Patent Publication Number: US-9841253-B2

Title: Gun sling swivel adapter

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE STATEMENT 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/184,630 filed Jun. 25, 2015, the content of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENTLY DISCLOSED INVENTIVE CONCEPTS 
     1. Field of the Presently Disclosed and/or Claimed Inventive Concepts 
     The presently disclosed inventive concept(s) relates generally to gun slings and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to adapters for converting a single sling mount to dual-sling mount enabling carrying a firearm over two shoulders like a backpack. 
     2. Brief Description of Related Art 
     Numerous gun slings have been developed for carrying a long gun, such as a shotgun or rifle, over the shoulder. Gun slings allow a shooter to quickly and safely transition out of a firing position into a position with both hands free. A gun sling can prevent mishaps such as accidental discharge of a dropped gun. 
     In order to attach a gun sling, most rifles and shotguns come equipped with, or can readily be equipped with a swivel and swivel stud on both the lower and upper end of the gun. Gun swivels are small metal loops used to anchor the sling to the swivel stud. Swivel studs are basically screws secured to the gun and having a transverse bore for threading the swivel. 
     Typically, a single gun sling is used to carry a gun across one&#39;s shoulder. However, it is often desirable for both comfort and security to carry the gun across one&#39;s back in a backpack fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,835 describes a gun sling slit longitudinally. The unslit ends of the strap are looped and attached to swivel rings mounted to the gun. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,270,254 describes a gun sling system having two slings joined on each end by a Y-strap. The slings can be worn over both shoulders and the Y-straps can be connected to upper and lower single-swivels on a rifle or shot gun. 
     Such systems allow carrying of the gun over one shoulder and optionally over the back in a backpack fashion; however, special straps are necessary. When worn over one shoulder the straps are necessarily twice as bulky as necessary. When worn across the back with two straps, the section where the straps are joined is bulky and uneven. This can be uncomfortable and can result in abrasion and irritation of the underlying the skin. There remains a need for connectors that will allow either one or two gun slings to be attached, and further allowing a gun with two gun slings to be worn in a backpack fashion. There is also a need to readily convert existing gun sling swivels and studs to accommodate dual slings for comfortable use in a backpack fashion. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein relate generally to an adapter for converting a single-sling mount to dual-sling mount. The adapter comprises a body having a modified “H” configuration with two opposing legs joined to two outwardly extending arms. The two opposing legs each have a transverse bore linearly aligned with one another. Each outwardly extending arm also has a transverse bore. The bores in the parallel legs and the bores in the extending arms are positioned in substantially the same plane. 
     In one embodiment, a long gun sling assembly is wearable across a person&#39;s back in a backpack fashion. The long gun sling assembly includes a first swivel stud mountable to an upper portion of a shotgun or rifle and a second swivel stud mountable to a lower portion of a shotgun or rifle. A first clevis shackle is attachable to the first swivel stud with a first clevis pin and includes a first slotted mounting arm and a second slotted mounting arm. A second clevis shackle is attachable to the second swivel stud with a second clevis pin. The second clevis shackle also includes a first slotted mounting arm and a second slotted mounting arm. A first strap includes a loop or ring at an upper end and at a lower end. The upper end loop or ring is attachable through a slot in the first mounting arm of the first clevis shackle, and the lower end loop or ring is attachable through a slot in the first mounting arm of the second clevis shackle. Similarly, a second strap includes a loop or ring at an upper end and at a lower end. The upper end loop or ring is attachable through a slot in the second mounting arm of the first clevis shackle, and the lower end loop or ring is attachable through a slot in the second mounting arm of the second clevis shackle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more implementations described herein and, together with the description, explain these implementations. The drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale, and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated, to scale or in schematic in the interest of clarity and conciseness. Not every component may be labeled in every drawing. Like reference numerals in the figures may represent and refer to the same or similar element or function. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of an adapter embodiment for converting a single sling mount to a dual-sling mount, the embodiment constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the adapter embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a portion of a long gun sling assembly embodiment for attaching to a buttstock end of a gun. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a portion of a long gun sling assembly embodiment for attaching to a fore end of a gun. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of another long gun sling assembly embodiment for attaching to a buttstock end of a gun. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a portion of another long gun sling assembly embodiment for attaching to a fore end of a gun. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a rifle with dual straps attached using an embodiment of the long gun sling assembly constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 8  shows a person using a long gun sling assembly embodiment to carry a firearm over both shoulders like a backpack. 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of another adapter embodiment for converting a side sling mount to a dual-side sling mount, the embodiment constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the adapter embodiment shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an adapter assembly embodiment for attaching to a buttstock end of a military-style rifle. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a military-style rifle with dual straps attached using a sling assembly embodiment constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 13  shows a person using a sling assembly embodiment to carry a military-style rifle over both shoulders like a backpack. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) in detail, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components or steps or methodologies set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     Unless otherwise defined herein, technical terms used in connection with the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular. 
