GB2251292A - Firing pin arrangement for a weapon - Google Patents

Description

Firing pin arrangement for a weapon The invention relates to a firing pin arrangement for a weapon, preferably hand weapon, with a firing pin and a firing hammer acting on the firing pin and driven by a hammer spring, said firing hammer being pivot-mounted in a weapon part housing a breechblock whereby the firing pin can assume a firing position and a starting position, said starting position being further back in relation to the firing position, whereby a device is provided for moving the firing pin into the starting position and for holding it there.

In such known weapons the firing pin is held in the withdrawn ready-to-fire starting position by a spring and is brought into this position by said spring. The force of this spring (termed here as return spring) opposes the force of the hammer spring, and, to fire a round, the hammer spring must also overcome the force of the return spring.

In addition, such return springs frequently fail due to their extreme loading as a result of the high velocity to which they are subjected by the firing hammer.

The object of the invention is to avoid these disadvantages.

The object of the invention is achieved in that the device for moving the firing pin into the starting position exhibits a driving device which is coupled to the cocking motion of the firing hammer whereby the device for holding the firing pin in the starting position is coupled to the striking motion of the firing hammer.

In a known weapon, the VP 70 pistol of the Applicant, a driving device is known which is coupled to the cocking motion of the weapon if said cocking is performed via the cocking trigger whereby said driving device moves the firing pin back from its firing position and holds it in the withdrawn starting position until directly before the round is fired. However, this weapon has no firing hammer, and the firing spring of the known weapon acts directly on the firing pin. The above-mentioned withdrawn position of the known weapon corresponds to that position in which the firing spring is under maximum tension, and the firing of the round is triggered in that the above-depicted retaining of the firing pin is eliminated.However, this known weapon also exhibits a return spring which means that the firing pin is slightly withdrawn in its mounting in relation to its firing position whereas, with the firing spring tensioned, the firing pin is very much further withdrawn. Thus, this known weapon basically exhibits three possible positions of the firing pin whereas the weapon according to the invention proceeds from the fact that the firing pin can generally assume only two different positions within its mounting.

The advantage of the invention is that because there is no return spring the disadvantages of the weapon relating to the presence of a return spring are avoided. Hence, the energy of the firing hammer can be reduced in comparison to the initially described weapon, and this means that the energy necessary for cocking the firing hammer is reduced.

This may be of advantage both for semi-automatic handguns as well as for fully automatic weapons, preferably hand weapons, for example machine guns, submachine guns or automatic rifles. A smaller proportion of the energy produced by the propellant charge of the cartridge is required for executing the cocking operation which takes place automatically after the firing of a round. The weaker hammer spring also results in a lower trigger force ("trigger weight"), which is of great advantage.

A further advantage is that with the weapon ready to fire, i.e. with the firing hammer cocked, because the firing pin is positively held in kts withdrawn position there is a reliable guarantee that the weapon will not fire without the firing hammer striking. Conversely, in the known weapon on which the invention is based, it is possible with the weapon cocked for jolts to cause the firing pin to move against the force of the return spring toward the cartridge and to cause the latter to detonate without the firing hammer striking because, in the known weapon, the firing pin is held in its withdrawn position only non-positively. Furthermore, due to the elimination of the return spring it is likewise impossible for there to be any malfunctions of the weapon as a result of fouling of the return spring, as may be the case in the known weapons.

In an embodiment of the invention a lever is provided which is mounted on a weapon part stationary in relation to the firing pin mounting or on a part of the firing pin mounting such that said lever can pivot about an alis extending transverse to the longitudinal motion of the firing pin whereby in the course of its backward motion said lever comes up against a stop face of the firing pin whereby said lever has at least temporarily an effective connection to a cam rotating synchronously with the firing hammer whereby when the firing pin is in the firing position the cam pivots the lever during the cocking motion of the firing hammer in such a way that the lever executes a motion to bring the firing pin into the withdrawn starting position and, with the firing hammer cocked, holds the firing pin in this position.The advantage of this embodiment is the simplicity of its design. Preferably, the lever is a single-arm lever. Preferably, in an embodiment of the invention, the cam can come into engagement in the region of the free end of the lever. The advantage of this last-mentioned embodiment is that the parts of the weapon driving the lever can be coupled in simple manner to the firing pin even if they are at a great distance from the firing pin.

