US2482398A - Rifle - Google Patents

Description

Se t, 20 1949.

A. BLANTON El AL RIFLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I v Filed 001. 30, 1946 Sept, 20, 1949.

A. BLANTON El AL RIFLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Octr 30, 1946 Aiiarne y.

Patented Sept. 20, 1949 RIFLE Albert Blanton, Wallins Creek, Oscar H. Howard, Harlan, and Edgar E. Howard, Loyall, Ky.

ApplicationOctober 30, 1946, Serial No. 706,630

3 Claims.

1 V This invention relates to rifles and more par-. ticularly to the construction of gun stocks therefor, wherein a large amount of ammunition may be stored in readiness for reloading the gun with a load of shells several times without supplying the shells manuallyfrom the outside for each reloading.

The object of this invention is to provide a large capacity of ammunition in the gun stock of a rifle in such manner that the rifle charging tube may be reloaded several times with this reserve supply.

Another object is to provide a multi-chambered storage magazine in the gun stock of a rifle and means to selectively transfer the load from any one of said chambers to the shell feedingchamber of the gun. 7

Another object is to provide means in a gun stock to reload the shell feeding chamber, of said gun several times from a reserve supplyin said gun stock with one recharging of said gun stock.

Another object is to provide means in a gun stock for storing several tubes full of ammunition, and for transferring one tube full into the shell feeding tube of said gun, when recharging thereof is necessary.

A further object is to provide a shell bore through the shoulder rest of a gun stock into the breech loading chamber, provide this bore with the usual shell and spring retaining tube adaptable for locking therein in operative position, and a second larger bore through the shoulder rest for a rotatably mounted magazine, having a series of annularly arranged tubular chambers, and means for transferring a load of shells selectively from any one of said chambers to said shell bore when said tube is withdrawn.

A further object is to construct'a gun stock as defined above wherein the magazine is rotatable by means of an indicator knob, showing which of the chambers and when it is in position for transferring its load to the shell tube.

A further object is to construct a gun stock as set forth above wherein the outer end of said magazine is closed off except for a small opening for registry with any one of said tubular chambers, which opening is controlledby a oneway spring pressed valve to pass shells into and retain them in said chamber in the magazine;

.A further object is to construct a gun stock as above, wherein the inner end of said magazine is provided with a normally closed valve and passage to said shell bore in registry with any one of said tubular chambers which may .be turned to it, and manual means operable from the outside of said gun stock for opening said valve.-

Other and more specific objects of this invention will become apparent in the following de-,. tailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows the gun stock of a rifle partially in section to show the arrangement of parts constructed to illustrate a. preferred form of the invention,

Figure 2 is a shoulder rest end view of this gun stock,

Figure 3 is a section taken along the line 33 in Figure 1, M r

Figure 4 is a section taken at 44 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is another view of said gun stock partially in section to show the shell feeding tube partially inserted after a load of shells has been transferred from one of the magazine chambers to the shell bore, and

Figure 6 is a partial sectional View of the juncture of passages taken along the line 6 6 of Figure 5.

Referring now to the drawings, the gun stock I of rifle 2 is fitted with a shoulder rest portion 3 and is provided with a straight shell bore 4 extending through the shoulder rest and into the breech loading chamber 5. The shoulder rest portion may be fixed to the end of the gun stock as by screws 6, whose heads I are set into the shoulder rest to provide a smooth surface.

A shell feeding tube 8 having a feed spring 9 therein, is adaptable for insertion and removal in said bore 4, and has a lock means If) for looking it in operative position, as shown in Figure 1. Obviously, if the shell bore is loaded with shells they will extend inside the tube 8 and compress the feed spring 9 so that the spring will feed them into the breech loading chamber 5 in accordance with removal of shells therefrom for firing. The outer end of the tube 8 is provided with a grip portion H for manual insertion or removal and for turning said tube into locked or unlocked position. This grip portion II is set in a countersunk space i 2 in the surface of the shoulder rest portion so that the grip portion will be flush with said surface when the tube is in operative position and so that it mav be readily gripped while in said space.

Alongside and below the shell bore 4 is' a larger bore I3 extending from the shoulder rest to about half the length of the tube bore 4, where it is connected to bore 4 by a short curved bore M for passing shells into bore 4 from a magazine (i) in the large bore l3, as will be hereinafter more fully described. This large bore has a fourchambered magazine rotatabl mounted therein by means of shaft I5 integral therewith and mounted in bearing l6 in the gun stock at its inner end and in bearing I! in the shoulder rest portion at its outer end. The chambers 18 of the magazine are tubular in form and are annularly arranged about shaft I 5. Each chamber has substantially the same capacity as the shell bore 4 and shell feeding tube 8, so that the magazine will hold four reloadings in reserve for the feed tube 8, which may be filled to begin with, thusproviding enough ammunition thatmay be placed in the gun stock at one time to supply five times 1;;

as many shells as one normal loading of a gun not having such reserve magazine. w

