Patent Application
20110047850
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to weapon accessories. In particular, the present invention is directed to modular, electrically powered weapon accessories.
2. Description of the Related Art
Users of weapons have often found it convenient to attach accessories of various types to their weapons, particularly firearms. Such accessories include foregrips, laser sighting devices, flash lights (both navigation lights and tactical lights), and radio frequency (RF) transmitter and/or receivers. Accessory rails mounted to a weapon make it easy to attach or remove accessories. These rails usually conform to a standard such as the Picatinny or Weaver standards to ensure that accessories made by different manufacturers can attach to the same rail.
Weapon users often have multiple accessories attached to their weapon. Presently, each accessory requiring electrical power has its own integral power supply. These redundant power supplies add unnecessary bulk and weight to the weapon.
In other embodiments, the tang 108 does not have the mount 122 and thus cannot removably couple with the accessory rail 104. Such an embodiment would still be useful as a handheld device.
The grip assembly 110 includes one or more accessories. The one or more accessories may include a visible laser aimer, an infrared laser aimer, a dual visible and infrared laser aimer, an infrared illuminator a radio transmitter, a tactical flashlight, and a navigation flashlight. In the example of
The grip assembly 110 comprises a left grip 113 and a right grip 112, where left and right are determined relative to a line of sight running from the breach toward the muzzle of the weapon 102. Each component grip may have zero, one or more accessories. In other embodiments, the grip assembly 110 comprises a front grip and back grip, with the front grip closer to the muzzle of the weapon 102. In yet other embodiments, the grip assembly 110 comprises a top and bottom grip, with the top grip closer to the weapon 102. In yet other embodiments, the grip assembly 110 is an integral device and the accessories 112 and 114 are removably coupled with the grip assembly.
The modular foregrip 100 includes a butt plate 121 that is configured to securely hold the component grips together. The butt plate 121 is configured to engage with the tang 108 to hold the butt plate 121 in place relative to the tang 108, yet allow the user to easily remove the butt plate.
The modular foregrip 100 has an electrical power source 126, typically disposed in the tang 108. In other embodiments, the electrical power source 126 is disposed in the grip assembly 110. In some embodiments, the electrical power source 126 is a battery. In other embodiments, the electrical power source 126 is a capacitor or some other type of power supplying device.
Some accessories have a windage and elevation adjustment mechanism 120, but some accessories do not. Typically, each adjustment mechanism 120 on the same modular foregrip 100 is independent of other adjustment mechanisms 120. In the example of
In some embodiments, one or more control switches 118 are disposed in the grip assembly 110. The control switches 117 and 118 control the flow of power to the accessories 114 and 116. In some embodiments, the control switches 117 and 118 are disposed on one side of the grip assembly 110. In some embodiments, the control switches 117 and 118 are disposed on the left side of the grip assembly 110. In other embodiments, the control switches 117 and 118 may be disposed on the front side of the grip assembly 110. In some embodiments, a first set of control switches 117 and 118 are disposed on one side of the gripe assembly 110 and a second set of control switches (not shown) are disposed on the opposite side of the grip assembly 110 in a mirror-image of the first set of control switches and perform the same functions.
In some embodiments, the modular foregrip 100 has a power port 119. The power port 119 is electrically coupled with the electrical power source 126. The power port 119 is configured to connect with an electrical jumper or pigtail in order to send electrical power to other accessories. These other accessories could be mounted on the same accessory rail 104 of the same weapon 102 that the modular foregrip 100 is currently mounted on. Alternatively, the other accessories could be on a different rail or not mounted on the weapon 102 at all.
The tang 108 is configured to be removably attached to the grip assembly 110. Typically, the housing 124 has mounting mechanisms to hold the grip assembly to the tang 108. In some embodiments, the mount 122 has mounting mechanisms to hold the grip assembly 110 to the tang 108. The mounting mechanisms are configured to allow the grip assembly 110 to be held securely to the tang 108, but also allow a user to easily remove the grip assembly 110 from the tang 108. In some embodiments, the tang 108 is configured to removably couple to and securely hold a single component grip of a grip assembly 110. This allows a user to replace a first grip with a second grip while leaving a third grip coupled with the tang 108. Typically, the electric power source 126 is disposed in the housing 124.
A non-conductive sleeve 128 is disposed inside the housing 124, electrically insulating the electric power source 126 from the housing 124. Typically, the non-conductive sleeve is made of plastic, but may be made of some other material.
The tang 108 has a set of power contacts 130 disposed in the non-conductive sleeve 128. The set of power contacts 130 is electrically coupled with the power source 126. The set of power contacts 130 is positioned to contact a set of power pads (see
The tang 108 has a first set of signal contacts 132 and second set of signal contacts 134 disposed in the non-conductive sleeve 128. Both sets of signal contacts 132 and 134 are configured to provide signal paths through the tang 108. The first set of signal contacts 132 are positioned to contact a first set of signal pads 182 (see
A user may have possession of a kit comprising several right panel grips 112, each with a different accessory and several left panel grips 113 each with a different accessory. This kit will allow the user to combine one of the right panel grips 112 and one of the left panel grips 113 in different combinations. The kit may have a panel grip that does not have an accessory. A panel grip without an accessory is herein called a blank panel grip.
The right panel grip 112 has circuitry 178 disposed in a side of the right panel grip 112 that contacts the tang 108 when the right panel grip 112 is coupled with the tang 108. The circuitry 178 includes a set of power pads 180, a first set of signal pads 182, a second set of signal pads 184, and a remotely actuated switch 184. The set of power pads 180 is located within the right panel grip 112 so as to engage with the set of power contacts 130 on the tang 180 when the panel grip 112 is coupled with the tang 108. The set of power pads 180 is electrically coupled with the remotely actuated switch 186, which is electrically coupled with the accessory 174. The accessory 174 draws electrical power from the tang 108 through the set of power pads 180. The power flows from the power pads 180 through the remotely actuated switch 186 to the accessory 174. The remotely actuated switch 186 is configured to control the flow of power to the accessory 174, allowing power to flow or not to flow. The remotely actuated switch 186 is controlled by control signals applied to control leads of the remotely actuated switch 186. In some embodiments, the remotely actuated switch 186 is an electromechanical relay. In other embodiments, the remotely actuated switch 186 is a transistor.
A first switch (not shown) disposed in the panel body 172 is electrically coupled with the control leads of the remotely actuated switch 186. The first switch is configured to generate a control signal to operate the remotely actuated switch 186. The first set of signal pads 182 is also electrically coupled with the control leads of the remotely actuated switch 186. A second control signal may be received through the first set of signal pads 182. The second control signal originates in a switch disposed in the mating left panel grip (not shown). Thus the remotely actuated switch 186 may be operated either by the first control signal or the second control signal.
A second switch (not shown) disposed in the panel body 172 is electrically coupled with the second set of signal pads 184. The second switch 190 is configured to generate a third control signal. The second set of signal pads 184 is configured to carry the third control signal to the matching signal contacts 132 in the tang 108 which carries the third control signal to the opposite (left) panel grip. The third control signal operates a remotely actuated switch in the opposite panel grip that controls power to an accessory in the opposite panel grip.
The foregoing described embodiments depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).
Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
