FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a support for a device having an optical component, and in one aspect relates to a front rest for a long range precision firearm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are various disciplines of shooting, including F-Class, which relates to long range precision shooting. F-Class belongs to a category of shooting called full bore that is broken down into several sub-disciplines, namely; F-TR (F Class target rifle uses a front bipod); F-Standard (restricted to .223 or .308); and F-Open (any calibre up to 8mm). F-Standard and F-Open allow for the use of a special front rest for precision aiming and rifle support.

Typically, a conventional front rest includes a sandbag rest which supports the rifle (up to 10kg), a base providing support and recoil control, a lockable coarse elevation adjustment assembly for large vertical adjustments. The coarse elevation adjustment assembly includes a vertical ‘rack’ column/s with large adjustment wheels on one or both sides. The conventional front rest further includes a coaxial X & Y joystick control mechanism with long handle for up-down, left-right fine adjustments, which is the primary aiming device once the coarse elevation is set and locked.

The coaxial X & Y joystick control mechanism is typically contained within a machined aluminium enclosure for strength and protection. The mechanism itself consists of a set of internal vertical flat plates which run against each other on two parallel metal (brass/steel) or Teflon™ rods with parallel mating guide channels for each axis on the adjoining plate (4 rods and 4 channels in all). Each plate runs in a plane either along the X axis or Y axis. The plates are held in place with pressure provided by the front and rear internal faces of the metal enclosure, wherein grub screws provide adjustment to the pressure. A joystick pole is connected by two spherical bearings with a fixed position spherical bearing located centrally in the front wall of the enclosure and another located centrally in the movable central plate located internally of the enclosure. When the joystick pole is moved up/down/left/right the fixed spherical bearing of the front enclosure wall stays locked with the bearing eyelet able to pivot and the second spherical bearing pivots within the movable central plate. A circular drilling or aperture holds the bearing and allows the rod to pass through. The joystick provides precision sideways and vertical travel by way of mechanical advantage.

Currently available front rests use sliding plates with shafts and guide channels housed within the enclosure. Teflon™ or general-purpose grease is used to reduce friction between shafts and guide channels. However, due to the environments in which the front rests are used, the grease deteriorates rapidly due to foreign matter ingress, such as dust and/or moisture.

The build-up of foreign matter leads to wear, which causes play or slop in the mechanism thereby leading to reduced accuracy and precision of the firearm overtime.

Competitive shooting is generally conducted in harsh environments where sand, dust and rain can ingress into the mechanism. Standard coaxial mechanisms are housed within the enclosure and the enclosure, although generally considered to be a protective barrier in the short term, can actually act as a dust and moisture trap in the long term.

Due to the length of the shafts, the contact area between the shafts and the guide channels is significant. Induced friction from dust contaminated grease and moisture increases component friction and wear rates.

Cleaning and servicing are a laborious and complex job requiring great attention to detail and precision. Some people undertake servicing every few months but typically servicing is conducted every few years due to the complexity.

Another problem with existing front rests is that over time the mechanism becomes more ‘sticky’ as grease becomes increasingly contaminated and eventually breaks down. This issue is exacerbated due to large amounts of bearing surfaces which are in contact and directly affected. As a result, a shooter may find it difficult to accurately position the rifle for shooting.

Finally, current front rests use a coaxial mechanism which translates X & Y axis joystick movement into X & Y axis movement at the sandbag support. This is achieved by plates with shafts seated in channels, which can lead to side-to-side rocking of the head and supported sandbag (lateral movement about the longitudinal axis) which in turn rolls the rifle. Increasing plate friction minimises this issue but the increased friction in the mechanism translates to a jerking action of the joystick rather than smooth progressive motion, due to high static friction.

It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention and should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide for a front rest mechanism for a long range precision firearm that can be easily cleaned. It is another object of the invention to inhibit rocking of a front rest to thereby improve accuracy and precision in aiming of a long range precision firearm. Further objects of the present invention are to overcome at least some of the aforementioned problems, or at least provide the public with a useful alternative. The foregoing objects should not necessarily be considered as cumulative and various aspects of the invention may fulfil one or more of the above objects.

Broadly the invention could be understood to comprise a front rest for a long range firearm, including an adjustment device having parallel spaced apart horizontal rods and parallel spaced apart vertical rods to facilitate fine adjustment in aiming of the long range firearm.

In one aspect of the invention, but not necessarily the broadest or only aspect, there is proposed a front rest for a long-range firearm, including: a base for placement on a surface; a coarse vertical adjustment assembly; a firearm rest member attached to a vertical float; a fine adjustment assembly engaging an elongate handle, the fine adjustment assembly comprising: two parallel spaced apart generally horizontal rods engaging respective bushings held by a horizontal float, the horizontal rods being attached to the coarse vertical adjustment assembly; and two parallel spaced apart generally vertical rods engaging respective bushings held by the horizontal float, the vertical rods being attached to the vertical float.

