CA1096219A - Means for loading small firearms including a box magazine and cartridge clips - Google Patents

Abstract

A B S T R A C T

The invention relates to a loading arrangement for hand fire-arms, in particular, a cartridge clip used to retain cartridges adapted to fit into a magazine of an automatic rifle for firing caseless ammunition. The cartridge clip contains the cartridges by two resilient tongues and is constructed as an insert for a container. The cartridge clip itself holds a plurality of cartridges each having a powder body and a bullet embedded therein. A clip has a rigid handle member and a pair of elongated substantially rigid tongues extending parallel to each other for receiving and engaging the powder body of the cartridge in a single row side by side. The tongues have one end resiliently secured to the handle member and the other end formed with a means for releasably securing the cartridges in place.

Description

2~3 The present application is a division of parent application No. 281,167 filed 22 June, 1977.
The invention relates to a loading arrangement for a hand fire-arm, in particular a cartridge clip facilitating filling of the magaæine whilst tensioning the follower spring.
Automatic hand fire-arms have a high rate of fire, so that an adequate store of cartridges and a rapid supply of the cartridges in store must be ensured, if the advantage of the hlgh rate o~ fire of automatic hand fire-arms is to be maintained. Interchangeable magazines, constructed in particular as bar magazines, have therefore galned significance for auto-matic hand fire-arms. These magazines generally consist of sheet metal and are provided with magazine lips at one end.
Located inside the magazine housing is a spring-loaded follower, which pushes the cartridges inserted in the magazine housing in the direction of the magazine lips. These known magazines in fact provide an adequate number of cartridges and can also be exchanged sufficiently quickly. However, the cartridges have to be pushed into these magazines individually by hand ~0 in a troublesome manner, so that loading of a magazine requires a considerable length of time and therefore the marksman has to carry around with him the required ammunition in the form of full magazines. In the present case, the magazines are provided with magazine lips, against which the respectively foremost cartridge bears under the action of the follower.
The cartridges can only be introduced and removed in their longitudinal direction, i.e. at righk~angles to the magazine in the direction in which the magazine lips form a guide.
This is also the reason why filling of the magazine with cartridges is relatively troublesome and time-consuming.

In the case of repeating rifles it is also known to provide magazines in the gun itself with a built-in follower and with magazine lips, but loading with cartridge clips is only possible with twin-row magazines, in which the clear spacing of the magazine lips is greater than the diameter of a cartridge. Nevertheless, the cartridges must ~e pushed into the magazine more or less individually and the time required for this is too great for an automatic rifle.
Finally, a rifle is also known with a built-in magazine and a magazine part which can be inserted, in which the magazine lips and follower are incorporated in the gun and a magazine shaft is provided with a lateral opening, in which the cartridges located in a packing together with the packing forming the magazine part can be inserted. ~owever, in this case, the packing must be adapted exactly to the shape of the magazine. Since it must receive the packing, the maga zine shaft must be larger than would be necessary solely for receiving cartridges. It is not of great importance if the magazine shaft projects outwards from the rifle, because then the magazine shaft can be used as an additional hand grip.
However, the increase in the cross-section of the magazine shaft causes considerable disturbance if a bar magazine or drum magazine located parallel to the barrel is used.
The object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, reusable cartridge clip the use of which facilitates rapid loading of the magazine with ammunition by means of inserting lnto the magazine the portion of the clip which holds the bullets in a single row without having to tolerate an increase in cross-section of the magazine or magazine shaft.

9~96~9 According to the present invention there is provided a clip for holding a plurality of cartridges each having a powder body and bullet embedded therein. The clip includes a rigid handle member and a pair of elongated substantially rigid tongues extending parallel to each other for receiving and engaging the powder body of said cartridge in a single row side by side. The tongues have one end resiliently secured to the handle member and the other end formed with means for releasably securing the cartridge in place.
Advantageously the tongues are leaf springs having at least one longitudinal flat strip adapted to beàr ayainst the propellant body.
Preferably the tongues of the clip are formed in one piece and have a connecting yoke member secured in the - handle member.
The present loading arrangement which is suitable j both for bar magazines and, with an appropriately curved - ~1 construction, ~or drum magazines, provides the marksman with the ., .. _ _ _ . _ _ _ . _ . . . . . . . . .. . . . -- _ , .. .. ... , ., _ _ . . . . .. .. . . . . .. ... . . _ _ .

