Patent Application
20110306019
This invention relates to a non-firing M249 machine gun that imitates a functioning M249 machine gun. In particular embodiments, the non-firing M249 machine gun simulates the cycling of a functional M249 machine gun, though no ammunition is fired.
In the United States, firearms capable of fully automatic fire may only be legally taken into possession by qualified, law-abiding individuals or organizations that apply for and obtain the requisite permission from the local authorities and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). In the United States, the process that must be followed to legally obtain a fully automatic machine gun can take over 12 months to complete. Forms must be filled, mailed, received, reviewed, and filed, and fingerprints must be taken and background checks performed by law enforcement officers and the BATFE. Processes can vary from state to state, county to county and city to city, making it very difficult for machine gun dealers to efficiently handle machine gun supplies to meet machine gun demands, particularly because the dealer takes possession of the purchased firearm during the waiting period and must properly store it, also in accordance with a great number of laws and regulations. The process is likely similar in other countries that permit the purchase of such weapons.
There are many individuals and organizations that purchase machine guns and yet do not actually need a functioning machine gun for the purpose for which it was purchased. For example, dealers in machine gun mounts need only an imitation of a machine gun having those features necessary to mount the imitation in an intended mount in order to show that the mount would be functional for the corresponding functional machine gun the imitation is to simulate. Yet, because it is desirable to show potential customers a very accurate representation of the interaction between the machine gun and the mount, mount dealers often purchase functioning machine guns, despite the significant paperwork and waiting periods associated with the processing of the paperwork. When a functioning machine gun is used, the mount dealer must also follow all laws and regulations respecting the storage, transport and exhibition of machine guns. However, it is only necessary to use a functioning machine gun as part of a mount display if the entity to which the mount is being shown desires to view how the mount functions during the firing of the machine gun or otherwise wishes to see an actual functioning machine gun in the mount. Otherwise, a non-firing imitation could be used, though it would have to have the features necessary for proper mounting to the intended mount. Thus, there is a need in the art for a means for providing a non-firing imitation gun that imitates a functioning machine gun.
Other entities, for purposes of teaching and training, may desire non-firing imitation guns that, though they are non-firing, simulate one or more of the steps of cocking, firing and cycling of the functioning machine gun that they are intended to imitate. For instance, for military classroom purposes, it might be desired to have in the classroom a non-firing imitation gun that externally looks substantially identical to the functioning machine gun that it imitates, but yet does not provide all of the firing components necessary to permit the non-firing imitation gun to cycle as intended to fire rounds. Thus there is a need in the art for a non-firing imitation gun that still permits some amount of replication of the cycling of the machine gun it is intended to imitate.
The receiver portion of the machine gun typically houses the components that cause the machine gun to be characterized as a machine gun and thus be subject to the aforementioned laws and regulations. Although receivers often differ from one model of machine gun to the next, the art would benefit from concepts for manufacturing a non-firing housing, wherein the manufacturing concepts can be applied to a multitude of different types of receivers associated with different types of machine guns. Because a non-firing housing is not subject to the same laws and regulations respecting functioning receivers, any entity that desires a non-firing imitation gun that imitates a functioning machine gun could benefit from the provision of such non-firing housings.
Notably, merely altering a receiver so that it does not function as a functioning receiver is not necessarily sufficient to avoid the application of laws and regulations respecting the ownership, storage, transport and exhibition of machine guns. Particularly, in the United States, if a receiver has been modified such that it fails to function as a machine gun receiver, it would still be subject to laws and regulations regarding machine guns. According to the BATFE, once a machine gun has been manufactured and registered, it will always be considered a machine gun, no matter its state of non-functionality. The only exception is if a destruction notice is filed and evidence has been submitted to establish the complete destruction of the machine gun. Additionally, even if a receiver is initially manufactured to prohibit functioning as a machine gun, it will still be subject to all laws and regulations respecting machine guns if it is capable of being readily converted back to a functioning machine gun receiver. Thus, though there is a need in the art for non-firing housings that imitate functioning receivers of machine guns, the art would further benefit from such non-firing housings being manufactured such that the conversion of the non-firing housing into a functioning receiver is significantly frustrated.
