The present invention relates to accessories for firearms, and more specifically to a magazine well extension and trigger guard extension for firearms.
Firearm magazines are typically inserted into a firearm via a magazine well (“magwell”), which typically has an opening that extends to the bottom side of the firearm. Magwells are often designed with strict tolerances in relation to the appropriate magazine, such that the magazine must be carefully aligned with the magwell opening before the magazine may be inserted into the magwell. During combat or other stressful situations, it can be difficult to replace the magazine quickly.
Known solutions to this problem are magazine well adapters that attach to a firearm and provide an enlarged opening and a “funnel” shape that assists the user with feeding the magazine into the magwell opening of the firearm. The sloped (feed) walls of known magwell extensions are subject to wear over time due to repeated contact with the magazine that is being fed into the magwell, and therefore in most cases the entire magwell extension must eventually be replaced. This presents a substantial cost burden because, in these devices, the entire assembly must be removed from the magwell and discarded. Further, many existing magwell extensions fit onto the magwell via a friction fit only. This requires magwell extensions to have very specific tolerances, thereby increasing their productions cost.
Further, for users with larger hands or that wear gloves while operating a firearm, the size and configuration of existing firearm trigger guard assemblies can be a hindrance to proper use of the firearm.
There is a continued need for improved magwell adapters that assist a firearm user in feeding a magazine into a magazine well of the firearm. Further, there is a need for devices that improve the trigger guard assemblies of existing firearms.
Additional aspects of the invention include:
Aspect 1: An extension for a firearm, the firearm comprising a lower receiver having a magazine well, a trigger guard, a rear trigger guard attachment point and a front trigger guard attachment point, the magazine well having a front side, a rear side and a bottom end comprising a first lower opening having a first area, the trigger guard having a front end and a rear end, the extension comprising: a first component; and a second component having a second lower opening that is monolithic; wherein one of the first and second components is shaped to engage front side of the magazine well when the first and second components are positioned around the bottom end of the magazine well and secured to each other and the other of the first and second components is shaped to engage the rear side of the magazine well when the first and second components are positioned around the bottom end of the magazine well.
Aspect 2: The extension of aspect 1, further comprising two fasteners, the first component including a first fastener-engaging member located on a left side of the lower receiver when the first and second components are secured to the bottom end of the magazine well and a second fastener-engaging member located on a right side of the lower receiver when the first and second components are secured to the bottom end of the magazine well, the second component including a third fastener-engaging member located on the left side of the lower receiver when the first and second components are secured to the bottom end of the magazine well and a fourth fastener-engaging member located on the right side of the lower receiver when the first and second components are secured to the bottom end of the magazine well, wherein the first and third fastener-engaging members are shaped and positioned to draw the first and second components together when the first fastener is tightened and the second and fourth fastener-engaging members are shaped and positioned to draw the first and second components together when the second fastener is tightened.
Aspect 3: The extension of any of the aspects 1-2, wherein at least one of the first and second components has a locating member that is shaped and positioned to engage a machined surface located on the lower receiver.
Aspect 4: The extension of any of the aspects 1-3, wherein the second lower opening has a second area that is larger than the first area.
Aspect 5: The extension of any of the aspects 1-4, one of the first component and second component further comprising at least one aperture that is positioned to be attached to the front end of the trigger guard without disconnecting the rear end of the trigger guard from the firearm.
Aspect 6: The extension of aspect 5, wherein the front end of the trigger guard is positioned lower when it is attached to at least one aperture and the extension is installed on the magazine well than when the front end of the trigger guard is attached to a front trigger guard attachment point of the lower receiver.
Aspect 7: The extension of any of the aspects 5-6, wherein one of the first component and second component further comprises at least one aperture that is positioned to engage with a hole located on the a front trigger guard attachment point when the extension is installed on the magazine well.
Aspect 8: The extension of any of the aspects 1-7, wherein one of an upper side of the second component and a lower side of the first component comprises at least one pin and the other of the upper side of the second component and a lower side of the first component comprises at least one groove, and the pin engages the groove when the extension is assembled.
