System and method for determining target range and coordinating
Contents
1. 45 50 55 65 4 13 and the erector lens element 15 typically at a site consid ered to be a front focal plane of the optical system within the housing The reticle 16 contains fine etched lines or hairline indicia comprising a center vertical hairline 19 and a center horizontal hairline 20 which orthogonally or perpendicularly intersect at a center point 26 The reticle further defines first second third and fourth horizontal range and aiming marker hairlines 21 22 23 and 24 or other designs as may be appropriate to specific applications respectively intersecting the vertical hairline below the center point 26 and vertically spaced apart and of preferably sequentially increasing length Each such range and aiming marker hairline 21 22 23 and 24 is bisected by the center vertical hairline 19 in the present design in a horizontal manner but potentially in an angled manner as necessary to account to the vertical component of wind drift etc We must also note that it is feasible to present a virtual reticle into the sighting system by other means chiefly elec tronically and that the absence of a physical reticle in no way alters the functionality of the present invention therefore any means of generating aiming points that achieves the same goal as that described herein is fundamentally identical in nature and is also claimed It should also be noted that although a preferred embodi ment of the invention utilizes a se2. 100 yards to 1 000 yards or a combi nation of said yardages within said range respectively 11 The system according to claim 10 wherein the ordnance firing device is a rifle for shooting a bullet at a target or any similar piece of ordnance designed to propel a spin stabilized projectile US 7 905 046 B2 17 12 The system according to claim 10 wherein the electri fied grid comprises a fine platinum or tungsten wire grid 13 The system according to claim 10 wherein the aiming dot is a red dot or any distinctive indicium which performs a substantially instantaneous mnemonic aiming function 14 The system according to claim 10 wherein said series of primary range marker indicia comprises a series of primary straight horizontal range marker hairlines disposed below said center horizontal hairline and substantially parallel thereto and in vertically bisected relationship with said center vertical hairline 15 The system according to claim 14 wherein the lengths of said range marker hairlines on either side of the center vertical hairline are in the order of 2 06 2 95 4 16 and 4 86 or greater or smaller distal proportion wherein said propor tions correspond to a 30 06 type bullet to correct for an incremental horizontal movement which could be more or less for a crosswind of 10 miles an hour to correct for a crosswind of 10 miles an hour and also stronger crosswinds in increments of 10 miles an hour to facilitate correction for ver
3. 838 7 069 684 6 591 537 D456 057 and 6 357 158 provide a great deal of background informa tion regarding riflescopes and use of my other riflescope inventions The present invention is preferably realized in conjunction with my previous riflescope inventions but may be realized separately as well Turning to FIGS la lc a telescopic sight 10 embodying this invention is shown attached by a suitable mount 35 to a gun 12 The sight 10 is formed by a tubular housing 11 containing a forwardly positioned objective lens element 13 a rearwardly positioned ocular or eyepiece lens element 14 an intervening erector lens element 15 and a reticle 16 dis posed between the objective lens element 13 and the erector lens element 15 In the case of vari focal or zoom scopes a positionally adjustable magnifying lens 17 is associated with the erector lens element 15 The exterior of the housing 11 may be equipped with rotationally moveable features 36 for adjusting focus parallax magnification ratio windage and elevation Each of the various lens elements may be single lenses or combinations of lenses either aligned in proximity or glued together or a combination of these compositions The reticle 16 is a circular planar or flat transparent panel or disk mounted within the housing 11 in perpendicular rela tionship to the optical axis or line of sight 18 through the scope and is positioned between the objective lens element 20 25 30 40
4. aiming dot grid is not visible to a shooter except for the aiming dot and which is interconnected to a second reticle having ballistic aiming indicia thereon said indi cia comprising a center vertical straight hairline and a center horizontal straight hairline said center vertical and center horizontal hairlines intersecting substantially perpendicularly and a series of primary range marker indicia disposed below said center horizontal hairline the vertical spacing of said primary range marker indi cia below said center horizontal hairline being non evenly spaced and proportional to drop of said ordnance at selectively increased target ranges dependent upon the substantially parabolic flight of real projectiles fired in earth s gravitational field wherein the spacing of said range marker indicia below said horizontal center hair line is determined at the gun sight s highest power at one or two hairlines or one and two and three hairlines or one and two and three and four hairlines or one and two and three and four and at least one additional hairlines in a range of 1 2 to 18 inches of subtention at 100 yards respectively and at the gun sight s lowest power at one or two hairlines or one and two and three hairlines or one and two and three and four hairlines or one and two and three and four and at least one additional hairlines in a range of 8 to 103 inches of subtention at 100 yards respectively 2 The system according to cl
5. aspect of the present invention a TDS Trifactor Reticle such as those described in my U S Pat Nos 7 237 355 7 222 452 7 194 838 7 069 684 6 591 537 D456 057 and 6 357 158 is provided in the scope In such a case or even with other reticles a servo motor under the control 44 of the control logic may be provided to auto matically position the zoom ring on the scope as illustrated in FIG 4 In particular with the TDS Trifactor Reticle the factor of the particular load can be used to automatically select a zoom level by the servo motor which will scale the subtending range marker bars to the exact ballistics of the load being used With other reticles the optional ballistics tables or equa tions 43 may be used to select a zoom level in order to scale part or all of the reticle s markings appropriately to the bal listics of the actual load being shot Alternatively an embodiment is available in which the logic 41 determines an appropriate zoom level and displays that zoom level e g 12x 9 5x etc in the display 100 allowing the user to manually adjust the zoom ring if desired Logical Processes The logical processes of the invention may be implemented as software firmware custom circuitry or a combination of software firmware and circuitry It is within the skill of those in the art to adapt the following logical process descriptions with suitable design methodologies For these reasons the operations as
6. center hairline are specific multiples of 2 06 2 95 4 16 and 4 86 inches of subtention at 100 yards respectively and wherein specific multiples of said lengths indicate specific wind speed moving target lead or a combination of wind speed and moving target lead corrections 19 The system according to claim 18 wherein the ordnance firing device is a rifle for shooting a bullet at a target 20 The system according to claim 18 wherein the electri fied grid comprises a fine platinum or tungsten wire grid 21 The system according to claim 18 wherein the aiming dot is a red dot 22 The system according to claim 18 further comprising a decal providing a representation of the reticle for use with the gun sight and matching a first set of predetermined ranges and a second set of predetermined ranges for all incremental aiming indicia so located upon the reticle 23 The system according to claim 1 wherein the spacing of said range marker indicia below said horizontal center hair line is determined at the gun sight s highest power at one or two hairlines or one and two and three hairlines or one and two and three and four hairlines or one and two and three and four and at least one additional hairlines at 1 2 3 4 6 6 7 9 12 15 18 inches of subtention at 100 yards respectively and at the gun sight s lowest power at one or two hairlines or one and two and three hairlines or one and two and three and four hairlines or one a