     All of the articles and/or methods disclosed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the articles and methods of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the articles and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s). All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s). 
     As utilized in accordance with the present disclosure, the following terms, unless otherwise indicated, shall be understood to have the following meanings: 
     The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or that the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects. For example, but not by way of limitation, when the term “about” is utilized, the designated value may vary by plus or minus twelve percent, or eleven percent, or ten percent, or nine percent, or eight percent, or seven percent, or six percent, or five percent, or four percent, or three percent, or two percent, or one percent. The use of the term “at least one of X, Y, and Z” will be understood to include X alone, Y alone, and Z alone, as well as any combination of X, Y, and Z. The use of ordinal number terminology (i.e., “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc.) is solely for the purpose of differentiating between two or more items and is not meant to imply any sequence or order or importance to one item over another or any order of addition, for example. 
     As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. 
     The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AAB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination unless otherwise apparent from the context. 
     As used herein, the term “substantially” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance completely occurs or that the subsequently described event or circumstance occurs to a great extent or degree. For example, when associated with a particular event or circumstance, the term “substantially” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance occurs at least 80% of the time, or at least 85% of the time, or at least 90% of the time, or at least 95% of the time. The term “substantially adjacent” may mean that two items are 100% adjacent to one another, or that the two items are within close proximity to one another but not 100% adjacent to one another, or that a portion of one of the two items is not 100% adjacent to the other item but is within close proximity to the other item. 
     The term “associate” as used herein will be understood to refer to the direct or indirect connection of two or more items. 
     In the following detailed description of embodiments of the inventive concepts, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventive concepts. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventive concepts within the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , an adapter  10  for converting a single sling mount to dual-sling mount comprises a body  12  having a modified “H” configuration with two opposing legs  14  and  16 , respectively, joined to two outwardly extending arms  18  and  20 , respectively. The two opposing legs  14  and  16 , respectively, each have a transverse bore,  22  and  24 , the bores  22  and  24  being linearly aligned with one another. The outwardly extending arms  18  and  20 , respectively, also have transverse bores  26  and  28 . The bores  22  and  24  in the parallel legs  14  and  16 , and the bores  26  and  28  in the extending arms  18  and  20  are positioned in substantially the same plane. 
     The adapter  10  can further include a pin  30  for securing the adapter  10  to, for example, a swivel stud mounted on a shotgun or rifle and as described hereinafter. The pin  30  can be of any type insertable through the bores  22  and  24  of the parallel legs  14  and  16 . As is understood by those skilled in the art, the pin  30  includes a means of securing the pin  30  in position. For example, in one embodiment, the pin  30  is a machine screw and the bores  22  and  24  are threaded to accept the machine screw. 
     A prototype adapter was cut and machined from aluminum bar stock. However, the adapter can be made of any material compatible with the gun and sling assembly components and providing sufficient strength and toughness for carrying the firearm. Examples of suitable materials include, but are not limited to, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, brass, nickel, bronze, and alloys and combinations thereof. Other suitable materials for constructing the adapter can include plastics and composites. Methods for manufacturing the adapter include machining, casting, molding, 3-D printing, and the like. 
     In one embodiment, the adapter  10  is referred to as a clevis shackle  12 . The clevis shackle  12  is attachable to a swivel stud  32  with a clevis pin  30  and includes a first slotted mounting arm  18  and a second slotted mounting arm  20 , wherein a slot  26  in the first slotted mounting arm  18  is configured to accept a ring or loop on a first gun sling, and a slot  28  in the second slotted mounting arm  20  is configured to accept a ring or loop on a second gun sling. 
