A bayonet mounting fixture can adapt a rifle having a mounting rail to also have a bayonet mount. Previously, bayonets were often mounted to a firearm by passing the barrel through a hole in the guard and then attaching the rear end of the bayonet to a bayonet mount or mounting lug further back. The bayonet mounting fixture can have a forward mount and a rear mount attached to the mounting rail. The forward mount has a round piece that can go inside the hole in the bayonet's guard. The rear mount can have a mounting lug to which the rear end of the bayonet is attached.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments are related to bayonets and to mounting rails for firearms.

BACKGROUND

A bayonet is, essentially, a dagger or knife that can be attached to the muzzle end of a firearm. In their more recent forms, bayonets have holes in their guards and latch plates at their butt ends. A rifle configured for bayonet mounting typically has a bayonet mount permanently attached to the rifle barrel. A soldier can “fix bayonet” to a rifle by sliding the rifle barrel through the hole in the bayonet guard and latching the bayonet latch plate to the rifle's bayonet mount.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,356 titled “MILITARY BAYONET AND SCABBARD” issued to Finn on Apr. 18, 1989 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,356 teaches a bayonet having a guard (element 12) with “an integral ring 17 for circling the barrel,” a short rectangular tang 22 having a threaded end 23, a tang rod or extension 24, and a latch plate (latching mechanism 14). Beginning at col. 3 line 40, U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,356 describes bayonets in a section title “The Bayonet Generally.” It is for these descriptions and its other teachings of bayonets, the parts of bayonets, the construction of bayonets, and the operation of bayonets that U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,356 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 titled “BAYONET SYSTEM INCLUDING BAYONET WITH INTEGRAL TANG AND SCABBARD WITH HAND PROTECTION” issued to Morton et al. on Jan. 21, 1997 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 teaches a bayonet having a guard 58 with attachment bore 62 that “fits over the barrel of the rifle,” an integral tang 30 that is part of a single piece blade-and-tang unit 26, and a latch assembly 80. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 provides extensive instruction on the parts, assembly, and construction of bayonets. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 discusses the US Army M9 bayonet system. It is for its descriptions and its other teachings of bayonets, the parts of bayonets, the construction of bayonets, and the operation of bayonets that U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

U.S. Provisional Application 62/219,391 titled “Picatinny Mountable Bayonets” filed Sep. 16, 2015 and which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety disclosed systems and methods for adapting a rail cover equipped firearm to mount bayonets such as military issue bayonets including the US Army M9 bayonet system. U.S. Provisional Application 62/219,391 also discloses systems and methods for producing a knife or bayonet that can be attached directly to a mounting rail. It is for these systems and methods, as well as the others disclosed that U.S. Provisional Application 62/219,391 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Current bayonet systems predominantly attach to a rifle by passing the rifle barrel through a hole in the guard and attaching a latch plate or latch mechanism to a bayonet mount that is welded to or otherwise permanently attached to the rifle barrel. Current firearms often lack the bayonet mount and often have handguards that extend nearly the entire length of the barrel. Improved systems and methods for attaching bayonets to current firearms are needed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

It is, therefore, an aspect of the embodiments that a bayonet mounting fixture can be attached to the mounting rail of a firearm and that a bayonet can be attached to the bayonet mounting fixture to thereby “fix bayonet” to the firearm. It is understood that modern firearms are often provided with mounting rails, such as the well-known Picatinny rail, for mounting firearm accessories to the firearm.

The bayonet mounting fixture can have a forward mount and a rear mount. Some embodiments can have the forward and rear mounts as distinct and separate pieces while other embodiments can have a bridge joining the front and rear mounts. The bridge, if it is present, can also engage the mounting rail to prevent the bridge from being pulled away from the mounting rail. The rear mount has a rear clamp and a mounting lug while the forward mount has a front clamp and a round piece. The rear mount can be formed as a single piece or the mounting lug can be joined to or attached to the rear clamp. The forward mount can be formed as a single piece or the round piece can be joined to or attached to the rear clamp. The forward mount can be attached to the mounting rail by clamping the forward clamp onto the mounting rail. The rear mount can be attached to the mounting rail by clamping the rear clamp onto the mounting rail.