7. hold over BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figures presented herein when taken in conjunction with the disclosure form a complete description of the inven tion FIGS la and 1b are schematic illustrations of the internal components of a variable power telescopic sight for a gun FIG 1c is a side elevation view of a telescopic sight embodying the invention mounted upon a gun of the type commonly used for hunting target shooting and related prac tices FIG 1d provides an illustration of an example control panel for a clickable scroll wheel FIG 2 illustrates one available embodiment of a head up display type of subassembly for optically overlaying the invention s aiming point and text onto the image of a reticle and target in a scope FIG 3 depicts one possible scope housing with an addi tional portion for receiving the display unit FIG 4 provides a functional block diagram of the inven tion FIG 5 provides example illustrations of usage of the inven tion in a riflescope to hunt an animal FIGS 6a and 6b show logical processes and methods of use according to the present invention FIG 7 illustrates coordinated elements for team usage of the invention in several enhanced embodiments FIGS 8a and 8b show enhanced aiming indicia based on grouping criteria from a bench sighting in session DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION For the reader s conveniences issued U S Pat Nos 7 237 355 7 222 452 7 194
8. illustrated by FIGS 6a and 6b provide at least one example embodiment of the invention which may be reduced be realized 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 Turning to FIG 6a and following a similar example as that shown in FIG 5a the user initially locates the target in the scope 60 optionally sets a zoom level 61 and places the dot at its default location on the first edge of the desired impact zone 61 The first edge can be a top bottom left side or right side of the impact zone The default dot location can be the center of the crosshairs or another point in the reticle At this idle stage of the logic 601 the display 1000 shows no setting for the range or the windage and optionally may be showing a selected breed species and or impact zone 62 Next the user clicks presses a key makes a partial draw on the computer or operates another suitable control 63 in order to initiate the automatic range determining process of the logic Responsive to receiving this control input the logic monitors the scroll wheel position movement keys or other movement controls and updates 602 the display 64 to show the scrolled or moved position of the dot in the reticle until the user has positioned the dot on an opposite edge of the impact zone At this point the user terminates the marking of the impact zone by clicking pressing a key or operating some other suitable control 65 which is received 603 by the con
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10. of personnel Some range measuring techniques using markings on reticles in scopes have been developed For example the widely used Mil Dot reticle can be used to determine ranges by performing certain calculations relative to the grati cule marks in the scope But these techniques remain math intensive are extremely distracting to the essential psychop sysiological performance state required for a successful shot and are not conducive to practice by shooters of limited math skills or education Additionally some research shows that a human s math skills are diminished during times of intense stress while other mental skills are increased such as visual acuity This shift of available mental faculties may tempo rarily disable a trained shooter from performing range calcu lations at the very time he or she may need them most In a different but related problem training of users of scope equipped guns remains difficult because a coach is unable to see in real time what the shooter is seeing So the coach is relegated to using diagrams and verbal descriptions to convey to the shooting student what the sight picture e g the view of the target through the scope should look like including any offsets e g holds for bullet drop windage etc Ina similar application teams of shooters such as military sniper teams and hostage rescue teams often are required to coordinate and assign targets Coordination and
11. IG 1c a user s trigger finger can easily and safely reach the inputs 1051 and 1052 without repositioning the hand 1053 on the rifle grip and without accidental trigger operation A wire or cable interconnect 1050 provides electrical sig nals to and from the scope to drive the pixels of the display read the position of the zoom ring and optional drive a servo motor to set the position of the zoom ring FIG 4 shows a block diagram of the functions of the control unit the display unit and an optional camera 101 Logical circuitry a programmed microprocessor or a com bination of circuitry processor and programs 41 are provided with a set of target impact zone IZ measurements 42 For example the IZ measurements may be sorted and catego rized by type of target e g white tail deer black bear and by zone within each target type e g head chest etc For example a target zone height for a whitetail deer s chest might be 18 and width of the chest zone may be 15 The IZ measurements 42 can hold dimensions for a few target types and zones or it can hold many dimensions for many target types and zones The user input keys and scroll wheel 1051 and 1052 anda zoom ring position encoder are read by the logic 41 and their positions used in the logical processes to illuminate dots bars and text on the display 100 Optional enhanced embodiments include storage of one or more ballistics tables or equations 43 as well as
12. US007905046B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 7 905 046 B2 i Smith III 45 Date of Patent Mar 15 2011 54 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING 4 531 052 A 7 1985 Moore wesc 235 404 TARGET RANGE AND COORDINATING pet R a 1 Schroeder Q 3 arke TEAM FIRE 4 680 012 A 7 1987 Morley et al A E 4 777 352 A 10 1988 Moore sse 235 404 75 Inventor Thomas D Smith III Oklahoma City 4 787 739 A 11 1988 Gregory um 356 4 03 OK US 4 923 402 A 5 1990 Marshall et al 5 189 560 A 2 1993 Edwards etal distri 359 744 73 Assignee Thomas D Smith III Oklahoma City 5 616 903 A 4 1997 Springer sss 235 414 OK US 6 322 365 B1 11 2001 Schechter et al 6 636 296 B1 10 2003 Faulkner et al ji l ji 6 681 512 B2 1 2004 Sammut mn 42 122 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 7 421 816 B2 9 2008 Conescu veces 42 122 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 2002 0139030 Al 10 2002 Smith aasang 42 122 U S C 154 b by 0 days 2004 0016168 A1 1 2004 Thomas et al 42 122 2005 0213962 Al 9 2005 Gordon 396 502 3k 21 Appl No 12 043 875 2005 0257414 Al 11 2005 ST etal 42 122 Continued 22 Filed Mar 6 2008 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 65 Prior Publication Data Leupold Ranging System for the Tactical Milling Reticle Oper US 2009 0205239 Al Aug 20 2009 ating Instructions Leupold amp Stevens Inc Beaverton OR retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http www2 leupold com resourc
13. WI 42 122 2006 0010757 Al 1 2006 Smith III 42 122 2007 0144052 Al 6 2007 Smith III w 42 122 2007 0277421 Al 12 2007 Perkins et al 42 122 2008 0098640 Al 5 2008 Sammut et al so 42 122 2008 0202011 Al 8 2008 Shepherd 42 130 2009 0183417 Al 7 2009 Smith III w 42 122 2009 0200376 Al 8 2009 Peters et al 235 404 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Leupold Ranging System for the Mil Dot Reticle Operating Instructions Leupold amp Stevens Inc Beaverton OR retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http www2 leupold com resources downloads htm Bushnell Elite 1500 User s Manual Bushnell Outdoor Productgs Lenexa KS retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http www bushnell com customer service manuals rangefinders 20 5101 manual pdf Leupold RXB IV Digital Laser Range Finding Binoculars Oper ating Instructions Leupold amp Stevens Inc Beaverton OR retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http www2 leupold com resources downloads htm Wikipedia Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System MILES retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http en wikipedia org wiki MILES Nikon Nikon Monarch LASER800 Instruction Manual Nikon USA retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from http support nikontech com Clark Col Julius E US Army Army Joint Support Team retrieved on Jun 6 2008 from sill www army mil bcd Conferences 2005AIST 200verview 20COL 20Clark ppt via Googl
