GB2189012A - Ammunition feed on an automatic firearm - Google Patents

Abstract

In an ammunition feed on an automatic firearm cartridge clips 11 filled with cartridges 12 are loaded by hand into a magazine (10). In order to ensure that the ammunition feed functions properly an empty cartridge clip must first be inserted before the full cartridge clips can be loaded. Therefore a catch lever 39 is swivelled about axle 40 by spring 41 to place a stop 42 in the insertion path when the magazine is empty, the stop only being pushed out of the path when a clip has been inserted. Only when the operator is inserting an empty clip will he have a hand free to swivel the lever 39 away. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ammunition feed on an automatic firearm The invention relates to an ammunition feed on an automatic firearm having an ammunition magazine into which cartridge-filled magazine clips can be loaded by hand.

The operating insructions for an ammunition feed of this type require an emty cartridge clip to be introduced first with the ammunition magazine completely empty, following which the desired number of full cartridge clips is inserted. This instruction is necessary to ensure that the ammunition feed functions reliably.

It has been found, however, that these operating instructions are not always followed, and that even with the magazine empty a full cartridge clip is loaded instead of an empty clip, which means that the ammunition feed cannot be guaranteed to function reliably.

The object to be achieved by the device according to the invention consists in providing a device that makes it difficult to load a cartridge clip while there is no clip in the magazine at all. In particular, the design of said locking device is such that it can be fitted into the existing conventional ammunition feed. This difficulty serves to remind personnel that it is necessary to first insert an empty cartridge clip in the magazine to release the lock before the full clips can be inserted.

In addition to the features in the opening portion of Claim 1, the device according to the invention which achieves said object also exhibits the features in the characterising portion of Claim 1.

One embodiment of the ammunition feed having the locking device of the invention is described below in detail with the aid of the accompanying drawing, where: Figure 1 is a side view of the ammunition feed, Figure 2 is a view of the same ammunition feed from the front, Figures 3-5 show the locking device of the ammunition feed represented in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Figs. 1 and 2 an ammunition magazine 10 contains a number of cartridge clips 11.

Each cartridge clip 11 contains seven cartridges 12. As indicated by arrows A, the cartridge clips 11 move downwards in the ammunition magazine 10 and, as additionally indicated by arrows B, the cartridges 12 are pushed towards the left out of the bottommost cartridge clip 11. Finally arrows C indicate how the cartridges 12 expelled from the bottommost cartridge clip 11 pass through a curved passage 13 from the magazine 10 to the firearm 14, indicated only by a rectangle.

An continuous track 15 passing around two guide rollers 16 and 17 is used to displace the cartridge clips 11. Pawls 18 are hinged at said continuous track 15 and strike the cartridge clips 11 being displaced. Two further continuous tracks 19 and 20 are used to push the cartridges 12 out of the bottommost cartridge clip 11 and these pass around two guides 21, 22 respectively. As can be seen from Fig. 2, continuous tracks 19 and 20 slope downwards to the left so that when the cartridges 12 are expelled from the cartridge clip 11 in the direction of arrow B, cartridge clip 11 can simultaneously be lowered in the direction of arrow A. The resultant of the two movements in the direction of the two arrows A and B corresponds exactly to said pitch of continuous tracks 19 and 20.Two pushers, 23 and 24 respectively, are mounted on said continuous tracks 19 and 20 and each strikes the last cartridge 12 of a clip 11 in order to push all the cartridges 12 to the left out of the cartridge clip 11. To convey the cartridges 12 expelled from the bottommost cartridge clip 11 to the firearm 14 in the curved passage 13 there is a further continuous belt conveyor 25, also designated an elevator, having a number of elevator teeth 26 between which the cartridges 12 are situated. The continuous belt conveyor of the elevator 25 passes around three guides 27, 28 and 29.

