HANDGUN BRACE/STOCK ADAPTOR

Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 63/556,611 filed Feb. 22, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 63/568,326 filed Mar. 21, 2024, the disclosures of both provisional patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention relates to firearm attachments, and has specific relevance to firearm attachments that connect a rifle stock or brace to a pistol frame.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Handguns, such as pistols and revolvers, are traditionally designed and intended for one or two handed manipulation. By contrast, long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, are “shouldered” with both hands and cheek on the weapon and the weapon stabilized or rested against the shooter's shoulder. Shouldering a firearm provides at least three points of contact to stabilize the weapon while a handgun has only one or two points of contact, thereby making handguns less stable and effective under certain circumstances.

The handgun brace/stock adaptors of this invention allows commonly available AR-style rifle stocks and pistol braces to be attached to the grip of a conventional handgun. The adaptors are a single integral component having a grip saddle that affixes the adaptor to a handgun, a buffer tube receiver that connects the buffer to the adaptor, and an elongated neck or bridge integrally connecting the grip saddle and the buffer tube receiver. The adaptors allow a shooter to “shoulder” the handgun against the shooter's torso, while maintaining a conventional two handed grip on the handgun, which improves accuracy and safety. When shouldered, the attachment positions the bore axis of the handgun close to the shooter's natural line of sight. The adaptor also integrates an accessory rail interface and a quick detach feature for mounting optics and connecting a rifle sling to the attachment. The adaptors of this invention may be modified and configured in various embodiments for use with any conventional handgun, but are specifically designed and intended for semi-automatic pistols. Similarly, the handgun attachment of this invention may be adapted and configured to use with any style of rifle stock, but is specifically designed and intended for the various commonly available AR-15 style rifle stocks and braces.

The above described features and advantages of the handgun brace/stock adaptor of this invention, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may take form in various system and method components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating exemplary embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The drawings illustrate the present invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top rear perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the handgun brace/stock adaptor of this invention:

FIG. 2 is a bottom front perspective view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the adaptor for FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the adaptor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the adaptor of FIG. 1 connecting a conventional pistol to a conventional AR style buffer tube and collapsible stock;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the adaptor and pistol of FIGS. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a top rear perspective view of the adaptor and pistol of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a shooter shouldering the pistol, adaptor, buffer and stock of FIGS. 9; and FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the adaptor of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The handgun brace/stock adaptor of this invention (the “adaptor”) allows conventional AR-style rifle stocks and pistol braces to be attached to the grip of a conventional handgun. Like conventional handguns, AR-15 style stocks and braces, and AR-15 style buffer tubes are well known in the firearms industry and readily available to both the military/law enforcement and civilian markets. The adaptors of this invention may be adapted and configured in various embodiments for use with any conventional handgun, but are specifically designed and intended for semi-automatic pistols. Similarly, the handgun attachment of this invention may be adapted and configured to use with any style of rifle stock, but is specifically designed and intended for the various AR-15 style rifle stock or pistol brace. The adaptor allows a shooter to “shoulder” the handgun against the shooter's torso, while maintaining a conventional two handed grip on the handgun. When shouldered, the attachment positions the bore axis of the handgun close the shooter's natural line of sight. The adaptor also integrate an accessory rail interface and a quick detach feature for mounting optics and connecting a rifle sling to the attachment.

FIGS. 1-12 show an exemplary embodiment of the handgun brace/stock adaptor of this invention, which is designated generally as reference number 100. For simplicity of illustration and explanation, adaptor 100 is illustrated connecting a conventional semi-automatic pistol 10 to a conventional AR-15 style buffer tube 20 and collapsible rifle stock 30.

Pistol 10 is illustrated as a conventional striker filed pistol, such as the Glock 19, manufactured by the Austrian company, Glock Ges.m.b.H. The construction and operation of semi-automatic pistols are generally well known and understood in the art. Pistol 10 includes a barrel (not shown), a reciprocating slide 12 and a polymer frame, having a grip 14. Pistol grip 14 has removable roll pin (“the trigger housing pin”) 16. Roll pin 16 forms part of the fire control mechanism of striker fired pistols. Pin 16 is pressed into a lateral through bore in grip 14. As shown, pistol 10 also has a protrusion (“beaver tail”) 18 extending from the back of grip 14. Beaver tail 18 extends over the top of a shooter's hand and is designed to prevent the user's hand from slipping off the grip of the gun during recoil.

Buffer tube 20 and rifle stock 30 are illustrated as generic conventional AR-15 style buffer tubes and stocks. Buffer tube 20 has an externally threaded pistol end 22. Rifle stock 30 slides onto buffer tube 20 and can be selectively positioned along the length of the buffer tube. Generally, rifle stocks and pistol braces are slidably mounted over the buffer tube and secured at different positions along the tube to selectively set the weapon's “length of pull.” In AR-15 style weapons, buffer tubes are connected to the weapon's upper receiver and houses the weighted buffers and buffer springs, which dampen the movement of the bolt carrier group and form part of the AR-15's fire control mechanism.

