Abstract:
A gun accessory includes a main body having an upper surface having two sides, a first side wall and a second side wall extending upwardly from each of the two sides, first and second slide members provided on the first and second side walls, respectively, and a first locating hole provided adjacent the first side wall. The accessory also includes a first locating bar pivotably coupled to the first locating hole and having a first baffle and a first press plate, and a first elastic element provided between the first press plate and the main body to pivot the first press plate with respect to the main body, and in turn drive the first baffle to protrude above the upper surface of the main body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a gun system and its accessory, and in particular, to a gun system having an accessory that can be easily installed and removed. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   With the advance of technology, there are a variety of gun accessories developed for the market for use as auxiliary devices in the use of guns. Laser sights, for example, have been installed in guns to provide better aim at targets. In addition, light sources have been installed in guns to assist the shooter in aiming in a dim or dark surrounding. 
   Conventional gun accessories are usually secured in a gun by screws, making it inconvenient to install and remove these accessories. Attempts have been made to improve the assembly and disassembly of gun accessories. 
   For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,854 discloses an auxiliary device for a gun to facilitate convenient assembly and disassembly. When the gun auxiliary device described in this patent is being removed, the bar that provides the locking must be pressed downward to overcome a spring force. However, this downward force can be inconvenient and difficult for the user to apply. 
   As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,269 discloses several auxiliary devices for use with guns which attempt to provide better a direction and application point for the applied force. However, the locking mechanism is achieved by locking into a locating groove through both sides of the gun, but the transverse component of the recoil resulting from shooting tends to affect the stability of this locking operation. 
   Consequently, there still remains a need to provide a gun accessory which can be conveniently installed and removed, while still providing stability in operation. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a gun accessory which can be conveniently installed and removed, while still providing stability in operation. 
   The objectives of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a gun accessory that includes a main body having an upper surface having two sides, a first side wall and a second side wall extending upwardly from each of the two sides, first and second slide members provided on the first and second side walls, respectively, and a first locating hole provided adjacent the first side wall. The accessory also includes a first locating bar pivotably coupled to the first locating hole and having a first baffle and a first press plate, and a first elastic element provided between the first press plate and the main body to pivot the first press plate with respect to the main body, and in turn drive the first baffle to protrude above the upper surface of the main body. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional hand gun. 
       FIG. 2  is a partial exploded perspective view of a gun accessory according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective assembly view of the gun accessory of  FIG. 2  shown in use with the hand gun in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is cross-sectional view of the gun system of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a partial exploded perspective view of the gun accessory according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective assembly view of the gun accessory of  FIG. 5  shown in use with the hand gun in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 7  is cross-sectional view of the gun system of  FIG. 6 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a conventional hand gun  100  that can be used with the accessories of the present invention. The gun  100  has slide rails  121  and  122  provided on the opposite lower sides of the barrel  110 , and are parallel to the axis  111  of the barrel  110 . A locating groove  123  is provided at the bottom of the barrel  110 , and is transverse to the axis  111  of the barrel  110 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , a gun accessory  200  according to one embodiment of the present invention has a main body  210 , locating pins  221  and  222 , locating bars  230  and  240 , elastic elements  251  and  252  (e.g., spring plates), a laser sight  260 , and a light source  270  (e.g., a flash light). The laser sight  260  is disposed on the bottom of the main body  210 , and the light source  270  is screwed and secured to the front of the main body  210 . The light source  270  functions to assist users in aiming at targets, or to provide lighting under dim or dark surroundings. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , each of the two opposite sides on the upper surface  213  of the main body  210  is provided with a respective side wall  215  and  216  that extends upwards to form a somewhat U-shaped structure. Each side wall  215  and  216  is provided with a respective inwardly-facing slide groove  211  and  212 , respectively, that is adapted to correspond to the slide rails  121  and  122 , respectively, provided on opposite sides of the hand gun  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , such that the gun accessory  200  can be slidably connected with the gun  100  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). Also, the size and shape of the slide grooves  211  and  212  are sized and configured to be complementary to those of the slide rails  121  and  122 , respectively, of the hand gun  100 . 
