US2472804A - Combination mount and shoulder rest - Google Patents

Description

A o z 7 2 J. R. BIRD COMB INATION MOUNT AND SHOULDER REST June 14, 1949.

2 Sheets She et 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1947 h. m 3 km mu A mm mm mm ow Q mv W!!! lfv 1 \ll l r I on m 3 n iv Q m I 5 an w\ Q m m gwua/vvfm JEIHN RETR J. R. BIRD COMBINATION'MOUNT AND SHOULDER REST June 14, 1949.

Filed Aug. 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED PATENT OFFEFICE 'TClaims.

mimics tender the act of -March 3, 1883, as

thereon,

My invention relates'to a 'conibinedmountand shoulder rest for use "with 'reco'illess rifles, rocket launchers, and the like.

It includes a "bipod of such design as to be readily 'atta'cha'ble "tothe rear trunnion of the "gun "which, when "folded,

will form a shoulder rest for ithe operators in off-hand firing and when unfolded wi11 support the rear chamber of thejg'uninpronafiring, and a 'monopod contained in 'a handle "member "for attachment to the fronttrunnion :of the gun to replace the existing handle andwhich ma'y'be usedas an ordinary handle in offhand firing but which when extended'rorms 'asupportin'g'leg to combine with "the bipod toprov'ide a tripod for the gun when used in prone *firing.

It is a principal object "of my "invention "to provide a support for 'recoilless rifles, rocket launchers, and the like which includes a combination bip'od 'to support the' rearchani'ber of the gun for prone firing and-form a "shoulder support for the operator "in "off 'han'ii firing, and a combina'tionmonopod which cooperates with the bipod'to form 'atripod support "forthe for. prone firing and provides a coni'foftablehahdle for the operator in off -hand "firing.

It is an important objector "my invention to provide a support of the character described in Which the bipod elementmaybereadily attached to the present rear trunnion 'o'fa 'gun, and 'the 'monopod element "is *readily 'attachedto 'the front trunnion'to replace the existing handle.

It is a'further object-of"my*invention"to provide in a support of the character described means for locking the'legs-of "the 'bi'p'od inextended position whichwill allow variation in both spread and cant thereof.

"a support of the character ideseribed which relatively simple in c'o'nstruction, eflicient in op eration and inexpensive to manufacture. 7

Other objects and advantages of 'tireiinvention will become apparent th'e "course =:of tt'he following specification,iand-zaecompanying :urawings, forming .paftdf 'the specification, inWh like numerals are' us'ed to fiesignateililre corssiniilar parts throughout. I

In the :urawings: 4

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a moill'ess riflemounted on an embodiment ofmydn'vention, in-condition for prone firing,

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial side elevation 15 of the same in condition foroff-hand firingffthe "biped being folded to form a shoulder support and the monopod closed to form a handle,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the 'bip'od element and its mounting clamp,

Figure 4 is a transverse section through z-the pivotal connection of mounting clamp andzbipou, taken on the line i l ofFigureB,

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the bipod cant means, taken on the line E- SL'ofIFigure 3,

Figure 6 is a vertical section through thei'mnnopod, the mounting clamp, internal screw, and part of the telescoping foot member :beingrshown in elevation,

Figure"? is a vertical section through theztelescoping foot member,

Figure 8 is a transverse section throughthe locking means of the monopod,

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail of the ierrule engaging means on the monopod, and,

Figure 10 is a section through the clamp member for securing the bipod legs when foldeditalsen -on the line |fl-l0 of Figure 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings,2the

numeral ll designates generally'a re'coill'esstrifle provided with a tube [2, a rear chamber A5, 'a 'firing'mechanism I4, a rear moimtingitrunnion l5, and afront mounting trunnion'l'fi. siri'cezthe rifle ll is'well known in the art. itwill not be further described.

for pivotal engagement in a bifurcated :p'ortion so 'asfa clevis 24 in which'the'bipod lil iszimounted.

The numerals 25 and 26 designate the tirespecti-ve legs of the bipod I l iarrangedffiorambuntiing in the clevis flibyimeans :of a'rpivot ::bolt 22! 'providedwith a I nut 2 71a extending ithiere'thrnu'h.

J The said legs are arranged iror guided ipivctal movement outwardly therefrom on a plate member 23 also mounted on the clevis 24 by the bolt 21, the legs 25 and 26 being each provided with a neck 29 formed integral therewith and havin an opening therethrough to engage respective pins 30 which pass through segmental openings 3| in plate 28 and are biased against said plate by springs 32 when cap nuts 33 are tightened on the threaded ends of the said pins and secured thereon by the screws 34 which are threaded into suitable threaded bores in the pins 30. Means are thus provided for swinging the legs 25 and 26 outwardly on the pivot screw 21 and to adjust the legs individually to provide variation in both spread and cant thereof.