In an embodiment of the invention the cam is connected to the firing hammer such that it cannot turn. This embodiment is characterized by great simplicity. Possible sources of malfunctioning are eliminated through the absence of any moving transmission elements between the cam and the firing hammer or a mechanism cocking the firing hammer.

In an embodiment of the invention the lever is pivot-mounted on a mounting part which is releasably mounted in a barrelrigid part of the weapon. The advantage is that in this way the lever and the firing pin can be quickly exchanged together if this is necessary.

The application of the invention is intended preferably also for a weapon with rotating breechblock, as described in DE-A 28 13 633 and the corresponding US Patent 4 348 941. Through this reference the entire content of these two publications is made the content of the present application. In a weapon with such a rotating breechblock the firing pin must be in its withdrawn position at least while the rotating breechblock is turning. In such a case, it must merely be ensured that, when applying the invention, the start of the cocking motion of the firing hammer is timed with such accuracy that the firing pin is in the withdrawn position when the moving breechblock turns.

In an embodiment of the invention the firing pin is of such design that it can move backward out of the firing position even though, basically, the device for moving the firing pin into the starting position assumes its position when the firing hammer has struck. This arrangement may be of advantage preferably in weapons for caseless ammunition in which the combustion gases drive the firing pin to the rear and impact loads due to impacting on hard stops are prevented because the firing pin is freely moving. In special embodiments of the invention the depicted effect can be achieved by particularly simple means in that in the region in front of the stop face the firing pin has a forward-extending recess corresponding at least to the length of the firing pin travel plus the thickness of the lever measured in the longitudinal direction of the firing pin.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a specimen embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings which show essential details of the invention, as well as from the claims. The individual features may be implemented either individually or in any desired combination in an embodiment of the invention. The drawings show only those parts of a weapon which are important for understanding the invention; any details which are not necessary for an understanding of the invention have been omitted.

Fig. 1 shows a side view, partially in section, through an automatic hand weapon, namely an automatic rifle, in the region of the firing hammer and the cartridge chamber, partially in longitudinal section, with the firing hammer cocked; Fig. 2 shows a view corresponding to that in Fig. 1, truncated in relation to Fig. 1, with the firing hammer having struck; Fig. 3 shows a section on line III-III in Fig. 1.

The parts shown in the drawing are the parts of an automatic rifle which is set up for firing caseless cartridges. A part 2 which is rigidly connected to the barrel of the weapon (not shown) contains a cylindrical bore 3 whose axis is perpendicular to the barrel axis and intersects the barrel axis. Mounted in this hole 3 is a cylindrical breechblock 4 which is rotatable about the axis of the hole 3. The drive mechanism of the weapon is described in the two initially mentioned publications. Fig. 1 and 2 show the breechblock 4 in the firing position. In this firing position a cartridge chamber 9 in the breechblock 4 aligns with a bore 5 which becomes the bore of the barrel. A caseless cartridge in the cartridge chamber 9 exhibits a propellant body 8 with projectile 7 projecting at the front.

The cartridge chamber 9 exhibits projections 6 which project into its inside and which form contact faces for positioning the caseless cartridge. In its end region facing away from the projectile 7 the propellant body 8 contains an ignition charge. The caseless cartridge was loaded with the breechblock 4 in a position which is turned through 900 in a counterclockwise direction in relation to the position shown, and the caseless cartridge was inserted into the cartridge chamber 9 from a magazine (not shown) through a bore 12 disposed in the part 2 which is rigid with the barrel.

