Semi-automatic handgun

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a semi-automatic handgun and more particularly to a semi-automatic handgun wherein the barrel thereof moves forwardly with respect to the frame of the handgun when the cartridge in the barrel is fired.

2. Description of the Related Art

The mechanical action of high-powered semi-automatic handguns has changed very little since an invention by John Browning at the turn of the twentieth century. In semi-automatic pistols, such as the Colt 1911 A1 pistol invented by Browning, the recoil action created by the energy of firing a cartridge causes the barrel, which is located in a sliding housing, to move rearwardly and most often tilted downwardly to eject the spent cartridge and to deliver a new round from the cartridge clip or magazine. To prevent excessive blowback at the breech, the barrel and slide are locked together for a short distance to allow the chamber pressure to drop to a safe level before the breech is opened. The higher energy produced by more powerful ammunition results in high velocity of the slide which must be retarded by a strong recoil spring. The strong spring force of the recoil spring requires greater effort in manually retracting the slide to re-cock the hammer and recharge the chamber. As more powerful ammunition has been developed, such as the 10 mm. cartridge, the problem has increased requiring still stronger recoil springs along with more uncomfortable recoil on firing. Further, the fact that the barrel of semi-automatic handguns, such as the 1911 A1 pistol, must be pivoted downwardly necessitates some play between the barrel and the slide through the use of a bushing. The fact that some tolerance must be provided between the barrel and the bushing and due to the fact that wear occurs on the bushing creates accuracy problems. Additionally, since the barrels of semi-automatic handguns such as the 1911 A1 have relatively short lengths, the accuracy thereof is sometimes less than desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A semi-automatic weapon such as a handgun is disclosed which includes a frame including a grip, a trigger guard, a trigger, and a cartridge magazine removably mounted in the grip. The cartridge magazine is adapted to have cartridges contained therein in a vertically stacked manner. A barrel housing is mounted on the upper end of the frame and has a breech formed therein which has rearward and forward ends. The breech is in communication with the cartridge magazine to enable the cartridge magazine to successively feed cartridges to the breech. The barrel housing has a first elongated opening formed therein which extends forwardly from the forward end of the breech to the forward end of the barrel housing. The barrel housing has a second elongated opening formed therein which extends rearwardly from the rearward end of the breech towards the rearward end of the barrel housing. An elongated barrel, having forward and rearward ends, is movably mounted in the barrel housing between a rearward battery position in the barrel housing to a forward position therein. The barrel has a bore extending therethrough which defines a chamber at the rearward end thereof. A barrel spring is positioned in the barrel housing for yieldably urging the barrel towards its rearward battery position. The barrel closes the breech when the barrel is in its rearward battery position.

A piston is movably mounted in the second elongated opening formed in the barrel housing and is normally urged forwardly by a spring associated therewith. A spring-loaded firing pin is movably positioned in the piston with the forward end thereof protruding beyond the breech face or forward end of the piston with the rearward end thereof protruding rearwardly from the rearward end of the piston. A hammer is pivotally mounted on the frame which is movable between a rearward cocked position and a forward firing or de-cocked position. The trigger is operatively connected to the hammer by means of a sear assembly. A hammer or main spring is positioned in the frame and is connected to the hammer for driving the hammer from its rearward cocked position to its forward firing position when the trigger is depressed. When the hammer is driven forwardly, the hammer strikes the firing pin with the forward end of the firing pin striking the primer of the cartridge located in the chamber of the barrel to detonate the same. The detonation of the cartridge causes the barrel to move from its rearward position to its forward position against the resiliency of the barrel spring. The forward movement of the barrel within the barrel housing reduces the recoil imparted to the frame. The forward movement of the barrel during firing improves the accuracy of the handgun. The cocking of the hammer is achieved by rearward movement of the piston upon firing which imparts energy to the firing pin and in turn to the hammer.

The construction of the cartridge magazine is also believed to be unique in that a flexible cartridge retainer means is provided on the upper end thereof which enables the cartridges to be loaded into the magazine in a straight downwardly fashion. The magazine cartridge feeds the cartridges upwardly in a horizontally disposed position so as to be aligned with the chamber and bore of the barrel. The rearward end of the chamber of the barrel is positioned near the rear of the cartridge magazine which results in an effective longer barrel without increasing the overall length of the weapon which also results in increased energy and velocity.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved semi-automatic handgun.

