US3703123A

US3703123A - Stand for light firearms

Info

Publication number: US3703123A
Application number: US59057A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kurt Horn
Original assignee: Heckler und Koch GmbH
Current assignee: Heckler und Koch GmbH
Priority date: 1969-07-30
Filing date: 1970-07-29
Publication date: 1972-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 1989-11-21
Also published as: BE753968A; NL7011228A; DE1938592A1; GB1304410A; FR2101289A5

Abstract

A stand for light firearms is substantially in the form of a tripod and includes a firearm support one end of which is connected to the stand by means of a universal joint, and the other end of which is pivotally connected to one end of a vertical strut the other end of which is supported by a device which is slidable and detainable on a horizontally disposed guide of the stand to permit lateral aiming adjustment of the firearm support, the strut comprising a screw-threaded spindle and a sleeve in which it is longitudinally displaceable for adjusting the effective length of the strut, the sleeve supporting a screwthreaded jaw which embraces the spindle by less than 180* and which is disengageable therefrom for coarse length adjustment, and the spindle being rotatable while in mesh with the jaw for fine length adjustment.

Description

United States Patent Nov. 21, 1972 Horn [54] STAND FOR LIGHT FIREARMS [72] Inventor: Kurt Horn, Oberndorf, Germany [73] Assignee: Heckler & Koch GmbH, Oberndorf,

Germany [22] Filed: July 29, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 59,057

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 30, 1969 Germany ..P 19 38 592.3

[52] U.S. Cl. ..89/40 E [51] Int. Cl. ..F4lf 21/04 [58] Field of Search ..42/94; 89/37 B, 40 E [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,728,757 9/1929 Haubroe ..89/40 E 959,291 5/1910 Benet et al. ..89/4O E 2,346,172 4/1944 Lennon et al. ..89/37 B 1,670,621 5/1928 Henneveld ..89/40 E FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 682,126 10/1939 Germany ..89/40 E Primary Examiner-Stephen C. Bentley AttorneyCraig & Antonelli ABSTRACT A stand for light firearms is substantially in the form of a tripod and includes a firearm support one end of which is connected to the stand by means of a universal joint, and the other end of which is pivotally connected to one end of a vertical strut the other end of which is supported by a device which is slidable and detainable on a horizontally disposed guide of the stand to permit lateral aiming adjustment of the firearm support, the strut comprising a screw-threaded spindle and a sleeve in which it is longitudinally displaceable for adjusting the effective length of the strut, the sleeve supporting a screw-threaded jaw which embraces the spindle by less than 180 and which is disengageable therefrom for coarse length adjustment, and the spindle being rotatable while in mesh with the jaw for fine length adjustment.

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SHEET 1 BF 4 IN YE NTOR KURT HORN Antnneui, 4' ATTORNEYS PATENTEDuum m2 3. 703. 1 23 sum 2 or 4 INVENTOR K URT H ORN Cvcua, Anronelu, skewer-l q- ATTORNEYS PATENTED 21 I973 3.7 03, l 2 3 sum 3 {IF 4 Fig. 4

INVENTOR KURT HORN C-v-mc nnronelli, Stewart '& ATTORNEYS PATENTED W21 I91? 3. 703. l 23 SHEET 1; BF 4 INVENTOR KURT HORN CYQR HnroneLLL, skewer-l. ATTORNEYS STAND FOR LIGHT FIREARMS This invention relates to a stand for light firearms including a firearm support the forward end of which is connected by means of a universal joint to a support structure, such as a tripod, and the rear end of which is connected to a slide device by means of a strut the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement, the slideable device being displaceable and detainable on an arc-shaped guide forming part of the support structure.

Although in known stands of this kind the slidable device is displaceable on the guide and permits relatively quick adjustment of aim to either side, vertical aim adjustable of the firearm is time consuming and complicated because a large number of turns of the screw and nut arrangement is necessary to effect a significant change of the vertical adjustment.

The invention is based on the problem of avoiding the disadvantages of the adjustment device for the firearm carrier in known stands, and moreover of constructing the adjusting device in a particularly simple .and nevertheless extremely reliable manner.

This object is attained according to the invention in that the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screw-threaded spindle which is provided with a hand wheel and a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than 180, the jaw being provided on its surface adjacent to the spindle with teeth corresponding to the screw-thread of the spindle.

In the arrangement according to the invention, therefore, vertical adjustment can be performed very quickly by displacing the jaw radially to the spindle to such extent that its teeth become disengaged from the screw-thread of the spindle so that the spindle can be displaced in its axial direction relatively to the jaw without need for being rotated. After coarse adjustment of height has been attained in this extremely quick manner, the teeth of the jaw can be engaged again with the screw-thread of the spindle and thereafter fine adjustment can be obtained by rotating the screw-threaded spindle. Furthermore, the jaw also operates as a detent means for the screw-threaded spindle and thus for the firearm support with the firearm in the selected vertically adjusted position.

