U.S. patent application number 10/924465 was filed with the patent office on 2006-02-23 for sling attachment hardware for firearms.
Invention is credited to Robert Hudson Garrett, Sandy Alexander JR. Garrett.
Application Number | 20060037226 10/924465 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35908317 |
Filed Date | 2006-02-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060037226 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Garrett; Robert Hudson ; et
al. |
February 23, 2006 |
Sling attachment hardware for firearms
Abstract
The present invention relates to improved hardware used to
secure slings to firearms. In particular, to hardware used to
secure slings to firearms like that of the M16A2 and M4 Carbine
that are fitted with a Picatinny type rail and collapsible
buttstock. An improved wedge/yoke assembly is used to secure one
end of a sling to the firearm on a rail. The improved wedge/yoke
assembly is designed to be installed quickly with the use of simple
tools without modification to the firearm. The improved wedge/yoke
assembly is adjustable to compensate for varying slot depths found
on Mil-Spec 1913 rails. This hardware used in conjunction with
other suitable sling attachment hardware allows for ambidextrous
attachment of a tactical sling to the firearm giving the user a
"hands free" capability.
Inventors: |
Garrett; Robert Hudson;
(Manassas, VA) ; Garrett; Sandy Alexander JR.;
(Manassas, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert H. Garrett
7518 K Fullerton Road
Springfield
VA
22153
US
|
Family ID: |
35908317 |
Appl. No.: |
10/924465 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/85 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41C 23/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
042/085 |
International
Class: |
F41C 23/00 20060101
F41C023/00; F41C 23/02 20060101 F41C023/02 |
Claims
1. Hardware for attaching a sling to a firearm, comprising: A yoke
type base configured to slideably attach to a connecting rail; a
slot on one side of said base; a threaded hole on the opposite side
of said base; a threaded plug; a key having a wedge cut for
insertion into said slot to bind against said threaded plug
connected to said base to securely attach said base to said
connecting rail, said key having an eyelet to allow for direct
attachment of a sling to said firearm:
2. Hardware according to claim 1, wherein said threaded plug
includes a shoulder to prohibit inadvertent removal of said
plug.
3. Hardware according to claim 2, wherein said base includes a
recess for accepting said shoulder of said threaded plug.
4. Hardware according to claim 1, wherein said key includes a slot
for directly attaching a sling.
5. Hardware for attaching a sling to a firearm, comprising: A yoke
type base configured to slideably attach to a connecting rail which
includes an eyelet; a slot on one side of said base; a threaded
hole on the opposite side of said base; a threaded plug; a key
having a cut parallel to its bottom for insertion into said slot to
bind against said threaded plug connected to said base to securely
attach said base to said connecting rail.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of hardware used
to secure slings to firearms.
BACKGROUND--FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] Devices have been developed to attach slings to Mil-Spec
1913 rails. Most of these devices attach in such a way that forces
exerted upon the assembly are distributed unevenly causing undue
wear to the rail and breakage of the device itself. Rotational
and/or quick detachable swivels used on these devices allow the
sling to twist which is not desirable when using a sling for
tactical purposes. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,330
distributes forces evenly to the rail and does not allow the sling
to twist but lacks certain adjustability characteristics that make
its use on Mil-Spec 1913 rails problematic.
BACKGROUND--DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
[0003] The forward mounting hardware disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
6,598,330 is a simple wedge/base configuration designed to secure
the assembly to an accessory mounting rail by force exerted on the
wedge from the sling attached either directly or with an interface
such as a split ring.
[0004] The use of the split ring is a weak point of this embodiment
as it cannot support excessive force placed upon it in a tactical
environment. By design, the top portion of the wedge must be small
enough to slide through the base attached to the rail. One
embodiment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,330 shows a sling hook
attached directly to the top portion of the wedge. While this is
desirable as it eliminates the weak split ring, in reality it
cannot be accomplished due to the size of the sling hooks currently
available on tactical slings. The size of the wedge needed to make
direct attachment possible would require a substantially larger
base. The increased size of the base would add to the weight of the
assembly making it impractical for use on a tactical firearm.
