Patent Grant
10228211
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the US Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
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The present invention relates, generally, to stands and to firearms systems, apparatus and methods. More particularly, the invention relates to a portable firearm support stand, and methods of making the stand and using the stand. The system, apparatus and method of the invention are useful for hunting, marksman, police and military applications.
Since the advent of firearms, shooters have sought better means of stabilizing those firearms when firing. A nearby tree or rock would generally suffice, unless there were none available. Stabilizing body positions were tried, the best among them being prone, but often ground vegetation rendered this method useless. Firearm-stabilizing devices that could be carried by the shooter and employed quickly when needed were next. Some types explored over time were walking sticks, (monopods), folding bipods and tripods, and collapsible models, which all had the drawback of only one rifle rest point on top of the device.
More recently, this shortcoming was addressed by the quad-pod, or four-legged shooting stick. Examples of these include WO200065950, comprised of four quadrants arranged around a central axis, described thusly: “The stick is divided by two planes of symmetry vertical (perpendicular) to each other passing through the central axis of the stick.” This device has two forked ends comprised of the portions of the rods above the upper pivot points, which provide rests for the fore end and the butt of the rifle. Touted as a multi-purpose tool—walking stick, shooting rest, fish pole holder, and the like,—it has undesirable limitations as a rifle rest. This device must be opened in both hinge directions simultaneously, “by simultaneous pushing of the pairs of the main rods connected by hinged links in free directions of hinges . . . ”, which can be accomplished without much difficulty using a model constructed per the example designed for standing shooting on two ground-contact points, but is very difficult using models of the shorter examples designed for kneel-down shooting on three and four ground-contact points, due to hinging interference of an impracticable geometric design. Shooting while standing is acceptable in itself, but the device used for standing shooting is roughly as long as the user is tall, making it necessary to carry the stick in the hand at all times, which is impractical when faced with tasks such as climbing, crawling, riding a four-wheeler or horseback, etc., and the full-height profile of the shooter is more susceptible to wind-induced instability.
DE202004015727 describes four stacked legs, with upper hinging accomplished via rivets or bolts linking sequential legs 1-2 and sequential legs 3-4, and with lower hinging done via baseplates linking sequential legs 1-4 and sequential legs 2-3, resulting in only two ground contact points, which is insufficient to provide the desired level of stability. Stability is enhanced via complication—by adding an optional fifth stabilizing leg.
Other devices exist, including (A) of a variety which has only two ground-contact points, which doesn't provide the required stability for long-range shooting, especially when the user is short of breath from exertion, and which won't stand unassisted, requiring the user to prop it up while readying the rifle for use; (B) of the four-post, central axis design, which can be difficult to open into usable form, particularly in shorter designs providing more than two points of ground-contact, due to hinging interference of an impracticable geometric design; and (C) of a variety which has only one upper support point (bipods, tripods, etc.) which also doesn't provide the necessary aiming stability.
The background technology is believed to have significant limitations and shortcomings. For these and other reasons, a need exists for the present invention.
All US patents and patent applications, and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention provides an portable firearm support stand apparatus and method which are practical, reliable, safe, accurate and efficient, and which are believed to fulfill a need and to constitute an improvement over the background technology.
In one aspect, the invention relates to stand for a firearm when the firearm is in use, comprising
In another aspect, the invention relates to lightweight, portable, collapsible firearm stand for holding a firearm steady when the firearm is in use, comprising
In a further aspect, the invention provides a device with more than two ground-contact points to provide primarily vertical aiming stability and free-standing capability, and with two rifle support points to provide primarily horizontal aiming stability, that is lightweight (<2 lbs.), and can be set up quickly (<5 seconds). This permits the user to carry the device for long periods of time without wearying of the burden, to quickly set up the device when game is sighted, to then have both hands free to un-sling and settle the rifle into the support, and to hold the rifle steady in both the horizontal and vertical directions, even if winded from exertion, for a quick and accurate shot.
The aspects, features, advantages, benefits and objects of the invention will become clear to those skilled in the art by reference to the following description, claims and drawings.
The present invention, and the manner and process of making and using it, will be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings.
