WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 Height-adjustable and foldable gun rest 5 Background of the invention - Technical field The invention is a gun rest (also referred to as an aiming rest). A typical example of use is "top hunting" for wood grouse or black grouse T, which is a hunting form characterized by the hunter J using a rifle G and being postured lying on snow, 10 illustrated in fig 1a. The invention classifies as a foldable, portable, and adjustable gun rest. Basically it is also a kind of single leg stand (also called monopod). The invention belongs to the category of gun rests intended to be carried attached to the rifle's fore-end 101, also known as forearm stock, illustrated in fig lb. 15 Background of the invention - Technical problem solved by the invention The invention solves in particular the problem of gun rests' unsuitability on snow covered ground. "Top hunting" is carried out during wintertime when the snow is 20 deep and wood grouse and black grouse graze up in pine trees and birches. The distance to the bird, when top hunting, is comparably large: occasionally around 200 meters. It is customary to place a brought rucksack on top of the snow and form it as a support for the rifle. The rucksack is comparably large and its color tends to contrast against the snow; the bird may therefore discover the rucksack's movement 25 when the hunter arranges it for support. Ordinary gun rests, whether they are monopods or bipods, are usually not used for this kind of hunting because they are unsuitable for use on snow. Disturbing sounds when the gun rest is folded out, awkward height adjustment, and uncomfortably protruding parts, are other common problems with gun rests for this kind of hunting. 30 Background of the invention - Prior art A gun rest is described in US 1426967. This gun rest includes a supporting leg - a 35 long narrow bar named "leg 26" - having a closed position and an extended position. In the closed position the leg is situated under, and closely along, the rifle's fore-end. In the extended position the leg projects, about right-angled, out from the WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 2 fore-end. In this position another thin bar (called "bar 30") may be pulled out from the short side of the supporting leg and thus, in several steps, elongating the leg. Patent US 64765 describes another gun rest. It includes a supporting leg, a bar 5 named "rod G", consisting of two parts (marked "a" and "b") joined by means of a hinge (at the point marked "x"). The gun rest has a closed position in which the bar is placed under and closely along the rifle's fore-end. In the extended positions the parts "a" and "b" may, on one hand, be collapsed together (giving a short support) or may, on the other hand, be folded out (giving a tall support); there are no positions 10 in-between. There are also other kinds of foldable gun rests - ranging from one to three supporting legs with two legs being the most common - intended for attachment on a rifle's fore-end. The bipods in US 5852892 and US 6289622 may be mentioned 15 because they, when collapsed, lack protruding parts. Other gun rests differs, as far as we know, to a greater extent from the invention. Description of the invention - Advantages provided by the invention 20 Lying down in the snow the hunter may, by means of the invention, obtain a good support for the rifle. Neither US 1426967 nor US 64765 - despite them both having a component that have some similarity with the bearing plate that is a characteristic of the invention - are suitable for use on snow. The gun rests having double legs 25 described in US 5852892 and US 6289622 are not either suitable on snowy ground. Good height adjustability for lying-down shooting postures is obtained. The gun rest in US 1426967, and also to a certain extent the gun rest in US 64765, have - in common with the invention - the advantages of having a smooth exterior, being 30 compact in collapsed position, and being easy to fold out with a single-hand movement. However they are, in contrast to the invention, not very adjustable: the supporting leg can in particular only be positioned right-angled to the fore-end. It is true that there are other gun rests that in fact, similar to the invention, are easy to set at several height levels, but as mentioned, no one is suitable as a rifle support 35 on ground covered by snow.
WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 3 The rifle's existing attachment places can be used; in particular the places for attaching the front action-screw 102 and the sling swivel stud 103, indicated in fig 1b. The gun rest in US 1426967 includes a cassette, housing the pivot of the leg and a spring, inlayed into the rifle's fore-end 101. For the other here mentioned 5 patents: US 64765, US 5852892, and US 6289622, the gun rest is an integral part of a modified fore-end (that is, the rest is not a separate part attached to an existing fore-end). There are other gun rests that are attached to the rifle using existing fittings such as the sling swivel stud (Harris Bipod and others not listed here); but the ones we know are difficult to fold out, not suitable for snow-covered ground, and 10 have protruding parts that renders the rifle, attached with the folded-up gun rest, uncomfortable to carry on the back. The gun rest can be extended and set to height rapidly and quietly with a single handed manipulation. The gun rests with double legs such as US 5852892 and US 15 6289622, on the contrary, requires the legs to be extended one by one. The rifle, with mounted gun rest, can be carried comfortably on the back. While the other four gun rests here mentioned also have this feature, they are as mentioned either difficult to extend or are not settable at varying-height prone shooting 20 postures. Description of the invention - Embodiments 25 A first embodiment of the gun rest is shown in fig 2. Its function is explained with the help of fig 3. First embodiment. The gun rest in its entirety is show in fig 2b and a few parts are shown in fig 2a. The gun rest has two parallel strips 1, a lower plate 2, a crossbar 3, 30 and a number of cuts 51 in the bottom of an upper plate 4. The two parallel strips 1 thought of as a single part is named "supporting leg", the lower plate 2 is called "bearing plate", and the upper plate 4 is referred to as "attachment plate" or occasionally as "attachment element". The oblong hole 42 and the round hole 44 are intended for the rifle's front action-screw 102 respectively sling swivel stud 103. A 35 torsion spring 6 pushes the crossbar's tip 61 against the attachment plate; the crossbar 3 thereby becomes fixed in place because the tip locks at one of the recesses 51. When the hunter, with his one hand, removes the tip out of the recess, WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 4 the supporting leg can be turned, around the front axle 14, up against the attachment plate. There it can be anchored by means of a clasp 71 that hooks onto a slot 71* of the attachment plate. This closed position is illustrated in fig 3a. At any of the folded-out positions the bearing plate may be turned, around the lower axle 12, till the clasp 71 can hook onto a slot 71'* of the bearing plate. This position is illustrated in fig 3c. The gun rest's function is as follows (see fig 3). In closed position the supporting leg 1, the bearing plate 2, and the crossbar 3 are lying flat against the rifle's fore-end like an oblong box - according to fig 3a. The gun rest is adjustable to a number of extended positions. In these positions, the bearing plate is situated flat against the ground (for example snow), thereby increasing the contact surface of the supporting leg against the ground. In such a position, the rifle's shooting angle can be changed by turning the leg-attached rifle around the lower axle 12. An example of an extended position is shown in fig 3b; the number of stops 51 determines the number of folded-out positions. The bearing plate can be turned around to act as an elongation of the supporting leg, as is shown in fig 3c. In this position, the shooting angle may be changed by tilting the leg-attached rifle around the toe part of the bearing plate. Second embodiment. Another concretisation of the invention is shown in fig 4. Contrary to the first embodiment, the front axle 14 is movable along the attachment plate 4 while the rear axle 34 is fixed. A rail 5 is placed at bottom of the attachment plate. By pushing the lever 62, the tooth 61 is pushed into the block 41 on which the supporting leg is hinged. While the tooth is in pushed-in condition, the block may be freely moved along the rail. When the lever is released, the tooth automatically reappears (pushed out by a spring inside the block) and can therefore lock into one of the recesses 51. Third embodiment. A third embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig 5. The supporting leg consists of two parts 1 a, 1b movable along each other in a rail 5. The upper leg part 1a and the crossbar 3 are both hinged to the attachment plate 4; they are hinged by the front axle 14 respective the rear axle 34. The middle axle 13, hinging the lower leg part 1b to the crossbar, can be moved along the rail. The gun rest is adjusted as follows. An adjustment device 6 has some kind of tooth (not visible in the drawing) that normally locks into one of the recesses 51. The tooth is unlocked from a recess by pushing the lever 62 towards the supporting leg Ia, 1b.
WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 5 The lever is then moved, in pushed-in condition, along the supporting leg, resulting in a change of the height of the gun rest. In all of the previously described embodiments, the attachment element 4 could be exchanged for two joinable parts. The joinable parts may for example have the form of profiles 45, 45* insertable into each other as shown in fig 6a. The upper coupling element 45* typically has two holes 42, 44 for screw fastening it into the screw holes for the front action-screw respective the sling swivel stud. This arrangement certifies that the gun rest can be removed from the weapon without touching any of the action screws; indeed the barrel or action screws should not be unnecessarily turned because changes in the screw torque may alter the weapon's sight setting. In addition it is faster and easier to attach the gun rest if a profile 45 simply can be inserted onto a rifle-attached profile 45*, instead of the gun rest having to be attached by screws. Another embodiment of the bearing plate and of the attachment plate is shown in fig 6b. The toe end of the bearing plate has a rabbet 22. In closed