Sling Capture Device with Friction Lock for Rapid Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sling and strap systems for rifles and weapons often become tangled or snagged during storage and transport, leading to delays in rapid deployment, and existing solutions using elastic materials suffer from loss of tension and UV sensitivity.
Innovation Solution
A sling system with a capture device featuring a closed loop interface and an open interface that secures the strap tightly against the weapon using tension, allowing for rapid deployment without snagging or tangling, utilizing a speed buckle and capture buckle design with angled geometry for secure retention and quick release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If elastic bands or synthetic elastic material are used to secure the sling, then the sling can be held in place during storage, but they suffer from gradual loss of tension, UV sensitivity and chemical resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces durable but problematic elastic materials with a non-elastic webbing system that uses friction and geometry rather than material elasticity. The webbing is tensioned once and maintains position through the friction interface and angled geometry of the capture device, eliminating the need for continuous elastic tension that degrades over time.
2Reliability
If traditional buckle systems are used for sling adjustment, then the sling can be secured, but they suffer from slipping, sliding and random mis-adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The capture device uses the sling's own tension to secure itself. When the free end of the sling is pulled through the capture device and tensioned, the friction between the webbing and the capture device surfaces, combined with the angled geometry, automatically locks the sling in place without requiring additional locking mechanisms or adjustment steps.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the sling is secured tightly against the weapon, then it prevents tangling and snagging, but it may encumber or negatively affect the normal operation of the sling
Solution Approach 1:
The sling system is divided into two functional segments: a secured portion that remains tight against the weapon to prevent snagging, and a free portion that maintains full functionality for weapon support. The capture device creates a clear separation between these segments, allowing the secured portion to be held in a fixed, non-snagging position while the free portion can move and function normally when needed.
4Speed
If a complex capture mechanism is used for rapid deployment, then deployment speed can be improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the capture function from a complex mechanical mechanism and implements it through a simple friction-based interface. The capture device consists of basic geometric features (angled surfaces, friction interfaces) rather than moving parts, springs, or complex locking mechanisms. This extraction of the capture function to a simple friction-geometry system enables rapid deployment while minimizing added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure extends to systems, apparatus, and methods for the rapid deployment of a sling or strap on a rifle, firearm, tool, or implement from a storage mode to a deployment mode in a reliable and repeatable manner, while minimizing snagging, binding or tangling during storage or transport. In one exemplary system in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, a capture device may include a single closed loop interface adjacent to an open interface. A first strap may be looped through the closed interface and secured therein. Another portion of the sling system, such as a loop of strap or webbing may be secured by tensioning in the open interface to tightly secure the system against the rifle or tool in a secured position. By slightly loosening the loop, the secured portion can exit the open interface rapidly as the sling is deployed.