A fiat oscillatable valve plate I9 is rotatably mounted on shaft l5 and vhas an opening 2% therein for registry with the curved bore it, so as to provide a passage for the shells in a magazine chamber I 8 into said curved bore. This plate is normally closed by spring 2| drawing link 22 downwardly to turn the plate 19 through the crank connection 23. When the push button 213 is pressed in against this spring 2| the plate is turned into the open valve position shown in Figure 4. V

The shaft l5 has an indicator knob 25 fixed to its outer end and is formed as shown in Figure 2 to indicate the relative positions of the chambers l8 with respect to the curved bore l l, as well as to prevent the insertion of shells through the inlet check valve 26 unless one ofthe chambers it is in registry with this valve. The inlet check valve is spring-pressed detent beveled on the outer side so that it will readily open upon-being pressed b the nose of a shell being inserted, as may be seen in Figure '5. This valve 26 and the curved bore M are so located with respect to the magazine that when the valve is registered with a chamber It, the bore '16 is inregistry with the opposite chamber 18;

The knob 25 is also set in a countersunk space 2] in the shoulder rest similar to ,the space l2 t pr ven p oje i th no fr m t e surface of the shoulder rest.

In the operation of the present device, to f ll the gun to capacity, with the muzzle of the gun lowered, the chambers I B are all filled byinsjertlon of shells, nose first, through the heck valve until no chamber will admit another shell. The shell jbore may be filled with the maximum number of shells it will accommodate with the tube 8 ins t T tube is t n i se te and locked by turning so that the lock pin' wil l,enter the arcuate groove of the lock and be held in place by the reaction of the feed spring Q.

When the shells in the feed tube have been used up, in order to recharge the shell feeding tube, it is merely necessary to withdraw this tube partially to clear the passage l4, holding the muzzle lowered, and see that one of the chambers l 8 is lined up with this passage. Then press ,push button 24 to open the control valve and allow the shells in this chamber 18 to pass through the passage or curved bore .515 into the shell bore 4. The tube 8 may .then be pushed back into its operative position and looked as already d s bedlh un is new re easedanother'tube-full of shells to be used-up,- where upon another reloading maybe similarly obtained by using another chamber @118. This reloading process may the repeated two more times, using the remaining two full chambers l8 respectively, before a new supply of ammunition will be required.

Thus a means has been provided by this device to increase the capacity of a rifle magazine fivefold. Obviously, instead of four magazine chambers, any other suitable number of chambers may be used and other obvious modifications in form and arrangeln nt of parts ma be made in this device without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

In addition to the increased ammunition capacity made possible by the invention as aboveindicated, the structures which provide this result present 'a number of additional and Very important advantages tooth structurally and operationally. These are referred to in detail, as follows:

A most important advantage is due to the location of the secondary magazine element I8-relative to the-primary magazine tube'--the primary tube is located above the secondary magazine. This not only permits the tube 8 to be positioned in practical alinement with the shell bore i and with the breech-loading chamber 5, thus assuring the feeding of the ammunition shells from the primary tube :8 under the most efiicient conditions, but provides for storage of shells in the secondary magazine and the delivery of shells therefrom, under increased efiiciency and with greater safety. This is due to a number of conditions that are present during the loading of the gun and during its firing.

The location of the secondary magazine below the primary magazine makes it'necessary tor the shells from the former to reach the bore '4 by moving in an upwarddirection, this being-indicated by the form and direction of channel I 3. This direction of length of channel I l is not disadvantageous during re-loading of "bore since the gun is held with the muzzle lowered at such time, so that the shells will readily pass om the'se nda y m gazin n he e 12v gravity. However, the gun is held approximately horizontal when being fired, so that movement of shells through the ehannel I l at such time must be upwardly and opposed to gravity. Since the jarsand the like whiehlfoijm fea tlensto the firing of the gun can be active in disturbing positions of controlling partsof the'structure, it can beunderstood that the particularioc'ation of the secondary magazine whieh requires ,shell move. ment in a d i rection',opposing ,gravity' is especially advantageous through the ,I act that even should the controlling devices be shifted so as toexpose the ,channel to the shells, the latter would not be discharged into the primary magazine path.

Another advantage oflthe present structure is due .to the .fact that the primary magazine, while open at its inner .end to ,the ,shell .bore, has the wall of the tube itself imperforate, although the tube is of a length to extend forwardly of the opening connection.betweenchannel hi and shell bore 4 for an extendeddistance. Because of this the wall of the tube provides a positive closure against .the passage .of shells from the channel to the bore 4 ,whenever .the tube is in its inserted position. It also permits the use of ,the shell,- feeding means, such as spring :9, with the latter capable of ejectingall of-the shells from the-tube. If the wall ofthe tube carried an opening to register with .the channel L-the springwould'be limitedto' activity in rear of such opening in order that shells being transferred from the secondary magazinewould be delivered in advance of the spring. Due to these conditions the tube 8 must be withdrawn for a distance sufiicient to cause its expanded spring to clear the rear end of the opening from channel [4, but inasmuch as the transfer takes place during periods when the gun'is not being fired, this need for temporarily withdrawing the tube and its return after the transfer is completed, provides no material disadvantage. And since the tube is mounted above the secondary magazine, it is located at such height as to practically be axially alined with shell bore 4, and thus capable of the extended withdrawing and returning movements without afiecting the operability of the assembly.