A further object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun having a barrel slidably mounted in a barrel housing with the barrel moving forwardly when the handgun is fired.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic weapon which decreases the amount of recoil imparted to the frame thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun which is constructed so that less force is required to manually open the breech.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein a barrel is slidably mounted in a barrel housing with the barrel moving in a straight line with respect thereto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic weapon wherein the hammer is re-cocked by means of a movable piston positioned between the rear end of the cartridge in the chamber and the hammer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the forward movement of the barrel on firing assists in counteracting the rearward energy of discharge, thus reducing recoil.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a handgun of the type described wherein the barrel travels forwardly in a straight line to accomplish ejection of the spent cartridge and recharging of the chamber.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the chamber end of the barrel is positioned to the rear of the cartridge magazine, when the barrel is in the battery position, resulting in a longer barrel without increasing the overall length of the weapon, resulting in increased energy and velocity.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the cartridges are elevated from a cartridge magazine horizontally and directly in line with the bore thereby eliminating ramp charging to reduce the chances of jamming.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun including a cartridge magazine which may be loaded straight downwardly.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a front perspective view of the handgun of this invention;

FIG. 2

is a front view of the handgun;

FIG. 3

is a side view of the handgun;

FIG. 4

is a partial vertical sectional view of the handgun;

FIG. 5

is a partial exploded view of the handgun;

FIG. 6

is a partial sectional view of the handgun;

FIG. 7

is a top elevational view of the trigger, bow assembly, sear and hammer;

FIG. 8

is a side elevational view of the trigger, bow assembly, sear and hammer of

FIG. 7

;

FIG. 9

is a top elevational view of the handgun;

FIG. 10

is a top elevational view of the handgun illustrating the relationship of the barrel housing and hammer safety;

FIG. 11A

is a sectional view illustrating the handgun with the barrel in its fully forward position;

FIG. 11

B is a partial side view of the handgun illustrating the ejection system;

FIG. 12A

is a sectional view illustrating the hammer in its fully cocked position with the sear maintaining the hammer in its fully cocked position;

FIG. 12B

is a view similar to

FIG. 12A

except that the trigger has been moved rearwardly to disengage the sear from the hammer;

FIG. 12C

illustrates the hammer being moved to its de-cocked firing position;

FIG. 13A

illustrates the handgun in its battery position with the hammer in a de-cocked position;

FIG. 13B

illustrates the trigger bow assembly being moved backwardly or rearwardly to cock the hammer;

FIG. 13C

illustrates the bow assembly having been moved further rearwardly from that of

FIG. 13B

to permit the hammer to be driven to its firing position.

FIG. 14

is a rear sectional view of the cartridge magazine and its relationship to the frame as the magazine is being inserted into the handgun;

FIG. 15

is a view similar to

FIG. 14

except that the magazine is in its fully inserted position to allow the uppermost cartridge to be fed into the breech of the handgun;

FIG. 16A

is partial perspective view of the rearward end of the barrel with the grip portion being removed therefrom; and

FIG. 16B

is a rear view of the structure of FIG.

16

A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The semi-automatic handgun of this invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral

10

. Although the weapon disclosed herein is ideally suited for use as a handgun, it is possible that certain of the mechanisms thereof could also be used in weapons other than handguns. Handgun

10

generally includes a frame

12

including a grip

14

, trigger guard

16

, magazine release button

18

, and an opening

20

extending upwardly into the lower end of the grip

14

designed to receive a cartridge magazine or clip

22

.

Magazine

22

includes a housing

24

having a follower spring

26

provided therein for urging the cartridges

28

upwardly in a substantially horizontally disposed condition so that they will be aligned with the bore of the barrel as will be described hereinafter. For purposes of description, magazine

22

will be described as including a forward end

30

, rearward end

32

, and opposite sides

34

and

36

. The upper end of side

34

includes an inwardly and upwardly extending portion

38

while the upper end of side

36

includes an upwardly and inwardly extending portion

40

. Lip

42

is provided on the upper end of upwardly and inwardly extending portion

40

and is designed to engage the lug

44

provided on the barrel housing as the magazine is inserted into the handgun. The portion

38

of the side

36

is preferably flexible and yieldably maintains the cartridges

28

within the magazine

22

, as illustrated in FIG.

