Firearm accessory system

Abstract

A firearm accessory system can include a housing designed to be attached to a firearm such that the housing is disposed underneath a barrel of the firearm. The housing can include a plurality of cavities formed therein, each of the cavities being configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessory for use with the firearm. The housing can be configured to power all of the accessories received within the plurality of cavities from a single power source. In some embodiments, the housing can include a plurality of accessory compartments formed therein to receive and retain one or more accessories for use with the firearm. Each accessory compartment can be configured to provide an electrical connection between an accessory received in the compartment and a source of power and operatively position the associated accessory with respect to the housing. Firearms incorporating a firearm accessory system are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A firearm accessory system comprising:
 a housing configured to be attached to a firearm such that the housing is disposed underneath a barrel of the firearm,   wherein the housing includes a plurality of cavities formed therein, each of the cavities being configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessory for use with the firearm, and   wherein the housing is configured to power all of the accessories received within the plurality of cavities from a single power source.   
     
     
         2 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein the firearm accessory system is configured to be attached to a rifle. 
     
     
         3 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured to power all of the accessories received within the plurality of cavities from a single power source in the form of one or more batteries. 
     
     
         4 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cavities is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play rangefinder such that the rangefinder is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity. 
     
     
         5 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cavities is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play infrared laser such that the laser is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity. 
     
     
         6 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cavities is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play flashlight such that the flashlight is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity. 
     
     
         7 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cavities is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play visible laser for use with the firearm. 
     
     
         8 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 ,
 wherein a first cavity formed in the housing is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play rangefinder emitter module such that the emitter module is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity,   wherein a second cavity formed in the housing is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play rangefinder detector module such that the detector module is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity,   wherein a third cavity formed in the housing is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play infrared laser module such that the infrared laser module is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity,   wherein a fourth cavity formed in the housing is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play visible laser module such that the visible laser module is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity, and   wherein a fifth cavity formed in the housing is configured to enclose and power a plug-and-play spotlight module such that the spotlight module is operatively positioned for use with the firearm while received in the cavity.   
     
     
         9 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a display attached to the housing for displaying information from one or more of the plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessories.   
     
     
         10 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 9 , wherein the display is configured to display information from a plug-and-play rangefinder module. 
     
     
         11 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the cavities of the housing include an opening to allow signals or light to be transmitted or received by an accessory enclosed within the cavity. 
     
     
         12 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessory for use with the firearm, the accessory being enclosed within one of the plurality of cavities formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.   
     
     
         13 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a rangefinder emitter module for use with the firearm, the rangefinder emitter module being enclosed within a first cavity formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source, and   a rangefinder detector module for use with the firearm, the rangefinder detector module being enclosed within a second cavity formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.   
     
     
         14 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a laser module for use with the firearm, the laser module being enclosed within one of the plurality of cavities formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.   
     
     
         15 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a spotlight module for use with the firearm, the spotlight module being enclosed within one of the plurality of cavities formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.   
     
     
         16 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a power source in the form of one or more batteries.   
     
     
         17 . A firearm accessory system comprising:
 a housing configured to be attached to a firearm such that the housing is disposed underneath a barrel of the firearm,   wherein the housing includes a plurality of accessory compartments formed therein to receive and retain one or more plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessories for use with the firearm,   wherein each of the accessory compartments is configured to provide an electrical connection between an accessory received in the compartment and a source of power, and   wherein each of the accessory compartments is configured to operatively position the associated accessory with respect to the housing and the firearm to allow the accessory to be used while it is received in the accessory compartment.   
     
     
         18 . A firearm comprising:
 a gun barrel; and   a firearm accessory system including a housing attached to the gun barrel such that the housing is disposed underneath the barrel,   wherein the housing includes a plurality of cavities formed therein, each of the cavities being sized to enclose and power a plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessory for use with the firearm while the accessory is received in the cavity, and   wherein the housing is configured to power all of the accessories received within the plurality of cavities from a single power source.   
     
     
         19 . The firearm of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a plug-and-play lighting or targeting accessory for use with the firearm, the accessory being enclosed within one of the plurality of cavities formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.   
     
     
         20 . The firearm accessory system of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a laser module for use with the firearm, the laser module being enclosed within one of the plurality of cavities formed in the housing and powered by the single power-source.