The screw-threaded spindle for example may penetrate through a slidable device and the displacea ble jaw may be disposed in the latter. In such an embodiment, however, the spindle is nearly completely unprotected and is therefore extremely exposed to soiling and damage. For this reason, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the screw-threaded spindle is rotatably mounted in the slidable device and engages into a sleeve which is pivotally attached to the firearm support and which is provided with the jaw. Although the sleeve embraces the screw-threaded spindle only for a portion of its length depending upon the vertical adjustment, it can nevertheless always be pushed completely over the screw-threaded spindle when the stand is to be conveyed, so that the spindle is then completely shrouded and thus protected. In comparison, the risk that the screw-threaded spindle is damaged or soiled when the stand has been set up in position, is relatively small. Moreover this arrangement leads to a particularly simple construction of the adjusting device.

In a further construction of the invention the jaw may be loaded by a spring which tends to hold the jaw in engagement with the screw-threaded spindle. it is understood that handling of the adjusting device of the stand is considerably simplified thereby. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the jaw is attached to a slide member which is displaceably mounted in the walls of the sleeve surrounding the screw-threaded spindle at diametrically opposite points and is provided with a longitudinal slot for the screwthreaded spindle to extend therethrough. in this way the jaw is guided in a particularly good manner so that it assumes always a defined position and engagement with the screw-thread of the spindle is particularly safe. At the same time, such a slide member, in particular when it is spring loaded, can be manipulated particularly easily. Thus, for example, the end of the slide member which is located at the side of the spindle which is located opposite the side in engagement with the jaw may be provided with a screw-threaded stub which projects from the sleeve and onto which an actuating knob is screwed. This actuating knob serves simultaneously as a screw clamp which can be tightened against a collar which surrounds the stud and which is attached to the sleeve. in this embodiment of the invention, therefore, not only can the slide member with the jaw attached thereto be displaced particularly easily, but at the same time the jaw can be pressed tightly against the screw-threaded spindle so that a safe detent of the firearm support with the firearm thereon is ensured.

In order to protect the respective exposed part of the screw-threaded spindle and conversely also to protect the user against injury by the screw-thread of the spindle which may have sharp edges, a further embodiment of the invention may provide a cover plate mounted at the ends of the screw-threaded spindle, which extends over the length of the screw-threaded spindle and, in the peripheral direction, over the arc section not covered by the jaw. Such cover plate may serve simultaneously as carrier for a scale and may be provided with a suitable engraving for facilitating height adjustment.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the screw-threaded spindle is not rigidly mounted in the slidable device but is displaceable therein in its longitudinal direction and is coupled to a hand lever which makes it possible to afford to the screw-threaded spindie a displacement motion in its longitudinal direction. This device permits a simple and quick change of the vertical firing angle within certain limits and makes therefore a variation of the vertical spread possible in a simple manner, without there being any need for changing the fundamentally selected adjustments of the stand or for releasing the firearm more or less from the stand on the support.

A particularly simple embodiment of this device for varying the vertical spread is obtained when the slidable device is provided with a mounting block for the screw-threaded spindle, a forked end of the hand lever surrounds the mounting block and the hand lever is pivotally mounted at the ends of the prongs of the fork about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the screw-threaded spindle and which is approximately tangential to the screwthreaded spindle in the region of the side thereof adjacent to the open end of the fork,

and the fork and the mounting block are penetrated by a pin which engages in an appropriate longitudinal groove of the screw-threaded spindle on the side of the screw-threaded spindle remote from the pivot axis. Upon pivotal displacement of the hand lever, the screw-threaded spindle is driven by means of the pin which engages into the circular groove of the screwthreaded spindle so that a simple pivotal displacement of the hand lever effects the axial displacement of the screw-threaded spindle. In order that the screwthreaded spindle assumes a defined position when the device for varying the vertical spread is not used, a fixing pin may be displaceably and detainably mounted in the stem of the fork-shaped hand lever for the purpose of detaining the screw-threaded spindle, the fixing pin being insertable into an appropriate opening of the mounting block for the purpose of detaining the screwthreaded spindle in a certain rest position.

