ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR DEPLOYMENT OF ROTATING ARM

Abstract

This is a mechanism which locks a spring loaded rotating arm in a closed position with a locking pin relative to a fixed arm, then with pushing one mechanical button, the locking pin releases the rotating arm. The arm rotates, and locks at an angle relative to the fixed arm. The relative angle is determined by an adjustable gear with two pins, which allows fine adjustment of the deployed angle. One pin on the gear is used as a stop for the rotating arm, and the second is used to mechanically lock the arm at the determined angle when the mechanical button is released. In the preferred embodiment, the fixed arm is attached permanently or via a quick connector to a handheld product, such as a pistol, and the mechanism is used to deploy and lock into place a forearm brace.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The following invention relates in general to apparatuses that need a rotating arm that can be robustly, and cheaply adjustably rotated to a certain angel, locked in place, collapsed and reproducibly rotated back to that particular angle. The present technology relates particularly to the brace and firearm bracing arts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern firearm have a plethora of accessories that may be added to them to increase their accuracy, bullet storage capacity, and add functionality to firearms. For example laser sights, rails, nets to catch spent rounds, scopes, and braces may all be accessories that are attached to a firearm to assist a shooter.

Of particular relevance to the present discussion, braces may significantly help shot accuracy, mitigate recoil, and allow a higher rate of fire (i.e., less time aiming). Braces function by allowing an arm that mechanically and rigidly attaches to a firearm to extend from the firearm and attach to a shooter's body at some point other than the wrist. In this way the shooter can use other portions of his body to help mitigate recoil without putting as much torque on his wrist and potentially his elbow and shoulder (depending on the particular brace) when the shot is fired. This also has the effect of “steadying the shot,” such that kinetic energy from the recoil is transmitted absorbs instead of tracking the firearm's aim off target. Ultimately, this is beneficial in that it does not compromise aiming for the next shot, even after extended firing, which in turn means that the shooter can fire more accurately, faster.

Further, as a shooter aims a brace, his muscles will naturally move, which has the effect of the sight of the firearm drifting off target. Holding muscles tightly in place to aim a shot is an acquired skill, and there are natural and practical limits on how “still” the shooter may remain as he aims his shot. Braces improve shot accuracy as they can be used to steady the firearm before shooting by distributing the weight of the firearm over the shooter's body and giving the firearm more places to “lock” to the shooter's body, helping to prevent as much drift.

However, despite all of these obvious advantages, if a brace is not compact enough to be easily carried and deployed to the precise angle and position to fit the needs for the shooter, its practical usefulness becomes very limited. Therefore there is a need for a compact, convenient, and sleek brace for a firearm that would address this concern.

Yet braces also need to be rigid and robust such that they withstand the forces necessary to effectively brace the firearm when fired, and durable enough to withstand normal operational use.

In general, these two design concepts are generally at odds.

If a brace is designed to be strong and robust, it will generally add weight and bulk to the brace. If on the other hand, it is designed to be sleek and compact, then generally many of the physical properties necessary for a rigid and robust brace are compromised. It is important that a balance is found between making a robust brace that can be used in the field with little chance of failure or fracture, and a convenient carrying mechanism.

Even further, ergonomics and the fit of the brace to the shooter is of critical importance. Unless a brace is designed for a particular user's exact body, it is critical that a brace is able to make fine tune adjustments to locked angles, such that any user can adjust the brace and be able to quickly and easily collapse the brace and reopen the brace to the exact same angles so that the brace consistently deploys to the same specifications for that shooter.

Further, deployment is difficult. Most techniques in the brace arts rely upon pins, nuts, or bolts to mate with an extendable rod to set lengths and angles. To change such lengths and angles of the rod, all one needs to do is to remove the pins, nuts, or bolts, adjust the brace, and reinstall the pins nuts or bolts. To collapse such braces, then the pins, nuts, or bolts are removed and the brace is put into a housing to secure the components until it is again put together.

Therefore, while it is well within the skilled artisan to design a brace that is capable of folding to be convenient, or to design a brace that is resilient and robust without the shooter having to be fearful of fracture or failure, it becomes difficult to design a portable brace that is also robust, especially when it is desirable for the brace to have fine adjustment capability and then repeatable, and durable deployment in the field.

Further deploying a brace can be solved by using a rotating arm, which has utility outside of the firearm brace arts. For example, the mechanism can be used to consistently deploy a collapsible brace to a predetermined angle for any number of hand tools. There are also any number of safety guides or rails or other applications in which a mechanism for repeatable deployment of an arm to a particular angle with fine adjustment needs are desired. Important considerations for these mechanisms are:

• • 1. deploying an arm to a deployed position;
  • 2. deploying an arm to an inactive position;
  • 3. selecting an angle for components in an apparatus;
  • 4. selecting a placement for a component about an axis; or
  • 5. repetitive angular motions.

There is ergo a need for a mechanism which performs all of these tasks:

• • 1. locks an arm in a collapsed position;
  • 2. easily deploys the arm about an axis;
  • 3. preferably mechanically locks the arm at a predetermined deployment angle about the axis;
  • 4. easily collapses the arm back into the collapsed position from the deployed position;
  • 5. when deployed, withstands torsional forces without collapsing or failing and with only minimal compression and bending; and
  • 6. allows fine corrections and changes to the predetermined deployment angle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the deficiencies with the prior art noted above, the present inventors have built a device for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position comprising: a frame, wherein the frame has a generally longitudinal direction with a first end and a second end; an arm, wherein the arm has a generally longitudinal direction with a first end and a second end, wherein the arm is configured to attach to the first end of the frame at the first end of the arm to create an attachment point, and wherein the arm is configured to rotate about a radial axis at the attachment point; a gear assembly configured to rotate about an axis parallel to the radial axis, wherein the gear assembly comprises: a gear rotating about an axis substantially parallel to the radial axis, and an open-stop disposed orthogonally on a first side of the gear such that when the gear assembly turns, the angle at which the arm opens before colliding with the open-stop changes and can be fined-tuned; a gear-locking mechanism connected to the frame and configured to lock the gear assembly such that it may not rotate; a control mechanism, adapted to toggle the state of the arm between at least the closed and the open state, and further adapted to reversibly unlock the gear assembly such that it may rotate; wherein when the arm is in a closed state, the second end of the arm is adapted to rotate toward the second end of the frame; wherein when the arm is in an open state, the second end of the arm is adapted to rotate away from the second half of the frame.

