1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shoulder fired firearms and more particularly concerns adjustable butt-stock mechanisms that enable firearm users to establish precision adjustment of the length of a butt-stock as desired for a comfortable fit of a firearm stock with the anatomy of the user. More particularly, the present invention concerns a firearm butt-stock that can be lengthened for use or shortened for storage or transport and can be adjusted from the standpoint of length in the event close quarter combat conditions warrant the use of a rather short and compact shoulder fired weapon. This invention also concerns firearms having butt-stocks that can be completely removed from the firearms or interchangeable with other types of butt-stocks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Especially in the field of tactical firearms there has been a continuing need over the years for shoulder fired firearms that have butt-stocks that can be adjusted in some fashion for the purpose of changing the configuration of the firearm, primarily to establish a desired fit with the physical characteristics of the physique of the user, but also to accommodate the conditions within which a firearm is being used. Firearms have been developed that have butt-stock mechanisms that can be shortened or lengthened, even during field conditions and which can be shortened or folded so as to adapt the firearms for storage and transportation. Various types of tactical firearms have been developed that incorporate a rearwardly projecting receiver extension member, with a butt-stock mechanism that has selective position adjustment along the length of the receiver extension member so that the stock portion of the firearm can be easily and simply adjusted to fit the body anatomy of the user.
It is a principal feature of the present invention to provide a novel adjustable or collapsible butt-stock that is receivable by a receiver extension member of a shoulder fired firearm and incorporates a locking mechanism having a locking member that selectively engages within spaced locking recesses of the receiver extension member to secure the butt-stock mechanism against movement from a selected position.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel collapsible or adjustable butt-stock mechanism having locking and lock release conditions that are achieved by actuation of a trigger-like pull ring lock actuator mechanism to free the butt-stock member for extension of collapsing movement relative to a receiver extension member or to secure the locking mechanism in a locking condition to secure the butt-stock member against movement from any of a plurality of positions relative to the receiver extension member.
It is also a feature of the present invention to provide a novel collapsible or adjustable butt-stock mechanism having a locking selector mechanism that is positionable for locking and lock release conditions and which is positionable to permit selection of a locking position that provides for butt-stock movement to selective positions between positions of minimum extension and maximum extension and a release position permitting selective length adjustment and complete separation of a butt-stock from its tubular support.
Briefly, the various objects and features of the present invention are realized through the provision of a receiver extension member of a shoulder fired firearm, the receiver extension member defining a plurality of spaced locking pin receptacles that are situated along a portion of the length thereof. A collapsible or adjustable butt-stock member defines a receiver extension receptacle within which a rear end portion of the receiver extension member is received for linear movement. The butt-stock member incorporates a substantially vertically moveable locking pin that has a locking position establishing locking engagement within one of the spaced locking pin receptacles and an unlocking or release condition where the locking pin is retracted from the spaced locking pin receptacles. The butt-stock mechanism also incorporates a locking pin actuator that is actuated by a trigger-like pull ring lock release actuator that is manually moved against the bias of a locking pin spring member which urges the locking pin toward its locking condition.
A trigger-like pull ring member is located for lock actuating movement within an opening in the triangular web of the collapsible or adjustable butt-stock member and is connected with the lock actuator member. Manual pulling of the pull ring member achieves linear movement of the locking pin actuator member and causes tapered cam surfaces of the locking pin actuator member to apply a downwardly directed force to a transversely oriented drive pin that is mounted to the locking pin member. This downwardly directed force causes downward movement of the locking pin, thus retracting the upper end of the locking pin from one of the butt-stock positioning receptacles 18 and freeing the butt-stock member for forward or rearward adjustment movement. If the pull ring member is pulled further rearwardly, the upper end of the locking pin will be moved to a position that is clear of the downwardly extending or projecting boss within which the butt-stock positioning receptacles are defined, thus permitting the butt-stock to be moved to its position of maximum extension or completely separated from the receiver extension, depending upon the pre-set locked or unlocked position of a rotatable locking selector.
