US1818086A

US1818086A - Safety device for firearms

Info

Publication number: US1818086A
Application number: US481257A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nickl Josef
Original assignee: Mauser Werke AG
Current assignee: Mauser Werke AG
Priority date: 1929-09-24
Filing date: 1930-09-11
Publication date: 1931-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 1948-08-11

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed-Sept. 11. 1930 ZCZLM Q lifts-92f),

Aug. 11, 1931. J. NICKL I SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed Sept. 11, 1930 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 iffamf Patented Aug. 11, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEF NIGKL, OF OBERNDORF, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO MAU SER-WER-KE A. G., OF'

OBERNDURF, A. N., GERMANY, A JOINT-STOCK COMPANY OF GERMANY SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Application filed September 11, 1930, Serial No. 481,257, and in Germany September 24, 1929.

/My invention relates generally to safety devices for firearms and more especially to firearms having a hammer adapted to be cocked and locked in cocked position by means of a sear.

The chief object of my invention is to provide a safety mechanism which should be not only practical, eflicient, simple in construction and perfectly safe in use, but should also 10 be less liable to get out of order than firearms or safety devices in connection therewith which are of more complicated'construction such as hitherto produced or designed. 3

With this object in view I provide a safety lever constructed and adapted to allow of cockingthe hammer even if the firearm has been put safe, the said lever having as extension adapted to project into the path of 15220 the hammer so as to intercept the forward flying hammervwhen the trigger is operated, and prevent the same from hitting the firing pm.

A mechanism of this type will entail the Z32 advantage that when the firearm is put safe the cooked hammer may be released and uncooked by putting the trigger just as for purposes of firing a shot without, however, thereby causing the firing pin to be struck by the 0.530 hammer. Consequently it can never happen that a shot will be fired unintentionally in case of slipping of the hammer during the cocking or uncocking operation as sometimes will occur in winter time when the hands are cold.

lVhen the safety lever occupies the one or the other of its two end positions, the sear will not be locked due to a particular guiding means provided on thelever, but when the latter occupies its intermediate position, the said guiding means will lock the sear.

In such a case the firearm is safe and may be unloaded by retracting the breech and subsequently allowing the same to fly forward, the trigger mechanism and consequently also the hammer being locked at the time.

The herein mentioned guiding means of the safety lever comprises a radial recess provided in the lateral wall or surface of the lever and whereof the median portion, is

curved or concentric to or about the pivotal axis of the safety lever, so as to be adapted to pass or slide over a lug of the sear and lock the same, while the two end portions of said recess corresponding to the two end positions of the lever, are enlarged for the purpose of releasing thesear. The aforesaid extension of the safety lever which, when the firearm is safe, will act to intercept and lock the hammer,'is shaped to form a lug or nose adapated to be moved into the path of the hammer and to engage with a lateral abutting surface provided on the hammer in the neighbourhood of the pivot thereof,.prior to the engagement of the hammer with the firing pin, that is to say, for the purpose of preventing the hammer from hitting the firing pin or firing a shot.

As in a firearm of the herein described type the safety lever can occupy three important positionsof various times, it is necessary and advisable to provide means which will clearly indicate the relative position of the'lever at any particular time and it is another object of my invention to provide such means in connection with the particu-' lar safety mechanism herein described. To this end and with this object in view I provide on the safety lever two marks of different colors adapted to be masked and whereof the one is visible when the firearm is in safe condition and the other one is" visible when the firmarm is in firing condition or not safe. At the intermediate position of the safety lever, that is to say, the position for-unloading the firearm, both marks are visible. The safety lever is so shaped and mounted and the two marks are provided thereon at such places that at the one end position of the lever the one mark will be masked and concealed behind a projecting part or member of the rear barrel extension and in the-other end position of the lever the other mark will be masked and concealed behind the side wall of the handle frame. The two marks in themselves may be shaped to form shallow bores in the safety lever and the one bore or shallow cup may be filled or coated with red paint while t e Other one may be given a white color.

Thus upon glancing an eye on the firearm it will at once be seen whether the same is safe or ready for firing a shot or in readiness for unloading.

)Vith the above recited and ancillary objects in view, reference is had to the following specification and annexed drawings in which there is exhibited one example or embodiment of the invention which is in no way intended as a limitation upon the scope of the subjoined claims as it is to be clearly understood that variations and modifications which fairly fall within the true scope of said claims may beresorted to when found expedient.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and showing, for purposes of exemplification, a preferred form and manner in which the invention may be embodied and practised, but without limiting the claimed invention to such illustrative instance:

Figure 1 shows in elevation a pistol provided with the improved safety mechanism, the parts being illustrated in position ready for unloading; Figure 2 shows in elevation, partly in section, the parts with the hammer in full cock position and the safety lever in inoperative position; Figure 3 is a similar view showing the parts with the hammer in half-cock position and the safety lever in safe position; Figure a is -a similar view illustrating the parts with the hammer lowered upon the firing pin (not shown) and the safety lever in inoperative position; Figure 5 shows in elevation the sear partly broken off Figure 6 is a similar view of the safety lever; Figure 7 is a fragmentary illustration of the pistol with the safety lever in operative or safe position and Figure 8 is a similar view showing the safety lever in inoperative position and in readiness for firing.

