MACHINE GUN ACCESSORY MOUNT

• US 20100154280A1
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SureFire LLC (Surefire Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: SureFire LLC (Surefire Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: LaFrance, Timothy F., Picciotta, Michael D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,141,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 42/124
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 11/001 Means for mounting tubular or beam shaped sighting or aiming devices on firearms
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 11/003 Mountings with a dove tail element, e.g. "Picatinny rail systems"
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/12 for smallarms; for light-rocket launchers shields attached to smallarms F41C27/04

Abstract

A universal accessory mount for a heavy machine gun includes an annular base adapted to be disposed concentrically over a front end of a shroud of the gun and having diametrically opposing upper and lower accessory mounting tines extending forwardly therefrom. A holding mechanism pulls a planar floor of a counterbore in the rear of the base into contact with a planar front surface of the shroud of the gun. The holding mechanism includes a pair of threaded bolts extending rearwardly from the base through respective ones of a pair of diametrically opposing bolt apertures contained in the base, and a pair of cleats, each having an opening into which a rear end portion of a respective one of the bolts is received and a respective hook adapted to grip the shroud of the gun through a respective hole in the shroud.

Claims

1. An accessory mount for a gun, the mount comprising:

a base configured for attachment of the accessory mount to the gun;

a pair of diametrically opposing accessory mounting tines extending forwardly from the base; and

,

a holding mechanism for fixing the position of the base in relation to the gun.

2. The accessory mount of claim 1, wherein:

the base comprises an annular structure having a circular central opening configured to be disposed concentrically over a barrel of the gun and a concentric counterbore extending into a rear surface thereof, the counterbore defining a planar floor and being configured to be disposed concentrically over a front end of a shroud of the gun, with the floor of the counterbore disposed against a planar front surface of the shroud;

the tines comprise an upper tine and a lower tine; and

,

the holding mechanism is arranged to pull the floor of the counterbore into contact with and hold it against the planar front surface of the shroud.

3. The accessory mount of claim 2, wherein the holding mechanism comprises:

a pair of threaded bolts extending rearwardly from the base through respective ones of a pair of diametrically opposing bolt apertures contained therein; and

,

a pair of cleats, each having an opening through which a rear end portion of a respective one of the bolts extends and a hook adapted to grip an edge of a corresponding hole in the shroud of the gun,

wherein the cleats are arranged such that advancement of the bolts into respective ones of the cleats causes the hook of each cleat to grip the edge of the corresponding hole in the shroud of the gun and the planar floor of the counterbore in the rear surface of the base to be pulled into contact with and held against the planar front surface of the shroud.

4. The accessory mount of claim 3, wherein the opening in at least one of the cleats is threaded, and wherein a corresponding one of the threaded bolts is disposed in threaded engagement with the opening of the at least one cleat.

5. The accessory mount of claim 3, wherein the opening in at least one of the cleats is unthreaded, and wherein a corresponding one of the threaded bolts is disposed in threaded engagement with a threaded nut disposed behind the at least one cleat.

6. The accessory mount of claim 2, wherein the pair of bolt apertures in the base comprises one of a plurality of diametrically opposing pairs of radially slotted bolt apertures arranged in a circumferential pattern around the base in such a way as to enable the accessory mount to be mounted to the gun in a plurality of angular positions relative to the barrel.

7. The accessory mount of claim 1, further comprising at least one accessory mounting rail mounted on a surface of a forward end portion of at least one of the accessory mounting tines.

8. The accessory mount of claim 7, wherein the at least one accessory mounting rail comprises a Picatinny rail.

9. The accessory mount of claim 7, further comprising at least one accessory mounted on the at least one accessory mounting rail.

10. The accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the at least one accessory comprises a gun sight or a spotlight.

11. The accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the at least one accessory comprises a telescopic, a laser, an infrared (IR) or a night vision device (NVD) gun sight.

12. The accessory mount of claim 7, wherein the at least one accessory mounting rail is mounted on a lower surface of a lower one of the tines of the mount, and further comprising a spotlight mounted on the mounting rail.

