U.S. patent application number 09/971969 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-10 for self-locking firearm bolt action.
Invention is credited to Martin, James W..
Application Number | 20030066226 09/971969 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25518997 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030066226 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Martin, James W. |
April 10, 2003 |
Self-locking firearm bolt action
Abstract
A rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, the rifle having
several components including: a rifle barrel with a breach and a
muzzle; a receiver, wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are
in mechanical communication with a lower portion of the receiver,
wherein an upper portion of the receiver is in mechanical
communication with the rifle barrel and the upper portion of the
receiver comprises a carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a
cartridge from the magazine in a breach of the rifle barrel,
wherein the bolt is positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt
carriage in mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the
bolt carriage is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein
the bolt carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and
unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent
casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the
bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the stock
which biases the bolt toward the locked-closed position.
Inventors: |
Martin, James W.; (Spring,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
R. WILLIAM BEARD, JR.
Baker Botts L.L.P.
910 Louisiana Street
Houston
TX
77002-4995
US
|
Family ID: |
25518997 |
Appl. No.: |
09/971969 |
Filed: |
October 8, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/16 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 3/72 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
42/16 |
International
Class: |
F41A 003/00; F41C
007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism, said mechanism
comprising: a bolt which secures a cartridge in a breach of the
rifle; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with said bolt,
wherein said bolt carriage translates said bolt between
locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach,
wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual
operation of said bolt carriage; and a charging action which biases
said bolt toward the locked-closed position.
2. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said bolt rotates within said bolt carriage and along a
path controlled by a bolt cam, wherein the bolt cam extends between
said bolt and said bolt carriage.
3. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said charging action comprises a spring.
4. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said charging action comprises a gas-filled chamber.
5. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising: a receiver having a carriage chamber, wherein
said bolt and said bolt carriage are positioned within the carriage
chamber.
6. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising: a charging handle in mechanical communication
with said bolt carriage.
7. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 5,
further comprising: a charging handle in mechanical communication
with said bolt carriage, wherein said charging handle protrudes
from a forward portion of said receiver.
8. A rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, said rifle
comprising: a rifle barrel with a breach and a muzzle; a receiver,
wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are in mechanical
communication with a lower portion of said receiver, wherein an
upper portion of said receiver is in mechanical communication with
said rifle barrel and the upper portion of said receiver comprises
a carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a cartridge from the
magazine in a breach of said rifle barrel, wherein said bolt is
positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt carriage in
mechanical communication with said bolt, wherein said bolt carriage
is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein said bolt
carriage translates said bolt between locked-closed and
unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent
casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of
said bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the
stock which biases said bolt toward the locked-closed position.
8. A rifle as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a charging
handle in mechanical communication with said bolt carriage.
9. A rifle as claimed in claim 8, wherein said receiver is more
than twice as long as said charging handle.
10. A rifle as claimed in claim 8, wherein said charging handle
comprises a handle which extends only from one side of a forward
portion of said receiver.
11. A method for reloading a rifle, said method comprising:
gripping the rifle in a firing position with the rifleman's head
immediately proximate a stock of the rifle; manually sliding a bolt
carrier away from the breach against a biasing force imposed by a
charging action; and releasing the bolt carrier, whereby energy
stored in the charging action drives the bolt carrier toward the
breach, wherein said manually sliding and said releasing are
performed without removing the rifle from the firing position or
removing the rifleman's head from its position proximate the
stock.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said gripping
comprises: pressing the stock against the rifleman's shoulder,
griping a grip of the rifle with a first hand of the rifleman, and
positioning the rifleman's head in line with sites of the
rifle.
13. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said manually sliding
a bolt carrier comprises engaging a portion of the bolt carrier
with a hand of the rifleman and pulling the bolt carrier.
14. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said manually sliding
a bolt carrier comprises engaging a charging handle with a hand of
the rifleman and pulling the charging handle, wherein the charging
handle is in mechanical communication with the bolt carrier.
