U.S. patent number 3,665,631 [Application Number 05/015,404] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-30 for self contained magazine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Colt's Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert E. Domian, Paul A. La Violette.
United States Patent |
3,665,631 |
Domian , et al. |
May 30, 1972 |
SELF CONTAINED MAGAZINE
Abstract
A magazine is mounted in a firearm which includes a feed throat.
The magazine has an elongated housing made of a plastic material
which includes front and rear portions and a continuous passage
extending through the front portion into the rear portion. A
magazine spring assembly having a follower is mounted within the
housing to urge an aligned row of cartridges in the passage towards
the rear portion. The rear portion includes two lower spaced walls
which define a slot in communication with the passage for receiving
a feed pawl attached to the feed throat. The rear portion further
includes an opening communicating with the passage to permit
loading of the magazine and feed pawl urged egress of the rearmost
cartridge in the passage from the magazine into the feed throat. An
extension in the rear portion is adapted to be received in a notch
in the feed throat. The extension includes an abutment which
contacts the rearmost cartridge to retain the cartridges in the
magazine. A bolt, slideably mounted in the firearm, is movable to
contact a cartridge positioned in the feed throat by the feed pawl
and urge it into the chamber of the firearms.
Inventors: |
Domian; Robert E. (Tolland New
Haven, CT), La Violette; Paul A. (Tolland New Haven,
CT) |
Assignee: |
Colt's Inc. (Hartford,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
21771211 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/015,404 |
Filed: |
March 2, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/17;
42/49.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A
9/18 (20130101); F41A 9/72 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41A
9/00 (20060101); F41A 9/72 (20060101); F41A
9/18 (20060101); F41c 025/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;42/17R,17A-17D,6,49R,87,7 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Borchelt; Benjamin A.
Assistant Examiner: Jordan; C. T.
Claims
We claim:
1. A self contained magazine for a firearm having a feed throat
comprising an elongated housing having a front portion, a rear
portion, and a continuous passage therein extending through the
front and rear portions for containing an aligned row of
cartridges, the continuous passage being formed by a first segment
in the front portion of the housing and a second segment in the
rear portion of the housing such that the first segment forms an
obtuse angle with the second segment to retain the cartridges in
the magazine, the rear portion including two walls defining a slot
therebetween in communication with the passage for receiving a feed
pawl to contact the rearmost cartridge and urge the same into the
feed throat of the firearm, the rear portion having an opening
communicating with the passage for permitting loading of the
magazine and egress of the rearmost cartridge from the passage into
the feed throat of the firearm in response to urging of the feed
pawl, an abutment integral with the housing in the rear portion
thereof for contacting the rearmost cartridge, the part of the
opening adjacent the abutment being wider than the front part
thereof to allow the rim of the rearmost cartridge to pass
therethrough, and spring means mounted within the front portion of
the housing for urging the row of cartridges towards the abutment
to cause the rearmost cartridge to contact the abutment.
2. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the
rear portion of the housing comprises an extension surrounding a
part of the passage, and wherein the abutment is located at the end
of the extension.
3. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein a
follower is attached to the spring means for contacting the
forwardmost cartridge, and wherein the housing has an elongated
slot communicating with the passage in the front portion thereof,
and wherein a radial projection is integral with the follower and
extends through the elongated slot for positioning the
follower.
4. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the
housing is made of a plastic material.
5. In combination, a firearm, a self contained magazine adapted to
be attached to the firearm, the magazine comprising an elongated
housing having a front portion and a rear portion, a continuous
passage therein extending through the front and rear portions for
containing an aligned row of cartridges, the continuous passage
being formed by a first segment in the front portion of the housing
and a second segment in the rear portion of the housing such that
the first segment forms an obtuse angle with the second segment to
retain the cartridges in the magazine, the rear portion including
two walls defining a slot therebetween communicating with the
passage, the rear portion having an opening communicating with the
passage for permitting loading of the magazine and egress of the
rearmost cartridge from the passage into the firearm, an abutment
integral with the housing in the rear portion thereof for
contacting the rear end of the rearmost cartridge, a spring means
mounted within the front portion of the housing for urging the row
of cartridges towards the abutment to cause the rearmost cartridge
to contact the abutment, a feed throat in the firearm to engage the
magazine and receive cartridges therefrom, and cooperating means on
the firearm and the magazine to releasably install the magazine in
the firearm such that the magazine may be quickly removed from the
firearm, loaded, and replaced therein.
