U.S. patent application number 14/725353 was filed with the patent office on 2016-12-01 for dual interface rail mount.
The applicant listed for this patent is Yi Huei Jen. Invention is credited to Yi Huei Jen.
Application Number | 20160349011 14/725353 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57398347 |
Filed Date | 2016-12-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160349011 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jen; Yi Huei |
December 1, 2016 |
Dual Interface Rail Mount
Abstract
A firearm accessory mount interface to be mounted on a rail
interface system has one or more fastener pairs of tightening
fasteners and pivot fasteners as well as alignment relief lugs. The
alignment relief lugs are shaped and spaced to provide proper
alignment on the rail interface by engaging either a rear or front
wall of the KeyMod or M-LOK rail interface mounting slot and due
impeding movement parallel to the rail. The pivot fastener is sized
to enter the selected rail interface in a horizontal orientation
and pivot to a vertical orientation relative to the selected rail
interface whereby preventing extraction of the accessory mount. The
tightening fastener inserted into a fastener hole, situated at a
the center point of the pivot fastener, can then be rotated to
secure the tightening fastener and the pivot faster together
thereby securing the mount interface onto the firearm.
Inventors: |
Jen; Yi Huei; (Irvine,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Jen; Yi Huei |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
57398347 |
Appl. No.: |
14/725353 |
Filed: |
May 29, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41G 11/001
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F41G 11/00 20060101
F41G011/00; F41C 23/16 20060101 F41C023/16 |
Claims
1. An mounting interface for use with a firearm handguard, the
mounting interface comprising: a tightening fastener; a pivot
fastener having a fastener hole rotatably compatible with said
tightening fastener; one or more fixed bores, spaced at least 1.5
inches from the center point of the bore, and extending from a top
surface through to a bottom surface; alignment lugs on the bottom
surface of the accessory mount preventing the accessory mount from
moving along a longitudinal axis of the firearm handguard; a
handguard having a keyhole-shaped slot with a length and width
greater than the pivot fastener, such that the pivot fastener can
enter the slot when in a horizontal insertion position parallel to
the longitudinal axis of the handguard, but cannot be extracted
when the pivot fastener is rotated to a vertical securement
position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the
handguard.
2. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening fastener and the pivot fastener are removably coupled
with each other.
3. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening and the pivot fastener are threaded and mate via
rotation of at least one of the fasteners.
4. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening fastener is compatible with insertion into the pivot
fastener hole.
5. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
alignment lugs extend out of the bottom surface of the mount.
6. The mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
accessory mount is a rail for mounting firearm accessories.
7. The mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
alignment lugs have a length and width smaller than the handguard
keyhole-shaped slot.
8. An mounting interface for use with a firearm handguard, the
mounting interface comprising: a tightening fastener; a pivot
fastener having a fastener hole rotatably compatible with said
tightening fastener; one or more fixed bores, spaced at least 1.5
inches from the center point of the bore, and extending from a top
surface through to a bottom surface; alignment lugs on the bottom
surface of the accessory mount preventing the accessory mount from
moving along a longitudinal axis of the firearm handguard; a
handguard having a rounded-square slot with a length and width
greater than the pivot fastener, such that the pivot fastener can
enter the slot when in a horizontal insertion position parallel to
the longitudinal axis of the handguard, but cannot be extracted
when the pivot fastener is rotated to a vertical securement
position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the
handguard.
9. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening fastener and the pivot fastener are removably coupled
with each other.
10. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening and the pivot fastener are threaded and mate via
rotation of at least one of the fasteners.
11. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
tightening fastener is compatible with insertion into the pivot
fastener hole.
12. A mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
alignment lugs extend out of the bottom surface of the mount.
13. The mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
accessory mount is a rail for mounting firearm accessories.
14. The mounting interface as defined in claim 1, wherein the
alignment lugs have a length and width smaller than the handguard
rounded-square shaped slot.
15. An mounting interface for use with a firearm slotted handguard,
the mounting interface comprising: a tightening fastener rotatably
compatible with a fastener hole; a pivot fastener having a fastener
hole rotatably compatible with said tightening fastener; one or
more fixed bores, spaced at least 1.5 inches from the center point
of the bore, and extending from a top surface through to a bottom
surface; alignment lugs on the bottom surface of the accessory
mount preventing the accessory mount from moving along a
longitudinal axis of the slotted handguard; a handguard having a
slot with a length and width greater than the pivot fastener, such
that the pivot fastener can enter the slot when in a horizontal
insertion position parallel to the longitudinal axis of the
handguard, but cannot be extracted when the pivot fastener is
rotated to a vertical securement position perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the handguard.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Firearm rail systems are typically integrated into the
handguard of the firearm. This system provides a means of
attachment for various mountable accessories such as scopes,
sights, grips, and lights.
