U.S. patent application number 13/367857 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-09 for rapid attachment/detachment mechanism for weapon-mountable lighting devices.
This patent application is currently assigned to Juan Carlos Casas. Invention is credited to Juan Carlos Casas, Louis F. Riley.
Application Number | 20120198745 13/367857 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46599689 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120198745 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Riley; Louis F. ; et
al. |
August 9, 2012 |
RAPID ATTACHMENT/DETACHMENT MECHANISM FOR WEAPON-MOUNTABLE LIGHTING
DEVICES
Abstract
A mechanism adapted for rapid attachment/detachment of a
lighting device to a rail system of a host weapon system. The
mechanism includes a body, a fixed rail clamp, and a floating rail
clamp that is adjustably attached to the body in an opposing manner
to the fixed rail clamp to provide a clamping effect therebetween.
The floating rail clamp has a recess in a surface opposite the
fixed rail clamp. A holding screw passes through a bore in the
fixed rail clamp, and a clamp screw passes through a slot in the
floating rail clamp and is threaded into one end of the holding
screw. An oppositely-disposed end of the clamp screw protrudes
within the recess of the floating rail clamp, and a cam arm has a
first end pivotably coupled to the second end of the clamp screw
and an oppositely-disposed distal end that protrudes from the
recess.
Inventors: |
Riley; Louis F.; (Weston,
FL) ; Casas; Juan Carlos; (Coral Gables, FL) |
Assignee: |
Casas; Juan Carlos
Coral Gables
FL
|
Family ID: |
46599689 |
Appl. No.: |
13/367857 |
Filed: |
February 7, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61440128 |
Feb 7, 2011 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/90 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41C 27/00 20130101;
F41G 11/003 20130101; F41G 1/35 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
42/90 |
International
Class: |
F41C 27/00 20060101
F41C027/00 |
Claims
1. A rapid attachment/detachment mechanism for a weapon-mountable
lighting device, the mechanism comprising: a body; a fixed rail
clamp that defines a non-adjustable portion of the body, the fixed
rail clamp having a bore defined therein; a floating rail clamp
that is adjustably attached to the body in an opposing manner to
the fixed rail clamp to provide a clamping effect therebetween, the
floating rail clamp having a recess defined in a surface thereof
opposite the fixed rail clamp and a slot defined within the recess;
a holding screw passing through the bore in the fixed rail clamp,
the holding screw having a head end protruding from the fixed rail
clamp and an oppositely-disposed threaded end received in the bore
of the fixed rail clamp; a clamp screw passing through the slot in
the floating rail clamp, the clamp screw having a first end
threaded into the threaded end of the holding screw and an
oppositely-disposed second end protruding within the recess of the
floating rail clamp; and a cam arm having a first end pivotably
coupled to the second end of the clamp screw and an
oppositely-disposed distal end, wherein all but the distal end of
the cam arm is received in the recess of the floating rail clamp
when the cam arm is in a closed position that causes the floating
rail clamp to move toward the fixed rail clamp.
2. The rapid attachment/detachment mechanism according to claim 1,
further comprising means for biasing the floating rail clamp away
from the fixed rail clamp.
3. The rapid attachment/detachment mechanism according to claim 1,
further comprising means for damping sound and vibration when the
cam arm is rotated.
4. The rapid attachment/detachment mechanism according to claim 3,
wherein damping means is disposed between the holding screw and the
fixed rail clamp.
5. The rapid attachment/detachment mechanism according to claim 1,
further comprising means for rotating the holding screw to adjust
the clamp screw relative to the floating and fixed rail clamps.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/440,128, filed Feb. 7, 2011, the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
[0002] Existing weapon-mountable lighting devices use a variety of
methods to secure the actual device to a host weapon system. The
most common method involves clamping the device to a system such as
the Picatinny 1913 mounting rail. A plethora of means of fixedly
fastening these devices to a rail system exist and include, but are
not limited to simple screw mechanisms that provide dual opposing
lateral clamping force against a rail system, spring mechanisms
that apply perpendicular force against a rail system, and even
singular lateral clamping force against a rail system. Some of the
commercially available systems' attachment means are not
ruggedized, that is they do not maintain their position during
normal use such as weapon transport or firing.
