U.S. patent application number 11/732500 was filed with the patent office on 2008-02-07 for device for indicating the content of a magazine of a portable weapon, particularly a tubular magazine for shotguns.
This patent application is currently assigned to BENELLI ARMI S.P.A.. Invention is credited to Luigi Moretti.
Application Number | 20080028659 11/732500 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37067528 |
Filed Date | 2008-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080028659 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moretti; Luigi |
February 7, 2008 |
Device for indicating the content of a magazine of a portable
weapon, particularly a tubular magazine for shotguns
Abstract
A device for indicating the content of a magazine of a portable
weapon, particularly of a tubular magazine for shotguns, which
includes at least one opening, provided in the magazine, which
allows visual inspection of the content of the magazine.
Inventors: |
Moretti; Luigi; (Collebeato,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
COLEMAN SUDOL SAPONE, P.C.
714 COLORADO AVENUE
BRIDGE PORT
CT
06605-1601
US
|
Assignee: |
BENELLI ARMI S.P.A.
Urbino
IT
|
Family ID: |
37067528 |
Appl. No.: |
11/732500 |
Filed: |
April 3, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/1.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 9/62 20130101; F41A
9/72 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
042/001.02 |
International
Class: |
F41A 9/62 20060101
F41A009/62 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 18, 2006 |
IT |
MI2006 A 000767 |
Claims
1 A device for indicating the content of a magazine of a portable
weapon, particularly of a tubular magazine for shotguns, comprising
at least one opening, provided in a tubular magazine, said magazine
being parallel to the barrel of said weapon, a spring arranged
within said magazine and biasing said cartridges present in said
magazine, by means of a cartridge pusher, said magazine comprising
a plurality of slots, each of said slots being arranged at the
position of a cartridge or bullet of a plurality of cartridges or
bullets contained within said magazine, said cartridge pusher being
constituted by an elongated cylindrical body having such a length
that it is always visible through one of said slots, regardless of
the length of the cartridges that are present in the magazine, said
tubular magazine being arranged inside a grip member, said slots
being arranged longitudinally at one or more cutouts provided in
said grip member.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein said grip member has a single
cutout, which is constituted by an elongated portion made of
transparent material of the body of said grip member.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said cartridge pusher has a
surface made of a conspicuous color.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a device for indicating the
content of a magazine of a portable weapon, particularly of a
tubular magazine for shotguns.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Automatic, semiautomatic or so-called pump-action smoothbore
shotguns are generally provided with a tubular magazine, which is
arranged below the barrel and contains a plurality of
cartridges.
[0005] The magazine is constituted by a tube into which the
cartridges are inserted and are arranged one behind the other so
that the forward part, the rim or bullet, faces forward.
[0006] A spring provided with a pusher biases the cartridges in the
opposite direction with respect to the insertion direction.
[0007] When the breech-block is opened, a cartridge normally exits
from the magazine to be collected by a paddle follower, which has
an oscillating motion by means of which the cartridge, in the
subsequent step for closure of the breech-block, is lifted and
positioned so that the bottom faces the head of the breech-block,
which pushes it forward and introduces it into the barrel.
[0008] The cycle is repeated every time a shot is fired: a new
cartridge, pushed by the spring, exits from the tubular magazine to
be picked up by the follower and subsequently inserted in the
barrel until all the cartridges contained in the magazine are used
up.
[0009] In the normal cycle of operation of the weapon, there are
means suitable to prevent more than one cartridge at a time from
leaving the tubular magazine and being positioned on the paddle
follower.
[0010] Since the tube that constitutes the magazine is opaque, and
is also covered by the grip, it is not possible to check its
contents, i.e., one cannot know how many cartridges are present in
the magazine unless, of course, the shooter has loaded the magazine
with a known number of cartridges and has counted the shots
fired.
[0011] FR-428739 discloses a shotgun having an indicator of the
contents of the magazine constituted by a piston provided with
numbers showing through a window.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,978 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,444 disclose
pistols provided with handgrips having a window showing the content
of the magazine.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,401 discloses a magazine with a
translucent casing.
[0014] In real life situations the indication to the shooter should
be straightforward and quick.
[0015] Small numbers and fine lines may not be readable in low
light conditions or may not be immediately understood.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved
device for indicating the content of the magazine.