Aspect 9: The extension of any of the aspects 1-7, wherein the second component has a plurality of walls that extend from the second lower opening to the first lower opening when the extension is installed on the magazine well so that when magazine is inserted into the magazine well or removed from the magazine well, the magazine does not come into contact with the first component.
Aspect 10: A method of modifying a firearm, the firearm comprising a lower receiver having a magazine well and at least one machined surface, the magazine well having a first lower opening, a front side and a rear side, the method comprising: providing a second lower opening that is located below the first lower opening by securing a first component a magazine well extension to a second component of the magazine well extension; and positioning the magazine well extension relative to the magazine well by engaging the at least one machined surface with a portion of the magazine well extension.
Aspect 11: The method of aspect 10, wherein the providing step further comprises providing a second lower opening that is larger than the first lower opening.
Aspect 12: The method of any of the aspects 10-11, wherein the positioning step further comprises positioning the magazine well extension relative to the magazine well by engaging a machined surface of a front trigger guard attachment point located on the lower receiver.
Aspect 13: The method of any of the aspects 10-12, wherein the positioning step further comprises positioning the magazine well extension relative to the magazine well by engaging the front side of the magazine well.
Aspect 14: A method of installing a magazine well extension onto a firearm, the firearm comprising a magazine well and a trigger guard, the magazine well having a bottom end comprising a flange, the flange having a lower surface and an opposing surface, the trigger guard having a front end and a rear end, the method comprising: attaching a first component of the magazine well extension to a second component of the magazine well extension; and attaching one of the first component or the second component to the flange.
Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, further comprising tightening the magazine well extension against the flange by extending a member through a surface of at least one of the first component and the second component and into contact with the flange.
Aspect 16: The method of aspect 15, wherein the step of tightening the magazine well extension against the flange further comprises extending a threaded member through a surface of at least one of the first component and the second component such that it contacts the opposing surface of the flange.
Aspect 17: The method of any of the aspects 15-16, wherein the step of tightening the magazine well extension against the flange causes one of the first component and the second component to come into contact with the lower surface of the flange.
Aspect 18: The method of any of the aspects 14-17, further comprising sliding one of the first component and the second component over the flange from a front end of the flange.
Aspect 19: The method of aspect 18, further comprising sliding the other of the first component and the second component over the flange from a rear end of the flange.
Aspect 20: The method of any of the aspects 14-20, further comprising lowering a position of the front end of the trigger guard and attaching the front end of the trigger guard to one of the first component and the second component without detaching the rear end of the trigger guard from the firearm.
Aspect 21: The method of aspect 20, further comprising attaching one of the first component and second component to at least one aperture that is positioned to engage a hole located on the firearm to which the front end of the trigger guard is engaged when the magazine well extension is not installed on the magazine well.
Aspect 22: An extension for a magazine well of a firearm, the magazine well having a bottom end, the extension comprising: a component comprising an exterior surface and an interior surface, the interior surface including a slot that is sized and shaped to mate with the bottom end of the magazine well and at least one hole that passes through the flange-mounting mounting portion between the exterior surface and the interior surface; wherein when the component is attached to the magazine well via mating of the slot with the bottom end of the magazine well, a member can be passed through the at least one hole and into contact with the bottom end of the magazine well, thereby tightening the component against the magazine well.
Aspect 23: The extension of aspect 22, wherein the at least one hole and the member are threaded.
Aspect 24: An extension for a magazine well of a firearm, the magazine well having a bottom end comprising a flange and a well opening for receiving a magazine, the extension comprising: a flange-mounting component that is attachable to the flange of the magazine well and supports the extension from the magazine well when connected thereto; and a magazine-receiving component that is attachable to the flange-mounting component, the magazine-receiving component including a lower opening for receiving the magazine; wherein when the flange-mounting component is attached to the flange and the magazine-receiving component is attached to the flange-mounting component, a magazine-receiving passage is formed between the lower opening of the magazine-receiving component and the well opening of the magazine well of the firearm, wherein the flange-mounting component forms no portion of the magazine-receiving passage.
