Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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Height-adjustable and foldable gun rest
Background of the invention - Technical field
The invention is a gun rest (also referred to as an aiming rest). A typical
example of
use is "top hunting" for wood grouse or black grouse T, which is a hunting
form
characterized by the hunter J using a rifle G and being postured lying on
snow,
illustrated in fig 1 a. The invention classifies as a foldable, portable, and
adjustable
gun rest. Basically it is also a kind of single leg stand (also called
monopod). The
invention belongs to the category of gun rests intended to be carried attached
to the
rifle's fore-end 101, also known as forearm stock, illustrated in fig 1 b.
Background of the invention - Technical problem solved by the invention
The invention solves in particular the problem of gun rests' unsuitability on
snow-
covered ground. "Top hunting" is carried out during wintertime when the snow
is
deep and wood grouse and black grouse graze up in pine trees and birches. The
distance to the bird, when top hunting, is comparably large: occasionally
around 200
meters. It is customary to place a brought rucksack on top of the snow and
form it as
a support for the rifle. The rucksack is comparably large and its color tends
to
contrast against the snow; the bird may therefore discover the rucksack's
movement
when the hunter arranges it for support. Ordinary gun rests, whether they are
monopods or bipods, are usually not used for this kind of hunting because they
are
unsuitable for use on snow. Disturbing sounds when the gun rest is folded out,
awkward height adjustment, and uncomfortably protruding parts, are other
common
problems with gun rests for this kind of hunting.
Background of the invention - Prior art
A gun rest is described in US 1426967. This gun rest includes a supporting leg
- a
long narrow bar named "leg 26" - having a closed position and an extended
position. In the closed position the leg is situated under, and closely along,
the rifle's
fore-end. In the extended position the leg projects, about right-angled, out
from the
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fore-end. In this position another thin bar (called "bar 30") may be pulled
out from
the short side of the supporting leg and thus, in several steps, elongating
the leg.
Patent US 64765 describes another gun rest. It includes a supporting leg, a
bar
named "rod G", consisting of two parts (marked "a" and "b") joined by means of
a
hinge (at the point marked "x"). The gun rest has a closed position in which
the bar
is placed under and closely along the rifle's fore-end. In the extended
positions the
parts "a" and "b" may, on one hand, be collapsed together (giving a short
support) or
may, on the other hand, be folded out (giving a tall support); there are no
positions
in-between.
There are also other kinds of foldable gun rests - ranging from one to three
supporting legs with two legs being the most common - intended for attachment
on
a rifle's fore-end. The bipods in US 5852892 and US 6289622 may be mentioned
because they, when collapsed, lack protruding parts. Other gun rests differs,
as far
as we know, to a greater extent from the invention.
Description of the invention - Advantages provided by the invention
Lying down in the snow the hunter may, by means of the invention, obtain a
good
support for the rifle. Neither US 1426967 nor US 64765 - despite them both
having
a component that have some similarity with the bearing plate that is a
characteristic
of the invention - are suitable for use on snow. The gun rests having double
legs
described in US 5852892 and US 6289622 are not either suitable on snowy
ground.
Good height adjustability for lying-down shooting postures is obtained. The
gun rest
in US 1426967, and also to a certain extent the gun rest in US 64765, have -
in
common with the invention - the advantages of having a smooth exterior, being
compact in collapsed position, and being easy to fold out with a single-hand
movement. However they are, in contrast to the invention, not very adjustable:
the
supporting leg can in particular only be positioned right-angled to the fore-
end. It is
true that there are other gun rests that in fact, similar to the invention,
are easy to
set at several height levels, but as mentioned, no one is suitable as a rifle
support
on ground covered by snow.
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The rifle's existing attachment places can be used; in particular the places
for
attaching the front action-screw 102 and the sling swivel stud 103, indicated
in fig
lb. The gun rest in US 1426967 includes a cassette, housing the pivot of the
leg
and a spring, inlayed into the rifle's fore-end 101. For the other here
mentioned
patents: US 64765, US 5852892, and US 6289622, the gun rest is an integral
part of
a modified fore-end (that is, the rest is not a separate part attached to an
existing
fore-end). There are other gun rests that are attached to the rifle using
existing
fittings such as the sling swivel stud (Harris Bipod and others not listed
here); but
the ones we know are difficult to fold out, not suitable for snow-covered
ground, and
have protruding parts that renders the rifle, attached with the folded-up gun
rest,
uncomfortable to carry on the back.
The gun rest can be extended and set to height rapidly and quietly with a
single-
handed manipulation. The gun rests with double legs such as US 5852892 and US
6289622, on the contrary, requires the legs to be extended one by one.
The rifle, with mounted gun rest, can be carried comfortably on the back.
While the
other four gun rests here mentioned also have this feature, they are as
mentioned
either difficult to extend or are not settable at varying-height prone
shooting
postures.
Description of the invention - Embodiments
A first embodiment of the gun rest is shown in fig 2. Its function is
explained with the
help of fig 3.
