Firearm aiming device

Abstract

A rear-sight aiming device to aid a shooter of a firearm. The device includes a housing with a tunnel alignable with the front aiming sight; an elongated optical fiber disposed inboard within the tunnel; an annular light-transmitting cylinder, disposed within the tunnel between the optical fiber and the shooter of the firearm during shooting; and a self-activating light source coaxially and completely disposed within the cylinder.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A rear-sight aiming device to aid a shooter of a firearm, the firearm having a barrel, an aiming device attachment member receiving slot of the tapering type, and a front aiming sight, the rear-sight aiming device comprising:
 an elongated housing having a tunnel therein, the tunnel being configured so it is parallely arrangeable with the firearm's barrel and alignable with the front aiming sight and having at least one light admitting opening to the tunnel, the housing further having an inwardly tapered groove that is generally crosswise to the longitudinal axis of the elongated housing;   an elongated optical fiber having a front end and a rear end, and the optical fiber is disposed inboard within the tunnel whereby at least a portion of the optical fiber is operably associated with the at least one light admitting opening;   an annular light-transmitting cylinder, with a front annular surface and a rear annular surface, being open at both ends thereof and having an outer diameter and an inner diameter, the translucent annular light-transmitting cylinder being disposed within the tunnel between the optical fiber and the shooter of the firearm during shooting;   a self-activating light source having a front end and a rear end, the self-activating light source being disposed coaxially within the annular light-transmitting cylinder and completely housed within the annular light-transmitting cylinder, whereby the self-activating light source is proximal the shooter of the firearm during shooting during shooting of the firearm; and   an attachment mechanism configured to attach the aiming device to the firearm,   whereby the firearm can be aimed in a light or dark environment by aligning, with the front aiming sight of the firearm, the self-activating light source or the annular light-transmitting cylinder, which provide a shooter of the firearm with an illuminated dot by the self-activating light source or an illuminated annular surface produced by the optical fiber, as transmitted through the light-transmitting cylinder.   
     
     
         2 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber has a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the annular light-transmitting cylinder. 
     
     
         3 . The aiming device of  claim 2 , wherein the optical fiber is configured in a non-linear configuration. 
     
     
         4 . The aiming device of  claim 3 , wherein the optical fiber is configured in a serpentine configuration. 
     
     
         5 . The aiming device of  claim 3 , wherein the optical fiber is configured in a spiral configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The aiming device of  claim 3 , wherein the optical fiber has a flared front end. 
     
     
         7 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the light transmitting cylinder has a shoulder adjacent the front annular surface thereof configured to help retain the self-activating light source within the light-transmitting cylinder. 
     
     
         8 . The aiming device of  claim 7 , wherein the shoulder is annular. 
     
     
         9 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , further comprising a lens disposed between the optical fiber and the self-activating light source. 
     
     
         10 . The aiming device of  claim 9 , wherein the lens is a spherical lens. 
     
     
         11 . The aiming device of  claim 9 , wherein the lens has a diameter essentially equal to the outer diameter of the light-transmitting cylinder. 
     
     
         12 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the housing further comprises a pair of channels adjacently straddling the tunnel for aiding in side-to-side aiming of the firearm. 
     
     
         13 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is opaque. 
     
     
         14 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a pair of screws and the attachment member comprises a pair of respective threaded female screw receiving recesses. 
     
     
         15 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber is formed in a solid rod-like or bar-like configuration. 
     
     
         16 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the entire elongated optical fiber is disposed behind the self-activating light source. 
     
     
         17 . The aiming device of  claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber has a diameter smaller than that of the self-activating light source.