As shown, handgun brace/stock adaptor 100 is cast or machined from an aluminum alloy as a single integral component. In other exemplary embodiments, adaptor 100 may be formed or molded from a suitable polymer material. As shown, adaptor 100 has a grip saddle 110, a buffer tube receiver 120 and a elongated neck or bridge integrally connecting the grip saddle and buffer receiver. Generally, adaptor is an elongated element with a grip end 102 and a stock end 104 and a longitudinal axis A-A that is generally parallel to the bore axis of pistol 10 and slide 12 when the attachment is affixed to pistol 10.

Grip saddle 110 forms part of pistol end 102 of adaptor 100 and is configured to receive and mate against pistol grip 14 and beaver tail 18 of pistol 10 (FIGS. 8-10). As shown, grip saddle 110 attaches to pistol 10 along the rear of pistol grip 14 beneath slide 12 partially covering the upper rear portion of pistol grip 14 and enclosing “beaver tail” 18. Grip saddle 110 has contoured grip cover 112 and a pair of side members or “wings” 114. Grip saddle 110 also has a curved inner surface 113 configured to correspond to the shape and contour of pistol grip 14 and beaver tail 18 and outer surface 115 that is configured and textured to be used as a graspable extension of pistol grip 14 and beaver tail 18. Side wings 114 extend over and around beaver tail 18 beneath slide 12. Grip saddle 110 is affixed to pistol grip 14 by pin 16 which extends through aligned bores 119 in grip saddle 110 as well as its intended lateral bore in pistol grip 14. Often, roll pin 16 is a longer replacement pin from the trigger housing pin normally used in pistol 10. Roll pin 16 provides a mechanical component that affixes adaptor 100 to pistol 10. Adhesives and adhesive tapes (not shown) may be applied to the mating surfaces of grip saddle 110 and pistol grip 14 to further secure adaptor 100 to pistol 10. Grip saddle 110 provides a single point of connection to pistol 10 at the top of grip 14 without any addition support beam at the bottom of the grip, which may interfere with the shooter's manipulation of the pistol.

Buffer tube receiver 120 forms part of stock end 104 of adaptor 100 and is configured to received buffer tube 20 (FIGS. 9 and 12). The rear of buffer tube receiver 120 has an internally threaded cylindrical bore 121 for receiving buffer tube 20. The center axis B-B of buffer tube bore 121 extends at an angle α from attachment longitudinal axis A-A. Angle α range generally between 10 degrees and 35 degrees. Angle α is selected to elevate pistol 10 in the shooter's field of view when pistol 10 is shouldered using adaptor 100. The front of buffer tube receiver 120 has a swivel socket 122 for receiving a conventional quick detach sling swivel (not shown). Socket 122 allows a rifle sling to be easily connected to adaptor 100 using a quick detach swivel. The top of buffer tube receiver 120 has an integral rail interface 140 for detachably connecting firearm accessories, namely optics and optic mounts (not shown) to adaptor 100. For simplicity of explanation, rail interface 140 is illustrated as a Mil-spec 1913 rail (“Picatinny rail”) although other rail interfaces, such a the M-LOK® system from Magpul Industries Corporation of Austin, Texas, may be integrated into buffer tube receiver 120.

Bridge 130 is a narrow beam that integrally connects grip saddle 110 and buffer tube receiver 120. Bridge 130 has a generally rectangular cross section. Bridge 130 has a flat top surface 132, a bottom surface 134 and opposed sides 136. As shown the width of bridge 130 is narrower than the respective widths of grip saddle 110 and buffer tube receiver 120. As shown, the top edges of grip saddle 110, bridge top surface 132 and the top of rail interface 140 all lie in a plane parallel axis A-A and the bore axis of pistol 10. The alignment of grip saddle 110, bridge 130 and rail interface 140 allow pistol slide 12 to cycle unimpeded and reciprocate adaptor 100 when affixed to pistol 10.

As shown in FIGS. 12, adaptor 100 is configured so that a shooter can easily grasp pistol 10 and grip saddle 110 with either hand when the adaptor is affixed to pistol 10. Adaptor 100 allows a shooter to support or “shoulder” pistol 10 similar to a long gun, while maintaining a two handed grip of the pistol. The configuration adaptor 100 also allows a shooter to present and holster pistol 10 with the buffer tube and stock connected to the pistol without altering the shooter's normal weapon manipulation techniques. Pistol 10 can also be holstered with adaptor 100, buffer tube 20 and stock 30 still attached to the pistol.

FIG. 13 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of the adaptor of this invention, which is designated generally as reference numeral 200. Adaptor 200 is similar in form, function and construction to adaptor 100, but is intended for uses with “Picatinny” style rifle stocks, such as the ones available from Midwest Industries, Inc. of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Adaptor 200 has a second rail interface 260 that accepts a conventional Picatinny style rifle stock, brace or pad (not shown) instead of a buffer tube. Rail interface 260 is integrated into the end wall of adaptor 200.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that an invention having significant advantages has been provided. While the invention is shown in only a few of its forms, it is not just limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. The embodiment of the present invention herein described and illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is presented to explain the invention so that others skilled in the art might utilize its teachings. The embodiment of the present invention may be modified within the scope of the following claims.