14. a commu nications or data network interface such as a Wireless Fidel ity WiFi or military wireless JDAM interface More details of the operations and logical features of the control unit will be set forth in the following paragraphs Method of Use for Range Finding Turning to FIG 5a it will be useful to the reader to under stand the basic method of use and user interface prior to describing the logical processes of the invention In this fig ure a perspective of a user shooter looking through the scope 50 according to the invention is shown in a step by step manner First in step a the user positions the rifle pistol or gun such that the target 51 is viewable somewhere in the scope 50 In this idle mode the reflected display shows 56 that the range to the target is not yet set nor is the wind correction value set yet And an illuminated dot 54 such as a red dot is positioned anywhere in the reticle preferably on the main crosshairs 52 53 or on a subtending range marker bar 55 In the next step b the user manually sets the desired magnification level using the zoom ring on the scope This illustration shows that the user has increased magnification such that the target appears 510 larger in the reticle Further the user positions the rifle and scope such that the current dot position 54 lies on a first edge of the desired impact zone of the target such as the top or left edge of the impact zone In this
15. aim 1 wherein the ordnance firing device is a rifle for shooting a bullet at a target 3 The system according to claim 1 wherein the electrified grid comprises a fine platinum or tungsten wire grid 4 The system according to claim 1 wherein the aiming dot is a red dot 5 The system according to claim 1 wherein said series of primary range marker indicia comprises a series of primary straight horizontal range marker hairlines disposed below said center horizontal hairline and substantially parallel thereto and in vertically bisected relationship with said center vertical hairline 6 The system according to claim 5 wherein said series of primary straight horizontal hairlines has sequentially increas ing incremental lengths with an intersected shaded series of range marker hairlines of sequentially increasing incremen tal lengths disposed below said center horizontal hairline having angled wind markers set at 96 and 106 degree angles for right side hairlines and 186 and 196 degree angles for left side hairlines 7 The system according to claim 1 wherein other spacing ratios are applied to specific other types of ordnance firing devices and loads and further comprising a decal providing a representation of the reticle for use with the gun sight and 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 matching a first set of predetermined ranges and a second set of predetermined ranges for all incremental aiming indicia so locat
16. aved for later use by the logic 41 For example a user may find at 200 yds that he or she can hold a 3 inch diameter grouping e g all of his or her shots are placed within a 3 inch circle at 200 yards So using the entry controls 105 the shooter can enter a range 200 yds in this example and a grouping size 3 inches Then when using the scope in the field the aiming dot 80 can optionally be replaced with or encompassed by a circle 81 of the appropriate size according to the user s bench group criteria as shown in FIG 8 a In the present example 1 5 inches at 200 yards correlates to a 0 75 MOA accuracy which then can be plotted as a 0 75 MOA radius circle around where the aiming point is At 100 yards the circle would represent a 1 5 inch diameter area on the target At a range of 700 yards the shot group circle 81 would represent a 101 inch diameter circle of likely shot placement on the target In this manner the grouping circle will appear larger for greater ranges while giving the shooter a realistic under standing of his or her ability to place the shot This is a significant improvement where standard aiming dots and crosshairs may lead a shooter to believe he or she can place a shot more accurately than practically possible for the shooter and the equipment Alternatively other shapes such as a triangular shape 82 can be placed around the aiming point 80 to represent the variation in crosswind va
17. c gun sight having an optical system com prising a forward objective lens element a rear eyepiece lens element an intermediate erector lens element said lens elements being aligned along an optical axis constituting a line of sight and protectively confined within an elongated tubular housing adapted to be securely affixed to an ordnance firing device and a transparent reticle between said objective and erector lens elements said reticle having two interconnected grids a first being a distance measuring grid constructed of an electrified grid which illuminates a selected intersection to produce an aiming dot which aiming dot grid is not visible to a shooter except for the aiming dot and which is interconnected to a second reticle having ballistic aiming indicia thereon said indicia comprising a center vertical straight hairline and a center horizontal straight hairline said center vertical and center horizontal hair lines intersecting substantially perpendicularly and a series of primary range marker indicia disposed below said center horizontal hairline the vertical spacing of said primary range marker indicia below said center horizontal hairline being non evenly spaced and propor tional to drop of said ordnance at selectively increased target ranges dependent upon the substantially parabolic flight of real projectiles fired in earth s gravitational field wherein said target ranges are one or more yard ages in a range of
18. ces is known as a scope which may be mounted to a variety of guns and weapons including but not limited to rifles and pistols Some scopes include a fixed magnification or a variable magnifi cation zoom feature However due to certain forces on projectiles while in flight after the gun or weapon system has shot or launched the projectile aiming and predicting accurately the point of impact of a projectile is more difficult than just determining a straight line of sight from the muzzle of the gun to a target Projectiles are diverted from straight flight by a number of factors including but not limited to wind resistance cross wind vectors and gravity As such ballistic paths within the Earth s atmosphere are often modeled simply as pseudo parabolic vertical paths having a constant horizontal offset vector according to an average or mean cross wind speed Beginning shooters do not recognize the problem but advanced and precision shooters however agree that such a simplification is unreliable for humane harvest of sentient animals or critical situations such as hostage rescue team snipers and for long range missions such as military snipers In these situations variations in altitude humidity baromet ric pressure cartridge chemicals weight of projectile and shape of projectile have considerable effect Many competi tive long range shooters for example reload their own shells to ensure uniformity of th
