Adjustable gun sights have previously been provided on firearms, such as shotguns. U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,617 discloses various embodiments of an adjustable gun sight provided on a single barrel shotgun. More particularly, front and rear cam mounts are provided on a shotgun along with an adjustment mechanism, such as an adjustable detent wheel, a thumb screw, or a threaded actuating member provided in the center or rear of the sighting rib to enable a user to adjust pitch of a sighting rib on the gun sight. These embodiments typically use a fixed center pivot point on the sight along with front and rear mounting brackets that incorporate a cam or angled slot. Each cam supports a respective end of the sighting rib about the center pivot point and a hand or tool actuated adjustment mechanism, such as a threaded member, a rack and pinion, or a dovetail surface is used to adjust the operating pitch of the sight relative to a barrel. However, such adjustment mechanisms typically require a tool or significant tactile manipulation of the mechanism in order to adjust the pitch (angle) position of the sighting rib. Secondly, the sighting rib is only supported at three discrete locations. Therefore, the sighting rib is designed to provide self-sufficient structural stiffness, which increases the wind drag of the sight when provided on a barrel.
Accordingly, improvements are needed to gun sights in order to reduce the depth of the sighting rib in order to reduce windage when mounted atop a gun barrel. Further, more improvements are needed to simplify the adjustment operations for repositioning the sighting rib to realize a desired pitch relative to a barrel. More particularly, the need for tools should be eliminated and the provision of discrete, repeatable positioning should also be realized.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds