Patent Grant
7841122
Not applicable
Not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to bipods and monopods for use with rifles and other weapons, and more specifically to the supports at the end of the bipod legs that are in contact with the surface providing support for the weapon.
2. General Background of the Invention
Bipod supports have long been used in connection with the rifles and other weapons, hereinafter referred to collectively as rifles. Such devices are generally clamped or bolted to the weapon's barrel or connected to a picatinny rail. The legs for such bipods can be either fixed in position to support the weapon or, as is more commonly the case, are spring-loaded and retractable to allow the legs to be extended to the desired length to support a rifle at the desired elevation and swiftly and securely retracted for movement from location to location. Such a spring-loaded leg typically comprises an internal spring that extends from the upper portion of the leg, near where the bipod assembly attaches to the weapon, to the lower portion of the leg, at a point close to the end of the leg that is in contact with the surface supporting the weapon.
The internal spring is typically connected to the lower portion of the leg using a pin that has a diameter of one-eighth of an inch that extends through the leg and protrudes on both sides of the leg. To prevent this pin from snagging on the user's clothing or other objects, bipod manufacturers typically place this pin close enough to the end of the leg that the rubber boot on the end of the leg extends far enough up the leg to cover the ends of the pin, which also has the effect of holding the rubber boot in place. This rubber boot also typically provides the sole point of contact between the leg and the supporting surface.
This, however, creates numerous problems that result in decreased accuracy from the weapon when using such typical rubber boots. If the boots are rounded, a similar amount of contact is provided throughout the normal range that the weapon may be pivoted, but the contact surface is generally less than sufficient to effectively “load up” the weapon on a hard surface, resulting in the weapon hopping after a shot. (Loading up involves the shooter leaning forward with his shoulder against the weapon's stock to increase the pressure on the bipod to keep the weapon in place.) This results in the shooter having to reset after each shot. Such rounded over rubber boots also pose a problem on soft ground because the act of loading up the weapon will tend to drive the ends of the legs into the ground.
Other known designs use disk- or claw-shaped feet, ostensibly to provide greater contact with the ground. Since these known designs do not have the capability to pivot, the advantage of having an ostensibly larger contact area is lost unless the weapon is being used on perfectly flat ground at an elevation parallel to the ground. Thus, if the shooter has to tilt the weapon relative to the ground, a portion of the feet are lifted off of the ground, thereby reducing the amount of contact the feet have with the supporting surface.
Yet another problem with known bipod designs is that the feet are not removable. This results in users needing to carry multiple bipods for different surfaces to ensure that they have a bipod that will provide them with the accuracy they need under different circumstances—a luxury that many shooters, especially those in military and police swift response units, simply do not have. Alternatively, a user could carry a single bipod with generic feet, such as the rounded rubber boots described above, that allows the bipod to be use in a variety of conditions but at a less than optimal level of accuracy.
The present invention relates to adaptable leg supports for bipod for rifles that pivot to allow the leg support to maintain optimum contact with the surface, even on uneven ground, allowing the user to “load up” the weapon in a variety of circumstances. The adaptable leg supports are additionally interchangeable, allowing the user to carry a variety of adaptable leg supports to adapt a single bipod to a variety of conditions.
For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and wherein:
FIG. 1—Illustration of an embodiment of the invention wherein the adaptable leg support is attached to the leg of a bipod.
FIG. 2A—Illustration of an embodiment of the invention wherein the adaptable leg support is detached from the leg of a bipod.
FIG. 2B—Illustration of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3—Exploded view of an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4—Illustration of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 5—Illustration of an embodiment of the adapter portion of the adaptable leg support.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring again to
In certain embodiments, washers (not shown) may be inserted between the internal walls of slot 42 and the adjacent surfaces of bracket 40 or rub sleeve 43 (best seen in
Each claw 51 of claw foot 50 extends radially away from the center of claw foot 50 and is approximately equally spaced from adjacent claws 51. Each claw 51 terminates in a point 52 that is turned down from upper surface 53 of claw foot 50.
The embodiment illustrated in
As best seen in
Supporting portion 104 of ski foot 100 further includes upstanding edges 110 and 112. In the illustrated embodiment, edges 110 and 112 extend away from upper surface 114 of supporting portion 104 at an angle of approximately 135 degrees, but any angle between 90 and 180 degrees would work. These upstanding edges allow the wide, flat bottom surface 106 to slide easily of the top of the shooting surface rather than digging in. This characteristic is frequently desirable with automatic weapons to allow the user to quickly redirect fire without having to lift the weapon.
Ski foot 100 can be adapted for use in applications in which the user does not want the weapon to slide on the shooting surface by covering bottom surface 106 with non-slip boot 108. Boot 108, which can be any stretchable, non-slip material such as natural or synthetic rubber, is connected to ski foot 100 by inserting supporting portion 104 into boot 105. This allows the user to load up the weapon when using it on a shooting bench or an urban surface such as a rooftop, a sidewalk, or a vehicle.
Illustrated in
While the above describes several specific embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art may appreciate that certain modifications may be made to the apparatus and methodology herein disclosed, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Thus, it should be understood that the invention may be adapted to numerous rearrangements, modifications, and alterations and that all such are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/950,893, filed Jul. 20, 2007, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60950893 | Jul 2007 | US |