In another aspect of the invention, the present inventor has invented a method for deploying the rotating arm described above about an axis comprising: providing a device for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position according to claim 1; and activating the control means to open the device.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the present inventor has invented a method of manufacturing a gear assembly for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position, comprising: providing a gear, an open-stop pin, and an open-lock pin; permanently attaching the open-stop and open-lock pins to the same face of the gear, wherein neither the open-stop nor open-lock pins are in the center of the face.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate by way of example, and are included to provide further understanding of the invention for purpose of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the embodiments in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. Identical reference numerals do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference numeral may be used to indicate a similar feature or a feature with similar functionality. Importantly, the drawings demonstrate several embodiments of the invention that are not intended to be limiting. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the disclosure, the present invention has a wide range of utility outside of the presently disclosed embodiments, which has been described generally herein. The precise scope of the present invention is to be defined by the claims. In the drawings:

FIG. 1: An exploded view of the invention according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2: A side view of the invention according to a first embodiment of the invention with cross section H-H.

FIG. 3: Cross section H-H of the invention according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4: Top view of the invention according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5: Perspective view of the invention according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6: Perspective view of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention in collapsed position.

FIG. 7: Perspective view of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention in open position.

FIG. 8: Exploded view of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9: Side view of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention with cross sections A-A, B-B, C-C, G-G, and F-F.

FIG. 10: Showing cross sections A-A, B-B, C-C, and G-G of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11: Showing cross section F-F of the invention according to a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is exemplified as a brace (particularly embodied as a forearm brace for a firearm), those skilled in the art would readily recognize that the mechanism could be used to deploy a radial arm for many useful purposes. Naturally, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited by the embodiments herein, which by their very nature are mere examples. Instead, the full scope of the invention is defined in the claims below.

The present invention generally comprises an inventive, useful, novel, and nonobvious rotating arm mechanism, such that a rotating arm may rotate and be deployed about an axis. Alternatively, the arm can be stowed such that the rotating arm and the devices other components collapse to make the present invention have a smaller footprint. The deployment position is adjustable, such that when changed the arm can be stowed and redeployed, reproducibly to the same position.

Preferably when the arm is stowed or in the “closed position,” the present invention is small enough to be portable and easily transferable. Preferably, the assembly can be hand carried or adapted to be carried on a user's belt, such as a utility belt.

Definitions Used in this Specification

Close-locked—a device state wherein the rotating arm is fully stowed and locked in a closed (i.e., folded up) position.

Deploy—to set the state of the present device to an open position by locking the rotating arm in an open position.

Open-locked—a device state wherein the rotating arm is fully extended and locked in a deployed position.

State—the configuration of the present device, set by the control mechanism, that can be “open-locked,” “close-locked,” or “unlocked.”

Stow—to set the state of the present device to a closed position by locking the rotating arm in a closed position.

Unlocked—a device state wherein the control mechanism allows or mechanically biases the rotating arm to move.

Rotating Arm Mechanism

The present invention generally comprises the following pieces:

• • a frame;
  • a radial arm arm attached to the frame and configured to rotate about a radial axis;
  • preferably a close-stop;
  • preferably a close-lock;
  • a gear assembly configured to rotate about an axis parallel to the radial axis,
  • wherein the gear assembly comprises:
    • a gear,
    • an open-stop disposed orthogonally on a first side of the gear, and
    • preferably an open-lock disposed orthogonally on the first side of the gear;
  • a gear-locking mechanism connected to the frame and configured to lock the gear assembly such that it may not rotate; and
  • a control mechanism adapted to set the device state and control when the gear-locking mechanism is locked.

Frame

The frame is a general component to which other components are mounted to create a mechanical structure, to which all motion is relative. The frame is generally a static piece that does not move. However the frame may be a combination of several pieces, a monolithic piece, or a single piece. The frame itself generally does not have moving parts, so generally when the frame comprises several pieces, they are welded, bolted, or otherwise secured together. However, a frame with moving parts is nevertheless within the scope of the present invention. It is critical that all motion of the frame is intentional, and therefore the frame is generally a rigid piece such that only moving parts may move. Generally unless otherwise noted or understood by the skilled artisan, all components are mounted on the frame, and all movement described below is relative to the frame.

Rotating Arm

The rotating arm (“radial arm” or “the arm”) is a rigid component of the present invention that physically rotates relative to the frame. It has a state that mirrors the state of the device: it can be open-locked, close-locked, or unlocked. The radial arm is the main component of the present invention, tasked with closing and folding up the device, and opening to deploy the present invention about a radial axis. The positioning of the radial arm is critical, and as will be seen below, the opening position can be controlled via a control mechanism. The rotating arm is configured to mate with other components, such that it may lock in both an open and closed state.

Close-Stop

The close stop is a rigid component that may have a soft component thereon to absorb impact and cushion the closing motion. It is designed to stop the rotation of the rotating arm when it is undergoing a closing motion. It may be any art recognized component used to stop motion, such as a bar, pin, wall, or a piece of the frame itself. This component is critical in that it functions to line up the rotating arm to engage with the close-lock (see below) when the device is undergoing a closing operation.