15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said releasing the
bolt carrier comprises releasing the charging handle with the hand
of the rifleman, whereby energy stored in the charging action
drives the charging handle and bolt carrier toward the breach.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to firearms technology. In
particular, the present invention concerns cartridge chambering
mechanisms for rifles which enable a rifleman to cycle the
chambering mechanism without removing the rifle from the rifleman's
firing position.
[0002] In the field of firearm technology, various mechanisms are
known for expelling a spent casing and chambering a new cartridge.
In the category of rifles, examples of chambering mechanisms
include: manual bolt-action and blowback. Manual bolt-action rifles
are typically more accurate because no parts or mechanisms operate
within the rifle while the rifle is being fired. Manual bolt-action
rifles are slower to operate and with many configurations require
that the rifleman take his eyes off the target to cycle the
chambering mechanism. Thus, bolt-action rifles are generally more
preferred in applications where target accuracy is paramount.
Blowback chambering mechanisms typically compromise accuracy
because the chambering mechanism operates as the bullet exits from
the muzzle of the barrel. The inertial forces of the blowback
chambering mechanism tend to pull the rifle slightly off target.
Blowback chambering mechanisms may be either semi-automatic or
fully automatic. Blowback rifles are much faster to operate and
typically do not require the rifleman to take his eyes off the
target to cycle the chambering mechanism.
[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,258 B1, incorporated herein by
reference, discloses a rifle with a manual bolt-action type
chambering mechanism.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,702, incorporated herein by reference,
discloses a semi-automatic firearm. The firearm includes a stock
mounted on a receiver, the receiver having a cartridge magazine
mounted therein. A barrel is operatively connected to the receiver
and has a hand grip mounted thereupon for isolating the hand of the
shooter from direct contact with the barrel. The receiver embodies
a firing mechanism, including a bolt assembly, and a trigger
mechanism. The receiver is composed of a lower receiver, which
houses the lock work of the rifle, and is interconnected with an
upper receiver, which provides a longitudinal cavity or chamber for
reciprocating movement of the bolt assembly. The bolt assembly is
of the blow back type.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,702, incorporated herein by reference,
discloses a repeating gun having a chambering mechanism which uses
an axially displaceable arrangement which is connected to a movable
breech mechanism. The chambering mechanism is operated by sliding
the axially displaceable arrangement to operated the bolt
action.
[0006] An exemplary firearm of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1.
The firearm comprises an upper receiver 20 and a lower receiver 10.
A stock 11 is connected to the lower receiver 10. Inside the stock
11, there is a spring action 12. The lower receiver 10 also
comprises a trigger 13 and a grip 14. A magazine 15 for holding
several cartridges is insertable into the lower receiver 10. A
barrel 21 is connected to the upper receiver 20. A gas tube 22
extends substantially parallel to the barrel 21 from a port near
the distal end of the barrel to the upper receiver 20. Hand guards
23 encase a portion of the barrel 21 and the gas tube 22. The upper
receiver 20 also contains a bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8. A charging
handle 30 is located in an upper portion of the upper receiver 20.
The charging handle 30 moves the bolt 7 and the bolt carrier 8
longitudinally within the upper receiver 20 against the force of
the spring action 12.
[0007] The rifle shown in FIG. 1 operates by placing several
cartridges in the magazine 15 and inserting the magazine 15 into
the lower receiver 10. The charging handle 30 is then pulled back
to move the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 backward against the force of
the spring action 12. The charging handle 30 is then released to
allow the spring action 12 to drive the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8
forward. As the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 move forward, a cartridge
is pulled from the magazine 15 and chambered in the breach of the
barrel 21. The rifle is now ready to fire. The rifle is fired by
pulling the trigger 13 which activates a firing pin (see FIG. 7)
within the bolt 7 to fire the cartridge. The shell from the
cartridge is then accelerated down the length of the barrel 21 by
exploding gases from the cartridge. As the bullet passes the end of
the gas tube 22, exploding gases are communicated through the gas
tube 22 back to the upper receiver 20. In the upper receiver, the
exploding gases drive the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 backward
against the force of the spring action 12. As the bolt 7 and bolt
carrier 8 slide backward, the spent casing is extracted from the
breach of the barrel 21 and is ejected from the upper receiver 20.
