Patent Application
20190219348
The present disclosure relates in general to magazines for firearms and, more particularly, to loadable fixed magazines for firearms.
Concern over mass shootings in America has led some U.S. states such as California and New York to ban the use of “assault-style” weapons. The definition of “assault style” weapons varies from state-to-state, but in California semi-automatic rifles such as AR-15s or AK47s with detachable magazines fall under this umbrella. Specifically, current California law requires that all semi-automatic rifles using centerfire ammunition must be at least 30″ in length and must have fixed magazines that hold no more than 10 rounds, where a “fixed magazine” is defined as a magazine that cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action.
In response to this legislation, firearms manufacturers have begun manufacturing and selling semiautomatic firearms with fixed magazines. Examples of such firearms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,224 to Hager, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,941,955 B2. For gun owners who wish to avoid the expense of buying new guns, kits for converting firearms with detachable magazines to firearms with fixed magazines are also available. One such kit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,756,845 B2. However, a need exists for other ways of bringing non-compliant sporting rifles into compliance with the laws of California and other states.
The present disclosure relates to an ammunition magazine for use with a firearm having a receiver including a lower opening for receiving the ammunition magazine. The ammunition magazine includes a housing having an upper portion configured to be inserted into the lower opening of the receiver, and a lower portion configured to extend downwardly below the receiver. The housing defines a compartment configured to receive and contain a stack of ammunition cartridges. The upper end of the compartment terminates in a mouth that communicates with the interior of the receiver, and the lower end of the compartment is accessible through an opening in the lower portion of the housing. A slidable cover or door alternately covers or reveals the opening. A follower assembly within the lower portion of the housing urges ammunition cartridges in the compartment upwardly towards the mouth of the magazine.
In one aspect of the disclosure, the follower assembly comprises a follower, a finger-pull attached to the follower, and a spring. The finger-pull extends through the finger-pull slot and is movable when released from the bottom hook. The spring is configured to be compressed by the follower when the finger-pull is compressed by the follower when the finger-pull is engaged with the bottom hook, and configured to expand when the finger-pull is disengaged from the bottom hook, thereby allowing the follower to urge the stack of cartridges towards the moth of the ammunition magazine.
In some embodiments, the extension portion is configured to limit capacity of the ammunition magazine to no more than ten cartridges.
In some embodiments, the follower assembly includes: a spring guide, configured to provide support and stability for the spring and to provide alignment for the spring when in an extended position and when in a compressed position, the spring guide having a shape that fits inside the follower when the spring is in the compressed position; and a follower arm, fixedly attached to the finger-pull, with the follower arm also configured to flexibly attach to the follower, so as to allow movement of the finger-pull into the bottom hook.
In some embodiments, the cover has a pair of cover grooves, the pair of cover grooves being configured to be slidably supported by a pair of slide rails on the follower compartment.
In some embodiments, the cover has a raised cover stop ridge cooperates with a cover stop groove in the follower compartment to prevent the cover from moving beyond the cartridge-loading portion opening.
In some embodiments, the follower compartment has a magazine bottom cap which supports and protects the follower assembly.
In some embodiments, the extension portion, the cartridge-loading portion, the follower compartment, and the follower assembly are each made from at least one of: metal or plastic.
In some embodiments, the locking assembly includes an attachable locking tab at the mouth of the upper portion of the ammunition magazine housing.
In some embodiments, designed for use with AK-47-style rifles having stamped receivers, the locking assembly comprises a locking bar including a horizontal lower flange that is secured by a threaded fastener to the top wall of the magazine housing and a horizontal upper flange that rests on the cross rivet of the receiver.
In other embodiments, designed for use with AK-47-style rifles having machined receivers, the locking assembly comprises a locking bar including a horizontal upper flange that is secured by a threaded fastener to the top wall of the magazine housing and a horizontal lower flange that rests on the bottom wall of the receiver.
The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
With reference to
As best seen in
As best seen in
The follower assembly 34, shown in
Movement of the follower top plate 36 is controlled by a spring 44 that is supported and held in alignment by a spring guide 46. The spring guide 46 is contained within the hollow interior 48 of the follower 35 when the spring 44 is compressed. A magazine bottom cap 50 supports the spring guide 46 and also serves as the structural bottom of the follower assembly 34.
As best seen in
The cover 28 of the magazine housing, shown in
A locking assembly 200 for securing the ammunition magazine 100 to a stamped receiver for an AK-47-type rifle is shown in
The horizontal upper rear flange 214 is configured to rest on the cross rivet 224 of the stamped receiver 226, as seen in
A locking assembly 300 for securing the ammunition magazine 10 to a machined (or milled) receiver for an AK-47-type rifle is shown in
The horizontal lower rear flange 314 is configured to rest on the inner bottom wall 324 of the machined receiver 326, as seen in
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/794,455, filed Jan. 18, 2019. In addition, this application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/784,078, filed Oct. 13, 2017, now US publication no. US2018/0292153 A1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/784,078 claims priority from the following three U.S. provisional patent applications: Ser. No. 62/483,814, filed Apr. 10, 2017; Ser. No. 62/483,822, filed Apr. 10, 2017; and Ser. No. 62/483,827, filed Apr. 10, 2017. The entire contents of each of the above provisional applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62794455 | Jan 2019 | US | |
| 62483822 | Apr 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15784078 | Oct 2017 | US |
| Child | 16361854 | US |