Close-Lock

The close-lock is a rigid component that is attached the frame, gear assembly, or another component on the apparatus that can is generally mechanically rigid and does not move relative to the frame outside of external influence. For example, the clock-lock may be attached to a component that is mated and locked with the frame. The close-lock can secure to the rotating arm to lock the rotating arm in a closed configuration. It is envisioned as a simple pin that penetrates an orifice in the arm, but it may be any art recognized means of securing the frame (or a mated and locked component) to the arm to hold the arm closed, such as brakes, friction imposed by opposing plates sandwiching the rotating arm, etc. It is critical that the close-lock is capable of robustly maintaining a lock with the rotating arm when the rotating arm is under moderate forces.

In an alternate embodiment, when configured without the close-lock, the rotating arm may have a mechanism (such as spring or torsional forces) to bias the arm into a closed position without necessarily locking the arm closed per se. If a spring or other biasing means is used without a close-lock, the spring acts to maintain force on the rotating arm in a closed position when the device and/or arm are set to a close-locked state.

Gear Assembly: Gear, Open-Stop, and Open-Lock

The gear assembly functions as a gear with an open-stop (preferably an open-stop pin) and optionally an open-lock (preferably an open-lock pin) mounted to the gear extending orthogonally from the same surface of the gear. Neither the open-stop pin nor the open-stop pin are in the center of the surface of the gear, such that when the gear is rotated, the pins move in a circular orbit around the center of the gear. The gear is generally fixed so that it does not rotate relative to the frame of the mechanism, but it can be unlocked to allow free rotation, guided rotating, or mechanized rotation. The open-lock and open-stop interact with the radial arm in different ways:

The open-stop acts as a barrier past which the radial arm cannot swing as the arm opens. Further, when an open-lock pin is used as a mechanism to open-lock the device, the open-stop lines up the open-lock pin with an orifice or other component of the arm so that the open-lock pin and the arm can mate, thereby locking the arm in an open position. The open-stop may be surrounded with a soft material to absorb impact and cushion the opening motion.

Control Mechanism

The control mechanism functions to control the state of the device (close-locked, open-locked, or unlocked). Further the control mechanism unlocks the gear assembly to allow rotation, so that the gear assembly can rotate to move the position of the close-lock and close-stop pins.

The control mechanism may switch the direction in which the arm is biased. For example, if the arm is biased toward the open position, then the control mechanism may switch it toward the closed position. The opposite is also possible.

The control mechanism may simply release the arm to an unlocked state such that the arm can swing freely or toward the direction in which it is constantly biased. In a preferred embodiment, the arm is always biased toward the open position and the arm relies upon a user to overcome the force of the opening bias in order to close the arm.

The control mechanism may also push the arm toward the open or closed position and then engage the open-lock and/or close-lock, such that the arm is not constantly biased.

The control mechanism my simply release the arm to the unlocked state and then rely on the user to push the arm to the desired position, open or closed.

The control mechanism is exemplified as a push-button that disengages the gear assembly from the frame such that the gear assembly can be turned to move the close-stop and optionally close-lock, thereby selecting the appropriate angle for an open position. As a push-button, the control mechanism further disengages close-lock from the arm. This is especially easy if the close-lock, like the open-lock pin, is a mere pin that penetrates an orifice in the arm. If that is the case, then the close-lock can merely be structurally secured to or integrated with the gear assembly, such that the pushbutton pushes both the open-lock pin and the closed-lock pins back to disengage them. The result is that when the pushbutton is pressed, the device toggles to the unlocked state, such that the arm may freely rotate or will automatically travel toward the direction in which the arm is biased, which is generally the open state.

The control mechanism can nevertheless be any art standard mechanism to control forces and displacements of an assembly, such an electronic or computer controlled system, wherein the gear assembly is guided and displaced by electromotive or electromagnetic forces, servos, motors, chains, gears, cogs, or the like. Further, this creates a trivial mechanism to put light to extreme forces on the arm to control the direction the arm will swing, such as by using electromagnetic forces.

Housing

An optional housing functions to hide all of the moving pieces within itself. It may provide protection from pinch points.

Biasing Means

An optional biasing means (such as the force from a spring) can be used to push and rotate the radial arm until it hits one of the two stops when it is in the unlocked state (close-stop or open-stop pin). If present, the biasing force preferably biases the arm toward the open-stop pin. In this event, the control means (such as a pushbutton) can toggle the state to an unlocked state while the arm automatically swings to the open state. Then the control means can toggle the state to a locked (specifically open-locked) state. Further, the opposite can be true such that the biasing means closes the device.

Preferably, the biasing force is weak enough such that it can be overcome by user interaction, such as when the biasing force opens the device, the user can use the control means to set the device state in an unlocked state and then physically force the arm closed before using the control means to lock the device (in the closed state). This acts as a spring load, which will automatically open the device when the device state is toggled to an unlocked device state next.

In some embodiments, there is neither an open-lock nor an “unlocked” state for the arm. In these embodiments, when the control mechanism sets the state of the arm to open, then the device will be released from a closed state or close-locked state and automatically open under the biasing means. As there is no open-locked state, there is no distinction between the open state and the unlocked state, since both of them have the same effect: putting force on the arm to open without locking the device open. In this embodiment, when the device is put under short bursts of force (such as a brace from firing a round in a firearm), the arm may start to close, but the biasing means will help absorb the recoil and open the device back up.

In another embodiment, the opposite of the above paragraph is true, and the device is constantly biased toward the closed position. This would occur when the biasing means is configured to close the device and there were no close-lock.

In yet another embodiment, the biasing mechanism can be controlled by the control means, and will toggle to open or close by the control mechanism. The close-lock and open-lock are optional in this configuration, but they may be present if desired.

The biasing means can be any art recognized mechanism to induce forces to the arm. For example, inter alia springs, leaf springs, helical springs, flat springs, servos, electromagnetic forces, electromotive forces, chains, gears, cogs, drivetrains, pulleys, motors, or the like can be used.