The spring action 12 then drives the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8
forward which again pulls a new cartridge from the magazine 15 and
chambers the new cartridge in the breach of the barrel 21.
[0008] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, side and end views of the
upper receiver 20 of the prior art firearm are shown. The upper
receiver has a longitudinal carriage chamber 25 which is a
cylindrical hollow portion extending through the entire length of
the upper receiver 20. The upper receiver 20 also has a charging
slot in a top portion of the upper receiver 20. On each side of the
charging slot 26, the upper receiver 20 has a slot sidewall 27. A
slot top encloses the top of the charging slot 26, but the bottom
of the charging slot 26 is open to the carriage chamber 25. At the
back end of the upper receiver 20, the slot side walls 27 are
cutaway 29 to allow the handles 33 of the charging handle 30 to
extend therefrom as described below.
[0009] Side and end views of the charging handle 30 of the prior
art rifle are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively. The charging
handle 30 has a shank 31 which has a hook 32 at one end and a
handle 33 at the other end. The handle 33 extends perpendicular
from the shank 31 in opposite directions. The charging handle 30 is
mateable with the upper receiver 20, wherein the shank 31 of the
charging handle 30 is inserted into the charging slot 26 of the
upper receiver 20. The charging handle 30 is inserted all the way
into the charging slot 26 until the handle 33 of the charging
handle 30 slides into the cutaways 29 of the upper receiver 20. In
this position, the hook 32 of the charging handle 30 is very nearly
at the front of the upper receiver 20.
[0010] Referring again to FIG. 1, it is to be noted that during
operation, the rifleman will position his face immediately behind
the handle 33 of charging handle 30 so as to look down the forward
and rear sites 4 and 5. With his face immediately behind the
charging handle 30, it is impossible for the rifleman to chamber
the first round by pulling the charging handle 30 backward. The
rifleman must remove his face from the rifle before the charging
handle 30 can be operated. This is particularly disadvantageous
where it is necessary to maintain visual alignment of the rifle
with an intended target.
[0011] Further, riflemen desire rifles which are: (1) extremely
accurate, (2) rapidly operable, and (3) operable without requiring
the rifleman to remove his eyes from the target. Therefore, there
is a need for a rifle chambering mechanism which provides this
combination of features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention is a rifle bolt action configuration
that enables a rifleman to rapidly eject a spent casing and chamber
a new cartridge without removing the rifle from the position which
the rifleman normally assumes when firing the rifle. Since the
chambering mechanism of the present invention is manually operated,
the accuracy of the rifle is not disrupted by the chambering
mechanism.
[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided
a rifle cartridge chambering mechanism, the mechanism comprising: a
bolt which secures a cartridge in a breach of the rifle; a bolt
carriage in mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the
bolt carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and
unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent
casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the
bolt carriage; and a charging action which biases the bolt toward
the locked-closed position.
[0014] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, the rifle
comprising: a rifle barrel with a breach and a muzzle; a receiver,
wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are in mechanical
communication with a lower portion of the receiver, wherein an
upper portion of the receiver is in mechanical communication with
the rifle barrel and the upper portion of the receiver comprises a
carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a cartridge from the
magazine in a breach of the rifle barrel, wherein the bolt is
positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt carriage in
mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the bolt carriage
is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein the bolt
carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and
unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent
casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the
bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the stock
which biases the bolt toward the locked-closed position.
