The invention relates to a firearm comprising a receiver with a chamber for several cartridges or for a magazine with cartridges, a barrel subassembly in the receiver and having a barrel with a front muzzle and a breech arranged at the opposite rear end, a slide movable relative to the receiver longitudinally of the barrel and biased forward in the firing direction by a recoil spring for conveying cartridges from the chamber or from the magazine into the bolt or for conveying cartridge cases to an ejection port, and a gas brake device in the receiver and comprising a cylinder arranged parallel to the barrel and connected to the interior of the barrel via a gas port, and a piston movable within the cylinder and coupled to the bolt.
It is known that semiautomatic firearms with a blowback action can often only fire smaller calibers, as the locking mechanism based solely on the inertia of the bolt action no longer closes properly if the propellant charge is too large. In order to be able to fire larger caliber ammunition, the bolt mass can be increased or the force of the recoil spring can be increased. However, a larger bolt mass means a higher recoil and a corresponding jump of the weapon when firing, which in turn leads to greater inaccuracy. A recoil spring that is too strong makes it difficult for the user to load the gun manually, which is why this option is also quite limited.
Various dampers and delay systems are known in the prior art in order to achieve delayed bolt opening. For example: US 2002/0096042 [U.S. Pat. No. 10,895,423], US 2015/0276334, or US 2021/0116190 disclose firearms with a gas brake device that either dampens the backward movement of the bolt or delays the opening of the bolt when a shot is fired.
A further problem with all weapons currently on the market with a blowback action is that the mass is guided on the outside of the weapon, usually on the top of the receiver, due to its necessary size and also due to the standard design as a slide in the state of the art. This means that each time a shot is fired, the slide disengages completely, exposing the parts of the firearm inside the receiver directly to the environment. Depending on where the firearm is used, dust and dirt can very easily get into the firearm and impair its continued functionality.
AT 519743 [U.S. Pat. No. 10,895,423] was the first time that a firearm with a delayed bolt action was proposed, in which the entire moving firing mechanism is guided completely inside the receiver over the entire movement path. In order to also enable a mechanism with a fixed barrel, two springs with different spring constants as well as a multipart construction of the bolt, the locking block and a follower bracket are necessary. The firearm described therefore has the advantage of being particularly light, as only a small mass is required. A further advantage is that the entire locking mechanism is housed inside the receiver and thus protected from environmental influences. This increases the functional reliability of the gun. However, there is still room for improvement with regard to the design and number of parts required as well as their movement during firing.
The object of the present invention is therefore to further improve the weapon described in AT 519743 so that a firearm is created that is even simpler in construction and has even greater functional reliability. The weight of the weapon is to be kept low and the entire locking mechanism must be inside the protective receiver. The number of parts is to be reduced, which will also cut manufacturing costs. Furthermore, all movement sequences of the bolt mechanism during firing and reloading should be as linear as possible.
This object is attained according to the invention in that the bolt is in a slide located completely inside the receiver over the entire movement path during the firing and reloading process, the slide comprising the bolt itself, two webs guided parallel to the barrel in the receiver and a coupling section for coupling with the piston of the gas brake device. By integrating the gas brake device, the design of the firearm can be significantly simplified. All moving components, such as the slide and the piston, are guided linearly and move completely within the receiver. The gas brake system also allows the bolt/slide to be very small and light, which has a positive effect on the overall weight of the firearm. The gas brake device also offers the advantage that larger calibers with more powerful propellants can be used. The resistance of the gas brake device is always set automatically based on the propellant charge present so that the bolt is kept closed until the cartridge has left the barrel.
It is a preferred feature that the slide/bolt is a single piece. In order to keep the production costs and also the design as simple as possible, it is advantageous if the slide is manufactured as a one-piece component. This also offers advantages for the user when dismantling and cleaning the weapon.
According to a further preferred feature, it is provided that the gas port is in the barrel near its rear end of the bolt side. This arrangement allows gas to be fed from the propellant charge into the cylinder immediately after the shot is fired. Gas pressure is therefore built up both rearward toward the bolt and forward the piston in the cylinder, which means that the effect of the gas brake device is always constant regardless of the strength of the propellant charge. Pressure and counter-pressure balance each other evenly at every possible gas pressure until the cartridge has left the barrel and the bolt can perform its backward movement.
It is also a preferred feature that a cover is provided that is displaceable relative to the receiver longitudinally of the barrel and that is biased toward its closed position by a spring, the cover having a driver section that projects inward into the receiver and that can be coupled to the slide for manually reloading when the cover is moved against the firing direction, but is decoupled from the slide when the cover is in its closed position. This cover closes the receiver above the barrel. During firing and the automatic reloading process, the cover remains closed at all times, preventing dust or dirt from entering the interior of the receiver. The cover can also be used for manual reloading of the firearm via a longitudinal guide and a carrier section, in that the carrier section carries the slide to the rear when the user pulls it back manually. The driver section can, for example, be an inwardly projecting projection that can be brought into contact with a corresponding stop surface of the slide. Since the cover here also does not correspond to the classic slide, which usually forms the majority of the bolt mass, the cover can be manufactured correspondingly light, which also has a positive effect on the overall weight of the firearm.
According to one possible embodiment, it is provided that the recoil spring surrounds the barrel and is supported on the one hand on a stationary part of the receiver and on the other hand on the slide/bolt unit. This represents a particularly simple way of mounting the recoil spring required to urge the slide toward the closed position and to move the slide forward again from the rear disengaged position during the reloading process.
According to an alternative embodiment, it is provided that the recoil spring surrounds a guide rod arranged parallel to the barrel and connected to an immovable part within the receiver and is supported on the one hand on an immovable part within the receiver and on the other hand on the slide. Depending on the design of the weapon, the recoil spring can also be guided on a corresponding guide rod, for example below the barrel and below the cylinder. In addition to the recoil spring, a spring is also required to reload the cover. For example, the spring for the cover can be arranged on a guide rod and the recoil spring around the barrel or vice versa. Depending on the design and the space available inside the gun, the two springs required can also be positioned elsewhere.
The invention will now be described in greater with reference to an embodiment example and with the aid of the accompanying figures. Therein:
The firearm according to the invention, shown schematically in an exploded view in
As soon as a shot is fired by actuating the trigger 8, the bullet moves from the bolt 6 into the barrel 4. The gas port 10 is directly adjacent the bolt 6 and connects the inside of the barrel 4 with the cylinder 9 of the gas brake device. Immediately after the shot is fired, the gas pressure builds up on the one hand in the direction against the firing direction at the bolt and on the other hand gas flows into the cylinder 9 via the gas port 10, whereby the gas pressure also acts in the firing direction on the piston 11 that thus also acts on the bolt 8 via the coupling section 14 to keep it closed. Regardless of the level of the actual gas pressure, the pressure in the cylinder 9 and in the barrel 4 balance each other out so that the bolt 8 remains closed until the bullet leaves the barrel.
After the bullet leaves the barrel, the gas pressure suddenly drops and the bolt can open and start moving rearward. An intermediate position with half-open bolt 8 is shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A50572/2021 | Jul 2021 | AT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/AT22/60232 | 6/30/2023 | WO |