Preferably, the horizontal rods are fixedly attached to the coarse vertical adjustment assembly, and the vertical rods are fixedly connected to the vertical float, wherein both the horizontal rods and vertical rods slide to engage the horizontal float.

In this way the fine adjustment assembly as a whole can be raised and lowered by way of the coarse vertical adjustment assembly. The elongate handle can then be used for the fine aiming adjustment of the firearm. Preferably, the elongate handle passes through respective apertures in the horizontal float and vertical float. An end of the elongate handle may be pivotably connected to a mount bar attached to the coarse vertical adjustment assembly.

As the skilled addressee would appreciate, the coarse or rough adjustment assembly is used for large movements of the firearm, while the fine adjustment assembly is used to make the final adjustments to improve accuracy.

The front rest may include a locking member, such as but not limited to a static or friction lock, or another type of mechanical lock, which may be used once aiming of the firearm has been completed.

The base may be generally triangular in shape and include levelling screw members at each corner thereof. Each levelling screw member includes a levelling foot for anchoring the front rest in place on the ground surface during use.

The firearm rest member is preferably a sandbag rest which supports a part of the rifle thereon. The front sandbag rest is held in place by way of front, rear and side clamps.

As the reader will appreciate, the firing of ballistics results in rifle torque which is typically transferred to the firearm rest member. Therefore, it is important that the front rest is secured in place during use.

The coarse vertical adjustment assembly, in one form includes two space apart vertical screw shafts, which each engages a respective ball screw nut and float carriage. The mount bar extends between the two float carriages and the elongate handle is pivotably connected to a midpoint thereof. In this way the float carriage of the coarse vertical adjustment assembly can be positioned so that the aim of the firearm is in the general direction of the target and then the elongate handle can be used to make fine adjustment by way of the horizontal float and/or vertical float relative to the two float carriages of the coarse vertical adjustment assembly, to improve accuracy.

The coarse vertical adjustment assembly further includes an adjustment handwheel and a belt that engages pulley/bearing assemblies connected to respective screw shafts. The coarse vertical adjustment assembly may be lockable or the friction of the assembly may be sufficient to inhibit movement when a bullet is fired.

The belt that engages the pulley/bearing assemblies may be housed within a portion of the base and include a cover or covers to inhibit ingress of dust or moisture. The handwheel is positioned at a rear of the base, such that a user can manipulate the coarse vertical adjustment assembly from a firing position.

The front rest may include a rifle stop configured to abut the front of a rifle stock or rail, thereby to correctly position the firearm relative to the front rest. The rifle stop is preferably attached to the front of the vertical float such that as the fine adjustment assembly is manipulated the position of the rifle stop is fixed relative the firearm rest member. In one form the rifle stop includes a bump stop to inhibit damage to the firearm.

In another aspect of the invention there is proposed a method of aiming a long range firearm, including the steps of: providing a front rest, comprising a base, a coarse vertical adjustment assembly, a firearm rest member, a fine adjustment assembly engaging an elongate handle, the fine adjustment assembly including two parallel spaced apart generally horizontal rods engaging respective bushings held by a horizontal float, the horizontal rods being attached to the vertical adjustment device, and two parallel spaced apart generally vertical rods engaging respective bushings held by the horizontal float, the vertical rods being attached to the vertical float; positioning a part of the long range firearm on the firearm rest member; manipulating the coarse vertical adjustment assembly to aim the long range firearm towards a target; and manipulating the fine adjustment assembly to undertake vertical and/or horizontal adjusting of the aim, to thereby improve accuracy. In still another aspect of the invention, there is proposed a rest for an optical sight device, including: a base for placement on a surface; a coarse vertical adjustment assembly; an engagement member attached to a vertical float, for engagement with the optical sight device; a fine adjustment assembly engaging an elongate handle, the fine adjustment assembly, comprising: two parallel spaced apart generally horizontal rods engaging respective bushings held by a horizontal float, the horizontal rods being attached to the coarse vertical adjustment assembly; and two parallel spaced apart generally vertical rods engaging respective bushings held by the horizontal float, the vertical rods being attached to the vertical float.

