US3471961A

US3471961A - Bolt and firing mechanism for bolt action type firearm

Info

Publication number: US3471961A
Application number: US718672A
Authority: US
Inventors: Karl R Lewis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-12-16
Filing date: 1968-04-04
Publication date: 1969-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 1986-10-14

Description

Oct. 14, 1969 BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM Original Filed Dec. 16, 1966 5 Sheets-Shea;c l

K. R. LEWIS Oct. 14, 1969 BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM Original Filed Dec. 16, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet Oct. 14, 1969 K, R, Ewls 3,471,961

BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM Original Filed Dec.. 16, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet s K. R. LEWIS Oct. 14, 1969 BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM 'original Filed Dec. le, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 K. R. LEWIS Oct. 14, 1969 BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM original Filed Dec. 16. 196e 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent O 3,471,961 BOLT AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION TYPE FIREARM Karl R. Lewis, 77 Olney Road, Wethersfield, Conn. 06109 Original application Dec. 16, 1966, Ser. No. 609,979, now Patent No. 3,377,730, dated Apr. 16, 1968. Divided and this application Apr. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 713,672 Int. Cl. F41c 11/02 U.S. Cl. 42-20 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application discloses bolt action type firearms and is specifically directed to the bolt mechanism and associated parts of the firing mechanism. The mechanism for operating the bolt consists of gear teeth formed on a part of the bolt and a rotary gear element meshing with such bolt teeth. The meshing gear teeth reciprocate the bolt longitudinally as well as rotate it angularly to lock and unlock it when in one limit of its longitudinal movement, as a result of continuous rotary motion of the gear element. A lever carrying the trigger is used to rotate the gear element and a safety mechanism prevents firing except when the lever is fully closed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of application Ser. No. 606,979, filed Dec. 16, 1966, now U.S. Patent No. 3,377,730, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 524,763, filed Feb. 3, 1966, now abandoued.

SUMMARY AND AIMS OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to firearms and deals more particularly with a mechanism for operating a reciprocating bolt in a firearm and to a cooperating firing mechanism.

The general object of this invention is to provide an improved bolt operating and firing mechanism for a reciprocating bolt firearm which is safe and easy to use and additionally is rugged, reliable, of simple construction, comprised of few parts, not liable to malfunction, and easy to manufacture.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firearm bolt operating and firing mechanism which may be used with a reciprocating bolt having either a long or a short stroke and which may also be used either with a bolt having only a linear movement or with a bolt having both a linear and a rotative movement, the rotative movement being used, for example, to lock or unlock the bolt relative to the frame or housing when in its closed or firing position.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved operating and firing mechanism particularly useful for a lever operated bolt action firearm.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bolt operating and firing mechanism of the foregoing character which includes an exposed hammer and a inertial firing pin to provide a safe firearm wherein a live cartridge may be safely carried in the ring chamber with the hammer down.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a firearm of the foregoing character wherein the bolt is operated by a manually actuated lever which also carries the trigger for the firing mechanism and wherein the trigger is safely de-activated when the lever is out of its fully closed position so as to prohibit firing of the firearm except when the lever and bolt are in proper firing positions.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a 3,471,961 Patented Oct. 14, 1969 'ice bolt operating and firing mechanism for a firearm usable with an exposed hammer having a low silhouette spur so as to allow the low mounting of a telescopic sight to the firearm and to also provide easy cooking of the hammer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firearm construction from which a large number of different models or types of firearms may be made by making minor variations or changes in a few parts from model to model, most other parts remaining the same in the several models.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a lever action bolt operating and firing mechanism including a safety means for preventing firing until the lever is in its fully closed position and also for preventing firing by the lever being closed while the trigger is in its firing position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mechanism, particularly useful in a bolt operating mechanism, for converting rotary motion to reciprocating and rotary motion. In the case of a firearm the rotary part may be a gear or other driving element and the reciprocating and rotary part may be a bolt which is reciprocated between open and closed axial positions and rotated between locked and unlocked angular position. In the description which follows, several embodiments of such a mechanism are described as incorporated in firearms. It should be understood, however, that the mechanism is not necessarily limited to firearms and may be used to advantage in many other devices.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings forming a part hereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on a plane passing generally longitudinally through a lever action firearm embodying the present invention, this view showing the bolt in its fully closed position and part of the bolt being shown broken away to reveal the firing pin.

FIG. 2 is a view generally similar to FIG. 1 but showing the parts in the positions occupied when the bolt is in its fully opened position.

FIG. 3 is a view generally similar to FIG. l but shows the parts in the positions occupied when the bolt is at the position at which it starts to rotate when moving from its fully opened to its fully closed position.

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the bolt of the FIG. 1 firearm, this View being taken looking toward the top of the bolt when oriented as in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the bolt as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the FIG. 5 bolt.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the FIG. 5 bolt and shows the side opposite the one shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a forward end View of the FIG. 5 bolt.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged end view of the bolt actuating gear of the FIG. 1 firearm.

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the gear of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a devel-opment of the gear teeth on the larger diameter portion of the FIG. l0 gear.

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the housing of the firearm of FIG. 1, this view being taken generally on the line 13-13 of FIG. l with the barrel of the firearm being shown removed from the housing.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on a plane passing generally longitudinally through a lever action firearm comprising another embodiment of this invention, this view showing the bolt of the firearm in its fully closed position.

FIG. is generally similar to FIG. 14 but shows the parts of the FIG. 14 firearm in the positions occupied when the bolt is in its fully opened position.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the bolt of the FIG. 14 firearm, this View being taken looking toward the top of the bolt when oriented as in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a side View of the FIG. 16 bolt.

FIG. 18 is a bottom view of the FIG. 16 bolt.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the FIG. 16 bolt and shows the side opposite the one shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged end view of the bolt actuating gear of the FIG. 14 firearm.