[0003] Most systems do not provide for a means of rapid attachment
or detachment from the rail system, and certainly not without the
use of tools. Of the those systems that do provide a means for
rapid attachment, some devices have to be installed in a certain
manner, i.e., slid on from a particular direction, which can be a
hindrance if the entry point is blocked by other attachments or
even parts of the host weapon itself. Other rapid attachment
mechanisms provide a biasing means that forces a user to physically
hold the device open while attaching it to a rail system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention provides a mechanism adapted for rapid
attachment of a weapon-mountable lighting device to a rail system
of a host weapon system via a hand-operated cam mechanism that
allows for mounting from any direction, avoiding the need to remove
other accessories.
[0005] According to one aspect of the invention, the rapid
attachment/detachment mechanism includes a body, a fixed rail clamp
that defines a non-adjustable portion of the body, the fixed rail
clamp having a bore defined therein, and a floating rail clamp that
is adjustably attached to the body in an opposing manner to the
fixed rail clamp to provide a clamping effect therebetween. The
floating rail clamp has a recess defined in a surface thereof
opposite the fixed rail clamp and a slot defined within the recess.
A holding screw passes through the bore in the fixed rail clamp,
has a head end protruding from the fixed rail clamp, and has an
oppositely-disposed threaded end received in the bore of the fixed
rail clamp. A clamp screw passes through the slot in the floating
rail clamp and has a first end threaded into the threaded end of
the holding screw and an oppositely-disposed second end protruding
within the recess of the floating rail clamp. A cam arm has a first
end pivotably coupled to the second end of the clamp screw and an
oppositely-disposed distal end. All but the distal end of the cam
arm is received in the recess of the floating rail clamp when the
cam arm is in a closed position that causes the floating rail clamp
to move toward the fixed rail clamp.
[0006] A technical effect of the invention is the ability of the
attachment/detachment mechanism to provide for a normally open
design rail clamp that is allows for a weapon-mountable lighting
device to be placed from any direction on a rail system. The
mechanism is preferably held open, or biased, in an open position
to ease attachment effort while speeding up detachment if needed.
Furthermore, the mechanism provides a positive and ruggedized
clamping force capable of maintaining a device's alignment to a
host weapon system during transit or actual firing. Finally,
because only the distal end of the cam arm protrudes from the
recess in the floating rail clamp, the cam arm is less vulnerable
to inadvertent movement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a weapon-mountable lighting
device equipped with a rapid attachment/detachment mechanism in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the
weapon-mountable lighting device of FIG. 1 detailing certain
components of the rapid attachment/detachment mechanism.
[0009] FIG. 3 is an auxiliary exploded perspective view of the
weapon-mountable lighting device of FIG. 1 illustrating components
and corresponding receiving features of the rapid
attachment/detachment mechanism.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the rapid
attachment/detachment mechanism of FIG. 1 highlighting certain
components of the mechanism.
[0011] FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the components
of the mechanism of FIG. 4 assembled.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 1 showing the rapid attachment/detachment
mechanism in an open and unclamped position.
[0013] FIG. 8 is a partial sectional perspective view showing the
mechanism of FIG. 7 in the open and unclamped position.
[0014] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 1 showing the rapid attachment/detachment
mechanism in a partially-open, partially-activated clamping
position.
[0015] FIG. 10 is a partial sectional perspective view showing the
mechanism of FIG. 9 in a partially-open, partially-activated
clamping position.
[0016] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 1 showing the rapid attachment/detachment
mechanism in a closed and fully-activated clamping position.
[0017] FIG. 12 is a partial sectional perspective view showing the
mechanism of FIG. 11 in a closed and fully-activated clamping
position.
[0018] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 1 and its rapid attachment/detachment
mechanism positioned for mounting to a handgun.
[0019] FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 13 mounted on the handgun and ready to be
fixedly attached to the weapon with the mechanism in the open and
unclamped position.
[0020] FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the weapon-mountable
lighting device of FIG. 13 mounted on the handgun and fixedly
attached thereto with the mechanism in the closed and
fully-activated clamping position.