To ensure that the butt-stock mechanism does not become inadvertently, separated from the buffer tube of the firearm, when adjusting the position of the butt-stock to its position of maximum extension, the rotatable locking selector is located at its locked position. The rotatable locking selector is in the form of a rotatable knob that is located in the end of the reciprocating pull ring operated shaft. The selector rotates a shaft that has an open ended slot in the end opposite the knob. The end of the shaft will contact the roll pin when in the locked position, preventing the trigger-like pull ring assembly from being pulled back so far as to allow the stock to be removed. When the locking knob is rotated 90 degrees to the unlock position, the slot in the shaft will then straddle the roll pin, allowing the pull ring assembly to move farther along its axis. The additional movement of the pull ring assembly moves the vertical locking pin farther down, allowing the stock to be removed from the buffer tube.
So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, which drawings are incorporated as a part hereof.
It is to be noted however, that the appended drawings illustrate only a typical embodiment of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
In the Drawings:
Referring now to the drawings and first to
The receiver extension member 12 is typically of generally cylindrical tubular form and is provided with a forward externally threaded end portion 14 that is threaded into an internally threaded receptacle of the lower receiver of the firearm. The upper receiver, to which the barrel of the firearm is mounted, is pivotally mounted to the lower receiver, thus permitting the receiver mechanism of the firearm to be unlocked and opened when access to its internal components is desired. The receiver extension member 12 also defines an external, downwardly extending elongate boss or projection 16 having a multiplicity of spaced downwardly facing butt-stock positioning receptacles 18 situated along the length thereof. The external, downwardly extending elongate boss or projection 16 has a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration that is defined by generally parallel planar side surfaces 20 and 22 and a bottom surface 24 as shown in
The butt-stock mechanism 10 defines a butt-stock member 25 having a housing section 26, within which is defined a receptacle chamber 28 of generally cylindrical internal configuration, with the receptacle chamber 28 opening downwardly to an internal elongate slot 30 that is defined by internal generally parallel slot side surfaces 32 and 34 and an internal bottom surface 36 as evidenced by
Beyond the rear end of the receiver extension member 12 the through passage that defines the receptacle chamber 28 defines a storage chamber or compartment 38 within which tools, cleaning equipment or parts may be stored for use as needed. A butt pad member 40 is movably or removably mounted to the rear end surface 42 of the butt-stock housing section 26. As shown in
The butt-stock member 25 also defines a generally triangular body web 54 defining an elongate slot 56 within which a firearm sling member can be received and defining various thickened web portions that provide other features. For example, within the thickened web portion 58 defines a sling socket 60 within which a sling swivel of a quick connect firearm sling can be positioned and locked. The thickened web portion 58 also provides structure within which a rear slot or cavity 62 can be defined so that one or more tools may be stored within the slot or cavity for access when the butt pad 40 is moved to the open or out of the way position that is shown in
The generally triangular body web 54 also defines a pair of elongate thickened regions 64 and 66 that are disposed in intersecting relation with one another. Additionally, the elongate thickened region 64 intersects an edge flange 68 of the generally triangular web 54 and also intersects the housing section 26 in the region of the elongate slot 30. As is evident in the longitudinal sectional view of
The lower end portion of the locking pin 74 is bifurcated and defines an elongate slot 78 within which is located a guide pin 80 having end portions of the guide pin located within opposed pin openings 82 and 84. This feature permits linear movement of the locking pin 74 within limits that are defined by the length of the elongate slot 78. The locking pin 74 is urged toward its locking condition by a locking pin spring member 86 that is located within a spring chamber 88. An upper end portion of the locking pin spring member 86 engages a spring washer member 90 that is located within the passage 70 while a lower end portion of the locking pin spring member is restrained by contact with the transversely oriented guide pin 80.
