Combination of a firearm and a sighting device comprising a light source

p0001The invention relates to a combination of a gun and a securable to the firearm sighting device according to the preamble of claim 1, wherein the sighting device is provided with an electric lighting device that switched by a switch on and off.

p0002In modern hunting riflescopes is a clear trend towards models with so-called illuminated reticle. In these embodiments, a portion of the reticle, for example, the target point or a target cross, are illuminated to obtain, depending on the application by increasing the contrast of the reticle, respectively a part thereof,. The power source for the illuminated reticle is located in the tower of the illuminated reticle battery normally. Am Markt located versions are controlled at the device itself, through a combined on / off switch and brightness control. Such a visor device is known from<patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="DE19913461A1"><text>DE 199 13 461 A1</text></patcit> known, in that case, the lighting device is designed as a retrofit kit for a conventional riflescope with non-illuminated reticle.

p0003In Hunting operating a hand of the hunting weapon must be taken in order to operate the unit, ie turn on the backlight and to adjust the brightness to use a riflescope with illuminated reticle before or after the entry into stop-go. This may on the one hand - for example in driven hunts - cost valuable seconds or even be dangerous if you forget to turn on the device and then the fire-ready weapon is held with one hand to turn with the other hand the illuminated reticle. On the other hand, the device in order to avoid such problems, often already turned on when the actual hunting begins. This consumes energy unnecessarily because the illuminated reticle is only required for the actual shot is fired, and causes often the battery at the crucial moment is empty.

p0004Given these disadvantages of the prior art, the invention based on the object at a sighting device with electric illumination option reticle operation of the reticle illumination in terms of comfort and safety to improve.

p0005This object is achieved by a combination of gun and sighting device with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the respective subclaims.

p0006The invention provides according to claim 1, wherein a combination of gun and sighting device for a firearm with an illuminated reticle to switch on and off as the same form and be arranged in or on the sighting device so that it under normal attachment of the sighting device on the firearm by actuating a is operated to transfer the firearm in overwatch in or on the same provided actuator necessarily to turn the illumination device. This is on the one hand ensures that the illuminated reticle is safely turned on when the user of the weapon to deliver a targeted shot decides. On the other hand there is no need to keep the illuminated reticle on continuously since the turn when in stop-go can not be forgotten.

p0007It is particularly advantageous when the switch also well designed and arranged in or on the sighting device so that it is operated under normal attachment of the sighting device on the firearm by a displacement of the firearm except overwatch necessarily to turn off the illumination device. This eliminates a manual off the illuminated reticle in the absence of an intended shot and after the delivery of one or more shots, provided that it includes and thereby overwatch is repealed.

p0008It is particularly expedient when the switch is actuated without contact, as this facilitates the production of an operative connection between an actuator of the firearm and, arranged in or on the sighting device switch in a special way is. As non-contact switch is here primarily a closable by the force of a magnetic field reed contact into consideration. Alternatively, but it is also conceivable to use an electronic semiconductor switch, which is controllable by an optical, inductive or capacitive proximity sensor and an evaluation circuit associated therewith. In this case, however, a certain power consumption by the evaluation circuit can not be avoided. Such power consumption may be acceptable if it can be kept very low compared to the power consumption of the light source. Furthermore, the principle in the principle of the invention may well be practiced using a conventional, actuated by mechanical power transmission switch.

p0009Since the actuators for the production and repealing overwatch of a firearm are always arranged directly on the weapon itself, while the switch is preferably arranged to turn on and off the illuminated reticle in or on the sighting device, the switch or an actuator thereof should under normal fixing the sighting device on the firearm on the side of the sighting device are, facing the firearm. This promotes both a non-contact, as well as a purely mechanical coupling to an actuator of said type on the weapon.

p0010The inventive principle can be than in the form of a finished sighting device realized by a retrofit kit, which is intended for a sighting device with an illuminated reticle a standard provided for on / off the illuminated reticle, which is separately operated manually by the gun, by a replacing switch of the aforementioned type, which is operated by a for displacement of the firearm in overwatch provided in or on the same actuator necessarily to turn the illuminated reticle. Such a retrofit kit, the operator of the reticle illumination in terms of comfort and safety can be significantly improved with relatively little effort to existing high-quality sighting devices with illuminated reticle.

p0011All further developments, which are in an implementation of the invention in the form of a finished sighting device possible and beneficial, there are also in their implementation in the form of a retrofit kit.