19. ch s console is provided with a pointing means such as a mouse or joystick for which control data is transferred from the console to the rifle s display control logic via the network This coach s mouse or joystick then controls an additional dot or pointer in the display of the scope of each shooter which allows the coach to visually show the shooter which target to use which range marker bar to use and where to position the reticle relative to the target Each shooter is preferably provided with his or her own coach s dot so that the coach may provide individualized instruction to each shooter Fire Coordination In the usage scenario of a multi shooter fire team the commander of the team operates the coach s console 75 and uses the coach s dots to assist in assigning targets to each shooter communicating changes in reticle placement etc Snapshots for Remote Review and Approval In a further enhanced manner of usage and logical processes the shooter is provided with a control means to take a snapshot of his or her reticle view such as by double clicking the scroll wheel This snapshot of the user s reticle view can include aimage of a target of question When the image is received by the commander or coach the commander or coach review the image and approve or disapprove taking the shot For example in a coaching sce nario the user may take a snapshot of an animal he or she believes is a legal animal age spec
20. command is usually performed by a centralized authority but again the central authority is unable to actually see what the team members can see via their scopes So the central authority must rely upon descriptions from the team members to make critical sometimes life or death decisions based upon these descriptions Therefore there exists a need in the art for a means to provide quick and accurate range determinations when using a scope equipped gun or weapon without relying upon math ematical or computational skills of the user Specifically expert shooters understand the essential nature of never tak ing your eyes off the target once the target is acquired There further exists a need in the art to share visual information from scopes of members shooting teams and groups to allow for improved training coordination and command SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A system and method for use of an enhanced aiming sys tem which includes a marker displayed at a first position in an US 7 905 046 B2 3 aiming scope a user input of a start position and an ending position to measure a desired impact zone a calculator for determining a range to the target based on the known dimen sion of the impact zone and the magnification value of the aiming scope and a display in the aiming scope for showing an aiming point dot or bar to compensate for projectile drop at the calculated range and optionally for windage and option ally for moving target
21. e chemical and hydration 20 25 30 40 45 55 2 mixtures in each shell and the volume variation by manufac ture and they often resort to many idiocyncratic variations such as polishing their projectiles to ensure uniformity in projectile shape and wind resistance To address a very broad range of shooting applications from small game to large game short range to long range from civilian to military industry has responded by develop ing approximately 1500 different calibers bullet shapes and cartridge designs Because a projectile will drop a significant amount during such a long range trajectory range estimation or measure ment remains an important task or skill of the shooter Fur ther selection of the proper load e g caliber bullet shape bullet weight etc is also critical to achieving accurate shot placement The two factors are interrelated and co dependent trajectory shape and load characteristics To accurately measure range to target values in long range applications many shooters utilize electronic means such as a laser or radar based range finder In certain scenarios how ever use of a range finding device which emits a scatter of signal can be dangerous and contraindicated For example such scatter can be detected and the source pinpointed by many military countermeasures So use of a laser range finder in a covert application on a battlefield may result in revealing the location
22. e com search for military team fire coordination training system cited by examiner U S Patent Mar 15 2011 Sheet 1 of 10 US 7 905 046 B2 101 SS X 401 U S Patent Mar 15 2011 Sheet 2 of 10 US 7 905 046 B2 NN o 41 ue 5 35 13 MASA 14 i 405 1 US 7 905 046 B2 Sheet 3 of 10 Mar 15 2011 U S Patent TSH SJOAUQ eyid ST KC uwunjo9 SIBAUQ jaxiq ST EC Moy OGL LEA VOR SA LE U S Patent Mar 15 2011 Sheet 4 of 10 US 7 905 046 B2 U S Patent Mar 15 2011 Sheet 5 of 10 US 7 905 046 B2 Communications or Data Network Interface Optional KTT Ballistics Tables and or Equation 43 re Reticle view Camera 3 HUD LED or ANNA de a m LCD Transparent User Keys amp Scope Display 4 Controls 3 Control Logic p Display in Scope 1951 1052 ma 41 100 Target impact Zone Measurements Zoom Position Encoder and or Zoom Servo GIN 109105 UG 1Op SEUA pug BewjWwooz pajosjos yo poseg Sue SEDES suoz Pedut JO sucisuausp ssd 19012 dn SYDO BIEMJYOS p US 7 905 046 B2 S d re N FES 108 DU n SPA 006 bes Du 94 Q N abue pul ORO uoz pedu pa pasop jo uojog o JOP Jaye sipolos Jas 0 A 19 ia S U S Patent G Sly JEG DOUBLIBA pul sjojd DUB JOP SSAQU SIEMYOS SOLBLLA pum puogdo 2196119 Jasfy a SO ge LIGA ude DLL RG HA SPA 006 aury SHBYSSOID uo suoz pedut se a
23. e1JBA ydw OL Z pul M SpA 00L abuey US 7 905 046 B2 1 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING TARGET RANGE AND COORDINATING TEAM FIRE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of the filing date of provi sional patent application 61 029 203 filed on Feb 15 2008 by Thomas D Smith IJI FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT This invention was not developed in conjunction with any Federally sponsored contract MICROFICHE APPENDIX Not applicable INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE Issued U S Pat Nos 7 237 355 7 222 452 7 194 838 7 069 684 6 591 537 D456 057 and 6 357 158 and U S provisional patent application 61 029 203 filed on Feb 15 2008 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Technical Field of the Invention This application relates to displays within scopes used for aiming rifles pistols and other projectile delivery systems It especially relates to determining range to target values pro viding range and windage corrected aiming points up hill and down hill altitude barometric pressure barrel tempera ture and the other various affects commonly grouped as exter nal ballistics and coordinating team firing activities 2 Background of the Invention Apparatuses for aiming of guns for sporting competition law enforcement and military purposes are well known and wide spread A very common aiming devi
24. ed upon the reticle 8 The system according to claim 2 wherein the rifle com prises a rifle stock and further comprising a keypad disposed in the rifle stock a connection from the keypad to a disk in the gun sight tubular housing and the disk connected to a minute of angle grid comprising an electronically connected reticle displaying a lens imprinted with a set of ballistic indicia 9 The system according to claim 1 wherein the system further comprises means for inputting selected data for y axis height of a target in inches means for correcting for wind drift means for correcting for phenomena associated with gyro scopic forces on a gyroscopically stabilized bullet including Yaw of Repose and Magnus effects means for correcting for uphill or downhill angle ofa shot means for correcting for elevation means for correcting for air temperature wherein said inputting and correcting is performed in accordance with Mental Ballistics Calculator calcula tions and further comprising means for compensating for ordnance firing device barrel temperature and means for changing a power ring to equate the energy of maneuverability of a specific one of 335 cartridges to be shot by the ordnance firing device wherein the disk computes an intersection of the grid wherein changing conditions are reflected as an aiming dot on the connected reticle which displays the lens imprinted with a set of ballistic indicia 10 A telescopi
25. entered target class is within a range for which KT is sufficient to kill the target animal To set up the scope the user must initialize the scope by entering the intended target class either by selecting a cat egory or by scrolling through a list of available animal types and must enter the ammunition be used if not defaulted to a single type of ammunition Then as the user engages the range finding operations the control logic further consults the KT table or alternatively a formula and updates the display appropriately For example a red colored dot may be dis played when KT is not met to dissuade the shooter from taking the shot and a green colored dot may be displayed when KT is met to indicate an acceptable shot can be made Or a flashing dot may indicate when KT is not met a continuously illuminated dot may indicate when KT is met Likewise other symbols may be user a dot for KT being met and an X or crossed out circle for KT not being met Itis a further enhancement of the present invention to break shots into two types of kill shots head shots and chest or body shots Head shots obviously generally represent smaller game than the full body size of the target unless the particular game has a well armored head structure Other wise if one is planning a head shot and believes that he or she can meet the additional accuracy required to place a head shot because most game have small
