Forward mounted breech locking mechanism

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6415701
  • Patent Number
    6,415,701
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 11, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 9, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A two-barrel gun for firing two types of ammunition includes a single breech locking mechanism for both barrels. The gun includes a selector lever for activating one of two bolts associated with the two barrels, and a single trigger for firing ammunition from a chamber associated with the activated bolt. The gun further includes two magazines for feeding ammunition to the chambers, and a pump-action forearm for ejecting spent ammunition and for loading a new round of ammunition into the chamber associated with the activated bolt. The single breech locking mechanism extends forwardly of the chambers, and the actual breech locking engagement occurs in front of the bolts. Therefore, the receiver section of the gun can be made more compact, and can more easily accommodate other essential components.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a multiple-barrel, repeating firearm. The firearm includes multiple bolts, equal in number to the number of multiple barrels, and includes a single lock-up mechanism capable of locking each of the bolts.




2. Description of the Background Art




Various repeating firearms are known in the prior art. Further, a firearm having two barrels and being capable of selectively firing two different types of ammunition is known, from my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,867,039 4,867,039 details a firearm with the capability of firing either shotgun shells or rifle cartridges in response to a positioning of a selector lever. Incorporation by reference is made to the disclosure of this patent for the purposes of explaining the structure and functioning of various firearm components, not improved by the present invention.




Multiple-barrel firearms, as well as single-barrel firearms, include a breech locking mechanism. The breech locking mechanism closes the breech of the barrel by securing a bolt against a chamber formed at the end of the barrel. In typical operation, a round of ammunition is fed, either manually or mechanically, into the chamber at the end of a gun barrel. Next, the bolt is moved to a position adjacent the chamber. The bolt contains a firing pin, which is aligned with a primer of the loaded ammunition. The bolt is locked by some type of breech locking mechanism, so that upon firing of the ammunition the bolt will be blocked against any rearward movement.




To fire the weapon, the firing pin is stuck by a hammer, or released from a spring tension, thereby firing, the round of ammunition. After the ammunition is fired, the bolt is unlock and moved to a position remote from the chamber, so that the spent cartridge may be removed from the chamber, either manually or mechanically. At this point, the firing cycle is completed, and a new round of ammunition may be inserted into the chamber to begin a new firing cycle.




Several types of breech locking mechanisms are known in the background art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,039 illustrates two independent, ball-lockup type breech locking mechanisms. An upper breech locking mechanism operates in conjunction with the upper bolt for firing shotgun shells, and a lower breech locking mechanism operates in conjunction with the lower bolt for firing rifle cartridges.





FIGS. 10 and 11

illustrate the upper breech locking mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,039, wherein a bolt


100


is seated to a chamber


101


. A circular locking groove


102


is provided rearwardly of the chamber


101


. The bolt


100


includes a plurality of balls


103


. A breech locking mechanism


104


includes a forward curved end


105


, which is brought to bear against inner portions of the balls


103


. The balls


103


are pressed outwardly, into the groove


102


, thereby locking the bolt


100


against any rearward movement.




After the ammunition round is fired, the breech locking mechanism


104


is moved rearwardly. The forward curved end


105


moves away from its engagement with the balls


103


of the bolt


100


, thereby freeing the bolt


100


to move in the rearward direction. It should be noted that the components of the breech locking mechanism


104


are located rearwardly of the chamber


101


. Furthermore, the actual locking of the breech, i.e. the balls


103


engaging into the groove


102


, occurs rearwardly of the chamber


101


and forward face of the bolt


100


.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,963 illustrates another well-known type of breech locking mechanism.

FIG. 12

illustrates the breech locking mechanism wherein three locking lugs


200


are attached to a rear portion of a bolt


201


. The bolt


201


is rotated so as to insert the three locking lugs


200


into three locking grooves


202


located in the receiver section


203


. The engagement between the locking lugs


200


and the locking grooves


202


assures that the bolt


201


will not move rearwardly during firing of a round of ammunition.




After firing, the bolt


201


is rotated to free the locking lugs


200


from the locking grooves


202


, so that the bolt


201


may be manually moved rearwardly for cartridge extraction and ammunition reloading. Again, it should be noted that the components of the breech locking mechanism are located rearwardly of the chamber, and therefore the actual locking, i.e. locking lugs


200


engaged into locking grooves


202


, occurs rearwardly of the chamber and the forward face of the bolt


201


.




