U.S. patent application number 14/052170 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-07 for shooting rest including an inclined rail assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to Eberlestock USA, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Eberlestock USA, LLC. Invention is credited to Dan Barber.
Application Number | 20140215888 14/052170 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51258028 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140215888 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barber; Dan |
August 7, 2014 |
SHOOTING REST INCLUDING AN INCLINED RAIL ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A shooting rest includes a pod arrangement and a rail assembly.
The pod arrangement can be a monopod, bipod or tripod. The rail
assembly is connected to the pod arrangement. The rail assembly
includes a rail, a shuttle and a rest. The rail has an end which is
connected to the pod arrangement. The shuttle is slidably mounted
to the rail and includes a latch for selectively securing the
shuttle at a desired location along a length of the rail. The rest
is connected to the shuttle.
Inventors: |
Barber; Dan; (Boise,
ID) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Eberlestock USA, LLC |
Boise |
ID |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Eberlestock USA, LLC
Boise
ID
|
Family ID: |
51258028 |
Appl. No.: |
14/052170 |
Filed: |
October 11, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61715151 |
Oct 17, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
42/94 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 23/14 20130101;
F41A 23/16 20130101; F41G 11/003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
42/94 |
International
Class: |
F41A 23/14 20060101
F41A023/14 |
Claims
1. A shooting rest, comprising: a pod arrangement; and a rail
assembly connected to said pod arrangement, said rail assembly
including a rail, a shuttle and a rest, said rail having an end
which is connected to said pod arrangement, said shuttle being
slidably mounted to said rail and including a latch for selectively
securing said shuttle at a desired location along a length of said
rail, said rest being connected to said shuttle.
2. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said rail has a generally
T-shaped cross section and said shuttle has a generally T-shaped
opening in which the rail is slidably disposed.
3. The shooting rest of claim 2, wherein said shuttle has a
threaded hole and said latch comprises a thumb screw which is
received in said threaded hole.
4. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said rail comprises a
picatinny rail with a plurality of alternating lands and grooves,
and said latch engages a selected groove for securing said shuttle
to said picatinny rail.
5. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said rest is a cradle.
6. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said rest is detachably
connected to said shuttle.
7. The shooting rest of claim 6, further including at least one
extension rod interconnecting said shuttle with said rest.
8. The shooting rest of claim 7, wherein said at least one
extension rod comprises a plurality of extension rods which are
threaded together with a bottom extension rod being threaded to
said shuttle.
9. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said pod arrangement
comprises a monopod, a bipod or a tripod.
10. The shooting rest of claim 1, wherein said shooting rest is
configured for use with at least one of a firearm, optical
equipment, a photography camera and a video camera.
11. A rail assembly for use as part of a shooting rest, said rail
assembly comprising: a rail; a shuttle which is slidably mounted to
said rail, said shuttle including a latch for selectively securing
said shuttle at a desired location along a length of said rail; and
a rest connected to said shuttle.
12. The shooting rest of claim 11, wherein said rail has a
generally T-shaped cross section and said shuttle has a generally
T-shaped opening in which the rail is slidably disposed.
13. The rail assembly of claim 12, wherein said shuttle has a
threaded hole and said latch comprises a thumb screw which is
received in said threaded hole.
14. The rail assembly of claim 11, wherein said rail comprises a
picatinny rail with a plurality of alternating lands and grooves,
and said latch engages a selected groove for securing said shuttle
to said picatinny rail.
15. The rail assembly of claim 11, wherein said rest is a
cradle.
16. The rail assembly of claim 11, wherein said rest is detachably
connected to said shuttle.
17. The rail assembly of claim 16, further including at least one
extension rod interconnecting said shuttle with said rest.
18. The rail assembly of claim 17, wherein said at least one
extension rod comprises a plurality of extension rods which are
threaded together with a bottom extension rod being threaded to
said shuttle.
19. The rail assembly of claim 11, wherein said shooting rest is
configured for use with at least one of a firearm, optical
equipment, a photography camera and a video camera.
20. A rail assembly for use as part of a shooting rest, said rail
assembly comprising: a rail; and a shuttle which is slidably
mounted to said rail, said shuttle including a latch for
selectively securing said shuttle at a desired location along a
length of said rail, said shuttle being configured for attachment
with one of: a shooting rest; a firearm; optical equipment; a
photography camera; and a video camera.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a non-provisional application based upon U.S.
provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/715,151, entitled "RAMP
ADJUSTABLE SHOOTING AID", filed on Oct. 17, 2012, which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to firearms, and, more
particularly, to shooting rests for such firearms.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Firearms can generally be divided into two types of weapons:
long guns and hand guns. A hand gun is short weapon which is simply
held in one or both hand, and usually shot in the offhand
(standing) position. A long gun is a longer weapon which includes a
butt stock which is placed against the shoulder of the shooter, and
a forestock which is held by the off hand of the shooter. In other
words, if a shooter is a right handed shooter, then the left hand
grasps the forestock, and the butt stock is placed against the
right shoulder of the shooter.