13. The accessory mount of claim 2, wherein:

the respective sides of the tines on a first side of the mount lie in respective planes intersecting the center of the central opening of the base and subtend an angle equal to or greater than about 150 degrees;

a front surface of the base on the first side of the mount is recessed behind a front surface of the base on an opposite second side thereof and includes a segment of an annular recess located adjacent to the central opening of the base; and

,

a head of a corresponding one of the threaded bolts is recessed below the front surface of the base on the first side of the mount.

14. The accessory mount of claim 13, wherein:

the barrel of the gun comprises a quick change barrel (QCB) having an attached handle for rotating the barrel about a long axis of the barrel through an angle of about ±

60 degrees relative to both the gun and the mount; and

,

the barrel can be removed from the gun without removing the mount from the gun.

15. The accessory mount of claim 1, wherein the base and the accessory mounting tines comprise a single integral piece.

16. The accessory mount of claim 9, wherein:

the gun includes a ballistic shield having an elongated vertical slot through which the barrel of the gun extends for continuous pivotal movement between positions of maximum and minimum elevation relative thereto;

the tines of the mount protrude forwardly through the slot; and

,

the respective lengths of the tines are such that, during pivotal movement of the barrel between the maximum and minimum positions thereof, the at least one accessory mounted on the at least one accessory mounting rail clears the ballistic shield at every position of the barrel.

17. The accessory mount of claim 16, further comprising:

at least one C-shaped accessory side mounting clamp having upper and lower ends respectively attached to a side of a respective one of the upper and lower tines of the mount; and

,

an accessory mounting rail mounted on an outward facing side of the at least one accessory side mounting clamp.

18. A method for mounting an accessory on a heavy machine gun using the accessory mount of claim 3, the method comprising:

positioning the annular base of the mount concentrically about the barrel of the gun and such that the counterbore extending into the rear surface of the base is disposed concentrically over a front end of the shroud of the gun;

advancing the bolts into respective ones of the cleats such that the hook of each cleat grips an edge of the corresponding hole in the shroud of the gun and causes the planar floor of the counterbore in the rear surface of the base to be pulled into contact with and held against the planar front surface of the shroud;

mounting at least one accessory mounting rail on a forward end portion of at least one of the upper and lower tines of the mount; and

,

mounting the accessory on the at least one accessory mounting rail.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the gun includes a ballistic shield having an elongated vertical slot within which the barrel of the gun is supported for continuous pivotal movement between positions of maximum and minimum elevation; and

,

wherein the positioning of the base further comprises positioning the upper and lower tines of the mount such they both protrude forwardly through the slot of the shield.

20. A heavy machine gun accessory mount, comprising:

an annular base having a circular central opening configured to be disposed concentrically over a barrel of the gun and a concentric counterbore extending into a rear surface thereof, the counterbore defining a planar floor and being configured to be disposed concentrically over a front end of a shroud of the gun;

a pair of diametrically opposing upper and lower accessory mounting tines extending forwardly from the base;

a pair of threaded bolts extending rearwardly from the base through respective ones of a pair of diametrically opposing bolt apertures contained therein;

a pair of cleats, each having an opening into which a rear end portion of a respective one of the bolts is received and a hook adapted to grip an edge of a corresponding hole in the shroud of the gun, the cleats being arranged such that advancement of the bolts into threads in respective ones of the openings of the cleats or into threaded nuts respectively disposed behind the cleats causes the hook of each cleat to grip the edge of the corresponding hole in the shroud and causes the planar floor of the counterbore in the rear surface of the base to be pulled into contact with and held against the planar front surface of the shroud; and

,

at least one accessory mounting rail mounted on a surface of a forward end portion of at least one of the upper and lower tines of the mount.

21. The accessory mount of claim 20, further comprising:

at least one C-shaped accessory side mounting clamp having upper and lower ends respectively attached to a respective side of respective ones of the upper and lower tines of the mount; and

,

an accessory mounting rail mounted on an outward facing side of the at least one accessory side mounting clamp.