Patent Application
20120198744
The present invention relates to a pistol accessory, in general and, in particular, to an accessory for a semi-automatic pistol.
Semi-automatic pistols include a mechanism which allows automatic reloading of the pistol upon firing a bullet. Typically, semi-automatic pistols use recoil energy, resulting from firing one bullet, to reload the next bullet into the pistol's chamber. Thus, pulling the trigger causes one bullet to be fired and the next bullet in the magazine to be loaded automatically, without having to manually load the next bullet.
One example of a semi-automatic pistol is a Glock® pistol. A Glock® pistol includes a slide which houses the firing mechanism and the barrel, through which the bullet is fired. During the recoil process, the slide slides backwards, along tracks in the top of the pistol's frame. When the slide is in its backwards position, a bullet from the magazine is urged into the barrel. The slide is then pulled forward by the recoil spring, thereby completing the loading process of the pistol, and at least partially cocking the firing mechanism.
However, after firing the last bullet in the magazine, the pistol is reloaded by inserting a full magazine into the receiver and by manually pulling the slide backwards, allowing the first bullet in the magazine to enter the barrel, following which, the slide is urged forward by the recoil spring. Similarly, unloading the pistol requires pulling the slide fully to the rear, so as to eject the bullet from the barrel.
Pulling the slide backwards against the force of the recoil spring requires a good grip of the slide and a large force applied to the slide, due to its straight, parallel sides. At present, a row of shallow cocking serrations is formed along the side of the slide. However, these serrations are not sufficient for easy gripping and pulling back of the slide.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for a slide for a semi-automatic pistol which facilitates the process of reloading and unloading of the pistol, and it would be very desirable to have a slide which allows a stable grip and requires relatively little force to pull the slide backwards.
According to the present invention there is provided an accessory for a semi-automatic pistol. The accessory includes a pair of engaging members for engaging the hand or fingers of a user, and a mounting element coupled to each engaging member, for mounting the engaging members on a slide of the pistol.
According to one embodiment the mounting element includes a shoulder for affixing to the rear of the slide.
Further according to one embodiment, there is provided a rear mounting plate for attaching to the slide as a replacement rear cover plate for the slide and the shoulder is mounted to the mounting plate.
There is also provided a method for forming an accessory for a semi-automatic pistol, the method including forming a pair of engaging members for engaging the hand or fingers of a user, coupling a mounting element to each of the engaging members, and affixing the mounting elements to a rear mounting plate engageable in a slide of a semi-automatic pistol for removably mounting the engaging members on the slide.
There is further provided, according to the invention, an accessory for a semi-automatic pistol having a slide, the accessory including a pair of protruding engaging members for engagement by a hand or fingers of a user, a mounting element including a shoulder coupled to each engaging member, for releasably mounting the engaging member on the slide of the pistol, and a rear mounting plate slideably engagable in a rear slot of the slide, the mounting elements being affixed to the rear mounting plate, wherein the shoulder portion has adjustable screw holes for mounting the shoulder to the mounting plate.
The present invention will be further understood and appreciated from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
The present invention relates to a slide grip for a slide of a semi-automatic pistol. The slide grip facilitates grasping and pulling the slide during reloading or unloading of the pistol. The slide grip includes two engaging members for engagement by the hand or fingers of the user, while he or she is pulling the slide backwards. Each engaging member is removably mounted on one side of the slide, substantially at the rear portion of the slide, and protrudes slightly from the slide. When the user grips the slide during reloading or unloading of the pistol, the engaging members engage the user's hand or fingers. Thus, the slide grip facilitates pulling back the slide utilizing relatively little force for reloading or unloading the pistol. Preferably, the engaging members have a concave ergonomic shape which is designed to fit or be engaged by the fingers or hand of the user, so as to allow the user to easily grip the slide or the slide grip and to pull back the slide.
According to an embodiment of the invention, mounting the engaging members on the slide is carried out by means of a mounting shoulder, coupled to or integrally formed with each engaging member, for affixing the engaging members to the rear of the slide. Preferably, the mounting shoulder is affixable to a rear mounting plate removably mounted in the slide.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the slide grip further includes side portions, one extending from each engaging member, each having a gripping surface, preferably including grooves and ridges, for facilitating gripping of the slide grip while pulling the slide backwards. Thus, the slide grip facilitates the pulling of the slide, and reduces slippage of the user's hand that can occur when manually loading or unloading the pistol.