All known breech locking mechanisms include a locking engagement which occurs rearwardly of the chamber and the forward face of the bolt. Such known breech locking mechanisms take up space inside the receiver section of the firearm. The space inside the receiver section houses essential components of the firearm, such as the trigger assembly, safety, and ejection and feeding mechanisms. Moreover, in a multi-barrel firearm, as in the present invention, the receiver section space also accommodates a selector mechanism for choosing which bolt will be fired, as well as an additional set of extraction and feeding mechanisms. Therefore, the presence of the reach locking mechanism inside the receiver section complicates the design of the receiver section and/or requires that the receiver section have an enlarged volume.




Consequentially, there exists a need in the art for a breech locking mechanism, which requires a minimum amount of space inside the receiver section of the firearm.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a multiple-barrel, repeating firearm which locates most of the breech locking components forward of the chambers and forward faces of the bolts.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a multiple-barrel, repeating firearm having a breech locking mechanism wherein the actual locking of the breech occurs forward of the chambers and the forward faces of the bolts.




Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a multiple-barrel, repeating firearm utilizing a single and shared breech locking mechanism for the bolts of the multiple barrels.




These and other objects of the present invention are fulfilled by providing a firearm comprising: a first barrel having a first end and a second end; a second barrel having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a first bolt having a forward face for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a second bolt having a forward face for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel; and a breech locking mechanism for locking said first and second bolts into abutment with said first and second chambers, respectively, wherein said breech locking mechanism includes locking components located between said forward faces of said first and second bolts and said second ends of said first and second barrels.




These and other objects of the present invention are also fulfilled by providing a firearm comprising: a first barrel having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a first bolt for abutting said first end of said first barrel; and a breech locking mechanism for locking said first bolt into abutment with said first end of said first barrel, wherein said breech locking mechanism includes locking components located between said first end of said first barrel and said second end of said first barrel.




Furthermore, these and other objects of the present invention are fulfilled by providing a firearm comprising: a first barrel having a first end and a second end; a second barrel having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a first bolt having a forward face for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a second bolt having a forward face for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel; a breech locking mechanism for locking said first and second bolts into abutment with said first and second chambers, respectively; a magazine for feeding ammunition to said first chamber; and a feed path connecting said magazine and said first chamber, wherein a centerline of said second barrel passes through said feed path.




Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:





FIG. 1

is a right side oblique view of a multiple-barrel firearm, in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a right side view illustrating an upper bolt in a retracted and activated condition, with a right action bar being omitted to allow viewing of the structural components;





FIG. 3

is a right side view illustrating the upper bolt in a closed and inactive condition, and a lower bolt in a retracted and activated condition, with the right action bar being omitted and the upper bolt being illustrated in cross-section;





FIG. 4

is a left side oblique view illustrating the upper bolt in the closed and inactive condition, and the lower bolt in a retracted and activated condition, with a left action bar being omitted;





FIG. 5

is a bottom oblique view illustrating a breech locking mechanism in a locked state;





FIG. 6

is a bottom oblique view illustrating the breech locking mechanism, as the breeches are being unlocked;





FIG. 7

is a bottom oblique view illustrating a position of the breech locking mechanism as the breeches are being opened;





FIG. 8

is a bottom oblique view illustrating components of a cam of the breech locking mechanism;





FIG. 9

is right side oblique view of the multiple-barrel firearm, illustrating a gas return tube connecting a lower barrel and the cam of the breech locking mechanism to enable auto-loading of a lower chamber;





FIG. 10

is cross-sectional view of a ball lock-up type, breech locking mechanism, in accordance with the background art;





FIG. 11

is a partial cross-sectional view the ball lock-up type, breech locking mechanism illustrated in

FIG. 10

; and





FIG. 12

is left side oblique view of a rotating lug type, breech locking mechanism, in accordance with the background art.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 1

illustrates a firearm


1


incorporating a breech locking mechanism in accordance with the present invention. The firearm includes a stock


2


, a receiver section


3


, an upper or first barrel


4


, and a lower or second barrel


5


. The receiver section


3


includes an upper or first bolt


6


and a lower or second bolt


7


. The upper bolt


6


is adapted to reciprocally mate with an upper or first chamber


8


of the upper barrel


4


. Whereas, the lower bolt


7


is adapted to reciprocally mate with a lower or second chamber


9


of the lower barrel


5


.