FIG. 21 is a side elevational view of the FIG. 20 gear.

FIG. 22 is a development of the gear teeth on the larger diameter portion of the FIG. 20 gear, this development being drawn on a scale somewhat smaller than FIG. 20.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals apply to like parts throughout the same, and first considering FIGS. 1 to 13, these gures show a lever action rifle, indicated generally at 10 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, embodying the present invention. Except for the bolt operating mechanism and related parts hereinafter described in detail, the firearm 10 is or may be of generally conventional construction and comprises basically a housing or frame 12, a barrel 14 threaded into the forward end of the housing, a stock 16 and a forearm 18 fastened to the housing 12 by means of a hanger rod 20. In the upper portion of the housing is an elongated bore or recess 2l, concentric with the barrel 14, which receives a reciprocating bolt 22. FIG. 1 shows the bolt 22 in its fully closed position relative to the housing 12, and from this position the bolt may be moved rearwardly to a fully opened position as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the front end of the bolt 22 includes a relatively shallow cylindrical recess 23, which, in conjunction with the rear portion of the barrel bore, forms a firing chamber for holding a cartridge during the firing of the rearm, the recess 23 receiving the rim portion of a cartridge positioned in the chamber 25. At the rear of the recess 23 is a face 40 which is engageable with the rear face of the cartridge in the chamber 25 during firing. Also included in the bolt 22 is a suitable extractor 24 which is engageable with the rim of the shell of a cartridge in the chamber of the barrel 14 to withdraw the same from the chamber after tiring, and in the housing 12 is a suitable ejector 27 for expelling the shell of a spent cartridge from the lbolt 22 and through an opening (not shown), in the side of the housing 12 facing the viewer in FIG. 1, after the shell is extracted from the firing chamber and as the bolt is moved further toward its fully opened position. The particular construction of the ejector and the extractor may, however, vary widely and by themselves the ejector and extractor form no part of this invention and are therefore not shown or described in detail. When referring to FIG. 6, however, it should be noted that the bolt 22 includes a slot 29 which receives and cooperates with a part of the ejector 27 during part of the movement of the bolt. Rearwardly of the barrel the vhousing includes a cartridge supply chamber located below and communicating with the bolt recess and from which cartridges are fed into the bolt recess. Various different means may be employed for feeding cartridges to the bolt recess, and in the illustrated firearm 10 this means is shown to comprise a clip 26 located in the cartridge supply recess of the housing. This clip may be of a generally conventional construction and is releasably held in place in the housing by a manually operable latch 28. The clip 26 stores a number of cartridges and acts to feed a fresh cartridge upwardly into the bolt recess 21 and into the path of the bolt 22 when the bolt is in its open position. During forward movement of the bolt, the fresh cartridge is engaged and moved by the bolt forwardly into the firin g chamber 25. In FIG. 2 the broken lines at 30 indicate a fresh cartridge moved into the path of the bolt by the clip 26.

For firing a cartridge which is positioned in the tiring chamber 25, the bolt 22 includes an inertial firing pin 32 slidably received in a bore passing completely through the bolt. At its forward end the firing pin 32 includes a small diameter portion, which serves as a striker and which includes a rounded head which, during tiring, is engageable with the rear end of a cartridge positioned in the firing chamber 25 to cause the firing of the latter. Rearwardly of the smaller diameter portion 31 is a larger diameter portion 33 of considerable mass which includes a relief groove 34 extending some distance longitudinally of the bolt and through which passes a transverse pin 36 fixed to the bolt 22 for holding the firing pin in place in the bolt and for limiting its movement relative thereto. Surrounding the rear part of the small diameter portion of the ring pin is a helical compression spring 38 which works between the tiring pin and the bolt to urge the firing pin rearwardly relative to the bolt so as to normally urge the firing pin out of engagement with any cartridge which may be located in the ring'chamber. The length of the ring pin 32 is such that when the rear end thereof is flush with the rear end of the bolt 22, as in FIG. 1, the forward end of the firing pin is positioned slightly behind the forward cartridge engaging face 40 of the bolt.

Associated with the bolt 22 and firing pin 32 is an exposed hammer 42 having a cocking spur 44 and a tiring pin striking face 46. The hammer is pivotally mounted to the housing 12 by a transverse pivot pin 48 for movement between an uncooked position, as shown in FIG. l, and a cocked position, as shown in FIG. 2. The spur 44 enables the hammer to be moved between its cocked and uncocked positions by the thumb or linger of a user but, as explained in more detail hereinafter, the arrangement of the hammer is such that it is also automatically moved from its uncooked to its cocked position as the bolt is moved from its closed to its open position. Various different means may be used for biasing the hammer toward its uncooked position and, in the illustrated case, this means is shown to include a relatively heavy helical compression spring 50 supported in a guide tube 52 which is in turn located in the stock 16. The rear end of the spring 50 is fixed relative to the guide tube 52 by a stop 54. The stop 54 is located in the base of the guide tube 52 and is preferably movable to various different positions along the length of the tube to adjust the preload of the spring 50. At the forward end of the spring is a guide stem 56 having a reduced diameter shank fitted into the bore of the spring 50 and also having an enlarged head with a forwardly facing recess which receives the rear end of a strut 58. The forward end of the strut 58 is in turn received in a pocket in the rear face of the hammer 42. The force of the spring 50 is therefore transferred by the strut 58 to the hammer 42 to bias the hammer in the clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. l, 2 and 3, toward its uncocked position.

