Recoilless weapon

Abstract

This invention is concerned with a weapon such as a firearm or air gun and with means for absorbing the recoil when the weapon is discharged. In essence, the invention consists in mounting the trigger fixedly to the frame or stock of the weapon and mounting the associated firing mechanism upon a recoil absorbing mass. The connection between the trigger and the mechanism mounted upon the mass is bridged by means to accommodate the variations in spacing between the trigger and those mechanisms.

Description

The invention is concerned with a weapon which may be an air gun or a firearm and is concerned with means to damp the recoil of such weapons.

An air gun is known having a movable system which consists essentially of a return travel mass and of which the weapons barrel and trigger mechanisms are rigidly connected to the stock. With such a weapon the mass is not effective to guarantee a shock-free discharge of the weapon, since the mass cannot be made sufficiently large, in view of the available space for return travel, effectively to absorb the recoil.

Another arrangement is known comprising a relatively heavy barrel and a complete trigger mechanism in which the whole of the trigger or discharge mechanism including the trigger is mounted upon a movable system and acts to absorb recoil. There are certain advantages to such an arrangement, however there are disadvantages and in particular the problem exists that at the moment of actually firing the weapon the trigger is moved abruptly in the direction opposite to the direction of firing. This has a very serious ill-effect upon the accuracy upon which the weapon can be fired.

According to this invention, a weapon has a trigger which is fixedly mounted to the stock or frame of the weapon and at least parts of the remainder of the firing mechanism are mounted to be movable upon a recoil absorbing mass, the varying gap between the trigger and the remaining parts of the firing mechanism being bridged by a coupling member.

According to this present invention, the trigger is fixed upon the stock or frame and the mass for absorbing shock moves in the opposite direction to the projectile and after having completed a predetermined travel along a particular path it encounters a bumper or shock absorbing element at which moment the impulse is transferred to the gun stock, which of course initially had been at rest. It is arranged that the projectile has left the barrel by the time the bumper is reached, for otherwise it could be subject to a force which would tend to move it from its intended path.

The means for bridging the variable gap between the fixed trigger and the parts of the firing mechanism which are movable with the recoil absorbing means can take many forms. In one embodiment, a pin may be disposed approximately parallel to the trigger, the pin being attached to an intermediate lever and the lever being in turn a part of that portion of the triggering mechanism which moves with the recoil absorbing mass. In the firing position of the weapon, the pin presses against a small contact roll at the rear of the trigger so that movement of the trigger is transmitted to it and so that it may move away from the trigger as the weapon is discharged, together with the shock absorbing mass.

In order to make provision for the usual adjustments for the finger rest of the trigger along the longitudinal direction of the weapon, the trigger is pivoted upon a support which is movable longitudinally of the stock and may be secured in any desired position to fit the user of the weapon. The support may also serve as a trigger guard and be provided with guide ways and a cooperating set screw to secure the trigger in a desired position.

The support of the trigger may alternatively be effected by means of a slider to which the trigger is pivoted and which is movable along guide surfaces of a stationary trigger guard which can be secured by means of a set screw in any desired position.

It is to be appreciated that the adjustment of the trigger requires also a corresponding adjustability of the pin which is attached to an intermediate lever of the discharge mechanism. This can, according to this invention, be accomplished by conventional means, for example by allowing the pin to move longitudinally in the inguidance slots of an intermediate discharge mechanism and clamping it in a desired position, or by screwing it into one of a plurality of threaded openings in the intermediate element.

As an alternative means of maintaining the triggering contact with a movable portion of the trigger mechanism for transmitting the triggers motion, the trigger can be provided with a cam lever transverse to the finger rest of the trigger, the cam lever cooperating directly with a portion of an intermediate element of the discharge mechanism, that portion of the intermediate element being parallel to the cam lever. However, in this arrangement, the trigger pressure requirements must be adjusted and this raises rather more complications than the first mentioned solution.

An alternative means of coupling the trigger to the discharge mechanism is a flexible element. A bowden cable can be used to effect the connection. It is also possible to accomplish the transfer of the movement of the trigger to the subsequent parts of the discharge mechanism by means of a flexible hose, in which case the trigger could serve as an element for operating a directional valve for the application of hydraulic fluid to a discharge mechanism operating element.