The legs 25 and26 are generally tubular in shape and each said leg is bent uniformly upward from the horizontal to provide similar concave portions Ila in each said leg to permit the said legs to cooperate to form a suitable shoulder support for the gun when the said legs are folded against the tube l2 on pin 20. The said legs 25 and 26 are also each bowed outwardly intermediately their ends in opposite directions, as clearly shown in Figure 3, to provide a greater spread from their common center and provide increased bracing for the gun. Each said leg is provided with a groundengaging shoe 35 at the free end thereof, and a small plate 35 having an upturned portion 37 is secured to each said end adjacent each said shoe 35 by welding or otherwise for a reason which will hereinafter become apparent. A piece of strip metal 38 arranged to secure a shoulder pad (not shown) is secured to each said leg 25 and 26 in the vertical concave portion thereof as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The numeral 39 designates a clamp member arranged to be mounted on the underside of tube [2 by welding or otherwise. It is provided with a pair of spaced apart dependent ears 40, each said ear having a hole M therethrough in registry with the hole in the opposed ear, the space between said ears being adapted to receive the ends of the legs 24 and 25 when folded on the pin 20 and hold them therein by the engagement of the upturned portions 3'! of plate 36 in the holes 4 l.

The monopod or handle 42 comprises a hollow tubular housing member d3 closed at one end by a bifurcated clamp 44 formed integral therewith. The clamp 44 is arranged to engage the front trunnion l between the ears thereof, there being openings through said ears to engage a plurality of screws or bolts 45 to secure the said trunnion rigidly therebetween. The housing 43 is provided with circumscribing threads adjacent its open end and provides housing for a screw member 45 having a head 4'1 at its end adjacent the closed end of said housing slidably engaging the inner walls thereof. The open end of housing 43 is also provided with a plurality of small dependent tongues 33 about its periphery for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. Screw member 43 is arranged at its other end with an integral knurled collar 4-9 about its outer periphery to provide a hand grip.

The numeral 55 designates an internally threaded ferrule adapted to threadedly engage the screw member as for translative movement therealong. It is provided with a plurality of radial projections 51 about its inner periphery, a taper 52 at one end, and a plurality of recesses 65 about its upper edge to engage the tongues 48 of the tubular member 43 and prevent rotation of the ferrule relative to said member.

tact with the inner walls of screw member 15 when said foot member 53 is inserted therein. A spring 51 mounted in the said member 53 urges a push button 58 outwardly to provide a stop for the collar 49 when the member 53 is extended downwardly and a second spring finger 59 extending upwardly in the said member 53 is bent outwardly adjacent its free end to permit the said end 50 to impinge against the inner wall of the screw member 45 for the hold of the said foot member frictionally in collapsed position. A common mounting 6| is provided for the said springs 51 and 59. When it is desired to collapse the foot member 53, the push button is manually depressed until it no longer obstructs collar 49 and the foot member is at the same time pushed into housing 43,

As has been pointed out heretofore, the monopod 42 is extendible in length to allow variation in elevation through the telescoping action of the respective members relative to each other. In order to lock the said monopod in its adjusted position, a collar 52 threaded internally at its upper end for engagement with the threaded end of tubular member 43 is provided. The said collar is provided with an internal annular groove 53 for reception of the ferrule 50 and is internally tapered as at 64 for frictional engagement with the tapered portion 52 of the ferrule 53. The collar 52 is knurled about its outer periphery for ease in handling.

When the gun II is being used for off-hand firing the bipod I1 is folded upwardly against the tube l2, the legs being folded inwardly and held secure in the clamp 39 as heretofore described. The elements of the monopod 62 are pushed inwardly and held secure to form a handle by the collar 52. When the gun H is to be used for prone firing, the bipod is unfolded and adjusted for determined spread and cant, and secured in such adjusted position by means of the cap nuts 33. The monopod 42 is extended to the desired position by full extension of foot mem-- ber 53, ferrule 50 is threaded on the screw member 46 until the determined extensible length is obtained, and the monopod locked in the adjusted position by means of the locking collar 62.

It is to be understood that the form herein shown and described is a preferred embodiment of the same, and that changes in the shape and arrangement of parts, and substitution of materials and equivalents, may be made within the scope of the subjoined claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mount for a recoilless rifle or the like having a tube and front and rear mounting trunnions, comprising a clamp mounted in said rear trunnion for swinging movement about a pivot, a bipod, including a pair of substantially paralleldisposed legs carried by said clamp and responsive to the swinging movement of said clamp to move to and from a first position wherein said legs lie in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of said tube to form a shoulder support for said gun and a second position wherein said legs lie in a plane substantially normal to said axis, means on said bipod for guiding each said leg from and toward the other said leg to one of a plurality of selective positions relative to each other to form a support for the rifle, including 6 means 101 Said in a Said Selected position, a front member including a dependent extendible handle rigidly carried by said front The following r f enl s a of ecord n the trunnion, means telescopically carried within said file of this Patent: handle for selectively adjusting the length of said 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS front member, and locking means for maintaining said telescopic means in a selected position, Number Name Date said legs being curved intermediate the ends 271,251 Leerbech at 1883 thereof to form a shoulder rest when said legs 906511 Dawson at 15, 1908 areinsaid first position. 10 1,112,732 Um Oct 1914 2. The structure of claim 1 in which the de- 1,977,629 Heavey 1934 pendent legs of the bipod and the handle co- 2,386,802 Johnson 1945 operate to form a tripod to support the gun. 2436349 Adams 171 1948 3. The structure of claim 2 in which the means FOREIGN PATENTS for swinging the said legs from and toward each 15 other includes a plate having a pair of oppositely gg g G gi fi D i directed segmental openings therein carried by r an said clamp, a. pair of screws respectively carried OTHER REFERENCES by said legs and arranged for movement through "American Rmeman, September 1945 page said openings, and manually operated locking go nuts carried by each said screw for locking the said legs in a selected position relative to each other.

JOHN R. BIRD.

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