   As an alternative, it is possible to provide slide rails (not shown) on the main body  210  that can be slidably received by corresponding slide grooves  131  and  132  provided on opposite sides of the gun  100 . 
   In addition, the side walls  215  and  216  are provided with locating holes  217  and  218 , respectively. The locating hole  217  is adapted to receive a portion of the locating pin  221 , the locating bar  230 , and the spring plate  251 , and the locating hole  218  is adapted to receive a portion of the locating pin  222 , the locating bar  240 , and the spring plate  252 . The locating pins  221  and  222  extend through bores in the main body  210  and are secured inside the locating holes  217  and  218 , respectively, and each locating pin  221  and  222  provides a rotating axis that extends in the same direction as the slide grooves  211  or  212 , respectively. 
   The locating bar  230  has a generally L-shaped configuration and includes a baffle  231 , a press plate  232 , and a through hole  233 . The locating pin  221  passes through the through hole  233  to secure the locating bar  230  in the locating hole  217  such that the locating bar  230  can utilize the locating pin  221  as a rotating axis and thereby pivotably connect the locating bar  230  to the main body  210 . The locating bar  240  also has a generally L-shaped configuration and includes a baffle  241 , a press plate  242 , and a through hole  243 . The locating pin  222  passes through the through hole  243  to secure the locating bar  240  in the locating hole  218  such that the locating bar  240  can utilize the locating pin  222  as a rotating axis and pivotably connect the locating bar  240  to the main body  210 . The spring plate  251  is disposed between the press plate  232  and the main body  210 , and the spring plate  252  is disposed between the press plate  242  and the main body  210 . 
   To enable the gun accessory  200  to easily and conveniently slide into the hand gun  100 , the baffles  231  and  241  are provided with bevel planes  234  and  244 , respectively. When the slide grooves  211  and  212  of the gun accessory  200  are slid into the barrel of the hand gun  100  through the slide rails  121  and  122 , respectively, the bevel planes  234  and  244  of the baffles  231  and  241  contact against the barrel of the hand gun  100 . The barrel continues to slide upwardly along the bevel planes  234 ,  244 , thereby biasing the baffles  231  and  241  downwardly against the normal bias of the spring plates  251  and  252 , respectively. From the orientation shown in  FIG. 4 , the locating bar  230  is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot axis  221 , and the locating bar  240  is pivoted in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis  222 . The slide grooves  211  and  212  of the gun accessory  200  then continue to slide along the slide rails  121  and  122  until the locating bars  230  and  240  reach the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 , at which time the spring forces of the spring plates  251  and  252  will naturally bias or push the press plates  232  and  242 , respectively, away from the main body  210  (i.e., towards the locating groove  123 ) and in turn push the baffles  231  and  241 , respectively, such that the baffles  231  and  241  protrude above the plane of the upper surface  213  of the main body  210  to be locked into the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 . From the orientation shown in  FIG. 4 , the locating bar  230  now is pivoted in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis  221 , and the locating bar  240  is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot axis  222 . Thus, the accessory  200  can be easily and quickly secured to the hand gun  100  during operation of the hand gun  100 . 
   To remove the gun accessory  200  from the hand gun  100 , a user can use his or her fingers to press the press plates  232  and  242  on the respective sides of the main body  210  to overcome the spring force of the spring plates  251  and  252 , such that the press plates  232  and  242  push the baffles  231  and  241  downward to disengage the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 . The gun accessory  200  can then be pushed away from the hand gun  100  along the slide rails  121  and  122  so as to remove the gun accessory  200  from the hand gun  100 . In addition, the press plates  232  and  242  are provided with respective slide-proof grooves  245  to prevent the user&#39;s fingers from sliding away from the press plates  232  and  242  when the user presses the press plates  232  and  242 . 
     FIGS. 5-7  illustrate a second embodiment of a gun accessory  500  which is similar to the accessory  200  in  FIGS. 2-4 . As a result, the same numeral designations shall be used in both embodiments to designate the same element, except that the elements in  FIGS. 2-4  shall begin with a “2” and the elements in  FIGS. 5-7  shall begin with a “5”. 