When the hammer 42 is out of engagement with the bolt 22 the firing pin spring 38 holds the firing pin 32 at a position as shown in FIG. 2, whereat the rear end of the firing pin projects slightly beyond the rear end of the bolt. Therefore, when the hammer moves from its cocked to its uncooked position during tiring, the striking face 46 of the hammer rst engages the firing pin 32. This imparts momentum to the tiring pin so that after the travel of the hammer is arrested by engagement of the hammer with the rear face of the bolt the firing pin nevertheless, and as a result of its momentum or inertia, travels forwardly beyond the position shown in FIG. 1 and strikes the cartridge in the firing chamber with sufficient violence to cause firing. However, when a live cartridge is in the ring chamber the hammer, if desired, may be moved slowly by hand to the uncooked position of FIG. l without any danger of the cartridge thereafter being fired by an accidental blow applied to the hammer since when the hammer engages the bolt the striking portion of the firing pin is out of engagement with the cartridge.

For controlling the operation of the hammer 42, the firearm includes a sear 60. The sear 60 is located generally behind the hammer 42 and is supported for pivotal movement relative to the frame by a transverse pivot pin 62. The sear 60 extends generally downwardly from the pivot pin 62, and a compression spring 64 working between the sear and the housing urges the sear in the counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, toward engagement with the hammer. Included on the hammer 42 is a cocking notch 66 which is engageable by the sear 60, as shown in FIG. 2, to releasably hold the hammer 42 in its cocked position. Movement of the sear clockwise in FIG. 2, against the bias of the spring 64, releases the sear from the cooking notch 66 to allow the main spring 50 to drive the hammer to its uncooked or firing position. Movement of the sear to effect release of the hammer is controlled by a trigger 67 as described in more detail hereinafter.

The firearm 10 further includes a simple means for driving the bolt 22 between its openend and closed positions relative to the housing 12. Before turning to a description of this means, however, it should be noted that the bolt 22, in addition to being merely reciprocated longitudinally relative to the housing 12, is also rotated relative to the housing when in or near its forwardmost position in order to effect locking or unlocking of the bolt relative to the housing, the bolt being locked relative to the housing when in its fully closed condition to prevent it from being blown open by the forces developed during the firing of a cartridge. The particular locking means employed may take various different forms and basically comprises means defining one or more rearwardly facing abutment surfaces on the housing and means defining one or more forwardly facing abutment surfaces on the bolt, the forwardly facing surfaces being moved into and out of overlapped angular alignment with the rearwardly facing surfaces by the rotation of the bolt. In the case of the firearm 10, the locking means is shown to comprise two sets of generally helical locking lugs 70, 70 and 72, 72 on the housing extending radially into the forward end portion of the housing bore 21. The

lugs

70, 70 comprising one set are longitudinally spaced from one another, are located within a common angular zone, and are generally helical in shape. The locking lugs 72, 72 comprising the second set are similarly longitudinally spaced from one another, are located in a common angular zone, and are generally helical in shape. As shown best in FIG. 13, the two sets of housing lugs are angularly spaced from one another to provide two spaces 71 and 73 of substantial angular extent therebetween.

For cooperation with the locking lugs 70, '70 and 72, 72 of the housing, the bolt 22 includes two mating sets of

lugs

74, 74 and 76, 76. At one end of the lugs '74, 74 is a longitudinally extending recess or space 75 and at the Similar end of the

lugs

76, 76 is another longitudinally extending recess or space 77. As will be evident from FIGS. 5 to 9 and 13, the arrangement of the locking lugs 70, 70 and 72, 72 on the housing and the .arrangement of the locking lugs 74, 74 and 76, 76 on the bolt is such that as the bolt is moved from its fully opened position toward its closed position, the lugs on the bolt move past the lugs on the housing until all of the lugs on the bolt are aligned with spaces between the lugs on the housing. That is, the housing lugs 70, 70 move along the bolt recess 75, the housing lugs 72, 72 move along the bolt recess 77, the bolt lugs 74, 74 move along the housing space 71, and the bolt lugs 76, 76 move along the housing space 73. The position of the bolt at which all the housing lugs are aligned with spaces between the bolt lugs is shown in FIG. 3. As the bolt is thereafter rotated from the position shown in FIG. 3, the lugs on the bolt move between the lugs on the housing to hold the bolt against rearward movement during firing. FIG. 1 shows the fully locked or .closed position of the bolt. To return the bolt from the fully closed position of FIG. 1 to the fully opened position of FIG. 2, the bolt is first rotated to remove the lugs of the bolt from angular alignment with the lugs or the housing, that is to the position of FIG. 3, and the bolt is then moved rearwardly to the FIG. 2 position. In rotating the bolt from the fully closed position to the FIG. 3 position, the rotative movement is stopped by the engagement of the end faces of the housing lugs 70, 70 with the longitudinally extending side face 83 of the bolt recess 75, one of such lug end faces being shown at 85 in FIG. 13.

Turning now to the bolt operating mechanism of the firearm 10, this mechanism includes a generally cylindrical driving element 78 supported for rotation relative to the housing 12 by a transverse pivot pin 80. The element 78 includes a number of teeth or similar driving elements on its periphery and for convenience is hereinafter referred to as a gear. The teeth on the gear 78 mesh with teeth or similar driving elements on the bolt 22 so that as the gear is rotated relative to the housing the bolt and the gear operate, at least part of the time, as a rack and pinion to cause the bolt to be reciprocated relative to the housing. The rotation of the gear 78 is in turn effected by a smaller diameter pinion 82 which is or may be integral with and located to one side of the gear 78. The teeth of the pinion 82 in turn mesh with a number of teeth formed on an internal gear segment S4 carried by an upwardly extending portion of a lever 86 pivotally connected to the housing 12. by a transverse pivot pin 88.