In a further construction of the invention, the slidable device may be provided with two clamping members which are disposed at a spacing from each other and which are connected to each other by means of a rod, and a mounting block for the screw-threaded spindle may be pivotally mounted on the rod. This construction of the slidable device permits compensation of changes of angle between the strut and the stand structure which occur upon vertical displacement of the firearm support, without need for a pivotal mounting of any kind of the slidable device itself. The guide for the slidable device may therefore have any desired cross-section. This embodiment of the slidable device has a particularly simple construction and moreover leads to a further development in which the mounting block is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the rod in order to provide thereby a facility for fine adjusting of the lateral aiming position. Thus the mounting block may advantageously be provided with a screwthreaded stub which extends parallel to the rod and which engages into an adjusting knob which is rotatably, but non-displaceably connected to one of the clamping members. By rotation of this adjusting knob, the mounting block and together with it the strut and the firearm support are then displaceable in the slidable device parallel to the guide so that the firearm support, and together therewith the firearm, performs a pivotal movement to one side. An arm may be pivotally disposed on the rod connecting the clamping members one to the other in the region of a clamping member, and may engage by means of its concavely constructed end face into a circular groove of the adjusting knob. Such arrangement again is characterized by its extremely simple construction, yet high operative reliability.

As mentioned already, the arc-shaped guide of the stand according to the invention may have any desired cross-section. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the arc-shaped guide comprises a flat rail which may be formed for example by a limb of an angle profile, and the clamping members may be provided with a bow spring which surrounds the rail, the inside of one limb of the spring resting on a face of the rail and the inner surface of the other limb resting on a cam which is pivotally mounted in the clamping member, the cam spreading the bow spring apart in one position and thereby pressing its one limb tightly against the rail.

Such construction of the clamping member is extremely simple, extremely robust and ensures in any case perfect clamping. It is particularly simple when the cam is formed by a rod which is rotatably mounted in the clamping member and which is provided with a flat in the region of the bow spring. The bow spring is relaxed and the clamping member is displaceable on the rail as long as the flat is located opposite the corresponding limb of the bow spring. When, however, the rod is rotated by means of a hand lever to such extent that the peripheral surface of the full rod comes into engagement with the inner surface of the limb of the bow spring, the respective limb is pressed outwardly and the other limb is placed against the rail. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this rod provided with flats in the region of the bow springs constitutes simultaneously the rod which joins the two clamping members of the slidable device one to the other, whereby the construction of this slidable device is still further simplified.

Each of the damping members may be formed in a particularly simple manner we bow-shaped mounting member the lateral edges of the limbs of which rest upon the rail, the bow-shaped mounting member being provided with projections which engage over the edges of the rail. The rod is then mounted in the limbs of this bow-shaped mounting member and the bow spring is disposed in the region between the limbs of this mounting member in such manner that its limbs are located between the limbs of the mounting member but extend in the opposite direction thereof. In this case, arms may be attached in the slidable device to one of the two clamping members in the gaps between the limbs of the bow-shaped mounting member and the bow spring, the arms extending radially away from the rod and their free ends being connected by a grip member; the arms serve for rotating the rod and thus for clamping the slidable device to and releasing it from the rail, whereas the arm which is in engagement with the circular groove of the adjusting knob is mounted in the other one of the two clamping members in the gaps referred to. The slidable device is thus reduced to a minimum of extremely simple component parts and can therefore be produced with a minimum of cost, in spite of its good properties of use.

The clamping members arranged to form the slidable device may alternatively be used separately by themselves and may be utilized as stops on the arc-shaped guide rail of the stand on the two sides of the slidable device. Each stop consists then of a bow-shaped mounting member, a bow spring and a rod mounted in the limbs of the bow-shaped mounting member, the rod having a flat or any other cam surface and being provided with a radially extending actuating member by means of which rotation of the rod about its longitudinal axis can be effected. Preferably the rod is provided with two arms each of which is located in the gap between the bow spring and the limbs of the bowshaped mounting member which are laterally adjacent thereto and which are connected to each other at their free ends by a grip member.

Further details and constructional features of the invention may be seen from the following description in which the invention is described and explained in detail with reference to a constructional example illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In other embodiments of the invention the features which may be taken from the description and the drawings may be used separately by themselves or a plurality thereof in any desirable combination. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a firearm stand according to the invention, in perspective view,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an individual clamping member of the stand according to FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale,

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate sections along the lines III III and IV IV through the clamping member according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 illustrates a vertical section through the vertical displacement device of the stand according to FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale, and

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate sections along the lines VI VI and VII VII through the device according to FIG. 5.

FIG. 1 illustrates a firearm stand or tripod intended for a machine gun and comprises a frame-shaped structure l, which consists of two tubular members 4 which are connected at one end by an angle member 2 and near the other end by an arc-shaped guide 3, and on which a firearm support 5 is attached at its forward end by means of a universal joint 6 mounted on the angle member 2 and at its rear end by means of an adjusting device 7 which is displaceably mounted on the arcshaped guide 3, so that the firearm support is pivotal vertically and laterally. The frame-shaped structure 1 is supported by three legs 8, one of which is pivotally attached to the angle member 2 and the others of which are pivotally attached to the two ends 9 of the tubular members 4, the ends 9 projecting beyond the arcshaped guide 3. The legs 8 are provided at their outer ends with shoes 10 which secure and stabilize the stand on any ground surface. The legs can be moved into a desired position and can be locked in such position by means of adjusting devices 11 which are provided at their upper ends.