The trigger could also serve as a means of generating the hydraulic pressure necessary to operate the discharge mechanism and of course there would be associated with such an arrangement, a flexible hose.

It is also possible to utilize the trigger as a switching element in an electrical release mechanism.

By any of these methods of connecting the trigger to the release mechanism, it is possible to urge the trigger to an initial position, i.e., in a position opposite to the weapon discharging direction of movement of the trigger.

It is to be appreciated that in the arrangement where a pin presses against a contact roll in the rear of the trigger, it is presupposed that the parts of the discharge mechanism are also placed against a corresponding stop at the moment that the gun is ready to be fired and hence assume a precisely reproducible position at that time. If the situation were otherwise, there would occur either too much play or a damaging or functionally disturbing pressure in the event the firing mechanism is cocked. There also exists the risk that in an uncocked firing mechanism, a shot could be fired from it prematurely. Such ill effects can be avoided if the trigger is not pressed against the stop but held, for example in a neutral position by a leaftype spring from which it can be moved in either direction. The pin can then be made to contact the contact roller by means of an auxiliary element, thus eliminating all play.

The travel of the trigger is limited in the discharging direction by means of a conventional trigger stop.

The advantages of this arrangement is, of course, that the recoil absorbing mass is made relatively high by including upon that mass the discharging mechanism other than the trigger and therefore the absorption of shock is much improved.

The invention is further illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, sectional view of an air gun according to this invention in a "ready to fire" position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but in which the mechanism is shown in the discharge position;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5 through 8 are schematic views showing different arrangements for connecting the trigger and other parts of the discharge mechanism.

The gun of FIG. 1 is in the "ready to fire," or cocked position. The gun comprises a casing 2 and a trigger guard 3 of which are attached to stock 1. The movable parts of the weapon which constitute the recoil absorbing mass is shown only partially within the gun casing 2. The system comprises an intermediate tube 4, a compression spring 5 covering a spring guidance tube 6, a piston rod 7 which is secured to a compression piston (not illustrated), and a trigger casing 8. Disposed within the trigger casing 8 there are, in addition to the compression means for spring 5 (which in the interests of clarity are not illustrated) a catching lever 9 or seal-like element, an intermediate trigger lever 10 and an intermediate lever 11, all of the above levers being pivoted about separate axes to the casing 8. When the spring 5 is under compression the piston rod 7 is held until the weapon is discharged.

The intermediate lever 11 is provided with an arm 12 which extends in a direction parallel to the direction of motion of the movable means and contains four threaded holes 13 spaced along a straight line at short distances from each other. A slender round pin 14 is screwed into a selected one of these threaded holes.

The trigger guard 3 comprises a top part 15 which is located next to trigger housing 8 and is formed with a central elongated opening 16 through which the pin 14 passes. Lever 17 constitutes the trigger.

In the top part 15 of the trigger guard 3, there is located a slider 19 between two flat guiding surfaces 18 (see FIG. 3) which can be clamped at a selected position by set screw 20. Again referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the slider 19 is bifurcated at its rear end, i.e. at that end opposite to the barrel and contains at that end two pivot lugs 21 in which pivot pin 22 is disposed to mount the trigger for pivotal movement. A torsion spring 23 is wound around the bearing pin 22 and presses the trigger in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1.

Trigger 17 has a U-shaped cross-section in its center region with the free edges of the limbs of the U being disposed towards the pin 14. A contact roll 26 is rotatably positioned between the two limbs of the trigger 17 and is arranged so that at the moment of firing it is barely touched by pin 14.

An abutment surface 27 is formed upon the trigger and limits the movement of the trigger in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, by abutment with adjustable screw 28, the screw 28 constituting a trigger stop.

