U.S. patent application number 13/975169 was filed with the patent office on 2015-02-26 for enhanced charging handle.
The applicant listed for this patent is Benjamin Bunker. Invention is credited to Benjamin Bunker.
Application Number | 20150053072 13/975169 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52479199 |
Filed Date | 2015-02-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150053072 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bunker; Benjamin |
February 26, 2015 |
Enhanced Charging Handle
Abstract
An enhanced charging handle for a firearm which has an elongated
shaft having a forward end and a rear end. The forward end is
formed into a bolt hook that engages the bolt carrier group within
the firearm. Attached to the rear end is a latching assembly
comprising an L-shaped latch, a vertical lever, and a compression
spring where the latch and vertical lever are pivotably attached to
the rear end. The latch and vertical lever operate together such
that pivoting the vertical lever disengages the latch from the
upper receiver of a firearm allowing the charging handle to be
moved freely by the user independent of the upper receiver of the
firearm.
Inventors: |
Bunker; Benjamin;
(Henderson, NV) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Bunker; Benjamin |
Henderson |
NV |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52479199 |
Appl. No.: |
13/975169 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
89/1.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 3/72 20130101; F41A
35/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
89/1.4 |
International
Class: |
F41A 7/00 20060101
F41A007/00 |
Claims
1. A charging handle for a firearm having a housing, comprising: a.
an elongated shaft having a longitudinal axis, a forward end formed
to engage a rifle action and a rear end; b. a lever pivotably
attached to the rear end and oriented perpendicularly to the
longitudinal axis; c. a latch pivotably attached to the rear end;
d. a biasing element extending between the rear end and the latch;
and wherein the lever and latch operate together such that pivoting
the lever causes the latch to pivot from a closed position, engaged
with the housing, to an open position, where the latch is
disengaged from the housing.
2. The charging handle of claim 1, wherein the biasing element
comprises a spring.
3. The charging handle of claim 1, wherein the biasing element
comprises an elastomeric nub.
4. The charging handle of claim 1, wherein the lever is shaped to
permit ambidextrous operation.
5. The charging handle of claim 1, wherein the lever is in the
general form of a V.
6. The charging handle of claim 1, wherein the lever pivots about a
horizontal axis.
7. The charging handle of claim 6, wherein the horizontal axis is
perpendicular to the elongated shaft.
8. A charging handle for a firearm having a housing, comprising: a.
an elongated shaft having a longitudinal axis, a forward end formed
to engage a rifle action and a rear end; b. a lever pivotably
attached to the rear end and oriented perpendicularly to the
longitudinal axis where the lever pivots about a horizontal axis
and where the horizontal axis is perpendicular to the elongated
shaft; c. a latch pivotably attached to the rear end; d. a biasing
element extending between the rear end and the latch; and wherein
the lever and latch operate together such that pivoting the lever
causes the latch to pivot from a closed position, engaged with the
housing, to an open position, where the latch is disengaged from
the housing.
9. The charging handle of claim 8, wherein the biasing element
comprises a spring.
10. The charging handle of claim 8, wherein the biasing element
comprises an elastomeric nub.
11. The charging handle of claim 8, wherein the lever is shaped to
permit ambidextrous operation.
12. The charging handle of claim 11, wherein the lever is in the
general form of a V.
13. A charging handle for a firearm having a housing, comprising:
a. an elongated shaft having a longitudinal axis, a forward end
formed to engage a rifle action and a rear end; b. a lever, in the
general form of a V, pivotably attached to the rear end and
oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis where the lever
pivots about a horizontal axis and where the horizontal axis is
perpendicular to the elongated shaft; c. a latch pivotably attached
to the rear end; d. a biasing element extending between the rear
end and the latch; and wherein the lever and latch operate together
such that pivoting the lever causes the latch to pivot from a
closed position, engaged with the housing, to an open position,
where the latch is disengaged from the housing.
14. The charging handle of claim 13, wherein the biasing element
comprises a spring.
15. The charging handle of claim 13, wherein the biasing element
comprises an elastomeric nub.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates in general to firearms and
more particularly to charging handles for firearms.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Many modern firearms operate by utilizing a longitudinally
reciprocating bolt within the firearm. A popular example of such a
firearm is the M16 family of firearms which includes the AR-15. A
reciprocating bolt configuration is typically contained within a
receiver where it cannot be manually operated without partially
disassembling the firearm. In instances where the bolt needs to be
manually operated, such as moving the bolt into battery or clearing
a jam or manually ejecting a cartridge, an externally accessible
charging handle is employed to allow the firearm user to manually
operate the bolt quickly without disassembling the firearm.
[0003] The original M16 charging handle is in the general shape of
a T where the longer member is inserted into the receiver with a
distal end that interfaces with the internal bolt. A horizontally
oriented shorter member is attached at its center perpendicularly
to a proximal end of the longer member, where it is grasped by the
firearm user's fingers and pulled rearward when the bolt needs to
be manually operated. The charging handle also employs a latch to
keep the handle secured to the receiver in the forward position
when not being used. A lever was placed in one side of the shorter
member such that when the user pulled the charging handle rearward
with their fingers, the lever will be depressed which in turn
releases the latch allowing the user to move the charging handle
into a fully rearward position along with the interconnected
bolt.
[0004] Operating the charging handle properly and quickly is
necessary in high-stress tactical situations such as moving the
bolt into battery after reloading or to clear a firearm jam. Due to
the importance of reliably operating the charging handle, some
changes have been proposed to the original charging handle design.