The arc-shaped guide 3 for the adjusting device 7 has an angular cross-section and the upper limb forms a rail 12 on which a slidable device 13 of the adjusting device as well as two stops 14, one on each side of the slidable device, are disposed in a displaceable and detainable manner. The stops may serve for defining definite positions for the slidable device 13 on the guide 3 into which the slidable device can be moved even in darkness, if certain targets are to be fired at for which the aiming position has been predetermined and fixed by means of the stops. Moreover, the guide 3 may be provided with a graduated scale which facilitates the aim setting of the firearm and re-adjustment to defined directional positions.

As may be seen from FIGS. 2 to 4 the stops 14 consist substantially of a U-shaped bow-shaped mounting member 21, which rests by the lateral edges of its two limbs on the upper surface of the rail 12 which is formed by the limb 12 of the angle profile constituting the guide 3. In the region of its yoke 24 and also at the forward ends of its limbs, the mounting member 21 has

projections

22 and 23. The projections 23 engage over the edges of the rail 12, and the projection 22 in the region of the yoke 24 of the bow-shaped member 21 rests on the outside of the second limb of the angle profile forming the guide 3; the projections 23 at the free ends of the limbs of the mounting member 21 moreover engage under the edge of the rail 12. As indicated clearly in FIG. 4, these projections 23 are additionally cranked inwardly.

Between the limbs of the mounting member 21 there is located a bow spring 25 the limbs of which extend in the opposite direction to the limbs of the mounting member 21 and moreover are disposed in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane in which the limbs of the mounting member 21 are located and to which the rail 12 extends parallel.

It is particularly clear from FIG. 3 that the one limb 26 of the bow spring 25 rests against the underside of the rail 12, that is to say against the side of the rail remote from the limbs of the mounting member 21.

. The bow spring 25 engages around this rail, and its other limb 27 is consequently located close to the lateral edge of the mounting member 21 which is remote from the rail 12. In the space enclosed by the two bow-shaped

members

21 and 25 there is located a rod 28 which is rotatably mounted in the limbs of the bow-shaped mounting member and is provided with a flat surface 29 in the region of the bow spring 25. In the gap between the two limbs of the mounting member 21 and the bow spring 25, radially extending arms 30 are attached to the rod 28 and are connected together by a grip member 31 at their free ends which project beyond the limbs of the mounting member 21. The arms 30 with the grip member 31 form an actuating member by means ofwhich the rod 21 can be rotated about its longitudinal axis.

When the actuating

member

30, 31 assumes the position illustrated in FIG. 3, the full periphery of the rod 28 lies against the inside of the limb 27 of the bow spring 25 and thereby spreads this bow spring apart so that the lower limb 26 of the bow spring is pressed tightly against the underside of the rail 12. Simultaneously, pressure is exerted upon the mounting member 21 by the force of the bow spring by way of the rod 28, owing to which the edges of the limbs of the mounting member are pressed tightly upon the upper side of the rail 12. In the position illustrated of the actuating

member

30, 31, therefore, the stop 14 is clamped securely on the arc-shaped guide 3 and is therefore safely detained in the selected position. The clamping effected by the bow spring 25 can be released in that the arms 30 with the grip member 31 are pivoted in the clockwise direction in the illustration according to FIG. 3, that is to say upwardly in the direction defined above, so that the flat surface 29 on the rod 28 comes into the region of the limb 27 of the bow spring 25, whereby this limb is released and the bow spring 25 can relax. The clearance between the

limbs

26 and 27 of the bow spring is then greater than the spacing between the underside of the rail 12 and the flat surface 29 on the rod 28 so that the bow spring 25 is completely loose and consequently the mounting member 21 is no longer pressed against the rail 12. It can then be freely displaced until a selected position the actuating

member

30, 31 is rotated again into the clamping position.

The end 32 of the limb 27 of the bow spring 25 cooperating with the rod 28 is bent in such manner that it engages behind the rod 28 so that the bow spring 25 cannot slide off the rod and the rail 12 and cannot fall out of the mounting member 21.