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possibility o~ filling the magaæine quickly a~d without problems, if necessary after removal from the gun. Thus, the capacity of the magazine is not limited to the capaci~y of a cartridge clip 7 because it is quite possible to introduce cartridges from several cartridge clips in succession with a corresponding filling length of the magazine. SiQCe the ~ront ~ace of the magazine is open over virtually the entire cross-section ~nd there are ~o ma~azine lips which hinder filling, the cartridges held in a cartridge clip can be i~troduced in seconds with biasing of the follower sprin~
In practice, the cartridge clip thus consists solely of ~wo to~gues retai~in~ the cartridges in a resilient m nner~ which tongues are arranged roughly parallel to each other~ Therefore, a cartridge clip of this type can bs produced at reasonable cost o~ the one h~n~
and can be re-used on the other hand. In -this case, the cartridge clip can be re-filled with caxtridges without auxiliary maaus~
~he channels in the magazine make it possible ~o in~roducé the ! cartridge clip o~er approximately the full length of the ~ongues.
Due ~o this 7 the cartridges are held reliably during the i~troduction process, in which case they are received by the c ætridge ~uides i~
the magazine, without being able to vary their mutual position, be~ore the car~ridge c;lip is remo~ed. The one-way barrier preven*s the cartridges from being dra~nn out of the open froht ~ace of the ma~azi~e.
.
This o~e-way barrier can be constructed in ~ery ~aried ways~
for example in the manner of a clampin~ roller free whee~ or a locking mechanism. I~ a preferred embodimè~t~ the o~e-way barrier i8 construr~ted as a ~stop spring held in a recess i~ ~he ma~azi~e~
whereby -tke edges of the recess, a~ainst which the stop spri~ bears~
enclose a wedge angle opening i~ the insertion direction~ whereas the opposing edges enclose an angle bringin~ about automatic locki~g a~d .

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in particular are at right-angles to the insertion direction.
This embodiment ls particularly suitable for caseless ammuni-tion with a square powder body. If conventional cartridges with a circular cross-section are used, then it must be ensured that the angle between the cartridge and edge of the recess opens in the insertion direction and that jamming occurs in the outlet direction, as is known in principle from the afore-mentioned free wheel.
The loading arrangement is preferably used in automatic rifles for firing caseless ammunition. This caseless ammunition consists of a prismatic powder body or propellant body, at one end face of which the bullet embedded in the powder body projects.
The cross-section of the powder body prism is generally a square with chamfered longitudinal edges. In a magazine for ammuni-tion of this type, in order to prevent tilting of the ammunition and thus damage to the powder body which cannot withstand high mechanical stress, in a preferred manner, the magazine comprises longitudinal guide faces engaging the powder body, which guide the side and front faces of the powder body. Through the use of preferably four such guide surfaces tilting and thus local excess stress on the powder body is prevented from the beginning and troublefree operation of the gun is ensured, even with a hi~h firing rate.
The spring-loaded tongues of the cartridge clip may be constructed in various ways, for example as wire springs wi-th a circular or polygonal cross~section. Em~odiments with wire springs are particularly suitable for ammunition with cases, where the wire springs engage in recesses in the case, for example the extractor edge. However, there are certain objections to the mounting of caseless ammunition by wire springs.
Therefore, tc be usable with caseless ammunition in preferred ~? ~