[0006] Long guns can generally be divided into two types: rifles
and shotguns. A shotgun shoots a shell which contains a number of
smaller projectiles, known as shot. The shot spreads into a pattern
of predetermined density, depending on the distance to the target.
A shotgun is usually shot from the offhand position. A rifle shoots
a single larger projectile over a much further distance, and as a
result, it is common to use a rest to support the rifle during
shooting and thereby improve the accuracy of the rifle.
[0007] When shooting a rifle, common shooting positions include the
offhand position, the kneeling position, the prone (laying down)
position, and the sitting (bench) position. A rest can be used with
any of these shooting positions. For the offhand position, it is
known to use a monopod, which is a single stick with a cradle or
the like at the top of the monopod. It is also known to use
"shooting sticks", which are basically a pair of sticks which are
hinged together at the top end and form a large bipod arrangement
when placed in the shooting position. It is also known to attach a
monopod, bipod or tripod arrangement to the front end of the gun to
act as a shooting rest. The rest is typically attached to the
forestock rather than directly to the barrel, as attachment to the
barrel can affect the accuracy of the gun. Other types of shooting
rests include sand bags and other type of cradle arrangements, such
as a so-called sled arrangement. The sled arrangement is probably
the most accurate in terms of steadily holding the gun during
shooting, but is also large, heavy and impractical for actual
deployment scenarios, such as hunting, police Special Weapons and
Tactics (SWAT) scenarios, and military scenarios.
[0008] What is needed in the art is a shooting rest which is easy
to use, lightweight and compact, and still allows the gun to be
shot with great accuracy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a shooting rest with an
inclined rail that supports a rest at a selected position along a
length of the rail.
[0010] The invention in form is directed to a shooting rest
including a pod arrangement and a rail assembly. The pod
arrangement can be a monopod, bipod or tripod. The rail assembly is
connected to the pod arrangement. The rail assembly includes a
rail, a shuttle and a rest. The rail has an end which is connected
to the pod arrangement. The shuttle is slidably mounted to the rail
and includes a latch for selectively securing the shuttle at a
desired location along a length of the rail. The rest is connected
to the shuttle.
[0011] The invention in another form is directed to a rail assembly
for use as a shooting rest. The rail assembly includes a rail, a
shuttle and a rest. The shuttle is slidably mounted to the rail.
The shuttle includes a latch for selectively securing the shuttle
at a desired location along a length of the rail. The rest is
connected to the shuttle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of
this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more
apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference
to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a shooting
rest of the present invention, including an embodiment of a rail
assembly of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the rail assembly shown
in FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the rail forming part
of the rail assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0016] FIG. 4 is an end view of the rail shown in FIG. 3;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a side view of the shuttle forming part of the
rail assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0018] FIG. 6 is an end view of the shuttle shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and
5;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of another
embodiment of a rail assembly of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shuttle forming part of
the rail assembly shown in FIG. 7; and
[0021] FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the rail assembly shown
in FIGS. 7 and 8.
[0022] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out
herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, and such
exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of
the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG.
1, there is shown a shooting rest 10 which generally includes a pod
arrangement 12 and a rail assembly 14. The pod arrangement 12 can
be of conventional design, such as a monopod, bipod or tripod. In
the illustrated embodiment, pod arrangement 12 is configured as a
bipod.
[0024] Rail assembly 14 is connected to pod arrangement 12, and
includes a rail 16, a shuttle 18 and a rest 20. Rail 16 has an end
22 which is connected to pod arrangement 12. In the illustrated
embodiment, a sling stud 23 (typically used to mount a shoulder
sling to a rifle) is attached to end 22 of rail 16. The bipod 12,
in known manner, includes an attachment mechanism which attaches
directly to sling stud 23.
[0025] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-6, rail 16 has a
generally T-shaped cross section; however, the specific
cross-section of rail 16 can vary, depending on the application.
Moreover, the length of rail 16 also can vary depending on the
length of the attached bipod, etc.
