Front Sight Accessory Mount With Self-Centering Clamping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern firearms, such as the MP5, often lack adequate mounting locations and secure attachment points for accessories like lights, lasers, and pressure switches due to inadequate or inaccessible handguards, limiting the space for accessory mounting and ease of access.
Innovation Solution
A weapon mount system that secures to the front sight of a firearm, featuring a main body with arms and a locking plate, allowing for easy and precise attachment of accessories without modifying the firearm, using fasteners and elastomeric spacers to accommodate various sight widths and ensure alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If accessories are mounted to the receiver or under the tube separately, then accessory mounting is possible, but the amount of space for accessory mounting is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the mounting locations under the tube and at the receiver into a single integrated mount structure that attaches to the front sight. This consolidation creates a centralized mounting platform that provides adequate space for multiple accessories (lights, lasers, pressure switches) while maintaining ease of access to all mounted components.
2Device complexity
If the handguard is made simple without accessory rails, then the handguard structure is simplified, but adequate mounting locations for accessories are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the accessory mounting function from the handguard structure itself. Instead of integrating rails or mounting surfaces into the handguard, the invention creates a separate, dedicated mount structure that attaches to the front sight. This segmentation allows the handguard to remain simple while providing adequate mounting space through the separate mount platform.
3Area of stationary object
If the front sight is used as a mounting point, then accessory mounting space is increased, but precise alignment and secure attachment become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates preliminary alignment features directly into the mount structure, including centering fasteners and alignment pins that engage with the front sight post. These pre-built alignment mechanisms ensure precise positioning of the mount relative to the sight during installation, eliminating the need for complex field adjustments and ensuring accurate accessory alignment.
4Reliability
If a secure locking mechanism is used to attach the mount to the sight, then attachment reliability is improved, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs self-centering and self-aligning features in the locking mechanism, including elastic spacers that automatically position the mount correctly as it is being installed. The fasteners include built-in alignment pins and cam-lock mechanisms that guide the assembly process, allowing secure attachment without requiring complex alignment procedures or specialized tools.
Data Source
AI summary
A weapon mount is provided to connect an accessory to a weapon adjacent a sight. The mount can include a main body, a forward projecting first arm and a locking plate. The main body can engage a rear of the sight, for example, a front sight post, and the locking plate can engage a front of the sight. The locking plate, main body and mount can be centered on the post via a centering fastener projecting through a center plate hole of the locking plate, and can be clamped to the sight post via first and second fasteners projecting through the locking plate and engaged with the first arm and a second arm which can be part of the main body or a modular body. The modular body can be slidably joined with the main body via a guide rail and corresponding slot. A related method is provided.