[0015] According to still another aspect of the invention, there is
provided a method for reloading a rifle, the method comprising:
gripping the rifle in a firing position with the rifleman's head
immediately proximate a stock of the rifle; manually sliding a bolt
carrier away from the breach against a biasing force imposed by a
charging action; and releasing the bolt carrier, whereby energy
stored in the charging action drives the bolt carrier toward the
breach, wherein the manually sliding and the releasing are
performed without removing the rifle from the firing position or
removing the rifleman's head from its position proximate the
stock.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The present invention is better understood by reading the
following description of non-limitative embodiments with reference
to the attached drawings wherein like parts in each of the several
figures are identified by the same reference characters, and which
are briefly described as follows.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a side view of a firearm of the prior art.
[0018] FIG. 2A is a side view of an upper receiver from the rifle
of the prior art shown in FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 2B is an end view of the upper receiver shown in FIG.
2A.
[0020] FIG. 3A is a side view of an charging handle from the rifle
of the prior art shown in FIG. 1.
[0021] FIG. 3B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG.
3A.
[0022] FIG. 4A is a side view of an upper receiver from the rifle
of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 4B is an end view of the upper receiver shown in FIG.
4A.
[0024] FIG. 5A is a side view of a charging handle from the rifle
of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG.
5A.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a side view of a rifle of the present invention
using the upper receiver and charging handle shown in FIGS. 4A
through 5B.
[0027] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the
present invention.
[0028] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 9A is a side view of a charging handle from the rifle
of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 9B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG.
9A.
[0031] FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the charging handle shown
in FIGS. 9A and 9B.
[0032] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings
illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are
therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the
invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, side and ends views of an
upper receiver 20 of the present invention are shown. Similar to
that of the prior art, the upper receiver 20 comprises a carriage
chamber 25 which extends the entire length of the upper receiver
20. The upper receiver 20 also comprises a charging slot 26 defined
by slot sidewalls 27 and slot top 28. The charging slot 26 is open
at the bottom to the carriage chamber 25. In this embodiment of the
invention, the slot sidewall 27 on the right side of the upper
receiver 20 extends the entire length of the upper receiver 20. On
the left side of the upper receiver 20, the slot sidewall 27
extends for only a portion of the front of the upper receiver 20.
The cutaway 29 extends on the left side of the upper receiver 20
from the back all the way up to the slot sidewall 27.
[0034] Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, side and end views of the
charging handle 30 of the present invention are shown. The charging
handle has a shank 31 with a hook 32 at one end and a handle 33 at
the other. Compared to the charging handle of the prior art, there
are two significant differences with the charging handle of the
present invention. First, the shank 31 is significantly shorter.
Second, the handle 33 extends only in one direction from the shank
31.
[0035] According to the present invention, the charging handle 30
mates with the upper receiver 20 wherein the shank 31 is positioned
within the charging slot 26. The handle 33 extends out the left
side of the upper receiver 20 through the cutaway 29. Since the
shank 31 of the charging handle 30 is so short, the charging handle
30 slides quite nearly all the way to the front of the upper
receiver 20 until the handle 33 contacts the left slot sidewall 27
of the upper receiver 20. Since the handle 33 of the charging
handle 30 extends only out the left side of the upper receiver 20,
there is no need for a cutaway 29 on the right side of the charging
slot 26.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, a side view of a rifle of the present
invention is shown. The rifle comprises an upper receiver 20 and a
lower receiver 10. A magazine 15 is inserted into the lower
receiver 10. The lower receiver 10 also comprises a trigger 13 and
a grip 14. Attached to the back end of the lower receiver 10 there
is a stock 11 which comprises a chambering action 12. Depending on
the embodiment of the invention, the chambering action 12 is a
spring, a gas compression chamber or any other energy storage
device known to those of skill in the art Connected to the front
end of the upper receiver 20 there is a barrel 21 which is
surrounded by hand guards 23. A forward site 4 is attached to the
front or muzzle end of the barrel 21. A rear site 5 is mounted to
the top of the upper receiver 20. The upper receiver has a cutaway
29 on its left side which extends more than half the way from the
back of the upper receiver 20 toward the front. A handle 33 of the
charging handle 30 is shown extending from the cutaway 29 in the
upper receiver 20. It is important to note that the rifle of the
present invention does not comprise a gas tube 22 as is known in
the prior art (see FIG. 1).