26. er heads than chests the user can simply use a lower category of game for the KT indicator Bench Grouping Display According to another aspect of the present invention the scope display and control logic 41 is enhanced to receive and store information regarding a particular shooter s per sonal results in maintaining shot grouping and then uses this information to show a likely region of impact when in the field For example prior to going hunting most shooters will take a rifle with a scope and some ammunition to a shooting range to sight it their scope This is done to adjust the scope for differences in ammunition and for slight but consider able changes in the mechanical combination of the rifle and the scope During sight in the shooter will aim and shoot at a target at a known distance usually 100 or 200 yards When sighting in is completed the shooter will be able to maintain a certain grouping of shots at the selected distance and the scope settings are recorded or saved as a zero 40 45 50 60 65 1000 ZZZZZ Towards the end of this exercise the shooter has achieved a certain level of performance some due to the equipment ammo rifle scope sling rest bipod etc but some due to the shooter himself According to this additional aspect of the present inven tion the user first inputs a grouping criteria from a bench sighting in session into the tables 43 which are stored and s
27. es Related U S Application Data downloads htm 60 Provisional application No 61 029 203 filed on Feb Continued 15 2008 Primary Examiner Troy Chambers 51 Int Cl Assistant Examiner Samir Abdosh F41G 1 00 2006 01 52 US CL 42 142 42 144 42 122 42 130 57 ABSTRACT ji f 235 404 89 41 17 89 41 19 89 204 A system and method for use of an enhanced aiming system 58 Field of Classification Search maa None which includes a marker displayed at a first position in an See application file for complete search history aiming scope a user input of a start position and an ending position to measure a desired impact zone a calculator for 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 392 450 A 7 1968 Herter et al 42 122 4 229 103 A 10 1980 Hi 356 141 1 4 263 719 A 4 1981 Murdoch emmm 33 297 4 336 018 A 6 1982 Marshall et al 4 352 665 A 10 1982 Kimble et al 4 380 437 A 4 1983 Yarborough Jr 18 determining a range to the target based on the known dimen sion of the impact zone and the magnification value of the aiming scope and a display in the aiming scope for showing an aiming point dot or bar to compensate for projectile drop at the calculated range and optionally for windage and option ally for moving target hold over 24 Claims 10 Drawing Sheets US 7 905 046 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 2006 0005449 Al 1 2006 Smith
28. example the user has positioned the rifle such that the dot and main crosshairs are positioned at the top of the shoulder of the animal to be taken 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 In the next step c the user operates the user inputs 1051 and 1052 such as depressing and clicking a scroll wheel then releasing the scroll wheel followed by rotating the scroll wheel to move the dot to the opposite edge 54 of the desired impact zone In this example the user has scrolled down to the bottom of the IZ If the user desires the measurement can be made left to right right to left or bottom to top instead of top to bottom as well When the dot is located at the opposite edge of the impact zone the user terminates the input by clicking again pressing an enter key or similar user input The control logic then d looks up the dimensions of the target s impact zone 42 reads the current zoom setting from the encoder and calcu lates the range to the target Such a calculation given the information from these components of the invention can be accomplished in several manners all of which are within the skill of the art to implement in programming or logic Next the control logic illuminates an aiming point dot in the display such that it will correspond to the proper position or range marker bar 54 on the reticle to compensate for bullet drop at the calculated and displayed range And pref erab
29. g LD 7 a PAs al aie re sa o D L Wa S E a E naaa NN anas E TY E pa np sh bi poso jap E adas seujo 168191 e i _ BAM ag MANO AGUR PUP peuonioy ajenoren Bm 2 10 MP OF uneg r IA OR BOOKS 0 MBUA ES eres PUM Saa oF KCG AB AUTEN Perrine awam RUDO 28M Z p Pai i nag n 3 PRG ZI 193 10M pi yes fuse SN Sowa va Aipssacau se oye Leon BSD o at Beate qq RA a stu auar pedu i BJUBUEA ut ae tr N eee PUI JO BOBA 3 IAE noch cient 7 pan US 7 905 046 B2 Sheet 9 of 10 Mar 15 2011 AA AA et is pl U S Patent L 911 m ww mw mw a ll W a W M K W ie ao on t ae C mt mw W m W ae W ong GL adosg JOYS 40 Sly panueyuy upa N OUS eee El HOMSN 2120 7 JO SUONEDUNUWOD OMUOS 540207 JO KISU adoag JOYS cf 40 Sl paoueyug ura ZH 490045 oh PANAO TOH Ie L 1 ve iiy gt 0 A oo fe 8d009 pra Sid 10 aa 0 paoueyus a 5 Uwe 1 iain 14 48J004S w o om o om o em E m m m m m m m m m m w a l US 7 905 046 B2 Sheet 10 of 10 Mar 15 2011 U S Patent 19630 enpe jo afue o payosiosd azs BuidnoiB yousg sJasn smoys jop Burue punoje umoys adeus ajeulsyy 19 2 9B1 ARA udu OL DU T R SpA OOL SDuey g 814 jo bie enpoe jo saburi 0 paroolid sas Burdnosb youeq 5J95N smous yop Buku punose UMOYS ABUS JO JO 319 175 e 8 q
30. ies gender etc to take If the coach agrees the coach can so indicate by positioning or moving the coach s dot in the shooter s reticle Biometric Classification of Target In yet a further enhanced manner of usage and logical processes the snap shot of the reticle image is received by a biometric recogni tion and or classification process such as a facial recognition system The biometric recognition and or classification pro 0 20 40 45 55 65 10 cess may be onboard the gun such as being integrated into the display control logic or may be remote to the gun intercon nected via the network The results of the recognition and or classification process may be provided in the reticle by trans mitting the results via the network to the control logic and updating the display appropriately Side by Side Image Display In yet a further enhanced manner of usage and logical processes an image is down loaded to the display via the network and is displayed coin cidentally in the reticle with the real life view of the target Such a downloaded image can be used to make a side by side comparison by the user of the currently viewed target with a previously taken image or photo of a target similar to that which the shooter is instructed or desiring to take For example during doe season a new shooter may be provided an image of a deer doe for reference in the reticle which can be compared in real time to the actua
31. l animal being viewed through the scope In a military or law enforcement applica tion and image of a sought enemy or fugitive can be dis played in the reticle for real time comparison by a sniper to face of a person being viewed through the scope Kill Zone Indication Based upon my experience in harvesting over 200 tons of wild game of all sizes and types I have determined experi mentally that even though a bullet may remain accurate e g predictable path at long distances it may or may not still possess the capability of killing or taking the targeted ani mal at those distances It is generally considered unsports manlike and inhumane to wound but not kill quickly an animal Such a wounded animal may flee to a location and may suffer Or in the case of some animals that hunt back such as big cats or bears a wounded animal may pose a safety threat to the hunter In military and law enforcement shooting a similar need arises to make a kill when taking a long range shot In military operations it is generally considered undesirable to merely wound or maim an enemy soldier Doing so may allow the wounded enemy to continue to fight or to lay in wait playing dead until friendly forces approach to detonate explosives In law enforcement shooting such as in hostage situations it is desirable to remove the hostage taker from the scenario in a manner which does not allow him or her to take further harmful action Wou
