FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a housing which encapsulates and protects a glass vial of tritium. An example of such a housing is described in
WO 2016 124 686 A1.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This section provides a general summary of background information and the comments and examples provided in this section are not necessarily prior art to the present disclosure.
[0003] Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which can be used as a luminary device for watches, compasses, knives, guns, tools, and the like. For example, tritium is often incorporated into a sighting device for firearms, archery bows, or the like. However, tritium is not readily visible when the sighting device is utilized during the daytime. Accordingly, prior art sighting devices, such as those disclosed in
U.S. Reissue Patent No. 35,347 to Trijicon, Inc., have made attempts to manually paint a white ring adjacent a first end of a tritium housing to add distinction and brightness to the tritium illumination during the daytime. However, such prior attempts are extremely labor intensive, especially when one considers that the white ring must be intricately painted around a housing that is only 2.0-2.5mm in width. Furthermore, any painted white ring is subject to wearing off, chipping, and even fading during continued use of the sighting device. Thus, other prior art sighting devices, such as those disclosed in
US 7,562,486 to TruGlo, Inc., have made attempts to press or install a colored mounting ring over a first end of a tritium housing after the tritium housing has been inserted into a sighting device. Relatedly, other prior art tritium housings, such as those disclosed in
WO 2016/124686 to MB-Microtec AG have made attempts to secure or arrange a separate colored ring body to a first end of a tritium housing prior to its placement within the sighting device. However, such prior attempts necessarily require additional manufacturing steps and parts (and thus expense) to incorporate and secure the colored rings to the tritium housing. Accordingly, there remains a continuing need for an improved tritium housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The subject invention provides for a tritium housing in accordance with independent claim 1 including a body extending along an axis A from a first end to a second end to define a hollow extending therebetween. A lens is disposed adjacent and surrounded by the first end of the body and a tritium vial is disposed within the hollow to produce illumination that is visible through the lens. The body is comprised of a colored, plastic material for adding distinction and brightness to the tritium illumination during a daylight use of the tritium housing. In other words, since the first end of the body is directly visible to an environment of the housing and is comprised of the same colored, plastic material as the body, the first end of the body advantageously provides visible distinction to the tritium illumination without the need to include and secure additional components, such as a highlighting ring, to the first end of the housing, or require other process steps, such as painting or ink printing the first end, during the manufacture of the tritium housing. Accordingly, the subject tritium housing builds-in or incorporates magnification and illumination of the tritium vial which is otherwise not possible in the prior art tritium housings without additional components, manufacturing steps, and expense.
[0005] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a first embodiment of a housing which is not covered by the claims and which includes a body extending from a first end to a second end to define a hollow for receiving a tritium vial;
Figure 2 illustrates a side, cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the housing;
Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the first embodiment of the housing;
Figure 4 illustrates a first end view of the first embodiment of the housing;
Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of a second embodiment of the housing which is not covered by the claims and which includes a flange integral with and extending from the first end of the body;
Figure 6 illustrates a side, cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the housing;
Figure 7 illustrates a top view of the second embodiment of the housing;
Figure 8 illustrates a first end view of the second embodiment of the housing;
Figure 9 illustrates a perspective view of a third embodiment of the housing according to the invention and including a spherical lens extending outwardly from the first end of the body;
Figure 10 illustrates a side, cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the housing;
Figure 11 illustrates a top view of the third embodiment of the housing;
Figure 12 illustrates a first end view of the third embodiment of the housing;
Figure 13 illustrates a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the housing which is not covered by the claims and which includes a slot defined by the first end of the body for receiving a lens;
Figure 14 illustrates a side, cross-sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the housing;
Figure 15 illustrates a top view of the fourth embodiment of the housing;
Figure 16 illustrates a first end view of the fourth embodiment of the housing;
Figure 17 illustrates a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the housing which is not covered by the claims and which includes a slit defined by the body and extending from the second end for allowing the tritium vial to be inserted through a side or top of the body;
Figure 18 illustrates a side view of the fifth embodiment of the housing;
Figure 19 illustrates a top view of the first embodiment of the housing;
Figure 20 illustrates a side, cross-sectional view of the fifth embodiment of the housing; and
Figure 21 illustrates a first end view of the fifth embodiment of the housing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENTS
[0007] Example embodiments of a housing which includes or incorporates a tritium vial in accordance with the present disclosure will now be more fully described. The invention is defined by the claims, in particular independent claim 1 and illustrated in the third embodiment. Although the disclosure further describes first, second, fourth and fifth embodiments, these embodiments fall outside of the scope of the claims. Each of these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and fully conveys the scope of the inventive concepts, features and advantages to those skilled in the art.
