1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for the mounting and stabilizing of weapons, specifically machine guns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The United States currently finds itself embroiled in several armed conflicts including conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In most cases, these conflicts involve either urban or desert styled warfare and require the use of rapidly deployable, small groups of highly trained military personnel. Fast moving vehicles such as “Humvees”, equipped with one or more automatic weapons each weighing as much as 80 pounds, are a mainstay of this modern type of armed conflict.
For purposes of this patent application, the rear of an automatic weapon will be that area of the weapon where the trigger is located. The forward area of the weapon will be the end of the barrel where the bullet being fired emerges. For most automatic weapons, the center of gravity is towards the rear of the gun simply because that is where most of the weight is concentrated. When mounted on a vehicle such as a “Humvee” using current technology, an automatic weapon in a resting position will rotate upon its center of gravity until the forward end, the barrel points skyward or is in a vertical position. To fire the weapon, it must be rotated around its center of gravity until the barrel achieves a horizontal position. The rotation of an 80 pound weapon around its center of gravity requires a great deal of physical strength and time, neither of which is desirable in combat. Traditionally, rail weapon mounts have been employed such as that disclosed in US D513,056, to Ding; US Publication No. 2005/001104, to Oz; US Publication No. 2005/0229465, to Dextraze; and US Publication No. 2006/0283070, to Murello. These mounts fail to disclose however, any way to stabilize the weapon when mounted. U.S. Pat. No. 2993,416, to Uhl for “Balancing Device for Firearms Horizontally Pivoted outside their Center of Gravity” does disclose a stabilizing device, however, it is not universal and is completely, unlike the present invention, dependent upon the type of mount utilized.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a mount for an automatic weapon that in effect, counterbalances the weight of the rear of the weapon, moving the center of gravity forward towards the end of the barrel. It is a further object to provide that the mount of the present invention is easily and removably attached to the automatic weapon at a fixed location on either a stationary or moving platform. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.
The detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention.
Shown in
The strut assembly [3] can be attached to the barrel of the weapon [2] using cables or the like. As shown in
The purpose behind the strut assembly is to permit the barrel of the weapon [2] to pivot up and down but to cause such barrel to rest in a semi horizontal position. This will reduce the physical exertion and time necessary to put the barrel of a weapon [2] in a horizontal position as would be the case for a weapon that does not employ use of the mount of the present invention. Any conventional means such as typical pneumatic shock absorbers or strut assemblies for vehicles can be used to provide the function of the strut assembly [3] of the present invention. As shown in
While the preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure, but rather, is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.