14

. As the magazine

22

is moved to its completely inserted position, lip

42

engages lug

44

which causes portion

40

to deflect outwardly thereby permitting the cartridges

28

to pass from the upper end of the magazine into the guides

48

. The flexible characteristic of the portion

40

, which may be comprised of plastic or metal, enables the cartridges

28

to be inserted directly downwardly into the magazine when the magazine is being loaded. The relationship of portions

38

and

40

also permits the cartridges to pass directly vertically upwardly from the magazine in a horizontally disposed condition.

The barrel housing

46

includes a forward end

48

and a rearward end

50

. The lower end of housing

46

is open and communicates with a breech

52

which also serves as an ejection port. Barrel housing

46

includes an elongated cylindrical opening

54

which extends forwardly from the forward end of the breech

52

to the forward end

48

of the housing

46

. A cylindrical opening

56

is formed in barrel housing

46

and extends rearwardly from the rearward end of breech

52

. The rearward end of the opening

56

defines a shoulder

58

. Opening

60

is formed in barrel housing

46

rearwardly of opening

56

. Barrel housing

46

is provided with dovetail grooves

62

and

64

formed therein adapted to receive sights

66

and

68

therein, respectively. Barrel housing

46

is provided with a pair of slots

70

on opposite sides thereof which extend through the side walls of the barrel housing

46

and which are adapted to receive the legs

72

of retaining clip

74

. A hook or lug

76

extends downwardly from the rearward end of barrel housing

46

and is adapted to be received in a retaining slot

78

, as illustrated in FIG.

5

. Screw

80

extends downwardly through the barrel housing

46

and is threadably received in an internally threaded opening

82

to enable the barrel housing

46

to be selectively removably secured to the frame

12

.

The numeral

84

refers to an elongated barrel having a forward end

86

and a rearward end

88

. Barrel

84

is provided with a conventional rifled bore

90

formed therein which extends forwardly from a cartridge chamber

92

formed at the rearward end of the bore

90

. Barrel

84

is provided with an enlarged diameter portion

94

forwardly of its rearward end, as best seen in FIG.

5

. The barrel

84

has a drag link groove

96

formed therein and a trigger block groove

98

formed therein. Barrel

84

is provided with gas ports

100

formed therein adjacent the forward end thereof which extend inwardly therethrough for communication with the bore

90

. The forward end of barrel

84

has an annular groove

102

formed therein which is adapted to receive retaining clip

104

. The rearward end of barrel

84

has a pair of longitudinally extending grooves

106

formed therein on opposite sides thereof adapted to receive the lower ends

108

and

110

of barrel grip portion

112

.

Barrel

84

is inserted into the forward end of opening

54

in barrel housing

46

. Barrel spring

114

is slipped over the forward end of the barrel

84

so that its rearward end engages the shoulder

116

at the forward end of the enlarged diameter portion

94

. Barrel stop

118

is then slipped over the forward end of the spring

114

and is held in position by means of the retaining clip or ring

74

, the legs of which are inserted into the openings

70

so as to be received in the openings

120

formed on opposite sides of the forward end of the barrel stop

118

. Muzzle sleeve

122

is then slipped over the forward end of the barrel

84

forwardly of the forward end of spring

114

. The retaining clip

104

is then inserted into the annular groove

102

to maintain muzzle sleeve

122

in position.

The numeral

124

refers to a piston which is movably mounted in opening

56

. A spring-loaded firing pin

128

is movably mounted within the piston

124

and is adapted to protrude forwardly from the forward end of piston

124

when the hammer

130

strikes the rearward end of the firing pin

128

. Hammer

130

is pivotally mounted at the upper rearward end of the frame

12

at

132

. The lower rearward end of hammer

130

is pivotally connected to the upper rearward end of hammer spring guide

134

at

136

. Hammer or main spring

138

is mounted on the lower end of hammer spring guide

134

to urge or drive the hammer

130

from its rearward cocked position to its forward firing position. A rotating bolt

140

is selectively rotatably mounted in the frame

12

adjacent the hammer spring guide

134

, as seen in

FIG. 4

, to selectively prevent the movement of the hammer spring guide

134

thereby preventing the hammer

130

from moving from its cocked position to its firing position. Bolt

140

is provided at the inner end of safety/de-cocker

142

which is positioned adjacent the upper rearward end of the exterior surface of the frame

12

, as seen in FIG.