The firearm


1


includes a box-type magazine


10


for supplying rifle cartridges to the lower chamber


9


, and a tube-type magazine


11


for supplying shotgun shells to the upper chamber


8


. Although, one box-type magazine and one tube-type magazine have been illustrated, it should be clear that other combinations of magazines would be adaptable to the present invention. Further, although the upper chamber


8


is adapted to receive shotgun shells and the lower chamber


9


is adapted to receive rifle cartridges, it should be clear that both chambers could receive rifle cartridges, or both chambers is could receive shotgun shells.




The firearm


1


also includes a front sight


13


attached to an upper remote end of the upper barrel


4


. A fixed or adjustable rear sight could, of course, be mounted to the upper portion of the receiver section


3


. Alternatively, the upper portion of the receiver section


3


could be provided with rails to accommodate the mounting of a scope. The receiver section


3


also includes a selector lever


21


for selecting which barrel of the firearm to fire, and a trigger


14


for firing ammunition from the selected barrel. A forearm


38


is located beneath the lower barrel


5


, and is used to discharge spent ammunition from the chamber of the selected barrel, as well as, to charge new ammunition into the chamber of the selected barrel.




As best illustrated in

FIGS. 2-4

, the receiver section


3


includes a right action bar


15


and a left action bar


16


, mounted for simultaneous, reciprocal movement inside the right and left sides of the receiver section


3


. The right and left action bars


15


and


16


include locking surfaces


17


and


18


, respectively, for engaging a rear portion of the upper bolt


6


. When the right and left action bars


15


and


16


are located in their forward-most position, the locking surfaces


17


and


18


ensure that the upper bolt


6


remains stationary against the upper chamber


8


during firing of ammunition, otherwise known as breech locking the upper barrel


4


.




The right and left action bars


15


and


16


also include locking surfaces


19


and


20


, respectively, for engaging rear portions of the lower bolt


7


. When the action bars


15


and


16


are located in their forward-most position, the locking surfaces


19


and


20


ensure that the lower bolt


7


remains stationary against the lower chamber


9


during firing of ammunition, otherwise known as breech locking the lower barrel


5


.




The receiver section


3


also includes a selector assembly. The selector assembly includes the selector lever


21


, which is manually accessible and provided on a right side of the receiver section


3


. The selector lever


21


is connected to a shaft


22


, which extends inside the receiver assembly via a through-hole. Although the selector lever


21


is illustrated on the right side of the receiver section


3


, the selector lever could be positioned on the left side of the receiver section


3


to accommodate left handed operators.




Inside the receiver section


3


, the shaft


22


is coupled to a selector arm


23


. The selector arm


23


is pivotally mounted to the receiver section


3


about the shaft


22


. Upon counterclockwise rotation of the selector lever


21


, the selector arm


23


is caused to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft


22


(see

FIG. 2

in relation to FIG.


3


).




The selector arm


23


includes a guide slot


25


. The guide slot


25


receives a pin


26


of a selector guide


27


. The selector guide


27


is reciprocally mounted in a selector guide channel formed in the receiver section


3


. Upon counterclockwise rotation of the selector arm


23


about the shaft


22


, the selector guide


27


is slid rearwardly, toward the stock


2


(see

FIG. 2

in relation to FIG.


3


).




As best seen in

FIG. 4

, the selector guide


27


includes a selector guide cam surface


28


. The selector guide cam surface


28


is formed as a ramping surface. A selector pin


29


includes a selector pin cam slot, or notch,


30


which rides on a side


31


of the selector guide cam surface


28


. Linear movement of the selector guide


27


in a forward or rearward direction, causes a linear movement of the selector pin


29


. The selector pin


29


moves back and forth in a direction defined by a compound angle (i.e. a direction, which is tilted toward the center of the receiver section


3


and toward the stock


2


).