Machine Control

Optionally, the control mechanism can be a mechanical device with motive power, capable of smartly toggling or setting the device to each of its close-locked, unlocked, and open-locked states. For example, the device can a computer controlled pushbutton, such that when the device is closed, it toggles the device to an unlocked state, opens the arm, and then locks the device in the open state. Further, the opposite would naturally be possible by toggling the device to an unlocked state, closing the arm, and then locking the device in the closed state. In this event, motive forces must be induced, and therefore servos, a motor, or the like must be present to mechanically control the motion of the arm.

Rigid Materials

Favorable physical properties are critical for all materials of the present invention. Each rigid material should be selected such that its properties are desirable for its function. The purpose of these rigid components is to hold their shape, such that the device as a whole can hold its shape when it's either a locked-close or locked-open configuration. The particular materials are determined by considering weight, size, and desired strength of the mechanism. If the mechanism needs to be extremely small and withstand high physical forces, then the mechanism components would most preferably be made out of metal, alloys, and or steel. Wear resistance can be a consideration for some components depending on the expected wear on the mechanism. In such circumstances, self lubricating materials such as self lubricating bronze bearings and washers may be used. In applications were compact design is not as critical, or were the forces applied to the mechanism are not as strong, then the components may be made from materials with relatively lower tensile strength such as plastic, polymers, delrin, fiberglass, or aluminum with the parts made larger to compensate for the relatively lower tensile strength of the material. In alternate applications, the overall rigidity of the system is more important, in other applications greater elasticity may be desired in which case the rotating arm and frame may be made out of material such as spring steel.

Young's modulus, the elastic modulus, or simply “modulus” is an important and critical property in this regard. Modulus is the ratio of a linear amount of force exerted on a substance (“stress”) to the linear amount of elastic deformation (“strain”). This property is important because a high modulus means that a material is rigid and capable of high amounts of stress with negligible or small amounts of deformation (i.e., bending or stretching). The present invention requires very precise movements for locking to happen properly. Therefore, it is critical that small amounts of force do not mechanically deform the materials so that all components are properly aligned. Any rigid material (i.e., gear, arm, pin, or any other component intended to be rigid) should independently have a Youngs's modulus of at least 0.5 GPa, preferably at least 1.0 GPa, more preferably at least 2.0 GPa, even more preferably at least 5.0 GPa, yet even more preferably at least 10 GPa, yet even more preferably at least 25 GPa, yet even more preferably at least 50 GPa, yet even more preferably at least 100 GPa, yet even more preferably at least 150 GPa, and most preferably at least 200 GPa.

Ideally rigid materials will have a high tensile strength as well. Tensile strength is related to elongation at break (also known as fracture strain), and it refers how much stress must be put on a material (or in the case of elongation at break how far it must stretch) before the material fails and factures. Depending on the intended utility of the present invention, the present invention may be exposed to strong, burst forces (such as a firearm brace would be exposed to when firing the firearm). Therefore, it is critical that in those applications, the materials used exhibit high tensile strength to prevent fracture or failure. Ideally the tensile strength of the rigid materials should independently be high, such as at least 50 MPa. Preferably the tensile strength of the rigid material should be at least 100 MPa. More preferably the tensile strength of the rigid materials should be at least 200 MPa. Even more preferably the tensile strength of the rigid materials should be at least 300 MPa. Yet even more preferably the tensile strength of the rigid materials should be at least 400 MPa. Most preferably the tensile strength of the rigid materials should be at least 500 MPa.

Further, size may play a role when selecting the physical properties of the material. Tensile strength and modulus are both properties defined by pressure (which by definition is force per unit area). Therefore, when you increase the size, you increase the unit area. Larger devices designed for similar forces to a smaller device will actually allow lower specifications for the tensile strength and the modulus compared with those smaller devices, because the forces are spread out over a larger area. Conceptually, that means that one could go from a large, high tensile strength, high modulus material (such as steel) to a lower tensile strength, lower modulus material (such as plastic) simply by increasing the size of the device. Naturally, this may limit the application and only has select utilities. Nevertheless, it is an important consideration in some applications.

In the event that the present invention is a brace, the purpose of the invention is to steady and brace the desired tool, transferring momentum out of the tool to another mass. In the event that the brace is for a firearm, its purpose is to steady and brace the firearm, and assist the shooter in mitigating recoil As such, it is critical that these components can withstand the forces put on them by use, transport, and by firing without fracture (i.e., have a high breaking point and tensile strength).

These physical properties depending on the desired mix of strength to weight, to size, to wear resistance, to weather resistance, to desired rigidity under certain loads can be obtained by using the proper materials. Exemplary materials are ceramics, metals, alloys, plastics or carbon fiber as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. More specific examples of materials include anodized aluminum, reinforced aluminum composite, an aluminum alloy, a solid sol with an aluminum matrix, a fiber-reinforced material with an aluminum matrix, titanium, bronze, copper, aluminum, titanium alloys, steel, stainless steel, stainless steel 321, stainless steel 304, stainless steel 316, stainless steel 410, iron, nickel-copper alloys (i.e., Monel®), ferroalloys, woven carbon fiber, plastic, nylon, polyamide nylon, polymers, nylon 6, and carbon-fiber reinforced aluminum.

Regarding the rigid materials for a brace, these components are preferably made from 2024 or 7075 anodized aluminum and/or and stainless steel to achieve a high strength to weight ratio and good weather resistance. Particularly preferred is parkerized (a method of treating steel to be more weather resistant) heat treated spring steel, despite its relatively low modulus compared to other materials.

Regarding the rigid materials for the arm, in some applications (notably a brace), contrary to the general cases described above, the arm may be made of a material that has a high tensile strength but lower modulus, such as parkerized heat treated spring steel. The advantage of this approach is that the arm has the ability to flex somewhat but is still mechanically strong enough not to fracture or fail. In so doing, the arm may help cushion forces when the brace is under high impacts, due to firing a firearm for example.