position the block 41 fits into the rabbet; and the bearing plate is therefore stably held in place by the block. In addition, the two tips framing the rabbet, yields a good grip against soil or frozen ground when the gun rest is in a fully extended position (refer to fig 3c). This embodiment also features a peg 46 on the attachment plate that fits into a hole of the bearing plate block 21, for the purpose of stably securing the bearing plate when the gun rest is in the closed position. Yet another concrete form of the bearing plate is illustrated by fig 7. The bearing plate 2 is here attached to the bearing plate block 21 by means of a screw 8. The bearing plate has a first position as shown in fig 7b. In this position a peg 24 on the block, fits into a hole 24* of the bearing plate. When the screw is tightened, the bearing plate block is clamped to the bearing plate. When the screw is loosened, the peg may be lifted out of the hole, and the bearing plate can then be turned to a new position as shown in fig 7a. In this position the peg works as the one leg of a tripod, where the other two legs 23 are placed at opposite ends of the bearing plate. Recesses, for instance the kind of recesses 51 shown in fig 2, may also be placed directly into the rifle's fore-end; the fore-end may in particular be designed with recesses formed already at the fabrication stage. In such a case, the first embodiment of fig 2 could be modified such that the attachment element 4 only includes the front block 41. That is, the front block is attached to the fore-end and the crossbar tip will then be able to attach at any of the recesses in the fore-end. In WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 6 this context, observe that the arrangement consisting of the notched rail 5 and the adjustment device 6, illustrated in fig 4, may be exchanged for the in fig 2 shown row of recesses 5 and adjustment device 6, or vice versa. Thus it is feasible also for embodiments where the front axle 14 is movable, as in fig 4, to have a fore-end with 5 recesses at which the front axle bearing - that is the block 41 - can attach. This implies that the attachment element only has to include the rear axle bearing - that is the pair of rear blocks 43 that is attached directly into the fore-end. Description of the invention - General description Several concrete - but dissimilar - embodiments of the invention were described above. This part summarizes these, and other possible embodiments of the 5 invention, in a definition. We will mainly refer to fig 8. The black dots in this drawing symbolize pivots. The invention - a gun rest for rifles - includes a supporting leg 1, a bearing plate 2, and a pivot catch 3. The supporting leg is at its first end attached, by a first pivot, ) to the rifle's fore-end 101. The supporting leg can be turned, on the pivot, from a collapsed position, at which the two ends of the leg is situated close to the fore-end, to folded-out positions at which the leg's second end is parted from the fore-end. The invention is particularly characterized by the fact that the supporting leg at its second end is attached, by a second pivot, to the bearing plate. The invention is 5 further characterized by the pivot catch, that it belongs to one of the pivots, and that it makes the supporting leg settable at fixed inclined angles to either the fore-end or to the bearing plate, as indicated in fig 8a respectively fig 8b. Particular embodiments of the in fig 8a shown pivot catch are illustrated in figs 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f. In these four drawings, a crossbar 3 holds the supporting leg 1 at a fixed inclined angle to the fore-end 101. The corresponding embodiments for the in fig 8b shown pivot catch comprising a crossbar, is however not shown in any drawing. The supporting leg is, in the general case, set to a folded-out position by, with the pivot catch released, inclining the leg to a position where the pivot catch once again can lock the leg. More specifically, this may be accomplished by the crossbar's upper end being settable along the fore-end according to fig 8c; a more detailed and concrete example is illustrated in fig 2. Or it may be accomplished by moving the WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 7 supporting leg's first end along the fore-end according to fig 8d or, more concretely, according to fig 4. A third type of embodiment is shown schematically in fig 8e, and a concrete example is given in fig 5. A forth embodiment is shown in fig 8f. Observe that the dotted line on one of the triangle's sides symbolizes that this side has a 5 variable length. The arrow - which is not part of the invention but help for understanding the drawings - symbolises that the pivot close by the arrow can be moved in the direction of the arrow. The attachment element 4 may be regarded as being part of the pivots that attach to the fore-end. The stand 5 corresponds to the dotted segment. 0 Drawings and parts Figure 1 Example of use 5 Figure 2 First embodiment Figure 3 Function Figure 4 Second embodiment Figure 5 Third embodiment Figure 6 Other embodiments 0 Figure 7 Another form of bearing plate Figure 8 Parts schematically drawn T Shooting target (grouse for instance) 5 G Rifle J Hunter 101 Fore-end (a.k.a. forearm stock) 102 Front action-screw (a.k.a. front guard-screw) 103 Sling swivel 0 104 Magazine I Supporting leg 2 Bearing plate 3 Pivot catch (crossbar for example) 4 Attachment element (plate with holes, for example) 5 5 Stand with positions (rail with recesses, for example) 6 Adjustment device (can be locked to the stand) 7 Clasping device WO 2005/108903 PCT/SE2005/000650 8 8 Fastener (screw for instance) Ia Supporting leg, first part 1b Supporting leg, second part 5 12 Axle 13 Axle 14 Axle 21 Block (or other bearing for an axle) 22 Rabbet 0 23 Peg (or other protrusion) 24 Peg (or other protrusion) 24* Hole (or other recess) 34 Axle 41 Block (or other bearing for an axle) 5 42 Hole for a screw 43 Block (or other bearing for an axle) 44 Hole for screw 45 Coupling element 45* Coupling element 0 46 Peg 51 Recess (or other position in the stand) 61 Tooth (or other thing able to lock at the stand's positions) 62 Lever 71 Clasp :5 71* Slot for clasp 71'* Slot for clasp 72 Compression spring