32. lues This type of shape would be very useful in gusty wind conditions With this enhanced aiming indicia based on the user s practical performance the user gets a more realistic idea of whether he or she will make the kill so that the shot can be taken or aborted as appropriate CONCLUSION The foregoing examples are provided in order to illustrate the invention but do not represent the scope and limits of the invention itself It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments manners of usage and combi nations of optional features can be realized without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention For this reason the scope of the present invention should be deter mined by the following claims US 7 905 046 B2 15 I claim 1 A telescopic gun sight having an optical system com prising a forward objective lens element a rear eyepiece lens element an intermediate erector lens element said lens elements being aligned along an optical axis constituting a line of sight and protectively confined within an elongated tubular housing adapted to be securely affixed to an ordnance firing device and a substantially transparent reticle between said objective and erector lens elements said reticle having two inter connected grids a first being a distance measuring grid constructed of an electrified grid which illuminates a selected intersection to produce an aiming dot which
33. ly the text display is updated 56 to show the calculated range At this point the user can raise or lower the rifle to place the aiming point dot in the impact zone adjust manually for windage and take the shot However according to a preferred embodiment of the invention the user may also proceed to the next step e in which the user enters or adjusts a wind value such as a single value or range of values In this example the user has input a wind range of 7 to 10 m p h from the right Again scrolling and or key inputs may be used to select or adjust these values Once the wind values are input the control logic then calculates the amount of horizontal drift or offset and moves the aiming point accordingly to compensate for windage 54 and preferably updates the text display to show the wind value 56 Finally the user moves the rifle or other gun to position the aiming point dot within the impact zone of the target 51 and takes the shot In alternate methods of use the user can input the wind values in advance of acquiring a target such that fully com pensated aiming points can be realized within 1 2 seconds to complete steps a e This manner of usage of the invention allows very quick and accurate range estimates and hold point e g aiming point determinations without the need for complex mental mathematics without the need for removing the hands from the normal shooting positions on the rifle and witho
34. mbodiment of the present invention hypotheti cal target animals can be divided into 5 classes as shown in Table 1 50 TABLE 1 55 Example KT Data Table Target Class Animal Size Example KT ain I small varmints 2200 II small medium bobcat 3000 Il medium white tail deer 3400 60 IV medium large mule dear 4200 Vv large elk bear 4500 So using common ballistics tables which provide v d and 65 e d one can calculate a new table for encoding into the new system s coefficients 43 such as that shown for a hypotheti cal round in Table 2 US 7 905 046 B2 13 TABLE 2 14 Example KT Data Table KT gt KT in for T Class d Round Target Class 100 200 300 500 700 800 308 130 gr I ng Ye Y Y Y Y 308 130 gr II Y X Y Y Y N 308 130 gr I WA Ye Y Y N N 308 130 gr IV Y Y Y N N N 308 130 gr Vv Y Y N N N N This table can be extended or modified for any round using either commonly available ballistic table information for pro duction ammunition or using experimental information for custom ammunition As such the invention s tables and coef ficients 43 can contain table entries for a single type of ammunition or for a wide range of ammunition To provide the user with a real time indication of the like lihood ofa one shot one kill the control processes FIGS 6a and 6b for the reticle display FIGS 2 5a and FIG 55 are enhanced to highlight a range marker bar or to providing an illuminated dot only when the
35. mine in conditions of tactical stress is a summation of the bullet s energy and the bullet s velocity at the given target range must exceed a mini mum threshold for the game type Further for convenience I have found that dividing game into 3 to 5 categories from small and easy to kill to large and difficult to kill further improves the ability of the shooter under mental stress to make the kill power determination In practice I have found that the following equation is generally accurate for all 330 known rounds of ammunition for rifles where KT is the target killing factor v is the velocity of the round in feet per second e is the energy of the round in foot pounds and d is the distance of the bullet from the muzzle of the rifle typically in yards KT maglv d mag e d Eq 1 35 c c l l where mag a is a function to take the unitless magnitude of the value a Any bullet having a KT factor greater than 2200 found by adding the magnitudes without units of the energy of the bullet and the velocity of the bullet at a given range d is likely to kill an animal in one or more animal categories for example This allows for variations in bullet weight ballistic coefficient powder charge etc to be considered without expressly or explicitly requiring the shooter to refer to com plicated ballistics tables make calculations in his or her head or use even more complicated tables all while under stress 45 So in one e
36. n degree For example a 223 caliber rifle shooting a 165 grain bullet is sufficient to kill a coyote but would not be a wise choice for hunting bear But the same 223 rifle while accurate at say 600 yards may not provide 5 sufficient killing power for even a coyote So if one were hunting larger game one might move up to much more pow erful charges larger caliber bullets and heavier bullets But even these more power loads are not effect for killing game beyond certain ranges even though the round itself is still accurate e g its position can be accurately predicted with a scope So my second factor that I have discovered is necessary to provide killing power for a given prey or game type is the energy possessed by the round at the distance or range to the target If a bullet does not possess enough kinetic energy at a given distance it will not cause enough trauma or injury to the game and it will not kill the animal But energy is not the only factor I have discovered For example a large caliber heavy bullet will possess a good deal of energy even at lower velocities because energy is a function of mass e g E mc where E is energy m is mass and cis the constant speed of light So with this well known relation ship even a locomotive engine moving at just 3 m p h pos sesses a great deal of energy but if it bumps into a bear on the tracks it will not kill the bear but instead will cause the bear t
37. nd conditions pro vided by the user The aiming point dot and optionally the WVB are positioned on the display appropriately 632 The user can now move 621 the gun to place the dot and or the WVB in the impact zone of the target and the optionally take the shot 622 624 Alternatively if the target has moved conditions have changed etc the user can return to any previous state in the process 623 634 to revise conditions and to get corrections to the aiming point provided in the reticle Hold over Estimation and Compensation In a similar manner as described relative to the windage adjustment the aiming point can be compensated for a mov ing target based on user input for the direction and rate of movement For example the user may input a rate of move ment of 3 mph to the left This would be added to the windage value if the wind and movement are in the same direction and subtracted from the windage value if the wind and movement are in opposite direction Then when the aiming point and or WVBare plotted on the display the aiming point will include US 7 905 046 B2 9 the proper amount of hold over to allow the user to place the aiming point dot on the desired impact zone and take the shot rather than to have to place the aiming point ahead of the moving target to compensate for movement Reticle view Camera As shown in FIGS la and 15 in at least one embodiment of the invention an electronic camera is provided in the sc
