US2982043A - Cartridge clip ejection means for semiautomatic firearms - Google Patents

Description

y 2, 1961 D. L. KATZ ETAL 2,982,043

CARTRIDGE CLIP EJECTION MEANS FOR SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed July 5, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Eig .1.

INVENTORS David 11-111112. BY Charles E L1:u1izz11ni May 2, 1961 D. L. KATZ ETAI.

CARTRIDGE CLIP EJECTION MEANS FOR SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed July 5. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 2, 1961 D. L. KATZ ETAL 2,982,043

CARTRIDGE CLIP EJECTION MEANS FOR SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed July 5. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 I I ...i

Patented May 2, 1961 CARTRIDGE CLIP EJECTION lVIEANS FOR SEMI- AUTOMATIC FIREARMS David L. Katz, Longmeadow, Mass., and Charles E. Lanizzani, Stafford, Conn., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed July 5, 1960, Ser. No. 40,975

Claims. (Cl. 42-395) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes Without the payment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to shoulder-operated semiautomatic firearms of the type wherein the barrel is tilted to expose the breech end thereof for reloading and is more particularly directed to means for automatically ejecting the fired cartridge cases from the firearm during the opening of the breech.

In breech loading firearms of the shotgun type, the number of rounds which can be successively fired without the necessity for reloading is generally limited to the number of barrels provided in the firearm. However, as disclosed in a recent Ordnance Corps development, a single-barreled firearm may be converted to semiautomatic multishot operation through the utilization of a separate magazine containing a plurality of parallel firing chambers adapted to be successively fed into firing position in the receiver in response to the firing of the round in the preceding chamber.

While the foregoing expedient has successfully in creased the number of rounds which can be fired without reloading, it has not been able to provide a corresponding decrease in the amount of time required to fire a given quantity of rounds. This is primarily due to the series of manipulations required to completely eject a fired cartridge'case from the magazine and to reload the empty chamber.

It has been found that the time required for reloading the magazine can be appreciably decreased if the full complement of rounds therefor is carried by a unitary clip which will permit the simultaneous insertion of all the rounds into the corresponding firing chambers. However, the utilization of such unitary clip has not heretofore been undertaken due to the difliculties involved in ejecting the entire clip and the contents thereof from the firearm.

Accordingly, it is a major object of this invention to provide means for automatically ejecting a clip containing a plurality of fired cartridge cases from a firearm of the type wherein the rounds are contained in a plurality of parallel firing chambers in a transversely slidable magazine and are automatically fed into firing position in re sponse to the firing of the preceding round.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an ejection system for a firearm of the aforesaid type which will enable unfired cartridges to be ejected therefrom as readily as the fired cartridge cases.

An additional object of this invention resides in the provision of cartridge clip ejection means as aforesaid which will be particularly well adapted for use in a breakopen type of firearm wherein the barrel can be tilted relative to the receiver to expose the breech for reloading of the magazine therein.

Still another object of the present invention lies in the provision of spring-biased cartridge clip ejectors which will not function until the barrel has been tilted sulficiently to ensure that the ejected clip will be thrown clear of the receiver.

Another object of this invention lies in the provision of means for ejecting a cartridge clip and the contents thereof from a magazine which is laterally slidable in the breech end of a break-open type of firearm and in the inclusion therein of a lever for releasing the cartridge clip retainer and means for returning the lever to the pre-release position thereof during the ejection of the clip from the firearm to provide an unobstructed path for any subsequent lateral movement of the magazine while the breech is still open.