[0008] Figures 1-21 are views of a housing
10 in accordance with various aspects of the subject disclosure. As best shown therein, in each aspect the housing
10 includes a body
12 extending along an axis
A from a first end
14 to a second end
16 to define a hollow
18 having an inner hollow surface
19 extending therebetween. In a preferred arrangement, the body
12 has a tubular shape and is approximately 2.5mm (+/- 2.0mm) in width and approximately 7 mm (+/- 5.0mm) in length. However, other shapes and sizes could be utilized without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. The housing
10 includes a lens
20 that is preferably integral with and surrounded by the body
12 next adjacent the first end
14. A glass vial of tritium
22 is disposed within the hollow
18 and is visible by a user through the lens portion
20. In a preferred arrangement, the lens
20 is comprised of a transparent or translucent material, such as an injection molded plastic, for allowing illumination produced by the tritium vial
22 to be viewable by the user through the lens
20. However, the lens
20 could also be comprised of glass, sapphire, mineral, silicone, or other type of lens material without departing from the subject disclosure. As will be appreciated by the aforementioned disclosure, when the housing
10 is incorporated into a device, such as a watch, compass, knife, gun, tool, and the like, the tritium vial
22 provides aesthetic benefits for the device by illuminating a portion of the device and allowing a user to see the device at all times.
[0009] In a preferred arrangement, the body
12 is micro-molded with the lens
20 to establish the integral relationship therebetween. However, when the lens
20 is comprised of glass, the body portion
12 could alternatively be molded around the lens portion
20, or integrally connected with the lens
20 through any other well-known connection means, such as adhesive bonding, heat sealing, fusing, press-fitting, clamping, or fastening, without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. In either arrangement, the first end
14 of the body
12 is not obstructed by the lens
20 (or covered by any other components or materials), and thus is directly visible by a user and exposed to the environment of the housing
10 when incorporated into the respective device.
[0010] The body
12 is comprised of a colored, plastic material, such as a polycarbonate, nylon, or the like, for providing distinction and brightness to the tritium illumination during a daylight use of the tritium housing
10. Accordingly, the first end
14 of the body
12, which is also comprised of the same colored, plastic material and directly visible by a user and exposed to the environment of the housing (i.e., not covered by additional components such as rings or painted or printed over by inks) provides a less expensive and more robust approach to magnifying and brightening the tritium illumination during a daylight application of the housing
10 relative to the prior art designs. In a preferred embodiment, the body
12 is comprised of a white, green, yellow, orange, pink, or purple colored material. However, other colors could be utilized without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. In an even more preferred embodiment, the body
12 is also comprised of a phosphorescent, colored plastic material to provide an additional glowing effect to the illumination produced by the tritium vial
22.
[0011] As previously discussed, any tritium
22 incorporated into the housing
10 is often provided in a glass vial and thus susceptible to damage and/or breakage. However, tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen and thus the use of tritium in products is closely regulated by the various U.S. governmental agencies to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. Toward that end, the use and incorporation of the tritium glass vials into products must sufficiently establish that the tritium vials are adequately protected from damange or breakage during their regular and everyday use. Absent such proof, the use and incorporation of tritium glass vials into said products is simply not permitted by the various U.S. governmental agencies. The disposal of the tritium glass vials
22 within a housing
10 having a plastic body
12 allows the body
12 to provide protection from such damage and/or breakage and meet these strict governmental regulations. Furthermore, as best shown in Figure 2-3, 6-7, 10-11, and 14-15, in an aspect, the second end
16 of the body portion
12 can include an adhesive
24 to encapsulate the tritium vials
22 within the hollow
18 and maintain and secure the tritium vials
22 placement within and longitudinally along the housing
10. Thus, the placement and securement of the glass tritium vial
22 between the first and second ends
14, 16 of the housing encapsulates the tritium vials
22 within the hollow
18 and further serves to protect the tritium vials
22 from impact, chemicals, water, or other environmental conditions of the housing
10 which could otherwise damage or break the tritium vial
22. Put another way, the housing
10 nests or embeds the tritium vials
22 within its hollow
18, which can then be secured between the first and second ends
14,16 to effectively isolate or reduce exposure of the tritium vials
22 to various environmental impacts encountered by the housing
10. Thus, the housing
10 helps facilitate the meeting of the necessary requirements of the U.S. governmental organizations to incorporate tritium into a number of devices.
