Abstract:
The present disclosure generally relates to a rail mount having one side that is releasably attached to a rail of a firearm and the other side that is releasably attached to accessories for the firearm, and more particularly to a rail mount that may be releasably attached to a rail in an easy and firm manner, and may be adjusted to a minute change of a rail.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0113841 filed on Aug. 12, 2015, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure generally relates to a rail mount having one side that is releasably attached to a rail of a firearm and the other side that is releasably attached to accessories for the firearm, and more particularly to a rail mount that may be releasably attached to a rail in an easy and firm manner, and may be adjusted to a minute deformation of a rail. 
     Discussion of the Related Art 
     In the late 20th century, many countries in the world began developing various accessories for firearms by using techniques supported by the development of electronic technologies, IT industries, material engineering, and the like, rather than improving performance of firearms based on development and improvement. The reason for this is that there was widespread recognition that the development of the firearm had already reached its limit, and most of the countries, including the U.S., could not introduce next-generation firearms due to a budget deficit, and even if new firearms had been introduced, the scale of firearms to be introduced would have been limited. In addition, the development of electronic technologies and material engineering has reduced the price and size of guns, as well as has enabled remarkable improvement in reliability and durability. Further, as the importance of night combat has increased, there is a need to supply accessories for firearms not only to snipers or special forces, but also to normal combat forces, so that they may view and take aim at targets at night. For this reason, the development and attachment of accessories has been considered an inexpensive and effective means for improving combat efficiency without need to develop or modify existing weapons. 
     Examples of the accessories for firearms include a telescopic sight, a unit magnification optical sight, a laser target designator, night vision goggles, an infrared target designator, an infrared illuminator, and the like. The telescopic sight, the unit magnification optical sight, the laser target designator, and the like may improve shooting accuracy, thereby minimizing time required from finding a target to aiming the target. Further, the night vision goggles, the infrared target designator, and the infrared illuminator are used to observe a battlefield during night combats, and to take aim at targets detected by using the night vision goggles. By using such accessories, performance of existing firearms may be significantly improved, and even rifles of an identical type may have different combat power depending on whether accessories are mounted. Accordingly, the accessories may increase a survival rate of combat forces and may improve combat power. 
     A rail mount has been developed to satisfy the requirements, and is used to mount accessories for guns. The rail mount enables various accessories to be mounted on a rail for mounting accessories, and to be releasably attached thereto. 
     The rail mount is generally provided on a rail of a gun, and has a lower portion attached to the rail connected to the gun, and an upper portion connected to other accessories, in which the upper portion is formed to receive various accessories. 
     The most important point for the rail mount is to be firmed attached to the rail under any circumstances. Even when used in a combat situation, the rail mount is required to be rapidly and easily attached and detached, and is required to be firmly attached even when there are fabrication tolerances 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure provides a rail mount that may be firmly attached to a rail even when used in an extreme situation such as in case of war, and may be rapidly and easily attached to and detached from the rail. 
     There is provided a rail mount, having one side releasably attached to a rail of a firearm, such as a rifle and the like, and the other side releasably attached to accessories, the rail mount including: a main body having an upper portion releasably attached to the accessories and a lower portion releasably attached to the rail; a first contact member extending downwards from one side of the lower portion of the main body to contact one side of the rail; a second contact member having a connection end that is hingedly connected to the other side of the lower portion of the main body and a free end that is provided on the opposite side of the connection end and that contacts the other side of the rail; a clamping member having as first end portion that is hingedly connected to the main body at a position where the free end of the second contact member is located and a second end portion that is releasably attached to the main body at a position where the connection end of the second contact member is located; a releasable attachment unit that releasably attaches the clamping member to the main body; and a pressure member that presses the free end of the second contact member toward the rail, so as to enable the free end of the second contact member to firmly contact the rail when the clamping member is attached to the releasable attachment unit, and that is movably connected to the clamping member in a direction closer to or further away from the second contact member. 