38. nd two and three and four and at least one additional hairlines at 8 17 28 41 54 69 86 103 inches of subtention at 100 yards respec tively 24 The system according to claim 10 wherein said target ranges are one or more yardages comprising 100 yards 200 yards 300 yards 400 yards 500 yards 600 yards 700 yards 800 yards 900 yards and 1 000 yards or a combination of said yardages respectively
39. nding but not killing a hostage taker with the first shot may result in the death or injury of the hostages or further danger to law enforcement officials such as members of a tactical entry team However present day rifle scopes provide no guidance whether a particular round at a particular distance will kill or wound the target While many of the precision scopes will provide aiming capabilities to deliver the round on the target it is unknown to the shooter whether or not the round at that distance will possess characteristics sufficient to provide a rapid death of the target I have experimented for many years with this concept and have developed a new science regarding determination of the ability of a round to kill the target Such information is not contained in ballistics tables only bullet ballistics coefficient velocities at certain ranges energy at certain ranges drop at certain ranges etc are contained in ballistics tables I have discovered that there are three important factors about a round in flight regarding its ability to kill or just wound a target First the type of target must be considered A large animal such as a bear or elk requires much more killing power than a smaller animal such as a small dear or fox Conventional thinking is to use larger caliber larger charges to kill larger animals US 7 905 046 B2 11 This conventional thinking works for the low end of the scale but only to a certai
40. o simply move away perhaps with a bruise The same is true for large caliber heavy bullets at long ranges where the energy is still considerable but the velocity is lower So to discover the remaining characteristics of what it takes to produce a kill with a single accurately delivered round I have applied the theory of energy maneuverability to the consideration of the bullet in flight Energy maneuverabil ity is a complex theory which explains how objects in flight obtain energy and velocity maintain energy and or velocity and lose energy and velocity In short energy maneuverabil ity can be described as a theory which covers how fast it starts and how fast it stops While energy maneuverability is a well known theory originated by Col John Boyd among modern fighter pilots it is not known within hunting preci sion shooting sniper and competitive shooting experts It has until my present discovery remained purely a concept among aeronautical engineers pilots and combat aviation instructors In applying energy maneuverability to the problem of determining whether or not a bullet will take or kill a particular target type I have discovered that besides target type predictable bullet position e g known drop and suf ficient energy at a given range a critical factor is velocity If a large round impacts a large animal at a range where the velocity is sufficient to provide penetration to the main body cavity
41. oint is not adjusted for range or windage Then when the aiming point dot has been adjusted for range but not for windage the aiming point dot may be shown in yellow step d at which point the shooter may manually adjust for windage and take a shot Finally as windage is factored into the aiming point adjust ment the aiming point dot may be shown as green to indicate the aiming point is fully compensated In other embodiments flashing and steady states of the dot may be utilized to convey similar status information Similarly the text may be shown in colors such as red for text indicating in input parameter has not been entered or calculated and green for text indicating a parameter which has been input or calculated Incremental and Accelerating Scrolling Action To ease and speed the completion of the impact zone dimensions input from the user the control logic may accel erate the rate of movement of the dot after an initial scrolling rate or it may advance or jump the dot by increments to allow course positioning of the dot first followed by fine positioning last Circular Markers for Impact Zone in Range Finding In an optional embodiment instead of scrolling and mov ing a dot to mark the edges of an impact zone circles squares or other shapes can be shown to allow the user to quickly encompass or encircle the impact zone Automatic Zoom Setting for TDS Trifactor Calibration of Reticle to Load According to an optional
42. ope assembly to allow a view of the display reticle and target from the same perspective as the shooter user In the example embodiments of these figures the same partially reflective screen 20 of FIG 2 is utilized to provide a composite image to a camera 101 The camera image data is then transmitted to aremote display via a communications or data network 45 of FIG 4 for additional use as described in the following paragraphs Team Operation Via Camera and Remote Display Manipula tion The camera 101 and network interface 45 allow for an additional level of enhanced operation and usage A general arranged as shown in FIG 7 allow a coach or commander 74 to view the reticle images of a plurality of shooters 71 over a network 73 Each shooter s reticle camera image is shown on one or more coach s or commander s consoles 75 and enhanced logical processes of the invention enable a group level of coordination training and cooperation not before available in individual riflescopes Training and Coaching In a training or coaching scenario the coach 74 can see how each shooter 71 has aligned his or her reticle on his or her respective target 72 By being able to actually see the reticle alignment the coach or trainer can then provide instructions on adjustments and repositioning such as by verbal instructions e g by radio or in person Additionally with enhancements to the logical processes of the present invention the coa
43. t of subtending range marker bars below the main crosshair intersection corresponding to bullet drops at given ranges other reticles such as but not limited to a MIL DOT reticle can be used with the present invention Integrated Display FIGS la and 15 illustrate schematically the integration of a display unit 100 in the optical chain and optionally a cam era 101 In one embodiment the display unit 100 comprises a dot matrix light emitting diode LED plasma or liquid crys tal LCD or other suitable electronic display mounted sub stantially parallel with the optical axis or line of sight 18 of the assembly and a partially reflective diagonal dotted line lens is positioned at an angle such as a 45 degree angle to the optical axis so as to allow the image of the target to pass through to the eyepiece while also transparently superimpos ing a reflection of the display onto the target Such a display sub assembly is shown in more detail in FIG 2 in which the display panel 21 is positioned at an angle to the partially reflective lense 20 and is provided with row and column pixel driver signals in order to produce graphic images dots lines etc and text This embodiment option resembles a miniaturized heads up display HUD such as the larger units provided in aircraft and automobiles In some arrangements the display may be displayed upside down and or mirror reversed in order to compensate for similar rotations and flips in