[0021] FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 are partial sectional perspective views
of the weapon-mountable lighting device of FIG. 13 showing the
clamping mechanism in, respectively, the open and unclamped
position, the partially-open and partially-activated clamping
position, and the closed and fully-activated clamping position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] This invention allows for rapidly attaching or detaching a
weapon-mountable lighting device to a weapon rail system, for
example, a Picatinny 1913 or similar mounting schemes utilized with
host weapon systems. As will be described below, the invention
utilizes a cam lever to engage a floating rail clamp to apply
pressure to a host weapon rail system. The floating rail is
symmetrically biased in an open position to allow for rapid and
solid attachment of a weapon-mountable lighting device to the rail
of the host weapon, and also allows for quick detachment of the
device.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, a weapon-mountable lighting device is
represented as being equipped with a rapid attachment/detachment
mechanism 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention. The lighting device may be, for example, a laser
designator/illuminator commercially produced by Laser Genetics of
America, LTD. The mechanism 1 comprises a rigid and fixed rail
clamp 2 that is either integrated with or separately mounted to the
body 3 of the lighting device such that the position of the fixed
rail clamp 2 relative to the body 3 is permanent and not
adjustable. The fixed rail clamp 2 may be formed of various
materials, for example, aluminum or another metal or metal alloy,
or a polymer such as polyoxymethylene (POM) (also known as acetyl)
or another engineering thermoplastic. Opposite the fixed rail clamp
2 is a floating rail clamp 4 adapted to apply a clamping force to a
rail system of a host weapon.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of the
rapid attachment/detachment mechanism 1 is provided to illustrate
components of the mechanism 1 of FIG. 1. A holding screw 5, shown
coupled with a Belleville washer 6 to provide system damping, is
inserted into a bore 7 defined in the fixed rail clamp 2 or in the
body 3 of the mechanism 1 in close proximity to the fixed rail
clamp 2. A clamp screw 8 passes through a receiving hole 9 in the
body 3 and is threaded into a threaded bore (FIG. 5) in the end of
the holding screw 5. Two compression springs 10 are inserted into a
corresponding pair of spring bosses 11 defined in the floating rail
clamp 4 to provide a balanced counter force to the mechanism 1. The
floating rail clamp 4 accommodates the clamp screw 8 via a screw
slot 12. With the floating rail clamp 4 compressed against the body
3, a pin hole 13 of the clamp screw 8 is exposed and accepts a cam
arm 14 through a slot 15 and is secured through holes 16 of the cam
arm 14 with a pin 17. A vertical rail stabilizer insert 18 is
installed into a receiving port 19 of the body 3 via a screw 20.
The vertical rail stabilizer insert 18 may be of various,
user-selectable geometries to accommodate a variety of rail-type
mounting systems.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating
the floating side of the mechanism 1. The holding screw 5 residing
in the body 3 accepts the clamp screw 8, which protrudes through
the floating rail clamp 4 and accepts the pin 17 through the cam
arm 14. The body 3 accepts the springs 10 residing in the floating
rail clamp 4 via a corresponding pair of spring recesses 21 defined
in the body 3. Because the clamp screw 8 is threaded into the end
of the holding screw 5, the holding screw 5 provides an adjustment
feature for the length of the clamp screw 8, in particular, how far
the end of the clamp screw 8 protrudes into a recess 14B defined in
the outer surface of the floating rail clamp 4. For this purpose,
the head of the holding screw 5 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 as
having a slot (or some other suitable feature) defined therein to
enable the holding screw 5 to be rotated about its axis. Notably,
the holding screw 5 is located in the bore 7 located in the fixed
rail clamp 2, while the clamp screw 8 is located in the slot 12 in
the floating rail clamp 4 on the opposite side of the mechanism
1.
[0026] As evident from FIG. 3, the cam arm 14 is configured and
sized to be almost entirely received in the recess 14B defined in
the outer surface of the floating rail clamp 4. The recess 14B
contains the slot 12 through which passes the end of the clamp
screw 8 in which the pin hole 13 is formed. Only a distal end 14A
of the cam arm 14 (opposite the cam arm slot 15) protrudes from the
recess 14B, such that only the distal end 14A of the cam arm 14
protrudes outside the three-dimensional boundary of the floating
rail clamp 4 when the floating rail clamp 4 is in a closed position
shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and discussed in reference to FIGS. 7-18. As
a result, the cam arm 14 is less vulnerable to inadvertent
movement, which better ensures that the alignment of a lighting
device mounted with the mechanism 1 to a host weapon rail system
(FIGS. 16-18) will not be disturbed.
[0027] Components of the rapid attachment/detachment mechanism 1
are visible in an exploded perspective view illustrated in FIG. 4.
The Belleville washer 6, which provides damping of sound and
vibration when the cam arm 4 is rotated during the clamping cycle,
resides coaxial with the holding screw 5 that accepts the clamp
screw 8. The compression springs 10 are inserted into the spring
bosses 11 of the floating rail clamp 4 to provide symmetric counter
force to the clamping mechanism. The floating rail clamp 4
accommodates the clamp screw 8 via the screw slot 12. With the
floating rail clamp 4 compressed toward the body 3, the pin hole 13
of the clamp screw 8 is exposed and accepts the cam arm 14 through
the slot 15 and is secured through the holes 16 of the cam arm 14
with the pin 17.