The rifle is placed in shooting position atop the device as the right elbow rests firmly on the right knee, with the portion of the rifle just forward of the trigger guard landing in the rifle saddle, and the fore-end supporting hand grasping the gripping post and/or upper leg in a position appropriate for achieving the desired elevation of the rifle muzzle. Typically the index finger wraps around and supports the rifle, the thumb rests against the near, rifle side of the gripping post or leg, and the remaining fingers wrap around the far side of the gripping post or leg, depending on the muzzle elevation required. This adjustability of rifle muzzle elevation is one reason for the preference of landing the rifle in the saddle forward of the trigger guard. If the scissors-direction opening angle limit were increased, the rifle could be landed in the saddle farther back toward the butt, but elevation adjustability would be decreased due to increased distance between the two points of rifle contact with the device.
Referring to
Alternatively, to limit opening of the device in the scissors direction, one or more pins or bent tabs may be provided in close proximity to one or both lower pivot points, which protrude perpendicularly from the adjacent side of the leg in the direction of its mating leg. For each stop-pin, the mating leg is provided with a stop feature such as an arcuate slot on the mating side of the leg facing the stop-pin, and aligned with the stop-pin. The stop pin contacts or nearly contacts one end of the slot when the device is closed, and contacts the other end of the slot when the device is opened to a point where the lower hinge points are pivoted to the desired working opening in the “scissors-direction” of a leg-angle of about 20 to 60 degrees, or sometimes about 35 to 40 degrees.
Typically, as shown in
Ideally, when the device is drawn over the shoulder and held horizontally, the device will remain securely in the closed position until the user shears the magnetic bonds, which secure the device in the undeployed state, and which will be described further below, by pulling the upper hinge mechanism of legs 2 and 4 via the rifle saddle toward the body with one hand and/or pushing the upper hinge mechanism of legs 1 and 3 via the gripping post away from the body with the other hand, thereby pivoting the lower hinge points to the fully opened position. This action of opening the device in the scissors direction and breaking the magnetic bonds will allow gravity to open the device in the spreading direction, whereupon the fingers of the left hand can be slipped into position for a one-hand hold. Due to the hinges being bent slightly more or less than is necessary to align the upper pivot axes when the device is fully opened in the scissors direction, the device stays open in the scissors direction when subsequently opened and held open in the spreading direction by the fingers of one hand. This allows for one-hand placement of the deployed device into the desired position on the ground in proper alignment with the target, while the other hand is free to initialize performance of the quick and well-known process of swinging the rifle nearly a full turn off the sling shoulder with the dominant hand and into position for the other hand to grasp the fore-end of the rifle for placement onto the device. Alternatively, once the device is deployed on the ground, the right-handed user may then grasp the rifle sling with the left hand at the right shoulder and, supporting the rifle butt with the fingers of the right hand, may kneel on the left knee while the right thigh supports the butt of the rifle for unslinging the rifle from the shoulder. The right arm is drawn from within the sling and grasps the pistol grip of the rifle, while the left hand shifts from the rifle sling to the fore end of the rifle.
The concept of designing for the application of shear-force perpendicular to the holding direction of pairs of magnets to provide self-securing means of closure and rapid-deployment capability to this device, as well as to other folding and scissors-type devices, including other forms of folding shooting aid devices, is hereby claimed. With practice, proper placement of the device and rifle for the shot at hand becomes smooth and steady in motion, particularly when using the previously mentioned one-hand device placement and dominant hand rifle-swing method, and target acquisition to the point of minute-of-angle holding stability can be accomplished within a few seconds of target sighting. Although the legs are described as being held adjacent in the collapsed state by a pair or magnets, it is within the purview of the invention that the legs could be coupled by one magnet and one metallic element, and that other connection means could be used, such as hook and loop fasteners, and other mechanical latching means.
Alternatively, the upper hinge point nearest the user may be the area of attachment of a sliding gun butt rest. This feature may comprise a section of material mounted movably in the linear direction to one of the near legs, that can be slid upward and held or locked in position for supporting the gun butt at an elevation which provides proper alignment of the sights with the target. This may be accomplished by such means as squeezing the gun butt rest against the leg with the non-shooting hand, or by squeezing a clamp-release mechanism with the non-shooting hand to allow the butt-rest to be elevated to the desired position, and then releasing the mechanism to lock the butt-rest in place.
