WO2000014470A1 - Automatic small firearm with a breech catch which can also be activated independently of the magazine - Google Patents

Abstract

The inventive automatic small firearm has a breech catch device which can be activated by the magazine spring of an empty magazine and which holds the breech (5) in an almost still open position when it moves back. Said breech catch device has at least one manual control element (pushbuttons 23, 25) which is only used to activate the breech catch device and not to deactivate it, as is the norm. In order to provide a manual control element which can be operated equally well by right- and left-handed users, an axle (21) passes through the arm housing (31). Said axle is configured as a pushbutton (23, 25) at each end, is fixed in a neutral position inside the arm housing (31) by springs (27, 29) which are set against each other, supports a radial cam (35) and is positioned opposite the breech catch device with said radial cam in such a way that the radial cam (35) only engages in the breech catch device and activates it when and for as long as one of the pushbuttons (23, 25) is depressed towards the arm housing (31).

Description

Self-loading handgun with a lock catch that can also be activated independently of the magazine

The invention relates to a self-loading handgun.

If positional descriptions such as "front", "rear" etc. are used in these documents, then the weapon is always ready to fire with the horizontal axis of the soul, with "front" pointing in the firing direction and "rear" pointing in the opposite direction.

The above-mentioned generic weapon is a so-called "shooting weapon", ie a weapon in which the breech is in its closed position when the trigger is actuated to fire a shot.

Such a weapon usually has a breech catch device. Such a device holds the closure in its almost open position when the magazine is empty. Closure catchers have been known since the beginning of the century. Its original purpose was to allow the magazine, which was mounted in the weapon, to be loaded past the open breech. Later, in the case of weapons with a removable magazine, the open breech served as an indication for the Protect that there is no cartridge left in the weapon; also to shorten the time required for reloading. After insertion of a new, full magazine, the breech has to be reloaded only slightly and then released, or the breech catch device can be switched off by operating a handle on the outside of the weapon. The breech closes automatically and takes the top cartridge out of the new magazine so that the weapon is ready to fire. The

The direction in which the handle must be actuated to switch off the breech stop device is hereinafter referred to as the "switch-off direction".

The breech lock or catch device also has the function of keeping the breech open even at shooting ranges, in accommodations and par excellence when handling the weapon, so that it can be seen from a distance that the weapon is not ready to fire. The magazine is then also removed from the weapon.

To hold the breech in its rear position, an empty magazine must be inserted into the weapon and the breech must be withdrawn. The feeder of the empty magazine switches the

Closure catcher, which then keeps the closure open. If the lock catch device is additionally equipped with the above-mentioned handle, this could in principle also be operated - with the lock retracted - against the switch-off direction defined above and the lock left again a little forward. It is then held in place by the breech catcher. In practice, however, the empty magazine is used regularly, not the handle for switching on the

Locking device. This is true even in guard duty. There, the old post transfers the full magazine to the new post after its shift, receives the empty magazine from it and uses this now to switch on the weapon of the breech catcher and use it to lock the breech in its open position before entering the guard room.

The property of the closure catcher, the

Shooting and its surroundings to indicate that the weapon is not ready to fire and to ensure this can gain additional importance in the case of a combined special weapon; for example, when a snow gun system with a large-caliber self-loading rifle system is combined into a single unit and - preferably - equipped with a single trigger device. A large-caliber self-loading rifle system can certainly fire grenades, i.e. explosive projectiles with considerable explosive power. Such explosive projectiles are normally detonated only at an adjustable safety distance from the weapon and the gunner. However, it cannot be ruled out that an explosive projectile that has been fired will detonate beforehand, for example if it encounters a hard obstacle close to the muzzle.