A firing pin 20 is displaceably mounted in the barrel-rigid part 2 in the region behind the cartridge chamber 9 and is in the ready-to-fire position. In its middle region the firing pin 20 exhibits a thicker section 22 which, as shown in Fig. 1, has a left-hand truncated conical face 24 which becomes a circularly cylindrical section 26 ending just outside the hole 3 when the firing pin is in the readyto-fire position. The thicker section 22 is adjoined on its side facing away from the truncated conical face 24 by another truncated conical face 28 which becomes a section 30 of the firing pin exhibiting a spherical end face 32 which is impacted by the striking face 101 a firing hammer 100.

In the course of the manufacture of the firing pin the section 30 is manufactured first of all with a circularly cylindrical cross section throughout, and then two faces 34 extending parallel to the plane of projection in Fig. 1 are machined on two opposite sides of the section 30. In their rear region, i.e. on the right in Fig. 1, these faces 34 change into the circularly cylindrical part by means of a step 36. The step 36 serves to move the firing pin into the position shown in Fig. 1 through the engagement of a single-arm lever 38.

The cylindrical section 26 of the firing pin 20 is guided through a bore 40 in the barrel-rigid part 2. The rear end of the bore 40 (Fig. 1) is adjoined by a truncated conical bore 60 which forms a stop for the truncated conical section 24 of the firing pin 20, thus limiting the furthest forward position of the firing pin.

The thicker section 22 of the firing pin 20 is not directly guided in the barrel-rigid part 2, but in a part 65 releasably connected to the barrel-rigid part 2 and containing a bore 68 adapted to the outer diameter of the thicker part 22 of the firing pin 20. At the front end face 70 of the part 65 this cylindrical bore 68 changes directly into the conical bores60. The truncated conical face 28 of the firing pin 20 interacts with a truncated conical face 72 in the part 65 adjoining the rear end of the cylindrical bore 68. This truncated conical face 72 forms a stop which limits the movement of the firing pin 20 to the rear. The truncated conical face 72 is adjoined in the part 65 by another cylindrical bore 74 through which the section 30 of the firing pin 20 is guided.

By means of a hinge pin 76 the lever 38 has a low-friction swivel mounting on tabs 78 which are mounted on the part 65.

The swivelling axis of the lever 38 extends basically transverse to the firing direction, but is outside the longitudinal axis of the firing pin 20. The part 65 is connected to the barrel-rigid part 2 in the manner of a bayonet catch. A spring-loaded pin 79 engages a groove-type indentation at the edge 80 of the part 65 and secures the latter in its locked position. After turning through 900 in a counterclockwise direction and without using tools the part 65 can be removed out of the recess 82, 84 accommodating the part 65 whereby the firing pin 20 is also removed. In this connection, the firing hammer must be cocked.After releasing the hinge pin 76 it is possible to release the connection between the firing pin 20 and the lever 38 by displacing the lever 38 upward in relation to the firing pin 20 as viewed in Fig. 3; the section 30 of the firing pin hereby comes into the wider region 88 of a keyhole-shaped recess whose narrower region 90, when the weapon is ready to operate, accommodates the section of the firing pin 20 exhibiting the faces 34.

The firing hammer 100 exhibits an approximately U-shaped plate whose legs 104 and 106 are connected by a yoke 108 which is recessed to form the striking face 101. By means of the right-hand leg. 106 the firing pin 100 is swivelmounted directly on a pin 110 mounted in the barrel-rigid part 2. Coaxial with the pin 110 the left-hand leg 104 exhibits a bore 112 of larger diameter than the pin 110, and inserted into this bore 112 from inside is an insert part 114 which is rigidly connected to the leg 104. This insert part 114 exhibits a radially outward projecting cam 120 which is limited on its rearward-pointing side by a basically radially extending face 122 and which is limited, going radially outward from the pin 110, by a circularly cylindrical face 124.

In the position shown in Fig. 2, i.e. with the firing hammer 100 having struck, the cam 120 is not in engagement with the lever 138. In the shown position in which the firing pin 20 is in its furthest forward position and in which the truncated conical face 24 is in contact with the truncated conical face 60, there is still a space between a face 126 of the lever 38 and an adjoining face 128 of the part 65.

