Patent ID: 8898949

Claim:
A mounting bracket for attachment to a firearm's longitudinally extending tactical rail, said rail presenting an alternating series of “T” segments and voids, each “T” segment having a pair of laterally extending arms, said rail having a base extending inwardly from the “T” segments, the mounting bracket comprising: (a) a “C” member having a web having outer and inner faces, the web further having an opposing pair of lateral ends, and an opposing pair of longitudinal ends, said end pairs being oriented substantially orthogonally with respect to each other; the “C” member further having a pair of hooks, each hook having a distal end, said each hook being fixedly attached to one of the lateral ends of the web, and said each hook cantilevering inwardly, the “C” member further having a seam segmenting the “C” member into a pair of lateral halves; (b) means for extending and retracting, said means being connected operatively to the lateral halves, said means being adapted for facilitating movements of the lateral halves between first and second positions wherein said halves, upon movements to their first positions, and displaced laterally from each other for “T” segment receipts and releases, and wherein said halves, upon a “T” segment receipt and upon movements toward their second positions, may capture the “T” segment between the pair of hooks; and (c) means for latching, said means being connected operatively to the pair of lateral halves, said means being adapted for, upon the movements of said halves to their second positions, alternatively resisting and permitting the movements of said halves toward their first positions, wherein the means for extending and retracting comprise an at least a first slide bar and at least first slide channel combination, the at least first slide channel extending through at least one of the lateral halves.