Abstract:
A self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system for use with sighting equipment where there is a need to efficiently remove or interchange sighting equipment on a host mounting surface. The throw lever self adjusts to compensate for variations in the host mounting surface, such as an angular rail, and utilizes a buffer to prevent the surface of the mounting surface from becoming marred. No tool is required to adjust the throw lever releasable mounting system as the system has an internal means to self adjust to fit the mounting surface. Once the throw lever is secured in the closed position, tension placed by a thru shaft on the housing of the throw lever prevents free movement of the throw lever.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The herein disclosed invention relates, in general, to attachment means. The present invention also relates to firearms and more specifically to quick-release mounting devices for optical gun sights and other aiming devices for rifles. More particularly, the present device is for quickly securing aiming devices to a US MIL-STD 1913 or other type of railing. 
         [0003]    2. Prior Art 
         [0004]    The sports and military firearm industry have developed different attachments to be mounted on weapons; each of these attachments enhances the performance of the sportsmen and the war fighter and today they have become the standard in this industry. Each manufacturer developed their own method of attachment, claiming a certain amount of real state on the weapon and most of them did not allow for ease of removal and reinstallation without recalibration. 
         [0005]    The small arms industry and in particular the military have developed a standard mounting rail called the “Picatinny Rail”. This rail has a patented design with manufacturing tolerances that allows for removal and reinstallation of attachments without recalibration. 
         [0006]    As new weapons are manufactured with Picatinny rails, the attachment manufacturers began to develop clamping systems that took advantage of these benefits. The U.S. Army developed the “Rail Grabber”. The benefit of this attachment is that it can not be over tightened by the end user, as it includes a ratchet mechanism that when the desired torque is reached, the knob skips making a ratchet noise. 
         [0007]    Other attachments manufacturers developed cam wedge methods. This method, although practical does not serve the war fighter as it can easily be loosened by vibration caused during automatic fire, or the cam knob can get entangled with the soldier&#39;s gear. One other alternative was the use of a machinist type screw and a clamp. This method requires an allen torque wrench, and this tool is not necessarily readily available to the soldier in the field. 
         [0008]    One other method is the use of a threaded stud and a clamp with a knob such as in the weapon&#39;s carrying handle. Once again the knob can be over tightened and it protrudes on the side of the weapon where it can easily be entangled with the soldier&#39;s gear. 
         [0009]    The herein described invention relates to buffered means for attaching a device to a 1913 mil-std rail or other angled interface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,871 of Swan discloses a means for attaching first and second Weaver interface platforms of an optical rifle sight mount using throw-lever actuated locking mechanisms. Swan&#39;s throw lever is adjustable, but only compensates for the height variations within the rails range of manufacturing tolerances. This limited self adjustability is limited often preventing the throw-lever from being properly closed and the related device secured. Later, Swan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,988) developed a throw-lever actuated releasable optical sight mount which incorporated a buffer to prevent wear on an aluminum rail. This buffer or shim is small and with improper installation by the user can become damaged rendering the optical sight mount inoperable. Designs as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,272,904 by LaRue, utilizes an adjustable nut which adjusts the clamping forces exerted by the cam surface of the lever on opposing angular surfaces. Without a buffer element between the cam surface and mounting surface deformation of the mounting surface is highly likely with repeated use. Further, this particular design requires a hand tool to adjust the cam surface. 
         [0010]    It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art. 
       OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
       [0011]    Accordingly several objects and advantages of the present invention are
       (a) To provide an attachment means which does not loosen up after repeated use thereby preventing the mounted accessory from falling off.   (b) To provide an attachment means which will not damage the mounting surface, i.e. rail, receiver, etc. . . . through the incorporation of a buffer between the mounting surface and the cam surface.   (c) To provide an attachment means which can self adjust to compensate for the variations in mounting surface dimensions, no tools are required.   (d) To provide an attachment means which can be incorporated to work with mounting rings for sighting devices, low light optical devices, mechanical sighting devices and electronic optical gun sites.   (e) To provide an apparatus which permits the selective interchanging of a variety of optical devices without loss of a preset zero of each individual sighting device.   (f) To provide an apparatus that utilizes a throw lever that does not require a secondary means to prevent the rotation thereof.   (g) To provide an apparatus which does not require tools to be properly installed.   (h) To provide an attachment means which is both low profile and offers no point of entanglement for a war fighter&#39;s equipment.   (i) To provide an apparatus which has no loose components that would render the device inoperable should one be inadvertently lost.   (j) To provide an apparatus which has uniform tension on a railing mounting platform regardless of who performs the installation.       
