IP Library Granted Patent US 12,366,429
Granted Patent B2
US 12,366,429 · App. 18/482,520 · Granted Jul 22, 2025

Back-up sights with compact aperture, centering sight post, and miniaturized windage detent mechanism

Inventors: Zachary Freeman (Westminster, CO); Eric Nakayama (Broomfield, CO); Timothy Eric Roberts (Broomfield, CO)
Assignee: Magpul Industries Corp.
F41G1/033F41G1/08F41G1/17F41G1/18F41G1/26
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,366,429
App. No.
18/482,520
Granted
Jul 22, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A sighting system for a firearm and related methods are disclosed. The sighting system has front and rear flip-up sights, wherein the front sight comprises a flip-up portion having an aperture through which a sight post can partially extend; a knob comprising one or more notches on a first side and the sight post extending from a second side; at least one detent arranged to face and interact with the one or more notches. The knob is configured to rotate about a first axis, where the rotation causes the sight post to move in a first direction along the first axis; tilting of the knob in a second direction based on the detent interfacing with the notches; and tilting of the sight post in the second direction, thereby forcing at least a portion of the sight post to press against the aperture, or a combination thereof.

Claims (31)

1. A flip-up aiming sight for use with a firearm, the flip-up aiming sight positioned near a proximal end of the firearm, the flip-up aiming sight comprising:

a base for attachment to the firearm;

a first arm and a second arm, the first arm and the second arm positioned on opposite sides of a longitudinal plane through the firearm;

an aperture mechanism positioned between the first arm and the second arm, wherein the aperture mechanism comprises:

a first end having a first aperture and a second end having a second aperture, wherein the first aperture is larger than the second aperture;

first and third non-threaded tabs;

a windage screw coupled to a windage knob, the windage screw passing through the first arm, the second arm, the first non-threaded tab, and the third non-threaded tab;

a second threaded tab arranged on the windage screw between the first and third non-threaded tabs, and comprising a notch configured to slide along a biased detent; and

wherein the windage knob is configured to rotate the aperture mechanism 180 to switch between the first and second aperture.

2. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the windage knob comprises a leaf spring with a plurality of detents and wherein the plurality of detents are shaped to engage with a plurality of notches spaced along a perimeter of the windage knob.

3. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 2 , wherein the second threaded tab engages with the windage screw, causing the aperture mechanism to move laterally, ensuring that the first and second apertures remain aligned along a same vertical axis.

4. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 2 , wherein the windage screw and the second threaded tab are configured to laterally shift the aperture mechanism in an opposite direction as the windage screw and the second threaded tab to compensate for any lateral shift introduced by rotation of the windage knob.

5. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the second threaded tab is positioned between the first and third non-threaded tabs, and the first and third non-threaded tabs have openings allowing the windage screw to pass through them, thereby guiding lateral movement of the aperture mechanism.

6. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the aperture mechanism is configured to maintain alignment along a singular vertical axis when switching between the first and second apertures, minimizing lateral shift and ensuring consistent aiming alignment.

7. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the aperture mechanism is configured to rotate around the windage screw with minimal or no lateral movement along the windage screw when flipped between apertures, and the windage screw moves the aperture mechanism laterally when the windage knob is rotated.

8. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the leaf spring has a radius less than a radius of the windage knob.

9. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein interfacing between the notch and the biased detent is configured to guide lateral movement of the second threaded tab along the windage screw.

10. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , further comprising a circular boss on the second arm.

11. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 10 , wherein the circular boss includes a concentric recess for receiving the leaf spring.

12. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , further comprising a hinge pin configured to allow the flip-up aiming sight to pivot between a stowed position and a deployed position.

13. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 12 , wherein the hinge pin is spring-loaded.

14. The flip-up aiming sight of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of detents are angled.

15. A rear flip-up aiming sight comprising:

two arms;

an aperture mechanism comprising:

first and second sighting apertures of differing diameters;

first and second non-threaded pivot apertures oblique to the first and second sighting apertures;

a windage screw passing through the two arms and the first and second non-threaded pivot apertures; and

a threaded tab between the first and second non-threaded pivot apertures and threaded to the windage screw; and

a biased detent configured to guide lateral movement of the threaded tab along the windage screw,