A final object of this invention is to provide a simple and reliable trip mechanism for unblocking a cartridge clip to permit the ejection thereof from the firearm by ejectors which were previously compressed during the loading of the clip into the magazine and for automatically returning the blocking means into position to engage and retain a subsequently loaded clip while the breech is still open.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the acompanying drawings in which: i

Fig. 1 is a partial side view of the firearm to which the present invention is applied with the breech in the closed position and showing the magazine and the release lever in section;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2--2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing the relationship of the parts when the breech is open and the retainer tripped to release the cartridge clip for ejection from the firearm;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Fig. 3 to show the position of the ejectors and the cartridge clip retainer in the magazine;

Figs. 5-8 are fragmentary sectional views of the junction of the fixed and pivotal receiver sections to show the successive relationships of the trip and actuation mechanisms during the opening and closing of the breech;

Fig. 9 is a view looking down at the floor of the feedway and showing the pawl retaining portion of the actuator in cross-section; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the cartridge clip with a single fired cartridge case therein.

As best illustrated in Fig. 1, the shotgun type of firearm to which the present invention is particularly adapted is provided with a substantially rectangular receiver 10 having a rectangular feedway 12 extending transversely therethrough. Receiver 10 is diagonally divided into a fixed section 14 suitably secured to the forward end of a conventional stock 16 and a movable section 18 in which a barrel 20 is fixedly secured. Movable receiver section 18 is pivotally secured to the forward end of fixed receiver section 14, as best indicated at 22, and is releasably secured to the rear end of section 14 by suitable latch means 24. Thus, the firearm breech may be opened by disengaging latch means 24 and tilting receiver section 18 upwardly about pivot point 22 as a fulcrum.

The underside of receiver section 18 is formed with a centrally disposed transverse T-slot 26 arranged to slidably receive a pair of mating lugs 28 projecting upwardly from the top of a magazine 30. A noncumulative force type of coil spring 32 is fixedly secured to the underside of receiver section 18 so as to depend into feedway 12 and impart the required lateral feeding movement to magazine 30.

Magazine 30 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart parallel firing chambers 34 extending longitudinally therethrough each being adapted to hold a cylindrical cartridge case 36 containing a suitable projectile (not shown). Although only three firing chambers 34 are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the number thereof in magazine 30 is limited only by the size and weight of the rounds to be inserted therein. Each firing chamber 34 is adapted to be positioned in axial alignment with barrel 20 by a suitable detent latch 38 pivotally mounted in the top of magazine 30 for engagement with a stop lug 40 depending from the underside of T-slot 26. Magazine 30 is automatically advanced upon the firing of a round to bring the next successive round into firing position,

A U-shaped cartridge clip retainer 42 is pivotally mounted about a transverse rod 44 in the bottom of magazine 30 and, as best shown in Fig. 4, is located so that the open end thereof faces forwardly. The underside of magazine 30 is provided with a U-shaped groove 46 having the same configuration as retainer 42 and of suflicient depth to fully receive such retainer in the unpivoted position thereof. The terminal ends of retainer 42 are both vertically drilled, as indicated at 48, to receive the ends of coil springs 50 seated within suitable wells 52 formed into the underside of magazine 30 between adjacent firing chambers 34. Thus, springs 50 normally urge retainer 42 into engagement with the interior of groove 46 so as to lie substantially fiush with the underside of magazine 30. If a more positive engage ment should be required, retainer 42 may be provided with upwardly projecting ribs 54 arranged to engage in corresponding channels 56 formed into the underside of groove 46. The rear end of retainer 42 is provided with an upwardly projecting lip 58 having an arcuately reduced central portion 60 corresponding to the interior periphery of the firing chamber 34 disposed thereabove.

Each load of cartridges is releasably held in a compact horizontal group by a relatively thin fiat clip 62 having a plurality of semicylindrical openings 64 spaced in correspondence with the disposition of firing chambers 34 in magazine 30. The area between each adjacent pair of openings 64 is partially cut away, as shown at 66, to provide the resiliency necessary to assure releasable engagement thereof in the cannelures of the cartridge cases 36. Clip 62 is also rectangularly slotted at the bottom thereof, as indicated at 68, so that upon the insertion thereof into magazine 30 suitable access is provided for the longitudinal ribs 54 which may project from the top of retainer 42.

