Abstract:
An apparatus ( 112 ) includes a housing ( 104 ) configured to couple the apparatus to a weapon mount ( 110 ) and to secure one or more gas springs ( 102 ). The one or more gas springs are configured to provide one or more forces. The apparatus also includes one or more wire ropes ( 114 ), where each wire rope is fixed at a first end to the weapon mount and has a hook at a second end. The apparatus further includes one or more guides ( 108 ) configured to guide the one or more wire ropes. In addition, the apparatus includes one or more bearings ( 106 ) configured to facilitate movement of the one or more wire ropes. The one or more wire ropes are configured to couple movement of the one or more gas springs to a tensile force on a front portion of the weapon mount or a weapon ( 116 ) so as to counter-balance a weight of the weapon in the weapon mount.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §365 to International Patent Application No. PCT/US2014/039714 filed on May 28, 2014 and entitled “APPARATUS FOR ENHANCED COUNTERBALANCING OF WEAPON MOUNT” and, through International Patent Application No. PCT/US2014/039714, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/831,057 filed on Jun. 4, 2013. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure is directed in general to weapon system design and more specifically to weapon mounts. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     A weapon mount is used to pivot, balance, hold, move and target a supported weapon system. Such a weapon mount helps a user in the handling of the weapon system and makes it easier and quicker for the user to aim and fire at objects that may be stationary or moving. A weapon mount typically provides the ability to swing the weapon system easily in the horizontal plane, as well as move the weapon system up or down easily and quickly. A weapon mount may also provide a mechanism to lock the weapon system in place, restricting one or more of the degrees of freedom. 
     Weapon systems are usually back heavy. The weight of a weapon system depends on a variety of parameters, such as how many ammunitions are loaded, how many are left unused, and the type and number of accessories that are mounted on the weapon system. The basic weight of a weapon system varies from weapon system to weapon system. Most weapon mounts are designed to support a few selected weapon systems, usually in the same family of weapons. Because of the dynamic variations in weight and spatial distributions of weight during operation, weapon mounts have struggled to adopt dynamically to provide the best user interface. In addition, time is of the essence during tactical usage of the weapons systems, and ease of use plays a critical role in the use of the weapon systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Various embodiments are disclosed that substantially enhance a user interface of a weapon system. For example, one or more embodiments make the retargeting of a weapon system quick and easy. 
     In a first embodiment, a mounting apparatus includes a housing configured to couple the mounting apparatus to a weapon mount and to secure one or more gas springs, where the one or more gas springs are configured to provide one or more forces. The mounting apparatus also includes one or more wire ropes associated with the one or more gas springs, where each wire rope is fixed at a first end to the weapon mount and has a hook at a second end. The mounting apparatus further includes one or more guides within the housing, where the one or more guides are configured to guide the one or more wire ropes. In addition, the mounting apparatus includes one or more bearings configured to facilitate movement of the one or more wire ropes. The one or more wire ropes are routed through the one or more guides using the one or more bearings, and the hook at the second end of each wire rope is attached to a front portion of the weapon mount or a weapon in the weapon mount. The one or more wire ropes are configured to couple movement of the one or more gas springs to a tensile force on the front portion of the weapon mount or the weapon so as to counter-balance a weight of the weapon in the weapon mount. 
     In particular embodiments, one or more adjustable knobs are configured to adjust the one or more forces from the one or more gas springs to offset for additional weight due to, for example, accessories or varying loads of loaded ammunition. Also, in particular embodiments, the mounting apparatus includes one or more locking mechanisms configured to restrict movement of the weapon or the weapon mount in one or more degrees of freedom. 
     In a second embodiment, a method includes mounting a housing on a weapon mount and mounting one or more gas springs on the housing. The method also includes attaching a first end of each of one or more wire ropes to a fixed portion of the weapon mount and routing the one or more wire ropes through one or more guides using one or more bearings in the housing. The method further includes attaching a second end of each of the one or more wire ropes to one or more front portions of the weapon mount or a weapon in the weapon mount. The one or more wire ropes are configured to translate one or more forces from the one or more springs into one or more tensile forces to counter-balance a weight of the weapon. 
     In a third embodiment, a weapon system counter-balance apparatus includes one or more gas springs configured to be mounted on a weapon mount or a weapon in the weapon mount, where the one or more gas springs are configured to provide one or more forces. The weapon system counter-balance apparatus also includes one or more translation mechanisms configured to direct the one or more forces from the one or more gas springs to counter-balance the weapon. 