wherein the aperture mechanism is configured to rotate 180° around the windage screw to switch between the first and second sighting apertures.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 29, 2024
From: MAGPUL INDUSTRIES CORP.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 068101/0746 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 29, 2023
From: FREEMAN, ZACHARY; NAKAYAMA, ERIC; ROBERTS, TIMOTHY ERIC
To: MAGPUL INDUSTRIES CORP.
Reel/Frame 065708/0868 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17802245
Provisional Application 63070357 · Aug 26, 2020
Related Publication 20240077280A1 · Mar 7, 2024
References Cited (102)
US 1903326A · Crawley · 1933 [cited by examiner]
US 1908019A · Howard · 1933 [cited by examiner]
US 2331903A · Garand · 1943 [cited by examiner]
US 2334300A · Williams · 1943 [cited by examiner]
US 3648374A · Lewis · 1972 [cited by examiner]
US 3930316A · Tellie · 1976 [cited by examiner]
US 4200989A · Brouthers · 1980 [cited by applicant]
US 5533292A · Swan · 1996 [cited by applicant]
US 5966825A · Biemont · 1999 [cited by applicant]
US 6418657B1 · Brown · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6481146B2 · Carrier, III · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6779290B1 · Houtsma · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 7076907B2 · Nesseth et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7356962B2 · Swan · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7814698B2 · Fluhr et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7921591B1 · Adcock · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8015744B1 · Swan · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8069607B2 · Ballard · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8196333B2 · Hopkins et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8375619B2 · Hewes · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8484882B2 · Haley et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8621775B2 · Troy · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 9062931B2 · Troy et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9261330B2 · Troy · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9322615B2 · Raybman · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9448035B2 · Wilson · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9683811B1 · Warensford · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9733045B1 · Bozek · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9733046B1 · Bozek · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 9835411B2 · Larson, Jr. et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9976834B1 · Cheng et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10030935B1 · Ding et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10119784B1 · Ding et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10222179B2 · Smith · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10317171B2 · Odle et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10330437B2 · Kung · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10337837B2 · Keller et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10605565B1 · Geissele et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11815331B2 · Freeman et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20080276520A1 · Ballard · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20110308132A1 · Hewes · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20150128471A1 · Troy · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150198414A1 · Raybman · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20160102941A1 · Brucker et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160209166A1 · Larson, Jr. et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20180245880A1 · Campbell · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190017784A1 · Smith · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20230272996A1 · Freeman et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230272997A1 · Bartoszewicz · 2023 [cited by examiner]
CN 201561698U · 2010 [cited by examiner]
CN 104567544A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 106643295A · 2017 [cited by examiner]
CN 109269348A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
CN 113390293A · 2021 [cited by examiner]
CN 115014122A · 2022 [cited by examiner]
DE 202014010600U1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
FR 2822228A1 · 2002 [cited by applicant]
JP 2023536540A · 2023 [cited by applicant]
TW I583915B · 2017 [cited by applicant]
TW 202217226A · 2022 [cited by applicant]
TW 1782677B · 2022 [cited by applicant]
TW 202314188A · 2023 [cited by applicant]
WO 2022060543A2 · 2022 [cited by applicant]
WO 2022060543A3 · 2022 [cited by applicant]
EPO, Extended European Search Report regarding European Patent Application No. 21869965.0, Mar. 15, 2024, pp. 12. [cited by applicant]
EPO, Partial supplementary European search report regarding European Patent Application No. 21869965.0, Dec. 11, 2023, pp. 12. [cited by applicant]
“A.R.M.S.® #40™ Stand Alone Flip-Up Sight” ARMS, 3 pages, Online available at <https://armsmounts.com/shop/iron-sights/a-r-m-s-40-stand-alone-flip-up-rear-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“A.R.M.S.® #40™ML Low Profile Rear Sight NSN 1005-01-575-3508”, ARMS, 3 pages, Online available at <https://armsmounts.com/shop/iron-sights/a-r-m-s-40l-low-profile-rear-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“A.R.M.S.® #71L-R Rear Sight”, ARMS, 3 pages, Online available at <https://armsmounts.com/shop/iron-sights/a-r-m-s-711-r-rear-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“AR-556® Low Profile Flip-Up Rear Sight”, ShopRuger, Everything and Anything Ruger and Marlin, 2 pages, Online available at <https://shopruger.com/AR-556-Low-Profile-Flip-Up-Rear-Sight/productinfo/18141/>, Known as ealr… [cited by applicant]
“C4 Rear Sight”, Ultradyne American Ingenuity, 2 pages, Online available at <https://ultradyneusa.com/product/c4-folding-rear-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Diamondhead Polymer Diamond Integrated Sighting System Front/Rear Sights AR-15 1498”, Optics Planet, 1 page, Online available at <https://www.opticsplanet.com/diamondhead-polymer-diamond-integrated-sighting-system-fron… [cited by applicant]