   The accessory  500  includes a main body  510 , locating pins  521  and  522 , locating bars  530  and  540 , elastic elements  551  and  552  (e.g., spring plates), a laser sight  560 , and a light source  570  (e.g., a flash light). When compared with the gun accessory  200  shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the accessory  500  is different in that the locating bars  530  and  540 , and the locations of the locating holes  517  and  518  of the main body  510 , are different. 
   In the accessory  200  of  FIGS. 2-4 , the through holes  233  and  243  are disposed at the end of the locating bars  230  and  240  away from the press plates  232  and  242 , the baffle  231  is disposed between the through hole  233  and the press plate  232 , and the baffle  241  is disposed between the through hole  243  and the press plate  242 . Consequently, the protrusions of the baffles  231  and  241 , as well as the bevel planes  234  and  244 , are positioned on the exterior of the L-shape structure, such that each locating bar  230  and  240  is oriented in an inverted L shape (when viewed from the front of the light source  270  in  FIG. 4 ) into the respective locating hole  217  and  218  of the main body  210 . 
   In contrast, the through hole  533  of the locating bar  530  in  FIGS. 5-7  is disposed between the baffle  531  and the press plate  532 , and similarly, the through hole  543  of the locating bar  540  is also disposed between the baffle  541  and the press plate  542 . In addition, the baffles  531  and  541  are disposed at the end of locating bars  530  and  540  away from the press plates  532  and  542 , respectively. Consequently, the protrusions of the baffles  531  and  541 , as well as the bevel planes  534  and  544 , are positioned on the interior of the L-shape structure, such that the locating bars  530  and  540  are oriented in a normal L shape (when viewed from the front of the light source  570  in  FIG. 7 ) into the respective locating hole  517  and  518  of the main body  510 . 
   To enable the gun accessory  500  to easily and conveniently slide into the hand gun  100 , the baffles  531  and  541  are provided with bevel planes  534  and  544 , respectively. When the slide grooves  511  and  512  of the gun accessory  500  are slid into the hand gun  100  through the slide rails  121  and  122 , respectively, the bevel planes  534  and  544  of the baffles  531  and  541  contact against the barrel of the hand gun  100 . The barrel continues to slide upwardly along the bevel planes  534 ,  544 , thereby biasing the baffles  531  and  541  downwardly against the normal bias of the spring plates  551  and  552 , respectively. From the orientation shown in  FIG. 7 , the locating bar  530  is pivoted in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis  521 , and the locating bar  540  is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot axis  522 . The slide grooves  511  and  512  of the gun accessory  500  then continue to slide along the slide rails  121  and  122  until the locating bars  530  and  540  reach the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 , at which time the spring forces of the spring plates  551  and  552  will naturally bias or push the press plates  532  and  542 , respectively, away from the barrel of the gun  100  and in turn push the baffles  531  and  541 , respectively, such that the baffles  531  and  541  protrude above the plane of the upper surface  513  of the main body  510  to be locked into the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 . From the orientation shown in  FIG. 7 , the locating bar  530  now is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot axis  521 , and the locating bar  540  is pivoted in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis  522 . 
   To remove the gun accessory  500  from the hand gun  100 , a user can use his or her fingers to press the press plates  532  and  542  on the respective sides of the main body  510  to overcome the spring force of the spring plates  551  and  552 , such that the press plates  532  and  542  push the baffles  531  and  541  downward to disengage the locating groove  123  of the hand gun  100 . The gun accessory  500  can then be pushed away from the hand gun  100  along the slide rails  121  and  122  so as to remove the gun accessory  500  from the hand gun  100 . 
   As a result, the gun accessories  200  and  500  can be conveniently installed by a simple sliding action, and conveniently removed by simply pressing the press plates  232 ,  242 ,  532 ,  542  and then sliding the accessory  200 ,  500  off the barrel  110  of the gun  100 . In addition, the mechanisms that secure the accessory  200 ,  500  to the gun  100  provide for enhanced operating stability. 
   While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.