All of the teeth of the bolt 22 and of the gear 78 are not, however, exactly similar to the teeth of a simple rack and pinion. Referring with more particularity to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 10, 1l and l2, which show in detail the shape and arrangement of the teeth, it will be noted that the teeth on the bolt 22 includes a first set of

teeth

90, 90 each of which is in the nature of a straight spur gear tooth and is arranged generally perpendicular to a plane passing through the axis of the bolt. The

teeth

90, 90 are formed by, and separated from one another, by

grooves

91, 91 having straight root or bottom surfaces 93, 93. Also, the bolt, at the angular location of the teeth, is ground or otherwise machined or formed to include a fiat which extends over the length of the bolt occupied by the teeth and provides the

teeth

90, 90 with straight top surfaces 97, 97. The set of

teeth

90, 90 extends over a major portion of the length of the bolt from a point slightly behind the locking lugs 74, 74 and 76, 76 to a point near the rear end of the bolt. At the rear end of the set of

teeth

90, 90, however, are two

additional teeth

92, 92 which are inclined relative to the axis of the bolt so as to be generally helical in shape and formed by three similarly inclined or

helical grooves

94, 94. These teeth and grooves pass over part of the fiat 95 and extend angularly for some distance beyond the fiat along one adjacent side of the bolt. The

teeth

90, 90 and 92, 92 together form one composite set of teeth on the bolt. The gear 78, as best shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, similarly includes a first set of

teeth

96, 96 each of which is in the nature of a straight spur gear tooth and is arranged parallel to the axis of the gear, and which first set of teeth in use mesh with the

teeth

90, 90 of the bolt 22. Similar to the bolt teeth 90, "90, the

gear teeth

96, 96 include straight top surfaces 99, 99 and are separated by grooves having straight root surfaces 101, 101. Also on the gear 78 and at one end of the set of

teeth

96, 96 are three

additional teeth

98, 98 which are inclined relative to the axis of the gear 78 so as to be generally helical in shape and which in use mesh with the

helical teeth

92, 92 and

grooves

94, 94 of the bolt. The

teeth

96, 96 and 98, 98 together form one composite set of teeth extending along an angu- Y the bolt between its open and closed positions may be best understood by reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Starting with the bolt 22 in its fully open position as in FIG. 2, it will be noted that when the bolt is in this position the stopping flat 102 on the gear 78 is engageable with the outer surface of the bolt 22 adjacent the

lugs

76, 76 to prevent further counterclockwise rotation of the gear and to thereby prevent further opening movement of the bolt. The stopping fiat 102 therefore acts as a means for limiting the rearward or opening movement of the bolt relative to the housing and for also limiting the accompanying opening movement of the lever 86. In this FIG. 2 position of the gear the first gear tooth 96 adjacent the stopping flat 102 also intermeshes with the

forwardmost teeth

90, 90 on the bolt. If the gear 78 is now rotated in a clockwise direction, as by moving the lever 86 clockwise toward its closed position, the

other teeth

96, 96 on the gear 78 mesh with the

other teeth

90, 90 on the bolt and drive the bolt forwardly toward the firing chamber 25. The number of

teeth

96, 96 on the gear 78 is equal to the number of

teeth

90, 90 on the bolt 22 so that after the gear 78 is rotated to the point shown in FIG. 3 the last tooth 96 on the gear 78 is in engagement with the last tooth 90 on the bolt. Also, the first helical tooth 98 on the gear 78 is aligned with and at least partially received in the iirst helical groove 94 on the bolt. It should also be noted that at this time the locking lugs on the bolt are aligned with the spaces between the locking lugs on the housing 12 and continued forward travel of the bolt relative to the housing is prevented by the engagement of the rearwardmost housing lug 70 with the surface 79 (see FIG. 5) at the end of the recess 75 and/or by engagement of the rearwardmost housing lug 72 with the surface 81 (see FIG. 6) at the end of the recess 77. Also, during the movement of the bolt between the FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 positions rotation of the bolt relative to the housing is prevented despite the cylindrical shape of the bolt and the housing bore 21. The means for preventing this rotation is provided by the straight top surfaces 97, 97 and 99, 99 and by the straight root surfaces 93, 93 and 101, 101 of the bolt and gear teeth, these surfaces being engageable with one another to prevent rotation of the bolt relative to the gear.

As the gear 78 is moved further in the clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 3, the

helical teeth

98, 98 on the gear 78 move into more of a meshing relationship with the

grooves

94, 94 and

teeth

92, 92 of the bolt and a resulting camming and sliding action takes place which causes the bolt 22 to simultaneously rotate and move slightly forwardly in such a manner as to cause the lockngs lugs of the bolt to move between the locking lugs of the housing until the bolt is moved to the fully closed position of FIG. 1. The grooves defining the helical teeth on the bolt and gear do not have straight bottoms, but instead extend in helical curves about the bolt and gear axes, respectively, to allow the bolt to rotate, and the coaction between the two sets of helical teeth is generally similar to that existing between the teeth of a pair of conventional helical gears used to drivingly connect two perpendicular nonintersecting shafts. Therefore, by a single continuous movement of the gear 78, as obtained by a single continuous pivotal movement of the lever 86, the bolt is reciprocated from its open to its closed position and rotated at its closed position to lock it relative to the housing. On the opening movement of the bolt the reverse process takes place with the

helical teeth

92, 92 of the bolt and the

helical teeth

98, 98 of the gear cooperating first to rotate the bolt to an unlocked position and with the other teeth of the bolt and gear thereafter operating to move the bolt to its rearward or open position. As shown in FIG. 1, the stopping flat 100 of the gear 78 is engageable with the outer surface of the bolt 22 to prevent further clockwise rotation of the gear and to thereby limit the closing and locking movement of the bolt. Also,

as a result of the movement of the gear 78 by the smaller diameter pinion 82 and the gear segment 84, a mechanical advantage is achieved between the lever 86 and the gear 78 so that a large movement of the gear 78 may be obtained with a much smaller movement of the lever 86. For example, in the illustrated embodiment the mechanical advantage is about 5 to l so that the full range of movement of the gear 78 may be obtained with about 60 degrees of movement of the lever 86. Is should also be understood that the amount of rotation of the bolt employed in the firearm is somewhat dependent on the amount of locking required between the bolt and the housing and that more or less rotation of the bolt, to obtain more or less overlap of the locking lugs, may be used depending on the size of cartridge used in the forearm.

