Methods and apparatus for training in the use of optically-aimed projectile-firing firearms

Abstract

An apparatus for training a shooter of an optically aimed, projectile-firing weapon includes head gear adapted to be worn by the shooter. The head gear carries a housing, a beam splitter mounted to the housing, and an adjustment mechanism for positioning the beam splitter in front of a dominant eye of the shooter so that the beam splitter is operable to divide an image of the target into a first beam portion oriented toward the shooter's eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction. A camera is mounted on the head gear in line with the second direction for generating a video signal from the second beam portion. A remote monitor is connected to the camera for displaying a video image from the video signal. A hole through which the shooter aims can be adjusted in diameter to facilitate initial aiming.

1 . A process for training a shooter in the aiming of an optically aimed, projectile-firing weapon toward a target, comprising the steps of:
 A. positioning a beam splitter on a shooter's head in front of the shooter's dominant eye as the shooter aims and fires weapon toward the target, so that an image of the target is divided by the beam splitter into a first beam portion oriented in a first direction toward the shooter's dominant eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction;   B. directing the second beam portion to a video camera for generating a video signal therefrom; and   C. sending the video signal to a monitor to enable the aiming and firing to be viewed at the monitor.   
     
     
         2 . The process according to  claim 1  wherein the video camera receives the second beam portion while mounted on the shooter's head in line with the second direction. 
     
     
         3 . The process according to  claim 1  wherein the video signal is monitored in real time and optionally recorded for alter review. 
     
     
         4 . The process according to  claim 1  wherein the beam splitter is disposed in a housing such that the shooter aligns his/her dominant eye with the target through a hole adjustable between large and small sizes, step A comprising adjusting the hole size to the small size, aligning the shooter's dominant eye with the target through the small-size hole, and then varying the hole size to large size. 
     
     
         5 . The process according to  claim 4  wherein the housing comprises a main portion and a sleeve mounted on the main portion and rotatable relative thereto to selectively move one of a plurality of different-size holes carried by the sleeve into alignment with the shooter's eye. 
     
     
         6 . The process according to  claim 1  wherein the image sent from the camera to the monitor is inverted. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus for training a shooter of an optically-aimed, projectile-firing weapon, comprising:
 head gear adapted to be worn by the shooter including:
 a carrier; 
 a housing mounted on a lower portion of the carrier; 
 a beam splitter mounted to the housing; 
 an adjustment mechanism for positioning the beam splitter in front of an eye of the shooter so that the beam splitter is operable to divide an image of the target into a first beam portion oriented toward the shooter's eye, and a second beam portion oriented in a different second direction; 
 a camera mounted on the head gear to receive the second beam portion for generating a video signal from the second beam portion; and 
 a monitor connected to the camera for displaying a video image from the video signal. 
   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 7  wherein the beam splitter is disposed in a housing such that the shooter aligns his/her eye with the target through a hole adjustable between large and small sizes, and further including an adjustment mechanism for varying the size of the hole. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the housing comprises a main portion and a sleeve mounted on the main portion for rotatable relative to the main portion to selectively move one of a plurality of different-size holes carried by the sleeve into alignment with the shooter's eye. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the housing is adjustable in yaw, pitch and roll directions with respect to the direction of aiming. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 7 , further comprising a video camera trained on the shooter and connected to the monitor for generating a close-up view of the target on the monitor. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 7 , further including a first ball joint; a first clamp having first and second ends, the first end mounted on the first ball to enable the first clamp to swing about the ball; the second end receiving a second ball of a support member, enabling the support member to swing about the second ball, and a housing attached to the second ball, a housing attached to the second ball and receiving the beam splitter. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus according to  claim 12 , wherein the clamp enabled the housing to be adjusted generally up and down. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus according to  claim 7  further including software or hardware for inverting the image sent from the camera to the monitor.