[0026] Shuttle 18 is slidably mounted to rail 16 and is selectively
positioned at a desired location along a length of rail 16. More
particularly, shuttle 18 includes a generally T- shaped opening 24
which is sized and shaped to receive rail 16 therein. The
particular cross-sectional shape of opening 24 can vary, depending
on the cross-sectional shape of rail 16. For example, opening 24
can have a square or rectangular cross-section. Moreover, in the
illustrated embodiment, opening 24 opens to one side of shuttle 18.
However, opening 24 can also be entirely surrounded by shuttle 18,
open only at the ends.
[0027] Shuttle 18 includes a latch 26 for selectively securing
shuttle 18 at a desired location along a length rail 16. In the
illustrated embodiment, latch 26 includes a threaded hole 28 formed
in shuttle 18, and a thumb screw 30 which is threaded into hole
28.
[0028] Rest 20 is detachably connected to shuttle 18, and provides
a steady rest for a firearm. Rest 20 includes a cradle 32 and a pin
34 extending from cradle 32. Cradle 32 preferably has an inner
surface which is padded to prevent movement or damage to the
firearm. Pin 34 is sized to fit within a corresponding hole 36
formed in shuttle 18. Shuttle 18 also includes an abutment surface
38 which is positioned at a predetermined angle 0 relative to a
longitudinal axis 39 of shuttle 18. The angle .theta. of abutment
surface 38, in combination with the circular profile of cradle 32,
allows a firearm to be effectively cradled for a wide range of
operating positions of shooting rest 10.
[0029] Shooting rest 10 may also optionally include one or more
extension rods 40, as shown in FIG. 1. Extension rods 40 allow the
shooting height of shooting rest 10 to be increased by moving the
mounting height of cradle 32 upward, depending on the shooting
position of the shooter. The extension rods 40 can each be of the
same length, or a different length (as shown), depending on the
desired shooting height. Each extension rod 40 includes threads 42
at one end and a mating threaded opening 44 at an opposite end. The
extension rods 40 can be screwed together in any desired
combination, with the threads 42 of the bottom rod extending into
hole 36 of shuttle 18, and the threaded opening 44 in the top rod
receiving the pin 34 of cradle 32 therein.
[0030] Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, there is shown another
embodiment of a rail assembly 50 of the present invention which
includes a shuttle 52 slidably mounted on a picatinny rail 54. A
Picatinny rail, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail or tactical rail,
is a slotted rail used on some firearms in order to provide a
standardized mounting platform for accessories and attachments.
Picatinny rails and accessories have replaced iron sights in the
design of many firearms, and they are also incorporated into the
undersides of semi-automatic pistol frames and even on grips. The
Picatinny locking slot width is 0.206 in (5.23 mm). The spacing of
slot centers is 0.394 in (10.01 mm) and the slot depth is 0.118 in
(3.00 mm).
[0031] Picatinny rail 54 includes a plurality of alternating lands
56 and grooves 58. Shuttle 52 includes a latch 60 which engages a
selected groove 58 for securing shuttle 52 to picatinny rail 54.
Latch 60 is in the form of a spring-loaded pushbutton latch which
is biased against a finger 62, which in turn is pivotally mounted
within an opening 64 formed in shuttle 52. Finger 62 has a distal
end with an angled or curved edge 66 and a sharp edge 68. The angle
or radius of curvature of curved end 66 allows shuttle 52 to be
slid in one direction along piccatinny rail 54 without depressing
latch 60, while the sharp edge 68 requires the latch 60 to be
depressed prior to movement of shuttle 52 in the opposite direction
along piccatinny rail 54. Finger 62 pivots about pivot pin 70, and
a spring 72 biases finger 62 to the position shown in FIG. 9.
[0032] In the embodiments described above, rail assemblies 14 and
50 are described with reference to use as a firearm shooting rest.
However, it is to be understood that the rail assemblies 14 and 50
of the present invention can be used with other equipment requiring
fast and accurate target acquisition (whether actually shooting a
firearm or not). For example, it is possible that a rail assembly
14 or 50 can form one leg of a bipod or tripod arrangement and the
shuttle is directly attached to the forestock or barrel of the
rifle. Moreover, it is possible to use a different type of rest
which is either attached to or supports a different type of
equipment requiring fast and accurate target acquisition. Examples
include optical equipment (e.g., spotting scopes or binoculars), a
photography camera, and/or a video camera. Further, such other
equipment can be directly attached to the shuttle sliding along the
rail.
[0033] While this invention has been described with respect to at
least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified
within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is
therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of
the invention using its general principles. Further, this
application is intended to cover such departures from the present
disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to
which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of
the appended claims.
* * * * *