In general, the present invention provides a non-firing M249 housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun. As compared to standard M249 machine gun components, the non-firing housing has components that are modified in a number of ways. However, not all of the various modifications must be practiced to implement the present invention. Thus, in various embodiments, the non-firing M249 housing includes one or more of the following alterations as compared to a standard M249:
(1) A new barrel support made with substantial dimensional differences that would limit the range of motion of a standard M249 operating rod if an attempt was made to install a standard operation rod;
(2) A new barrel support with an additional feature that prevents any bolt head (and particularly a standard M249 bolt head) from entering the battery position;
(3) A shortened overall right bolt rail length that will not mate correctly with the standard M249 barrel support, though in particular embodiments it will mate correctly with a barrel support as in (1) and/or (2) above;
(4) New bolt rails with increased width such that the non-firing housing will not accept a standard M249 bolt head and bolt carrier, i.e., a standard M249 bolt head and bolt carrier will not fit or operate in the non-firearm;
(5) A new vertical positioning of the right bolt rail (as compared to the standard positioning of the same in a standard M249) serving to inhibit the adaptation of a bolt head and bolt carrier to fit the non-firearm;
(6) The absence of an ejection port in the non-firing M249 housing;
(7) The absence of a hinge bore on the right bolt rail that, in the standard M249 is provided for receipt of the hinge for an ejection port cover; and
(8) The absence of an ejector pin bore and back stop material associated with the left bolt rail, serving to prohibit installation of an ejector.
It should be noted that the non-firing M249 housing herein imitates the receiver of a standard M249, but the term “receiver” has been avoided, as that term has particular meaning in the relevant industry, and it is the intent herein to stress that the non-firing M249 housing is not a functioning receiver.
In one or more embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body and a non-firing barrel support secured to the non-firing housing body, the non-firing barrel support being dimensioned differently from the standard M249 barrel support so as to prevent a standard M249 bolt head from entering the battery position. In accordance with some embodiments, the non-firing barrel support is dimensioned differently by having a bolt-blocking wall that prevents a standard M249 bolt head from entering the battery position. In other embodiments, the non-firing barrel support has an extended axial length that is greater than the axial length of a standard M249 barrel support such that the non-firing housing prohibits the receipt and proper reciprocation of a standard M249 op-rod.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body and a non-firing bolt rail selected from a non-firing right bolt rail and a non-firing left bolt rail. The non-firing bolt rail is secured to the non-firing housing body and includes a horizontal extension that, in the case where the non-firing bolt rail is selected to be a non-firing right bolt rail, extends further into the non-firing housing body than does the horizontal extension of a standard M249 right bolt rail relative to a standard M249 housing body, and, in the case where the non-firing bolt rail is selected to be a non-firing left bolt rail, extends further into the non-firing housing body than does the horizontal extension of a standard M249 left bolt rail relative to a standard M249 housing body.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body and a non-firing right bolt rail secured to the non-firing housing body, wherein the non-firing right bolt rail includes a horizontal extension that extends at a higher position relative to the non-firing housing body than does the horizontal extension of a standard M249 right bolt rail relative to a standard M249 housing body.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body that mimics the appearance of a standard M249 machine gun and is devoid of an ejection port, the existence of which is necessary in a standard M249 machine gun.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body and a non-firing right bolt rail that is devoid of a hinge bore, the existence of which is necessary in a standard M249 machine gun in order to receive a hinge for an ejection port cover.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing left bolt rail that is devoid of an ejector pin bore and devoid of backstop material, both of which are existent in a standard M249 machine gun for the installation of an ejector, such that the absence thereof in the non-firing housing prohibits the installation of an ejector.
In one or more other embodiments, this invention provides a non-firing housing imitating a functioning receiver for an M249 machine gun, the non-firing housing including a non-firing housing body that mimics the appearance of a standard M249 machine gun and is devoid of an ejection port, the existence of which is necessary in a standard M249 machine gun; a non-firing barrel support secured to the non-firing housing body, the non-firing barrel support being dimensioned differently from the standard M249 barrel support so as to prevent a standard M249 bolt head from entering the battery position; a non-firing right bolt rail secured to the non-firing housing body, wherein the non-firing right bolt rail includes a horizontal extension that extends at a higher position relative to the non-firing housing body than does the horizontal extension of a standard M249 right bolt rail relative to a standard M249 housing body, the non-firing right bolt rail being devoid of a hinge bore, the existence of which is necessary in a standard M249 machine gun in order to receive the hinge for an ejection port cover; and a non-firing left bolt rail that is devoid of an ejector pin bore and devoid of backstop material, both of which are existent in a standard M249 machine gun for the installation of an ejector, such that the absence thereof in the non-firing housing prohibits the installation of an ejector, wherein at least one of the non-firing right bolt rail and the non-firing left bolt rail includes a horizontal extension that extends further into the non-firing housing body than does the horizontal extension of a standard M249 right bolt rail or standard M249 left bolt rail relative to a standard M249 housing body.