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embodiments of the invention, the spring-loaded tongues are constructed as leaf springs, which rest flat against lateral notches in the powder body. In this case, the dimensions of the lateral notch or recess provided in the powder body are such that the depth of the notch is approximately the thickness of the leaf spring and the width of the notch is equal to the width of the leaf spring. On the one hand, it is thus ensured that the spring-loaded tongues do not project much beyond the cross-section of the cartridges and on the other hand, til-ting of the cartridges about an axis in the plane of the two spring-loaded tongues and at right-angles -to the length of the tongues is prevented. Retention of the cartridges in a reliable position is thus achieved, which is conducive to reliable and rapid filling of the magazine. It will thus be understood that notches for the tongues can likewise beprovidedin the case of ammunition with cases and is also not limited to the construction of the tongues as leaf springs.
The stop spring provided as a one-way barrier is prefer-ably constructed with a U-shape and the sides of the U, which form the actual one-way barrier, are provided with shoulders for the passage of the tongues of the cartridge clip. Due to these shoulders, it is unnecessary to provide one-way barriers located on both sides of the tongues.
The spring deflection which the sides of the U-shaped stop spring must accomplish is fixed in the case of predetermined dimensions of the cartridge, if a reliable operation is to be ensured. Furthermore, for reasons of a reliable operation, the cross-section of the sides of the stop spring should also not fall short of predetermined dimensions. In addition, the spring force should only be so great that a reliable operation is ensured, without the force necessary for inserting the cartridges, with 62~

spreading of the sides of the stop spring and at the same time the stress on the powder body caused by the latter being too great. In order to satisfy all these requirements with the simplest production possibility of the stop spring, the yoke of the stop spring is preferably bent by 90 out of the p]ane of the sides and is in turn shaped as a W. Due to this extension of the resiliently stressed area of the stop spring, on the one hand, a relatively large cross-section, which is constant over the length of the spring, can be used and on the other hand, the local bending stress is very low. Furthermore, this spring, whose sides are parallel to the open end face of the magazine and whose W-shaped yoke is located in the plane of one longitudinal wall of the magazine, can be located in a favourable manner. Finally, depending on the large length of the yoke, the sides move virtually parallel to each other.
Depending on the shape of the cartridges, conventional magazines have a slender rectangular cross-section. However, with caseless ammunition, the individual cartridges are much more compact and therefvre the magazine cross-section may have the ~0 shape of a rectangle, whose length and breadth have a ratio of approximately 1:1 to 1:2.5. Whereas, in known magazines of very slender ~ross-section, the follower spring likewise has to have a slender rectangular cross-section, which leads to high deformation of the follower spring in the region of the corners, in the case of a loading arrangement according to the invention, the follower spring is constructed as a compression spring with circular cross-section and the outer diameter of the follower spring is greater than the width of the ammunition at right-angles to the force exerted by the follower spring. The enlargement of the magazine cross-section caused by the latter, at right-angles to the length of the cartridge and at right-angles to ~he feed direc-tion of the cartridges is not troublesome if the magazine is constructed in a manner known per se as a bar magazine arranged parallel to and above or below the barrel, because without this the ~idth of the gun is greater than the width of the magazine and therefore no further space is required by the magazine.
The cartridge clip may consist-of a fron~ plate and two tongues attached to the front plates. However, the ~wo tongues are preferably made in one piece and connected to form a U by a yoke. Thus, in the simplest embodiment, the entire cartridge clip consists solely of a U-shaped leaf spring. However, a synthetic plate is injected or pressed around the yoke o the U and a handle is ormed at the end face of this plate remote from the tongues~ Thus, handling of the cartridge clip is simplified considerably. If, in addition, the plate is con-structed as a cover for a container, the size o which is arranged to receive a cartridge clip filled with ammunition, a very practical loading system is thus created. The cartridge clip and container form a transportation unit which pxotects the ammunition until the magazine is filled with the latter.
In order to facilitate handling of the container on the one hand and on the other hand to combine a convenient size of the container with an adequate quantity of ammunition to be carried by the marksman on his body, several containers are preferably arranged side-by-side in a row with one surface located in a common plane attached to a film which can be torn of~ along the dividing line between two containers. Thus, a clip for attach-ment to the belt is provided or formed on the containers or on the tear-off ~ilm. Therefore, both individual containers as well as groups of containers held together by the film can be carried along on the belt. In addition, the tear-off film has th~ advan~age that endless strips of containers -- 9 ~