Parts which are repeated in the several figures will bear the same reference characters in each case.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 and 6 in one side surface of the safety lever a there is provided a radial recess 5 whereof the median portion is situated or defined concentrically to the axis of rotation r of the lever while the two end portions thereof are extended to form enlargements c and cl. A lateral projection of the lever is shaped to form a nose 6, while the rear end thereof is shaped to form a knurled head m. On the left-hand side or surface of the lever, taken in the direction from the handle towards the muzzle of the barrel, two shallow bores 0 and p are provided, the bore 0 being filled or coated with red paint and the bore 2? with white paint or color. Just as the position of the lever a may be, the red bore or mark 0 will be masked and concealed behind the wall member Q of the rear barrel extension, see Figure 7 or the white bore or mark p will be masked and concealed behind the side wall n of the handle frame, see Figure 8, but both bores or marks are visible, when the lever occupies an intermediate position corresponding to the operation of unloading the pistol, as will be seen in Figure 1.

The lower end of the hammer is provided with a lateral recess 9 extending to form a straight surface it occupying an inclined position relatively to the body or grip of the hammer and adapted to co-operate with the aforementioned nose 6 of the lever 11. The rear extremity of the sear i which as usually serves to lock the hammer in cocked position, is shaped to form a lug having an upward projecting nose 7:, see Figure 5. When the safety lever is moved to turn, the curved median portion of the recess Z) of the lever a will slide and pass over the nose is.

The safety lever a occupies a position which comes nearest to vertical position, as will be seen in Figures 3 and 7 when the pistol is safe, s that the enlargement of the recess 6 will lie in front of the nose is of the sear 2' and the latter is free to turn about its pivot, so that the hammer can be cocked and the trigger be operated in the usual manner. Consequently with the operating of putting the lever a in safe position the nose 6 thereof enters into the path of the hammer f and the red mark 0 is concealed behind the member 9. Now if the trigger is operated to cause the cooked hammer to fly forward, the surface it of the recess g of the hammer will strike upon the nose 6 and Will thereby be prevented from striking upon the firing pin. Thus it will be seen that when the safety lever a occu v pics the safe position shown in Figures 3 and 7, the trigger may be operated to unlock the hammer without firing a shot.

In the intermediate position of the safety lever a shown in Figure l the nose is of the sear i lies immediately opposite the edge formed by the recess 3) so as to prevent the sear from being moved for the purpose of releasing the hammer. In this position of the lever a both the red mark 0 and the white mark 39 are visible and the pistol may be unloaded by retracting the breech (not shown) and allowing the same to fly forward wh ch may be repeated as many times as required for the ejection of all cartridges until the breech bolt (not shown) will remain fixed in its rearmost position. The trigger thus will be in locked condition and, therefore, the hammer may be released to fly forward without firing a shot. v I

Is the pistol in the condition for firing a shot with the parts in position as shown in Figures 2 and 8, and with the safety lever turned to occupy a substantially horizontal position with the white mark p concealed and the red mark 0 visible, a recessed face of the nose 6 of the lever a will occupy a position parallel to the straight surface it of the lateral recess 9 of the hammer 7. As the said face lies much deeper relatively to the nose face of the lever, the former cannot come in contact with the surface it of the hammer, so that the hammer can be released from engagement with the sear, by pressure upon the trigger, and can strike upon the firing pin to efiect the discharge of a cartridge. In the position of the parts shown in Figures 2 and 8 the sear is unimpeded and adapted to move freely owing to the enlargement 0 of the recess b of the safety lever a.

From the foregoing description it is be lieved, that the advantages and novel features of my invention will be readily understood and, therefore, further detail description is deemed unnecessary.

What I claim is 1. In a firearm, the combination with a hammer and a sear, of a safety lever having means for guiding the said sear so as to allow of cooking the hammer even when the firearm is in safe condition and means for locking the hammer when released to fly forward, prior to striking upon the firing p111.

2. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, where in the means for guiding the sear operates to release the sear when the safety lever occupies one or the other of its two end positions, and to lock the sear when the lever occupies an intermediate position.

3. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guiding means comprise a radial recess in the safety lever, the said recess having a median curved portion adapted to pass by a nose of the sear and lock the same, while the two end portions of said recess corresponding to the two end positions of the safety lever are enlarged to not interfere with the sear.

4:. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for locking the forward flying hammer, when the firearm is in safe condition, comprises a nose adapted to be moved into the path of the hammer and to come in contact with a lateral engaging surface of the hammer so as to catch the latter and prevent the same from striking upon the firing 1n. P 5. A firearm as claimed in claim 1 wherein two marks of different colors are provided on the safety lever, the one mark being visible when the firearm is put safe and the other mark being visible when the firearm is in readiness for firing a shot.

6. A firearm as claimed in claim 1 wherein two marks of different colors are provided on the safety lever, the one mark 9 being visible when the firearm is put safe and the other mark being visible when the firearm is in readiness for firing a shot, which both marks are visible when the safety lever is set to occupy an intermediate position for unloading purposes.

7. A firearm as claimed in claim 1 where- I in two marks of different colors are provided on the safety lever, the one mark being visible when the firearm is put safe and the other mark being visible when the firearm is in readiness for firing a shot, the one mark being adapted to be masked and concealed behind a member of the rear barrel extension and the other mark being adapted to be masked and concealed behind the one side wall of the handle frame.

8. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein two shallow bores are provided on one side face of the safety lever to form two marks, the one bore filled or coaled with white paint, being visible when the firearm is put safe and the other 'bore filled or coaled with red paint, being visible when the firearm is in readiness for firing a shot.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

J. NICKL.