The lever 86 also carries the trigger 67 which is slidably mounted to the lever `86 so as to be reciprocable relative thereto between a normal forward position and a rearward firing position. More particularly, the trigger 67 includes an upper portion 104 which is received in a cavity 106 in the upper middle portion of the lever and which is retained in the cavity 106 for slidable movement relative thereto by two

transverse pins

108, 108 fixed to the lever and extending across the cavity 106. Carried by the upper portion 104 of the trigger is a part 110, referred to as a trigger safety bar, which is pivotally connected to the trigger by a transverse pivot pin 112. The trigger safety bar extends rearwardly beyond the pivot pin 112 and the rear portion thereof is urged to a raised position relative to the trigger by a helical compression spring 114. Referring particularly to FIG. 1, the trigger safety bar at its outer or rear end includes an upwardly facing first surface 109 arranged generally radially of its pivot pin 112 and a second rearwardly facing surface 111 arranged generally parallel to the pivot pin 112 and normal to the surface 109. The trigger itself is urged toward its normal forward position relative to the lever 86 by a suitable spring, not shown, and the rearward travel of the trigger is limited by an adjustable stop 116 threadably received by the lever behind the trigger as best shown in FIG. 2. The stop 116 may therefore be adjusted toward or away from the trigger to limit or control the amount of overtravel the trigger is capable of after the sear 60 is released.

As shown in FIG. l, the rear portion of the trigger safety bar is aligned with a depending portion 118 of the sear 60 when the lever 86 is in fully closed position. The sear portion 118 in turn includes a first forwardly facing surface 113 arranged generally radially of the sear pivot pin 62 and a second downwardly facing surface 115 arranged generally parallel to the pivot pin 62 and normal to the surface 113. As the trigger 67 is pulled rearwardly from the FIG. 1 position the safety bar surface 111 engages the sear surface 113 and moves the sear clockwise to release the hammer 42 for movement to its uncooked position to iire the cartridge in the cartridge chamber. The arrangement of the trigger safety bar 110 is such, however, that should the lever '86 be displaced slightly from its fully closed position at the time the trigger is pulled, the safety bar will pass beneath the depending sear portion 118 without actuating the sear, as shown by the broken line showing of FIG. 2. Also, should the trigger 67 be held in its rearward position as the lever 86 is closed, the trigger safety bar surface 109 will engage the sear surface 115 and as a result the trigger safety bar will be pivoted about its pivot pin 112 without producing any undue forces on either the sear or the lever and without moving the sear to its released position. When the trigger is thereafter released for movement to its forward position, the trigger safety bar 110 will, after moving past the depending sear portion 118, be returned to an active position by its spring 114, allowing the trigger bar surface 111 to engage the sear surface 113 when the trigger is thereafter again pulled rearwardly.

Before leaving the description of the firearm 10, it should also be noted that the arrangement of the bolt 22 and hammer 42 is such that as the bolt 22 is moved from its fully closed to its fully open position, the rear end of the bolt 22 will engage the striking face 46 of the hammer and move the hammer toward its cocked position. The flat 95 stops short of the rear end of the bolt so that on the rear end of the bolt, and in angular alignment with the teeth thereon, is a portion 120 which extends radially outwardly beyond the top surfaces of the bolt teeth. The location of the cocking notch 66 on the hammer 42 is such that the sear engages the cooking notch 66 to hold the hammer in its cocked position when the hammer moves over the bolt portion 120 and, after the portion 120 moves rearwardly beyond the hammer, the Sear in engagement with the cooking notch 66 holds the hammer from further engagement with the bolt so that the teeth of the bolt are prevented from engaging the hammer as they move therepast.

In further regard to the firearm it should also be noted that the helical shape of the locking lugs in the housing and on the bolt is a convenience in that it allows the lugs in the housing to be easily formed by the use of a tap. The helical shape of the lugs is not, however, essential to the operation of the bolt and driving gear and, if desired, the lugs could be made so as to be straight rather than helical in shape. In this case the bolt would undergo no longitudinal movement while `being rotated by the helical bolt and gear teeth. Also, in some cases the `locking means for the bolt may be omitted, or other locking means not requiring rotation of the bolt may be used, in which event the teeth on the bolt and gear may be designed and used to only reciprocate the bolt.

Turning now to FIGS. 14 to 22, these figures show an alternative form of firearm, indicated generally at 121 in FIGS. 14 and 15, embodying the present invention. The illustrated firearm 121 is identical to the firearm 10 of FIGS. 1 to 13, except for including a different arrangement of teeth on the -bolt and on the rotary bolt operating gear. The bolt of the firearm 121 is indicated at 122 and the bolt operating gear at 124. Most other parts of the firearm 121 are identical or similar to the corresponding parts of the firearm 10 and have been given the same reference numerals and need not be redescribed.