Imamu s o As may be seen particularly clearly from FIG. 6, the slidable device 13 disposed on the arc-shaped guide 3 of the adjusting device 7 for the fire arm support consists substantially of two clamping members 41 which are connected to each other by means ofa rod 42. The clamping members 41 have in principle the same construction as the stops 14, and each consists of a mounting member 21 which rests in the manner described above against the upper side of the rail 12 of the guide 3, and a bow spring 25 is located between the limbs thereof and embraces the rail 12 in the manner described above. The rod 42 connecting the two.

clamping members 41 is rotatably mounted in the limbs of the mounting members 21 and serves simultaneously for tensioning the bow spring 25. It has therefore the flat surfaces 29 referred to above in the region of these bow springs. An actuating member which consists of arms 30 and a grip member 31 is attached only in the region of the upper clamping member 41 in FIG. 6, whereas in the other or lower clamping member 41 an arm 43 is pivotally mounted on the rod 42 the object of which will be explained further below. It is clear that the slidable device consisting of the two clamping members 41 and the rod 42 can be clamped tightly to the guide 3, and displaced thereon after release of the clamping, in the same manner as the stops l4 referred to previously.

In the region between the two clamping members 41, a mounting block 45 is pivotally attached to the rod 42 on two holder arms 44 and is at the same time displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the rod 42. A compression coil spring 46 is located on the rod 42 between the holder arms 44 and is supported on the one hand at the inner surface of one of the arms 44 and on the other hand on a disc 47 fixed to the rod 42. The compression coil spring 46 tends to press the outside of the holder arm of the mounting block 45 loaded thereby against the inside of the adjacent clamping member 41. This is the same clamping member 'in which the arm 43 referred to above is pivotally mounted. One end of this arm 43 is provided with a concave end face and engages into the circular groove 48 on an adjusting knob 49 which has an internal screw-thread 50 and which is screwed upon a screwthreaded stub which is fixed in the mounting block 45 parallel to the rod 42 of the slidable device 13. By rotation of the adjusting knob 49, therefore, the screw threaded stub can be screwed more or less out of the adjusting knob 49 or into the adjusting knob so that ac cordingly the mounting block 45 with its arms 44 is displaced on the rod 42 of the slidable device because the adjusting knob 49 is held in a fixed position relatively to the slidable device by the arm 43 mounted in the one clamping member 41. Whereas, thus, the slidable device with its clamping members 41 provides means for a quick displacement of the slidable device on the guide 3 and thereafter a secure fixing of the slidable device to effect a coarse adjustment, the displaceability of the mounting block 45 on the rod 42 by means of the adjusting knob 49 provides a facility for fine adjustment.

A screw-threaded spindle 52 is rotatable in the mounting block 45 perpendicularly to the direction of the rod 42, and a handwheel 53 is attached thereto closely above the mounting block. The screw-threaded spindle 52 engages by its free end into a sleeve 54 which is provided at its end remote from the handwheel 53 with an eye 55, by means of which it is pivotally attached in a manner not illustrated in detail to the rear end of the firearm support 5. The screw-threaded spindle 52 and the sleeve 54 together form a strut which is telescopically variable in its length and by means of which the spacing of the rear end of the firearm support 5 from the guide 3 and therefore the elevation angle of the firearm support and the firearm attachedthereto is variable. For this purpose a slide member 56 is provided in the sleeve 54 and is displaceable diametrically to the screw-threaded spindle 52; in the region of its center it has a slot 57 through which extends the screwthreaded spindle 52. The slide member 56 is provided at one end with a pin 58 which engages into an opening 59 of an enlargement 60 which is provided on the sleeve 54 and the outer surface of which forms at the same time a grip depression 61. Opposite the enlargement 60 a short tube 62 is attached to the sleeve 54 in which the other end of the slide member 56 is guided. A screw-threaded pin 63 is attached to the slide member 56 and projects from this short tube 62 and supports an actuating knob 64 screwed thereon. This actuating knob is secured by a spring disc 65 attached to the free end of the pin 63 and-is provided at its end face adjacent to the short tube 62 with a sealing means 66 and flange 67 which engages over a collar formed by the short tube. i

On the side on which the pin 58 is located which engages into the enlargement 60, the slide member 56 is provided with a jaw 68. The face of the jaw adjacent to the screw-threaded spindle 52 is provided with teeth 69 corresponding to the screw-thread of the spindle. Between this jaw and the enlargement 60 of the sleeve there is located a helical compression spring 70 which is guided in

openings

71 and 72 of the enlargement 60 and the jaw 68, respectively, and which tends to keep the jaw in engagement with the screw-thread of the spindle 52. The jaw 68 surrounds the screw-threaded spindle on an arc of less than so that-its teeth can be moved out of the screw-thread of the spindle 52 by displacement of the slide member 56 against the force of the helical compression spring 70. This displacement can be effected after release of the actuating knob 64 by pressure upon the actuating knob 64 which may be exerted easily, for example with the thumb of one hand, whereas the fingers of this hand find support in the depression 61. After the jaw 68 has been disengaged from the screw-threaded spindle 52, the sleeve 54 can be displaced without difficulty in the longitudinal direction of the screw-threaded spindle 52 to effect a quick vertical displacement. After a coarse adjustment has been attained, the actuating knob 64 is released and the teeth 69 of the jaw 68 engage again into the screw-threaded spindle 52, so that then a screw and nut connection exists between the screw-threaded spindle 52 and the sleeve 54, and a line adjustment can be effected by rotating the screw-threaded spindle 52 by means of the hand wheel 53. When the desired position has been attained the hand wheel 64 can be secured tightly against the collar which is formed by the end of the short tube 62, so that a clamping connection between the jaw 68 and the screw-threaded spindle 52 is obtained which prevents with certainty an undesirable alteration of the selected adjustment.