First embodiment. The gun rest in its entirety is show in fig 2b and a few
parts are
shown in fig 2a. The gun rest has two parallel strips 1, a lower plate 2, a
crossbar 3,
and a number of cuts 51 in the bottom of an upper plate 4. The two parallel
strips 1
thought of as a single part is named "supporting leg", the lower plate 2 is
called
"bearing plate", and the upper plate 4 is referred to as "attachment plate" or
occasionally as "attachment element". The oblong hole 42 and the round hole 44
are
intended for the rifle's front action-screw 102 respectively sling swivel stud
103. A
torsion spring 6 pushes the crossbar's tip 61 against the attachment plate;
the
crossbar 3 thereby becomes fixed in place because the tip locks at one of the
recesses 51. When the hunter, with his one hand, removes the tip out of the
recess,
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the supporting leg can be turned, around the front axle 14, up against the
attachment plate. There it can be anchored by means of a clasp 71 that hooks
onto
a slot 71* of the attachment plate. This closed position is illustrated in fig
3a. At any
of the folded-out positions the bearing plate may be turned, around the lower
axle
12, till the clasp 71 can hook onto a slot 71'* of the bearing plate. This
position is
illustrated in fig 3c.
The gun rest's function is as follows (see fig 3). In closed position the
supporting leg
1, the bearing plate 2, and the crossbar 3 are lying flat against the rifle's
fore-end -
like an oblong box - according to fig 3a. The gun rest is adjustable to a
number of
extended positions. In these positions, the bearing plate is situated flat
against the
ground (for example snow), thereby increasing the contact surface of the
supporting
leg against the ground. In such a position, the rifle's shooting angle can be
changed
by turning the leg-attached rifle around the lower axle 12. An example of an
extended position is shown in fig 3b; the number of stops 51 determines the
number
of folded-out positions. The bearing plate can be turned around to act as an
elongation of the supporting leg, as is shown in fig 3c. In this position, the
shooting
angle may be changed by tilting the leg-attached rifle around the toe part of
the
bearing plate.
Second embodiment. Another concretisation of the invention is shown in fig 4.
Contrary to the first embodiment, the front axle 14 is movable along the
attachment
plate 4 while the rear axle 34 is fixed. A rail 5 is placed at bottom of the
attachment
plate. By pushing the lever 62, the tooth 61 is pushed into the block 41 on
which the
supporting leg is hinged. While the tooth is in pushed-in condition, the block
may be
freely moved along the rail. When the lever is released, the tooth
automatically
reappears (pushed out by a spring inside the block) and can therefore lock
into one
of the recesses 51.
Third embodiment. A third embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig 5.
The
supporting leg consists of two parts 1 a, 1 b movable along each other in a
rail 5. The
upper leg part 1 a and the crossbar 3 are both hinged to the attachment plate
4; they
are hinged by the front axle 14 respective the rear axle 34. The middle axle
13,
hinging the lower leg part 1 b to the crossbar, can be moved along the rail.
The gun
rest is adjusted as follows. An adjustment device 6 has some kind of tooth
(not
visible in the drawing) that normally locks into one of the recesses 51. The
tooth is
unlocked from a recess by pushing the lever 62 towards the supporting leg 1 a,
lb.
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The lever is then moved, in pushed-in condition, along the supporting leg,
resulting
in a change of the height of the gun rest.
In all of the previously described embodiments, the attachment element 4 could
be
i exchanged for two joinable parts. The joinable parts may for example have
the form
of profiles 45, 45* insertable into each other as shown in fig 6a. The upper
coupling
element 45* typically has two holes 42, 44 for screw fastening it into the
screw holes
for the front action-screw respective the sling swivel stud. This arrangement
certifies
that the gun rest can be removed from the weapon without touching any of the
action screws; indeed the barrel or action screws should not be unnecessarily
turned because changes in the screw torque may alter the weapon's sight
setting. In
addition it is faster and easier to attach the gun rest if a profile 45 simply
can be
inserted onto a rifle-attached profile 45*, instead of the gun rest having to
be
attached by screws. Another embodiment of the bearing plate and of the
attachment
plate is shown in fig 6b. The toe end of the bearing plate has a rabbet 22. In
closed
position the block 41 fits into the rabbet; and the bearing plate is therefore
stably
held in place by the block. In addition, the two tips framing the rabbet,
yields a good
grip against soil or frozen ground when the gun rest is in a fully extended
position
(refer to fig 3c). This embodiment also features a peg 46 on the attachment
plate
that fits into a hole of the bearing plate block 21, for the purpose of stably
securing
the bearing plate when the gun rest is in the closed position.
Yet another concrete form of the bearing plate is illustrated by fig 7. The
bearing
plate 2 is here attached to the bearing plate block 21 by means of a screw 8.
The
bearing plate has a first position as shown in fig 7b. In this position a peg
24 on the
block, fits into a hole 24* of the bearing plate. When the screw is tightened,
the
bearing plate block is clamped to the bearing plate. When the screw is
loosened, the
peg may be lifted out of the hole, and the bearing plate can then be turned to
a new
position as shown in fig 7a. In this position the peg works as the one leg of
a tripod,
where the other two legs 23 are placed at opposite ends of the bearing plate.