[0037] Referring to FIG. 7, an exploded view of a bolt carrier
group of the present invention is shown. The bolt 7 fits into a
hole in the end of the bolt carrier 8 and the bolt cam 9 is
inserted through an angled slot in the top of the bolt carrier 8
and into the bolt 7. The firing pin 6 is inserted though the center
of the bolt 7. The charging handle 30 rests on top of the bolt
carrier 8 and engages the bolt carrier 8 with the hook 32. This
embodiment is advantageous in that it may be retrofitted to include
the gas tube 22 for blowback-type, semi-automatic operation should
that be desirable.
[0038] Referring to FIG. 8, an exploded view of a bolt carrier
group of the present invention is shown. The bolt 7 fits into a
hole in the end of the bolt carrier 8 and the bolt cam 9 is
inserted through an angled slot in the top of the bolt carrier 8
and into the bolt 7. The firing pin 6 is inserted though the center
of the bolt 7. The charging handle 30 rests on top of the bolt
carrier 8 and is attached directly to the bolt carrier by screws 35
which are inserted through the holes 34.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 9A through 9C, side, end and perspective
views are shown of the charging handle 30 shown in FIG. 8. The
charging handle 30 has a handle 33 and two holes 34 in the top for
mounting to the bolt carriage. This embodiment of the invention
differs from that previously described in that it can not be
retrofit for blowback-type, semi-automatic operation.
[0040] A rifle of the present invention is operated by inserting a
magazine 15 full of cartridges into the lower receiver 10. The
rifleman grips the grip 14 with his right hand and loosely
positions his right index finger about the trigger 13. The stock 11
is placed against the rifleman's right shoulder and the rifleman
acquires an intended target by placing his right eye behind the
rear site 5. With the rifleman engaging the rifle in this firing
position, the rifleman uses his left hand to engage the handle 33
of the charging handle 30. Without removing his head from
immediately behind the rear site 5, the rifleman pulls the charging
handle 30 in a backward direction against the force of the
chambering action 12. When the chambering action 12 is fully
compressed and the charging handle 33 will no longer move in a
backward direction, the rifleman simply lets go of the charging
handle 33. The charging action 12 then drives the charging handle
30, bolt carriage and bolt in a forward direction. This movement of
the bolt serves to pull a cartridge from the magazine 15 and
chamber it in the breach of the barrel 21. The rifle is now ready
to fire. When the rifleman is ready, he simply pulls the trigger 13
to fire the weapon. Since the rifle of the present invention does
not comprise a gas tube, the exploding gases of the cartridge do
not serve to cycle the chambering mechanism. In particular, upon
firing the weapon, the bolt and bolt carriage do not move within
the upper receiver 20. When the rifleman is ready to chamber a new
cartridge, and without removing his head from immediately behind
the rear site 5, the rifleman uses his left hand to pull the
charging handle 33 backward against the force of the charging
action 12. The charging action 12 drives the charging handle 30,
bolt carriage and bolt in a forward direction to chamber a
cartridge as described above. The bolt and bolt carrier operate in
the present invention as they do in rifles of the prior art. For
example, the bolt locks into firing position by being rotated by a
bolt cam which slides within an angled slot in the bolt carriage,
as is known in the art.
[0041] While the particular embodiments for self-locking firearm
bolt action as herein shown and disclosed in detail are fully
capable of obtaining the objects and advantages hereinbefore
stated, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of
the preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations
are intended by the details of construction or design herein shown
other than as described in the appended claims.
* * * * *