The selector pin


29


serves the function of activating and deactivating the upper bolt


6


and the lower bolt


7


. When the selector lever


21


is rotated to its most clockwise position, the selector pin cam slot


30


is located near the bottom of the selector guide cam surface


28


, as illustrated in FIG.


2


. In this position, the upper bolt


6


is activated and the lower bolt


7


is deactivated. When the selector lever


21


is rotated to its most counterclockwise position, the selector pin cam slot


30


is located near the top of the selector guide cam surface


28


, as illustrated in FIG.


3


. In this position, the upper bolt


6


is deactivated and the lower bolt


7


is activated. The selector lever


21


may also be located in an intermediate position, between its most clockwise position and its most counterclockwise position. In the intermediate position, both the upper bolt


6


and the lower bolt


7


are deactivated.




The activation and deactivation of the upper bolt


6


will now be discussed with reference to FIG.


3


. The selector pin


29


includes an engaging surface


31


located on an end of the selector pin


29


remote from the end containing the selector pin cam slot


30


. The engaging surface


31


is adapted to fit into an upper bolt stop surface, or recess,


32


formed in a lower portion of the upper bolt


6


. An upper bolt catch


33


is located inside the upper bolt stop surface


32


. The upper bolt catch


33


is rotatably fixed to the upper bolt


6


by a fixing device


34


, such as a screw. One end


35


of the upper bolt catch


33


is adapted to engage the engaging surface


31


of the selector pin


29


, whereas the other end of the upper bolt catch


33


has an upwardly facing hook


36


.




When the selector pin


29


is positioned to deactivate the upper bolt


6


(see FIG.


3


), the engaging surface


31


of the selector pin


29


is moved into the upper bolt stop surface


32


and engages the one end


35


of the upper bolt catch


33


. In this position, the engaging surface


31


of the selector pin


29


locks the upper bolt


6


against the upper chamber


8


, and simultaneously pivots the upper bolt catch


33


, so that the upwardly facing hook


36


is lowered. Lowering the upwardly facing hook


36


results in a decoupling of the upper bolt


6


from an upper bolt engagement


37


of the left action bar


16


, hence placing the upper bolt


6


in the deactivated state. In the deactivated state, the upper bolt


6


will not move rearwardly upon rearward movement of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


, but will remain adjacent to the upper chamber


8


due to the presence of the engaging surface


31


inside the upper bolt stop surface


32


.




The activated state of the upper bolt


6


occurs when the engaging surface


31


of the selector pin


29


is removed from the upper bolt stop surface


32


. When the engaging surface


31


is removed, the upper bolt catch


33


rotates about the fixing device


34


so that the upwardly facing hook


36


couples with the upper bolt engagement


37


of the left action bar


16


. In the active state, the upper bolt


6


will move rearwardly to open the upper chamber


8


upon rearward movement of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


.




The deactivation of the lower bolt


7


will now be discussed with reference to FIG.


4


. The selector pin


29


includes an intermediate surface


39


. The intermediate surface


39


is adapted to fit into a lower bolt stop surface, or recess,


40


formed in a side portion of the lower bolt


7


. A lower bolt catch


41


is located inside the lower bolt stop surface


40


. The lower bolt catch


41


is rotatable inside the stop surface


40


about a hub


43


. One end


42


of the lower bolt catch


41


is adapted to engage within a slot


42


A of the selector pin


29


, whereas the other end of the lower bolt catch


41


has an downwardly facing hook


44


.




When the selector pin


29


is positioned to deactivate the lower bolt


7


, the intermediate surface


39


of the selector pin


29


is moved into the lower bolt stop surface


40


and the slot


42


A engages the one end


42


of the lower bolt catch


41


. In this position, the intermediate surface


39


of the selector pin


29


locks the lower bolt


7


against the lower chamber


9


, and the slot


42


A simultaneously pivots the lower bolt catch


41


, so that the downwardly facing hook


44


is raised. Raising the downwardly facing hook


44


results in a decoupling of the lower bolt


7


from a lower bolt engagement


45


of the left action bar


16


, hence placing the lower bolt


7


in its deactivated state. In the deactivated state, the lower bolt


7


will not move rearwardly upon rearward movement of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


, but will remain adjacent to the lower chamber


9


due to the presence of the intermediate surface


39


inside the lower bolt stop surface


40


.