Recesses, for instance the kind of recesses 51 shown in fig 2, may also be
placed
directly into the rifle's fore-end; the fore-end may in particular be designed
with
recesses formed already at the fabrication stage. In such a case, the first
embodiment of fig 2 could be modified such that the attachment element 4 only
includes the front block 41. That is, the front block is attached to the fore-
end and
the crossbar tip will then be able to attach at any of the recesses in the
fore-end. In
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this context, observe that the arrangement consisting of the notched rail 5
and the
adjustment device 6, illustrated in fig 4, may be exchanged for the in fig 2
shown row
of recesses 5 and adjustment device 6, or vice versa. Thus it is feasible also
for
embodiments where the front axle 14 is movable, as in fig 4, to have a fore-
end with
~ recesses at which the front axle bearing - that is the block 41 - can
attach. This
implies that the attachment element only has to include the rear axle bearing -
that
is the pair of rear blocks 43 -
that is attached directly into the fore-end.
)
Description of the invention - General description
Several concrete - but dissimilar - embodiments of the invention were
described
above. This part summarizes these, and other possible embodiments of the
i invention, in a definition. We will mainly refer to fig 8. The black dots in
this drawing
symbolize pivots.
The invention - a gun rest for rifles - includes a supporting leg 1, a bearing
plate
2, and a pivot catch 3. The supporting leg is at its first end attached, by a
first pivot,
) to the rifle's fore-end 101. The supporting leg can be turned, on the pivot,
from a
collapsed position, at which the two ends of the leg is situated close to the
fore-end,
to folded-out positions at which the leg's second end is parted from the fore-
end.
The invention is particularly characterized by the fact that the supporting
leg at its
second end is attached, by a second pivot, to the bearing plate. The invention
is
i further characterized by the pivot catch, that it belongs to one of the
pivots, and that
it makes the supporting leg settable at fixed inclined angles to either the
fore-end or
to the bearing plate, as indicated in fig 8a respectively fig 8b.
Particular embodiments of the in fig 8a shown pivot catch are illustrated in
figs 8c,
8d, 8e, 8f. In these four drawings, a crossbar 3 holds the supporting leg 1 at
a fixed
inclined angle to the fore-end 101. The corresponding embodiments for the in
fig 8b
shown pivot catch comprising a crossbar, is however not shown in any drawing.
The
supporting leg is, in the general case, set to a folded-out position by, with
the pivot
catch released, inclining the leg to a position where the pivot catch once
again can
i lock the leg. More specifically, this may be accomplished by the crossbar's
upper
end being settable along the fore-end according to fig 8c; a more detailed and
concrete example is illustrated in fig 2. Or it may be accomplished by moving
the
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supporting leg's first end along the fore-end according to fig 8d or, more
concretely,
according to fig 4. A third type of embodiment is shown schematically in fig
8e, and
a concrete example is given in fig 5. A forth embodiment is shown in fig 8f.
Observe
that the dotted line on one of the triangle's sides symbolizes that this side
has a
variable length. The arrow - which is not part of the invention but help for
understanding the drawings - symbolises that the pivot close by the arrow can
be
moved in the direction of the arrow. The attachment element 4 may be regarded
as
being part of the pivots that attach to the fore-end. The stand 5 corresponds
to the
dotted segment.
0
Drawings and parts
Figure 1 Example of use
5 Figure 2 First embodiment
Figure 3 Function
Figure 4 Second embodiment
Figure 5 Third embodiment
Figure 6 Other embodiments
0 Figure 7 Another form of bearing plate
Figure 8 Parts schematically drawn
T Shooting target (grouse for instance)
5 G Rifle
J Hunter
101 Fore-end (a.k.a. forearm stock)
102 Front action-screw (a.k.a. front guard-screw)
103 Sling swivel
0 104 Magazine
1 Supporting leg
2 Bearing plate
3 Pivot catch (crossbar for example)
4 Attachment element (plate with holes, for example)
5 5 Stand with positions (rail with recesses, for example)
6 Adjustment device (can be locked to the stand)
7 Clasping device
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8 Fastener (screw for instance)
1 a Supporting leg, first part
lb Supporting leg, second part
12 Axle
13 Axle
14 Axle
21 Block (or other bearing for an axle)
22 Rabbet
0 23 Peg (or other protrusion)
24 Peg (or other protrusion)
24* Hole (or other recess)
34 Axle
41 Block (or other bearing for an axle)
5 42 Hole for a screw
43 Block (or other bearing for an axle)
44 Hole for screw
45 Coupling element
45* Coupling element
,0 46 Peg
51 Recess (or other position in the stand)
61 Tooth (or other thing able to lock at the stand's positions)
62 Lever
71 Clasp
;5 71* Slot for clasp
71Slot for clasp
72 Compression spring
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