Aside from the core mechanism, the material selection for the optional outside housing has other considerations. The material selection here involves considerations relating to high impact resistance, sufficient rigidity such that forces applied to the housing do not cause it to deform and interfere with the rotating arm and mechanism, weather resistance, and low weight. Typically the outside housing would be made out of a polymer, resin, nylon, or plastic polymer as understood by one skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment, the outside housing is made from PP plastic. Nevertheless, any of the materials disclosed herein as rigid materials may be useful as the housing.

When used for a forearm brace for a firearm as depicted in a preferred embodiment in FIG. 7, there is a paddle which makes contact with the user's forearm. The material selection here involves considerations relating to high impact resistance, slip resistance, rigidity, weather resistance, and low weight. Preferred material selection for the paddle include Nylon 6, PA 6T, or delrin as understood by one skilled in the art, but any of the materials disclosed herein as rigid may be useful and fulfill the intended use.

Soft Materials

The primary purpose of these soft components is to make the device more ergonomic, to absorb impact when the arm collides with the stops, and to absorb external forces exerted on the device.

In the event of a brace, the brace may comprise a compressible sleeve or other means on the brace, which physically connects to the user. In the event of a compressible sleeve, the compressible sleeve is the physical connection between the brace itself and the shooter. Further in the event of a firearm brace, the soft components may be adapted to elastically absorb some of the impact from the angular recoil when a firearm is fired or otherwise for shooter comfort. The compressible sleeve may be a portion of the brace that makes contact with the shooter. Preferably, the compressible sleeve wraps around at least a feature of the brace. More preferably, the compressible sleeve completely wraps around a cylindrical portion of the brace. Most preferably, the compressible sleeve is adapted to surround an L-shaped portion of a proximal portion of a forearm support.

The Young's modulus would be 0.5 GPa or lower. Preferably, the Young's modulus would be 0.1 GPa or lower. More preferably the Young's modulus would be 0.05 GPa or lower. Even more preferably the Young's modulus would be 0.01 MPa or lower. Most preferably the Young's modulus would be 0.005 GPa or lower.

For added comfort and shock absorption, the paddle may be covered in a soft material with a low overall elastic modulus such that it may elastically compress and reliably absorb impact. Exemplary materials include foam rubber, rubber, Sorbothane, low density polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon®), high density polyethylene, elastomers, nylon, nylon 6, polyamide nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, neoprene rubber, nitrile rubber, silicone rubber, EPDM rubber, and polymers.

Additionally, materials with a higher elastic modulus can be used in cushion materials as the outer layer to hold a cushioning material in place. Such lower elasticity modulus materials can be woven into a fabric such that they are flexible and the cushion material under the low modulus material is what actually absorbs the impact. Such cushion materials can be any material art recognized to be used for that purpose.

Brace

Preferably, the present invention is a collapsible brace. Even more preferably the brace is a collapsible forearm brace. Yet even more preferably, the brace is a collapsible brace for a firearm. Most preferably, the brace is a collapsible forearm brace for a firearm.

In the event that the brace is a forearm brace for a firearm, the brace may be designed to connect with the firearm itself, a magazine, the firearm's grip, or a magazine's baseplate.

The brace may comprise inter alia rods, joints, screws, screw-nuts, bolts, nuts, wires, connection means pursuant to this description. Most components are generally rigid. Some components may, such as a cushion for the paddle may be soft. Some components, such as shock-absorbers surrounding the close-stop and/or open-stop, may be springs (which are generally rigid) or cushioning materials (which are generally soft).

The purpose of a firearm brace is to steady the firearm and it assist the shooter in mitigating some of the effects of recoil when the firearm is fired. This can be achieved by multiple methods, but each method generally requires a locked pitch angle between the brace and the magazine. For example, in the case of a brace over the arm designed to transfer recoil energy into the forearm of the shooter, it is important that the magazine and brace maintain a sufficient degree of rigidity when fired to perform this function without bending into each other on the firearm's axis of symmetry. Or in the case of a brace under the shooter's arm, the brace must be able to withstand the shooter pushing into the brace before the firearm is discharged, without the brace merely getting pushed away because the pitch angle opens. As such, the pitch angle should be substantially locked, but adjustable to allow for different size arms, wrists, firearm model designs, and shooting preferences.

It is to be understood that a firearm brace can be designed to connect to any point of a shooter's body other than the shooting hand and fingers. For example, the brace could be designed to connect to a shooter's offhand for stability. Further, the brace could be designed to connect to the shooter's shoulder. In the preferred embodiment, the brace would be designed to connect either above or below the forearm of the shooter. The brace could connect to the forearm of the shooter at any point from the wrist to the elbow and perform its intended function. A connection on the forearm closer to the elbow would allow for greater leverage against the recoil forces of the firearm with the pivot point being at or about the connecting point between the brace and the magazine. A connection at the other end of the forearm closer to and including the connection with the wrist is still possible but less comfortable to absorb the recoil forces being translated into a downward force as there is more bone and less muscle at that location. However, the brace could still be adapted to connect at any point on the underside of the forearm, up to and including the connection with the wrist because any resistance to the shooting hand pushing forward helps to stabilize the handgun, and at least partially prepare the wrist and forearm to accept the recoil forces when the handgun is fired. In the event that the brace is connected to the shooting hand's wrist, the brace must lock the wrist in place or otherwise give some recoil energy to the wrist as translational momentum instead of pure rotational momentum compared to use without the brace. Because it is desirable to minimize the size of a firearm brace when it is folded up in a closed position, preferably the device is a firearm brace adapted to be secured to the shooter's shooting forearm.