[0017] An object of the invention is to provide a device which
allows the user to rapidly and easily check the content of the
magazine even in low light conditions.
[0018] Another object of the invention is to provide a device which
is structurally simple and reliable and does not alter in any way
the operation and inherent structure of the weapon.
[0019] This aim and these and other objects, which will become
better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a device for
indicating the content of a magazine of a portable weapon,
particularly of a tubular magazine for shotguns, comprising at
least one opening, provided in a tubular magazine, said magazine
being parallel to the barrel of said weapon, a spring arranged
within said magazine and biasing said cartridges present in said
magazine, by means of a cartridge pusher, said magazine comprising
a plurality of slots, each of said slots being arranged at the
position of a cartridge or bullet of a plurality of cartridges or
bullets contained within said magazine, said cartridge pusher being
constituted by an elongated cylindrical body having such a length
that it is always visible through one of said slots, regardless of
the length of the cartridges that are present in the magazine, said
tubular magazine being arranged inside a grip member, said slots
being arranged longitudinally at one or more cutouts provided in
said grip member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will
become better apparent from the description of preferred but not
exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting
example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a side view of a shotgun provided with a magazine
for the cartridges;
[0022] FIG. 2 is an exploded partial bottom view of the shotgun
provided with the device according to the invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a partial bottom view of the shotgun provided with
the device according to the invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned and cutout bottom view of
the shotgun according to the invention, shown in the condition in
which the magazine is full;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a view, similar to FIG. 4, of the magazine only
partially filled with cartridges;
[0026] FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing the magazine, the spring
and the cartridge pusher, according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0027] With reference to the cited figures, a device according to
the invention is shown in its application to a shotgun, generally
designated by the reference numeral 1, which includes, in a per se
known manner, a tubular magazine 2, which is arranged below a
barrel 3 and is suitable to contain a plurality of cartridges
4.
[0028] The tubular magazine 2 lies inside a grip 5, which is closed
at the front by a cap 9.
[0029] A spring 8 is provided inside the magazine 2 and acts, by
means of a cartridge pusher 10, on the cartridges 4 that are
present inside the magazine.
[0030] According to the invention, the tubular magazine 2 has one
or more slots 6, which are arranged longitudinally at one or more
cutouts 7 provided in the grip 5.
[0031] Preferably, the tubular magazine 2 has a discrete number of
equidistant slots 6, which correspond to the number of cartridges 4
that the magazine can contain.
[0032] According to the invention, the cartridge pusher 10 is
constituted by a cylindrical body which is elongated with respect
to traditional cartridge pushers and has a surface which is coated
or otherwise treated so as to be of a conspicuous color.
[0033] The increased length of the cartridge pusher 10 allows the
pusher to be always visible through one of the slots 6, regardless
of the length of the cartridges, which, as is known, can have
different lengths depending on their type.
[0034] Preferably, the grip 5 has a single cutout 7, which is
constituted by an elongated portion made of transparent material of
the body of the rod.
[0035] The operation of the device according to the invention is
simple and straightforward.
[0036] In order to check the content of the magazine it is
sufficient to look at the bottom of the grip 5 and observe, through
the cutout 7, the presence of the cartridge pusher 10 and therefore
of a cartridge, at each slot 6.
[0037] The presence of the enlarged cartridge pusher 10 is
advantageous, because the cartridges can be of a color that is not
sufficiently conspicuous to be visible through the slots 6 and the
cutout 7.
[0038] The presence of a slot 6 at the position of each cartridge
allows not only to check the level of the filling of the magazine
but also to establish immediately the number of cartridges
present.
[0039] In practice, the conspicuous color of the cartridge pusher
10 allows to identify immediately the position of the last
cartridge, i.e., whether it is located at the first, second, third
or fourth slot, in the specific case, and therefore allows to
establish immediately whether there are one, two, three or four
cartridges in the magazine.
[0040] In practice it has been found that the invention achieves
the intended aim and objects, by providing a device which allows to
check the content of the magazine of a shotgun rapidly and
intuitively.
[0041] The device according to the invention does not alter in any
way, from a constructive and functional standpoint, the
characteristics of the weapon and can be applied to any kind of
firearm provided with a magazine.
[0042] This application claims the priority of Italian Patent
Application No. MI2006A000767, the subject matter of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
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