[0005] Another disadvantage of the forward mounting hardware
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,330 is that this design relies on
a rail that is manufactured to exacting tolerances, especially the
depth of the slot. The Mil-Spec 1913 rail currently being used by
the military has slot depths that vary widely. In order to
accommodate this variance in slot depths several wedges would have
to be provided to the user to find one that would be most suitable
on a given accessory rail.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An improvement of sling attachment hardware, more
specifically forward attachment hardware, that attaches to a
Mil-Spec 1913 rail, where the base includes an adjustment screw and
the wedge is incorporated into the extended projection of an
eyelet.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
[0007] One object of our invention is to provide improved sling
attachment hardware that is readily adaptable to a wide range of
"NATO" firearms currently fitted with a Rail Adapter System (RAS)
such as the M4 Carbine, Modular Weapon System and CQBW. The
preferred embodiment of our invention would be manufactured to
military specifications providing durable balanced mounting points
on the weapon. The preferred embodiment will also be easily
installed by the user with the use of a simple tool, such as a coin
or the rim of a cartridge case, and will require no disassembly of
the weapon past the user level. This will enable the user to easily
configure his weapon for a variety of missions. The hardware will
be ambidextrous and/or reversible by design to accommodate either
left or right handed users. A further object of our invention is to
provide sling attachment hardware that provides mounting points
that will not interfere with the controls or accessories of the
weapon. The mounting points provided by our invention can be
oriented closer to the torso of the user and closer to the receiver
to free-up the ends of the weapon for unhindered use in CQB
environments. Another object of our invention is to provide rail
mounting hardware that is adjustable to compensate for varying slot
depths of Mil-Spec 1913 rails currently being used by the
military.
[0008] Further objects and advantages of our invention will become
apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The present invention will now be described further by way
of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of the improved preferred
embodiment attached to a RAS rail;
[0011] PRIOR ART is a partial cross-section view taken along line
19-19 of FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,330, showing the preferred
embodiment attached to a RAS rail.
REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS
[0012] TABLE-US-00001 2 base 23 dovetail 43 threaded plug 4 wedge
24 RAS (rail system) 44 stop recess 5 slope edge 26 rail 45
shoulder 7 orifice 27 standard recess 46 wedge cut 13 bottom 39
sloping slot 47 apex 17 leading end 41 slot 48 eyelet 21 hole 42
threaded hole 49 plug slot 50 key 51 improved base
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT--ASSY. OF IMPROVED FORWARD
MOUNT FIG. 1
[0013] FIG. 1 shows the locking relationship of key 50 with rail 26
and improved base 51. A bottom 13 of key 50 runs along standard
recess 27 in the direction of arrow "C" until wedge cut 46
interferes with apex 47 of threaded plug 43 which is connected to
improved base 51 by way of a threaded hole 42. This action forces
improved base 51 away from rail 26 causing dovetail 23 of improved
base 51 to securely engage rail 26 and lock threaded plug 43 in
place. Variance of slot depths can be accommodated by tightening or
loosening threaded plug 43 with a coin or rim of a cartridge case
placed in plug slot 49. Shoulder 45 of threaded plug 43 abuts stop
recess 44 of improved base 51 when threaded plug 43 is unscrewed
sufficiently to allow for removal/insertion of key 50 through slot
41 of improved base 51 mounted on rail 26 to eliminate the
possibility of loss of threaded plug 43. When key 50 is pulled in
the direction of arrow "C" the assembly is tightened with force
evenly distributed on rail 26 to which it is attached. Therefore,
the assembly is self tightening when the weapon is being supported
by a sling directly attached to eyelet 48 of key 50 by a hook or
other means attached to the sling.
[0014] While the description above contains many specificities,
these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred
embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible.
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