First Embodiment

Now referring to FIGS. 1-5, and explode view of the rotating arm assembly 100 according to a first aspect of the invention is shown. Critically, rotating arm 130 rotates freely relative to main arm 120, except as otherwise expressed herein.

Arm connector 123 functions as a nut on one side of rotating arm 130, and further arm connector 123 acts to penetrates the large bore of rotating arm 130, establishing an axis about which rotating arm 123 may pivot. On the other side of rotating arm 130, arm connector 123 penetrates arm spacer 112. Arm connector 123, rotating arm 130, and arm spacer 112 function as a unit to make a rotating subassembly.

Gear 118 has pins 125 and 136 welded thereon such that gear 118 and pins 125 and 136 act as a single, static gear subassembly. Pins 125 and 136 from gear subassembly are adapted to penetrate two complementary mating holes in rotating arm 130. Using this mechanism, the gear subassembly has a mechanism to mechanically mate with the rotating subassembly.

Pins 107 penetrate gear stop 119 and attach to main arm 120. In this way, gear stop 119 is mechanically and permanently secured to main arm 120 to make a static frame subassembly.

Pushbutton 124 penetrates many of the subassemblies and additional components of the present embodiment. Pushbutton 124 penetrates conical spring 117, the rotating subassembly via a through hole in arm connector 123, torsion spring 115, the frame subassembly via a large bore in the main arm 120, and is permanently joined (e.g., welded) to gear 118 of the gear subassembly such that are mechanically secured together. This further serves to hold gear 118 against gear stop 119, which when mated prevents gear 119 from turning relative to gear stop 119. Conical spring 117 naturally will want to expand, which will “open” pushbutton 124 when pushbutton 124 is not being pressed, which is to say tend to pull the gear 118 of the gear subassembly (and therefore the entire gear subassembly) toward the rotating subassembly and will push the head of push button 124 away from the rotating subassembly. When pushbutton 124 is pressed, it compresses conical spring 117 and pushes gear 118 back.

Pushbutton stop 103 penetrates gear stop 119 and main arm 120, both in the frame subassembly. Pushbutton stop 103's major purpose is to act as a stop when pushbutton 124 is pressed, so that pushbutton 124 can be pressed enough to open and close, but not enough to push the gear 118 of the gear subassembly out of gear stop 119 of the frame subassembly, thereby ensuring that when pushbutton stop 103 is installed, the gear subassembly stays mechanically mated to the frame subassembly. Alternatively, pushbutton stop 103 can be removed, which allows pushbutton 124 to be pressed in further, such that gear 118 slides backward out of gear stop 119 and allows it to rotate freely. This allows the entire gear subassembly to rotate in the rotating arm subassembly 100, which gives a fine control over which angle pins 125 and 126 are deployed. Once the appropriate angle has been found, then the pushbutton 124 can be released, allowing gear 118 and gear stop 119 to again mate, which ultimately mates the gear subassembly to the frame subassembly.

Locking bracket 26 mates with an annular projection on the back of gear 118, which locks locking bracket 26 with gear 118 and ultimately the gear subassembly. Because locking bracket 26 is locked in this manner, it travels with the gear assembly when the gear assembly moves, but is allowed to rotate freely relative to the gear subassembly. Closed locking pin 127 is permanently connected to the locking bracket 26 to form a locking subassembly. Closed locking pin 127 penetrates main arm 120 of the frame assembly. When pushbutton 124 is not pressed (and therefore “open”), then clocked locking pin 127 projects out of the near side of the main arm 120. Rotating arm 130 has a mating hole therein, such that when the assembly 100 is folded (i.e., closed), locking pin 127 penetrates that mating hold in rotating arm 130 thereby mechanically securing the rotating arm to the locking subassembly, which is in turn mechanically secured to the gear subassembly, which is further in turn mechanically secured to the frame subassembly. The net result is closed locking ping 127 will prevent the rotating subassembly from rotating freely. Torsion spring 115 is designed to catch the frame assembly and the rotating subassmebly, such that when the 100 is folded, it biases the rotating subassembly to deploy. Only clocked locking pin 127 penetrating the rotating arm 130 of the rotating assembly prevents the assembly 100 from deploying.

If pushbutton 124 is pressed closing the pushbutton 124, then gear 118 and the connected locking subassembly is pushed back, which pushes closed locking ping 127 back, unmating closed locking pin 127 and rotating arm 130. This will cause the assembly 100 to deploy. Torsion spring 115 will bias the rotating assembly and rotating arm 130 will swing about its rotating axis until it hits pin 125, which will set the angle of deployment. When the gear subassembly is rotated as noted above, that changes the angle at which pin 125 is deployed around the gear, thereby changing how far rotating arm 130 rotates. Because of torsion spring 115, rotating arm 130 will always rotate all the way until it collides with pin 125. Once rotating arm 130 collides with pin 125, then pushbutton 124 can be released. This will open the pushbutton 124, pulling the gear subassembly back toward the frame subassembly, allowing pin 136 to penetrate rotating arm 130, thereby mechanically securing rotating arm 130 (and therefore the rotating subassembly) to the gear subassembly, which is ultimately mated with the frame subassembly.

To fold the assembly from a deployed position, pushbutton 124 is pressed. Then a user forces the rotating arm to rotate against the torsional spring by overcoming the spring's force. Once the rotating arm is in the proper position, pushbutton 124 is released, thereby opening the pushbutton 124, which (as noted above) allows pin 127 (connected to the locking subassembly, which is ultimately connected to the gear subassembly and the pushbutton 124) to penetrate a hole in the rotating arm, thereby locking the assembly 100 in a folded position.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment of the present invention is envisioned as a brace, particularly suited for a firearm. To a large part, the second embodiment contains the first embodiment in its entirety, so any confusion as how components function can be similarly explained in the description of the corresponding parts (if any) between the first and second embodiments. Corresponding parts can be identified from the last two numbers of the element number: XYY, where X is either 1 or 2 corresponding the first and second embodiments respectively, and YY is the element number. For example, parts 130 and 230 both correspond to the rotating arm; the difference is that 130 is the rotating arm in the first embodiment and 230 is the rotating arm in the second embodiment. Be advised that slightly different names and groupings for subassemblies may be given between the two embodiments for the same part.