1

. The numeral

144

refers to a generally conventional grip safety which prevents upward movement of the hammer spring guide

134

when it is in its “on” position of FIG.

4

. When the grip safety

144

is depressed and the safety/de-cocker is in the “off” position, the hammer

130

will move from its fully de-cocked position to its firing position when the trigger is pulled.

Trigger

146

is pivotally connected at its upper end to the frame

12

at

148

and is enclosed within a trigger guard

150

. Trigger

146

is prevented from moving rearwardly by means of a trigger safety

152

. Trigger safety

152

includes a spring-loaded trigger block

154

. As the barrel

84

moves to its fully closed or battery position, the front end of the trigger block groove

98

(

FIG. 4

) causes the trigger block

154

to retract against spring tension so that the trigger may be moved rearwardly.

The numeral

160

refers to a bow assembly which has its forward end pivotally connected to trigger

146

at

162

. A cocking pawl

164

is pivotally connected to the rearward end of bow assembly

160

at

166

. Cocking pawl

164

is provided with a pair of lugs

168

and

170

formed therein which define an arcuate groove

172

therebetween. As seen, spring

174

normally urges cocking pawl

164

in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG.

6

. The lower forward end of hammer

130

is provided with a pair of cams

176

and

178

formed at one side thereof which define an arcuate groove

180

therebetween, as also seen in

FIG. 6. A

spring-loaded sear

182

is pivotally mounted in the frame

12

at

184

. Bow assembly

160

includes a rearwardly extending bearing lug

186

which is adapted to engage the lower end of sear

182

to move the sear

182

out of engagement with the lower forward end of the hammer

130

, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. As seen in

FIG. 7

, the sear

182

is adapted to engage a shoulder

188

formed on the lower forward end of the hammer

130

laterally of the pawl

164

and laterally of the lugs

176

and

178

.

As seen in

FIG. 10

, the numeral

190

refers to a spring-loaded hammer safety which is pivoted to the frame

12

at

192

. The forward end of safety

190

has a shoulder

194

protruding therefrom while the rearward end of the safety

190

has a laterally extending portion

196

. Laterally extending portion

196

of safety

190

is positioned in the forward path of hammer

130

until the barrel

84

is in its completely closed position. As the barrel

84

moves rearwardly, the barrel

84

engages shoulder

194

to pivot safety

190

in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in

FIG. 10

, so that the laterally extending portion

196

is moved laterally out of the forward path of the hammer

130

.

The ejection system of this invention is best illustrated in

FIGS. 11A and 11B

. Ejection system

198

includes an ejector spring

200

and an ejector drag link

202

. The ejector drag link

202

has its forward end movably received in the groove

96

, as illustrated in

FIGS. 11A and 11B

.

The operation of the handgun is as follows. The cartridge or ammunition magazine is loaded by successively inserting cartridges

28

straight down through the upper end of the magazine. As the cartridge is lowered into the magazine, the cartridge engages the loading lip

42

which deflects outwardly causing the upper end portions

38

and

40

to deflect outwardly so that the cartridge may move downwardly into the magazine compressing the magazine follower spring

26

. Additional cartridges are loaded in the same manner and are stacked as shown in FIG.

15

.

To load the weapon, the magazine

22

is inserted in the bottom opening of the grip of the frame and pushed upwardly until secured by the clip release

18

being received by the notch

204

which is formed in the forward end of the magazine

22

(FIG.

6

). Simultaneously with the loading, the lip

42

engages the lug

44

in the frame causing the upper end portions of the magazine to separate to allow the uppermost cartridge to engage the guides

48

in the barrel housing

46

.

To manually charge the chamber, the barrel

84

is grasped at the barrel grip portion

112

and pulled forward which opens the breech and compresses the barrel spring

114

. As the breech is fully opened, the uppermost cartridge

28

is free to move upwardly in the guides

48

until stopped by the extractor

208

which is pivotally secured to the frame

12

at

210

. The rearward end of the extractor

208

is urged upwardly by the spring

212

. The forward end of the extractor

208

includes downwardly extending extractor arm

214

which is received in the groove

216

of the cartridge

28

. At this time, the cartridge

28

is in direct alignment with the centerline of the bore.