[0028] FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the mechanism 1 of
FIG. 4, and show the cam arm 14 in a closed position. FIG. 6
further shows engaging features 22 of the floating rail clamp 4
that are adapted to engage a rail system of a host weapon.
[0029] FIGS. 7 through 12 are various perspective views that
demonstrate phases of the operating cycle of the mechanism 1 of
FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the mechanism 1 with the
cam arm 14 in a fully open position 23 and the corresponding
floating rail clamp 4 in a natural, open and unclamped position 24.
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional perspective view of FIG. 7 presenting
a cam surface 25A of the floating rail clamp 4 engaged by a cam
surface 25 of the cam arm 14 when in the fully open position 23,
which forces the floating rail clamp 4 into the open and unclamped
position 24 by action of the springs 10 (FIG. 4). FIG. 9 is a
perspective view of the mechanism 1 with the cam arm 14 in a
partially-open position 26 and the corresponding floating rail
clamp 4 in a partially-open, partially-activated clamping position
27. FIG. 10 is a partial sectional perspective view of FIG. 9
presenting the cam surface 25A of the floating rail clamp 4 engaged
by the cam surface 25 of the cam arm 14 when in the partially-open
position 26, which forces the floating rail clamp 4 into the
partially-open, partially-activated clamping position 27 by action
of the springs 10. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the mechanism 1
with the cam arm 14 in a fully-closed position 28 and the
corresponding floating rail clamp 4 in a fully-activated clamping
position 29. FIG. 12 is a partial sectional perspective view of
FIG. 11 presenting the cam surface 25A of the floating rail clamp 4
engaged by the cam surface 25 of the cam arm 14 when in a
fully-closed position 28, overcoming the force of the springs 10
and forcing the floating rail clamp 4 into the fully-activated
clamping position 29.
[0030] FIGS. 13 through 15 are perspective views of the mechanism 1
of FIG. 1 in combination with a host weapon 30, represented as a
hand gun. FIG. 13 depicts the mechanism 1 in preparation to mount
to a rail 31 of the weapon 30. The cam arm 14 is in the open and
unclamped position 23. The mating floating rail clamp 4 is also in
its open and unclamped position 24 by the force of the springs 10.
FIG. 14 shows the mechanism 1 positioned on the rail 31 of the
weapon 30, with the cam arm 14 and mating floating rail clamp 4
remaining in their respective open and unclamped positions 23 and
24 by the force of the springs 10. FIG. 15 shows the mechanism 1
fixedly attached to the rail 31 of the weapon 30 as a result of the
cam arm 14 being in the closed position 28, which in turn has
caused the mating floating rail clamp 4 to be in its
fully-activated clamping position 29 as a result of overcoming the
force of the springs 10. The floating rail clamp 4 is fully engaged
with the rail 31 of the weapon 30 when in the clamping position 29,
which simultaneously causes the opposing fixed rail clamp 2 to also
be fully engaged with the opposite side of the rail 31.
[0031] FIGS. 16 through 18 are partially sectioned perspective
views that further demonstrate phases of the operating cycle of the
mechanism 1 as it is installed on the weapon 30. FIG. 16 depicts
the mechanism 1 with the cam arm 14 in its open position 23 and the
corresponding floating rail clamp 4 in its open and unclamped
position 24, and therefore not engaged against the rail 31 of the
weapon 30. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the mechanism 1 with
the cam arm 14 in its partially-open position 26 and the
corresponding floating rail clamp 4 in its partially-activated
clamping position 27 so as to be partially engaged against the rail
31 of weapon 30. FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the mechanism 1
with the cam arm 14 in its fully closed position 28 and the
corresponding floating rail clamp 4 in its fully-activated clamping
position 29, such that the floating rail clamp 4 and the opposing
fixed rail clamp 2 are fully engaged with the rail 31 of the weapon
30.
[0032] While the invention has been described in terms of preferred
embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by
one skilled in the art. For example, the assembly could differ in
appearance and construction from the embodiments shown in the
Figures, the functions of each component of the device could be
performed by components of different construction but capable of a
similar (though not necessarily equivalent) function, and
appropriate materials could be substituted for those noted.
Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the
following claims.
* * * * *