Referring to the bolt 122 and gear 124 of the firearm 121, and first considering the bolt 122, this bolt as shown best in FIG. 18 includes a rst set of

straight teeth

126, 126 Which set of teeth extends along a major portion of the length of the bolt from a position just to the rear of the locking lugs to a point near the rear end of the bolt. At the location of the teeth the bolt includes a longitudinally extending flat 125 which provides the

teeth

126, 126 with straight and flat

top surfaces

127, 127. The

teeth

126, 126 are separated from one another by straight bottomed grooves 129, 129 and the grooves and the teeth are inclined relative to the axis of the bolt. At the rear end of the set of

teeth

126, 126 is another set of two

teeth

128, 128 formed by three inclined grooves 131i, 130. The

teeth

128, 128 and

grooves

130, 130 are inclined relative the axis of the bolt 122 at the same angle as the

teeth

126, 126 and grooves 129, 129 and extend in a helical fashion from the bottom of the bolt andfor some distance along one side of the bolt. Together the set of

teeth

126, 126 and the set of

teeth

128, 128 therefore form a composite set of teeth extending a substantial distance along the length of the bolt. In addition to the

teeth

126, 126 and 128, 128, the bolt 122 also includes, in its upper surface, a guide slot having a first longitudinally extending portion 134 substantially equal in length to the length of the set of

teeth

126, 126 and also having at the rear end of the longitudinally extending portion 134 a generally helically extending portion 136.

The structure of the gear which cooperates with the bolt 122 is best shown in FIGS. 20, 2l and 22. Referring to these figures the gear 124 includes a set of

helical teeth

133, 133 extending over the major portion of its periphery. All of the

teeth

133, 133 are similar to one another, and at one point along its periphery the gear 124 includes a stopping at 135. A driving pinion 82 is fixed to the gear 124 at one side thereof and is rotated by a gear segment 84, carried by the lever 86, in response to movement of the lever.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and l5, the teeth on the gear 124 mesh with the teeth on the bolt 122. Also the housing 12 of the firearm includes a guide pin 137 which projects downwardly into the housing bore 21 and into the slot 132 of the bolt. When the bolt is fully open as shown in FIG. 15, the

gear teeth

133, 133 mesh with the

teeth

126, 126 on the bolt 122 and the housing pin 137 is located in the forward end of the longitudinal portion 134 of the guide slot 132. As the lever 86 is rotated clockwise from the FIG. 15 position, the gear segment 84 on the lever rotates the pinion 812 of the gear 124 to rotate the gear 124 and to drive the -bolt forwardly. Since the teeth on the gear 124 and the teeth on the bolt are both inclined, there is some force exerted on the bolt during this motion tending to rotate it relative to the housing. The engagement of the top surfaces of the

gear teeth

133, 133 with the straight root surfaces of the `bolt

teeth

126, 126 could be used to resist this force and to prevent the bolt from rotating. Preferably, however, bolt rotation is prevented by the engagement of the pin 137 with one wall of the slot which causes the bolt to be guided in a straight linear motion. When the teeth on the gear 124 reach the

teeth

128, 128 and helically

curved grooves

130, 130 on the bolt the guide pin 137 is positioned at the rear end of the longitudinal portion 134 of the guide slot 132. At this time the locking lugs on the bolt are also aligned with the spaces between the locking lugs on the housing and the rearwardmost housing lugs are in engagement with the surfaces 79 and 81 at the rear ends of the bolt recesses 75 and 77 to prevent further purely linear forward motion of the bolt. Thereafter, continued rotation of the gear 124, as a result of a camming action between the

gear teeth

133, 133 and the

bolt teeth

128, 128, causes the bolt to be rotated with the guide pin 137 moving in the radial portion 136 of the bolt guide slot 132. As this rotation of the bolt takes place, the locking lugs of the bolt move between the locking lugs of the housing to the position shown in FIG. 14 to lock the bolt against rearward movement by the pressures developed during firing. When the bolt reaches the fully closed position of FIG. 14, the stopping flat on the gear 124 engages the outer surface of the bolt to prevent further rotation of the gear and to thereby limit the rotative movement of the bolt.

When the bolt is moved to its fully open position, as shown in FIG. l5, the pinion 82 -on the gear 124 engages the forward wall 138 of the gear segment 8-4, as shown, to limit the opening movement of the bolt and lever 86, the Wall 138 having a curvature generally similar to that of the pinion 82 to prevent undue Wear on any one point of the pinion. It will, -of course, be understood that various other different stopping means, or combinations of stopping means, may be employed to limit the movement of the bolt and lever in both directions without departing from the invention. As an example of an alternative means, the guide pin 137 could be arranged to engage one or both ends of the guide slot 132 to limit the bolt movement in one or both directions. As another example of an alternative stopping means which could be used to limit the closing movement of the bolt, the bolt, as shown by the broken lines of FIG. 17, could also include an inset block 139 providing radial abutment surfaces 140, 140 at the trailing ends of at least some of the bolt lugs 74, 74 which abutment surfaces 140, 140 are engageable by the leading end surfaces 142. 142 (see FIG. 13) of the corresponding housing lugs 70, 70 as the bolt is moved to its fully closed position.

Although the drawings show two embodiments of the invention which have been described, it will be understood that various changes may be made from the constructions disclosed, and that the drawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the following claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

I claim:

1. In a bolt action firearm, the combination comprising a housing, a barrel having a firing chamber supported by said housing, said housing having a first recess located rearwardly of said barrel with its axis generally aligned with the axis of said barrel and also having a cartridge supply chamber communicating therewith along a portion of the length thereof, a driven member supported in said first recess for reciprocating movement relative to said housing between first and second positions along said first recess axis, said driven member when in said first axial position being spaced sufficiently from said barrel to permit a cartridge to be moved generally sidewise from said cartridge supply chamber into said first recess and when in said second axial position being located closer to said barrel, a se-cond recess in said housing communicating with said first recess, a driving element in said second recess supported for rotation about a first axis extending transversely of said housing, means drivingly connecting said driving element with said driven member for moving said driven member between said first and second axial positions in response to rotation of said driving element about said first axis, a manually operable lever pivotally connected to said housing for movement between open and closed positions, means for rotating said driving element in response to rotation of said lever between said open and closed positions, a firing pin in said driven member, a firing means supported by said housing for movement between cocked and uncocked positions and engageable with said firing pin in one position of said driven member to cause the firing of a cartridge positioned in front of said driven member, a scar movably connected with said housing and in one position of its movement being engageable with said firing means to hold the latter in its cocked position, a trigger supported on said lever for movement between first and second positions relative thereto and biased toward said first position, a part on said trigger which part is engageable with said sear to release the latter from said firing means when said lever is in its closed position and as said trigger is moved from its first to its second position, and means movably connecting said trigger part to the remainder of said trigger and biasing it toward a normal position relative thereto, said trigger part being so arranged relative to said lever as to be non-engageable with said sear and therefore incapable regardless of the position and the manner of movement of said trigger relative to said lever of releasing said Sear from said firing means when said lever is slightly displaced from its closed position.

2. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 1 further characterized by said trigger part being further of such a shape and arrangement that if said trigger is held in its second position while said lever is moved from its open to its closed position, said trigger part will engage said sear and will be moved thereby relative to said trigger and away from its normal position to allow said lever to be moved to its fully closed position relative to said housing without releasing said sear from said ring means.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 further characterized by said means movably connecting said trigger part to the remainder of said trigger comprising means pivotally connecting said trigger part to the remainder of said trigger, said trigger part being further of such a shape and arrangement that if said trigger is held in its second position while said lever is moved from its open to its closed position, said trigger part will engage said scar and will be moved thereby from its normal position to allow said lever to be moved to its fully closed position without releasing said sear from said firing means.

4. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 1 further characterized by said driven member having a forward end and a rear end and also including a bore passing completely therethrough from said forward end to said rear end, said firing pin being received in said bore and having a rear end and a forward end, a spring working between said driven member and said firing pin for urging said firing pin toward a normal rearward position at which said rear end of said firing pin protrudes slightly beyond said rear end of said driven member, said firing means comprising a hammer having a striking face engageable with said rear end of said firing pin, when said driven member is in a given position relative to said housing, for moving said firing pin forwardly from said normal position, said firing pin having a length slightly less than said bore so that when said hammer simultaneously engages the rear end of said driven member and said rear end of said firing pin the forward end of said firing pin is located Within said bore, said firing pin also having such a mass that when violently struck by said hammer the momentum imparted to said firing pin causes the forward end thereof to be moved forwardly beyond said bore to fire a cartridge located adjacent the forward end of said driven member.

5. ln a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 1 further characterized by adjustable stop means between said lever and said trigger for adjustably limiting the amount of overtravel said trigger is capable of after said sear is released.

6. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 1 further characterized by said trigger having a linger engageable portion normally located below said second recess, and said manually operable lever including a guard for said trigger.

7. In a bolt action firearm, the combination comprising a housing, a barrel having a firing chamber supported by said housing, said housing having a first recess located rearwardly of said barrel with its axis generally aligned with the axis of said barrel and also having a cartridge supply chamber communicating therewith along a portion of the length thereof, a driven member supported in said first recess for reciprocating movement relative to said housing between first and second positions along said first recess axis, said driven member when in said first axial position being spaced sufciently from said barrel to permit a cartridge to be moved generally sidewise from said cartridge supply chamber into said first recess and when in said second axial position being located closer to said barrel, a second recess in said housing communicating with said first recess, a driving element in said second recess supported for rotation about a first axis extending transversely of said housing, means drivingly connecting said driving element with said driven member for moving said driven member between said first and second axial positions in response to rotation of said driving element about said first axis, a manually operable lever pivotally connected to said housing for movement between open and closed positions, means for rotating said driving element in response to rotation of said lever between said open and closed positions, a firing pin in said driven member, a firing means supported by said housing for movement between cocked and uncooked positions and engageable with said firing pin in one position of said driven member to cause the firing of a cartridge positioned in front of said driven member, a sear movably connected with said housing and in one position of its movement being engageable with said firing means to hold the latter in its cocked position, a trigger supported on said lever for movement between first and second positions relative thereto and biased toward said first position, a part on said trigger which part is engageable with said sear to release the latter from said firing means when said lever is in its closed position and as said trigger is moved from its first to its second position, and means movably connecting said trigger part to the remainder of said trigger and biasing it toward a normal position relative thereto, said trigger part being so arranged relative to said lever as to be nonengageable with said sear when said lever is slightly displaced from its closed position, said driven member cornprising a bolt means having a set of teeth extending along a portion of its length, and said driving element comprising a gear having a set of teeth thereon which mesh with said teeth on said bolt means to move said bolt means between said first and second axial positions in response to rotation of said gear relative to said housing.

8. In a bolt action firearm the combination defined in claim 7 further characterized by said firing means comprising a hammer located generally rearwardly of said iirst recess, and said teeth on said bolt means being located in a zone extending axially along a bottom portion of said bolt means and said bolt means having a protrusion located rearwardly of said zone and extending further from the longitudinal axis of said bolt means than said teeth thereon, said protrusion being engageable with said hammer to move it from an uncocked to cocked position as said protrusion moves therepast, said hammer in its cocked position being held by said sear out of the path of said teeth on said bolt means.

9. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 7 further characterized by said bolt means being rotatable relative to said housing about said first recess axis between locked and unlocked positions, and said teeth on said bolt means and on said gear being so constructed as to move said bolt means between said first and second axial positions and between said unlocked and locked angular positions in response to rotation of said gear relative to said housing.

10. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 7 further characterized by a pinion fixed to said gear, said manually operable lever being supported for movement relative to said housing about a second transverse axis spaced from said first axis, Ia pinion iixed to said gear, and said means for rotating said gear in response to rotation of said lever including a gear segment fixed relative to said lever and meshing with said pinion.

11. In a bolt action firearm, the combination defined in claim 10 further characterized by said pinion having a smaller radius than said gear segment so that a given angular movement of said lever results in a magnified angular movement of said driving element.