M249 of this invention;
The non-firing housing taught herein is based specifically on a standard functioning receiver for the M249 Light Machine Gun, Caliber 5.56×45 mm. The functioning M249 receiver has a well known specific configuration for the barrel support, the bolt rails, and the receiver body. The non-firing M249 housing of this invention serves to imitate the standard functioning receiver, though it will not fire, particularly with standard M249 parts, and cannot readily be converted to fire.
The non-firing M249 housing in accordance with this invention is necessarily based upon the standard functioning M249 receiver that it is to imitate, and the terms “standard” and “non-firing” are employed to distinguish between the two. The “standard” receivers require specific firing components, guide components and feed mechanisms in order to function properly, and these various components are also referenced herein by employing the term “standard” to modify them. Thus, a standard (functioning) receiver includes standard firing components, standard guide components and standard feed mechanism components. The non-firing housing imitates the standard receiver, but is non-firing as a result of being configured to prohibit the receipt or functioning of at least one of the standard firing components, standard guide components or standard feed mechanism components. The guide components and other components of the non-firing housing that are altered to differ from related components of the standard M249 receiver are herein referred to using the term “non-firing” to modify them.
In accordance with this invention, comparison is made between elements of a standard receiver for a standard M249 and corresponding elements of a non-firing M249 housing, which is intended to imitate the standard M249 receiver and communicate with additional machine gun elements, such as a barrel, a trigger assembly, and a buttstock, as well as accessories, such as machine gun mounts, substantially as does the standard M249 receiver.
With reference to
In one or more embodiments, the barrel support (or trunnion) in the non-firing M249 housing 110 is modified to prevent the standard M249 op-rod from properly reciprocating in the housing. A standard barrel support 26 for a standard M249 is shown in
In one or more embodiments, the standard M249 barrel support is modified to prevent the standard M249 bolt head from entering the battery position in the non-firing housing 110. In a standard M249 barrel support 26, a standard M249 bolt head passes through the barrel aperture 34 to enter the battery position. In a modified barrel support 126 in accordance with this invention, a bolt-blocking wall 132 extends into the path of the barrel aperture 134, such that no bolt head, standard M249 or otherwise, would be able to enter the battery position, and, thus, a standard M249 bolt head would not function properly in a non-firing housing modified with the non-firing barrel support 126. In the particular embodiment shown, the rod-blocking extension 128 is formed as a contiguous piece with the bolt-blocking wall 132, but it will be appreciated that these structures could be made non-contiguous as well. This non-firing barrel support 126 is, in particular embodiments, welded into the non-firing housing body 112.
In some embodiments, the rod-blocking extension 128 of the barrel support 126 extends to a distance of from about 8 to 30 mm in length (axially) beyond the standard thickness of a standard M249 barrel support 26, as shown at 27 in
In some embodiments, the standard barrel support is altered by the addition of a bolt-blocking wall 132 extending into the path defined by the barrel aperture 134 at a distance of from 8 to 15 mm. In some embodiments, this bolt-blocking wall 132 extends off of the rod-blocking extension 128 and is integral therewith and provides a flat face 133. In some embodiments, the bolt-blocking wall 132 is generally triangular and extends to a point proximate the center of the barrel aperture 134.
A standard left bolt rail 22 for a standard M249 is shown in
It will also be appreciated from
In one or more embodiments, the design of a standard M249 receiver is further altered to provide the non-firing housing 110 by altering the location of the horizontal extension 125 of the non-firing right bolt rail 124 relative to the horizontal extension 123 of the non-firing left bolt rail 122 (or relative to the horizontal extension 23 of a standard left bolt rail 22, if the standard left bolt rail 22 is chosen not to be altered). As seen in comparison of
A standard left bolt rail 22 for a standard M249 is shown in
A standard right bolt rail 24 for a standard M249 is shown in
In particular embodiments, the non-firing left bolt rail 122 and the non-firing right bolt rail 124 are welded to the housing 110.