6. The combination, as defined in claim 5, wherein the feed throat
comprises a notch, and wherein the rear portion of the housing
comprises an extension surrounding a part of the passage and
adapted to engage the notch, the abutment being located at the end
of the extension.
7. The combination, as defined in claim 5, further including a
receiver in the firearm located adjacent the feed throat, a bolt
positioned in the receiver for axial sliding movement, a feed pawl
operatively connected to the feed throat and movable within the
slot to urge the rearmost cartridge out of the passage, through the
opening and into the feed throat such that axial movement of the
bolt effects a moving contact between the bolt and the cartridge in
the feed throat.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to magazines for firearms and more
particularly to tubular magazines adapted to contain an axially
aligned row of cartridges.
Tubular magazines in existing firearms generally comprise an
integral part of the firearm with which they are associated.
Loading of cartridges in a typical prior art magazine of the
tubular variety magazine requires manipulating the firearm to
arrive at a position from which the cartridges may be conveniently
inserted. The final portion of the loading operation involves
inserting a spring follower assembly in the firearm. The loading
operation would be attended with less difficulty if it were merely
necessary to remove the magazine from the firearm, load it, and
then reinsert it in the firearm, as is the case with the well-known
pistol clip.
An example of a self contained magazine similar to that of the
instant invention is described in my copending application entitled
"Self Contained Magazine," Ser. No. 854,092, filed Aug. 29, 1969
now abandoned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A self contained magazine, for a firearm having a feed throat, has
a continuous passage extending substantially through the front and
rear portions thereof for containing an axially aligned row of
cartridges. The rear portion includes an extension and two spaced
walls which define a slot adapted to receive a feed pawl. The slot
communicates with the passage to permit the feed pawl to contact
the rearmost cartridge and urge it out of the passage into the feed
throat through an opening in the rear portion. The extension
comprises an abutment integral with the housing which contacts the
rear end of the rearmost cartridge. A magazine spring is mounted
within the housing to contact the forwardmost cartridge and thereby
urge the rearmost cartridge against the abutment. The force exerted
upon the rearmost cartridge by the abutment and the succeeding
cartridge serves to retain the rearmost cartridge in the magazine.
The segment of the passage in the rear portion forms an obtuse
angle with the segment of the passage in the front portion to
inhibit displacement of the rearmost cartridge.
A magazine according to the invention is particularly suited to
being fashioned out of low cost plastic materials, such as Nylon.
This enables significant economies to be effected in manufacturing
the magazine.
The present invention also includes a specially designed feed
throat having a notch therein to directly engage the extension of
the magazine. Provision is also made in the feed throat to mount a
feed pawl thereon.
A user of a firearm incorporating the invention may thus load the
firearm by merely detaching the magazine, loading the same, and
then reattaching it to the firearm.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide an inexpensive
self contained magazine which may be loaded apart from its
associated firearm.
It is another object to provide a magazine which is particularly
suited to being made of a plastic material.
A further object is the provision of a feed throat which is adapted
to directly engage a magazine.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a firearm incorporating a
magazine and feed throat according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a broken away perspective view of the magazine of FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the magazine of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the magazine of FIG.
1.
FIG. 5 is a broken away perspective view of the feed throat of the
invention.
FIG. 6 is a broken away front elevational view of the feed throat
of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the firearm of FIG. 1
taken along the line 7--7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a magazine, generally
designated at 6, releasably mounted within a firearm, generally
designated at 8. Turning now to FIG. 2, wherein the magazine, per
se, is shown, it can be observed that the magazine 6 is formed by
an elongated housing 10, the housing being made of a plastic
material, such as Nylon or Zytel. Housing 10 comprises a front
portion 12 and a rear portion 14. A continuous longitudinal tubular
passage 16 extends substantially throughout the entire length of
the housing as best shown in FIG. 7. The passage 16 is adapted to
contain an aligned row of cartridges 17 arranged in tandem. The
continuous passage is formed by a first segment in the front
portion 12 and a second segment in the rear portion 14. These
segments define an obtuse angle which aids in retaining the
rearmost cartridge within the second segment of continuous passage
16.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7, rear portion 14 of housing 10
includes an extension 22. Rear portion 14 also has an opening 24 in
the top thereof to permit loading of cartridges in the magazine
passage 16 and egress of the cartridges therefrom. The opening 24
is generally coextensive with the second segment of the passage 16,
as shown in FIG. 4. The lower part of rear portion 14 includes two
vertical walls 26 and 28, which define a slot 30. Slot 30, which
communicates with passage 16, is further defined by a generally
vertical surface 31a and a generally horizontal surface 31b. Slot
30 functions as a receptacle for a feed pawl, as is described
hereinafter. As will be noted from FIG. 4, the rearmost part of
opening 24 is wider than the front part thereof to allow the rim of
the rearmost cartridge to pass therethrough. At the extremity of
extension 22 are abutments 32 and 34 which are integral with the
sides of the second segment of passage 16. These abutments contact
the rear end of the rearmost cartridge to retain the row of
cartridges in the passage.