 
         [0022]    Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0023]    The present invention&#39;s primary function is to provide an apparatus for removably securing accessories to a firearm having a 1913 MIL-STD rail, weaver rail or other angular mounting surface, and a mounting platform to serve as a base to secure the apparatus to the firearm. 
         [0024]    A connecting rod runs transverse, to the bore line of the host firearm, across the utilized rail mount beginning at the fixed clamp, through the buffer element and attaches to the associated throw lever. A series of opposing spring washers are utilized to provide a means for the buffer element to be adjustably secured to the desired mounting surface and place tension on the throw lever. The connecting rod is attached to the throw lever by a pin which, as the throw lever is rotated approximately 180 degrees to its closed position, forces the buffer element against the mounting surface and automatically adjusts the buffer&#39;s position to fit snugly due to the tension placed on the system by the spring washers being compressed. 
         [0025]    The herein described apparatus increases the utility of a firearm by allowing for the quick removal and attachment of various mechanical and optical gun sites. Though the herein presented invention and its application to firearms is the primary focus of this disclosure it should be noted that this is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention exclusively for use with firearms. Many other uses will become obvious to one skilled in the art upon examination of the attached detailed description and the associated claims. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The novel features believed to be characteristic of the invention, together with further advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  is an illustration showing a sight mounting rail on a firearm and showing a removably restrained, self adjusting optical sight mount base according to the principles of the invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the herein described invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates a horizontal side view of the herein described invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 3A  illustrates a partial sectional view taken along the axis line “A” shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 3B  illustrates a partial sectional view taken along the axis line “B” shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  shows exploded elevational view according to the invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is a top view of thereof. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0034]    Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is directed to  FIG. 1 . There is illustrated a firearm  32  of the M16 family of weapons with a pistol grip  33 , magazine  34 , butt stock  35 , receiver with Picatinny interface  31  (1913 mil std. rail), handguards with a Picatinny interface  36 , and barrel  37 . The secondary structures of the firearm, specifically the handguards  36  and the receiver  31  have a Picatinny interface located on the top of each part which is in parallel relation to the barrel  37 . Mount base  10  provided with a series of throw levers, hereinafter referred to as cam levers  20 A &amp; B, provides a method by which the mount base  10  may be secured to a Picatinny interface  31  or  36 . Further, a means is provided on the mount base  10  by which an electronic gun site  40  may be secured. 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of the self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system  1 . The mount base  10  has a Picatinny interface  15  on its top surface. Two cam levers  20 A &amp; B are in operational contact with two moving clamps  21 A &amp; B. Each cam lever  20 A &amp; B is attached to a shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B which runs transverse to the axis of the moving clamps  21 A &amp; B as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The shouldered studs  18 A &amp; B each of which have a shoulder  22 A &amp; B which serves to contain a series of disc springs  19 A &amp; B within a recess  14 A &amp; B located on the side of the mount base  10  as illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . The mount base  10  has a Picatinny interface receiving receptacle  11  located on its underside which serves to attach the self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system  1  to a secondary structure  41  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 4  self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system  1  consists of a fixed clamp  12  permanently attached to the mount body  10  holding apparatus with matching geometry to the secondary structure  41  with a Picatinny rail interface, a floating opposite clamp  21 A or B with similar geometry is placed facing the fixed clamp  12 , held by a shouldered stud  18 A or B, the stud  18 A or B would have a hole  24 A &amp; B through its&#39; small diameter located at the opposite end of the shoulder  22 A &amp; B, at the center of the fixed clamp  12  there is a recess  14 A &amp; B, with a counter bore  13 A &amp; B, matching the diameters of the shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B to a depth equal to the sum of the disc washers  19 A &amp; B and the shoulder  22 A &amp; B of the studs  18 A &amp; B. The moving clamps  21 A &amp; B have a hole  23 A &amp; B matching the small diameter of the shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B. A cam clamp  20 A &amp; B is attached to the shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B by a spring pin  17 A &amp; B. The spring pin  17 A &amp; B passes freely through the lateral holes  25 A &amp; B of the cam levers  20 A &amp; B and is compressed and retained as it goes through the holes  24 A &amp; B located on the shouldered studs  22 A &amp; B. 
