The present disclosure relates to firearms, in particular to a breech for a pistol, and more particularly to a breech for small-caliber pistols, training weapons or sport weapons.
EP 174901 A2 discloses a conversion kit from a not specifically disclosed automatic pistol to a single-shot pistol with fixed barrel and no functional magazine. The purpose of the kit is to enhance the accuracy of shooting. The main concern of this document is the disclosure of a specific safety arrangement.
According to the prior art, a “breech” of a pistol includes all the components that are provided for feeding and positioning a cartridge and for pulling out a casing.
Training pistols are generally pistols of which the outer dimensions and/or handling is as similar as possible to that of a “real” pistol. However, these weapons often have a different caliber, which is frequently lower impulse and/or smaller than that of the actual pistol. Likewise, rubber bullets, blanks, or color-marking ammunition are often used, which require a lower load. Pistols of this kind are a preferred field of application for the breeches of the present disclosure, as well as their use as sport weapons.
Concepts for training pistols are known from the past which, similarly to the “real” pistol, comprise a break-action barrel (also known as a “Browning system”) and a blowback. This relates inter alia to pistols which can be used for color-marking cartridges, for example. However, with the comparatively less loaded cartridges for the color-marking ammunition, the relatively heavy slide of a “normal, real weapon” cannot be moved backwards sufficiently in some circumstances in order to automatically complete the loading process. To solve this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 8,528,243 B1 proposes a polymer-metal composite slide which, inter alia, comprises a bridge for stabilizing the composite slide.
The use of polymers in the region of the breech of a pistol, in particular for manufacturing the slide or at least parts thereof, is also proposed in DE 10 2 006031 657 A1, inter alia. For sport shooters or authorities, training with a break-action weapon having a “larger caliber”, e.g. a 9 mm Luger and above, is often too expensive, which is why attempts are often made to switch the training to more cost-effective alternative ammunition, such as 0.22 LRs. In addition, for sport shooters who do not use “larger-caliber” pistols, small-caliber pistols are a cost-effective training weapon and/or competition weapon. In these cases too, there is the requirement for a light slide and/or breech by means of a lower load of the low-caliber pistols, which is why, in construction, a break-action system having a blowback is often avoided and instead, a rigid barrel having a blowback and a lighter slide is used.
However, shooters will still not want to forgo the required precision in low-caliber weapons. In the context of the present disclosure, break-action barrels are understood to be those barrels which are arranged so as to be movable within limits relative to the frame of the weapon, e.g. by means of a barrel hook on the locking block, and can tilt downwards during the loading process. By contrast, in the context of the present disclosure, a rigid barrel is understood such that the barrel of the pistol is not moved relative to the locking block during the loading process. Here, the loading process substantially takes place by means of a linear movement of the slide along the barrel axis. Here, the “rigid” barrel can be supported on one or more support points on the frame provided for this purpose, or on a locking block provided for this purpose, and is thus not rigidly connected to the frame, i.e. by means of screws, for example.
This type of mount for rigid barrels is therefore a challenge, since, first of all, it needs to be simple to disassemble the pistol and, despite a comparatively low load, high forces still act on the barrel and thus the mount thereof. Second, the barrel needs to remain as rigid as possible relative to the frame when installed, e.g. in order to prevent inaccurate orientation in the horizontal and/or vertical position. Nevertheless, the muzzle of said barrel needs to be able to “freely oscillate”, in order to prevent, inter alia, any warping of the barrel in the event of thermal expansion.
An additional requirement, in particular from authorities, is that a training weapon having a smaller caliber is as similar as possible to handle as a service weapon having a larger caliber. Since training weapons can also have a high round count, it is desirable for the weapon to be simple to disassemble and to be manufactured so as to be as durable as possible.
The present disclosure then addresses the problem of providing a breech for a pistol, in particular small-caliber pistols and/or training pistols which have high precision. Furthermore, another problem addressed is to transfer the handling of a “real” pistol having a break-action system to the handling of a small-caliber pistol and/or a training pistol having a rigid barrel as identically as possible. Moreover, the problem addressed by the disclosure is to provide, in one embodiment, a breech system for pistols having a rigid barrel that is as durable and as simple to disassemble as possible.
These problems are solved according to the present disclosure by means of a breech for a pistol having a frame and a central weapon place, and that is suitable for use with a magazine. The disclosed breech includes a barrel having at least one barrel block and at least one chamber, where the at least one barrel block includes at least one recess on each side of the barrel block, and a slide having a breech guide designed to move on a guide rail of the frame of the pistol, including a socket having a breech face formed on the slide. The breech guide additionally includes centering rails on the inside of the breech guide, the centering rails being complementary to the recesses of the barrel block in terms of form and function.
In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a pistol, where the pistol has a central weapon plane and is suitable for use with a magazine. The pistol of the disclosure can include a frame, a barrel having at least one barrel block and at least one chamber, where the at least one barrel block includes at least one recess on each side of the barrel block, and a slide having a breech guide designed to move on a guide rail of the frame, including a socket having a breech face formed on the slide. The breech guide of the slide includes centering rails on the inside of the breech guide, the centering rails being complementary to the recesses of the barrel block in terms of form and function.