     The pressure member may be connected at a position where the free end of the second contact member is located. 
     The pressure member may be screw-coupled to the clamping member, and may linearly move by rotation. 
     The releasable attachment unit may include: a projection member formed on a second end portion of the pressure member; a first member that is movably connected to the main body, and has a contact portion that is a slant surface and is pressed by the projection member when the pressure member rotates toward the main body and has a contact groove that extends from the contact portion, is formed in a direction toward the first end portion, and receives the projection member; and a second member that elastically presses the first member in a direction opposite to the first end portion, in which when the pressure member rotates toward the main body, the first member moves in a direction toward the second end portion of the clamping member while the projection member pushes the contact portion, and when the projection member continues to move to be received in the contact groove, the first member moves, by elasticity of the second member, in a direction opposite to the second contact member, such that movement of the projection member is restricted, and the pressure member is connected to the main body. 
     The present disclosure provides the rail mount that may be firmly attached to a rail by only applying a force to as clamping member, and may be detached from the rail by applying a slight force to a releasable attachment unit. Further, by moving a pressure member, the rail mount may enable firm contact of the second contact member with the rail even when there are fabrication tolerances. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a view schematically illustrating a structure of a rifle as a type of firearm; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a rail mount according to an embodiment; and 
         FIGS. 3 to 5  are views illustrating an embodiment of a pressure member pressing a second contact member when a clamping member is attached to a main body. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will he described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a view schematically illustrating a structure of a rifle as a type of firearm.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a rail mount according to an embodiment.  FIGS. 3 to 5  are views illustrating an embodiment of a pressure member pressing a second contact member when a clamping member is attached to a main body. 
     The present disclosure relates to a rail mount having one side releasably attached to a rail of a firearm and the other side releasably attached to accessories for the firearm. The firearm refers to a gun that is lightweight and having a caliber of 15.24 mm or smaller (the definition given in the Korean dictionary on Naver).  FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an M16 rifle, which is a type of firearm and is manufactured by Colt Industries. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the rifle includes a gunpoint  1 , a butt plate  2 , a magazine pocket  3 , a rail  4 , and the like, and a rail mount is releasably attached to the rail  4 . The rail, to which the rail mount of the present disclosure is connected, may be a rail that is integrally formed with the rifle as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , or may be a rail that is separately provided and is connected to a rifle to mount a grenade thrower and the like thereon, which is not illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Examples of accessories that may be connected to the rail mount include a telescopic sight, a unit magnification optical sight, a laser target designator, night vision goggles, an infrared target designator, an infrared illuminator, and the like. 
     According to the present disclosure, the rail mount includes a main body  10 , a first contact member  20 , a second contact member  30 , a clamping member  40 , and a releasable attachment unit  50 , and a pressure member  60 . 
     The main body  10  is installed in a firearm, and is composed of an upper portion  11  and a lower portion  12 , which refer to the upper portion  11  and the lower portion  12  of the firearm used. The upper portion  11  is releasably attached to the accessories described above, and the lower portion  12  is releasably attached to the rail. 
     The upper portion  11 , which is connected with the accessories, includes grooves, holes (not shown), and the like, so as to be connected with the accessories. The configuration of the upper portion  11  is not a core element of the present disclosure, but is known in the art, and thus, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the first contact member  20  is provided on the lower portion  12  of the main body  10 , and contacts any one side of the rail. In the exemplary embodiment, there are two separate first contact members  20 , but the first contact member  20  may be one with a long shape. 
     The second contact member  30  is hingedly connected to the lower portion  12  of the main body  10  to enable rotation, and includes a connection end  31  and a free end  32 . 
     The connection end  31  is a portion that is hindedly connected to the main body  10 , and the free end  32  is a portion that contacts the other side (a side opposite to the side contacting the first contact member  20 ) of the rail. 