[0002] Universal mounts like the MIL-STD picatinny rail mounts
provide a firm and secure mounting option for users, but at the
expense of increased weight. This is detrimental to the user's
abilities. The configuration of the picatinny rails requires many
rails to span along the handguard. Therefore, a need existed for a
system that would not add weight to the firearm but still provides
a secure mounting point for accessories.
[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 8,752,320 B2 Accuracy International of North
America, Inc. proposed a firearm with keyhole-shaped rail mounting
points. This invention, in its advanced stage of product
development, is now known as the KeyMod attachment system. This
rail interface system was developed to provide compatibility for
multiple mountable accessory without the need for the
aforementioned picatinny rail. This system is now widely used and
provides many advantages over the previous mounting system. As with
all inventions, drawbacks become apparent as time elapses and hence
improvements to the design or apparatus must be made. The drawbacks
of the invention include poor securement of polymer parts and the
wide spacing needed for the KeyMod attachment nut to clear the
mount. The drawbacks are critical because many firearm
manufacturers are making polymer parts to attach to the KeyMod
interface due to the reduced costs of polymer versus metal, steel,
and aluminum. Therefore, the most recent alternative rail interface
system was designed as a free licensed platform. This rail
interface is known as the M-LOK.
[0004] M-LOK is a modular locking accessory mounting system that
allows direct attachment of mountable accessories to a negative
space mounting point. Unlike the keyhole shaped KeyMod rail
interface, the M-LOK features large rounded square slots which is
optimized for both metal and polymer mounting accessories. The
advantages of the M-LOK are apparent, and as KeyMod did to the
picatinny rail, the M-LOK is shaping up to be the next generation
in rail interface systems. The obvious issue with this advancement
is that the M-LOK and the KeyMod are not cross compatible and hence
accessories from one interface cannot be used on the other.
Fortunately, the M-LOK is designed to positively interact with both
metal and polymer accessories. Given that the major problem with
KeyMod is the metal and polymer interaction issues, which will
deteriorate the attachment portions of a polymer mount, the ability
to utilize an apparatus which can be mounted on both the KeyMod and
M-LOK interface systems is beneficial.
[0005] Therefore, it is apparent that there exists a need in for a
firearm accessory mount that can be attached onto both the KeyMod
and M-LOK rail interface systems. It is a purpose of this invention
to meet this requirement while providing the advantages of the
prior art, and further purposes will become apparent to those
skilled in the art.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0006] An improved firearm accessory mounting interface is
disclosed herein. The invention generally relates to a firearm rail
mount for optics, scopes, and other mountable firearm accessories.
More specifically, this invention relates to an apparatus for
mounting weapon accessories onto different rail interface systems
without forfeiting any of the advantages of the prior mounting
apparatuses.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0007] It is one objective of the present invention to provide a
firearm mounting interface for a firearm handguard rail interface.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a mounting
device for a firearm that can be utilized on different rail
interface systems (e.g., M-LOK and KeyMod). It is yet another
object of the invention to provide a mounting interface for a
firearm handguard rail that will engage and align with the rail
interface system via alignment relief lugs, tightening fasteners
(i.e. a screw), and pivot fasteners (i.e. a nut). The alignment
relief lugs aim to alleviate the force of recoil or impact as well
as provide alignment positioning for inserting the mount into a
KeyMod or M-LOK rail slot interface correctly.
[0008] The objectives of the present invention, as mentioned above,
are accomplished by providing a dual interface rail mount which
will be able to integrate with both the KeyMod and M-LOK attachment
systems. This is accomplished by two different methods, with each
method applicable to each interface.
[0009] On topic of the disclosure can be described as a method of
mating a firearm accessory mount to a KeyMod "keyhole-shaped"
slotted rail interface which will utilize the relief lugs, and
fasteners. This method will allow the alignment relief lugs to
enter the KeyMod rail slot interface. Ideally, this method can
include the alignment relief lugs having at least three contact
points with the walls of the KeyMod rail slot interface.
[0010] Once accomplished, the pivot fastener can be rotated via the
tightening fastener from a horizontal insertion position to a
vertical securement position about its center point. The pivot
fastener will engage the inner surface of the KeyMod rail interface
and prevent extraction of the present invention. Further rotation
of the tightening fastener acts to further secure both the pivot
and tightening fastener together thereby locking the mounting
interface on the KeyMod rail interface. A rotation opposite in
direction from the direction utilized to tighten the mounting
interface will loosen the fasteners and allow extraction of the
invention.
