Patent ID: 8028457

Claim:
A method of attaching a foldable accessory mounting plate to a firearm, comprising the steps of: providing a firearm having opposite facing picatinny rails underneath the firearm; providing a top plate member with an upper surface having a pair of opposite facing grooves; providing a bottom plate member with opposite facing picatinny rails; hingedly attaching one end of the bottom plate member to the top plate member by the hinge; sliding and mating the opposite facing grooves on the upper surface of the top plate member about the picatinny rails underneath the firearm; providing a vertically extending elongated accessory having an upper surface having a pair of opposite facing grooves; sliding and mating the opposite facing grooves on the upper surface of the elongated accessory about the picatinny rails on the bottom plate member; and folding the vertically extending elongated accessory to a horizontal orientation underneath the firearm by the hinge between the top and the bottom plate member.