p0012Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In these shows<dl id="dl0001"><dt><b>Fig.1</b></dt><dd>a section of a firearm equipped with a sighting device according to the invention, </dd><dt><b>Fig.2</b></dt><dd>part of a equipped with a retrofit kit inventive sighting device in the assembled state and</dd><dt><b>Fig. 3</b></dt><dd>an exploded view of part of an inventive retrofitted sighting device from <figref idrefs="f0002">FIG. 2</figref>,</dd></dl>

p0013<figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> shows a sighting device 1 in the form of a telescopic sight, which is mounted on a firearm 2 in the form of a hunting rifle by means of an assembly 3 of a known type. The sighting device 1 contains a reticle, for example in the form of a crosshair, which is partially illuminated, for example, by a luminous point in the middle. This illumination is produced by a light source 4, in which it is a light emitting diode (LED). Possibilities for optical insertion of a luminous point at a defined point in the visual field of a telescopic sight are known and not of interest here. To power the light source 4, a battery is 5. In the circuit for supplying the light source 4 by the battery 5, a switch 6 connected in the form of a reed contact. All of this circuit corresponding elements are incorporated into the sighting device 1 or attached thereto. It is understood that the representation of said circuit in<figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> is schematic.

p0014A reed contact is an electrical switch, which consists of two electrically and magnetically conductive contact tongues in a glass tube with an inert gas filling, which can be brought by the generation of an external magnetic field, in particular by approaching of a permanent magnet in contact to close an electric circuit , Upon termination of the magnetic field the contact blades move apart again and interrupt the circuit. A reed-contact is thus a contact-actuated switch.

p0015The gun 2 has a trigger mechanism whose spring arranged by at the top of the handle 7, so-called cocking slide 8 can be clamped and unclamped. In the illustrated position of the trigger mechanism of the weapon 2 is relaxed and can be clamped by the clamping slide is pushed in the direction of arrow 8 9 forward. The cocking slide 8 remains then locked in its new position, but can be released from her to relax the trigger mechanism of the gun 2, and thereby moves back into the position shown. A relaxation is also provided by the triggering of two shots by means of the trigger 10, the principle as well is of course applicable to a einschüssige weapon.

p0016As <figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> reveals the cocking slide 8 the switch approaches during tensioning 6. If it is this is a reed contact, then it can be closed by the approach of the cocking slide 8, when a permanent magnet of sufficient strength mounted in or on the cocking slide 8 is or the cocking slide 8 is at least partially self-designed as such. This has the result that the switch 6 during the tensioning of the trigger mechanism of the gun 2, which must be preceded by a weft delivery necessarily closed and the light source 4 is turned on to illuminate the reticle. The user of the weapon 2, the use of illumination so do not forget and has the illuminated reticle certainly available if he goes to stop. On the other hand stressed the practice of hunting the weapon 2 only when a shot is fired looming, so that the illuminated reticle for long periods is unnecessary in operation.

p0017the cocking slide is removed through the excess levy or by manually relaxation of the weapon 2 when dispensing with a shot is fired 8 again from the switch 6, whereby the circuit of the light source 4 is interrupted. So it can not be forgotten to turn off the illumination of the reticle when it is no longer needed.

p0018The previously described interaction of the cocking slide 8 with the switch 6 must not necessarily take place without contact. Rather, it is also conceivable that the switch 6 is actuated by mechanical power transmission, which means that it is a conventional mechanical switch which has an actuating member in the form of a downwardly projecting from the sighting device 1 into the path of movement of the cocking slide 8 lever. The arrangement of the switch 6 must be adjusted in the longitudinal direction of the sighting device and the deflection of the lever to the range of movement of the cocking slide 8 that the cocking slide 8 in its locked with cocked trigger mechanism, front end position deflects the lever of the probe so far that the switch 6 in this case, the electric circuit for the light source 4 closes.

p0019Furthermore, it must not necessarily be in the actuator of the gun 2, which acts on the switch 6, a cocking slide 8 of the previously described type. Rather, for example, can also be an actuator of an assurance that the initiation of a shot blocked in the tensioned trigger mechanism are operatively connected to the switch. 6 So such an actuator a backup could be realized for example in the form of a wing on located at the top of the handle 7 at the switch 6 and a lying parallel to the barrel axis of the weapon axis is rotatable, the wings in the locked position flat of top side of the grip piece 7 abuts and extends perpendicular to the unlocked position from the grip 7 from upward in the direction of the switch. 6 It is clear that could be accomplished in this way both a non-contact magnetic as well as a conventional mechanical actuation of the switch. 6

