U.S. patent application number 12/245170 was filed with the patent office on 2010-12-02 for firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to FABBRICA D'ARMI PIETRO BERETTA S.p.A.. Invention is credited to Ulrich ZEDROSSER.
Application Number | 20100300278 12/245170 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40210473 |
Filed Date | 2010-12-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100300278 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZEDROSSER; Ulrich |
December 2, 2010 |
FIREARM WITH AN IMPROVED BREECH BOLT ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly comprises a
barrel (12), a breech bolt assembly (18, 21), a body (14) equipped
on opposite sides with ports (15) for the ejection of a cartridge
case, in addition to a magazine (17), wherein the breech bolt
assembly, which is moveable with respect to the body (14) comprises
a breech bolt-holder slide (21), a breech bolt (18) equipped with a
rotating locking head (25), cam guide rails (26, 27) of the
relative movement between the breech bolt (18) and slide (21), and
also stopping means (28, 29) of the relative movement comprising a
control pin (28) which can be moved vertically with respect to a
first control seat (29), charged by a recoil spring (30) applied
between the slide (21) and the pin (28), said pin (28) having a
cocking handle (23), or reloading lever, rotatingly applied
thereto, for the manual moving of the breech bolt assembly
(10).
Inventors: |
ZEDROSSER; Ulrich; (Steyr,
AT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND MAIER & NEUSTADT, L.L.P.
1940 DUKE STREET
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
FABBRICA D'ARMI PIETRO BERETTA
S.p.A.
Gardone Val Trompia
IT
|
Family ID: |
40210473 |
Appl. No.: |
12/245170 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
89/180 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 3/26 20130101; F41A
3/72 20130101; F41A 3/68 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
89/180 |
International
Class: |
F41A 3/26 20060101
F41A003/26 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 4, 2007 |
IT |
MI2007A 001909 |
Claims
1. A firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly comprising: a
barrel, a breech bolt assembly, a body equipped on opposite sides
with ports for the ejection of a cartridge case, in addition to a
magazine, wherein said breech bolt assembly, which is moveable with
respect to said body comprises a breech bolt-holder slide, a breech
bolt equipped with a rotating locking head, cam guide rails of the
relative movement between the breech bolt and slide, and also
stopping means for said relative movement, wherein said stopping
means comprise a control pin which can be moved vertically with
respect to a first control seat, charged by a recoil spring applied
between said slide and said pin, wherein said pin has a cocking
handle, or reloading lever, rotatingly applied thereto, for the
manual moving of said breech bolt assembly.
2. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said recoil spring is
a lamina spring constrained to said slide at one end and
constrained to said pin at the opposite end.
3. The firearm according to claim 2, wherein said spring comprises
a "V"-folded portion near the constraining end with said pin,
wherein a front branch of said "V"-folded portion is complementary
with a tilted surface, or cam of a barrel extension which guides
the vertical lifting of said control pin during the closing of said
breech bolt assembly.
4. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said breech bolt
comprises a second containment seat of said control pin adjacent
and advanced with respect to said first seat.
5. The firearm according to claim 4, wherein said second seat
comprises, at a rear end, a ramp, for cam guiding the lifting
movement of the control pin during the opening of said breech bolt
assembly.
6. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said control pin is
housed inside a complementary seat of the slide.
7. The firearm according to claim 6, wherein said control pin
comprises a main body coupled with said seat and a feeler end,
connected with the main body by means of conical surfaces,
complementary to a conical hole of said cocking handle.
8. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said body comprises
cam means for controlling the vertical lifting of the pin in an
upper facing position with respect to the control pin and equipped
with a cavity to allow the vertical movement of the control pin
only within a pre-established range of the relative movement
between said slide and said body.
9. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said cocking handle
protrudes from said body through said ejection ports and through
slit extensions during its run.
10. The firearm according to claim 9, wherein said body is
symmetrical.
11. The firearm according to claim 7, wherein said conical hole
comprises, in a transversal direction with respect to the axis, a
grooved seat which allows the transversal movement of the cocking
handle, said transversal movement being suitable for vertically
lifting the control pin.
12. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said slide is
equipped on both sides near said cocking handle, with seats for a
firm coupling with reliefs complementary to said cocking
handle.
13. The firearm according to claim 12, wherein said cocking handle
can be moved transversally with respect to said axis from an
operating position, in which it is firmly constrained to said slide
by means of said coupling between seats and complementary reliefs,
orthogonally with respect to said axis, to a regulation position in
which it can be freely rotated by an angle equal to 180.degree..
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a firearm with an improved
breech bolt assembly.
[0002] A breech bolt assembly, comprising a breech bolt-slide and a
breech bolt equipped with a locking head, is contained inside a
body of a firearm, such as a repeat gun, and can be moved axially
with respect to this.