can be produced and transported to the front, where they can be divided into varying lengths without any tools, as required. In addition, each marksman can divide the groups of containers as desired according to his own requlrements. Due to this, he can attach groups of containers, which seem appropriate to him, at various points on his belt and he can also separa-te and throw away empty containers, which hinder him, by tearing them from full containers. The containers as well as the film preferably COIlsiSt of a synthetic material suitable for this. The base of the container located opposite the front plate is provided with recesses for the ends of the tongues projecting above the cartridges. In the case of tongues located eccentrically on the synthetic plate, two pairs of such recesses are provided, in order that the cartridge clip can be introduced after being turned through 180.
Further details and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which includes features excerpted from the parent application which provide a more complete explanation of the relationship of the clip with the magazine in addition to a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the drawings.
Figure l shows partly in side view and partly in sectional view, the breech and magazine area of an automatic rifle e~uipped with a magazine according to the invention, Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the magazine on line II-II of figwre l, Figure 3 is a section on line III-III of figure 2, Figure 4 is a view of a stop spring in the direction of arrow IV of figure 2, Figure 5 shows partly in longitudinal section, partly in elevation, a cartridge clip provided with ammunition and inserted in a container and 6;~
Figure 6 is a section on line VI-VI of Figure 5.
The example illus~rated in Figure 1 is an automatic rifle which is intended Eor firing cartridges without cases.
Located in part 2 fixed to a barrel 1 is a cylindrical bore 3, whose axis extends at right-angles to the axis of the ~arrel 1 and intersects the axis of the barrel. Mounted in this bore is a cylindrical breech mechanism par~ 4 which is able to tilt about the axis of the bore 3. In Figure 1, the breech mechanism part 4 is shown in the firing position, in ~hich a cartridge cha~ber machined in the breech mech~nism par~ aligns with the bore 5 of the barrel 1. The cartridge chamber comprises a front section 6 for receiving the point of a bullet 7, which projects from a propellant or powder body ~ of a caseless cartridge inserted in a cartridge chamber ~. At the rear, the cartridge chamber is provided with an enlarged section 10, in which a cylindrical sealing sleeve 11 is inserted. A firing pin 21 mounted in a transverse bore in the breech mechanism part 4 is directed approximately radially with respect to the bullet 7 and is located opposite a side face of the propellant body 8 in the region o the bullet 7 projecting into the pxopellant body. At this point, an ignition mass is embedded in the propellant body 8, which mass is supported by the bullet.
A hammer 26 for initiating a shot strikes the rear end of the firing pin 21 r which hammer co-operates in the conventional manner with the members of a trigger device 27, which is in turn in operative connection with a trigger 28 not shown in detail.
For loading the gun, the breech mechanism part 4 c~n be tilted through 90 into a loading position, in which the cartridge chamber ~ is at right~angles to the axis of the bore 5 of the barrel 1, whereby the section 10 of the car~ridge chamber 9 faces a magazine 31 locatea ~ 9GZl~
above the barrel 1, parallel to the latter. This magazine 31 is a bar magazine, in which cartridges ~2 consisting of the propellant body 8, the ignition mass and the bullet 7 are arr2nged such that they are at right-an~les to the firing direction and the free points of the bullets 7 point to the axis of the barrel. The cartridge ~4 respectively foremo~t in the magazinel prepared for the next shot (which is located at the end of the magazine remote from the mu~zle) aligns with the cartridge chamb~r 9 in the breech mechanism part 4, w~en the breech mechanism part 4 is located in the loadin~ position. ~or this, a stop 12 located in the gun is provided against which the cartridge.34 bears under the action of a follower spxing 1~. The stop 12 projects somewhat into the magazine through the open en~ face of the magazi~e 31~ The magazine 31 comprises an elongated housing 14 on whose basé (not~shown) the follower spring 1 is supported and at whose end opposite the base a lip member 15 is located~