The generally horizontally oriented elongate thickened region 64 defines an internal actuator passage 94 within which a locking pin actuator member 96 is linearly moveable within limits that are defined by the length of an elongate slot 98, within which a transversely oriented stop pin 100 is located. The transversely oriented stop pin 100 extends through aligned stop pin mounting holes 102, which are visible in
Within the generally triangular body web 54 an actuator pull ring opening 112 is defined and a trigger-like pull ring member 114 is moveable within the pull ring opening. The pull ring member 114 is fixed to the rear end portion of the lock pin actuator member 96 so that a manually applied rearward force to the pull ring member achieves linear movement of the lock pin actuator member. Linear rearward movement of the lock pin actuator member causes cam energized force transition resulting in a downward force application to the locking pin, moving the locking pin downwardly against the upward force of its spring. This downward movement retracts the upper end portion of the locking pin from one of the spaced butt-stock positioning receptacles and frees the butt-stock mechanism for adjustment movement relative to the receiver extension member 12.
With reference to
When the pull ring member 114 is pulled rearwardly to an intermediate position within the pull ring opening 112 that is defined in the generally triangular web of the butt-stock, the actuator member 74, being connected with the pull ring member, will be moved rearwardly to an intermediate position, thus driving the locking pin downwardly sufficiently to extract the upwardly facing tip of the locking pin from the locking receptacle. At this intermediate and unlocked position of the locking pin, the butt-stock member will be free for forward or rearward positioning movement. However, at the intermediate position of the locking pin 74, the locking pin will contact either the forward stop shoulder 116 or the rear stop shoulder 118, thus stopping adjustment movement of the butt-stock relative to the receiver extension member 12. This feature prevents the butt-stock from being pulled rearwardly to the extent that it is separated from the receiver extension member. When the pull ring member 114 has been moved rearwardly to its maximum extent, the locking pin 74 will be fully retracted and its tip portion will clear the stop shoulders 116 and 118. This feature permits the butt-stock to be collapsed to its maximum extent for storage or special handling and permits the butt-stock to be moved rearwardly until it becomes separated from the receiver extension member.
Referring now to
As shown in
A locking pin housing 128 is integral with and extends downward from the butt-stock body member 122 and defines an internal passage 123 within which a locking pin 130 is received for linear movement. The upper end of the locking pin is shown in
A lock actuator passage 140 is defined within the butt-stock body structure below the buffer tube passage 124 and the elongate slot 126 that is a part of the buffer tube passage. A locking pin actuator 142 is located for linear movement within the buffer tube passage 124 and defines tapered surfaces 144 that are disposed for locking pin actuating engagement with the dowel pin 138. The locking pin actuator 142 is secured to a trigger-like pull ring member 146 by a pair of retainer screws 148, and is similar or identical to the pull ring member 114 that is discussed above in connection with
The lock positioning shaft 160 is at its locked position as shown in
A lock positioning knob 164 is fixed to the outer end portion of the lock positioning shaft 160 by means of a roll pin 166 to provide for 90° manual rotation of the lock positioning shaft between its locked position and its unlocked position. A detent member 168 is urged by a compression spring member 170 into detent recesses 172 that are rotationally spaced by 90° for the locked and unlocked position of the lock positioning knob 164. As a user applies manual rotational force to the lock positioning knob, the detent member 168 will be forced from a detent recess, against the bias of the compression spring, thereby permitting rotary movement of the lock positioning knob and thus the lock positioning shaft 160. When the detent reaches the selected detent recess it will be snapped into the recess by the force of the compression spring 170. A knob positioning control pin 174 is provided to limit rotational movement of the lock positioning knob to 90° regardless of its direction of rotation.
Referring again to the exploded isometric illustration of
A butt-plate member 186 is pivotally mounted to the rear portion of the body 122 of the butt-stock and is normally secured at a closed position, as shown in
In view of the foregoing it is evident that the present invention is one well adapted to attain all of the objects and features hereinabove set forth, together with other objects and features which are inherent in the apparatus disclosed herein.
As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention may easily be produced in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered as merely illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
Applicant hereby claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/627,993 filed on Oct. 21, 2011 by Mark C. LaRue, and entitled “Collapsible Butt-stock Mechanism For Shoulder Fired Firearms”, which Provisional Patent Application is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61627993 | Oct 2011 | US |