[0011] Another topic of the disclosure can be described as a method
of mating a firearm accessory mount to an M-LOK "rounded-square"
slotted rail interface which will utilize the relief lugs, and
fasteners. This method will allow the alignment relief lugs to
enter the M-LOK rail slot interface. Ideally, this method can
include the alignment relief lugs having at least three contact
points with the walls of the M-LOK rail slot interface.
[0012] Once accomplished, the pivot fastener can be rotated via the
tightening fastener from a horizontal insertion position to a
vertical securement position about its center point. The pivot
fastener will engage the inner surface of the M-LOK rail interface
and prevent extraction of the present invention. Further rotation
of the tightening fastener acts to further secure both the pivot
and tightening fastener together thereby locking the mounting
interface on the M-LOK rail interface. A rotation opposite in
direction from the direction utilized to tighten the mounting
interface will loosen the fasteners and allow extraction of the
invention.
[0013] Those skilled in the art will appreciate, that this
disclosure may be used as a basis for designing other structures,
methods, and systems for carrying out the purposes of the present
disclosure. The abstract related to this disclosure is neither
intended to define the range of the embodiments, which are measured
by the claims, nor intended to be limiting as to the scope of the
disclosure in any way.
[0014] Thus, the novel features of this disclosure, and the
embodiments themselves, are best understood from the accompanying
drawing, considered in connection with the accompanying description
of the drawing, in which similar reference characters refer to
similar parts.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Brief Description
[0015] The following descriptions are set forth and have been
assigned numerical designations to enable the reader to understand
the reasoning behind and the application of the present invention.
Even though specific configurations are shown, it should be noted
that these are merely for illustrative purposes. It will be
apparent to those skilled in the art that there are different
configurations a user might utilize when attaching the invention
onto a handguard rail.
[0016] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a bottom surface view of the present invention
aligned onto cutaway of a firearm handguard rail system;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a bottom surface view of the present invention
removably coupled onto the firearm handguard rail system via
components described herein;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the present invention aligned
onto a cutaway of a different firearm handguard rail system;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the present invention removably
coupled onto the different firearm handguard rail system via
components described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] The invention provides a connecting device to allow a user
to utilize the same mount for different handguard rail systems
namely the M-LOK and KeyMod handguard rail systems. Taken with
reference to the claims, the figures provide an illustration of
some of the different modes of operation wherein;
[0022] FIGS. 1-5 show the mounting interface either in a
disassembled apparatus or interacting with an M-LOK handguard rail
system 420 or a KeyMod handguard rail system 410. The mounting
interface comprises three parts: a mount 100 with a top surface 112
and a bottom surface 114 that comprises alignment relief lugs 110,
a tightening fastener 200, and a pivot fastener 300.
[0023] FIG. 1 shows the components of the mounting interface in an
exploded view which shows that insertion of the pivot fastener 300
into the fixed bore 103 located on the bottom surface 114 of the
mount 100 will provide a threadably couplable fastener hole 310 by
which tightening fastener 200 can threadably attach onto through a
top surface 112 opening of the fixed bore 103.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows the mounting interface aligned onto a KeyMod
handguard rail system 410 via alignment lugs 110 which make contact
with the rail system and prevents sliding along the rail system.
This alignment will mean that the pivot fastener 300 can be
inserted into the slotted opening "keyhole shaped" KeyMod rail
system 410. FIG. 3 shows the mounting interface both aligned and
locked in place on the KeyMod rail system 410 of the handguard 400
via alignment lugs 110 and pivot fastener 300, respectively. Pivot
fastener 300 engages the inner surface 403 of the handguard 400 by
rotating the tightening fastener 200 shown in FIG. 1.
[0025] FIG. 4 shows the mounting interface aligned onto an M-LOK
handguard rail system 420 via alignment lugs 110 which make contact
with the rail system and prevents sliding along the rail system.
This alignment will mean that the pivot fastener 300 can be
inserted into the slotted opening "rounded-square shaped" M-LOK
rail system 420. FIG. 5 shows the mounting interface both aligned
and locked in place on the KeyMod rail system 410 of the handguard
400 via alignment lugs 110 and pivot fastener 300, respectively.
Pivot fastener 300 engages the handguard 400 by rotating the
tightening fastener 200 shown in FIG. 1 which in turn rotates the
pivot fastener 300 such that the fast pivot fastener 300 engages
the inner surface 403 of handguard 420.
* * * * *