[0003] The breech bolt, in particular, is housed in the slide so as
to have a limited rotating and axial translatory movement for the
opening of the firing chamber and its closing at the moment of
firing.
[0004] To enable the breech bolt to close the firing chamber, it
must be equipped with closing guide rails activated by the relative
movement between the slide and breech bolt, which takes place at
the end of the advance movement of the breech bolt. In particular,
during the advance and withdrawal of the breech bolt assembly the
relative movement between the breech bolt and slide is prevented,
except at the moment of closing and opening, when the breech bolt
must also rotate with respect to the slide. This rotation is
achieved by means of a cam of the slide engaged with a
corresponding cursor of the breech bolt.
[0005] The movement of the breech bolt also has the functions of
housing a cartridge in the firing chamber from the magazine and
ejecting a cartridge or cartridge case from the firing chamber.
[0006] The loading or reloading procedure of the arm, which is
effected by moving the breech bolt along the direction of the
barrel, is equally applied in the case of manual, semi-automatic or
automatic functioning. In any case, for all the functioning modes
mentioned, the loading procedure of the first cartridge must be
effected manually. For this reason all firearms with a magazine are
equipped with a cocking handle, or reloading lever, produced in
different ways.
[0007] The cocking handle, which is connected to the breech bolt
and protrudes from the body of the arm, allows the user to
intervene manually on the breech bolt without being able to reach
this with his hand.
[0008] According to what is known, the cocking handle is
alternatively produced as part of the body, connected to the breech
bolt by means of a joint, or it can be directly connected to the
breech bolt itself, generally removably to allow the dismantling of
the firearm.
[0009] A simple and effective solution of the second type described
consists in a cocking handle rigidly connected to the breech bolt
protruding outside the body by means of a suitable opening or port.
In this case, the port must be sufficiently long, in an axial
direction, to allow the necessary movement of the breech bolt for
the loading or unloading procedure.
[0010] An objective of the present invention is to provide a
firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly which guarantees a
correct opening and closing synchronism of the firearm.
[0011] A further objective of the present invention is to produce a
firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly which allows an
ambidextrous use.
[0012] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly which can be rapidly
and simply disassembled without the help of specific tools and in
which there are no small-sized loose components.
[0013] These objectives according to the present invention are
achieved by producing a firearm with an improved breech bolt
assembly as specified in claim 1.
[0014] Further characteristics are indicated in the dependent
claims.
[0015] The characteristics and advantages of a firearm with an
improved breech bolt assembly according to the present invention
will appear more evident from the following illustrative and
non-limiting description, referring to the enclosed schematic
drawings, wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a firearm equipped with an
improved breech bolt assembly according to the invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the breech bolt assembly according
to the invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 shows a section according to the trace III-III of the
breech bolt assembly of FIG. 2;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of some details of the breech
bolt assembly according to the invention;
[0020] FIGS. 5-8 show a sectional view of some of the functioning
opening phases of the improved breech bolt assembly according to
the invention;
[0021] FIGS. 9 and 10 show a sectional view of some of the
functional closing phases of the improved breech bolt assembly
according to the invention;
[0022] FIGS. 11A-13A and 11B-13B show a sectional view of various
rotation phases of the cocking handle in the firearm according to
the invention.
[0023] With reference to the figures, these show a firearm with an
improved breech bolt assembly indicated as a whole with 100.
[0024] The firearm 100, shown for illustrative and non-limiting
purposes in FIG. 1, comprises a breech bolt assembly 10, a barrel
12, a body 14, or outer shell, also equipped on opposite sides with
symmetrical openings 15, or ports, for the right or left ejection
of a cartridge case, in addition to a magazine 17.
[0025] The breech bolt assembly, shown in FIGS. 2-4, comprises a
breech bolt 18 and a breech bolt-holder slide 21, which can be
moved together and separately in a direction parallel to the axis
22 of the barrel 12, or axis of the firearm. The breech bolt 18 is
equipped, at a front end, with a head 25 which is engaged in a
barrel extension 24, indicated for example in FIG. 5, integral with
the barrel 12 for the closing and opening of a firing chamber by
rotation.
[0026] The ejection ports of the cartridge cases 15 comprise a slit
extension 16 towards the rear end of the opening 15, having a lower
height with respect to the port, to allow a cocking handle 23, or
reloading lever, to effect its necessary run.
[0027] According to the invention, the cocking handle 23, which
allows the user to intervene manually on the breech bolt assembly
10, according to what is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is assembled
between the breech bolt and the slide 21. In particular, according
to the non-limiting example provided, the slide 21 is equipped on
both sides close to the cocking handle 23 with seats 21'' for
coupling with complementary reliefs 123 of the cocking handle
23.