Upon depression of the barrel release

218

, the barrel spring

114

drives the barrel

84

rearwardly enclosing the cartridge. The succeeding cartridge is depressed downwardly into the magazine

22

by the bottom of the breech end of the barrel

84

.

The hammer

130

is then manually retracted into its firing position. At this point, the handgun cannot be fired unless the barrel is fully home in the battery position due to the hammer safety assembly

190

. Hammer safety

190

blocks movement of the hammer

130

until the rearward end of the barrel

84

engages the forward end of the hammer safety which rotates the safety

190

outwardly against spring tension to clear the path of the hammer

130

. Another safety feature which prevents firing if the breech is even partially open is the trigger safety

152

is the fact that the trigger

146

is prevented from movement by the spring-loaded trigger block

154

. As the barrel moves to the battery position, the front end of the slot

98

in the barrel

84

causes the trigger block

154

to retract against spring tension thereby clearing the hammer to rotate. A further safety feature is the grip safety

144

. The grip safety

144

is spring-loaded to cause the grip safety to rotate outwardly from the frame wherein a lug on the grip safety overrides a lug on the hammer spring guide

134

to prevent upward movement and rotation of the hammer. Yet another safety feature is the safety/de-cocker

142

. The safety/de-cocker

142

must be in the “off” position so that the rotating bolt

140

provides clearance for the hammer spring guide

134

to move upwardly allowing the hammer to rotate.

When all of the safety conditions are met, the trigger

146

may be depressed which causes it to rotate and move the bow assembly

160

rearwardly until the bearing lug

186

engages the sear

182

causing it to rotate and release the spring-loaded hammer

130

. This operation is known as a single action operation and the hammer would have already been cocked prior to the trigger being depressed or moved rearwardly (FIGS.

12

A and

12

B).

The firing mechanism may also be operated in a double action fashion as will now be described. The trigger

146

is depressed thereby compressing the trigger spring

218

causing it to rotate and move the bow assembly

160

rearwardly until the cocking pawl

164

engages cam

176

on the hammer

130

. This action causes the hammer

130

to rotate to a firing position. Consequently, the cocking pawl

164

rides up the cam

176

until it overrides the cam thereby releasing the hammer to fall until engaged by the sear

182

. Further, rearward movement of the bow

160

causes the lug

186

to engage the lower end of sear

182

causing it to rotate counterclockwise releasing the hammer

130

.

After the hammer has been released through a single action or a double action operation, as the hammer

130

falls due to the action of the hammer spring

138

, the hammer strikes the spring-loaded firing pin

128

causing it to strike the cartridge primer and simultaneously drive the piston

124

firmly against the base of the cartridge. As the cartridge discharges, the energy drives the breech piston

124

rearwardly a fraction of an inch until stopped by shoulder

58

of the opening

56

. Simultaneously, the hard contact between the breech piston

124

and the shoulder

58

causes the head of the firing pin to strike the hammer

130

causing it to rotate rearwardly and thereby re-cocking the weapon. Return movement of the hammer

130

is stopped by the spring-loaded sear

182

until subsequently released by the trigger mechanism.

As the bullet is driven through the muzzle, a portion of the gas is released through the gas ports

100

near the muzzle into the circular cavity between the fixed barrel stop

118

and the barrel sleeve

122

. The gas pressure forces the barrel sleeve

122

and barrel

84

to move forwardly against the barrel return spring

114

until stopped by the rear shoulder of the barrel stop

118

. The spent cartridge case is held in the open breech by the extractor

208

.

As the breech is opened, the chamber end of the barrel

84

passes over the end of the ejector spring

200

which releases the spring tension to strike and eject the spent cartridge case, as seen in FIG.

11

B. The ejector spring

200

is retracted by the forward movement of the drag link

202

which contains an aperture

203

through which the ejector spring

200

passes. The drag link

202

is pulled forward by engagement of a protruding lug on the forward end against a shoulder

205

on the lower portion of the barrel

84

. As the ejector spring

200

is retracted and with the breech open, the succeeding round of ammunition (cartridge) is free to move upwardly from the magazine until it is stopped by the extractor

208

.

Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.