An ejector 70 is slidably seated against the bias of a longitudinal coil spring 72 in each bridge portion 74 between adjacent firing chambers 34 and is retained therein by a vertical pin 76 extending through a centrally disposed longitudinal slot 78. Ejectors 70 are arranged to project rearwardly from magazine 30 to the extent shown in Fig. 4 and are forced inwardly by clip 62 during the insertion thereof into magazine 30 to load springs 72 for the subsequent ejection of clip 62 and the contents thereof. A beveled surface 80 formed along the rear of retainer lip 58 permits retainer 42 to be cammed out of the loading path of clip 62 and snap up therebehind to hold such clip 62 against the bias of ejectors 70.

In order to withdraw retainer lip 58 out of engagement with the rear face of retainer 42, a release lever 82 is fixedly secured at one end thereof to the projecting reduced end of a transverse rod 84 rotatably mounted in fixed receiver section 14. The free end of lever 82 is provided with a roller 86 arranged, during the opening of the breech, to engage a rearwardly angled surface 88 at the forward end of retainer 42.

The floor of fixed receiver section 14 is recessed, as shown at 89, to receive a release lever actuator 90 which is fixedly secured to transvers rod 84 as by pin 92. The rear end of actuator 90 is slotted, as best shown at 94 in Fig. 9, to provide access for a torsion spring 96 which surrounds rod 84. One end of spring 96 rests within a suitable opening 98 formed into the floor of feedway 12 while the opposite end of spring 96 bears against actuator 90 to impart clockwise rotation thereto. The

front end of actuator is extended to provide room for a transverse hole 100 into which a pawl 102 is telescopi cally mounted and retained against exit therefrom by a vertical pin 104 fixedly secured in actuator 90. Pawl 102 is formed with a slabbed surface 105 arranged to bear against pin 104 and prevent rotation of pawl 102 in hole 100. Thus, any rotation imparted to pawl 102 is directly converted to rotation of actuator 90. A compression spring 106 is seated within the interior of pawl 102 and at the same time bears against the bottom of hole 100 to normally urge pawl 102 outwardly thereof. The outer end of pawl 102 is provided with a forwardly projecting arcuate finger 108 having adjacent primary and secondary cam surfaces 112 and 144 respectively formed on the upper surface thereof.

A trip arm 116 projects rearwardly from movable receiver section 18 to enter into a suitable longitudinal slot 118 in fixed receiver section 14 which communicates with recess 89 therein to form a common side wall therewith as best shown in Fig. 9.

When movable receiver section 18 is pivoted relative to fixed receiver section 14 so as to expose the breech ends of the firing chambers 34 in magazine 30, the terminal end of trip arm 116 will engage the arcuate underside of finger 108 to pivot the entire pawl 102 upwardly from the rest position shown in Fig. 5 to the raised position shown in Fig. 6. During this movement, roller 86 on release lever 82 is forced to ride against surface 88 at the forward end of retainer 42. Continued tilting of receiver section 18 pivots retainer 42 to withdraw lip 58 on the rear end thereof from engagement with the rear face of clip 62. Ejectors 70 are thus freed for a relatively rapid movement to the rear under the bias of springs 72 thereby ejecting a clip 62 and the contents thereof from magazine 30.

The rear end 0 frelease lever 82 is so located on the side of fixed receiver section 14 that roller 86 thereon will not complete the required release movement of retainer 42 until receiver section 18 has been tilted sufficiently to ensure that the exposed breech end of barrel 20 is completely clear of the upper rear corner of fixed receiver section 14.

As movable receiver section 18 continues to be tilted, the tip of trip arm 116 will ride off the underside of pawl finger 103 whereupon spring 96 returns actuator 90 to the rest postion shown in Fig. 7. This return movement of actuator 90 will, of course, result in the corresponding lowering of release lever 82 to the position shown in Fig. 1. In this position, release lever 82 will not interfere with any subsequent lateral movement of magazine 30 in receiver 10.