The activated state of the lower bolt


7


occurs when the intermediate surface


39


of the selector pin


29


is removed from the lower bolt stop surface


40


. When the intermediate surface


39


is removed, the lower bolt catch


41


rotates about the hub


43


, so that the downwardly facing hook


44


couples with the lower bolt engagement


45


of the left action bar


16


. In the active state, the lower bolt


7


will move rearwardly to open the lower chamber


9


upon rearward movement of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


.




As discussed above, a first function of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


is to lock the upper and lower bolts


6


and


7


to their respective upper and lower chambers


8


and


9


during firing of ammunition. Also, as discussed above, a second function of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


is to move either the upper bolt


6


or the lower bolt


7


to a retracted position, dependent upon the positioning of the selector lever


21


.




Now, reference will be made to

FIGS. 5-8

to explain the how the right and left action bars


15


and


16


achieve the first function of locking the upper and lower bolts


6


and


7


, and the second function of moving the upper and lower bolts


6


and


7


.




Inside the forearm


38


is a rotating lug type, locking mechanism. Reciprocating the forearm


38


forwardly and rearwardly causes the rotating lug type, locking mechanism to lock and unlock the right and left action bars


15


and


16


, and thus the upper and lower bolts


6


and


7


. The rotating lug type, locking mechanism includes a lock sleeve


46


, which encircles the lower barrel


5


. The lock sleeve


46


is rotatable about the lower barrel


5


. One end of the lock sleeve


46


includes two lugs


47


rigidly fixed thereto. The two lugs


47


can engage within two slots


62


formed in both the right and left action bars


15


and


16


. The other end of the lock sleeve


46


includes a cap


48


rigidly fixed thereto. The cap


48


has a roller


49


fixed on its side (see FIG.


7


). The roller is rotatably attached to the cap


48


.





FIG. 8

illustrates an inside area of the forearm


38


, with the lock sleeve


46


removed therefrom, but the roller


49


of the lock sleeve


46


included for explanation. The forearm


38


includes a collar


50


rigidly attached to the inside area of the forearm


38


, such that the collar


50


moves in unison with the forearm


38


. The collar


50


includes a collar slot


51


recessed into the inside of the collar


50


. The collar slot


51


is dimensioned to allow the roller


49


to travel inside the collar slot


51


. The collar slot


51


angles, or snakes, along the inside of the collar


50


. A latch


52


is positioned adjacent to the collar slot


51


. The latch


52


is pivotally mounted to the collar


50


about an axis


53


. One end of the latch


52


includes a release protrusion


54


. The other end of the latch


52


includes a latch hook


55


. The forearm


38


also houses an action bar guide


56


. The action bar guide


56


is not connected to the forearm, but is fixed to the right and left action bars


15


and


16


at connection points


57


. The action bar guide


56


includes a catch pin


58


, which can be coupled to the collar


50


, as will be described in greater detail below.




Because the roller


49


is fixed to the lock sleeve


46


, movement of the collar


50


will cause the lock sleeve


46


to rotate about the lower barrel


5


, as the roller


49


follows the path of the collar slot


51


. This rotation of the lock sleeve


46


enables insertion or removal of the two lugs


47


into or from the two grooves


62


, depending upon the direction of the movement of the collar


50


. Further, as the roller


49


passes the latch


52


, the roller


49


contacts the release protrusion


54


causing the latch


52


to pivot about the axis


53


.




Now, the sequence of operation of the breech-locking mechanism will be explained.

FIG. 5

illustrates the condition of the firearm when the forearm


38


is located in its fully forward position. In this position, the two lugs


47


are engaged in the two slots


62


of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


, and therefore the upper and lower bolts


6


and


7


are locked adjacent to the upper and lower chambers


8


and


9


.





FIG. 6

illustrates a condition of the locking mechanism as the forearm


38


is retracted toward the stock


2


. The collar


50


is moved in unison with the forearm


38


, therefore the lock sleeve


46


is rotated to release the two lugs


47


from the two grooves


62


. Once the two lugs


47


are released from the grooves


62


, the collar


50


will have reached a reward position wherein the latch hook


55


engages and locks onto the catch pin


58


fixed to the action bar guide


56


.