In one form the optical sight device may be a photographic camera, video camera or telescope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view of a front rest of the present invention for a long range precision firearm;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is an exploded view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 5 is a rear view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 6 is a side view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 7 is a top view of the front rest of Figure 1 ; Figure 8 is a rear view of the front rest of Figure 1 , in a lowered position; Figure 9 is a rear view of the front rest of Figure 8, in an intermediate position; and

Figure 10 is a rear view of the front rest of Figure 8, in a raised position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, there is illustrated a front rest 10 for a long range precision firearm 12, demonstrating by way of an example, an arrangement in which the principles of the present invention may be employed. The invention will be discussed with particular reference to a front rest for a long range precision firearm, however the reader should appreciate that the invention may be used for supporting other types of firearm or may be used to support an optical sight device, such as but not limited to a photographic camera, video camera or telescope.

Turning to Figure 1 , there is illustrated one type of long range precision firearm 12 supported on the front rest 10. For the purposes of explanation, the rear rest will not be illustrated, since it would be obvious to a person skilled in the art. The firearm 12 includes an adjustable stock 14, scope 16, trigger 18, and barrel 20 with muzzle brake 22.

The front rest 10 includes a base 24, levelling screw members 26, screw shafts 28, carriages 30 and an adjustment handwheel 32. The front rest further includes an elongate handle 34, fine adjustment assembly 35, rifle stop 36 and firearm rest member/front bag 38.

As illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, the base 24 includes a raised portion 40, for accommodating components of a coarse vertical adjustment assembly 42. As illustrated in Figure 4, a belt 44 of the coarse vertical adjustment assembly 42 engages a pulley 48 and spherical bearings 46, which engage the screw shafts 28. A cover 50 is configured to enclose these components of the coarse vertical adjustment assembly 42. The adjustment handwheel 32 is connected to a coarse lift shaft 52, drive handle bearing mount 54, bushing 56, and E-clip 58. The coarse lift shaft 52 engages driven shaft 60, which engages worm gear 62, a drive pulley bearing mount 64, with flanged bushing 66 and bushing 68. These components are also protected by the cover 50.

The screw shafts 28 pass through apertures 69 in the raised portion 40 and engage a respective pulley 46/spherical bearings 48 having bearings 70, bearing outer retainers 72, lock nuts 74, lock nut spacers 76, bearing spacers 78 and washers 80.

The base 24 is supported on three levelling screw members 26, each including a knurled foot nut 82 and levelling foot 84.

Each screw shafts 28 engage through a bull screw nut 86 and a float carriage 88. The front bag 38 is held in place by bag end clamps 90.

The fine adjustment assembly 35 comprising a vertical float 92, vertical float guides 94, a horizontal float 96, horizontal float guides 98, and bushings (sleeve bearing) 100, 102.

In the present embodiment the vertical float guide 94 comprises two horizontally spaced apart rods, and the horizontal float guide 98 comprises two vertically spaced apart rods, as best illustrated in Figure 4. The geometry of the spaced apart rods is important in that is provides rigidity to the front rest 10, when a bullet is fired from the rifle. This is important, in that it inhibits rocking of the firearm rest member 38 or other components of the front rest 10 which would otherwise affect the aim of the firearm and therefore the accuracy of a subsequent shot.

The linear movement of the horizontal float and vertical float along the respective parallel rods that engages respective bushings, results in smooth movement of the fine adjustment assembly, while inhibiting rocking due to torque during firing of the firearm.

The elongate float handle 34, includes a ball knob 104, bearings 106, 108, 110, and pivotably engages mount bar 112. The elongate float handle 34 passes through apertures 113, 114 in the horizontal and vertical floats 92, 96. The clamps 90 are held in place by clamp spindles 115, and clamp spindle nuts 116. Bag side clamps 118 and 120 are position at the front and rear of the front bag 38.

The rifle-stop 36, is positioned forward of the front bag 38, being attached to a bump stop 122, and includes fasteners 124, 126 and O-ring 128. As further illustrated in Figure 4, various other types of fasteners are used and are generally given the reference number 130.

Figures 5 to 7 illustrate the elongate handle 34 in a generally neutral position, wherein it extends horizontally and rearwardly from the front rest 10. As the reader will appreciate a user can grasp the ball knob 104 to move the horizontal float and vertical float, to thereby move the front bag 38 and firearm 12 resting thereon up or down and side to side, in a manner to make fine adjustments to the aim of the firearm 12.

In use, as illustrated in Figures 8 to 10, the user can make large vertical adjustments using the handwheel 32 to raise and lower the float carriages 88, which in turn moves the fine adjustment assembly 35 and the firearm 12 resting thereon. The elongate handle 34 can then be used to adjust the fine adjustment assembly 35 to make small modification to the aim of the firearm 12.