[0012] With reference to Figures 1-8 and 13-21, i.e. the first, second fourth and fifth embodiments which are not covered by the claims, the lens
20 could be comprised of a circular, glass or plastic, disk, i.e., hockey puck shaped, which is preferably disposed flush with a first end
14 of the housing
10. However, as best illustrated in Figures 9-12, in accordance with the claims the lens
20 is a spherical, glass or plastic, lens
20' which extends outwardly from a first end
14 of the housing
10 to improve the optics of the illumination produced by the tritium vial
22 disposed within the housing
10. In particular, the spherical lens
20' allows the illumination produced by the tritium vial
22 to be viewable by the user from a wider range of angles relative to the first end
14 when the housing
10 is incorporated into its respective device. Additionally, because the spherical lens
20' has a larger viewable surface area than the circular, disk lens
20, the use of the spherical lens
20' facilitates the use of a smaller vial of tritium
22 to be used within the housing
10 because the spherical lens
20' leads to more viewable illumination than that produced by a circular lens
20.
[0013] As best illustrated in Figures 5-21, the housing
10 includes a flange
28 which is integral with the body
12 and extends radially outwardly from the first end
14 for use in facilitating placement of the housing
10 within the respective device. In other words, the body
12 is a monolithic structure inclusive of the first end
14 and the flange
28 extending radially therefrom. If the housing
10 is to be incorporated into a sighting device, the sighting device can include an orifice for receiving a tritium vial, with the orifice often being stepped to define at least one shoulder. Accordingly, the flange
28 advantageously mates with the corresponding shoulder of the sighting device to facilitate easy and reliable placement of the housing
10 within the gun sight cavity, preferably placing the lens
20 flush with an exterior surface of the sighting device. Similar results would stem from incorporation of the housing
10 into any other devices, such as a thumb stud of a knife, which also can define an orifice which is stepped to define at least one shoulder. Since the flange
28 is integral with the body, the flange
28 is also comprised of the same, colored plastic material and thus provides a larger visible colored surface of the first end
14 for further distinction and brightness to the illumination produced by the tritium vial
22.
[0014] As best illustrated in Figures 13-16, in an alternative arrangement not covered by the claims, the flange
28 of the housing
10 can define a slot
30 or side opening for receiving the circular disk lens
20. However, if the housing
10 does not include a flange
28, the first end
14 of the body portion
12 could define the slot
30. In either arrangement, the circular disk lens
20 can be slid through the slot
30 to enclose the hollow
18. Once the circular disk lens
20 is in place, the slot
30 can be closed, such as through glue, or the like, to secure the circular disk lens
20 within the housing
10 and secure the tritium vial
22 within the hollow
18 defined by the body
12.
[0015] As best illustrated in Figures 17-21, in an alternative arrangement not covered by the claims, the body
12 defines a slit
32 extending from the second end
16 for allowing the tritium vial
22 to be inserted into the hollow
18 through a side or top of the housing
10 instead of through the second end
16 of the housing
10, as required by each of the other aspects. As previously mentioned, in an aspect, the body
12 and flange
28 of the housing
10 are over-molded to the lens portion
20. Thus, it can sometimes be difficult to insert the tritium vial
22 through an opening provided in the second end
16 of the housing
10. The slit
32 advantageously provides for an easier insertion of the tritium vial
22 into the hollow
18, namely through the top or side of the housing
10. Additionally, the slit
32 allows for the insertion of the tritium vial
22 to more easily be automated, namely because insertion of the tritium vial
22 through the top or side of the housing provides for a relatively hands-off procedure.
[0016] As described previously, in accordance with the other aspects, the tritium vial
22 is secured between the first and second ends
14, 16 by placing adhesive
24, bonding material, or the like within the hollow
18 through the second end
16. However, the adhesive
24 or bonding material can end up displaced out of the second end
16 of the housing, or even disposed between the lens portion
20 and the tritium vial
22 after assembly, thus reducing or blocking some of the viewable illumination produced by the tritium vial
22. Accordingly, as best illustrated in Figures 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, and 13-14, the body
12 can define at least one weep hole
34 disposed adjacent the first end
14 and in fluid communication with the hollow
18 for providing an area for excess adhesive
24 to escape and correspondingly prevent build-up of adhesive
24 between the lens
20 and tritium vial
22. In a preferred arrangement, the at least one weep hole
34 includes a plurality of weep holes
34 disposed in spaced relationship circumferentially along the body
12 adjacent the first end
14.