In one embodiment, when gripped and drawn from the hip-mounted holster, as described above in regard to
In order to achieve the desired utility, four basically rectangular bars or tubes of a rigid material such as wood, metal, carbon fiber, etc. are prepared appropriately for use in what will be mainly an outdoor device. Wood may be oiled, varnished or otherwise treated to protect it from extremes of heat and humidity. Metal, such as aluminum, may be anodized or painted to accomplish the same. The four bars or tubes, hereinafter referred to as legs, may also be coated with materials such as Teflon, polyurethane, rubbers, etc. that will reduce friction between the four legs and/or between the legs and other surfaces, and/or which may deaden the sound of the legs rubbing or bumping together. These four legs are arranged in a stack, generally hut not necessarily, with the wider sides facing one another, hereinafter referred to as the “adjacent sides”.
Two upper hinges are provided. Typically, with the four legs numbered sequentially from left to right from the user's perspective, the upper hinges link leg 1 to leg 3 (partially hidden from view), and to link leg 2 to leg 4, as shown. The upper hinge axes run generally horizontal and generally parallel to the adjacent sides of the legs. These hinges may be mounted at or bent to an appropriate angle to align or early align the upper hinge axes when the device is opened in the “scissors” direction, in which two hinged legs are separated from the other two hinged legs via scissors-action rotation of the “lower pivot points”, described below.
An upward protrusion, typically of leg 1, is provided, referred to herein as a “gripping post”, for supporting the fore end of a rifle with the non-trigger hand when the device is in the opened condition. This post may be an extension of the leg, an elongated protrusion of a hinge plate, an insert, or an attachment. A second upward protrusion, typically of leg 2, is provided, referred to herein as a “rifle saddle”, for supporting the rifle, typically just forward of the trigger guard, when the device is in the opened condition. The rifle saddle may be an extension of the leg, an elongated protrusion of a hinge plate, an insert, or an attachment. At the lower pivot points, “lower pivot members” are provided to join legs 1 and 2, and to join legs 3 and 4. These lower pivot members may pass most or all of the way through the legs, such as in the case of solid bars of wood or other material, or may pass only through the adjacent walls if tubes are used. Between the conjoined legs, and surrounding the lower pivot members, a thin wear surface may be provided.
In the case of tubular legs, as shown, these magnets may be press-fit or glued into depressions in a block of material 82 or foot insert 70 which is pressed or otherwise fastened into the tubing, hiding the magnet under the surface of the tubing for a durable and cosmetically pleasing construction, or they may be secured with adhesive or other means to the opposite tube wall by using spacers of a suitable material. Magnets may be press-fit, glued, screwed, or otherwise fastened into depressions in the surface of solid-material legs.
It should be noted and understood that the linking, via the upper hinges, of the upper ends of leg 1 to leg 3, and of leg 2 to leg 4, along with the linking, via the lower pivot members, of leg 1 to leg 2, and leg 3 to leg 4, is at the heart of the invention, for it is this configuration that allows the user to open the device with the scissors-action of the legs causing a perpendicular shearing of the magnetic forces that hold the legs in parallel orientation when the device is in the closed position, thus requiring much less force to break the magnetic bonds than the “pull” rating of the magnets used. It should also be noted that the same utility can be achieved by the linking, via the upper hinges, of the upper ends of leg 1 to leg 4, and of leg 2 to leg 3, if the lower pivot points are located at unlike distances from any given point along the length of the device in order to provide the necessary magnetic force-shearing geometry. There are advantages to either upper hinging pattern, but this document is focused mainly on the leg 1 to leg 3 leg 2 to leg 4 upper hinging pattern for purposes of example.