lnLnn-l. In an The screw-threaded spindle 52 is not only rotatable in the mounting block 45, but is displaceable with its pin 81 also in its longitudinal direction. Its axial position is determined by a pin 82 which extends through an appropriate recess in the mounting block and en gages in the region of its center into a circular groove 83 whereas its ends engage into the prongs 84 of the fork-shaped end of a hand lever 85 which by its forkshaped end embraces the mounting block 45 and is pivotally mounted in the mounting block 45 by means of pins 86 in such manner that its pivot axis extends approximately tangentially to the side of the pin 81 of the screw-threaded spindle which is located opposite the pin 82 engaging into the circular groove 83. It is obvious that upon pivotal displacement of the hand lever 85 .,the pin 82 performs a displacement movement in the direction of the axis of the screw-threaded spindle 52 and thereby drives the screw-threaded spindle. Accordingly, the sleeve 54 and the rear end of the firearm support attached thereto also perform a displacement movement which provides the facility for vertical spread of the fire. In order to actuate the hand lever more easily a slidable pin 88 is displaceably mounted in a stem 87 thereof and supports a ball 89 serving as hand grip at its end projecting from the stem. In the face of the mounting block 45 adjacent to the stem 87 there is located a detent opening 90 into which the end of the pin 88 can be inserted in order to detain the hand lever 85, and together therewith the screw-threaded spindle 52, in a certain position. The pin 88 itself also comprises two

detent grooves

91 and 92 into which the yoke 93 of a bow spring 94 can engage, the limbs of which embrace the ends of the driver pin 82 projecting from the prongs 84 of the hand lever 85, and which are then supported on the projecting ends of the pins 86 serving for mounting the hand lever 85, in such manner that the yoke 93 of the bow spring penetrates under tension through a corresponding recess 95 in the stem 87 and engages into one of the

detent grooves

91 or 92 of the slidable pin 88. In the position of the pin 88 illustrated in FIG. 7 the pin engages into the detent opening 90 in the mounting block 45 and the yoke 93 rests in the detent groove 91 which is further remotefrom the end of the pin engaging into the detent opening 90. The pin 88 may be released from the detent opening 90 by a pull on the ball 89 and can be withdrawn from the stem 87 to such extent that the yoke 93 of the bow spring 94 engages into the other detent groove 92. As mentioned above the screw-threaded spindle 52 can be moved up and down in this case for vertical spread by displacement of the hand lever. The weight of the screwthreaded spindle and the component parts supported thereon, that is to say the sleeve 54 and the firearm sup port 5 with the firearm mounted thereon, is compensated at least partly by a helical compression spring 96 which surrounds concentrically the lower end 97 of reduced diameter of the pin 81 and is supported on the one hand on a collar 98 at the lower end of the mounting block 45 and on the other hand on a collar 99 separating the circular groove 83 from the end 97.

Above the hand wheel 53, a cover plate 76 is mounted on the screw-threaded spindle 52 by means of a lower ring 73 and an upper ring 74, the upper ring 74 being held by means of a pin 75 which is inserted and pinned in the free end of the screw-threaded spindle 52; the cover plate 76 extends in the axial direction of the screw-threaded spindle 52 over the whole length thereof which is provided with a screw-thread, and covers in the peripheral direction an arc section which is not occupied by the jaw 68, so that space is left for the jaw 68 between the edges of the cover plate 76. This cover plate protects considerable parts of the screw-threaded spindle 52 against soiling or damage even when the jaw 68 is located near the upper end of the screw-threaded spindle 52 and a considerable portion of the screw-threaded spindle projects from the lower end of the sleeve. Moreover, a scale may be provided on this cover plate 76, for example by engraving, which gives the user a reference for the vertical adjustment and which permits in particular the determination of defined vertical adjustments. It is understood that the component part 76 which is referred to as plate, may consist of steel as well as also of other materials, in particular a synthetic resin material, and may be constructed unitarily together with one or both of the

rings

73 and 74.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated by way of example, but that modifications thereof are possible without the scope of the invention being exceeded. The embodiment illustrated by way of example, however, is particularly advantageous because it combines in it all aspects of the invention.