Recall that bayonets can be attached to prior art firearms by passing the rifle barrel into the bayonet's attachment bore and then attaching the bayonet's latching mechanism to the firearm's bayonet mount. It is another aspect of the embodiments that a bayonet can be attached to the forward mount and the rear mount by passing the forward mount's round piece into the bayonets attachment bore and then attaching the bayonet's latching mechanism to the rear mount's mounting lug.

It is yet another aspect of the embodiments that the forward clamp comprises a forward clamp body and a forward jaw. The forward clamp body can comprise the round piece, the pieces being either formed as a single piece or otherwise attached. The forward jaw can be tightened to the forward clamp body to thereby clamp the forward clamp onto the mounting rail. Some embodiments can use a bolt that passes through the forward jaw and into the forward clamp body such that tightening the bolt causes the forward clamp to clamp onto the mounting rail. In those embodiments wherein the mounting rail is a Picatinny rail or similar rail having recoil grooves, the bolt can also pass through a recoil groove to thereby prevent the forward mount from sliding along the mounting rail.

It is still yet another aspect of the embodiments that the rear clamp comprises a rear clamp body and a rear jaw. The rear clamp body can comprise the mounting lug, the pieces being either formed as a single piece or otherwise attached. The rear jaw can be tightened to the rear clamp body to thereby clamp the rear clamp onto the mounting rail. Some embodiments can use a bolt that passes through the rear jaw and into the rear clamp body such that tightening the bolt causes the rear clamp to clamp onto the mounting rail. In those embodiments wherein the mounting rail is a Picatinny rail or similar rail having recoil grooves, the bolt can also pass through a recoil groove to thereby prevent the rear mount from sliding along the mounting rail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least one embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof. In general, the figures are not to scale.

A bayonet mounting fixture can adapt a rifle having a mounting rail to also have a bayonet mount. Previously, bayonets were often mounted to a firearm by passing the barrel through a hole in the guard and then attaching the rear end of the bayonet to a bayonet mount or mounting lug further back. The bayonet mounting fixture can have a forward mount and a rear mount attached to the mounting rail. The forward mount has a round piece that can go inside the hole in the bayonet's guard. The rear mount can have a mounting lug to which the rear end of the bayonet is attached.

FIG. 1illustrates a bayonet mounting fixture101attached to the mounting rail102of a firearm104in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Note that only the barrel and forward grip103of the firearm104are visible inFIG. 1. The illustrated forward grip103is a quad grip with four mounting rails102, of which three are visible. The mounting rails102are Picatinny style mounting rails with recoil grooves111. A forward mount107has a round piece105and a forward clamp106. A rear mount110has a mounting lug108and a rear clamp109.

FIG. 2illustrates a bayonet201attached to a bayonet mounting fixture101that is attached to the mounting rail102of a firearm104in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The illustrated bayonet mounting fixture101is the same as that ofFIG. 1. The guard202of the bayonet201is around the round piece105. The latching mechanism203of the bayonet201is attached to the mounting lug108of the rear mount110.

FIGS. 3-6illustrate a rear clamp assembly300in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The illustrated rear clamp assembly300has a rear clamp body303integrally formed with mounting lug108. Other embodiments can attach the mounting lug and rear clamp body using other means. The rear clamp body303has a nut recess301and a bolt groove302. A nut601can fit in the bolt recess301. A bolt threaded into nut601would have its shank and some threads passing along the bolt groove302. Some embodiments can have a threaded hole instead of the nut601and nut recess301. A jaw groove501can interface with a clamp jaw701to help guide the clamp jaw into the clamp body as the clamp is tightened. Rail groove502engages with the angled sides of a Picatinny rail to prevent the clamp from being pulled from the rail.