The shooter and the comrades accompanying him are then extremely at risk. It is therefore expedient for a shooter who gets into a narrowly built or densely forested terrain with a loaded weapon (i.e. terrain that does not allow the use of the large-caliber self-loading rifle system anyway) to lock the large-caliber self-loading rifle system in the rear position. This is also possible by means of the handle mentioned when the associated magazine is filled. There is only one for the two weapon systems

Trigger device before, the shooter must ensure that he does not accidentally fire the large-caliber self-loading rifle system when he actually wants to shoot with the rapid-fire rifle system. Such incorrect operation can occur, for example, in that the shooter incorrectly set the trigger device or the setting thereof has been changed by external influences, for example when crossing brushes of grazing branches. If the shooter actually wants to shoot with the large-caliber rapid-fire rifle system, all he has to do is operate the handle mentioned in the switch-off direction. The breech then moves to its forward position and the weapon is ready to fire.

However, there is a risk that the handle will also be actuated unintentionally or unnoticed in the switch-off direction, so that the breech catcher releases the breech without the shooter noticing this; such as when the shooter is forced to seek cover quickly, throws himself on the ground with his weapon and the handle hits an obstacle in such a way that it switches off the breech stop. In such a case, the large-caliber self-loading rifle system is ready to fire without the shooter being aware of it; at least as long as he does not check the condition of his weapon or overlooks the incorrect setting with excitement.

The invention is intended to remedy this problem. It is intended to develop the hand-held self-loading weapon mentioned at the outset in such a way that, while maintaining its essential advantages for improving safety, it largely precludes inadvertent release of the breech locked by the breech block.

It is already known from GB 613 281 a locking device for a self-loading rifle, which over a

Control can be turned on, but not turned off. It only switches off automatically when the lock is pulled back. The purpose is to reload the box magazine, which cannot be removed from the weapon for reloading, but has to be reloaded past the open breech from above. The breech lock is also operated as usual from the empty magazine, but not if there is still a cartridge left in the magazine. Only by means of the Operating element, it is possible to keep the breech open when the rifle is only partially unloaded, so that the magazine can be refilled.

This state of the art is outdated, because practically all modern military rifles have a removable magazine. Even if such a magazine is only partially emptied, it can be removed and refilled separately from the weapon.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that for a self-loading weapon, as set out in claim 1, the mechanism from GB 613 281 is superfluous.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1.

This solution is, apart from the above-mentioned GB 613 281, in contrast to the advantage intended by the design of previous breech arrestors, to make the weapon ready to fire only at the push of a button. Instead, the readiness to fire is effected when the breech lock is switched on by slightly withdrawing the breech. There are already weapons whose breech lock can only be switched off in this way (such as the Walther pistols PP and PPK), but with such weapons there is generally no handle for actuating the breech lock.

If the breech is pulled back while the magazine is full and the weapon is loaded, and locked by actuating the handle, a full cartridge is ejected. The shooter can store them separately, insert them into a reserve magazine or load them back into the magazine of the weapon, which, however, requires that they be removed from the weapon for a short time. If the weapon according to the invention is thrown to the ground with the breech locked, or if the gunner pushes himself through an obstacle, such as bushes, then an actuating intervention with the handle can certainly take place. However, the locking of the

Closure must not be lifted because the handle is not set up for such a function. External forces could also act on the loading lever. But even they are not sufficient to retract the closure against the force of the almost fully tensioned closing spring to such an extent that the closure lock is switched off.

At most, it would be conceivable that the breech is accidentally locked in its return during a shot. This possibility is reduced to a minimum by designing the handle as a momentary switch in accordance with a preferred development of the invention, which means that the handle only remains in its position which switches on the catch direction as long as it is actuated (claim 2). As soon as the actuation is released, the handle automatically returns to its ineffective position. Thus, even during a shot, locking of the breech is extremely unlikely if a branch or other external obstacle inadvertently actuates the handle. Because of the strong vibration that occurs when the shot is fired, the weapon is always clear of such an obstacle before the breech can reach the breech catcher on return.