I claim:

1. A stand for light firearms having an elevation adjusting device comprising a firearm support which is connected to a frame structure at its forward end by means ofa universal joint and at its rear end by a strut, the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement and having a slidable device which is displaceably and fixably disposed on an arc-shaped guide of the frame structure, wherein the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screwthreaded spindle provided with a hand wheel and by a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than the jaw being provided on its face adjacent to the spindle with teeth which correspond to the screw-thread of the spindle, the screw-threaded spindle being rotatably mounted in the slidable device and engaging into a sleeve pivotally attached to the firearm support, the jaw being loaded by a spring for holding the jaw in engagement with the screw-threaded spindle, and the jaw being attached to a slide member displaceably mounted in the walls of the sleeve surrounding the screw-threaded spindle at points which are disposed diametrically opposite each other, the slide member being provided with a slot for the screwthreaded spindle to extend therethrough.

2. A stand according to claim 1, wherein the end of the slide member which is located on the side of the screw-threaded spindle which is disposed opposite the side in engagement with the jaw, is provided with a screw-threaded pin projecting from the sleeve and wherein an actuating knob is screwed onto this screwthreaded pin, the knob being adapted to be tightened as clamping screw against a collar which surrounds the pin and which is attached to the sleeve.

3. A stand according to claim 2, wherein a cover plate is mounted at the ends of the screw-threaded spindle and extends over the length of the screwthreaded spindle and, in the peripheral direction, over the arc section not covered by the jaw.

4. A stand according to claim 3, wherein the screwthreaded spindle is displaceable in the slidable device also in its longitudinal direction and is coupled to a hand lever which is arranged to afford the screwthreaded spindle a displacement motion.

5. A stand according to claim 4, wherein the slidable device comprises a mounting block for the screwthreaded spindle, a fork-shaped end of the hand lever embraces the mounting block, and the hand lever is mounted at the ends of the prongs of the fork-shaped end and is pivoted about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the screw-threaded spindle and which is approximately tangential to the screw-threaded spindle in the region of its side adjacent to the open end of the fork, and the fork and the mounting block are traversed by a pin which engages into a circular groove of the screw-threaded spindle on the side of the screwthreaded spindle remote from the pivot axis.

6. A stand according to claim 5, wherein a slidable 7 pin is displaceably and detainably mounted in the stem of the fork-shaped hand lever and is adapted to be inserted into an appropriate opening of the mounting block for the purpose of detaining the screw-threaded spindle in a certain rest position.

7. A stand for light firearms having an elevation adjusting device comprising a firearm support which is connected to a frame structure at its forward end by means of a universal joint and at its rear end by a strut, the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement and having a slidable device which is displaceably and fixably disposed on an arc-shaped guide of the frame structure, wherein the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screwthreaded spindle provided with a hand wheel and by a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than 180, the jaw being provided on its face adjacent to the spindle with teeth which correspond to the screw-thread of the spindle, the slidable device including two clamping members for fixably positioning the slidable device on the arc-shaped guide, the clamping members being disposed at a spacing from each other and being connected together by a rod, and a mounting block for the screw-threaded spindle being pivotally mounted on the rod.

8. A stand according to claim 7, wherein the mounting block is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the rod and is provided with a screw-threaded pin which extends parallel to the rod and which engages into an internal screw-thread of an adjusting knob which is rotatably but non-displaceably connected to one of the clamping members.

9. A stand according to claim 8, wherein an arm is pivotally disposed on the rod connecting the clamping members to each other in the region of a clamping member and engages by means of its concave end face into a circular groove of the adjusting knob.

10. A stand according to any of claims claim 9, wherein the arc-shaped guide is provided with a flat rail and each of the clamping members is provided with a bow spring which embraces the rail, the inside of the one limb of the sprin resting on one face of the rail, the inner surface of e other limb resting on a cam pivotally mounted in the clamping member, the cam in one position spreading the bow spring apart and thereby pressing its one limb tightly against the rail.

11. A stand according to claim 10, wherein the cam is formed by a rod which is rotatably mounted in the clamping member and which is provided with a flat surface in the region of the bow spring.

12. A stand according to claim 11, wherein the rod provided with the flat surface is time the rod connecting together the two clamping members.

13. A stand according to claim 12, wherein each of the clamping members is formed by a bow-shaped mounting member which rests on the rail by the lateral edges of its limbs and which is provided with projections engaging over the edges of the rail, wherein the rod is mounted in the limbs of this mounting member, and wherein the bow spring is disposed in the region between the limbs of this bow-shaped mounting member in such manner that its limbs are located between the limbs of the mounting member and extend in a direction opposite to these limbs.

14. A stand according to claim 13, wherein arms are attached to the rod in one of the two clamping members in the gaps between the limbs of the mounting member and the bow-shaped clamping member which arms extend radially away from the rod and which are connected to their free end by a grip member, whereas in the other of the two clamping members an arm is mounted in the gaps referred to which is in engagement with the circular groove of the adjusting knob.

15. A stand according to claim 9, further including clamping members disposed on the arc-shaped guide on both sides of the slidable device.

Claims

1. A stand for light firearms having an elevation adjusting device comprising a firearm support which is connected to a frame structure at its forward end by means of a universal joint and at its rear end by a strut, the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement and having a slidable device which is displaceably and fixably disposed on an arc-shaped guide of the frame structure, wherein the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screw-threaded spindle provided with a hand wheel and by a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than 180* , the jaw being provided on its face adjacent to the spindle with teeth which correspond to the screwthread of the spindle, the screw-threaded spindle being rotatably mounted in the slidable device and engaging into a sleeve pivotally attached to the firearm support, the jaw being loaded by a spring for holding the jaw in engagement with the screwthreaded spindle, and the jaw being attached to a slide member displaceably mounted in the walls of the sleeve surrounding the screw-threaded spindle at points which are disposed diametrically opposite each other, the slide member being provided with a slot for the screw-threaded spindle to extend therethrough.

1. A stand for light firearms having an elevation adjusting device comprising a firearm support which is connected to a frame structure at its forward end by means of a universal joint and at its rear end by a strut, the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement and having a slidable device which is displaceably and fixably disposed on an arc-shaped guide of the frame structure, wherein the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screw-threaded spindle provided with a hand wheel and by a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than 180* , the jaw being provided on its face adjacent to the spindle with teeth which correspond to the screw-thread of the spindle, the screw-threaded spindle being rotatably mounted in the slidable device and engaging into a sleeve pivotally attached to the firearm support, the jaw being loaded by a spring for holding the jaw in engagement with the screw-threaded spindle, and the jaw being attached to a slide member displaceably mounted in the walls of the sleeve surrounding the screw-threaded spindle at points which are disposed diametrically opposite each other, the slide member being provided with a slot for the screw-threaded spindle to extend therethrough.

2. A stand according to claim 1, wherein the end of the slide member which is located on the side of the screw-threaded spindle which is disposed opposite the side in engagement with the jaw, is provided with a screw-threaded pin projecting from the sleeve and wherein an actuating knob is screwed onto this screw-threaded pin, the knob being adapted to be tightened as clamping screw against a collar which surrounds the pin and which is attached to the sleeve.

3. A stand according to claim 2, wherein a cover plate is mounted at the ends of the screw-threaded spindle and extends over the length of the screw-threaded spindle and, in the peripheral direction, over the arc section not covered by the jaw.

4. A stand according to claim 3, wherein the screw-threaded spindle is displaceable in the slidable device also in its longitudinal direction and is coupled to a hand lever which is arranged to afford the screw-threaded spindle a displacement motion.

5. A stand according to claim 4, wherein the slidable device comprises a mounting block for the screw-threaded spindle, a fork-shaped end of the hand lever embraces the mounting block, and the hand lever is mounted at the ends of the prongs of the fork-shaped end and is pivoted about an axis whiCh extends perpendicularly to the screw-threaded spindle and which is approximately tangential to the screw-threaded spindle in the region of its side adjacent to the open end of the fork, and the fork and the mounting block are traversed by a pin which engages into a circular groove of the screw-threaded spindle on the side of the screw-threaded spindle remote from the pivot axis.

6. A stand according to claim 5, wherein a slidable pin is displaceably and detainably mounted in the stem of the fork-shaped hand lever and is adapted to be inserted into an appropriate opening of the mounting block for the purpose of detaining the screw-threaded spindle in a certain rest position.

7. A stand for light firearms having an elevation adjusting device comprising a firearm support which is connected to a frame structure at its forward end by means of a universal joint and at its rear end by a strut, the effective length of which is variable by means of a screw and nut arrangement and having a slidable device which is displaceably and fixably disposed on an arc-shaped guide of the frame structure, wherein the screw and nut arrangement is formed by a screw-threaded spindle provided with a hand wheel and by a jaw which is radially displaceable relatively to the screw-threaded spindle and which embraces the spindle by less than 180* , the jaw being provided on its face adjacent to the spindle with teeth which correspond to the screw-thread of the spindle, the slidable device including two clamping members for fixably positioning the slidable device on the arc-shaped guide, the clamping members being disposed at a spacing from each other and being connected together by a rod, and a mounting block for the screw-threaded spindle being pivotally mounted on the rod.

10. A stand according to any of claims claim 9, wherein the arc-shaped guide is provided with a flat rail and each of the clamping members is provided with a bow spring which embraces the rail, the inside of the one limb of the spring resting on one face of the rail, the inner surface of the other limb resting on a cam pivotally mounted in the clamping member, the cam in one position spreading the bow spring apart and thereby pressing its one limb tightly against the rail.