Thus, the firing pin 20 is stopped in its forward movement not by the lever 38 - whereby high tensile forces would occur in the firing pin - but by the contacting of the just-mentioned truncated conical faces 24 and 60, with the result that only relatively small tensile forces occur in the firing pin and the danger of damage is reduced. When, starting from the position shown in Fig. 2, the firing hammer 100 is moved during cocking in a clockwise direction into the cocked position shown in Fig. 1, the cam 120 comes into contact with a face 130 in the region of the free end of the lever 38 and pivots the lever 38 in a counterclockwise direction so that the free end of the lever 38 moves to the rear.Due to the fact that in the region of the narrow point 90 of the keyhole-shaped recess the lever is in contact with the shoulder 36 of the firing pin 20, the firing pin 20 is forced to move backward insofar as at the start of the cocking movement of the firing hammer 100 the firing pin 20 was in the position shown in Fig. 2.

At the start of the swivelling movement of the firing hammer into the cocked position, however, it is also possible for the firing pin to be in a position different from the position shown in Fig. 2. This is for the following reason: When the caseless cartridge is fired this leads to the development of propellant gases which act directly on the firing pin 20 and which attempt to move the firing pin 20 to the rear. The lever 38 which is in the position shown in Fig. 2 does not hinder this rearward movement of the firing pin because, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the firing pin 20, the machined faces 34 are so long that the cylindrical part of the firing pin adjoining the front end of the faces 34 cannot come into contact with the lever 38.

Therefore, depending on the time relation between the cocking motion of the firing hammer and the ignition of the cartridge, it is possible, when the projection 120 comes into contact with the lever 38, for the firing pin 20 already to have been displaced by an arbitrary distance to the rear from the position shown in Fig. 2. The hammer spring 132 which supplies the striking energy for the firing hammer 100 damps somewhat the rearward movement of the firing pin when the round is fired. This hammer spring 132 is held in a defined position by a guide piece 134 (Fig. 3).

Figs. 1 and 2 do not show those parts in the region of the firing hammer 100 which lie in front of the insert piece 114 in the viewing direction of said Figures; in particular, the left-hand leg 104 of the firing hammer is not shown, and the firing hammer 100 is cut off in the region of the yoke 108.

With the firing hammer cocked the face 124 of the cam 120 reliably supports the lever 38 in a position in which the firing pin 20 is unable to move into the interior of the hole 3 because its step 36 prevents this. In the position shown in Fig. 1, when the rearward motion of the firing pin 20 is limited by the contacting of the truncated conical faces 28 and 72 there is still a slight space between the lever 38 and the step 36 so that the lever is not subjected to bending stress through the action of the cam 120, as would be the case if the step 36 were to form a stop for the swivelling motion of the lever 38.

Even if the weapon is operated empty, i.e. without there being a cartridge in the cartridge chamber, or after a cartridge has failed to fire, the firing pin is reliably returned to its withdrawn starting position by the device according to the invention. It goes without saying that after a cartridge has failed to fire the firing hammer must generally be cocked by cocking the weapon by hand.

Notwithstanding the described specimen embodiment, the invention can also be used for weapons which fire case ammunition.

The reference characters in the patent claims are not a restriction, but are intended to facilitate comprehension.

Claims (12)

1. Firing pin arrangement for a weapon, preferably hand

weapon, with a firing pin (20) and a firing hammer (100) acting on the firing pin and driven by a hammer spring (132), said firing hammer being pivot-mounted in a weapon part (2) housing a breechblock (4) whereby the firing pin can assume a firing position and a starting position, said starting position being further back in relation to the firing position, whereby a device is provided for moving the firing pin into the starting position and for holding it there, wherein the device for moving the firing pin (20) into the starting position exhibits a driving device (38, 120) which is coupled to the cocking motion of the firing hammer (100) whereby the device for holding the firing pin in the starting position is coupled to the striking motion of the firing hammer.

2. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein a lever (38) is provided which is mounted on a weapon part stationary in relation to the firing pin mounting or on a part of the firing pin mounting such that said lever (38) can pivot about an axis (76) extending basically transverse to the longitudinal motion of the firing pin whereby in the course of its backward motion said lever (38) comes up against a stop face (36) of the firing pin (20) whereby said lever has at least temporarily an effective connection to a cam (120) rotating synchronously with the firing hammer (100) whereby when the firing pin (20) is in the firing position the cam (120) pivots the lever (38) during the cocking motion of the firing hammer in such a way that the lever (38) executes a motion to bring the firing pin (20) into the withdrawn starting position and, with the firing hammer cocked, holds the firing pin in this position.

3. Arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein the lever (38) is a single-arm lever.

4. Arrangement as defined in claim 3, wherein the cam (120) comes into engagement in the region of the free end of the lever (38).

5. Arrangement as defined in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cam (120) is connected to the firing hammer (100) such that it cannot turn.

6. Arrangement as defined in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the lever is mounted on a mounting part (65) for the firing pin (20), said mounting part being releasably mounted in a barrel-rigid part (2) of the weapon.

7. Arrangement as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein it is provided in a self-loading weapon, preferably an automatic weapon.

8. Arrangement as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein it is provided in a weapon designed for the use of caseless ammunition.

9. Arrangement as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the firing pin (20) is of such design that it can move backward out of the firing position even though, basically, the device for moving the firing pin into the starting position assumes its position when the firing hammer has struck.

10. Arrangement as defined in claims 2 and 9, wherein in the region in front of the stop face (36) the firing pin (20) has a forward-extending recess (faces 34) corresponding at least to the length of the firing pin travel plus the thickness of the lever (38) measured in the longitudinal direction of the firing pin.

11. Arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A weapon for firing a round, comprising a weapon part housing a breechblock, a firing pin which can assume a firing position and a starting position, a firing hammer pivotally mounted in the weapon part and arranged to act on the firing pin so as to drive the latter forward into the firing position, and a hammer spring for driving the firing hammer, wherein the weapon further comprises a device for moving the firing pin into the starting position and for holding it there, the device including drive means responsive to movement cf the firing hammer and arranged such that the firing pin is moved into the starting position in response to a cocking movement of the firing hammer and is released in response to a striking movement of the firing hammer.

2. A weapon according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a lever mounted on a weapon part stationary in relation to the firing pin mounting or on a part of the firing pin mounting such that the lever can pivot about an axis extending substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the firing pin, the arrangement of the lever being such that in the course of its backward motion the lever comes up against a stop face of the firing pin whereby the lever is, at least temporarily, effective:: connected to 5 ca rota1r synchronously with the firing hammer, and whereby the cam, when the firing pin is in the firing Fositic3, pivots the lever during the cocking movement of the firing hammer in such a way that the lever executes a movement bringing the firing pin into the withdrawn starting position and, with the firing hammer cocked, holds the firing pin in this position.

3. A weapon according to claim 2, wherein the lever is a single-arm lever.

4. A weapon according to claim 3, wherein the cam comes into engagement with the lever in the region of the free end of the lever.

5. A weapon according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cam is connected to the firing hammer such that it cannot turn with respect to the firing hammer.

6. A weapon according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the lever is mounted on a mounting part for the firing pin, the mounting part being releasably mounted in a barrel-rigid part of the weapon.

7. A self-loading weapon according to any preceding claim.

8. An automatic weapon according to claim 7.

9. A weapon according to any preceding claim, suitable for firing caseless ammunition.

10. A weapon according to any preceding claim, wherein the firing pin is arranged such that it can move backwards out of the firing position even though the device for moving the firing pin into the starting position assumes its position when the firing hammer has struck 11. A weapon according to claims 2 and 10, wherein, in a region in front of the stop face the firing pin has a forwardly extending recess corresponding at least to the length of the firing pin travel plus the thickness of the lever measured in the longitudinal direction of the firing pin.

12. A weapon for firing a round, the weapon being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described and shown in the accompanying drawings.