12. In a bolt action firearm the combination comprising: a housing providing a cartridge supply chamber, a barrel supported by said housing and having a firing chamber in the rear end thereof, said housing further including a rearwardly extending bolt recess communicating with said firing chamber and with said cartridge supply chamber and also including a second recess communicating with said bolt recess, a hammer aligned with and located rearwardly of said bolt recess, a bolt means supported in said bolt recess for reciprocating movement relative to said housing between first and second positions along the axis of said latter recess, a firing pin in said bolt means and operable by said hammer for firing a cartridge in said firing chamber, said bolt means when in said first position being spaced from said barrel sufficiently to permit a cartridge to be moved sidewise from said cartridge supply chamber into said bolt recess between said bolt means and said barrel and when in said second position being located closer to said barrel so that a cartridge positioned in said bolt recess is pushed into said firing chamber by said bolt means as said bolt means is moved from said first to said second position, gear means in said second recess supported for rotation about an axis extending transversely of said housing, said bolt means having a set of teeth thereon in a zone extending axially along a bottom portion of said bolt means and having a protrusion located rearwardly of said zone and extending further from the longitudinal axis of said bolt means than said set of teeth, said gear means having a set of teeth which mesh with said set of teeth on said bolt means to reciprocate said bolt between said first position and said second position in response to rotation of said gear means, said protrusion being engageable with said hammer to move it from an uncocked to a cocked position as said protrusion moves therepast, and scar means for releasably holding said hammer in its cocked position, said hammer in its cocked position being held out of the path of said set of teeth on said bolt means.

13. In a firearm, the combination comprising a housing, a bolt supported in said housing for movement relative thereto between a firing position and an open position, means for reciprocating said bolt including a manually operable lever pivotally connected to said housing for movement between a closed position corresponding to said firing position of said bolt and an open position corresponding to said open position of said bolt, a firing means movable between a cocked and an uncocked position relative to said housing, a sear movably connected with said housing and in one position of its movement being engageable with said firing means to hold the latter in its cocked position, a trigger supported on said lever for movement between first and second positions and biased toward said first position, a part on said trigger which part is engageable with said sear to release the latter from said firing means when said lever is in its closed position and as said trigger is moved from its first to its second position, and means movably connecting said trigger part to the remainder of said trigger and biasing it toward a normal position relative thereto, said trigger part being so arranged relative to said lever as to be nonengageable with said sear and therefore incapable regardless of the position and the manner of movement of said trigger relative to said lever of releasing said sear from said firing means when said lever is slightly displaced from its closed position.

14. The combination defined in claim 13 further characterized by adjustable stop means between said lever and said trigger for adjustably limiting the amount of overtravel said trigger is capable of after said Sear is released.

15. In a firearm, the combination comprising a housing, a bolt supported in said housing for movement relative thereto between a firing position and an open position, means for reciprocating said bolt including a manually operable lever pivotally connected to said housing for movement between a closed position corresponding to said firing position of said bolt and an open position corresponding to said open position of said bolt, a firing means movable between a cocked and an uncocked position relative to said housing, a sear movably connected with said housing and in one position of its movement being engageable with said firing means to hold the latter in its cocked position, a trigger supported on said lever for movement between first and second positions and biased toward said first position, a part on said trigger which part is engageable with said sear to release the latter from said firing means when said lever is in its closed position and as said trigger is moved from its first to its second position, said trigger part being so arranged relative to said lever as to be non-engageable with said sear when said lever is slightly displaced from its closed position, said lever being pivotally connected to said housing for movement about a lever axis extending transversely of said housing and said trigger being supported on said lever for reciprocating movement relative thereto in a direction generally radially of said lever axis, said trigger part being pivotally connected to the remainder -of said trigger for movement about a trigger part axis extending transversely of said housing, means for biasing said trigger part to a normal position relative to the remainder of said trigger, said sear being pivotally connected with said housing for movement about a sear axis extending transversely thereof and at a point spaced from said sear axis having a first surface arranged generally radially of said sear axis and a second surface arranged generally parallel to said Sear axis, said trigger part at a point spaced from said trigger part axis in the direction of movement of said trigger relative to said lever having a first surface arranged generally radially of said lever axis and a second surface arranged generally parallel to said trigger part axis, said rst Sear surface, when Said lever is in its fully closed position and said trigger part is in its normal position, being generally parallel to said rst trigger part surface and located in the path traversed by said first trigger part surface during movement of said trigger relative to said lever so that as said trigger is moved from its first to its second position said two first surfaces engage to move said sear and rele-ase it from said firing means,

and said second sear surf-ace being generally parallel to 15 said second trigger part surface when said lever is in its closed position and when said trigger is in its second position being located in the path traversed by said second trigger part surface so that when said lever is moved from its open to its closed position with said trigger in its second position said trigger part surface engages said second surface and said trigger part is pivoted about said trigger part axis away from its normal position against the action of said biasing means without moving said scar, said biasing means when said trigger is thereafter moved to its first position serving to return said trigger part to its normal position so that said sear will be released when said trigger is again moved to its second position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 86,971 2/1869 Conklin 42-16 454,993 6/1891 Catlin 42-21 X 2,638,694 5/1953 Morris 42-24 2,881,547 4/1959 Butler 42-69 X 2,961,791 11/ 1960 Morris 42-16 SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

gg@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CGRRECTION Patent No. 3,471,961 Dated october 14, 1969 Inventoms) KARL R. LEWIS It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. l, Line 60, following "and", "a" should read an.

Col. 5, line 22, "openendH should read -opened. Col. l5, Line 21, following "said" first occurrence, second should be inserted.

SFGNED AND SEALED MAY 121970 .fc-fffrg (SEAL) Attest:

Elma M Fletcher In m1211111 691mm, JR. Anesting Officer Commissioner of Patents