[0028] The cocking handle, when in use, is positioned orthogonally
with respect to the axis of the barrel 22 protruding laterally from
the body 14 of the firearm 100 through the ports 15 alternating on
one side or on the other side, as described and illustrated
hereunder.
[0029] During the withdrawal of the breech bolt assembly 10 after
the opening phase of the head 25 by rotation and until the closing
of the head 25 by rotation, stopping means prevent the relative
movement between the breech bolt 18 and slide 21. The stopping
means consist of a control pin 28, housed inside a seat 21' of the
slide 21 and which can be moved vertically to respectively
disengage itself from a control seat 29 in the breech bolt 18,
overcoming the force of a specific recoil spring 30.
[0030] When the breech bolt 18 is closed, the control pin is housed
in a second containment seat 31 in the breech bolt 18 in an
advanced position with respect to the control seat 29.
[0031] Cam guide rails of the vertical lifting of the control pin
28 are also envisaged, comprising a ramp 32 situated at a rear end
of the containment seat 31 and a tilted coupling surface 24' of the
barrel extension 24.
[0032] The control pin 28 comprises a main cylindrical body coupled
with the seat 21' of the slide and a feeler end 28', for example
cylindrical with a smaller diameter, connected to the main body by
conical surfaces 28'' complementary to a conical hole 23'' of the
cocking handle 23.
[0033] By pulling the cocking handle transversally with respect to
the axis 22, the control pin 28 is raised vertically due to the
contact on the complementary conical surfaces. The passage of the
cocking handle 23 in a transversal direction with respect to the
axis 22 is enabled by the presence of a grooved seat 23' situated
in the conical hole 23''.
[0034] The recoil spring 30 is, for example, a lamina spring
constrained at a first end to the breech bolt-slide 21 and at the
opposite end coupled with a seat 19 on the control pin 28. The
lamina spring comprises a "V"-folded portion 30' near the
constraining end with the pin 28. The front branch of the folded
portion 30' is engaged with the tilted surface 24', or cam, of the
barrel extension 24 during the closing phases of the breech
bolt.
[0035] The barrel extension 24 is also equipped with a seat 24''
for containing the folded portion 30' of the spring 30 under closed
breech bolt conditions.
[0036] Further cam control means of the vertical lifting of the
control pin 28, consist in a cam 20, shown for example in FIG. 5,
integral with the body 14 in an upper facing position with respect
to the control pin 28, which, in correspondence with a cavity 20',
allows the vertical movement of the control pin 28 only within a
pre-established range of the relative movement between the slide 21
and the body 14.
[0037] The breech bolt assembly 10, shown in FIG. 3 in section in
an open breech bolt position, also has cam guiding means of the
rotation for the closing or opening of the breech bolt which
comprise a guiding cursor 26, situated in one piece on the breech
bolt 18, which can be moved in engagement with a cam 27 of the
slide 21.
[0038] The guiding means of the rotation of the breech bolt 10 are
activated by the relative movement between the slide 21 and breech
bolt 18.
[0039] The opening of the breech bolt assembly, described on the
base of FIGS. 5 to 8, which schematically show the reciprocal
movement of the components, begins with the relative withdrawal
movement of the breech bolt 18 with respect to the slide 21
(schematized in FIG. 5 with the arrow F1).
[0040] The control pin 28, which is initially housed in the
containment seat 31, is lifted vertically, guided by the ramp 32,
until it is disengaged from the breech bolt. The cavity 20' of the
cam 20 in the body 14 allows the control pin 28 to have this
extracted position. Furthermore, the withdrawal of the slide 21
with respect to the breech bolt 18, due to the cam 27, causes the
rotation of the breech bolt 18 itself and therefore the opening
(FIG. 6).
[0041] The further withdrawal of the slide 21 causes the upper end
of the control pin 28 to interfere with the cam 20 of the body,
which causes the vertical lowering of the pin 28 engaged with the
control seat 29 of the breech bolt 18. The action of the recoil
spring 30, loaded by the previous lifting of the pin, also
contributes to engage the pin 28 in the control seat 29.
[0042] When the pin 28 is engaged in the control seat 29 (FIG. 7),
the reciprocal movement between the slide 21 and breech bolt 18 is
prevented, until the pin 28 is unblocked. In particular, the
control seat 29 does not allow the rotation of the breech bolt 18.
The withdrawal of the slide 21, according to the arrow F1,
consequently also integrally entrains the breech bolt 18 according
to the arrow F2.
[0043] The withdrawal of the slide 21 and breech bolt 18 terminates
with the possibility of housing a cartridge in the configuration of
FIG. 8.
[0044] The closing phases of the breech bolt assembly, described on
the basis of FIGS. 9 and 10, above all provide for the housing of
the first cartridge of the magazine 17.