The empty firing chambers 34 can be quickly reloaded with live rounds merely by pushing a full clip 62 forwardly into magazine 30 against the bias of ejector 70 until the rim on cartridge case 36 cams retainer lip 58 out of the way for releasable engagement therebehind. The breech can then be closed by lifting up on barrel 20 until receiver sections 14 and 18 are automatically locked by latch means 24.

During this closing movement of the breech, trip arm 116 will contact cam surfaces 112 and 114 in turn to force pawl 102 inwardly into hole 100. As trip arm 116 continues to pivot downwardly, it bypasses pawl 102, as shown in Fig. 8, which is thereupon automatically returned to the original position thereof over the forward end of trip arm 116 as shown in Fig. 5. Thus, when the breech is reopened, the pivotal movement of trip arm 116 will once again be imparted to pawl 102 for rotating actuator 90 to effect the release of retainer 42 from clip 62 in order to permit the automatic ejection thereof from magazine 30.

The foregoing ejection mechanism is not limited to those firearms in which the cartridges are held in a unitary clip but can also be utilized in a firearm wherein the cartridges are arranged to be loaded into magazine 30 and ejected therefrom one at a time. The important factor is the ability of the actuating mechanism to automatically reset itself for operation during the next opening of the breech. Such arrangement not only increases the rapidity with which ejection may be accomplished but also provides a more flexible firearm operation by permitting repositioning of the magazine without the necessity for first closing the breech.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

We claim:

1. In a firearm having a receiver with a feedway transversely therethrough, a barrel fixedly secured to the receiver in communication with the forward end of the feedway, a magazine slidably mounted in the feedway and provided with a plurality of parallel firing chambers adapted to be simultaneously loaded with cartridges carried in a unitary clip, and means for automatically advancing the magazine in the feedway in response to the firing of a cartridge to successively align each of the firing chambers with the barrel, the improvement of means for ejecting the clip and the contents thereof from the receiver at the option of the firearm operator comprising, a plurality of spring-biased ejectors slidably retained in the rear end of the magazine to' bear against the front face of the cartridge clip, a retainer pivotally mounted in the underside of the magazine for releasably holding the cartridge clip against the rearward bias of said ejectors, the receiver being divided into a fixed section and a pivotal section mounted on the forward end of said fixed section for movement between a closed position wherein one of the firing chambers is axially aligned with the barrel and an open position wherein the breech ends of the firing chambers are exposed and lie above said fixed receiver section, a release lever pivotally mounted on said fixed receiver section, a trip arm fixedly mounted on said pivotal receiver section for pivoting said release lever into ejection releasing engagement with said retainer, and means operative during the continued breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section for resetting said release lever into position to be again actuated by said trip arm during the next breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said means for resetting said release lever comprises an ac tuator rotatably mounted on said fixed release lever, an arcuate finger projecting forwardly from said actuator in position to be engaged by said trip arm on said pivotal receiver section, and a torsion spring resisting the rotation imparted to said actuator by said trip arm whereby said actuator and said release lever connected thereto are returned to the unpivoted positions thereof prior to the termination of the breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section.