Forearm brace 200 is provided. Housing pieces 201 and 202 depict the left and right sides of a plastic housing for the mechanism. The two sides are secured together with screws 205 and 206, and the cover is secured to the main 220 by screws 210. Nob 234, spring plunger housing 233, spring 232 and spring plunger 235 combine to form a spring plunger locking mechanism for connector 221. Connector 221 with the spring plunger locking mechanism forms a quick connection mechanism to allow the product to be quickly connected to and detached from a tool or product such as a pistol or revolver with the corresponding female connector and locking hole at the base of its grip. In another aspect, main arm 220 can be connected directly to grip of the tool, such as connecting to the base of the grip of a firearm, or to the magazine of a pistol. The quick connection mechanism is secured to the main arm 220 via screws 204.

Arm connector 223 slides through the hole at the end of rotating arm 230, then the arm spacer 212, and arm spring 215 before screwing into the hole and the end of main arm 220. The space formed between the head of arm connector 223 and arm spacer 212 allows the rotating arm 230 to rotate freely. Arm spring 215 attaches to main arm 220 and rotating arm 230. Arm spring 215 is a torsion spring which becomes compressed when the rotating arm 230 is in the closed folded position. Main button 224 slides through the main spring 217, the hole at the center of arm spacer 223 before finally securing to gear 218. Gear lock 219 is secured to main arm 220 via screws 207. In an alternate embodiment gear lock 219 is permanently secured to or integrated with main arm 220. Stop pin 225 is secured to or integrated with gear 218. Open locking pin 236 is secured to or integrated with gear 218. Open locking pin 236 engages a hole or the bottom of rotating arm 230 when rotating arm 230 is in the deployed angle to lock rotating arm 230 in its deployed angle. Gear stop 203 screws into main arm 220 to keep the gear 218 in contact with the gear lock 219 when main button 224 is depressed under normal operation. When the gear 218 must be rotated to adjust the deployed locking position of rotating arm 230, gear stop 203 is removed to allow the main button 224 to be depressed further to disengage gear 18 from gear lock 219. Gear stop 203 is depicted as a stop screw, but in an alternate embodiment may be a spring operated stop which can be pushed out of the way to allow gear 218 to fully disengage from gear lock 219. In an alternate embodiment, gear lock 219 can be moved or removed to release gear 218 for adjustment making gear stop 203 unnecessary.

Closed locking pin 227, passes through a hole in main arm 220 to engage a hole in rotating arm 230 to lock rotating arm 230 when in the folded position. Closed locking pin 227 is secured to locking bracket 226. Locking bracket 226 engages gear 218 such that it travels with gear 218 when main button 224 is depressed, but does not interfere with gear 18 rotation when it is disengaged from gear lock 219. Main spring 217 pushes the main button 224 out when main button 224 is released causing both closed locking pin 227 and open locking pin 236 to return to their locked position. When main button 224 is depressed, closed locking pin 227 releases the rotating arm 230, which rotates from the torsion force in arm spring 215. Rotating arm 230 then is stopped by stop pin 225. When main button 224 is then released, main spring 217 pushes main button 224 forward which causes open locking pin 236 to engage rotating arm 230 to lock rotating arm 230 at the desired angle determined by the rotational position of gear 218.

Pad bracket 231 is attached to rotating arm 230 via screws 208. In an alternate embodiment, pad bracket 231 is integrated with rotating arm 230. Pad screw 237, is inserted into the top of pad bracket 231, then through pad washer 222, then pad rod 228, then pad spring 216, then pad spacer 213 before engaging the bottom of pad bracket 231 and screwing into it. Pad washer 222 and pad spacer 213 allow pad rod 228 to rotate with minimal friction, and to allow space for pad spring 216. Pad spring 216 is a torsion spring that engages pad bracket 231 and pad rod 228. Pad lock 211, and pad lock spring 204 are inserted into a slot in pad rod 228. Pad 229 slides onto pad rod 228 securing pad lock 11, and pad lock spring 214 in the slot of pad rod 28. Screw 209 screws into pad rod 228 to keep pad 229 in its place without preventing pad 229 from rotating to the angle required to effectively engage the user's forearm.

When rotating arm 230 is in the open position, pad spring 216, through torsion force, rotates pad rod 228 into the open position, and pad lock spring 214 pushes pad lock 211 into a locking notch in pad bracket 31 thereby locking the pad rod 228 in the open position. When the brace is in the collapsed position, main arm 220 has an extension at its base which engages pad rod 228 to hold it in the closed position, and simultaneously, pad lock 211 slides into a slot at the end of pad 229 to prevent pad 229 from rotating on pad rod 208 when the brace is in the collapsed position. When main button 224 is depressed, rotating arm 230 is released, and as rotating arm 230 rotates away from main arm 220, main arm 220 disengages from pad rod 228 allowing the torsion pad spring 216 to rotate pad rod 228 into the deployed position. Finally, when pad rod 228 reaches the deployed position, pad lock 211 engages pad bracket 231 to mechanically lock the pad rod 228 in the deployed position, and simultaneously releases pad 229 to allow pad 229 to rotate to effectively engage the user's forearm as the user's forearm engages pad 229.