Operation of the trigger mechanism is as follows: Upon compression of spring 5 by mechanism not shown in the interests of clarity, the movable recoil absorbing mass slides forward and assumes the "ready to fire" or "cocked" position. In a conventional fashion, this position can be accurately predetermined. Slider 19 is then slid back from its forward position until the contact roll 26 barely touches pin 14 and the set screw 20 is tightened to secure the slider firmly in that position. This position is illustrated in FIG. 1 and with this adjustment the gun is readied. As a rule the adjustment need only be repeated rarely, but readjustment can be made if another marksman having a different finger length desires to use the weapon. It will be appreciated that with the adjustment to accommodate a different finger length, the pin 14 must be inserted into a different one of the threaded holes 13 of the intermediate lever 11. Once this adjustment is made the slider 19 can be readjusted as above described.

To discharge the weapon, the trigger 17 is moved (conventionally counter-clockwise as shown in FIG. 1,) thereby moving pin 14 and intermediate lever 11 so that the intermediate lever pivots in a counter-clockwise direction causing lever 10 to pivot and free the piston rod 7 from catching lever or sear 9. At this point the compression piston moves forwardly to discharge the weapon and the opposite force is imparted to the mass which moves rearwardly, taking with it of course the levers of the firing mechanism other than the trigger. This position is shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 4 a modification of the invention is illustrated and in this particular case a trigger guard 30 which is attached to the stock 1 is adjustable in a longitudinal direction. The trigger guard 30 has two flanges 31 and 32 each flange having a rectangular cross-section, the free ends of which are formed with graduated slits 33 and 34, respectively. Guide 35 and 36 slide over both ends of the flanges 31 and 32, respectively. The guides themselves fit into corresponding indentations of stock 1.

The flange 31 together with the guide element 36 is secured to stock 1 by means of screw 37 which enters into threaded bushing 38. Flange 32 and guide 35 are attached by means of screw 39 to stock 1 in a corresponding manner. It will be appreciated that upon release of screws 37 and 39 the trigger guard 30 can be moved within the guides 35 and 36 to be positioned as required. It is also to be appreciated that the guide elements 35 and 36 serve also to bridge the expansion joints between the stock 1 and the flanges of the trigger guard.

Trigger 17 is pivoted on pin 40 to the trigger guard 30. The abutment surface 27 of the trigger again cooperates with set screw 28 to limit the counter-clockwise movement of the trigger. In this case the trigger stop screw 28 is mounted directly onto the trigger guard.

A flat spring 41 holds the trigger 17 in a neutral position from which it can be forcibly displaced. When the mass 8 is pushed forward to a ready to fire position in the direction in which the gun is pointed, pin 14 should contact the roll 26 of trigger 17 just prior to the conclusion of that movement and should therefore be moved slightly to the right so that any play between the contact roll 26 and the pin is positively avoided.

The operation of the device of FIG. 4 is largely similar to that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3 and adjustments can be made much in the manner as with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3.

It is to be appreciated that the invention can be utilized not only in air guns as illustrated in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 4, but also in firearms. In FIG. 5 there is illustrated, schematically, a firearm comprising a recoil absorbing mass, a bolt 50 with a firing pin 52 and a sear-like element 54. It will be appreciated that, as is conventional, movement of the sear-like element 54 in a clockwise direction as viewed in that figure will result in the bolt being freed and a cartridge fired.

The trigger 17 of the embodiment of FIG. 5 has a wire 56 of a Bowden cable secured thereto, the other end of the wire being secured as at 58 to the sear element 54. The sheath 60 has one end 62 thereof secured to a part 64 of the weapon fixed relatively to the stock and the other end 66 of the sheath is secured to the recoil absorbing mass. It will be appreciated that by this technique the varying gaps between the trigger and the remaining parts of the trigger mechanism is bridged.

In FIG. 6, there is illustrated, again schematically, an electrical system for discharging the weapon and again the weapon is a firearm having a bolt 50, firing pin 52 and sear 54. In this embodiment of the invention, the trigger 17 is effective to control a microswitch 68 which controls operation of a solenoid 70 to cause the release of bolt 50.