Tubular legs may employ caps or inserts 70, as shown, that include ground contact features such as rubber tread, or angled and/or tapered ends, either rigid or supple, to provide ground-contact surfaces with sufficient gripping capability. Solid legs may be cut at an angle or taper to provide a better grip on the ground, or may be recessed to accept foot-caps of plastic, rubber, or other appropriate material. Any of these lower caps or inserts may be provided in different lengths to provide height adjustment for different size users, and may include a spring-loaded telescoping action to compensate for slight inconsistencies in ground flatness. In cases of gross ground flatness inconsistency, three ground contacting legs are sufficient for stability of the device in use. In fact, any one of the four legs of this device may be cut off below the lower pivot point without severely affecting performance of the device, or either lower pivot point may be at or near ground level to provide only three-points of ground contact, but the basic four-leg double-scissors design offers the advantage of choosing, according to the angle of elevation desired, the three legs that will contact uneven ground by leaning the rifle/device forward or rearward until the third leg comes into contact with the ground.
Further, preferred details of the embodiment of
70—Foot insert: Molded, cut, or machined, solid or hollow, pressed, screwed, or otherwise fastened into the base of the tubular leg
72—Foot insert fastener: One or more screws, pins, rivets, etc.
74—Lower Magnet: Preferably disc-type, with a diameter of 0.2″ to 1″, and sometimes about 0.4″, a thickness of 0.05 to 0.3″, and sometimes about 0.12″, and with a maximum pull force of 1 lb. to 10 lbs., and sometimes 2 lbs. to 5 lbs., with opposite polarities facing one another.
76—Magnet socket: Allows magnet to be glued or pressed into foot insert for positioning magnet under the surface of the tubular leg in the finished form
78—Wear surface washers: One or more washers of a wear-resistant material such as UHMW polyethylene between the legs, and surrounding the lower pivot members, with an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the lower pivot member, an outer diameter slightly smaller than the width of the adjacent sides of the legs, and a thickness of 0.005″ to 0.080″, sometimes 0.010″ to 0.050″, and often 0.015″ to 0.030″.
48, 50—Lower pivot members: Small pin, nail, bolt or rivet, of a diameter of roughly 0.03″ to 0.3″, and sometimes 0.06″ to 0.2″, are provided to join legs 1 and 2, and to join legs 3 and 4, sometimes about one-fourth to three-fourths the distance from leg end to leg end, often a few inches above the center-points, and roughly centered on the adjacent sides of the legs.
80—Lower pivot member access hole cap: Commercial or custom cap, such as molded plastic.
52
a—Rear major hinge plate and fasteners: Attaches to rear, non-adjacent side of leg 1 with one or more screws, rivets, or other fastening means. Mates with rear minor hinge plate.
54
a—Front major hinge plate and fasteners: Attaches to front, non-adjacent side of leg 2 with one or more screws, rivets, or other fastening means. Mates with front minor hinge plate.
52
b—Rear minor hinge plate and fasteners: Attaches to rear, non-adjacent side of leg 3 with one or more screws, rivets, or other fastening means. Mates with rear major hinge plate.
54
b—Front minor hinge plate and fasteners: Attaches to front, non-adjacent side of leg 4 with one or more screws, rivets, or other fastening means. Mates with front major hinge plate.
58—Rifle saddle and fasteners: In this case, an attachment-style saddle, screwed, riveted, or otherwise fastened to the leg
82—Magnet socket insert: Molded, cut, or machined, solid or hollow, pressed, screwed, or otherwise fastened into the upper or lower portion of the tubular leg
84—Magnet socket: Allows magnet to be glued or pressed into the insert for positioning magnet under the surface of the tubular leg in the finished form
86—Upper Magnet: Preferably disc-type, with a diameter of 0.2″ to 1″, and sometimes about 0.4″, a thickness of 0.05″ to 0.3″, and sometimes about 0.1″, and with a total maximum pull force of 0.5 lb. to 8 lbs., and sometimes 1.5 lb. to 4 lbs., with opposite polarities facing one another.
88—Magnet socket insert fastener: One or more screws, pins, rivets, etc.
90—Tube cap: Upper and/or lower tube ends may be capped, if so desired, by inserting standard commercial polymer tube caps or plugs, or custom-made caps or plugs of the desired form.
54
b—Minor hinge plate: Resides under and is mated to the major hinge plate. Aluminum or other rigid material, about 0.030″ to 0.2″, sometimes 0.06″ to 0.13″ in thickness.
92—Inner wear surface washer: One or more washers of a wear-resistant material such as UHMW polyethylene, with an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the hinge pivot member, an outer diameter slightly smaller than the mating surface of the hinge halves, and a thickness of 0.005″ to 0.060″, sometimes 0.010″ to 0.040″, and often 0.015″ to 0.030″.