3. In a firearm having a receiver with a feedway transversely therethrough, a barrel fixedly secured to the receiver in communication with the forward end of the feedway, a magazine slidably mounted in the feedway and provided with a plurality of parallel firing chambers adapted to be simultaneously loaded with cartridges carried in a unitary clip, and means for automatically advancing the magazine in the feedway in response to the firing of a cartridge to successively align each of the firing chambers with the barrel, the improvement of means for ejecting the clip and the contents thereof from the receiver at the option of the firearm operator comprising, a plurality of spring-biased ejectors slidably retained in the rear end of the magazine to bear against the front face of the cartridge clip, a retainer pivotally mounted in the underside of the magazine for releasably holding the cartridge clip against the rear lease lever pivotally mounted on said fixed receiver section, a trip arm fixedly mounted on said pivotal receiver section for pivoting said release lever into ejection releasing engagement with said retainer, an actuator rotatably mounted in said fixed receiver section in fixed connection with said release lever, a pawl laterally slidable in said actuator, an arcuate finger projecting forwardly from said pawl in position to be engaged by the terminal end of said trip arm on said pivotal receiver section, means for transferring rotative movement of said pawl to said actuator, a torsion spring surrounding said actuator to resist the rotation imparted thereto by the engagement between said trip arm and said pawl during the breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section, said trip arm being arranged to override said finger during the conclusion of the breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section, to permit the automatic return of said actuator and said release lever to the unpivoted position thereof, and means for repositioning said pawl to lie beneath the terminal end of said trip arm during the return of said pivotal receiver section to the position wherein the barrel is in alignment with one of said firing chambers in the magazine.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said last-mentioned means for positioning said pawl includes adjacent primary and secondary cam surfaces on the top of said projecting finger whereby said pawl is forced out of the path of the terminal end of said trip arm during the return of said pivotal receiver section to the position wherein the barrel is in alignment with one of the firing chambers in the magazine, and a spring bearing against the inner end of said pawl for positioning said projecting finger over the terminal end of said trip arm at the conclusion of the return movement. of said pivotal receiver section whereby said actuator will again be positioned to pivot said release lever into releasing engagement with said retainer.

5. In a firearm having a receiver with a feedway transversely therethrough, a barrel fixedly secured to the receiver in communication with the forward end of the feedway, a magazine slidably mounted in the feedway and provided with a plurality of parallel firing chambers adapted to be simultaneously loaded with cartridges carried in a unitary clip, and means for automatically advancing the magazine in the feedway in response to the firing of a cartridge to successively align each of the firing chambers with the barrel, the improvement of means for ejecting the cartridge clip and the contents thereof from the receiver at the option of the firearm operator comprising, a plurality of spring-biased ejectors slidably mounted between adjacent firing chambers to project from the rear end of the magazine and bear against the front face of the cartridge clip, a substantially U-shaped retainer pivotally mounted in the underside of the magazine, a lip projecting upwardly from the rear end of said retainer to engage and hold the cartridge clip against the rearward bias of said ejectors, the receiver being divided into fixed and pivotal sections, said pivotal section being pivotally secured to the forward end of said fixed section for movement between a closed position wherein one of the firing chambers is axially aligned with the barrel and an open position wherein the breech ends of the firing chambers are exposed and lie above the rear end of said fixed receiver section, a rod rotatably mounted in said fixed receiver section, an actuator fixedly secured to said rod and having a forwardly extending pawl holding portion, a pawl slidably mounted in said pawl holding portion of said actuator for lateral movement, spring means biasing said pawl outwardly, pin means holding said pawl against exit from said actuator and against rotation therein, an arcuate finger projectiong forwardly from the free end of said pawl, a trip arm fixedly mounted on said pivotal receiver section to extend rearwardly therefrom with the terminal end thereof in engagement with the arcuate underside of said finger on said pawl whereby movement of said pivotal receiver section to the open position thereof lifts said finger to rotate said actuator, a torsion spring surrounding said actuator to resist the rotation thereof, a release lever secured to one end of said rod outwardly of said fixed receiver section, said pawl and said actuator being thereby arranged to convert the rotation imparted thereby by said trip arm into upward pivotal movmeent of said release lever against the forward end of said retainer whereby the latter is pivoted out of holding engagement with the cartridge clip, said trip arm being positioned to override the forward end of said finger prior to the conclusion of the breech exposing movement of said pivotal receiver section whereby said pawl finger is rotated to lie beneath the terminal end of said trip arm and said release lever is returned to the unpivoted position thereof out of the path of any subsequent lateral movement of the magazine, a primary and secondary cam surface positioned on the upper surface of said pawl finger for contact by the terminal end of said trip arm during the return of said pivotal receiver section to the closed position thereof, and a spring seated within said actuator to bear against the inner end of said pawl and return said finger thereon to a position above the terminal end of said trip arm upon the return of said pivotal receiver section to the breech closing position thereof.

No references cited.

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