Ser~ing to suppl~ the respectively foremost cartridge 34 from the magazine 31 or lip member 15 into the cartridge chamber 9 of the breech mechanlsm part 4 located in the loading position i~ a loadin~ lever 51, which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the magazine in a slot 52, parallel to the magazine 31, of a stationary bearing part 53 and is mounted to tilt about an axis parallel to the axis of the breech mechanism part 40 The loading lever ~1 is located beside the magezine 31 and at one end comprises z lateral projection 55 and is provided with a pivot pin 54~ which is able to move in the slot 52. At the e~d opposite the projection 55 the loading lever 51 comprises an æm 56, which co-operateswith a control cam 57 on a ~lide 41 serving to tilt the breech mechanism part 4. ~he slide 41 is actuated by.a gas pressure loading device known ~er se (not shown~. q`he cartridge 34 respectively located ~ 6~

OppoSite the cartridge chamber 9 is introduced into the breech mechanism part 4 by the loading lever by means of the projection 55.
On its front end face, to which the arrow IV in Fig. 2 points, the maga~ine 31 is open over the entire cross-section of the cartridges ~2. ~ue to this, the car~ridges 32 can be introduced into the magazine from the end face either if the part 2 is appropriately hollow and the loading lever 51 can be swung out or if the magazine 31 is removable or is arranged in the gun so that it can be swung away from the part 2 at least in the region of the part 2. Located in the lip member lS, as illustrated i~ Figure 4, is a stop spring 16, which consists of a spring steel wire having a circular cross-section and whose free resilient sides 17 are each provided with an outwardly directed shoulder 18. The yoke of the U-shaped stop spring 16 is bent through 90 out of the plane of the sides 17 and is in the shape of a W, as shown in Fig. 2. The respectively foremost cartridge 34 bears against the sides 17 under the action of the follower spring 13. In this case, the sides 17 are pressed against inclined surfaces 19~ which enclose a wedge angle, which brings a~out automatic locking, so that the sides 17 cannot be pushed outwards by the propellant body 8 of the cartridge 34. The W-shaped yoke 20 of the stop spring 16 is located in a recess in the lip member 15, parallel to the axis o~ the barrel 1. Provided opposite the areas of the sides 17 ~hich are not offset are inclined surfaces 22 on the lip member lS, which cause spreading of the two sides 17 when a force is exerted in the direction of arrow IV on the sides 17~ -Therefore, if a cartridge 32 is introduced into the magazine in ~he ~irection of arrow IV, then the propellant body 8 pushes the sides 17 outwards and can be inserted in the magazine.
After the p~opellant body 8, the sides 17 return to the position shown, in which they prevent withdrawal o~ the - ~3 ~
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cartridge 34 in a direction opposed to the arro~ IV of Fig. 2.
In the magazine 31, the cartridges 32 are guided by guide surfaces 23, as seen in Figure 3, bearing against the sides of the propellant body 8. Guide surfaces 24 are also provided, against which the cartridges 32 bear by the end faces of the propellant body 8. The bullets 7 are located in a channel-like recess.25 in the magazine 31 at a distance from adjacent surfaces. The guide suraces 23 are respectively located in short areas in the longitudinal directi~n of the cartridge~ Provided between ~he guide surfaces 23 bearing on the same side of the cartridge is a bulge 46 in the shape o~ a.
section of a cylinder~ which guides the follower spring 13.
In order not to ha~e to insert the cartridges 32 in the magazine 31 individually, which is naturally possible, even if time-consuming, a cartridge clip 29, shown in Figure 5, has been developed, which comprises a synthetic plate 30 with a handle 33 formed on one side and tongues 35 projecting at right-angles on the other side. The tongues 35 are made in one piece and interconnected by a yoke 36 moulded in the synthetic plate 30~ The tongues 35 consist of a resilient strip-like flat matexial, which fox reinforcemen~ is providea ~-ith an outwaraly cur~.ed longitudinal reinforcing fin 37 as seen in Figure 6.
The propellant bodies 8 of the cartridges 32 are provided on two opposite sides with recesses or notches 38, whose depth is approximately equal to,the depth of the tongues 35 and whose width is equal to the width of the tongues 35. Due to this, the powder bodies, against whi~h the tongues 35 bear with mutual pre-tension are held in a secure position and can only be removed or withdrawn in the longitudinal direction of the tongues 35. A~ the free ends, the tongues 35 are provided with transverse reinforcing fins 39 directed at right-angles to the longitudinal reinforcing fins 37, which transverse --, 1~ -- .