54
a—Major hinge plate: Resides over and is mated to the minor hinge plate. Aluminum or other rigid material, about 0.030″ to 0.2″, sometimes 0.06″ to 0.13″ in thickness.
94—Optional outer wear surface washer: One or more washers of a wear-resistant material such as UHMW polyethylene, with an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the hinge pivot member, an outer diameter slightly smaller than the mating surface of the hinge halves, and a thickness of 0.005″ to 0.060″, sometimes 0.010″ to 0.040″, and often 0.015″ to 0.030″. This washer may be covered with a rigid washer of a material such as metal under the head of the hinge pivot member to utilize the entire wear surface.
96—Hinge pivot member: A small bolt, pin, or rivet of a diameter of 0.06″ to 0.25″, and sometimes 0.10″ to 0.20″.
54—Assembled upper hinge NOTE: In general, the upper hinges can be mounted such that, when the device is in the opened position, the hinges are either on the side of the legs facing the other legs, or as is more typical, on the side facing away from the other legs.
Exemplary Hinging Methods
Referring to
With this simple hinging system, leg 1 or leg 3 can be somewhat longer than other legs, allowing the natural upward protrusion to serve as a hand-gripping post for supporting the fore end of a rifle, perhaps to be subsequently dipped in rubber compound for improved grip. Also, leg 2 or leg 4 can be somewhat longer than other legs, and a simple curved piece of metal or other material can be fastened to the upward leg extension to form at least the core of the rifle saddle, perhaps to be subsequently dipped in rubber compound or otherwise improved.
Exemplary Folding Capability
Another desirable feature may be provided to enable folding of a tubular-legged device into a more compact form for stowing in a pack or other small space, or for efficient general storage. In the example shown, once the device is in the closed position and not in use as in
A more economical hinging alternative would be the common slip fit and shock-cord approach used in the manufacture of most modern tent poles.
The invention provides a collapsible support for rifles, handguns and the like, comprising four solid or hollow legs, bars or tubes, oriented in a parallel stack, with four total hinge points somewhat perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the legs, including two upper hinge points at or near the top of the legs with pivot axes parallel to the plane of the adjacent sides of the stacked legs, with one upper hinge point linking sequential leg 1 to leg 3 or leg 4, and the second upper hinge point linking sequential leg 2 to the other of leg 3 or leg 4; and including two lower hinge points located below the upper hinge points, with pivot axes parallel to the plane of the non-adjacent sides of the stacked legs, with one lower hinge point linking sequential leg 1 to leg 2, and a second lower hinge point linking sequential leg 3 to leg 4. The upper hinges may be constructed from stamped or otherwise formed plates, preferably metal, appropriately shaped, bent, and drilled. The plates may be stamped or otherwise formed so as to include the base shape of tools such as a rifle saddle, a handgun saddle, or a gripping post. The hinges may be attached to the non-adjacent sides of the upper portions of the stacked legs, with means such as rivets or screws. The plates may be stamped or otherwise formed so as to include an extension of the hinge plate, roughly the width of the leg, which can be bent to match the contour of an angle-cut or multi-angle-cut leg top, and can be fastened to the side of the leg opposite the hinge, thus forming both a cap for the leg and an angled surface for the protruding upper pivot portion of the hinge plate.
The embodiments above are chosen, described and illustrated so that persons skilled in the art will be able to understand the invention and the manner and process of making and using it. The descriptions and the accompanying drawings should be interpreted in the illustrative and not the exhaustive or limited sense. The invention is not intended to be limited to the exact forms disclosed. While the application attempts to disclose all of the embodiments of the invention that are reasonably foreseeable, there may be unforeseeable insubstantial modifications that remain as equivalents. It should be understood by persons skilled in the art that there may be other embodiments than those disclosed which fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Where a claim, if any, is expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function it is intended that such claim be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof, including both structural equivalents and equivalent structures, material-based equivalents and equivalent materials, and act-based equivalents and equivalent acts.
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| WO-0065950 | Nov 2000 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180135934 A1 | May 2018 | US |