         [0037]    There are six “Belleville washers” or “disc springs” 19 A &amp; B, in the preferred embodiment, with approximately 36 lbs of force and approximately 0.003 inch each of deflection when compressed. Three disc springs  19 A &amp; B are placed back to back inside the recess  14 A &amp; B of the fixed clamp  12 , the shouldered stud  18  A &amp; B is then inserted through them, holding them in place, on the opposite end the moving clamps  21 A &amp; B are placed, oppositely facing the fixed clamp  12 , defining the Picatinny interface receiving channel  11 , then the cam levers  20 A &amp; B are assembled by inserting the spring pin  17 A &amp; B through one ear  25 A &amp; B of the cam lever  20 A &amp; B, then the hole  24 A &amp; B in the shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B and the other ear  25 A &amp; B of the cam lever  20 A &amp; B. 
         [0038]    The disc springs  19 A &amp; B allow the travel of the shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B to compress the moving clamps  21 A &amp; B actuated for the cam lever. When the cam lever  20 A &amp; B is moving to the closed position, a maximum compression of the disc springs  19 A &amp; B is nearly achieved when the cam levers  20 A &amp; B are at an approximately 90 degree angle in relation to the mount base  10 . When the lock position is reached (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) the disc springs  19 A &amp; B are compressed about 70% of the maximum. The cam levers  20 A &amp; B are designed to use the remaining force to hold the cam levers  20 A &amp; B closed. This force reduces the possibilities of the cam levers  20 A &amp; B from inadvertently becoming open (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). The compression of the disc springs  19 A &amp; B allows only 0.018 inch, approximately, total cam lever  20 A &amp; B movement. 
         [0039]    The cam levers  20 A &amp; B when in the open position must allow clearance for the moving clamps  21 A &amp; B to clear the outer edge of the secondary structure with Picatinny interface  41  (as shown in  FIG. 3A ) so that the attachment may be removed or lifted away from the secondary structure with Picatinny interface  41 . When the cam lever  20 A &amp; B is flipped 180 degrees to the closed position, it absorbs the clearance and it compresses the disc springs  19 A &amp; B maintaining a constant compression force, thus insuring that the cam levers  20 A&amp; B do not pop open inadvertently and preventing the mount base  10  from moving. 
         [0040]    The shouldered stud  18 A &amp; B fits between the teeth of the secondary structure with Picatinny interface  41  allowing it to be centered between the fixed clamp  12  and moving clamps  21 A &amp; B, at the same time restricting any movement forward or back of the mount base  10 . The quantity of moving clamps  21 A &amp; B would depend on the weight and length of the attachment. 
         [0041]    The mounting surface  15 , located on top of the mount base  10 , is configured so as to receive the bottom surface of an electronic gun site  40 . The electronic gun site  40  (depicted in  FIG. 1 ) has an integrated Picatinny mount on its bottom surface to receive the mounting surface  15  provided by the herein described device 
         [0042]    Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof, which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims. 
       CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
       [0043]    Accordingly the reader will see that I have provided a self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system for an optical gun site. Moving clamps in operational contact with a throw lever, shouldered stud and a series of disc springs provides a means to removably secure the moving clamps, and thereby the mount base, about a Picatinny or 1913 mil-std rail. The mounting surface provided by the herein described device is, in its preferred embodiment, a 1913 mil-std rail also known as a Picatinny rail. This mounting surface allows for a variety of optical gun sites to be attached. This system for attaching the mount base to a rifle with a Picatinny rail, or other secondary structure, provides a low profile which will not get tangled in a war fighter&#39;s gear during use. Further, the herein described device does not require tools to adjust the tension or retain the mount base on the appropriate mounting surface. 
         [0044]    Another embodiment of the self adjusting throw lever and rail clamp system could be used for telescopic sights utilized with firearms. A mount base or series of mount bases incorporating standard scope rings, well known in the prior art, in place of the Picatinny mounting surface would be provided. The mount base could take the form of a single piece for better rigidity or two separate units to reduce weight. 
         [0045]    While my above drawings and description contain much specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. 
         [0046]    Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.