     In another embodiment, and as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , a long gun assembly  34  accommodates two gun slings allowing the long gun to be worn across a person&#39;s back in a back pack fashion. The gun sling assembly  34  includes the first swivel stud  32  mountable or premounted to an upper portion  36  of a shotgun or rifle  38  as shown in  FIG. 7 . A second swivel stud  40  is mountable or premounted to a lower portion or buttstock  42  of a shotgun or rifle. 
     The first clevis shackle  12  is attachable to the first swivel stud  32  with a first clevis pin  30  and includes a first slotted mounting arm  18  and a second slotted mounting arm  20  as described above and as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     A second clevis shackle  44 , shown in  FIG. 4 , is attachable to the second swivel stud  40  with a second clevis pin  48 . The second clevis shackle  44  also includes a first slotted mounting arm  18 ′ and a second slotted mounting arm  20 ′. 
     A first strap  50  includes a loop or ring  52  at an upper end and a ring  54  at a lower end. The upper end loop or ring  52  is attachable to or through the slot  26  in the first mounting arm  18  of the first clevis shackle  12  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The lower end loop or ring  54  is attachable to or through slot  26 ′ in the first mounting arm  18 ′ of the second clevis shackle  44  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Similarly, a second strap  56  includes a loop or ring  46  at an upper end and a loop or ring  46 ′ at a lower end. The upper end loop or ring  46  is attachable to or through slot  28  in the second mounting arm  20  of the first clevis shackle  12 , and the lower end loop or ring  46 ′ is attachable to or through slot  28 ′ in the second mounting arm  20 ′ of the second clevis shackle  44 . 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the first and second straps  50  and  56 , respectively, are attachable to the first and second clevis shackles  12  and  44 , respectively, using sling swivels  58 . Sling swivels are readily available from gun and gun accessory manufacturers and suppliers such as Brownells and Midwest Industries. Sling swivels are often detachable using, for example, a push button. 
       FIG. 7  shows a rifle with dual straps attached using an embodiment of the long gun sling assembly  34 .  FIG. 8  shows a person using a long gun sling assembly  34  to carry a firearm over both shoulders like a backpack. 
     Some military rifles come with long clips and are carried on their side. Such a rifle often comes with swivel studs mounted on the upper and lower portions, but the swivel studs are turned about 90° from those on a standard long gun in order to facilitate carrying the gun on its side using a side strap. The swivel studs in the gun can be rotated about 90° to receive the adapter  10  embodiment described above. Alternatively, adapter  10 ′ as shown in  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  can be used to convert the single sling mount to dual-sling mount without rotating the swivel studs. 
     Adapter  10 ′ comprises a body  60  having a modified “Y” configuration with two outwardly extending arms  18 ″ and  20 ″ respectively, the outwardly extending arms joined to a base  61 . Each outwardly extending arm has a transverse bore therethrough,  26 ″ and  28 ″. The base  61  has a slot  62  therethrough. The bores  26 ″ and  28 ″ in the extending arms  18 ″ and  20 ″ are positioned in a plane substantially perpendicular to a plane extending through the slot  62 . Suitable materials for construction of the adapter  10 ′ include, but are not limited to, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, brass, nickel, bronze, alloys, composites, and combinations thereof. 
     In one embodiment, an adapter assembly  63  includes the adapter  10 ′ and a flexible strap  64  as shown in  FIG. 11 . The flexible strap  64  has a first end  66  and a second end  68 . The first end  66  is secured to the adapter body  60  through the slot  62 . The second end  68  is secured to a sling swivel  58 . The sling swivel  58  can be attached to, for example, the second swivel stud  40  in the buttstock  42  of a military-style rifle. The flexible strap  64  can twist to accommodate a change in angle, allowing it to be connected to and used with a pre-existing swivel stud without modifying or adjusting the pre-existing swivel stud. 
     The adapter assembly  63  can also be attached to a pre-existing swivel stud in the upper portion  36  of a military-style rifle. However, the upper portion  36  typically has hardware present to mount, for example, a picatinny rail swivel mount, which is usable without a strap using the adapter  10  having the modified “H” configuration. 
       FIG. 12  shows a military-style rifle with dual straps attached using the adapter assembly  63 .  FIG. 13  shows a person using a sling assembly  34  to carry a military-style rifle over both shoulders like a backpack. 
     From the above descriptions, it is clear that the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is well-adapted to attain the advantages set forth herein above. Although the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) has been described in conjunction with the specific language set forth herein above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s). Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the various components, elements, and assemblies described herein, as well as in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s).