As illustrated in

FIG. 7

, further rearward movement of the forearm


38


results in the collar


50


pushing the action bar guide


56


rearwardly due to the engagement of the latch hook


55


with the catch pin


58


. The rearward movement of the action bar guide


56


translates into rearward movement of the right and left action bars


15


and


16


, due to the rigid attachments at connection points


57


. As the right and left action bars


15


and


16


move rearwardly, the upper bolt


6


will be retracted from the upper chamber


7


, if the upper bolt


6


is in its active state, as discussed above. Alternatively, the lower bolt


7


will be retracted from the lower chamber


9


, if the lower bolt


7


is in its active state.




As the selected bolt is moved to the retracted position, an extractor will eject a spent cartridge inside the selected bolt's chamber.

FIG. 1

illustrates an upper extractor


72


for the upper chamber


8


. While a bolt is in its retracted position, new ammunition can be mechanically fed into the opened and emptied chamber associated with the retracted bolt.




When the operator begins to the move the forearm


38


toward the front sight


13


, the right and left action bars


15


and


16


bring the retracted bolt back toward its chamber. Once the retracted bolt is seated against its chamber, further movement of the forearm


38


causes the lock sleeve


46


to rotate about the lower barrel


5


. The two lugs


47


are moved into engagement with the two grooves


62


. Simultaneous with the rotation of the lock sleeve


46


, the roller


49


contacts the release protrusion


54


of the latch


52


. This contact causes the latch


52


to pivot about the axis


53


, resulting in the latch hook


55


releasing the catch pin


58


. And once again, both the upper bolt


6


and lower bolt


7


are locked against the upper chamber


8


and lower chamber


9


, respectively.




Although the locking mechanism illustrated is of the rotating lug type, it should be clear that other locking arrangement such as a ball lock-up arrangement could alternatively be employed. Further,

FIGS. 5-8

illustrate a manual pump-action for chambering ammunition into the upper chamber


8


or lower chamber


9


, however, the forces generated during firing of the weapon may also be used to chamber ammunition into the upper chamber


8


or the lower chamber


9


. For instance, an inertia cam action, or a gas piston action, could be utilized to unlock the right and left action bars


15


and


16


and to automatically move the right and left action bars


15


and


16


.





FIG. 9

illustrates a gas tube


80


connecting the lower barrel


5


and the collar


50


. Gas pressures generated by the firing of ammuntion through the lower barrel


5


could be harnessed to auto-feed the lower chamber


9


. Moreover, a separate gas tube could also be connected between the upper barrel


4


and collar


50


to allow auto-feeding of ammunition into the upper chamber


8


.

FIG. 9

also illustrates a feed path


82


for ammunition passing from the tube-type magazine


11


into the upper chamber


8


. It should be noted that the feed path


82


passes through a centerline


84


of the second barrel


5


.