A standard receiver body 12 for a standard M249 is shown in
The present invention resides in the implementation of one or more of the forgoing design alterations. Such alterations will typically be made by designing new parts, as opposed to actually modifying existing standard M249 components. With one or more of the forgoing alterations, as shown in comparing standard M249 components with non-firing M249 components in accordance with this invention, a non-firing housing can be provided to imitate the standard functioning M249 receiver. The non-firing housing is non-firing as a result of being configured to prohibit the receipt or functioning of at least one of the standard firing components, standard guide components, standard feed components or standard ejection components. Though the non-firing housing 110 shown here includes multiple features for prohibiting standard guide components, standard firing components, standard feed components and standard ejection components, the invention herein should be appreciated as being directed to prohibiting the receipt of any or all of such components. That is, the various modifications may be employed in any number and combination in accordance with this invention, though various government laws and regulations may require the implementation of specific modifications to have the modified housing classified as a non firearm.
As known, the forward and backward movement of the op rod of a functioning M249 cycles internal components, commonly referred to as the action. The op-rod, bolt carrier and bolt head are all linked together and move forward and rearward in unison. The op-rod, bolt-carrier and bolt head are locked in the rearward position until the trigger is pulled. When the trigger is pulled, the op-rod, bolt-carrier and bolt head move forward in unison (under spring pressure). The bolt head strips a round of ammunition out of the belt or magazine, advancing it through the barrel extension and into the chamber. When the bolt head enters the barrel extension, it moves until the cartridge is seated in the barrel. Meanwhile, the bolt carrier and op-rod continue to move forward, forcing the bolt-head to perform a rotation and become locked in the barrel extension due to the angular track in the bolt carrier in which the bolt head rides. The firing pin in the bolt carrier impacts the primer on the round of ammunition, causing it to fire. When the cartridge fires, the bullet moves down the barrel, and the expanding gasses from the firing of the round vent into the gas cylinder to push on the op-rod and force it to the rear of the receiver. While the op-rod withdraws, it pulls on the bolt carrier. This causes the bolt head to rotate back to its original position, allowing it to become unlocked and the three components withdraw in unison. The ejector ejects the spent cartridge case, and the gun will continue to repeat the above operation until the trigger is released or ammunition is expended.
To further imitate a functioning machine gun, the non-firing housing 110 can optionally accept a standard M249 op-rod and associated cocking lever to allow an individual to cock the non-firing M249 and better simulate the feeling of holding and cocking such a rifle. In other embodiments, the non-firing M249 can include additional non-functional fire-simulating components as opposed to the standard firing components that function properly in a standard M249. For example, op-rod, spring and bolt components may be incorporated to simulate the cycling of similar components in a standard M249. Due to the alterations made to the dimensions and positioning of the barrel support and bolt rails in the non-firing housing 110, a fire-simulating bolt head and a fire-simulating bolt carrier could be fabricated and incorporated so as to be unique to the non-firing M249 and fit therein and stabilize the operating rod to give it the ability to cycle for simulation and training. Nevertheless, the M249 is non-firing and is not capable of being reverse engineered back to a functioning (firing) state.
Notably, the non-firing housings made in accordance with this invention can be made to appear at the exterior as exact replicas of the functioning receivers they are intended to imitate. Additionally, the non-firing housings can be made to accept the barrels, stocks and lowers that the functioning receivers accept, such that the non-firing housings can receive these components and thus provide a non-firing imitation of a machine gun that, at the exterior, looks identical to the machine gun it is intended to imitate. Indeed, this is preferred in many instances. For example, mount dealers will benefit from being able to mount and show a non-firing imitation of a machine gun that exactly replicates the exterior of a functioning machine gun, and yet will not have to address the laws and regulations and down time associated with the various forms and procedures that must be followed to take possession of and mount and show a functioning machine gun. Non-firing guns providing a replica of the exterior surface of a functioning gun will also be useful for training purposes.
Based upon the foregoing disclosure, it should now be apparent that the present invention provides advances in the art by providing non-firing M249 housings that imitate functioning M249 receivers. The present invention also advances the art by providing means for altering functioning M249 receivers to be non-firing housings.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/352,850 filed on Jun. 9, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61352850 | Jun 2010 | US |