     Other technical features may become readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after review of the following figures and description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
         FIG. 1  shows a mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  show the mounting apparatus of  FIG. 1  mounted on an MK93 weapon mount according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The discussion below with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 3  is by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any type of suitably arranged device or system. It should be understood that, although example embodiments are described below, the present invention may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or not. The present invention should in no way be limited to the example implementations, drawings, and techniques described below. Additionally, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
     The user interface problems identified above (due to dynamically varying weight and uneven distribution of weight around a primary pivot in a weapon mount) continue to affect the effectiveness of weapon systems today. Conventional attempts at solving this problem use mechanical adjustment mechanisms, such as screws and slides commonly referred to as traversing and elevation mechanisms. However, these mechanisms often require manual manipulation for targeting and are relatively slow and cumbersome to use. Additionally, such mechanisms can inhibit rotational freedom of a weapon system. 
     Some of the specific problems with available approaches include the following:
         A user requires significant exertion to hold a weapon system in place.   The user has to take his or her hand off of the weapon system and dedicate the hand to move the weapon system up or down.   Once the user takes his or her hand off of the weapon system, the weapon system does not stay in place due to its weight and the weight of ammunition.   Conventional screws and slides mechanisms are slow and cumbersome. This lack of ease of use, agility and slow speed adds time to retarget the weapon system.       

     Accordingly, certain embodiments are presented to overcome one, some, or all of these deficiencies. As shown in the figures and described below, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a counter-balancing design that is a bolt-on assembly to, for example, an MK93 mount or other weapon mount. Although embodiments will be described with reference to an MK93 mount, embodiments of the disclosure may be utilized with other configurations. More particularly, the embodiments in this disclosure are adaptable to many weapon mounts and many weapon systems. 
     According to certain embodiments, the design uses one or more gas springs to provide a tensile force through one or more wire ropes, which are attached to the pivoting portion of a weapon mount and to a gas spring housing. The housing has one or more integral wire guides and bearings to control the motion of the wire rope(s) during travel of the gas spring(s) as the weapon system is moved. Friction within the mount holds the position of the weapon system once it is released by a user. 
     According to particular embodiments, such a configuration provides an efficient method of freely targeting with either an MK19 or M2 weapon system as used in conjunction with an MK93 weapon mount. Additionally, according to particular embodiments, the solution can be tailored to account for variable weapon accessories or configurations and does not require modifications to standard hardware. 
       FIG. 1  shows a mounting apparatus  112  according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The mounting apparatus  112  includes one or more gas springs  102  (also referred to as gas spring cylinders) mounted within a housing  104 . The housing  104  contains integral bearings  106  and mounting points or pulleys  108  for a wire rope  114 . The wire rope  114  attaches to the housing  104  and to the rotating portion of an MK93 mount or other weapon mount  110  (shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). A mounting point  109  is the fixed end of the wire rope  114 . The wire rope  114  can be made of any suitable material, such as steel, stranded aluminum, a combination of alloys, polyurethane, Kevlar, or other like materials. 
     A particular configuration may contain a steel wire (stranded or solid) with a thickness in the range from 0.090 inches to 0.125 inches in diameter (inclusive) with a gas spring that asserts a force in the range of 50 lbs to 130 lbs (inclusive). Due to the pulley effect of the design shown in  FIG. 1 , the tensile force exerted by the wire rope  114  will be approximately twice the force exerted by the gas spring  102  on the wire rope  114 . Additional pulley mechanisms can be added to change the net tensile force. 
     Note that any suitable tensile force can be provided by the mounting apparatus  112 . For example, the tensile force could counter-balance the weight of the weapon in the weapon mount to within a margin of ±10% of the weight. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  show the mounting apparatus  112  of  FIG. 1  mounted on an MK93 weapon mount  110  according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown here, the mounting apparatus  112  includes one or more knobs  105  that are used to adjust the tensile force on the wire rope  114  applied by the gas spring  102 . 
     The mounting apparatus  112  here uses two unused mounting holes to mount onto the MK93 weapon mount  110 , thus fitting into place using the available spacing of the existing MK93 weapon mount  110  without any modifications. The MK93 weapon mount  110  has a front pivot and a back primary pivot. The front pivot is located away from the center of gravity and towards the front barrel of a weapon system  116 . A hook in the top part of the wire rope  114  hooks close to the front pivot at a convenient location  111 , thereby allowing a counter-force and torque to balance the gravitational force and torque created by the weight of the weapon system  116 . In other weapon mounts, the top hook of the wire rope  114  can be mounted onto a bolt or any other portion of the front of the weapon system, such as a front pivot, to generate this counter-balancing effect in order to offset the force and torque generated by the weight of the weapon mount  110 . 