Aspect 25: The extension of aspect 24, wherein the lower opening in the magazine-receiving component has an area that is larger than an area of the well opening.
Aspect 26: The extension of aspect 25, wherein an upper opening in the magazine-receiving component has an area that is equal to the area of the well opening.
Aspect 27: An accessory for a firearm, the firearm comprising a magazine well and a trigger guard having a front end that is attachable to a front trigger guard mounting hole located on the firearm and a rear end that is attachable to a rear trigger guard mounting hole located on the firearm, the accessory comprising: a component that is attachable to the magazine well of the firearm, the component further comprising a first part that is attachable to the front trigger guard mounting hole and a second part that is attachable to the front end of the trigger guard; wherein when the component is attached to the magazine well, the first part is attached to the front trigger guard mounting hole, and the second part is attached to the front end of the trigger guard, the front end of the trigger guard is located below the front trigger guard mounting hole.
Aspect 28: The accessory of aspect 27, wherein the component is attachable to the magazine well of the firearm by sliding the component over a flange located on an exterior of a bottom end of the firearm.
Aspect 29: A method of expanding the area of a trigger opening of a firearm, the firearm comprising a magazine well and a trigger guard having a front end that has been detached from a front trigger guard mounting hole located on the firearm and a rear end that is attached to a rear trigger guard mounting hole located on the firearm, the method comprising: attaching a component to the magazine well, the component further comprising a first part that is attachable to the front trigger guard mounting hole and a second part that is attachable to the front end of the trigger guard; attaching the first part to the front trigger guard mounting; and attaching the second part to the front end of the trigger guard such that the front end of the trigger guard is located below the front trigger guard mounting hole.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention disclosed herein, certain embodiments in accordance with the herein disclosed invention are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the herein disclosed invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown. It should also be understood that, in the drawings, the parts are not necessarily drawn to scale. The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements. In the drawings:
The ensuing detailed description provides preferred exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the herein disclosed inventions. Rather, the ensuing detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the preferred exemplary embodiments in accordance with the herein disclosed invention. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
To aid in describing the invention, directional terms may be used in the specification and claims to describe portions of the present invention (e.g., upper, lower, left, right, etc.). These directional definitions are merely intended to assist in describing and claiming the invention and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. When referring to an element that is a component of a firearm and unless otherwise specified, the front of a part of a firearm faces the barrel end of the firearm and the rear of a part of a firearm faces the butt-end of the firearm.
Reference numerals that are introduced in the specification in association with a drawing figure may be repeated in one or more subsequent figures without additional description in the specification in order to provide context for other features.
The term “monolithic” as used in the specification and claims means that the feature being described as monolithic is formed from a single piece of material, as opposed to being formed by the assembly of multiple parts.
Referring generally to
The prior art lower receiver 2 shown in
Also shown in
As shown in
As is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the sloped (feed) walls of magwell extensions are wear components. In other words, these parts are subject to wear over time due to repeated contact with the magazine that is being fed into and removed from the magwell, and therefore the magwell extension must eventually be replaced. Because many existing magwell extensions are of single-piece construction, replacement presents a substantial cost burden because the entire assembly must be removed from the magwell and discarded. The magwell extension 40 according to the present invention addresses this drawback with prior art magwell extensions by providing the two-part construction discussed herein. In the embodiment of the magwell extension 40 described herein and shown in the accompanying figures, the flange-mounting component 80 is not contacted by the magazine during normal use when the magazine is being inserted into the magwell 9 of the lower receiver, and therefore is not subject to wear that would require its eventual replacement. The magazine-receiving component 50 is the only wear component of the magwell extension 40, and is thus the only part of the magwell extension 40 that will eventually require replacement. Thus, because the magazine-receiving component 50 is only a portion of the magwell extension 40, the costs associated with replacing this part are less than the costs associated with replacing the entire magwell extension 40.