The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A firearm comprising:a stock primarily extending along a first direction and having an end for engaging a shooter's shoulder; a first barrel extending substantially parallel to the first direction and having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a first bolt for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a breech locking mechanism for locking said first bolt into abutment with said first chamber of said first barrel, wherein said breech locking mechanism includes locking components located between said first end of said first barrel and said second end of said first barrel; a second barrel extending substantially parallel to said first barrel and having a first end and a second end; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a second bolt for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel, wherein said breech locking mechanism also locks said second bolt into abutment with said second chamber of said second barrel; a first magazine for feeding ammunition to said first chamber, said first magazine forming at least a portion of said stock; and a second magazine for feeding ammunition to said second chamber.
  • 2. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said locking components include at least one lug adapted to engage into at least one groove.
  • 3. A firearm comprising:a stock primarily extending along a first direction and having an end for engaging a shooter's shoulder; a first barrel extending substantially parallel to the first direction and having a first end and a second end; a second barrel extending substantially parallel to said first barrel and having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a first bolt for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a second bolt for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel; a breech locking mechanism for locking said first bolt into abutment with said first chamber and for locking said second bolt into abutment with said second chamber; a first magazine for feeding ammunition to said first chamber, said first magazine forming at least a portion of said stock; and a second magazine for feeding ammunition to said second chamber.
  • 4. The firearm according to claim 3, further comprising:a first feed path connecting said first magazine and said first chamber, wherein a centerline of said second barrel passes through said first feed path.
  • 5. The firearm according to claim 3, wherein said first barrel is located above said second barrel when said firearm is operated, making said firearm an over-under firearm.
  • 6. The firearm according to claim 5, wherein said first magazine is for housing shotgun shells to dispense to said first chamber, and wherein said second magazine is for housing rifle cartridges to dispense to said second chamber.
  • 7. The firearm according to claim 3, further comprising:a manual activator for moving at least said first bolt to a position remote from said first chamber to allow removal of spent ammunition and to allow reloading of new ammunition.
  • 8. The firearm according to claim 7, wherein said manual activator moves either said first bolt or said second bolt to positions remote from first chamber or said second chamber, respectively, to allow removal of spent ammunition and to allow reloading of new ammunition.
  • 9. The firearm according to claim 8, wherein said manual activator includes a moveable forearm located adjacent said second barrel.
  • 10. The firearm according to claim 3, further comprising:a selector for mutually exclusively placing either said first bolt into an operational state, or said second bolt into an operational state.
  • 11. The firearm according to claim 10, further comprising:a trigger capable of activating either said first bolt or said second bolt to fire a round of ammunition, should said first bolt or second bolt be in said operational state, respectively.
  • 12. The firearm according to claim 3, wherein said first magazine is a tube magazine and said second magazine is a box magazine.
  • 13. A firearm comprising:a stock primarily extending along a first direction and having an end for engaging a shooter's shoulder; a first barrel extending substantially parallel to the first direction and having a first end and a second end; a second barrel extending substantially parallel to said first barrel and having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a first bolt for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a second bolt for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel; a breech locking mechanism for locking said first bolt into abutment with said first chamber and for locking said second bolt into abutment with said second chamber; a first magazine for feeding ammunition to said first chamber, said first magazine feeding ammunition in a second direction which is substantially parallel to the first direction; and a second magazine for feeding ammunition to said second chamber, said second magazine feeding ammunition in a third direction which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
  • 14. The firearm according to claim 13, wherein said first magazine forms at least a portion of said stock.
  • 15. The firearm according to claim 13, wherein said first barrel is located above said second barrel when said firearm is operated, making said firearm an over-under firearm, wherein said first magazine is for housing shotgun shells to dispense to said first chamber, and wherein said second magazine is for housing rifle cartridges to dispense to said second chamber.
  • 16. The firearm according to claim 13, further comprising:a selector for mutually exclusively placing either said first bolt into an operational state, or said second bolt into an operational state; and a trigger capable of activating either said first bolt or said second bolt to fire a round of ammunition, should said first bolt or second bolt be in said operational state, respectively.
  • 17. The firearm according to claim 13, further comprising:a manual activator for moving either said first bolt or said second bolt to positions remote from said first chamber or said second chamber, respectively, to allow removal of spent ammunition and to allow reloading of new ammunition, wherein said manual activator includes a moveable forearm located adjacent said second barrel.
  • 18. A firearm comprising:a stock primarily extending along a first direction and having an end for engaging a shooter's shoulder; a first barrel extending substantially parallel to the first direction and having a first end and a second end; a second barrel extending substantially parallel to said first barrel and having a first end and a second end; a first chamber located at said first end of said first barrel; a second chamber located at said first end of said second barrel; a first bolt for abutting said first chamber of said first barrel; a second bolt for abutting said second chamber of said second barrel; a breech locking mechanism for locking said first bolt into abutment with said first chamber and for locking said second bolt into abutment with said second chamber, wherein said breech locking mechanism includes locking components located between said first end of said first barrel and said second end of said first barrel; a first magazine for feeding ammunition to said first chamber, said first magazine forming at least a portion of said stock and said first magazine primarily extending in a direction which is substantially parallel to the first direction; and a second magazine for feeding ammunition to said second chamber, said second magazine primarily extending in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
Parent Case Info

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/012,986, filed on Jan. 26, 1998, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference now U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,005.

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