Figure 8 illustrates the float carriages 88 in a fully lowered position, such that they abut the raised portion 40 of the base 24. The elongate handle 34 is illustrated in a position angled down and to the left of the front rest 10. Accordingly, the vertical float 92 is positioned in a lowered position relative to the horizontal float 96, while the horizontal float 96 is positioned to the left of the horizontal float guide 98.

As the reader will appreciate the vertical float 92 is fixedly connected to the vertical float guide 94, wherein the rods of the vertical float guide 94 slidably engage the horizontal float 96, and the horizontal float 96 slidably engages the rods of the horizontal float guide 98. This means that the user can smoothly move the front bag 38 up or down and side to side to make fine adjustments.

As further illustrated in Figures 8 to 10 the position of the rifle-stop 36 relative to the front bag 38 does not change during adjustment of the front rest 10.

Figure 9 illustrates the float carriages 88 in a partially raised position, wherein the handwheel 32 has been used to move the float carriages 88 up the screw shafts 28. The elongate handle 34 is illustrated in the neutral position such that the horizontal float 96 is positioned midway between the two float carriages 88, and the vertical float 92 is at a midpoint relative to the horizontal float 96.

Figure 10 illustrates the float carriages 88 in a fully raised position such that they are positioned at a top of a respective screw shaft 28. The elongate handle 34 is illustrated in a position angled up and to the right of the front rest 10. Accordingly, the vertical float 92 is in a raised position relative to the horizontal float 96, while the horizontal float 96 is positioned to the right of the horizontal float guide 98.

The reader should now appreciate that using the two horizontal rods and two vertical rods with linear bearings for coaxial translation of movement means that play or slop in the assembly is minimised during use. The side-to-side rocking of the head is also minimised during firing of a bullet, thereby providing a stable platform for the rifle without unwanted roll. These parallel horizontal rods and parallel vertical rods that move linearly through manifold blocks of the horizontal float 96 provide advantages over the prior art.

In the present embodiment, many of the running parts of the mechanism, which are vulnerable to wear, are externally accessible, rather than positioned within an enclosure, as disclosed in the prior art. This enables easy access for regular cleaning of foreign matter, thereby reducing grease contamination which may lead to wear and deterioration of the mechanism. The configuration improves the ease of cleaning, which reduces the quantity and concentration of contamination affecting the mechanism.

The use of ‘self-cleaning’ components and the reduction in the number of components also improves the longevity of the device. This means the horizontal and vertical rods can be easily cleaned both automatically during action using a ‘self cleaning’ wiper ring or manually by hand with a cloth, as they are generally exposed rather than contained within an enclosure. Furthermore, reducing the number of components within the mechanism reduces cleaning time.

The configuration of the present embodiment minimises the bearing surface area. Therefore, all bearing contacts may be ball type bearings, and for rods of the fine adjustment assembly, which could also be considered a ‘joystick’ mechanism, linear bearing are used. For the coarse column adjustment linear ball screw columns and bearings are used.

The skilled addressee will now appreciate the advantages of the illustrated invention over the prior art. In one form the illustrated invention provides a front rest for a long range firearm that is easy to clean, has high precision, a longer life and/or is more stable than the devices disclosed in the prior art. The illustrated invention also provides a geometrically rigid and stable front rest for a long range firearm.

Since foreign objects, such as dirt and other debris, are removed both during the joystick action, by way of wiper rings, and at the end of use, when a user wipes down the rods, the wear associated with degradation of lubricant is reduced. This is because the lubricant is sealed within the bearing pack and within the structural blocks. The rods and linear bearings provide rigid high stability platforms even under low friction operation.

The reduction in wear means that the front rest provides high precision that is retained throughout the serviceable life of the front rest.

As the reader will appreciate the linear bearing coaxial mechanism isolates vertical motion from horizontal. This enables increased vertical friction to prevent disturbance to the waterline (requires the counterbalance) while retaining low friction horizontal movement. The skilled addressee will appreciate that this is a key element to modern shooting styles and one which all other joystick rests (utilising internal plates and flat bearing surfaces) cannot perform.

The configuration of the present invention inhibits rocking of the head laterally (side-to-side) due to the horizontal shafts and linear bearings. As would be appreciated lateral rocking of the head causes ‘rifle-cant’ during the rifle shot and translates into stray shots. Rifle-cant can be defined as to action to set at an angle or to pitch to one side. It is most commonly used to describe a situation where the shooter is positioned on a slope and the rifle is not held vertically true or straight up and down

Another advantage with the present invention is that the coarse adjustments can be made while looking through the scope and without disturbance to the shooter’s position. This is particularly helpful for physically impaired shooters or shooters making fast mid-string adjustments. In one form the coarse adjustment does not require a locking mechanism and is modified by simply turning the adjustment handwheel. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate the invention and it is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.