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fins 39 curve inwards and on the one hand facilitate insertion of the cartridges in the longitudinal direction of the tongues 35 owing to the inclined position of the ends of the tongues 35 and on the other hand positively prevent unintentional a~d undesirable displacement of the cartridges in the longitudinal direction of the ton~ues towards the end of the tongue, ~hen the cartridge clip has been filled.

For insertion of the ten cartrid~es of a ~ull cartridge clip 29, the latter is gripped by the handle 33 and ln the region of the shoulders 18, the distance between which is somewhat ~reater than the distance between the outer sides of the two tongues, the free ends of the tongues 35 are inserted in the magazine in the longitudinal direction until the synthetic plate 30 comes to bear against the end face of the Iip member 15, in which case the follower spring 13 is compressed. During the subsequent withdrawal of the cartridge clip 29, the sides 17 engage behind the f'oremost cartridge ~4 in the extraction direction and hold the latter secure. For this, the propellant bodies 8 are preferably ch~mfered along their longitudinal edges.

Since a maga3ine 31 preferably has a carrying capacity which i8 a multiple of a cartridge clip 29 having a con~enient size, several cartridge clips can be emptied one after the other into the magazine.

~ he cart~idge clips can be filled very easily both manuall~
and by machine. In order to protect the cartridges 32 located in the cartridge clip 29, from damage and other influences, whilst bei~
transported and carried by the marksman, a container 40 is provided, which i~ open on one side and can be closed by the synthetic plate 3 as a lid. Provided in the base of the container are recesses 42 for receiving the free ends of the to~gu~ 35 provided with the 6;~

transverse reinforcing fins 39. Preferably, several containers 40, with their lar~est surface ad~oining each other, are placed side-by-side and in~erco~nected in a detachable manner by a tear-off ~ilm 43 loc~ted on one narrow longitudinal side. The film 43 a~d container 40 may be connecte~ by sticking or welding or the like.
Also provided or formed on the container 40 or on -the foil 43 is a clip 44 open at the side remote ~rom the handle ~3, which cli~
comprises an opening 45 for the marksman's belt: By means of the c~ips 44, a number of ~ontainers 40 determined by tearin~ off the foil ~3, can be attached to the belt and carried along comfortably in this ~ay. The empty cartridge clips can either be reinserted in the container or, however, like the eontainer, thrown away, if they are trcublesome durin~ fighting.

Claims (7)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A clip for holding a plurality of cartridges each having a powder body and bullet embedded therein comprising a rigid handle member and a pair of elongated substantially rigid tongues extending parallel to each other for receiving and engaging the powder body of said cartridge in a single row side by side, said tongues having one end resiliently secured to said handle member and having the other end formed with means for releasably securing said cartridges in place.

2. The clip according to claim 1, wherein said tongues are leaf springs having at least one longitudinal flat strip adapted to bear against said propellant body.

3. The clip according to claim 1, wherein the tongues of said clip are formed in one piece and have a connecting yoke member, said yoke member being secured in said handle member.

4. The clip according to claim 1, wherein said handle member of said clip is formed of a unitary molded plastic and said tongues are embedded therein.

5. The clip according to claim 1, including a container for said clip, said container comprising an envelope adapted to cover said cartridges and tongues, said handle member forming the closure for said envelope.

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6. The clip according to claim 5, including frangible means for securing a plurality of said containers in abutting relationship.

7. The clip according to claim 1, including means for attaching said clip to a belt, said means being formed on said handle member.

- Page two of Claims -