The breech and pistol of the present disclosure will be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawings, in which:
The present disclosure is directed to a breech for a pistol, where the pistol includes at least one barrel including a barrel block, and a slide including a breech guide, where the breech guide is designed to interact with a guide rail formed on the frame of the pistol. The barrel is a rigid barrel which does not move relative to the frame during the loading process. The breech guide includes a socket having a breech face and acts as a slide element or guide element of the slide in the longitudinal direction of the pistol during the movement of the breech. In one embodiment, centering rails are formed on the inside of the breech guide in front of the socket in the direction of fire and interact in a centering manner with recesses provided on the side of the barrel block during the closing movement in the horizontal and/or vertical direction, relative to the barrel axis.
The centering rails are formed on the inside of the breech guide so as to be complementary to the recesses in the barrel block in terms of form and function. By laterally and/or vertically mounting the barrel on the centering rails by means of the recesses, a first support or contact pairing is formed, which facilitates the repeatable orientation of the barrel. Despite the use of small-caliber ammunition, usually with rimfire, and the rigid barrel, the handling of the pistol is almost identical to the handling of pistols that use centerfire cartridges and have a break action. Subsequently, the form-complementary centering rails and recesses can relieve pressure on the guiding grooves and the guide rail, and this increases the durability of the components.
According to the present disclosure, the introduction of force during discharge and during the locking process can take place in a relatively linear manner along said centering elements, and this facilitates a reduction in a tilting moment about the chamber.
Furthermore, some preferred embodiments are described in the following which describe additional second and/or third contact pairings and can additionally solve the above-mentioned problem and can be applied in isolation or in combination.
In the context of the present disclosure, reference is made to small-caliber pistols when the caliber is .380 auto and lower, in particular .22 caliber. Specifically, the 0.22 LR caliber, which is highly suitable for sport and training purposes, is likewise included. Small-caliber cartridges are often designed as rimfire cartridges, which require an accordingly formed chamber and a cartridge extractor corresponding to the cartridge rim. It should be noted that the embodiments according to the present disclosure can also be relatively easily adapted for use at other calibers and/or in centerfire cartridges by a person skilled in the art with knowledge of the disclosure.
Further components of a pistol, such as the trigger mechanism, are not described in greater detail in the context of this disclosure, since a person skilled in the art can relatively easily make modifications on the basis of their knowledge in the art, depending on the cartridge type.
In the following, the terms left, right, above, below, front, and rear always relate to the shooter's view in the direction of fire of the firearm when it is being held ready to fire. The weapon has a central weapon plane, extending through the barrel axis and being vertically oriented, which cum grano sails forms a plane of symmetry.
At least one elongate recess 15 that is in parallel with the barrel axis 18 and extends from the rear end of the barrel block 11 in the direction of fire, i.e. forwards, is formed on each of the two block sidewalls 111 of the barrel block 11 that are on the left and the right in the direction of fire. As shown, the barrel 1 is preferably formed in one piece with the barrel block 11, the barrel hook 12 and a chamber 13 (
As can also be seen from
As can be seen from
The feed ramp 14 is located at the rear end of the barrel block 11, via which ramp a cartridge can slide into the chamber 13, which is located slightly above the magazine 35 in the barrel direction, when this cartridge is taken from the magazine. Contact bars 16 are formed in the region of the chamber 13, i.e. to the side of and/or above said chamber, which bars are interrupted by an indication recess 17 in the embodiment shown. The contact bars 16, which are formed to the side and/or above in the direction of the breech face 231, are clearly visible in
It is also very clearly visible in
As shown in
The protrusion 233 on the side of the weapon that has an ejection window 24 for the casing has, as is shown and preferred, a surface which is vertical but is oblique relative to the barrel axis 18, which makes it easier to eject the casing.
According to the present disclosure, at least one elongate, inwardly projecting centering rail 25 that is oriented in parallel with the barrel axis 18 is formed so as to be symmetrical to the central weapon plane, when viewed in the direction of fire, on each of the two longitudinal sides of the breech guide 21. The centering rails 25 are designed to be complementary to the respective centering recesses 15 in the barrel block 11 in terms of form. In this way, during the locking process, the barrel 1 is horizontally and/or vertically supported on the breech guide 21 via the barrel block 11. The centering rails 25 can thus support the barrel block 11 on their own or in addition to said block resting on the locking block 37. The barrel 1 is thus also repeatably oriented relative to the frame 3 by this measure and can oscillate freely, since contact with the barrel opening 26 is no longer necessary.
The design according to the present disclosure and the interaction of the centering rails 25 and centering recesses 15 can thus solve the central problem mentioned at the outset and contribute to increased precision and repeatability during discharge. Moreover, despite using small-caliber ammunition and a rigid barrel, the pistol can be handled almost identically to the usual use of centerfire cartridges and a break action. Subsequently, the form-complementary centering rails 25 and centering recesses 15 relieve the pressure on the guiding grooves 211 and the guide rail 31, since the introduction of force during discharge and during the locking process can take place in a relatively linear manner along said centering elements. This is advantageous for the service life of the components.
Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit and knowledge of the present disclosure would appreciate that more than one recess 15 by be formed on each side 111 of the barrel block 11, and that the same applies to the corresponding centering rails 25 on the breech guide 21.
It has proven advantageous for the recesses 15 to be positioned symmetrically to the central weapon plane and thus at the same level in the horizontal position.
If only one recess 15 is formed on each side of the barrel block 11, it is advantageous for the recesses 15 or centering rails 25 to be arranged at the level of the barrel axis 18. In this way, a reduction in the tilting moment can be achieved during the closing process since force is introduced in an almost linear manner.
Preferably, the centering rails 25 are formed to extend (taper) towards the end in the direction of fire, as is clear from the plan view in
Another preferred embodiment includes the regions 252 of the centering rails 25 which taper vertically, at least on one side, forwards in the direction of fire, as shown in
When the pistol is closed, as shown schematically in
The breech face 231 also rests on the contact bars 16, as a result of which a further support and contact surface is formed between the barrel block 11 and the socket 23.
As can be seen from
The geometries can thus be easily adapted by a person skilled in the art in order to optimize the precision and durability of the pistol by means of the form and position of the recesses 15 relative to the centering rails 25. Furthermore, the second and/or third and/or fourth contact pairings can be adapted to one another in the vertical and/or horizontal direction, as described, in order to prevent any horizontal and/or vertical tilting of the barrel 1 due to the rear and/or lateral support relative to the socket 23.
In one particular embodiment, the locking block 37 is designed to receive and/or support the barrel hook 12 on its surface so as to be substantially complementary thereto in terms of form. Here, the surface of the locking block 37 is preferably designed such that, when viewed in the transverse direction, a trapezoidal recessed cross section is produced, which forms a vertical and also horizontal support together with the accordingly formed barrel hook 12.
The breech according to the present disclosure can, for example, be produced by means of machining methods such as milling, turning or grinding, and likewise the breech guide 21 and/or the barrel block 11 can be formed according to the present disclosure by shaping methods such as forging or hammering, powder metallurgy or MIM, or also by means of additive manufacturing methods such as 3D printing, or a combination of these methods.
The breech and/or pistol of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment that is shown and described, but can be modified and configured in several ways. In particular, the cross-sectional shapes of the above-mentioned rails, recesses, etc. can be adapted to the predetermined basic data, and the lengths and positions relative to the frame can also be adapted by a person skilled in the art without any difficulty with knowledge of the disclosure.
In the description and the claims, as already stated above, the terms “front”, “rear”, “above”, “below”, etc. are used in the generally accepted sense and with reference to the object in its normal position of use. This means that, for a weapon, the muzzle of the barrel is at the “front”, that the breech and slide are moved to the “rear” by the explosive gases, etc. “Transverse to a direction” substantially means a direction rotated by 90° thereto.
It should also be noted that, in the description and the claims, statements such as “lower region” of an object means the lower half and in particular the lower quarter of the total height, “lowermost region” means the lowermost quarter and in particular an even smaller part, while “central region” means the central third of the total height. This applies, mutatis mutandis, to the terms “width” and “length”. All of these statements have a generally accepted meaning, which is applied to the intended position of the object in question.
In the description and the claims, “substantially” means a deviation of up to 10% of the stated value, if it is physically possible, both down and up, and otherwise only in the relevant direction, and for stated degree values (angles and temperature), ±10° is thus meant. For terms such as “substantially constant” etc., the technical and not the mathematical deviation option which a person skilled in the art takes as a basis is meant. Therefore, a “substantially L-shaped cross section” has two elongated surfaces which each transition at one end into the end of the other surface, and the longitudinal extensions thereof are arranged at an angle of from 45° to 120°, preferably 80° to 100°, relative to one another.
Provided that they do not relate to the specific examples, all the stated amounts and proportions, in particular those for distinguishing the invention are to be understood with a tolerance of ±10%, thus, for example: 11% means from 9.9% to 12.1%. In terms such as “a solvent”, the word “a” is not considered to be a quantifier, but rather an indefinite article or a pronoun if nothing to the contrary follows from the context.
Unless stated otherwise, the term “combination” or “combinations” means all types of combinations, ranging from two of the components in question through to a large number of components or all such components, and the term “containing” also covers “including” or “comprising”.
The features and variants set out in the individual embodiments and examples can be combined with those of the other examples and embodiments in any manner, and can in particular be used for characterizing the invention in the claims without necessarily also incorporating the other details of the embodiment or example in question. In summary, it can be stated that the present disclosure relates to a breech for a pistol having a central weapon plane, comprising a barrel 1, which comprises at least one barrel block 11 and one chamber 12, a slide 2, comprising a breech guide 21, which is designed to move on a guide rail 31 of a frame 3 of the pistol and on which a socket 23 having a breech face 231 is formed, characterized in that the barrel block 11 comprises at least one recess 15 on each side, and centering rails 25 are formed on the inside of the breech guide 21 so as to be complementary to the recesses 15 in terms of form and function.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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19210954.4 | Nov 2019 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2020/082013 | 11/13/2020 | WO |