As noted above, the present invention may be used with many different firearms. Different firearm models have different magwell sizes, shapes, and configurations, and therefore it is difficult to design a magwell extension that is universal across all firearm platforms. Accordingly, in the present invention, while the size and shape of specific embodiments of the flange-mounting component 80 must be chosen such that it can be securely attached to the lower receiver(s) with which it is designed to be used, the magazine-receiving component 50 may be designed to fit across a range of firearm platforms, such that one version of the magazine-receiving component could be used with more than one version of the flange-mounting component 80. This reduces the need for users to keep multiple versions of this wear component on hand, and also reduces design and manufacturing costs.
Referring back to
Many known magwell extensions are attached to the flange of a magwell via a friction fit only. This requires that the magwell extensions have very careful tolerances so that the magwell extension does not work itself loose during use of the firearm. This increases the costs of manufacturing these devices. Further, due to repeated usage and vibration of the firearm, friction fits alone may be inadequate to maintain accessories attached to a firearm. In order to address this problem, in the embodiment of the magwell extension 40 described herein and shown in
In this embodiment, the magazine-receiving component 50 comprises an upper opening 52 and a lower opening 68 that opposes the upper opening 52. The upper opening 52 extends to a top surface 53 of the magazine-receiving component 50. The lower opening 68 has an area 69. The area (not labeled) of the upper opening 52 is equal or approximately equal to the area 13 of the lower opening 12 of the magwell 9. The magazine-receiving component 50 further comprises a seating surface 57 that comes into contact with a bottom surface 94 of the flange-mounting component 80 when the magazine-receiving component 50 is attached to the flange-mounting component 80 and a lip 59 that defines a groove 61 located between the lip 59 and the seating surface 57. The seating surface 57 opposes a bottom surface 62 of the magazine-receiving component 50. When the flange-mounting component 80 and magazine-receiving component 50 are fitted together, the slot 90 accommodates placement of the lip 59 therein, and the rail 88 fits within the groove 61. The flange-mounting component 80 and magazine-receiving component 50 are then securely attached together by passing connecting bolts 72a,72b through throughholes 55a,55b located in bosses 54a,54b extending from the magazine-receiving component 50 and into threaded holes 86a,86b located in the flange-mounting component 80.
When the magazine-receiving component 50 and the flange-mounting component 80 are attached together to form the magwell extension 40, spaces 43a,43b are formed on the interior of the magwell extension 40 that approximately correspond with the side portions 18a,18b of the flange 16, and an additional space (not shown) is formed on the interior of the magwell extension 40 that approximately corresponds with the front portion 17 of the flange 16. As noted above, the set screws 97a,97b engage the respective side portions 18a,18b of the flange 16 at an angle, thereby preventing downward movement of the magwell extension 40. Further, placement of the top surface 53 of the magazine-receiving component 50 just below the flange 16 prevents upward movement of the magwell extension 40, once installed on the magwell 9. These components maintain the position of the magwell extension 40 on the bottom end 11 of the magwell 9.
As noted above, the magazine-receiving component 50 has a lower opening 68 through which the magazine is inserted when the user desires to load the magazine into the magwell 9 of the firearm. In this embodiment, the area 69 of this lower opening 68 is greater than the area 13 of the magwell 9. This enlarged feed area, coupled with a front sloped wall 65, a rear sloped wall 66, and a pair of side sloped walls 64a,64b that angle between the lower opening 68 and the upper opening 52 of the magazine-receiving component 50—the latter of which is adjacent to and aligned with the lower opening 12 of the magwell 9—aid the user in feeding a magazine into the interior 14 of the magwell 9. As a magazine is placed into the lower opening 68 and pressed upwardly, if not already aligned with the magwell 9 it will ride along one or more of the sloped walls 64a,64b,65,66 and enter the magwell 9 via the upper opening 52 of the magazine-receiving component 50. In this way, the user can more quickly load a new magazine into the firearm.
As can be seen in
A second embodiment of a magwell extension 140 according to the present invention is shown in
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
As summarized above,
It should be appreciated that the foregoing is presented by way of illustration only, and not by way of any limitation, and that various alternatives and modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US14/46191 | 7/10/2014 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61844749 | Jul 2013 | US |