Patent Application
20140237882
The stability with which a firearm is positioned is a critical factor contributing to the accuracy of a projectile discharged from the weapon. Likewise the ability to quickly bring a weapon to bear and position it accurately on the intended target is critical in shooting sports and public safety scenarios. Various prior apparatus and methods are known in the art that attempt to, but have not, solved such targeting and accuracy issues faced by shooters in hunting and military environments.
For example, certain shooting systems have been developed for mechanically unsupported stabilization of the firearm that employs a sling device. A sling may be used as a shooting aid to pull the firearm into the user's shoulder area to provide stability against the shooter's body. However, the limitations with such body support systems do not adequately compensate for firearm recoil and its affect on the stability of the shooter's body. Likewise, the recoil associated with discharging a firearm may also cause the user to flinch or jerk in anticipation of the associated recoil. Flinching or jerking may affect the trigger pull and thereby further increase the inaccuracy associated with the shot. Other shooting support systems are designed to reduce or eliminate the recoil force transmitted to the user. However, such stabilization support systems are typically heavy, so as to absorb greater amounts of recoil from the weapon when discharged, and thus are not easily transportable or carried by the shooter into myriad environments where space and room to erect and utilize such support systems is limited.
Despite advances in firearm manufacturing and optics capability, a need still exists in the art for a shooting platform which provides a stable platform on which the firearm may be rested and secured which prevents gross or reflexive movements by the shooter from affecting the desired shot placement and targeting accuracy. A need exists for a simple and easily transportable shooting platform that may be carried on the user's person, erected and utilized in a variety of shooting environments. Further, a need exists for a stabilized shooting platform that allows the user to easily rest, support and position the firearm on target, while providing the capability to easily adjust the elevation of the firearm and lock the firearm in the desired position for placing a projectile discharged from the firearm on the desired target. There is a need in the art for a shooting platform that supports the firearm without the aid of the shooter, while remaining light and easily transportable from one location to another by the shooter.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a shooting stabilization support apparatus (also referred to as a “shooting platform”) comprising a saddle with a forward and rear firearm supports adapted to receive and support a variety of firearms. The saddle is supported by a hinge block connected to a swivel mount allowing the saddle to freely and completely rotate in the horizontal and vertical plane space thereby aiding the shooter in easily and quickly placing the firearm on target desired by the shooter. The vertical elevation of the firearm is easily adjusted and secured into position using a brake that enables the user to easily adjust the elevation of the firearm muzzle and secure the rifle in the desired position. The shooter may then discharge the weapon with improved accuracy on target. The shooting platform apparatus may be permanently or detachably affixed to any fixed surface such as the floor, ceiling or wall of any enclosed space as further described herein. The shooting platform may be integrated or attached to vehicles, boats, aircraft or other transport equipment.
In this respect, before explaining the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of this application.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. Relative language used herein is best understood with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals are used to identify like or similar items. Further, in the drawings, certain features may be shown in somewhat schematic form.
Turning to
With regard to
Pins 26 are utilized to hingedly attach brake 20 between hinge block 18 and rear control arm 22 allowing brake 20, hinge block 18, and rear control arm 22 to substantially rotate and/or translate relative to each other and thus impart vertical pitch movement to saddle 12. This rotational and translational ability allows the shooter to move and adjust the elevation or vertical pitch of the firearm barrel supported in the saddle 12 during target acquisition and alignment. Brake 20 acts to lock and restrict elevational movement of the saddle 12 in the vertical direction when the brake handle is rotated to a locked position which substantially inhibits any relative rotation in the vertical direction as between the hinge block 18, brake 20 and rear control arm 22 thus securing the firearm positioned in the saddle 12 at the desired elevation on sight on the target. It is also contemplated that connection means such as pins, bolts or other threaded or non-threaded connectors for rotatably securing the components of the shooting platform 10 may be utilized as known in the art.
A swivel mechanism (not shown) or connection point may be fixed to the bottom surface of hinge block 18 allowing the shooting platform 10 to freely swivel in substantially the horizontal plane enabling the shooter to quickly place a firearm supported in the shooting platform on target in the horizontal direction. The shooting platform 10 may be mounted to a monopod, bipod, tripod, extension arm or multiple extension arms or fixed mounting assembly as will be further described herein in
Rear control arm 22 and friction plate 36 are in releasable contact at hinge brake contact surface 35. Rear control arm 22 and friction plate 36 may include grooves, cleats or other roughened surface treatments enabling the contact surfaces at hinge brake contact surface 35 to securely mate together to substantially inhibit or restrict rotation relative to rear control arm 22 and friction plate 36 when the brake 20 is in a locked position. In turn and in this position, relative rotation between the brake 20 and hinge block 18 is restricted resulting in hinge block 18, brake 20, and rear control arm 22 assembly being restricted from elevational pitch rotation and/or translation in the vertical direction. Depending on the status of the brake 20 being in the locked or unlocked position, rear control arm 22 and friction plate 36 may rotate or be substantially fixed in position relative to each other as further described below.