     Without the mounting apparatus  112 , the weapon mount  110  is usually in a default position of the front barrel pointing upwards and the heavy back pulled downwards. With the mounting apparatus  112  mounted on the weapon mount  110 , the default position could often be at the horizontal level as the gas spring  102  and the wire rope  114  assert the counter-balancing tensile force and torque to offset the weight of the weapon system  116 . When a user of the weapon system  116  takes his or her hands off the weapon system  116  or swings it laterally or moves it up or down, the weapon system  116  can typically stay substantially in place due to inherent friction in the weapon mount  110  and bearings and the mounting apparatus  112  providing the counter-balance to keep the weapon system  116  in place. As ammunitions get used by or accessories get added to the weapon system  116 , the tensile force asserted by the gas spring and wire assembly is usually adequate to still keep the weapon system  116  in place due to inherent frictions at the pivots and bearings, and the counter-balancing tensile force can be quickly adjusted if needed by the adjusting the knob(s)  105  of the gas spring as described earlier. 
     Different weapon mounts and different weapon systems may require one or more wire hooks, one or more gas springs, or different levels of tensile forces. The number and type of wire rope (such as material, type (solid or stranded), and thickness), the number and type of gas springs, and the number of wire hooks can all be chosen to fit the need of any target weapon mount and weapon system. 
     In the particular embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , two sets of gas springs  102  and wire ropes  114  are shown. However, only one set may be utilized in certain configurations. Additionally, more than two sets may be utilized in other configurations. Moreover, the gas springs  102  create a tensile load on the wire ropes  114 , which in turn provide a relatively consistent downward tensile force that counter-balances the weapon system  116  as well as any additional accessories  118 . Although gas springs  102  are shown in this configuration, other mechanisms capable of creating a tensile load may be used in other configurations. For instance, the gas springs  102  can be replaced with other types of springs or devices that can assert a similar tensile force on wire ropes  114 , such as variable-force springs, different springs with preset-forces, or other non-spring devices. 
     The force of a gas spring  102  can be altered based on the weapon system or accessories being used or based on user preferences. When properly balanced, the inherent friction within the mount  110  stabilizes the weapon system  116  to hold it in position when the user releases the hold, thereby allowing for optimal operational effectiveness. Additionally, according to certain embodiments, the design provides unrestricted rotation with little or no force, still keeping the balanced weapon system  116  in the same positions in other dimensions. Such a stable freedom of motion can become critical to operational effectiveness of the targeting solution. 
     The actual mounting locations of the gas springs  102  or the actual routings of the wire ropes  114  can be varied based on the weapon mount, weapon systems, and accessories mounted on the weapon systems. For example, there can be additional bearings  106  depending on the routing of the wire rope  114 , and there can be additional mounting points or pulleys  108  to add additional turns or additional load bearing capacities. There can also be additional fixed ends (with mounting points  109 ) or additional knobs  105  to provide for the necessary tensile and torques forces to fit the target systems for the intended purposes described here. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the mounting apparatus  112  has a low profile to fit in place inside the spacing of the MK93 mount  110  without modification (as seen, for example, in  FIG. 3 ). The profile height, width and length can be made as low as needed to fit in the available space of a weapon mount or a weapon system. 
     Certain embodiments of this disclosure can be configured to set the weapon system  116  to be pushed down (over-corrected) as opposed to being pulled up based on user preferences. The “pushed down” configuration allows the user to use the user&#39;s body weight to the user&#39;s advantage, as opposed to relying on the user&#39;s arm strength for targeting. This can reduce fatigue on the user and prolong operational effectiveness. 
     Nothing in this disclosure precludes the combined use of an embodiment having one or more inventive features with traditional techniques, such as traditional haversing and elevation mechanisms and locking mechanisms. The embodiment in  FIG. 1  supports such use. For example, an embodiment disclosed here can be used with a traditional locking mechanism to restrict one or more degrees of freedom. 
     While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although particular mounts and weapons have been described, other mounts and weapons may avail from teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. 
     It may also be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. In addition, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set. 
     Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems, apparatuses, and methods described here without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order. 
     To aid the Patent Office, and any readers of any patent issued on this application in interpreting the claims appended hereto, applicants wish to note that they do not intend any of the appended claims or claim elements to invoke paragraph 6 of 35 U.S.C. Section 112 as it exists on the date of filing hereof unless the words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in the particular claim.