[0045] At the end of the advance movement of the slide 21 and
breech bolt 18, according to the arrows F1 and F2 of FIG. 9,
respectively, the control pin 28 is unblocked. The coupling between
the front branch of the "V"-portion 30' of the recoil spring 30
with the tilted surface 24' of the barrel extension 24, vertically
lifts the pin 28 (FIG. 10), this movement being allowed by the
cavity 20' of the cam 20 of the body 14.
[0046] When the breech bolt 18 reaches the end of its run (FIG.
10), the cam means 26 and 27 guide the rotational-translatory
movement between the breech bolt 18 and the slide 21, which is no
longer hindered by the control pin 28.
[0047] Under closed conditions of the breech bolt assembly, as
shown in FIG. 5, the control pin 28 is engaged in the containment
seat 31.
[0048] For the manual reloading of the firearm, the cocking handle
23, integral with the slide 21 on the right or left side, transmits
to this, the advance and/or withdrawal movement described above for
the firing phases.
[0049] FIG. 2 shows, for illustrative purposes, the cocking handle
23 in the two operating positions, in a continuous line and dashed
line.
[0050] FIG. 11A and 11B respectively show a raised side view and
sectional view according to the marked surface B-B, a breech bolt
assembly 10 according to the invention, in which the cocking handle
23 is in an operating position. The cocking handle 23 is kept in a
stable position for the rotation through engagement of the reliefs
123 with the complementary seats 21'' of the slide 21 (FIG.
11B).
[0051] In order to rotate the cocking handle 23 by 180.degree.
around the pin 28, it is sufficient to open the breech bolt
assembly 10 in a more withdrawn position with respect to the cam 20
of the body 14, so that the pin 28 can be lifted vertically without
hindrances by moving the cocking handle 23 transversally with
respect to the axis of the barrel 22 following a limited run along
the arrow T (FIG. 12B). The control pin 28 is therefore lifted as a
result of the coupling with the cocking handle 23 on conical
surfaces against the force of the spring 30. The control pin 28
remains in a lifted position resting on the flat upper surface of
the cocking handle 23 (FIGS. 12A and 12B).
[0052] The cocking handle 23 is disengaged from the seats 21'' of
the slide and is free to rotate around the axis of the pin 28 and
be positioned, for example, longitudinally with respect to the
barrel 12, to allow the extraction of the breech bolt assembly 10
from the body without disassembling any piece (FIGS. 13A and
13B).
[0053] When the cocking handle 23 is in a rotation position, the
control pin 28 is vertically extracted and protrudes with respect
to the slide 21.
[0054] The interference between the pin 28 and cam 20 of the body
keeps the breech bolt 18 firmly open during the rotation operations
of the cocking handle.
[0055] By continuing the rotation, the cocking handle 23 can be
rotated on the opposite side, in a specular position with respect
to FIGS. 12A and 12B, and consequently through a transversal
passage in the direction of the slide 21, it can be brought back
into the stable operating position, which is specular with respect
to FIGS. 11A and 11B. The action of the recoil spring 30 brings the
control pin 28 back into engagement on the cocking handle 23 on the
coupled conical surfaces.
[0056] This procedure can also be effected with the firearm
assembled.
[0057] When the cocking handle 23 is in an operating position,
arranged orthogonally with respect to the axis 22 of the barrel 12,
this cannot be rotated and has all the advantages of a cocking
handle firmly constrained to the breech bolt assembly 10.
[0058] The necessity of lifting the control pin 28 against the
force of the spring 30 to rotate the cocking handle, also
advantageously allows the movement to be more safely
controlled.
[0059] The assembly of the cocking handle 23 on the control pin 28,
when the breech bolt is closed, at the end of the advance phase,
allows the cocking handle 23 to be situated at the front end of the
ejection port 15 of the body 14, i.e. in the normal position of the
cocking handle 23.
[0060] Furthermore, this advantageously allows the ejection port of
the cartridge cases 15, in any case present, to be used for the
passage of the cocking handle 23. It is sufficient, in fact, to
envisage the additional slit 16 towards the rear end of the port
15, with a lower height with respect to the port, to allow the
cocking handle 23 to effect the whole run necessary.
[0061] This advantageously requires a minimum removal of material
from the body and consequently a minimum weakening of the body
itself, which is above all equal on opposite sides.
[0062] The firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly, object of
the present invention, also has the advantage of allowing a rapid
assembly and disassembly without the removal of loose pieces.
[0063] The firearm with an improved breech bolt assembly thus
conceived, can undergo numerous modifications and variants, all
included in the invention; furthermore all the details can be
substituted by technically equivalent elements. In practice, the
materials used, as also the dimensions, can vary according to
technical requirements.
* * * * *