Patent Application
20170097201
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 14/267,822 filed on May 1, 2014.
This invention relates to the field of firearm accessories and more particularly receiving apparatus for spent casings.
Because it can be very difficult to recover expended shell casings, especially when those are discharged from semi-automatic or automatic firearms or during maneuvers or live fire problems performed in open terrain during training exercises, numerous bags, buckets, and the like have been conceived for providing a catching function. The casings, which typically are made of brass, expended by the weapon are valuable and can be reused. Therefore, recovery is desirable. Even with the exercise of great diligence, however, it can be difficult to recover more than a majority of the expended casings.
Moreover, a problem long associated with hunting and recreational shooting is the amount of empty shells which are expelled from a shotgun or a rifle and which fall on the ground, sometimes in tall grass. These casings need to be retrieved in order to protect the environment and to remove the smell of empty shells from the habitat of a prey. Sometimes, especially while bird hunting, the hunter has to spend hours searching for the empty shells and retrieving them, while at the same time the hunter has to follow his prey and move continuously.
Depending on the type and configuration of a firearm, mounting a receiving apparatus for spent casings can be difficult and/or an apparatus for one weapon may not usable for another. Of course, purchasing a different casing receiving apparatus for each weapon is costly.
Accordingly, improved and universal firearm-mounted receiving apparatus for catching spent casings are described below.
In one embodiment, a universal firearm-mounted receiving apparatus adapted to receive an ejected casing from a firearm is disclosed. A mounting piece is disposed at an end of an arm and a receptacle disposed on the arm-end opposite to the mounting piece. The receiving apparatus further includes a hinge that allows for a portion of the arm to move independently of another portion, thereby making the positioning of the receptacle adjustable for different firearms.
In another embodiment, a universal firearm-mounted receiving apparatus adapted to receive an ejected casing from a firearm is disclosed that includes an arm having a mounting piece disposed at a first end of the arm and a receptacle disposed at an opposing end of the arm. Furthermore, a first hinge is disposed at the first end of the arm between the mounting piece and the arm, and a second hinge is disposed on the arm between the first hinge and the receptacle.
In another embodiment, a firearm casing collection kit is disclosed. The kit contains a firearm-mounted receiving apparatus adapted to receive an ejected casing from the firearm, the apparatus having an arm containing a hinge allowing a portion of the arm to move independently, a mounting piece disposed at an end of the arm, and receptacle disposed at an end of the arm opposite to the mounting piece. The kit further contains a tube or sleeve being adapted for attachment to a bottom of the receptacle, and a repository adapted for attachment to the tube or sleeve.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and figures, and from the claims.
Turning to
The hinge 6 can be one of a great many varieties that allow for one or more of turning, swinging, slidable movement or other movement of one part of the arm independent of another part of the arm.
The mounting piece 12 may be a clamp with “quick release” tabs 16 that allow grooves 18 to be engaged or released from a rail on a firearm through pressure applied by a user. However, other types of attaching or clamping arrangements are useable without the need for a rail, such as a simple pressure clamp like the c-clamp 20 and wing nut 22 (for tightening/loosening the clamp) shown in
As with the hinge and mounting piece, the receptacle may take a variety of forms and be made from a variety of materials. In one embodiment, the receptacle is a bag 24 attached to frame of receptacle 14 at the end of arm 4, thereby providing an opening 26 into which casings are ejected. The receptacle 14 is sized such that it can accommodate a large variety of shells sizes. As shown in
As is further shown in
Overall, the apparatus 2 may be made from any rigid material (with the receptacle additionally including any material that can capture and hold an ejected casing). Materials of lighter weight are preferred, such as aluminum or PVC plastic.
As shown in simplified block form in
A firearm casing collection kit also is contemplated. The kit may include a firearm-mounted receiving apparatus 70 having an arm 72 containing a hinge 74, allowing a portion of the arm to move independently, a mounting piece 76 disposed at an end of the arm, and receptacle 78 disposed at an end of the arm opposite to the mounting piece. The kit further includes a tube or sleeve 80 being adapted for attachment to a bottom of the receptacle 78, and a repository 82 adapted for attachment to the tube or sleeve.
The repository 82, in one embodiment of the kit, is especially useful for mobile training or hunting in that it is adapted for attachment to a user's leg. Thus, it can include straps 84 that loop around a leg and attach at attachment point 86 using hook-and-loop fasteners and the like.
As seen in
Thus, it is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2015/028340 | 4/29/2015 | WO | 00 |
