Forend-Attached Hand Warmer Sleeve for Cold Weather Shooting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cold weather negatively affects shooting capability by causing hand numbness when gripping long guns or crossbows, as standard gloves provide inadequate insulation and interfere with direct hand-to-gun contact, which is believed to enhance accuracy.

Innovation Solution

A sleeve-like hand warmer with a first end that attaches to the forend of a gun or crossbow using hook and loop fasteners, snap buttons, or foam, allowing for direct contact and easy hand insertion/removal, incorporating an internal pocket for a chemical handwarmer to maintain hand warmth.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If a standard cold weather glove is used to keep hands warm, then hand warmth is improved, but direct hand-to-gun contact is prevented and mechanical operation is interfered with

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehand warmthVSAvoiddirect hand-to-gun contact

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The hand warmer device is nested within the user's hand, with the insulating material positioned inside the hand cavity. The user inserts their hand into the hand warmer, which is attached to the forend, creating a nested configuration where the hand is enclosed by the insulating structure while maintaining external contact with the gun forend.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

The solution transitions from two-dimensional flat gloves to a three-dimensional hand-enclosing structure. The hand warmer creates a volumetric insulating environment around the hand while maintaining a compact profile that attaches to the forend, adding spatial dimensionality to the thermal protection approach.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Temperature

If a standard cold weather glove is used to keep hands warm, then hand warmth is improved, but mechanical operation of the gun or crossbow is interfered with

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehand warmthVSAvoidmechanical operation

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating function is extracted from the hand itself and placed into a separate hand warmer device that attaches to the forend. This separates the thermal protection function from the gun operation interface, allowing the hand to remain exposed for mechanical operation while gaining thermal protection from the extracted insulating structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The hand warmer acts as an intermediary device between the user's hand and the cold environment. It provides thermal mediation by creating an insulating barrier that protects the hand from cold while allowing the hand to maintain direct contact with the gun forend for operational control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Temperature

If the user removes their hand from the forend to warm it up, then hand warmth is improved, but shooting readiness is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehand warmthVSAvoidshooting readiness

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The hand warmer provides preliminary thermal protection before the hand becomes cold. By continuously insulating the hand while it remains on the forend, the device prevents heat loss and maintains hand temperature, eliminating the need for periodic removal to warm up and keeping the user in a ready shooting position at all times.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Measurement precision

If direct hand-to-gun contact is maintained for accuracy, then shooting accuracy is improved, but hand warmth deteriorates in cold weather

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshooting accuracyVSAvoidhand warmth

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The hand warmer provides localized thermal protection specifically to the hand area while leaving the rest of the body and the gun interface unaffected. The insulating structure is concentrated around the hand cavity, delivering targeted warmth to the critical shooting hand without interfering with the contact interface between hand and forend.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The hand warmer maintains hand warmth without interfering with the mechanical operation of the gun or crossbow, allowing for improved accuracy and prolonged shooting comfort without the need for additional gloves.

Implementation Method 1

The internal pocket is configured to receive a chemical handwarmer

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectExothermic reaction: Exothermic Reaction

Data Source

PatentUS11659876B2Crossbow mitt

Publication Date: 2023.05.30 STOPPENHAGEN RANDALL T

AI summary

A hand warmer for use with a long gun or crossbow having a sleeve of fabric configured to circumvolve a user's forearm. A user inserts his or her forearm at the second end of the tube. The first end of the tube is configured to attach to a long gun or crossbow. The first end can be configured with a section of fabric that fits between the barrel and pump action of a pump action shotgun. The first end can be configured to attach to the forend of a crossbow such as by hook and loop fastener, snaps, or zippers. The first end can be configured for positioning over the barrel of a rifle such that the first end is below a line of sight through a scope attached to the rifle.