It would still be conceivable that the shooter, by clumsiness or excitement, actuates the handle when firing the shot and inadvertently brings about the locking of the breech, for example because he has gripped the rifle incorrectly or inappropriately in his haste. A further development of the invention prevents this danger as follows: the handle is arranged at a point on the weapon where it is not in the hands of the shooter can be achieved during the shot (claim 3). The handle is located far enough away from the handle and the forearm, i.e. the parts on which the rifle hands are located during the shot. Even an inaccurate grasping of the weapon does not allow the accidental actuation of the handle and activation of the breech catcher.

The handle is preferably designed as a push button, which can preferably be pressed resiliently transversely to the firing direction into the weapon housing in order to switch on the breech catch device (claim 4). Thus, the handle can be easily operated with the trigger hand of the shooter, while the other hand pulls the lock back by means of the loading lever and then lets it rest on the activated lock.

The shooter's hand should always be used to operate the loading lever, which does not include the handle and actuates the trigger. In order to actuate the handle according to the invention, the hand gripping the grip piece must release its grip and actuate the handle. Now modern rifles are set up so that they can be used not only by right-handers, but also by left-handers in the same way. The loading lever on these weapons can be operated with the left hand as well as with the right hand. This is always the case with a central loading lever; in the case of a side loading lever if the shooter can implement it so that it can be gripped on the left (right-hander) or right (left-hander) side of the weapon housing. In order to enable right-handed and left-handed people to operate the handle or the push button with the trigger actuating hand, a handle is preferably provided on each side of the weapon housing with which the breech catch device can be switched on (claim 5). As far as the handle is designed as a swivel lever, swivel levers attached to both sides of the housing can be coupled to one another in a simple manner by means of a transverse shaft; with a push button as a handle, however, the coupling appears much more difficult because the two push buttons do not have to be actuated synchronously, but in opposite directions to switch on the lock catch device.

Here, the invention provides a surprisingly simple solution. This consists in that the handle, which can be actuated on both sides, has an axis passing through the weapon housing, which axis can be moved in both longitudinal directions from a middle rest position into an end position and the ends of which are each designed as push buttons. This axis is coupled to the lock catcher in such a way that it switches on the lock catcher in one of the end positions (claim 6). Each push button is on its side so far out of the weapon housing that the axis can be brought into an end position by pressing the respective push button.

The coupling to the lock catcher can be done, for example, by a tension member that is tensioned by the movement of the axis, in whatever direction, and then in turn pulls an element of the lock catcher into an effective position.

However, a control cam or a control link is preferably arranged or formed on the axle, which forms a symmetrical control cam and engages in the locking catch device as follows: in the middle, idle position of the axis, the center of the control curve lies opposite a movable switching element of the lock catch device, leaves this unactuated and allows him the unimpeded execution of one initiated by the feeder of the magazine Switch-on movement. If, however, the axis is brought into one of its two end positions, the control cam acts on the movable element and switches on the locking catch device.

In order to have the axis automatically return to a stable middle or rest position after each actuation and then hold it there, it would make sense to provide a locking ball running on a control curve. However, this would be susceptible to pollution. Therefore, according to a further embodiment of the invention, two compression springs are provided, both of which are seated one behind the other on the axle, are supported with their ends facing away from one another on a projection of the axle, and are supported with the mutually facing ends on a counter bearing which is arranged in the housing and is penetrated by the axle (Claim 8). Both springs keep the axle in a neutral position, whereby they are equally tensioned against each other. If the axle is pressed in by means of a push button formed at its end, one of the springs is relieved and the other is loaded even more. This more heavily loaded spring returns the axis to its neutral position or equilibrium position after releasing the push button. In this position, both springs are loaded equally.