Most of the proposed changes involve incorporating a second lever
into the other side of the short member, thus allowing ambidextrous
operation of the unlatching mechanism. These proposed changes still
leave the charging handle with deficient ergonomics which can
prevent the user from moving the bolt via the charging handle in
high-stress situations. The charging handle designs currently
proposed can result in improper operation when the firearm user is
wearing gloves, as many military and law enforcement personnel use,
or when the user's hands are wet from sweat, water, mud, blood or
other liquid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is
provided for an enhanced charging handle which allows a firearm
user to reliably operate the charging handle. The apparatus
replaces the existing charging handle with an improved charging
handle with a lever that is vertically disposed as opposed to the
designs currently used which utilize one or two horizontally
disposed levers. The present invention's vertical lever
incorporates more surface area for the firearm user to grasp when
unlatching the charging handle and pulling the handle rearward. The
improved ergonomics of the present invention enables the user to
more reliably operate the charging handle when using gloves, when
the user's fingers are wet, or where the user's fingers are injured
and the user must improvise other means for operating the charging
handle. The vertical lever may also be easily formed into shapes
that allow ambidextrous operation.
[0006] In the preferred embodiment, the enhanced charging handle
has an elongated shaft like the original charging handle in order
to fit in the firearm without modification. Thus the present
invention operates with any standard upper receiver and bolt. The
present invention uses a v-shaped vertical lever to operate the
latching mechanism. At the end of each leg of the v-shaped vertical
lever is a finger pad which has a knurled concave forward face to
receive the user's fingers. The vertical lever and finger pads in
this configuration are much more ergonomic than any existing
charging handle design due to having more surface area and friction
with the user's fingers thus preventing the user's fingers from
slipping off the lever. Using a vertical lever also creates more
leverage to reliably unlatch the charging handle. The superior
ergonomics and leverage make the enhanced charging handle much more
reliable to operate in a variety of situations over the other
charging handle designs currently proposed.
[0007] Other advantages and features of the invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description of its specific
embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 depicts an isometric exploded view of the enhanced
charging handle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 depicts a left side plan view of the enhanced
charging handle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 depicts a front plan view of the enhanced charging
handle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 4 depicts a rear plan view of the enhanced charging
handle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0012] FIG. 5 depicts a top plan view of the enhanced charging
handle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0013] FIG. 6 depicts an enlarged, isometric exploded view of the
latching mechanism of the enhanced charging handle in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 the enhanced charging handle
10 has an elongated shaft 12 having a forward end 14 with a bolt
hook 16 that engages the bolt carrier group (not shown). The
charging handle 10 also has a rear end 18 having two parallel
vertical arms 20 where one vertical arm 20 extends from the right
side of the rear end 18 and the other vertical arm 20 extends from
the left side of the rear end 18. The rear end 18 further has a
longitudinal slot 22 on the left side and a rear-facing spring
cavity 24 in the center.
[0015] Horizontally oriented within the slot 22 is an L-shaped
latch 26 having a forward leg 28 and a rear leg 30. The latch 26 is
pivotally attached to the rear end 18 by a vertically oriented roll
pin 32 inserted through corresponding holes in the latch 26 and
rear end 18. The forward leg 28 has an inward-facing tooth 34 at
the distal end that can engage a lip on the upper receiver (not
shown) thereby locking the charging handle 10 in the forward
position when not in use.
[0016] A vertical lever 36, that is generally in the form of a V,
is composed of two angularly divergent legs 38 which meet at a
lever base 40 as shown in FIGS. 1-6. Both lever legs 38 are angled
towards the rear of the firearm from vertical and are angled away
from each other. The distal ends of the lever legs 38 each have a
circular finger pad 42. The forward face of the finger pads 42 are
concave with a knurled texture to provide maximum friction and grip
with the user's fingers. The lever base 40 has a horizontal hole
through it corresponding to holes in the ends of the vertical arms
20. The vertical arms 20 are spaced to receive the lever base 40
between them where a horizontally oriented roll pin 32 can be
inserted through the corresponding holes in the vertical arms 20
and lever base 40 to attach the vertical lever 36 to the rear end
18 and provide for the vertical lever 36 to pivot about the roll
pin 32. At the bottom of the lever base 40 is a forward facing
protuberance 44 which rests against the rear of the rear leg
30.
[0017] FIGS. 1 and 6 show a compression spring 46 that fits into
the spring cavity 24, forward of the rear leg 30. When at rest and
extended, the compression spring 44 pushes the rear leg 30
rearward, forcing the forward leg 28 inward towards the upper
receiver where the tooth 34 in the distal end of the forward leg 28
engages a lip in the upper receiver to lock the charging handle in
the forward position. With the compression spring 46 in this
position and with the rear leg 30 at its most rearward position,
the rear leg 30 pushes the protuberance 44 rearward which pivots
the lever legs 38 forward. FIGS. 2-5 illustrate the lever legs 38
pivoted forward with the compression spring 46 extended and forward
leg 28 pivoted inward towards the shaft 12.
[0018] In operation, the user can use their fingers or palm to pull
the finger pads 42 at the ends of the lever legs 38 rearward. This
causes the vertical lever 36 to pivot and force the protuberance 44
forward against the rear leg 30. The rear leg 30 is thus forced
forward,
* * * * *