FIG. 7illustrates a clamp jaw701in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The clamp jaw701has a hole702through which the threads and shank of a bolt can pass, as illustrated inFIG. 8.

FIG. 8illustrates a clamp jaw701with a nut601and bolt801in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The threads and shank of bolt801have been passed through hole702and nut601threaded onto bolt801. The clamp jaw701, bolt801, and nut601ofFIGS. 7-8can be used with either the rear mount110or forward mount107to clamp the mount to the mounting rail.

FIG. 9illustrates a rear mount110in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Bolt801is installed in clamp jaw701and rear clamp body303such that tightening bolt801causes clamp jaw701to tighten into rear clamp body303. The shank902of bolt801is shown in bolt groove302. Without loss of generality, only the unthreaded shank902is shown with the understanding that the threads of bolt801may also lie with the bolt groove302.

FIGS. 10-11illustrate a forward mount body1101in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Round piece105is bolted to rear clamp body1102by a bolt1004sunk into hole1005. The round piece105can be integrally formed with the forward clamp body1102, but is illustrated as bolted on because it may be desirable to provide differently sized round pieces to adjust for differently sized attachment bores in bayonets. It can be seen from the figures that the clamping elements of forward clamp107and those of rear clamp110can be substantially similar with similar nut recesses, bolt grooves, and jaw grooves such that clamp jaw701can be used with forward mount107.

FIG. 12illustrates a forward mount107and a rear mount110installed on a mounting rail102in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The mounting rail102is the lowest rail on a forward grip103.

FIG. 13illustrates a bayonet mounting fixture1401attached to the mounting rail102of a firearm104in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Forward mount1402and rear mount1403are attached to one another by bridge1404.FIGS. 14 and 16provide a closer view of bayonet mounting fixture1401where it can be seen that forward mount1402is substantially similar to forward mount107and that rear mount1403is substantially similar to rear mount110.FIG. 15illustrates the bayonet ofFIG. 2attached to bayonet mounting fixture1401ofFIGS. 13-14.

FIGS. 17-18illustrate a bayonet1801with Picatinny mounts in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. The bayonet1801has a blade1802, handle1803, hand guard1804, and butt plate1805. The hand guard1804and butt plate1805incorporate clamping mechanisms similar to those illustrated inFIGS. 3-11. A tang1901is illustrated as passing the full length of handle1803, those practiced in the art of weaponry know this is a “full tang” embodiment. Without loss of generality, a shorter tang that ends within the handle can be used instead.

FIGS. 19-20illustrate a guard1804of a bayonet1801with Picatinny mounts in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Guard clamp body2002is similar to the clamp bodies ofFIGS. 3-11with similar rail groove502, nut recesses, bolt grooves, and jaw grooves such that tightening bolt801causes guard1804to clamp onto a mounting railed. Tang1901can pass through tang hole2003and into handle1803. Handle interface2004provides for a smooth transition from handle1803to quillon2001.

FIGS. 21-22illustrate a butt plate1805of a bayonet1801with Picatinny mounts in accordance with aspects of the embodiments. Butt clamp body2202is similar to the clamp bodies ofFIGS. 3-11with similar rail groove502, nut recesses, bolt grooves, and jaw grooves such that tightening bolt801causes butt plate1805to clamp onto a mounting railed. Tang1901can pass through tang hole2003from handle1803and pinned or otherwise fixed in place to thereby assemble the bayonet. Those skilled in the art of weaponry know other techniques for assembling partial tang and full tang knives or bayonets. Butt interface2201provides for a smooth transition from handle1803to butt plate1805.

FIG. 23, labeled as “Prior Art,” illustrates a bayonet guard2301of a prior art bayonet.FIG. 23is taken from FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,967 which has been included herein by reference and is intended to illustrate the attachment bore2303of bayonets that can be attached to bayonet mounting fixtures101and1401. The illustrated bayonet guard2301has a tang hole2302similar to tang hole2003of guard1804.