Claims
- 1. An auxiliary device for use with a weapon, the auxiliary device comprising:
a housing including a portion configured to receive at least one source of illumination; a first structural member extending upward from a first side of the housing and extending along at least a portion of a length of the first side of the housing; a second structural member extending upward from a second side of the housing, wherein the second side of the housing is located opposite to the first side of the housing, and wherein the second structural member extends along at least a portion of a length of the second side of the housing such that it is substantially parallel to the first structural member, and wherein both the first and second structural members are substantially parallel to a central, longitudinal axis extending along a length of the housing; and a spring-biased mechanism extending across and along a top portion of the housing, and wherein the spring-biased mechanism is configured to be biased in a direction substantially normal to the longitudinal axis.
- 2. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary device comprises an illuminator.
- 3. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary device comprises an aiming device.
- 4. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary device comprises an illuminator and an aiming device.
- 5. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the first and second structural members comprise a first positioning mechanism.
- 6. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the first and second structural members comprise mounting members that are complimentarily-shaped with respect to mounting members of a weapon to which the auxiliary device is adapted to be attached.
- 7. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the first and second structural members comprise rigid, elongated projections.
- 8. The auxiliary device of claim 7, wherein the rigid, elongated projections comprise tongues sized and shaped to engage with grooves associated with a weapon to which the auxiliary device is adapted to be attached.
- 9. The auxiliary device of claim 7, wherein the rigid, elongated projections are sized to fit snugly within grooves associated with a weapon to which the auxiliary device is adapted to be attached, and wherein the rigid, elongated projections are capable of sliding along the grooves.
- 10. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the spring-biased mechanism comprises a positioning member.
- 11. The auxiliary device of claim 10, wherein the positioning member comprises a bar, a pin, a detent ball, a post, or a ball bearing.
- 12. The auxiliary device of claim 10, wherein the positioning member comprises-a spring-loaded bar biased to move in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis for engagement into a slot associated with a weapon.
- 13. The auxiliary device of claim 12, wherein the spring-loaded bar includes first and second end portions, and wherein a user may use at least one of the end portions to cause compression of the spring to move the bar out of engagement with the slot associated with the weapon.
- 14. The auxiliary device of claim 13, wherein the at least one of the end portions comprises a latch or a button.
- 15. The auxiliary device of claim 10, wherein the positioning member comprises a spring-loaded bar.
- 16. The auxiliary device of claim 15, wherein the spring-loaded bar includes an end portion, which extends beyond at least one of the first structural member and the second structural member.
- 17. The auxiliary device of claim 16, wherein the end portion comprises a latch or a button.
- 18. The auxiliary device of claim 16 further comprising at least one additional source of illumination.
- 19. The auxiliary device of claim 18 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination is different from the at least one source of illumination.
- 20. The auxiliary device of claim 18 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination comprises an illuminator, a laser or an aiming light.
- 21. The auxiliary device of claim 16, wherein the spring-loaded bar includes an end portion, which upon manipulation by a user, overcomes the bias provided by the spring-biased mechanism.
- 22. The auxiliary device of claim 21, wherein the spring-loaded bar includes an end portion, which extends beyond at least one of the first structural member and the second structural member.
- 23. The auxiliary device of claim 22, wherein the end portion which extends beyond at least one of the first structural member and the second structural member further comprises a latch or a button.
- 24. The auxiliary device of claim 22 further comprising at least one additional source of illumination.
- 25. The auxiliary device of claim 24 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination is different from the at least one source of illumination.
- 26. The auxiliary device of claim 24 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination comprises an illuminator, a laser or an aiming light.
- 27. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the first and second structural members comprise rigid, elongated projections that are sized to fit snugly within grooves associated with a weapon to which the auxiliary device is adapted to be attached such that the rigid, elongated projections are capable of sliding along the grooves, and wherein the spring-biased mechanism is biased to move in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis for engagement into a slot associated with a weapon.
- 28. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the spring-biased mechanism comprises a latching mechanism.
- 29. The auxiliary device of claim 28, wherein the latching mechanism comprises a spring disposed substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the spring being operable to bias the latching mechanism into engagement with a complementary position associated with the weapon.
- 30. The auxiliary device of claim 29, wherein the latching mechanism is configured to be manually manipulated to overcome the biasing force of the spring.
- 31. The auxiliary device of claim 28, when the spring-biased mechanism further comprises an engaging surface, wherein relative sliding movement between the auxiliary device and weapon causes the engaging surface to cause the latching mechanism to overcome the biasing force of the spring-biased mechanism until the latching mechanism is aligned with a slot associated with the weapon.
- 32. The auxiliary device of claim 1, wherein the spring-biased mechanism includes a portion, which upon manipulation by a user, overcomes the bias provided by the spring-biased mechanism.
- 33. The auxiliary device of claim 1 further comprising at least one additional source of illumination.
- 34. The auxiliary device of claim 33 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination is different from the at least one source of illumination.
- 35. The auxiliary device of claim 33 wherein the at least one additional source of illumination comprises an illuminator, a laser or an aiming light.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to co-pending U.S. Application Serial No. 09/706,085, filed on Nov. 3, 2000, which is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,854, Serial No. 09/109,048, filed on Jul. 2, 1998, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09706085 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
10408762 |
Apr 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09109048 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09706085 |
Nov 2000 |
US |