A magazine compression spring 36 is mounted within the first
segment of the passage 16 to urge the row of cartridges towards the
abutments. A follower 38, connected to the rear end of spring 36,
is adapted to contact the front of the forwardmost cartridge in
response to the urging of the spring. A radial projection 40 on
follower 38 extends through elongated slot 42 in housing 10 to
enable the follower to be manually positioned within the first
segment of passage 16. A pin 44 is fixedly secured to follower 38
and extends forwardly therefrom through the coils of spring 36. Pin
44 is adapted to be slidingly received within an aperture 46 at the
front end of housing 10. Pin 44 facilitates removal of the magazine
from the firearm, as is subsequently explained.
Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a feed throat 50
designed to engage magazine 6. The feed throat 50 is generally
conventional in construction save for the provision of a notch,
generally shown at 51, which is adapted to receive extension 22 of
magazine 6. Notch 51 is defined by lower slanting walls 52 and 54,
and vertical walls 56 and 58, the vertical walls being defined by
the base 60 of feed throat 50 and longitudinal guide structures 62
and 64. The upper walls 66 and 68 of the notch are formed by the
lower surfaces of the guide structures 62 and 64 respectively.
These upper walls are generally parallel to lower slanting walls 52
and 54. A bore 70 in base 60 is adapted to receive a mounting pin
71 (FIG. 7), which provides a pivot for a feed pawl 72.
Referring to FIG. 7, wherein the structural relationship between
the firearm, magazine, and feed throat is shown, the magazine 6 is
releasably mounted within firearm 8. The feed throat 50, of course,
forms an integral part of the firearm and is firmly connected
thereto. The firearm also includes a bolt 76 slideably mounted
within the receiver of the firearm for axial movement therein; a
barrel 78; and a spring biased locking lug 80 positioned within
recess 82 for sliding movement therein. The tip of locking lug 80
resembles a frustrum of a cone, as does the front portion of
aperture 46.
Magazine 6 is installed in firearm 8 by inserting extension 22 in
notch 51 and then moving the front end of magazine 8 towards the
barrel 78 so as to cause the tip of locking lug 80 to snap into the
mating front portion of aperture 46. The magazine is removed from
the firearm by moving pin 44 into the locking lug 80 a distance
sufficient to cause the locking lug to be withdrawn from the
aperture. Then, the magazine is pivoted slightly about notch 51 in
a counterclockwise manner to thereby allow the removal of extension
22 from notch 51.
In the installed position of the magazine, illustrated in FIG. 7,
the end of feed pawl 72 is received within slot 30. The feed pawl
is movable upwardly under the bias of a spring 82 into the second
segment of passage 16 to urge the rearmost cartridge in the passage
into position in feed throat 50.
In operation, retraction of the bolt 76 causes ejection of the
shell in the chamber and an upward or clockwise movement of pawl
72. After the pawl 72 completes this upward movement, the rearmost
cartridge is oriented in such a manner that forward movement of the
bolt causes it to contact the cartridge and push the cartridge into
the chamber. It will be noted that the extremity of the feed pawl
engages the rear end of the succeeding cartridge when the rearmost
cartridge is so oriented. As the rearmost cartridge is chambered,
the pawl undergoes a downward displacement, thereby allowing the
succeeding cartridge to be spring urged into the second segment of
passage 16 by follower 38. It will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that this manner of operation is conventional.
Obviously, modifications and changes in the disclosed embodiment
are possible without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention.
* * * * *