As usual, the breech catch device has a switching finger which preferably engages over the front of the magazine at a point which cannot be reached by the bullet tips of the cartridges located in the magazine. If the feeder of the magazine has moved the last cartridge upwards, then it displaces or pivots the shift finger, which thereby switches on the breech catch device. The latter then retains the breech in its open position, into which it had returned due to the firing of this last cartridge. The shift finger is connected by a linkage or the like to a pawl or the like which engages in the locking path.

Now the axis with its control curve could be arranged wherever it engages under a link of the locking catch device in such a way that it is switched on.

However, the control curve preferably engages under the

Shift finger, preferably an extension of the same, and moves it when the handle is actuated into the same position in which the feeder of the magazine (after loading the last cartridge) moves it (claim 9).

With a rifle of normal construction, the handle is located far in front of the handle; in the case of a "bullpup" type rifle (without buttstock, grip in front of the magazine) close behind and above the grip, but on the side opposite the shooter's thumb. To operate the handle, the shooter must therefore loosen his grip around the handle.

The mechanism of the locking catch device in turn does not need to be modified, but can be constructed in a proven design. In the case of a fixed counter bearing for the compression springs which produce the neutral position of the axis, this counter bearing can be attached directly to the front end of the magazine shaft. No additional components are then required.

The invention will be explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment and the attached schematic drawing. In this shows:

Fig. 1 shows a partial section through a self-loading rifle according to the invention, which the Shutter catch device shows in the switched off state;

FIG. 2 shows the section along line II-II in FIG. 1, parts being omitted for the sake of clarity;

3 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 1, but with the closure catch device switched on, with the push button actuated;

Fig. 4 shows the section similar to Fig. 2 along line IV-IV in

Fig. 3, wherein a push button is pressed, and

Fig. 5 is an illustration as in Fig. 4, but with the other push button pressed.

Details of the same rifle are shown in all figures; the same reference symbols denote the same

Elements; if such elements are not described in connection with one of the figures, their description in connection with another figure also applies to this one figure.

1 and 3 each show a partial longitudinal section through the weapon housing 31 of a self-loading rifle, the muzzle of this rifle pointing to the left in the figures. In detail, a magazine shaft 1 is shown, which is bounded at the front, on the sides and towards the rear by a wall. The front magazine shaft boundary is called front wall 3 in the context of this description. The magazine shaft is open at the bottom. The magazine (not shown) is inserted through this lower opening.

Above the magazine shaft 1 and behind it, a closure 5 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, which in The direction of the arrow (FIG. 1) is movable transversely to the magazine shaft 1.

Fig. 1 shows how the shutter 5 is moving straight forward to the (in the magazine shaft 1)

Magazine to remove and reload the top cartridge (not shown).

FIG. 3, on the other hand, shows how the closure 5 sits in a rear position on a catch pawl 17 which is pivoted into the movement path of the closure 5 and is part of a closure catch device. The closure 5 is held in this seated position because it is forward through its forward spring (not shown) and into the

- Here shoulder-shaped - engagement training of the catch 17 is pressed.

This breech catcher is constructed as follows: In the weapon housing 31 is in front of the front wall 3 of the

Magazine shaft 1 and thus outside of it a transverse axis 9 is used, about which a pivoting part 6 is pivotable. The swivel part 6 has a shift finger 7, which projects approximately horizontally into the magazine shaft 1 from the front on the upper side of the magazine shaft. The pivot part 6 also has an elongated leg 11 which extends downwards in front of the front wall 3. A clothespin spring 13 wound around the transverse axis 9 is supported with its legs on the front wall 3 and on the pivoting part 6. This spring 13 causes the pivoting part 6 to pivot clockwise (FIGS. 1 and 3).

The swivel part 6 engages on its upper side in a coupling rod 15 and pushes it backwards when it swivels clockwise; and forward when it pivots counterclockwise. Behind and above the magazine shaft 1, the catch pawl 17 is pivotally mounted about an axis 18 and is loaded counterclockwise by a leg spring 19. The front lower, bevelled edge 17a of this pawl 17 rests on a pin 16 which projects transversely from the rear end of the coupling rod 15. If the coupling rod 15 thus moves backwards, it increasingly engages under the catch catch inclined surface 17a with its pin 16 and pivots the catch catch 17 against the force of its spring 19 in a clockwise direction.