44. the image of the target due to optical characteristics of a given scope design FIG 3 shows a perspective view of a scope body improved to house 30 the display unit 100 in a portion of it In actual practice the sub housing portion which receives the display unit can be of any suitable shape but is shown as a cylindrical portion to match the illustration of the circular display example of FIG 2 In an alternate embodiment the display may be a partially transparent disc such as an LCD disc which is fitted into the optical chain substantially perpendicular to the optical axis This embodiment allows the shape of a traditional scope housing to remain unchanged but may have optical disad vantages depending on the optical transmission characteris tics of the disc US 7 905 046 B2 5 Display Control Unit Adisplay control unit 105 is illustrated as being mounted to the side or within the stock of the gun 12 to which the scope 10 is mounted as shown in FIG 1c In alternative embodi ments this control unit may be integrated into the scope itself or mounted at other locations such as the handguard fore stock or buttstock FIG 1d provides more details of the control unit 105 which houses the control logic and or microprocessor and provides one or more user operable input means such as a scroll and click wheel 1051 set of buttons up down next previous enter etc 1052 or both In the position shown on the rifle of F
45. then a kill is likely If however a large round with lots of energy impacts large prey at slower velocities the round may not penetrate the portion of the animal s body and may cause only superficial or non lethal trauma such as light bruising to broken or shattered bones to shallow tissue and organ trauma But I have discovered experimentally that it is not a simple matter of setting a minimum velocity and a minimum energy to determine a probably kill with a certain round I have discovered that the two factors have a trade off relation ship and that for some combinations there may be an upper 12 limit to this combination of velocity and energy For example smaller rounds at higher velocities may penetrate completely through a certain target leaving a clean hole through a tissue such as a muscle or fatty area and not killing the target animal But with different shot placement or on a different animal such a clean through shot may not occur resulting in all of the bullet s impact being absorbed by the target and resulting in greater trauma leading to death of the target o My conclusion based on my analysis of thousands of entries in ballistics tables and real world experience shooting many game types with many loads and bullets is that a generally applicable rule that both accurately predicts the killing power of a round and is simple enough for a hunter soldier or law enforcement officer to deter
46. tical movement of the ordnance defined as gyroscopic precession measured in inches of subtention at 100 yards being at anormal angle of 6 degrees and graduating to a major angle of 16 degrees 16 The system according to claim 10 wherein other incre mental ranges are selected for other types of missions employing longer range guns and predetermined loads 17 The system according to claim 10 wherein other lengths are used for specific other applications and further comprising a decal providing a representation of the reticle for use with the gun sight and matching a first set of prede termined ranges and a second set of predetermined ranges for all incremental aiming indicia so located upon the reticle 18 A telescopic gun sight having an optical system com prising a forward objective lens element a rear eyepiece lens element an intermediate erector lens element said lens elements being aligned along an optical axis constituting a line of sight and protectively confined within an elongated tubular housing adapted to be securely affixed to an ordnance firing device and atransparent reticle between said objective and erector lens elements said reticle having two interconnected grids a first being a distance measuring grid constructed of an electrified grid which illuminates a selected intersection to produce an aiming indicium comprising an aiming dot which aiming dot grid is not visible to a shooter except for the aiming dot and
47. trol logic The logic then uses the magnification level 604 the impact zone tables 605 and calculates the range to the target by the apparent size in the reticle as marked by the user 606 Next an estimation of the vertical drop of the selected bullet and load type is retrieved 607 from ballistics tables 43 or calculated from ballistics equations using conventional ballistics esti mation means Now the display 100 is updated 66 by the logic 608 to show the dot at an aiming point in the reticle which compensates for bullet drop at the determined range and the display is updated to show the range value estimation At this point the user can decide 67 to take an early shot by manually adjusting the aiming point to the left or right of the aiming point dot to compensate for windage and the shot can be taken 68 However if the shooter wishes he may continue to refine the aiming point by inputting 620 wind value e g 8 mph from the right or range of wind values e g variable 7 to 10 mph from the right as shown in FIG 6b The logic receives this input 630 and calculates a horizontal windage offset to cor rect the aiming point display for windage Optionally if the user has input a range of wind values a Wind Variance Bar WVB is calculated 631 to stretch in the display from the minimum wind value to the maximum wind value which effectively indicates to the shooter the likely area of bullet impact at the determined range in the wi
48. ut taking the users eyesight off of the target In sum these advantages allow for quick and accurate placement of shots at very long ranges Windage Range Variance Bar According to an optional aspect of the present invention when the user supplies a range of wind values such as right 7 varying to 10 mph a bar is show in the reticle display extend ing from the minimum wind hold point to the maximum wind hold point as shown in FIG 5a steps e and 9 Multiple Impact Zones Per Target Type According to an optional aspect of the present invention the stored impact zone measurements 42 include multiple impact zones per target type For example an alternative impact zone for a head shot for the same target type shown in FIG 5 can be entered and the user has selected a target type of white tail deer By entering head instead of chest as the impact zone for the white tail deer the control logic looks up a second impact zone dimension to calculate the range Oth US 7 905 046 B2 7 erwise the steps remain the same as those described in con junction with FIG 5 except substituting the head zone for the chest zone dimension Display Colors for Mental Cues According to an optional aspect of the present invention a color display is utilized to convey an extra level of informa tion to the user in a quick to comprehend format For example the dots in steps a through c of FIG 5 may be shown as red dots to indicate the aiming p
49. which is interconnected to a second reticle having ballistic aiming indicia thereon said indicia comprising a center vertical straight hairline and a center horizontal straight hairline said center ver tical and center horizontal hairlines intersecting substan tially perpendicularly and a series of primary range marker indicia disposed below said center horizontal 25 35 18 hairline the vertical spacing of said primary range marker indicia below said center horizontal hairline being non evenly spaced and proportional to drop of said ordnance at regularly increased target ranges dependent upon the substantially parabolic flight of real projectiles fired in earth s gravitational field wherein said series of primary range marker indicia comprises a series of primary straight horizontal range marker hair lines disposed below said center horizontal hairline and substantially parallel thereto and in vertically bisected relationship with said center vertical hairline said series of primary straight horizontal hairlines having sequen tially increasing incremental lengths with an intersected shaded series of range marker hairlines of sequentially increasing incremental length disposed below said cen ter horizontal hairline having angled wind markers set at 96 and 106 degree angles for right side hairlines and 186 and 196 degree angles for left side hairlines and wherein the lengths of said range marker hairlines on either side of said
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