Vertically adjustable sights, for example, those used in the field of archery, are known to be adjustable to account for many external factors, e.g. the distance to the target. Some current sights use cam members or other such mechanisms to adjust the sighting element, such as a sight pin, which can be inaccurate and/or hinder the ability to lock the sight pin at a select adjustment. Some current sights are also not adaptable to many different sizes of firearms, bows or other similar type of weapon or equipment.
One sight designed to overcome such problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,313, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes, and shares common inventorship and ownership with the present invention. The sight disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,313 utilizes a gearing system to adjust the sight pin, includes a locking mechanism to prevent the sight pin from undesired movement and is adaptable for number of different sized bows. However, the sight includes a number of moving pieces to translate the desired adjustment as indicated by the use of an adjustment mechanism, e.g. a dial, to the sight pin.
Having many moving parts in such a sight increases the cost to manufacture both from a materials and assembly perspective. Having many moving parts also increases: (1) the failure rate by having an increased number of parts that could have defects, (2) the wear on the moving parts and (3) the opportunity for external elements to affect a part of the mechanism, e.g. dirt or debris. For example, having a number of slots within which selected parts move presents multiple opportunities for dirt, debris, rain, snow or other elements to interfere with the operation thereof. Having many moving parts can also increase the weight of the sight and, thereby, the weight of the object to which the sight is attached, for example a bow, which can affect accuracy due to fatigue in holding the bow.
As such, there is a need for a selectively lockable, geared, adjustable sight that has a minimum number of moving parts.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can lead to certain other objectives. Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in this summary and descriptions of the disclosed embodiment, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above as taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.