These conditions greatly simplify the structural details of the assembly. For instance, the body of the secondary magazine l8 may have its tubes open-ended, with the plate shutter l9 forming the only element required to control the discharge of the shells from either of the barrels of the magazine. As indicated above the shutter carries the single opening which normally is located in a side zone of the magazine zone, the right side in Fig. 4, where it would be alined with the barrel l8 positioned at such side. Such normal location of opening 20, however, would not be detrimental, due to the fact that channel I4 is alined with the top barrel of the magazine and this would be closed by the shutter in such normal position. As indicated in Fig. 4, pressure on button 24 rocks the shutter to place opening 20 in alinement with the top barrel and channel l4, thus opening communication between the barrel and channel. As is apparent, the forward wall of the opening in which the shutter is mounted will form a barrier against the movement of shells from the magazine through opening 20 at all times excepting when the opening is alined with the upper barrel, thus preventing escape of shells through the opening 20 except under the conditions pointed out, although the opening is permanently exposed at the front of the magazine. As a result, the shutter mechanism is of simple type.

And, as will be understood, the arrangement of the parts at the rear of the stock may also be greatly simplified. Since the primary magazine 8 has inperforate side walls, there is no need for controlling the position of a hidden opening, so that a simple locking structure, such as the keyhole structure shown, may serve to anchor such magazine in position. And a simple end closure arrangement for the rear open ends of the secondary magazine is employed, with the arrangement including the yieldable closure 26 utilized in loading the secondary magazine, shaft I 5 and operating knob being also of simple type. Obviously the open-ended magazine body is of simple construction. As a result, the entire assemblage can be produced at comparatively low cost, due to the simplified structures which provide the eflicient assemblage as an entirety.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In magazine-equipped gun assemblages, wherein a primary magazine supplies the shells to and into the breech-loading chamber of the gun for individual firing of the shells, and wherein a secondary magazine is operative to supply a stock of shells to primary magazine activity at will to thereby increase the maximum ammunition capacity of the gun, an assemblage of such 6 type having itsprimary magazine of tubular form with its tube wall imperforate and with the tube substantially axially alined with the shell bore leading to the breech loading chamber, said tube havin a normal shell-advancing spring operative:

to feed the shells successively from the magazine to the breech-loading chamber, said tube being located with a gun-stock bore, and a secondary magazine assembly positioned below and spaced from the primary magazine and extending in substantial parallelism with and of less length than the primary magazine, said secondary magazine having at least one open-ended container dimensioned to carry a plurality of shells, a controllable shutter mechanism at the advance end of the secondary magazine and operative at will to permit discharge of the container-carried shells en bloc through the advance end of the container, the gun stock having an upwardly extending connecting channel for the movement of shells from said container to said tube bore, said primary magazine normally overlying and segregating said connecting channel from the bore and. being withdrawable for a distance sufficient to open communication between the connecting channel and bore in advance of the advance end of the tube and its content, whereby lowering of the muzzle end of the gun to place the connecting channel advancing direction of length as inclined downwardly relative to a horizontal plane and in presence of the withdrawn primary magazine tube together with the opening of communication between the container of the secondary magazine and the connecting channel permits feeding the complete shell content of the container into the tube bore successively and by gravitation with the transferred shells positioned to become a replenished primary magazine charge when such magazine tube is restored to its normal position, the body of the secondary magazine being in the form of an element rotatable about a shaft axis, with the element carrying a plurality of individual open-ended containers of equal length positioned about such axis, the position of the shaft being such that the discharge end of the upper container of the series is axially alined with the entrance end to the connecting channel, the shutter mechanism comprising a plate overlying the advance open ends of the series of containers, said plate having an opening dimensioned to expose the open end of a single container, the mechanism including an actuating member operative to move the plate arcuately, said member having a projecting end for manual movement of the member in one direction and carrying a spring for moving the member in the opposite direction with the spring normally active to retain the plate opening out of alinement with such upper container with the opening movable into such alined position at will manually.

2. An assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the butt end zone of the gun carries an exposed control element for manipulating the shaft step-by-step, with such butt end zone additionally carrying means for normally closing the open rear ends of the series of containers with said means including a yieldable formation operative relative to one of the container open ends to thereby open communication with the latter to thereby permit re-loading of the secondary magazine containers at will.

3. An assemblage as in claim 2 characterized in that the yieldable formation is positioned for 7 activit with the -10w ermbst containerzcsf the secondary magazine, whereby re loading of a skintainer is limited to periods when the forward open end of the container is olosed'by the shutter mechanism.

ALBERT BLANTON. OSCAR G R 8 REFERENCES. .0192121) The following ,reieljegces 9.13: rggm d 111 the file .of this patent:

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