     The clamping member  40  is connected to the main body  10 , and is formed to have a long shape in a longitudinal direction of the main body  10 , in which a first end portion  41  is hingedly connected to the main body  10  at a position where the free end of the second contact member  30  is located, and a second end portion  42  is releasably attached to the main body  10 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 to 5 . 
     The releasable attachment unit  50  enables the clamping member  40  to be releasably attached to the main body  10 . 
     The releasable attachment unit  50  includes a projection member  51 , a first member  52 , and a second member  53 . 
     The projection member  51  is formed on the second end portion  42  of the clamping member  40 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     The first member  52  is movably connected to the main body  10 , and includes a contact portion  521  and a contact groove  522 . The contact portion  521  is a slant surface and contacts the projection member  51  when the clamping member  40  rotates toward the main body  10 , and the contact groove  522  extends from the contact portion  521 , and is formed toward the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40 . 
     The second member  53 , which is a spring, elastically presses the first member  52  in a direction opposite to the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40 . 
     The pressure member  60  is connected to the clamping member  40  at a position where the free end of the second contact member  30  is located, and presses the free end  32  of the second contact member  30  to enable the free end  32  of the second contact member  30  to firmly contact the rail. 
     The pressure member  60  is screw-coupled to the clamping member  40  and linearly moves, by rotation, in a direction closer to or further away from the second contact member  30 . 
     In both end portions of the pressure member  60 , one end portion opposite to the second contact member  30  has a (−) or (+) shaped groove, to rotate the pressure member  60  by using a screw driver. 
     Hereinafter, a method of attaching and detaching the main body  10  to and from the rail will be described based on the above description. 
       FIGS. 3 to 5  are views to explain an example of attaching and detaching the main body to and from the rail. 
     First, by rotating the clamping member  40  in a direction closer to the main body  10  while contacting the first contact member  20  and the second contact member  30  to both sides of the rail (not shown), the projection member  51  formed on the clamping member  40  contacts the contact portion  521  of the first member  52 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     Then, by further applying a force to the clamping member  40 , the force applied to the projection member  51  is transferred to the first member  52 , thereby moving the first member  52  toward the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In this case, the second member  53  is elastically deformed by the movement of the first member  52 . 
     Subsequently, by further rotating the clamping member  40  toward the main body  10 , the projection member  51  is received in a contact groove  522  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Once the projection member  51  is received in the contact groove  522 , the second member  53  is elastically restored, such that the first member  52  is moved toward the opposite side of the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40 , thereby completing connection. In this case, the clamping member  40  may no longer rotate without an external force applying thereto. 
     Once the clamping member  40  rotates toward the main body  10 , the pressure member  60  also moves toward the second contact member  30  along with the clamping member  40 , and while pressing the second contact member  30  by the movement, the rail is connected with the main body  10 . 
     In the case where there is a space between the second contact member  30  and the rail due to fabrication tolerances and the like, or in the case where an end portion where the pressure member  60  and the second contact member  30  contact with each other is worn out after being used repetitively, the second contact member  30  and the rail may firmly contact with each other by appropriately rotating the pressure member  60  to move the pressure member  60  toward the second contact member  30 . The pressure member  60  is disposed at a position where the free end  32  of the second contact member  30  is located, as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 to 5 . In other words, the pressure member  60  is disposed at a position where the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40  is located, thereby producing an effect in that a force, greater than a force applied to the second end portion  42  of the clamping member  40 , may be applied to the second contact member  30 . 
     The main body  10  may be detached from the rail in such a manner that a pressure is applied to the first member  52  such that the first member  52  is moved toward the first end portion  41  of the clamping member  40  while elastically deforming the second member  53 , and then, by rotating the clamping member  40  in a direction further away from the main body  10 , connection of the clamping member  40  with the releasable attachment unit  50  is released. In this manner, the main body  10  may be detached from the rail. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and numerous other modifications and embodiments of various types of rail mount can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure.