Sling keeper lock

April 24, 1951

2,550,433

R. S. TICHENOR

SLING KEEPER LOCK

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Patented Apr. 24, 1951

2,550,433

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,550,433

SLING KEEPER LOCK

Ralph S. Tichenor, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., assignor to Duncan Parking Meter Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Application July 12, 1949, Serial No. 104,319

Claims. (Cl. 224—1) ' This invention relates to a lock for coacting with a keeper of a rifle sling, the purpose being to hold the keeper fixedly in the adjusted position where it is effective to prevent enlargement of an arm loop of predetermined size. 5 It is customary for rifles, both for military and civilian use, to be equipped with slings which are adjustable to different positions. When adjusted for firing, a loop is formed at one end to flt around the arm of the marksman. A keeper 10 which is slidable on the sling is then brought to position at the point where the loop starts, the purpose being to prevent enlargement of the loop so that the flt around the marksman’s arm may remain relatively close. With each firing of the 15 rifle there is a sharp recoil, and the resultant jerk tends to shift the keeper away from the loop whereby the latter is then free to enlarge itself. With continued firing of the rifle, the sling then becomes increasingly ineffective as 20 an aid in accurate marksmanship.

It is a desideratum to provide, if possible, a simple and effective lock whereby the keeper which is relied upon to prevent the loop from enlarging will remain fixed in its original ad- 25 justed position. The present invention is concerned with such a lock, and with the various features of its construction whereby it is effective to maintain the keeper in its most effective position. The present lock is furthermore simple 30 and inexpensive to produce, it is compact so that when assembled with the sling its presence is scarcely noted, and it may be readily assembled with or disassembled from the sling, according as occasion may require. 35

These and various other objects of my invention as will hereinafter appear may be realized from the suggestive embodiment of my invention as shown in the accompanying drawing wherein— 40

Figure 1 is a side elevation in outline of a conventional rifle equipped with a sling adjusted to parade position, the sling being equipped with the keeper lock of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view shows the sling adjusted 45 to firing position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, enlarged, of the present keeper lock as it appears in operative relation with a pair of keepers one of which is adjusted to a position adjacent the 50 sling loop ;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in plan looking toward the sling face which is engaged by the lock retainer; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lock per se. 55

It is customary to provide rifles with slings attached to the stock at widely spaced points upon its under side. Such a sling is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 where suitable fittings ! 0 and I i, anchored to the stock near opposite ends thereof, provide support for the sling which is desirably formed of straps made of leather or the like. As herein shown, the sling utilizes a forward strap comprising an upper ply J 5 looped through the fitting 10 at its forward end for securement thereto, and at its rear end reversely bent at IS for return as a lower ply 17. A hook fitting 18 applied to the forward end of the lower ply is adapted for connection with the upper ply 15 at a point near its forward end to assure a normal two ply arrangement for this strap of the sling.

The sling also includes a rearward strap 20 which carries at one end a ring 21 through which is looped the plies 15 and 17 at the point of the reverse bend (see Fig. 1), this strap extending rearwardly through the fitting ί 1 and then forwardly therefrom for connection, through the medium of a hook 22 applied to its forward end, with the lower ply 17 of the forward strap at a point near its forward end.

The sling herein illustrated is also provided with a pair of keepers each of leather or the like fashioned into the general form of a loop which is fitted closely around the two plies 15 and 17 of the forward strap with capacity for sliding thereupon to different positions lengthwise thereof. The rearward or primary keeper 25 is adjustable independently of the forward or secondary keepei^-

25. These keepers serve no special purpose when the sling is in the tightened parade position of Fig. 1, but are vitally important, particularly the primary one, when the sling is adjusted to the firing position of Fig. 2. Here it will be noted the hook 22 of the rearward strap 20 has been released, permitting the plies 15 and 17 of the forward strap to fall away to a point further distant from the stock; the two keepers are also slid away from the reverse befid 16 to permit enlargement of the latter into a loop L (see Fig. 2) of the requisite size for fitting around the marksman’s arm well toward his shoulder. For accurate firing this loop should remain closely fitted upon the arm, and for this purpose the rearward keeper 25 is primarily relied upon to prevent enlargement of the loop beyond the size for which adjustment is initially made. Experience has proved, however, that the recoil consequent upon each firing of the rifle will cause any such keeper to shift forwardly a slight dig2,550,433 tance with the result that the loop will soon become oversize, thereby impairing the usefulness of the sling as an aid to the marksman.

The sling lock of this invention has been designed for coaction with the two keepers whereby acting together, they will remain indefinitely in the adjusted position wherein they are initially placed, thereby assuring maintenance of the loop L in the correct arm-fitting size. This lock consists of an elongated block B of metal, plastic or the like, having a width substantially the same as the two strap plies 15 and 17. Such a block is relatively thin, and hence is adapted for positioning between the two plies and also between the two keepers 25 and 26 with which it coacts in the special manner shortly to be explained.

As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the block is provided at a point medially of its length with mountings 30 in each of which is anchored one end of an upstanding post of wire or the like, the free end portions 31 of the posts being bent transversely of the sling to extend toward each other after the manner, of. a pair of widely spaced confronting L-hooks. The two bent ends lie in a common plane and constitute retainers for the proximate strap ply 1.5 or 17 (as the case may be) which they overlie. The block face over which the retainer hooks are extended may also be formed with a wide recessed area 32, and spacing of the L-hooks therefrom may be sufficiently close to force an inward deflection of the engaged strap ply 15 or 17, as the case may be (see Fig. 3). An enhanced frictional pressure of the retainers upon the sling is thereby produced, due in part to the angling of the engaged sling ply at the opposite transverse corners of the recess which provide, in effect, friction shoulders. The gap or spacing between these retainers is such that, when the occasion arises, the confined strap ply may be flexed therethrough, either in or out, to permit the block to be assembled with or disassembled from the sling. When fitted in place as shown in the several figures of the drawing, the block will remain securely in its operative position for an indefinite period.

In order that the block may function effectively as a lock, its shape or contour becomes an important factor. In the form illustrated, one face of the block is relatively fiat and the opposite face is arched away therefrom. The flat face 35 is here shown at the bottom (see Fig. 3), but this is a matter of choice, since the block may readily be installed in place inverted from the position shown. The opposite or arched face may be variously contoured, the form shown consisting of two like inclined surfaces 36 and 37, each starting from one end of the block where it angles with the flat face 35 to provide a wedge, and ending short of the block center where it joins with a medial panel 38 which constitutes the crest of the block. When such a block is positioned between the two strap plies I B,and 17, the ply which engages the crest will at this point be crimped or humped for the maximum distance away from the other ply, and to enhance the friction obtaining at this point of greatest deflection it may be desirable to roughen the crest surface as by the provision of outwardly projecting mounds or nodes 39.

The block itself is of simple character, but its capacity to serve effectively as a lock for the primary keeper of a sling is not so readily perceived. Reference to Fig. 3 will be helpful in this connection. -Here it will be observed that the primary keeper 25 has been adjusted close to the loop L where its continued presence will prevent any enlargement thereof. The block which is positioned between the two strap plies 15 and 17 is advanced endwise to present one wedge edge at the rear as close as possible to or within the primary keeper 25; the secondary keeper 26 is then slid to a like position relative to the block end proximate thereto. With the marksman’s arm closely embraced by the loop L, and with the sling taut, the block tends to assume a slightly oblique endwise position. Its flat face, in other words, is not quite parallel with the two plies of the sling but is canted endwise somewhat, as suggested exaggeratingly in Fig. 3. This is made possible, due to (a) the unequal deflection of the two strap plies where they extend past the block and (b) the capacity of the secondary keeper 26 to float more readily than the primary keeper 25 whose position is stabilized by the proximate loop embracing the arm of the marksman. As a result, the forward keeper 26 will also be canted somewhat to exert from its rear edge an increased pressure against the flat face of the block, and this, in turn, causes the arched face of the block to bind more tightly for its full length upon the deflected ply that is engaged therewith.

In summary, the present lock coacts effectively with the primary keeper to stabilize the size of the arm-receiving loop of the sling; it combines in itself means to cant the secondary keeper, when coacting therewith, whereby the block is subjected to a force of obliquity; and it is provided with means whereby the bloqk is normally retained in assembled relation with the sling but is releasable therefrom when the sling is properly manipulated for the purpose. These several advantages are realized from the simple yet dependable lock structure of which a suggestive form is herein disclosed as a preferred embodiment of my invention.