In the illustration of FIG. 1, no magazine or a full magazine is inserted into the magazine shaft 1. The shift finger 7 can thus pivot freely (clockwise) into its end position shown in FIG. 1. He pushes the coupling rod 15 to the rear. Whose pin 16 engages under the catch pawl 17 and pivots it so far clockwise that its rear end from the

Path of movement of the closure 5 is led out and the closure 5 can carry out its movement unhindered.

In the case of an empty magazine, however, its feeder has reached its uppermost position, abuts the shift finger 7 and moves it upward. As a result, the pivot part 6 is pivoted counterclockwise and against the load of its spring 13 and pulls the coupling rod 15 forward. The coupling rod pin 16 sliding away to the front allows the catch pawl 17 to pivot counterclockwise under the action of its spring 19, so that the rear end of the catch pawl 17 moves upward into the movement path of the closure 5. With the next shot or after the next backward movement of the breech 5, a further advance of the breech 5 is inhibited. The latter then sits on the rear end of the catch 17 when Embodiment shown positively in the engagement training 20 (Fig. 3).

If the magazine is now removed from the position in FIG. 3 or replaced by a full one, then the remains

Closure 5 nevertheless in its rear position shown in FIG. 3; simply because the forward spring of the closure 5 is stronger than the wire spring 13 of the swivel part 6. Moreover, the high force of the advance spring in the engagement zone between the closure 5 and catch pawl 17 generates a frictional force which cannot be canceled by the spring 13. Finally, pivoting the catch pawl 17 clockwise would lock 5, i.e. move against the force of its return spring. During the active engagement shown between the catch pawl 17 and the closure 15, the shoulder-shaped engagement formation 20 is namely (somewhat) above the catch pawl axis 18. The closure 5 thus remains open.

If it is pulled backwards by an external force (actuation of the loading lever), there is no longer any frictional force, and the spring 13 switches off the locking catch device (by pivoting the pivoting part 6, displacing the coupling rod 15 and pivoting the catch pawl 17). Then the closure 5 can snap forward (arrow in Fig. 1) as soon as you release the loading lever.

In this respect, the closure catch device shown is at least partially conventional.

In front of the lower end of the elongated leg 11 of the swivel part 6, an axis 21 is shown (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5), which passes transversely through the weapon housing 31 and a longitudinal web 33 fixedly arranged therein. The axis 21 projects with one of its ends, which are formed by push buttons 23, 25, from the weapon housing 31. The first push button 23 is extended towards the inside of the housing. On its extension, it carries a trough-shaped recess designed as a control cam 35, which faces the leg 11 of the swivel part 6, that is to say it opens towards the rear. The extension of the first push button 23 has a blind hole at its inner end, which is penetrated in the middle by a spring core rod (hidden in the drawing). The spring core rod preferably has a non-circular cross-section and passes through a complementary bore in the longitudinal web 33. The axis 21 together with the control cam 35 cannot therefore twist.

The second push button 25 has on its inside

A blind hole also ends at the end. The other end of the spring core rod passes through this blind hole in the middle and is fastened in the second push button 25.