p0020The preceding explanations based <figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> generally apply to the combination of a sighting device 1, which has an illuminated reticle, with a firearm 2. The light source 4, the battery 5 and by an actuator of the weapon 2 operable switches 6 may be structurally integrated from the outset in the sighting device 1, as shown in <figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> is sketched. However, already are numerous high quality sighting devices with illuminated reticles in use, in which the lighting still purely manual must be turned on and off, which is associated with the above-identified drawbacks. There is therefore a need to be able to retrofit such existing sighting devices with regard to their use in the inventive sense. Herein is a further aspect of the present invention, the following by means of<figref idrefs="f0002">figures 2</figref> and <figref idrefs="f0003">3</figref> is received.

p0021In <figref idrefs="f0002">FIG. 2</figref> is a sighting device 11 shown in the form of a telescopic sight with illuminated reticle, which has been modified by the installation of a retrofit kit for the purposes of the invention. The retrofit kit includes a housing, whose main components are an upper housing part 12 and a lower housing part 13 are, which embrace the assembled state a portion of the cylindrical main body 14 of the sighting device 11, namely in the area of ​​it vertically translated to the axis of the tower 15, in the series the battery for power supply and a knob is placed on and off the illuminated reticle. The battery and the knob 11 are removed during the conversion of the sighting device using the retrofit kit according to the invention and replaced by other components in detail in the exploded view in<figref idrefs="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> are visible.

p0022In the tower 15 a contact ring 16 and a contact pin 17 are inserted in the conversion, which are insulated by an annular insulator 18 against each other. The contact ring 16 is also insulated by a likewise annular outer insulator 19 opposite the Tower 15th The contact ring 16 and the contact bolt 17 contact at their underside in each case contact electrodes in the inside of the main housing 14 with the two terminals of a light source 4 for illuminating the reticle,<figref idrefs="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> not shown, and that of <figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> are equivalent, respectively. The upper housing part 12 is provided with two contact electrodes that contact the contact ring 16 and the contact pin 17 in the fully assembled state, enabling a power supply to the existing within the main housing 14 part of the circuit of the illuminated reticle. These two contact electrodes are in the portrayal of<figref idrefs="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> concealed.

p0023One of the contact ring 16 and the contact pin 17 associated contact electrode is connected directly to a contact electrode, which contacts in the area of ​​the battery compartment 20 a pole of the battery. 5 The other of the two contact ring 16 and the contact pin 17 associated contact electrodes is connected to a contact socket on the bottom of the opposite leg of the battery compartment 20 of the housing upper part 12th To a second contact socket on the bottom of that leg of the housing upper part 12, in which the battery compartment is 20, delivers an electrical connection from the other pole of the battery. 5 The battery 5 is similar to that of<figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>,

p0024In order to form connections with the two in <figref idrefs="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> not visible female contacts at the bottoms of the two legs of the housing upper part 12, two contact pins 21 and 22 provided at the top of the two legs of the lower housing part. 13 These two contact pins 21 and 22 are connected to the two terminals of a switch 6 in the form of a reed contact that thereof in a recess 23 in the lower housing part 13 in the center, ie is at its lowest point, is mounted. Thus, there is a total of an electric circuit in which the light source 4 (<figref idrefs="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>) Of the illuminated reticle in the main case 14, the battery 5 and the switch 6 are connected in series, so that the illuminated reticle can be switched on and off by the switch. 6 The cable guide on both sides in the housing parts 12 and 13 facilitates the intermediate circuit of the switch 6 in the circuit.

p0025Shut the battery compartment 20 after inserting the battery 5 by means of a battery cover 24. Further, for closing the top of the housing upper part 12, a housing cover 25 is provided. For attachment to the housing upper part 12 the housing part 13 preferably has four holes 26 which are aligned in the assembled state with threaded bores in the upper housing part 12 to permit a screw connection between the two housing parts 12 and 13. FIG. In this way, the two housing parts 12 and 13 are also secured to the main housing 14 of the sighting device eleventh

p0026This refit using the retrofit kit according to the invention is achieved that the illuminated reticle of the sighting device 11 is turned on only when it is actually needed, and this is done by a handle which must be carried out before a shot is fired anyway. This has the advantage of a long battery life and an increase in safety in the handling of the gun just before a shot is fired with it. The conversion can be carried out quickly and without interfering with the delicate appearance of a telescopic sight and gives a sighting device with standard manual-to-use illuminated reticle, the same advantages as those provided by realizing the present invention in the construction of a sighting device.