The bottommost cartridge clip 11 rests on two conveyor screws 30 and 31, which ensure that when the cartridges 12 are ejected from the bottommost cartridge clip 11 said clip 11 is lowered continuously. The tips of the cartridges 12 in the bottommost clip 11 rest upon a projectile guide plate 32 such that the case bases of the cartridges 12 cannot become jammed in the clip 11. The downward movement of the projectile guide plate 32 is controlled by a further conveyor screw 33. The projectile guide plate 32 is returned to its topmost position, shown in Fig. 1, with a jolt by springs 34 once the last cartridge 12 has been expelled from the bottom most cartridge clip 11. In Fig. 2 an additional retaining catch 35 is shown, which is facing the firearm and prevents the cartridges 12 from slipping back into the cartridge clip 11 by accident.

Said retaining catch 35 is automatically pushed back by the cartridges 12 being ejected. In addition a slide 36 prevents the cartridges 12 from slipping back out of the passage 13.

With the aid of a rack 37 mounted on the slide 36, said slide 36 is raised and lowered with the help of a cogwheel 38. The motion of the slide 36 has to coincide with the downward movement of the cartridge clips 11. Empty cartridge clips 11 are ejected downwards in a manner not illustrated here.

The firearm ammunition magazine described so far is state of the art and has only been explained to an extent necessary for understanding the locking device of the invention, which will now be elucidated with the aid of Figs. 3-5. As soon as the foregoing ammunition magazine is empty, full cartridge clips 11 are loaded into the magazine 10 from the top.

The magazine should be filled in this way before the last empty cartridge clip has been ejected, or otherwise there is a danger that when the first full cartridge clip 11 is loaded a cartridge 12 may hit one or other of the two pushers 23 and 24 on the two continuous tracks 19 and 20, which could either damage part of the magazine or prevent the magazine from functioning properly. To prevent this from happening a catch lever 39 is disposed in the foregoing magazine 10 to prevent full cartridge clips 11 from being loaded if the last empty cartridge clip 11 has already been ejected.

In Figs. 3-5 this catch lever 39 pivots on an axle 40 and is swivelled by a spring 41 into the position shown in Fig. 3 if the magazine 10 (Figs. 1 and 2) is empty. However, if there is still a cartridge clip 11 (empty of filled) in the magazine 10, the catch lever 39 remains in the position shown in Fig. 4. As long as the catch lever 39 is in the position shown in Fig. 3, a stop 42 prevents a full cartridge clip 11 from being loaded. But as soon as a cartridge clip 11, especially an empty cartridge clip 11, is loaded into the magazine 10 said cartridge clip 11 pushes the catch lever 39 into the position shown in Fig.

4. Thus the aim of said catch lever 39 is to ensure that when ammunition is loaded into the empty magazine 10 of the firearm an empty cartridge clip 11 is inserted first and only then the rquired number of filled cartridge clips. The first empty cartridge clip 11 prevents a cartridge 12 from being able to hit the pusher 23 or 24 on continuous tracks 19 and 20. This is because owing to the weight of the cartridges 12 the operator has to use both hands to push a full cartridge clip 11 into the magazine 10 and is therefore unable to also swivel the catch lever 39 away by hand. However, an empty cartridge clip 11 can be loaded into the magazine 10 with one hand and the catch lever 39 swivelled away with the other hand. If when cartridge clips 11 are loaded into the empty magazine 10 an empty cartridge clip 11 is first of all inserted, the latter is supported on the two conveyor screws 30 and 31 and prevents the second cartridge clip 11, now filled with cartridges 12, from being pushed so far into the magazine 10 that a cartridge 12 hits the pusher 23 or 24, as can happen if, for instance, pusher 24 is not in the position shown in Fig. 2, but a little further to the left in Fig. 2. As Fig. 5 shows, the catch lever 39 tips towards the left once the last cartridge clip 11 is ejected at the bottom.

Claims (3)

1. An ammunition feed to an automatic firearm, comprising an ammunition magazine into which cartridge clips filled with cartridges can be inserted, characterised in that the magazine exhibits a swivelling catch lever which when the magazine is empty projects under the action of the force of a spring into the path of the cartridge clips to be loaded and by means of its stop prevents a cartridge clip from being inserted, and which when an empty cartridge clip is inserted can be swivelled against the force of said spring out from the path of the cartridge clips to be loaded and thereby allows full cartridge clips to be loaded.

2. The ammunition feed according to claim 1, characterised in that the swivelling catch lever pivots on an axle in the magazine.

3. An ammunition feed to an automatic firearm substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.