Preferably, each one of shoulder portions 24a and 24b includes a screw receiving aperture 30 for receiving screws 32. According to this embodiment, shoulder portions 24a and 24b are coupled to the rear of slide 16 by means of a mounting plate 34. Mounting plate 34 has screw holes 36 therein. Preferably, shoulder portions 24a and 24b include slightly elongated screw receiving apertures 30 in registration with the screw holes 36. Screws 32 are inserted through elongated screw receiving apertures 30 on shoulder portions 24a and 24b, and fastened to screw holes 36 on mounting plate 34. The elongated apertures permit adjustment of the location of the slide grip on the slide and the engagement between the sides of the slide grip and the slide itself, which typically is required due to the lack of identity between slides and their sides. Preferably, mounting plate 34 is substantially the same size and shape as the conventional slide rear cover plate mounted in tracks at the rear of the slide of the semiautomatic pistol. Thus, mounting plate 34 can be mounted at the rear of the slide and serve as a rear cover plate of slide 16. It is affixed to the slide 16 in the same way as the conventional rear cover plate. For example, if the rear wall of slide 16 includes a groove 17 for receiving a rear cover plate, mounting plate 34 may include a track 33 complementary to groove 17, for mounting in the groove on slide 16. This way, mounting the slide grip on the pistol can be carried out by simply replacing the original rear cover plate of the slide, without having to drill holes in the slide, or to weld the slide grip on the slide. The mounting plate of the invention can be slid into the groove 17, instead of the original cover plate, without having to make any changes in the original slide or pistol.
Preferably, engaging members 22a, 22b have a rounded ergonometric shape designed to engage the fingers or hand of the user. They may be curved to complement the shape of a finger. In this way, when the user grips slide grip 20 and pulls slide 16 backwardly, engaging members 22a, 22b abut or curve around the user's finger and preclude slippage of the hand that is gripping slide 16. In fact, in certain embodiments, a user need not hold the sides of the slide grip at all—it is sufficient to pull the engaging members 22a and 22b. Alternatively, the engaging members can have any other shape that permits engagement by a user's fingers.
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the angle between side portion 25a and 25b, and shoulder portions 24a and 24b, respectively, is slightly smaller than 90 degrees. In this way, when shoulder portions 24a and 24b, are affixed to the rear of slide 16, side portions 25a and 25b push against the sides of slide 16. In addition, due to the angle between side portions 25a and 25b and shoulder portions 24a and 24b, respectively, side members 22a and 22b can be urged more tightly against the sides of slide 16 before screws 32 are tightened, providing tighter frictional engagement between the slide grip and the slide.
While the slide grip has been described above as having two separate portions, alternatively, the slide grip can be formed as a single element, i.e., U-shaped, having two engagement members thereon.
Operation of the slide grip of the present invention is as follows. First, a slide grip having a pair of engagement members is mounted on the slide. This can be accomplished by removing the original rear cover plate of the slide and replacing it with a mounting plate having screw holes. The slide grip, or individual engagement members, is placed against the sides of the slide and screws are inserted through elongate or oval apertures in the shoulders of the engagement members and into the screw holes in the replacement plate. Now the sides of the engagement members are pressed against the slide to the desired amount, and the screws are tightened, affixing the engagement members in the desired location.
After inserting a pistol magazine into the receiver of the pistol, the user holds slide grip 20 and/or shoulder portions 24a and 24b and pulls back slide 16, thereby loading the first bullet from the magazine into the chamber. Similarly, when the pistol's chamber is loaded with a bullet and the user wishes to unload the pistol, the user holds slide grip 20 and/or shoulder portions 24a and 24b and pulls back slide 16, thereby ejecting the bullet from the chamber. The recoil spring urges slide 16 back to the forward position. Utilizing slide grip 20 facilitates the pulling of slide 16, reducing the force required and reducing slippage of the user's hand that can occur when manually loading or unloading the pistol.
While the slide grip of the present invention has been illustrated hereinabove with reference to use on a Glock® pistol, it will be appreciated that, alternatively, the slide grip can be mounted on any other pistol which has a slide with a rear cover plate, such as a Springfield Armory pistol, or a Smith & Wesson pistol, etc.
As stated above, it is a particular feature of some embodiments of the invention that the accessory can be mounted on the pistol merely by replacing the rear cover plate of the slide, without requiring a permanent change to the original slide or pistol.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made. It will further be appreciated that the invention is not limited to what has been described hereinabove merely by way of example. Rather, the invention is limited solely by the claims which follow.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61440408 | Feb 2011 | US |