Sit on the spring guide rod on both sides of the

Longitudinal web 33 each have a compression coil spring made of wire, namely a first compression spring 27 and a second compression spring 29. The first compression spring 27 is supported at one end on the side of the longitudinal web 33 facing the first push button 23 and is seated at its other end the blind bore of the extension of the first push button 23. The second compression spring 29 is supported with its inwardly facing end on the other side of the longitudinal web 33 and is seated with its other end in the blind bore of the extension of the second push button 25. Both springs 27, 29 are installed slightly compressed, have the same spring force and thus hold the axis 21 in the neutral position shown in FIG. 2: in this neutral position, one of the push buttons 23, 25 protrudes on each side of the weapon housing 31; the lower pivot part leg 11 is located exactly opposite the center of the control cam 35, that is, where the control cam 35 is recessed the deepest. This control curve 35 thus forms the limit stop for the swivel part 6 when the shift finger 7 pivots down into its rest position under the action of the wire spring 13, that is to say does not encounter the feeder of the magazine. This is the position of FIG. 1. In the neutral position of the axis 21, the shift finger 7 and thus also the extended leg 11 and the entire swivel part 6 can therefore carry out their full swivel movement unhindered.

If, on the other hand, the first or the second push button 23, 25 is pressed in, the axis 21 moves into one of the two end positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. With the axis 21, of course, the symmetrical control cam 35 also shifts transversely to the pivoting part leg 11 and presses it backwards with one of its two symmetrically rising branches. As a result, the pivoting part 6 is pivoted into the position of FIG. 3 and the entire catch device is thereby switched on. If you keep one of the push buttons 23, 25 pressed in, you can pull the lock 5 all the way back and release it; the closure is then run onto the catch pawl 17 and held by it. Then, for the reasons already set out (see about 2 pages before), the catch 5 in turn holds the catch pawl 17 in its "catch position" when the push button 23 or 25 is released.

As a result, the control cam 35 and the feeder of the empty magazine pivot the swivel part 6 in the same way, even if the control cam 35 engages the leg 11, but the feeder on the shift finger 7 of the swivel part 6. The control cam and the feeder therefore trigger the same switching operations.

Claims

Expectations 1. Combined rifle with a large-caliber self-loading rifle system and one Rapid fire rifle system, the large-caliber self-loading rifle system having the following features: a removable magazine, a breech catcher that can be activated by the feeder of the empty magazine, and a handle only for switching on, but not for switching off the breech mechanism, even if the magazine is not empty, by the Safety of the large-caliber self-loading rifle system to indicate when only the rapid-fire rifle system is to be used. 2. Self-loading weapon according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle (23, 25) is designed and set up as a momentary switch in such a way that it remains in its switch-on state only as long as it is actuated. 3. Self-loading weapon according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle (23, 25) is arranged in an area of the outer surface of the weapon which lies outside the hands of a shooter holding the weapon ready to fire. 4. Self-loading weapon according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle (23, 25) is designed as a push button, which in the weapon housing (31) for switching on Locking device can be pressed. 5. Self-loading weapon according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a handle (23, 25) is arranged on both sides of the weapon housing (31). 6. Self-loading weapon according to claim 5, characterized by an axis (21) extending through the weapon housing (31), which is held by a spring device (27, 29) in a neutral position, in each of which a push button (23, 25) from the weapon housing (31) protrudes, the axis (21) being able to be brought into one of two end positions when one of the push buttons (23, 25) is pressed, in which it switches on the closure catch device. 7. Self-loading weapon according to claim 6, characterized in that a) the axis (21) carries a symmetrical cam (35), b) in the neutral axis position, the center of the cam a movable switching element (11) of the breech catcher so that it is opposite its movement is not hindered, and c) in each of the two axis end positions, the control cam (35) engages in the switching element (11) and thereby switches on the closure catch device. Self-loading weapon according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the spring device (27, 29) has two mutually opposite springs, preferably compression springs (27, 29), and each spring (27, 29) is supported with one end on one of the push buttons (23, 25) and with its other end on a support fixed to the housing, preferably on one of the two sides of a support body (33) fixed to the housing. 9. Self-loading weapon according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the breech catch device a) has a shift finger (7) which is adjustable by the feeder of the empty magazine, and b) the control cam (35), the shift finger (7) or the switching element rigidly connected to this (11) engages behind and adjusted in one of the end positions of the axis (21) as well as by the Feeder is possible.