A gun sighting aid

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a gun sighting aid ( 10 ) including a body ( 12 ) configured to be mounted relative a substantially central longitudinal axis ( 14 ) of a barrel ( 16 ) of a gun ( 18 ) to be sighted, mounting means in the form of a fitting member ( 20 ) for allowing the body ( 12 ) to be displaced relative the longitudinal axis ( 14 ) of the gun barrel ( 16 ), a camera mounting means in the form of a camera mounting member ( 22 ) for allowing a camera ( 24 ) to be mounted on the body ( 12 ) to allow the camera ( 24 ) to be displaced coaxially relative the central longitudinal axis ( 14 ) of the gun barrel ( 16 ) and a data transmitting means in the form of a data transmitter ( 26 ) for transmitting data captured by the camera ( 24 ) to a remote display device ( 28 ).

1 . A gun sighting aid including: —
 a body which is configured to be mounted relative a substantially central longitudinal axis of a barrel of a gun to be sighted wherein the body is sized and configured to be received co-axially and complementally within the barrel at a muzzle end region thereof; 
 a mounting means for allowing the body to be displaced relative the longitudinal axis of the gun barrel; 
 a camera mounting means for allowing a camera to be mounted on the body to allow the camera to be displaced coaxially relative the central longitudinal axis of the gun barrel; and 
 a data transmitting means for transmitting data captured by the camera to a remote display device. 
 
     
     
         2 .- 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the mounting means includes a fitting member which is sized and configured to provide an interference fit between the body and the muzzle end region or breach of the gun. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 6  wherein the fitting member is in the form of an O-ring. 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 6  wherein the fitting member is in the form of a bush for allowing improved contact distribution between the body and the muzzle end region or breach of the gun so as to reduce errors as a result of bending of the body during operation. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 6  wherein a pair of fitting members are provided towards opposing end regions of the body, wherein the pair of fitting members are spaced apart a distance which corresponds to a bore diameter of the gun. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 12  wherein the pair of fitting members are spaced apart in the region of three times the bore diameter. 
     
     
         15 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 6  wherein a free end region of the body is tapered to facilitate co-axial mounting of the fitting members thereon. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the mounting means includes an expansion arrangement which includes a longitudinally segmented tube arranged to receive the body therethrough. 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 17  wherein a pair of retaining O-rings are arranged toward opposing end regions of the segmented tube for keeping segments thereof together and substantially around the body. 
     
     
         20 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in any one or more of the  claim 17  wherein the expansion arrangement further includes a pair of conical collars which are arranged between the segmented tube and the body towards opposing end regions thereof, such that their smaller outer diameter portions face each other. 
     
     
         21 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 20  wherein a screw threaded collar is provided on one side of the body for pushing one of the pair of conical collars towards the other, thereby forcing the segmented tube to be pushed substantially radially away from the body and to expand into the breach of the gun barrel. 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the camera mounting means is in the form of a camera mounting member which includes a tubular member which receives the camera, the data transmitting means and the energising means therein. 
     
     
         24 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 23  wherein a pivoting means is provided for allowing a user to pivot the tubular member and the camera in the operative mounted condition wherein the gun sighting aid is mounted within the gun barrel. 
     
     
         27 .- 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the data transmitter is configured to transmit image data via a suitable data carrier which electrically interconnects the camera and the remote display device. 
     
     
         30 .- 32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the remote display device includes digital cross-hairs which are superimposed on an image displayed by the remote display. 
     
     
         34 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 33  wherein the digital cross-hairs are displaceable relative the image and the display. 
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . A gun sighting aid as claimed in  claim 1  wherein an alerting means is provided for alerting a user to the gun sighting aid when it is in the operative mounted condition to prevent a user from firing the gun with the sighting aid mounted on the gun barrel. 
     
     
         37 .- 43 . (canceled) 
     
     
         44 . A method of sighting a gun, which method includes: —
 mounting a gun sighting aid as hereinbefore described within a barrel of a gun; 
 transmitting data captured by a camera of the gun sighting aid to a remote display device; 
 aligning digital cross-hairs on a display of the display device with a reference point in the form of a target or object thus defining a pre-rotation position of the crosshairs; 
 rotating the camera 180 degrees relative the barrel of the gun about a central longitudinal axis of the gun barrel while ensuring the gun remains steady during rotation of the camera; 
 noting a difference in position of the cross-hairs relative reference point on the display as a result of rotating the camera thus defining a post-rotation position of the cross-hairs; and 
 displacing the cross-hairs relative the display from the post-rotation position to a point on the display approximately midway between the pre- and post-rotation positions to locate an intersection point between the central longitudinal axis of the gun barrel and a target. 
 
     
     
         45 . A gun sighting aid including: —
 a body which is configured to be mounted relative a substantially central longitudinal axis of a barrel of a gun to be sighted, wherein the cylindrical member is in the form of a sleeve which is sized to receive coaxially and overlay an outer portion of the muzzle end region; 
 a mounting means for allowing the body to be displaced relative the longitudinal axis of the gun barrel; 
 a camera mounting means for allowing a camera to be mounted on the body to allow the camera to be displaced coaxially relative the central longitudinal axis of the gun barrel; and 
 a data transmitting means for transmitting data captured by the camera to a remote display device.