Brake 20 acts to provide an adjustable locking mechanism whereby the shooter may easily make gross or fine elevational adjustments to the shooting platform 10 in the vertical direction by simply rotating and/or counter-rotating brake handle 30 about brake piston 32. Both brake handle 30 and brake piston 32 are partially or completely threaded 38 on one or both ends so that as brake handle 30 is rotated by the shooter about brake piston the rotation of the mated or meshed threads 38 causes brake piston 32 to rise, elongate or otherwise translate in an axial direction out and away from brake handle 30. In the depicted embodiment, a substantial interior portion of brake handle 30 is threaded and a substantial exterior portion of brake piston 32 is threaded to accept the threaded portion of brake handle 30.
In the embodiment depicted in
In the depicted embodiment, portions of the distal ends of brake handle 30 and links 34 include counter-meshing threads 38. Links 34 are connected to, or may be preformed, as part of friction plates 36a as shown. As brake handle 30 is rotated to inhibit change in the vertical pitch of the shooting platform, links 34 are drawn into the interior of brake handle 30 and encounter the opposite distal ends of brake handle 30. This results in a friction connection between brake handle 30 and friction plates 36 inhibiting further rotational movement of brake handle 30 about links 34 and locking the shooting platform into the desired alignment on the desired target. If minute adjustments need to be made in the alignment of the shooting platform 60, the shooter may make fine adjustments in alignment of the shooting platform by rotating or counter-rotating brake handle 30 in small increments and reorienting the alignment of the shooting platform by the shooter pushing, pulling or by other bodily movement imparted to the shooting platform or the weapon secured in the shooting platform until the desired alignment is achieved. In one embodiment, rubber washers, grommets or cushioned pads, grommets or washers may be positioned inside the peripheral circumference of friction plates 36a so as to provide a variable friction surface that provides variable resistive frictional force sufficient to retard movement of brake handle 30 unless the shooter imparts sufficient rotational or counter-rotational force to overcome the resistive frictional force existing between brake handle 30 and friction plates 36a.
In one example embodiment, swivel mount 56 is secured to a wall in a hunting blind (not shown). Once secured to a stable structural unit, the shooter may place firearm 2 into the saddle of the shooting platform 10 then position and sight the firearm 2 into the desired field of fire in the horizontal plane. The shooter may then push the shooting platform 10 supporting firearm 2 into a secure and safe position until the shooter is ready to fire the firearm 2. When the shooter desires to fire the firearm 2, he or she simply moves the shooting platform 10 into position and only needs to make vertical pitch adjustments for sighting the weapon on to the intended target. Such vertical pitch adjustments are easily made by rotating or counter-rotating the brake handle (as previously described herein) thereby allowing the shooter to position and sight the firearm 2 on to the target in a quick and accurate fashion. The shooter may simply discharge the firearm without having the accuracy of the shot affected by the shooter's reflexive or reactionary motion, as the recoil of the discharge is substantially absorbed by the shooting platform 10. The user may then either sight and prepare for another shot or stow the firearm suspended by the extension arm assembly for later use.
Turning to
As depicted, the user rotates brake handle 72 to unlock the compressive force imparted by clamp brake 74 about the dowel rod 78 which allows the user to adjust the pitch elevation of the cradle 62. Once the user orients the cradle 62 at the desired pitch angle, the user counter-rotates brake handle 72 resulting in the placement of sufficient compressive force imparted by clamp brake 74 on dowel rod 78. The user may adjust the compressive force placed on dowel rod 78 by gradual rotation or counter-rotation of brake handle 72 sufficient to completely immobilize, allow partial movement or allow free movement of the cradle 62 in the vertical direction as desired by the user. The stabilization platform is easily deconstructed into its various compenents for storage and transport and can easily be reassembled for use in the field.
Illustrative embodiments have been described herein and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above apparatus and methods may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of the disclosed invention. It is intended to include all such changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/767,953, filed on Feb. 22, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61767953 | Feb 2013 | US |
