This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Firearms conventionally incorporate a sight to aid in aligning a trajectory of the firearm with a target. In one configuration, the sight includes an upwardly extending arm fixed relative to a barrel of a firearm, whereby a user of the firearm may properly align an end of the barrel with a target by aligning the upwardly extending arm with the target.
In addition to use of a fixed, upwardly extending arm, conventional firearm sights may also incorporate an optical element that displays an illuminated reticle for use in aligning a barrel of a firearm with a target. One such prior-art sight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,806. The foregoing sight incorporates an optical element, which receives light from a light emitting diode (LED) and displays a reticle on a lens for use by a user in aligning a barrel of a firearm with a target. Such a sight incorporating a lens and an illuminated reticle is generally an improvement over a firearm incorporating a fixed, upwardly extending arm, as the illuminated reticle of the optical sight may be viewed from numerous angles from a rear portion of the firearm and does not have to be exactly aligned with an eye of the user. Allowing the reticle to be viewed from numerous angles from an area generally behind the firearm allows the user to be positioned somewhat offset from a longitudinal axis of the firearm while still maintaining a barrel of the firearm trained on a target.
While the foregoing optical sight is an improvement over a fixed, upwardly extending arm disposed proximate to an end of a firearm, conventional optical sights typically include an optical lens having a generally convex upper surface, which is easily fractured if dropped. While conventional optical sights typically include a housing having a portion extending over the convex upper surface, the housing typically includes a similar convex shape and, as such, transmits a force applied at an outer surface thereof directly to an outer surface of the lens, thereby causing the lens to fracture. Once the lens of the optical sight is fractured, the sight may not be used and, therefore, reduces the overall effectiveness of the firearm.
In addition to the likelihood of fracture, conventional optical sights suffer from the disadvantage of including an LED, which requires a power source to illuminate a reticle. While such LEDs adequately illuminate a reticle, the power source supplying power to the LED is not infinite. Because the power source supplying power to the LED is not infinite, care must be taken to routinely check the life of the power source to ensure that the reticle is consistently displayed. While recharging or replacing the power source of a conventional sight is relatively simple, such tasks become difficult in a military or law enforcement operation where time is of the essence and reliability on equipment is key. Having a power source expire during a law enforcement or military operation reduces the overall effectiveness of the firearm on which the optical sight is mounted and, as a result, reduces the effectiveness of the law enforcement agent or soldier.
Based on the foregoing, an optical sight incorporating multiple light sources, such as, for example, an LED, a fiber optic, and a tritium lamp, that can accommodate various ambient-light conditions is desirable in the industry. Incorporating multiple light sources into an optical sight provides flexibility in illuminating a reticle, as each source or a combination of sources can be chosen based on the particular ambient-light conditions.
In one configuration, light from the fiber optic and tritium lamp may be combined to illuminate a reticle. In another configuration, light from the LED may additionally or alternatively be used should the supplied light from the fiber optic and/or tritium lamp be insufficient. Further yet, light from any one of the sources may be used independently of the other sources. In any of the foregoing configurations, providing an optical sight with multiple light sources allows the optical sight to be used in virtually any ambient-light condition and provides the user with a reliable and useful sight.