Claims

1. A device for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position comprising:

a frame, wherein the frame has a generally longitudinal direction with a first end and a second end;

an arm, wherein the arm has a generally longitudinal direction with a first end and a second end, wherein the arm is configured to attach to the first end of the frame at the first end of the arm to create an attachment point, and wherein the arm is configured to rotate about a radial axis at the attachment point;

a gear assembly configured to rotate about an axis parallel to the radial axis, wherein the gear assembly comprises: a gear rotating about an axis substantially parallel to the radial axis, and an open-stop disposed orthogonally on a first side of the gear such that when the gear assembly turns, the angle at which the arm opens before colliding with the open-stop changes and can be fined-tuned;

a gear-locking mechanism connected to the frame and configured to lock the gear assembly such that it may not rotate;

a control mechanism, adapted to toggle the state of the arm between at least the closed and the open state, and further adapted to reversibly unlock the gear assembly such that it may rotate;

wherein when the arm is in a closed state, the second end of the arm is adapted to rotate toward the second end of the frame;

wherein when the arm is in an open state, the second end of the arm is adapted to rotate away from the second half of the frame.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a close-stop, wherein the close-stop physically stops the arm from further closing when the device undergoes a closing operation.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a close-lock, attached to the frame or the gear assembly.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein when the device is in the closed state, the close-lock mates with arm, and wherein the control mechanism is adapted to reversibly unmate the close-lock and the arm.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an open-lock, adapted to mechanically secure the arm in an open position when the state of the arm is open.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the open-stop is a pin projecting from the gear, such that when the arm collides with the open-stop pin, the arm and the open-lock are properly aligned such they can properly mate to lock the arm in an open position.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the open-lock is a pin on the gear that physically penetrates an orifice or another feature on the arm to mechanically lock the arm open when the state of the arm is set to open.

8. The device claim 1, wherein the control mechanism comprises a push-button that controls the gear assembly and any close-locks, disengaging the gear assembly from the frame and any close-locks such that any close-locks and any open-locks disengage, thereby unlocking the arm and allowing the arm to rotate.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein when the device is in the unlocked state, the arm is mechanically biased by a spring toward colliding with the open-stop such that absent external interference, the device automatically opens when the control mechanism unlocks the arm, and then automatically sets the state of the arm to open.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the control mechanism is additionally configured to:

unlock the gear assembly such that the gear assembly can freely rotate, thereby rotating the placement of the open-stop and any open-locks, such that the angle of the open-stop to the frame can change to control the angle of the open position of the arm relative to the frame; and

lock the gear assembly such that the open-stop and any open-locks are fixed.

11. The device of claim 10, additionally comprising:

a close-stop;

a close-stop pin;

wherein the gear assembly further comprises an open-lock pin;

wherein the open-stop is an open stop pin;

wherein the device may be in a locked-closed position by allowing the close-lock to mate with the arm to prevent rotation by the arm;

wherein the device may be in a locked-open position by allowing the open-lock pin to engage with the arm to prevent rotation by the arm;

wherein the control mechanism can disengage the close-lock and the open-lock pin from the arm to put the mechanism in an unlocked state, such that the arm may rotate about the radial axis;

wherein when the device is in an unlocked state, the arm can rotate in a first direction until it collides with the close-stop, such that the control mechanism can engage the close-lock, thereby locking the arm in a closed state;

wherein when the device is in an unlocked state, the arm can rotate in a second direction until it collides with the open-stop, such that the control mechanism can engage the open-lock pin, thereby locking the arm in an open state; and

wherein when the device is in an unlocked state, it is biased by a spring toward the open position.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a forearm brace and additionally comprises:

a paddle connected to the arm configured to rotate about the arm;

wherein when the device is unlocked, the paddle is configured to automatically deploy and lock to an open position.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the forearm brace is a brace for a firearm; and the device further comprises a mechanism to secure itself to a firearm, firearm magazine, firearm grip, or a firearm magazine baseplate.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the control mechanism comprises a mechanized system adapted to toggle the device state from open-locked to unlocked to closed-locked, and from closed-locked to unlocked to open-locked.

15. A method for deploying a rotating arm about an axis comprising:

providing a device for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position according to claim 1; and

activating the control means to open the device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the control means is a pushbutton that puts the device in an unlocked state;

the device is spring biased such that when the device is put into an unlocked state, the spring forces bias the rotating arm toward the open-stop; and

the device is configured that when the rotating arm is biased against the open-stop, releasing the pushbutton engages the rotating arm with the open-lock, thereby locking the device in an open-locked state.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the control means comprises an electronic device.

18. The method claim 17, wherein the control means further comprises a servo or motor configured to move the rotating arm when the device is in an unlocked state.

19. A method of manufacturing a gear assembly for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position, comprising:

providing: a gear, an open-stop, and an open-lock;

permanently attaching the open-stop and open-lock to the same face of the gear, wherein neither the open-stop nor open-lock are in the center of the face.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

providing a frame; an arm configured to attach to the frame and configured to rotate about a radial axis; a close-stop; a close-lock configured to attach to the frame; a gear-locking mechanism configured to attach to the frame and configured to lock the gear assembly when assembled such that the gear assembly may not rotate; a control mechanism; wherein when assembled, the device may be in a locked-closed position by allowing the close-lock to mate with the arm to prevent rotation by the arm; wherein when assembled, the device may be in a locked-open position by allowing the open-lock to engage with the arm to prevent rotation by the arm; wherein when assembled, the control mechanism can disengage the close-lock and the open-lock from the arm to put the mechanism in an unlocked state, such that the arm may rotate about the radial axis; wherein when assembled, when the device is in an unlocked state, the arm can rotate in a first direction until it collides with the close-stop, such that the control mechanism can engage the close-lock, thereby locking the arm in a closed state; and wherein when assembled, when the device is in an unlocked state, the arm can rotate in a second direction until it collides with the open-stop, such that the control mechanism can engage the open-lock, thereby locking the arm in an open state; and assembling the frame, the arm, the close-stop, the close-lock, the gear assembly, the gear-locking mechanism, and the control mechanism to form a device for locking a radial arm in an open and closed position.