[0017] With reference to Figures 17-21, the slit
32 does not require the incorporation of weep holes
34 into the body as the slit
32 allows a first layer of the adhesive
24 or bonding material to be placed along the inner hollow surface
19 of the housing
22 before laying the tritium vial
22 inside the hollow
18. Accordingly, the tritium vial
22 does not displace or force adhesive
24 out of the second end
16 of the housing or between the lens
20 and the tritium vial
22 when it is laid over-top of the first layer of adhesive
24. The slit
32 also allows another second layer of adhesive
24' or bonding material to be placed over the tritium vial
22 and extending along the slit
32 once the tritium vial
22 is disposed within the hollow
18. Accordingly, the slit
32 provides an improved method of securing the tritium vial
22 within the hollow
18 which avoids adhesive ending up between the lens portion
20 and the tritium vial
22 without the need to employ weep holes in the body
12 of the housing
10.
[0018] In any of the aforementioned aspects, the adhesive
24, 24' or bonding material can be comprised of a reflective material to provide brighter illumination through the lens portion
20. In other words, a reflective adhesive
24, 24' or bonding material can provide superior tritium illumination output and improve visibility of the tritium housing
10 during both day and nighttime conditions.
[0019] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. The invention is defined by the scope of the claims.
1. Tritiumgehäuse (10), umfassend:
einen Körper (12), der sich entlang einer Achse (A) von einem ersten Ende (14) zu einem zweiten Ende (16) erstreckt, um einen Hohlraum zu definieren, der sich dazwischen erstreckt;
einen Flansch (28), der einstückig mit dem Körper ist und sich radial nach außen von dem ersten Ende erstreckt, der eine sichtbare Fläche des ersten Endes bereitstellt und Platzierung des Tritiumgehäuses innerhalb einer jeweiligen Vorrichtung ermöglicht;
eine Linse (20'), die angrenzend an und umgeben von dem ersten Ende des Körpers angeordnet ist;
ein Tritiumfläschchen (22), das innerhalb des Hohlraums angeordnet ist, um Beleuchtung zu erzeugen, die durch die Linse sichtbar ist;
wobei der Körper besteht aus einem farbigen Kunststoffmaterial zum Vergrößern und Aufhellen der Tritiumbeleuchtung während einer Tageslichtnutzung des Tritiumgehäuses; und
wobei die Linse kugelförmig ist und sich nach außen erstreckt von dem ersten Ende des Körpers, um der Tritiumbeleuchtung zu ermöglichen, sichtbar zu sein aus einem größeren Winkelbereich, der relativ zu dem ersten Ende des Körpers definiert ist.
2. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 1, ferner umfassend ein Haftmittel (24), das innerhalb des Hohlraums angeordnet ist, um das Tritiumfläschchen zwischen dem ersten und zweiten Ende des Körpers zu sichern.
3. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 2, wobei das Haftmittel angeordnet ist neben dem zweiten Ende, um das Tritiumfläschchen innerhalb des Hohlraums einzukapseln.
4. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 3, wobei der Körper wenigstens ein Leckloch (34) definiert, das neben dem ersten Ende und in Fluidkommunikation mit dem Hohlraum angeordnet ist, um überschüssigem Haftmittel zu ermöglichen, zu entweichen aus dem Gehäuse und zu verhindern das Ansammeln des Haftmittels zwischen der Linse und dem Tritiumfläschchen.
5. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 4, wobei der Hohlraum eine innere Hohlraumfläche aufweist, die sich zwischen dem ersten und zweiten Ende des Körpers erstreckt, und wobei das Haftmittel eine erste Schicht Haftmittel einschließt, erstreckend das Tritiumfläschchen und die innere Hohlraumfläche.
6. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 1, wobei die Linse einstückig mit dem Körper ist.
7. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 6, wobei der Körper mikrogeformt ist mit der Linse, um die einstückige Anordnungsbeziehung herzustellen.
8. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Körper besteht aus einem weißen, grünen, gelben, orangen, rosa oder lila farbenen Kunststoff.
9. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 8, wobei der Körper ferner besteht aus einem phosphoreszierenden Material, um der Tritiumbeleuchtung einen Glüheffekt bereitzustellen.
10. Tritiumgehäuse nach Anspruch 2, wobei das Haftmittel besteht aus einem reflektierenden Material, um Tritiumbeleuchtung zu reflektieren und zu richten, erzeugt innerhalb des Hohlraums in Richtung der Linse.