“F.A.B. FBS Front Back-Up Sight”, F.A.B. Defense, 1 page, Online available at <https://www.fab-defense.com/en/category-parts-and-upgrades/id-1425/front-back-up-sight.html>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“F.A.B. RBS Rear Back-Up Sight”, F.A.B. Defense, 1 page, Online available at <https://www.fab-defense.com/en/category-parts-and-upgrades/id-1426/rear-back-up-sight.html>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Flip up Rear Sight”, Mission First Tactical, 2 pages, Online available at <https://www.missionfirsttactical.com/BUPSWR>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Folding Micro Front Sight PN:25654”, Knights Armament, 4 pages, Online available at <https://www.knightarmco.com/12657/shop/sighting/micro-flip-up-front-sight>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
International Preliminary Report on Patentability Chapter I received for PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2021/047522 dated Mar. 9, 2023, 9 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion received for PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2021/047522 dated May 6, 2022, 20 pages. [cited by applicant]
Invitation to Pay Additional Fees received for PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2021/047522 dated Feb. 25, 2022, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
“LWRCI Skirmish Back Up Iron Sights (BUIS) Set”, High Performance Firearms, 3 pages, Online available at <https://www.lwrci.com/LWRCI-Skirmish-Back-Up-Iron-Sights-BUIS-Set_p_30.html>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“M16A2 Rifle Sights”, Wikipedia, 29 pages, Online available at <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“MBUS Pro® Sight—Rear”, Magpul, 7 pages, Online available at <https://magpul.com/catalog/product/view/id/6259/s/mbus-pro-sight-rear/category/61>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“MBUS® Sight—Rear”, Magpul, 8 pages, Online available at <https://magpul.com/firearm-accessories/mbus-sight-rear.html>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Mckfbus | Front Flip Back Up Sight”, CAA, 1 page, Online available at <https://caagearup.com/product/ffs-front-flip-up-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“MCKRBUS | Rear Flip Back up Sight”, CAA, 2 pages, Online available at <https://caagearup.com/product/frs-rear-flip-up-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Multiple Aperture Device with Locking Mechanical Detent NSN 1005-01-527-6333”, GG&G, 2 pages, Online available at <https://www.gggaz.com/mad-back-up-iron-sight.html>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
Notice of Allowance received for U.S. Appl. No. 17/802,245 dated Jul. 17, 2023, 24 pages. [cited by applicant]
Notice of Reasons of Rejection received for Japanese Patent Application Serial No. 2023513471 dated Sep. 12, 2023, 5 pages. [cited by applicant]
Office Action received for Taiwan Patent Application Serial No. 110131700 dated May 25, 2022, 21 pages. [cited by applicant]
Office Action received for Taiwan Patent Application Serial No. 111148952 dated Feb. 21, 2023, 8 pages. [cited by applicant]
“PEAK/01 World's finest fixed iron sights”, ScalarWorks, 13 pages, Online available at <https://scalarworks.com/shop/iron-sights/peak-01/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Ruger® Rapid Deploy Rear Sight”, ShopRuger, Everything and Anything Ruger and Marlin, 4 pages, Online available at <https://shopruger.com/Ruger-Rapid-Deploy-Rear-Sight/productinfo/90415/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 20… [cited by applicant]
“Spikes Tactical Gen II Micro Rear Sight”, Spikes Tactical, 4 pages, Online available at <https://www.spikestactical.com/collections/sights/spikes-tactical-gen-ii-micro-rear-sight/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Spikes Tactical Gen II Micro Front Sight”, Spike Tactical, 1 page, Online available at <https://www.spikestactical.com/collections/sights/spikes-tactical-gen-ii-micro-front-sight/>, Known as ealry as Jan. 17, 2023. [cited by applicant]
“Trinity Force AR-15 Polymer Flip-Up Sight Set—OPF56”, AR15DISCOUNTS, 2 pages, Online available at <https://ar15discounts.com/products/trinity-force-ar-15-polymer-flip-up-sight-set/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 19, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Troy Di-Optic Aperture Front & Rear Sight COMBO”, Larue Tactical, 1 page, Online available at <https://www.larue.com/products/troy-di-optic-aperture-front-rear-sight-combo/>, Known as ealry as Oct. 19, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Tuor Multi-Axis and Ambidextrous BUIS”, The Firearm Blog, 7 pages, Online available at <https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/01/20/tuor-multi-axis-ambidextrous-buis/>, Posted Jan. 20, 2015, Known as ealry as Oct. 1… [cited by applicant]
“UTG® ACCU-SYNC® Spring-loaded AR15 Flip-up Rear Sight, Black”, Leapers, Inc., 1 page, Online available at <https://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&itemno=MNT-957>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“UTG® AR15 Low Profile Flip-up Rear Sight with Dual Aiming Aperture”, Leapers, Inc., 1 page, Online available at <https://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&itemno=MNT-955>, Known as ealry as Oct. 17, 2022. [cited by applicant]
“Tritium Folding Battlesight—Dioptic”, Troy, 1 page, online available at <https://troyind.com/products/dioptic-folding-sight-blk>, Known as early as Jan. 16, 2024. [cited by applicant]
“Trinity Force LF-BUIS Front and Rear Iron Sight Co”, Deguns.net, 1 page, online available at <https://trinityforce.com/product/lf-buis/>, Known as early as Jan. 16, 2024. [cited by applicant]
“Diamondhead Polymer Flip-up Sight Set—Nite Brite Glow—1499”, MAS Defense, 1 page, online available at <https://www.diamondhead-usa.com/product/polymer-diamond-rear-w-nitebrite/>, Known as early as Jan. 16, 2024. [cited by applicant]