In FIG. 7 another firearm is illustrated, again with bolt 50, firing pin 52 and sear 54. In this case, the trigger 17 is connected to the sear by means of a flexible hose 74 and the sear has a plunger type element 76 fitted into a cylinder 78 which is secured to the recoil absorbing mass 8. The hose 74 is filled with a fluid and is secured at its end opposite the sear is fixed relatively to the stock of the weapon. Rotation of the trigger in a counterclockwise direction to discharge the weapon causes compression of chamber portion 80 of the flexible hose which displaces the plunger element 76 of the sear and causes clockwise rotation of the sear to release the bolt.

The embodiment of FIG. 8 is an air gun and in this embodiment a sear-like element 54 controls the release of the piston rod 7. In this embodiment, a source of pressurized fluid 84 is fixed relatively to the stock and is connected to a flexible hose 86 which has its end 88 secured fixedly relatively to the stock and its other end 90 receives a plunger element 92 of the sear 54. The sear 54 being movable with the recoil absorbing mass. The trigger 17 is connected to operate a valve element 94 which connects the flexible hose 86 with the source of pressurized fluid 84 as the trigger is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction so that by movement of plunger 92 the sear 54 causes release of the piston rod 7 to discharge the weapon.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is subject to various modifications which do not deviate from the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A gun comprising a stock, a sear-like element operable to release a projectile discharging mechanism, a trigger and a recoil absorbing mass movable in an opposite direction to that in which a projectile is to be discharged, said trigger being pivotally mounted for movement about an axis fixed relative to the stock and said sear-like element being mounted upon and movable with said recoil absorbing mass, and a coupling element connecting said trigger and sear in a ready to fire position of the projectile discharging mechanism, said coupling element comprising an intermediate lever pivotally mounted on said recoil absorbing mass and operatively connected to the sear-like element and comprising an operating element which, in the ready to fire condition of the gun, lies within the path of movement of the trigger, said operating element comprising a pin adjustably secured to said intermediate lever.

2. A gun as claimed in claim 1 comprising a piston effective to discharge a projectile by compressed air and said sear-like element comprises means holding said compression piston in a ready to fire position.

3. A gun as claimed in claim 1 for firing a bullet and including a firing pin, said sear-like element holding the firing pin in a ready to fire position.

4. A gun as claimed in claim 1 having means for adjusting the position of said trigger relative to said stock.

5. A gun as claimed in claim 1 including a trigger guard, said trigger being pivoted upon said trigger guard and said trigger guard being adjustable relatively to said stock.

6. A gun as claimed in claim 1 wherein resilient means are associated with said trigger.

7. A gun as claimed in claim 6 wherein said reslient means comprises a leaf spring.

8. A gun as claimed in claim 1 including a slider, said trigger being pivoted upon said slider and said slider and said trigger being adjustable relatively to said stock.

9. A gun comprising a stock, a sear-like element operable to release a projectile discharging mechanism, a trigger and a recoil absorbing mass movable in an opposite direction to that which a projectile is to be discharged, said trigger being pivotally mounted for movement about an axis fixed relative to the stock and said sear-like element being mounted upon and movable with said recoil absorbing mass, and a coupling element connecting said trigger and sear in a ready to fire position of the projectile discharging mechanism, said coupling element comprising a flexible bowden cable of which a core cable is connected between said sear-like element and said trigger and of which one end of a sheath of which is secured to said recoil absorbing mass and the other end is secured relative to said stock.

10. A gun comprising a stock, a sear-like element operable to release a projectile discharging mechanism, a trigger and a recoil absorbing mass movable in an opposite direction to that in which a projectile is to be discharged, said trigger being pivotally mounted for movement about an axis fixed relative to the stock and said sear-like element being mounted upon and movable with said recoil absorbing mass, and a coupling element connecting said trigger and said sear in a ready to fire position of the projectile discharging mechanism, said coupling element comprising a flexible hose.

11. A gun as claimed in claim 10 comprising a compressible chamber connected to said hose, said compressible chamber being disposed to be compressed by said trigger, compression of said chamber being effective to effect release of said sear-like element.

12. A gun as claimed in claim 10 wherein a source of pressurized fluid is disposed within the gun, said pressurized fluid being connectable to said flexible hose to constitute means operating said sear-like element, said connection including a valve operable by said trigger.