  62  in the range of between about ½ inch and about 2 inches. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the projection  45  is shown as having its attached end  62  located generally centrally on the base  47 . It is to be understood, however, that the attached end  62  could be adjacent or at an edge of the base  47 , for example, at the rear positioned edge of the base  47  as seen in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 5  shows another embodiment of a kisser device, designated as  91 . The kisser device  91  is constructed for orientation of its projection  95  in a more vertical orientation than the kisser device  41  which is oriented in a more horizontal orientation. The kisser device  91  is removably mounted to the butt stock with an adhesive pad  51 , described above, attached to the base  97 . Preferably, the securement of the device  91  to the butt stock  25  is a removable securement as described herein. Orientations discussed herein are relative to the line of sight  29  being substantially horizontal. As shown, the longitudinal axis of the projection  95  is at an angle D relative to the line of sight of between about plus or minus 30° from normal to the line of sight  29 . The kisser device  91  includes a projection  95 . In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the projection  95  is in the form of an arm that has a free end  111  and an attached end  112 . From the attached end  112  to the free end  111 , the projection  95  is spaced from the base  97  and projects at an angle, C, from the outer face of the base  97 . The angle C is in the range of between about 15° and about 40° relative to the longitudinal central plane of the butt stock  25 . The projection  95  has a length L 1  between the ends  111 ,  112  in the range of between about 0.5 inches and about 1.5 inches. The length L 1  of the projection  95  in combination with the angle C are such that the free end  111  is spaced from the butt stock a distance E between about ¼ inch and 1.5 inches. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the base  97  and projection  95  are of an integral structure and can be formed by a molding process. The material used to form the base  97  and projection  95  is preferably an elastomer or plastic polymer. Examples of such material include rubber, silicone rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene and the like. In a preferred but non limiting embodiment, the base  97  and projection  95  can be a composite with an inner layer of plastic polymer and an over molded layer  98  of an elastomer, such as silicone rubber. The base polymer material can also be of a type that allows it to be reformed to a desired configuration by the temporary application of heat, i.e., thermoformable or heat formable. The physical properties of the material selected and the dimensions thereof are such as to allow the projection  95  to bend when coming into contact with the shooter&#39;s head, for example, at the corner of the shooter&#39;s mouth when a shot is fired. The hardness of the material, particularly for the projection  95 , should be on the order of less than about 90 when measured on a Shore A scale. The anticipated bending of the projection  95  should be within the elastic limit of the material(s) used. The projection  95  is configured to move toward the butt stock  25  to allow it to collapse and be adjacent the butt stock for storage of the gun  11  in a case, and return to its original position when removed from confinement. Also, the modulus of elasticity (Young&#39;s Modulus) needs to be low enough to provide the structural rigidity to hold the projection  95  in a desired position for positioning the shooter&#39;s head while allowing easy bending during recoil. Likewise, the area moment of inertia of the projection  95  needs to be selected to allow for the proper bending of the projection  95  during shooting while also supporting the projection  95  in the desired normal position. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the projection  95  is shown as having its attached end  112  located generally centrally on the base  97 . It is to be understood, however, that the attached end  112  could be adjacent or at an edge of the base  97 , for example, at the top positioned edge of the base  97  as seen in  FIGS. 5, 6 . 
     The sales packaging containing the device  41 , or device  91 , is preferably associated with instructions on how to mount and demount the device  41  or  91  and how to orient and adjust the position of the device relative to the butt stock  25  and/or the line of sight  29 . As seen in  FIG. 4 , a package  71  is provided for storing the sighting device  41  in the interior of the package. The package  71  includes written instructions  73  as an insert or on a panel  75  of the package. The instructions  73  can be provided electronically as by disclosing a link to a website where the instructions can be accessed. 
     It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein. 
     One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.