Firearm Grip
A firearm grip is disclosed that attaches to a firearm, such as a rifle, by clamping on a portion of the rifle's forend, stock, buttstock or other chassis. The firearm grip disclosed herein maximizes the surface contact area to which pressure is applied to a portion of the firearm in contact with the clamp jaws of the firearm grip by the introduction of a rotating or swiveling jaw relative to the grip's fixed jaw. This enables the firearm grip to swivel and adjust to firearms of variable or tapering width along the length of the firearm in contact with the firearm grip, while maintaining optimal contact and pressure against the clamped portion of the firearm in contact with the firearm grip.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/134,083, filed Mar. 17, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe invention described herein is a firearm grip apparatus for securing a firearm, such as a rifle, to a firearm rest or support platform. Typical clamp style systems utilize opposing clamp jaws that remain in a fixed position thereby reducing the effective clamping force imparted to the firearm held in the clamp jaws. More specifically, prior art clamping type mechanisms in this field keep the clamp jaws parallel through the use of guide rods while the clamp is being tightened or loosened about a portion of the firearm to be secured. As such, the the jaws of prior art firearm clamps remain fixed in a parallel configuration which typically results in a reduced surface pressure contact producing an incomplete, ineffective clamping force which allows the rifle to move in various directions while retained in the jaws of such prior art clamp systems. In part, this inability to securely clamp a firearm is due to the various shape configurations of modern rifle systems that include tapering rail system forends, modular stocks and other tactical equipment add-ons that may result in a rifle or firearm with a varied surface topography along the buttstock, rifle stock, receiver or forend/handguard locations on the firearm. As a result, prior art clamp style firearm grips are not able to provide a secure grip to a variety of firearm shapes and styles which impact the surface area available for contact with a clamp style firearm grip.
As such, there is a need in the art for an improved firearm grip which provides a movable and rotatable jaw clamp which enables the jaw clamp to swivel and securely provide multiple contact points along a portion of a firearm to provide increased fixation and stability to a firearm fixed in the firearm grip.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA firearm grip is disclosed that that attaches to the firearm by clamping down on a portion of the firearm's forend, stock, buttstock or other chassis. The firearm grip disclosed herein maximizes the surface contact area to which pressure is applied to a portion of the firearm in contact with the clamp jaws by the introduction of a rotating or swiveling movable jaw relative to the grip's fixed jaw.
In an embodiment, the firearm grip comprises a fixed jaw and an opposing movable jaw, which may include one or more jaw fingers on each opposing jaw, where the opposing movable jaw is drawn closer to or pushed further away from the fixed jaw via a rotatable clamp screw in mechanical communication with a traveler slidably engaged with a slot in the fixed jaw and the traveler attached to the movable jaw. The fixed jaw includes various preformed holes providing for the attachment of the firearm to a tripod mounting system or other conventional mounting systems. In an embodiment, the user rotates the clamp screw with a knob attached to an end of the clamp screw which acts to push the clamp jaws apart to a sufficient span to allow the user to place a portion of a firearm betwenn the opposing clamp jaws. The user then counter-rotates the clamp screw via the knob and draws the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw until one or more of the fixed and movable jaw fingers contact the surface of the firearm disposed between the opposing jaws. The user continues to counter-rotate the clamp screw with the knob until sufficient pressure to retain the firearm gripped between the opposing jaws exists. The user may then thereafter remove the firearm from the firearm grip by rotating the clamp screw knob until the fixed jaw and movable jaw are sufficiently distant from one another to allow the user to remove the firearm from the opposing jaw clamps.
In an embodiment, the firearm may be of varying width dimension along the length of the firearm to be secured with the firearm grip disclosed herein. The user rotates the clamp screw with a knob which pushes the clamp jaws apart to a distance sufficient to allow the user to place a portion of the firearm between the opposing clamp jaws. The user then counter-rotates the knob and draws the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw until one or more of the fixed and movable jaws and corresponding jaw fingers contact the surface of the firearm disposed between the opposing jaws. When the opposing fixed and movable jaws come into contact with the firearm to be secured, the user continues to rotate the clamp screw knob which will continue drawing the movable jaw towards the fixed jaw and allow the movable jaw to swivel or rotate in horizontal plane allowing the fixed and movable jaws to substantially conform to the increasing or decreasing dimensions of the firearm to be secured within the firearm grip. The user then continues to counter-rotate the clamp screw knob until sufficient pressure to retain the firearm gripped between the opposing jaws exists. The user may then thereafter remove the firearm from the firearm grip by rotating the clamp screw knob until the fixed jaw and movable jaw are sufficiently distant from one another to allow the user to remove the firearm from the opposing jaw clamps.
The present invention is more easily understood by reading the following detailed description, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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Illustrative embodiments have been described herein and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above apparatus and methods may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of the disclosed invention. It is intended to include all such changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a fixed jaw with at least one jaw finger and a movable jaw with at least one jaw finger slidably connected with a clamping screw attached to a traveler;
- the traveler partially retained in a center slot formed in the fixed jaw wherein the traveler is connected to a pivot screw attaching the movable jaw to the traveler; and,
- a knob attached to one end of the clamping screw.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
- a pad and pad base attached to the movable jaw.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising wherein the jaw fingers are substantially covered with a pad.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one or more mounting holes are formed into the fixed jaw.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the traveler includes substantially opposing flanges.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movable jaw is operable to rotate about the pivot screw.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the clamp screw includes a screw shoulder.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fixed jaw includes a tab.
9. A method, comprising:
- inserting a portion of a firearm in between a fixed jaw and a movable jaw of a firearm grip;
- rotating a knob to draw the movable jaw towards the fixed jaw of the firearm grip;
- securing the firearm between the fixed jaw and the movable jaw of the firearm grip; and,
- releasing the firearm secured between the fixed jaw and the movable jaw of the firearm grip by counter-rotating the knob.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
- attaching the firearm grip to a hinge block.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
- attaching the firearm grip to a tripod.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein the fixed jaw includes at least one jaw finger and the movable jaw includes at least on jaw finger.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein the movable jaw rotates to secure a firearm with a tapering width along the portion of the firearm secured by the firearm grip.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 17, 2016
Publication Date: Sep 22, 2016
Inventors: Matthew Banes (Sachse, TX), Garret Hellinger (Sachse, TX), Gabriel James Snyder (Sachse, TX)
Application Number: 15/073,196