PISTOL AND TRIGGER FOR A PISTOL

Abstract

A pistol with a trigger assembly, the trigger assembly, including: a trigger support pivotally mounted to a frame of the pistol; a trigger shoe pivotally mounted to the trigger support; and a spring located between a portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, the spring biasing the portion of the trigger shoe into a first position where a portion of the frame blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

Description

BACKGROUND

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relates to pistols and more particularly a trigger or trigger assembly for a pistol.

There is a continued need to provide a pistol or firearm with a trigger or trigger assembly that prevents inadvertent firing of the pistol or firearm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is a pistol with a trigger assembly, the trigger assembly, including: a trigger support pivotally mounted to a frame of the pistol; a trigger shoe pivotally mounted to the trigger support; and a spring located between a portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, the spring biasing the portion of the trigger shoe into a first position where a portion of the frame blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, an upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support when the trigger shoe is in the first position.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the frame defines a receiving area adjacent to the portion of the frame and when the trigger shoe is rotated such that the upper portion of the trigger shoe no longer contacts the trigger support and the portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support such that the portion of the frame no longer blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the portion of the trigger shoe is located between the upper portion of the trigger shoe and a bottom portion of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the portion of the trigger shoe is a mid portion of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the trigger assembly includes a trigger bar operably coupled to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.

Also disclosed is a trigger assembly for a pistol, the trigger assembly, including: a trigger support; a trigger shoe pivotally mounted to the trigger support, the trigger shoe having an upper portion, a lower portion and a third portion located between the upper portion and the lower portion; and a spring located between the third portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, the spring biasing the third portion of the trigger shoe into a first position where the upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support.

Also disclosed is a method for preventing inadvertent firing of a pistol, including: pivotally mounting a trigger support to a frame of the pistol; pivotally mounting a trigger shoe to the trigger support; and biasing a portion of the trigger shoe away from the trigger support into a first position with a spring located between the portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, wherein a portion of the frame blocks movement of the trigger shoe when it is in the first position.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, an upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support when the trigger shoe is in the first position.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the frame defines a receiving area adjacent to the portion of the frame and when the trigger shoe is rotated such that the upper portion of the trigger shoe no longer contacts the trigger support and the portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support such that the portion of the frame no longer blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the portion of the trigger shoe is located between the upper portion of the trigger shoe and a bottom portion of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the portion of the trigger shoe is a mid portion of the trigger shoe.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, further including operably coupling a trigger bar to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:

FIG. 1 is left side view of a pistol with a trigger in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol illustrated in FIG. 1 where the trigger is in a rest position;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol illustrated in FIG. 1 where the trigger has been moved from the rest position to a ready to fire position; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol illustrated in FIG. 1 where the trigger has been moved from the ready to fire position to fire the pistol.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.

Referring now to the FIGS., a pistol or firearm 10 with a trigger or trigger assembly 12 in accordance with the present disclosure is illustrated. In one non-limiting embodiment, the pistol 10 may be a semi-automatic pistol. FIG. 1 is left side view of the pistol 10 with the trigger or trigger assembly 12 in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol 10 illustrated in at least FIG. 1, where the trigger or trigger assembly 12 is in a first or rest position.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol 10 illustrated in at least FIG. 1, where the trigger or trigger assembly 12 has been moved from the first or rest position to a second or ready to fire position.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the pistol 10 illustrated in at least FIG. 1, where the trigger or trigger assembly 12 has been moved from the second or the ready to fire position to a third position in order to fire the pistol.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the trigger or trigger assembly 12 of the pistol 10 includes a trigger shoe 14 pivotally or rotationally mounted to a trigger support 16. The trigger support 16 is pivotally or rotationally mounted to a frame 18 of the pistol 10. The trigger support 16 is operably coupled to a trigger bar 20 which when moved or actuated by the trigger support 16 causes a round or bullet to be fired from the pistol 10. Note only forward and rearward portions of the trigger bar 20 are illustrated in the attached FIGS. as a central portion is not viewable in the attached FIGS. A spring or trigger shoe spring 22 is provided to bias the trigger shoe 14 clockwise such that an upper portion 24 of the trigger shoe 14 contacts the trigger support 16. In other words, the spring or trigger shoe spring 22 provides a biasing force to rotate the trigger shoe 14 clockwise such that an upper portion 24 of the trigger shoe 14 contacts the trigger support 16 when no force is applied to the trigger shoe 14.

As used herein clockwise and counter clockwise are with reference to the orientations or views of the pistol 10 illustrated in the FIGS. In addition, forward and rearward are intended to refer to the orientations or views of the pistol 10 illustrated in the FIGS. For example, forward is the left side of the views in FIGS. (e.g., exit end of the barrel) while rearward is the right side (e.g., backside of grip of pistol) of the views in the FIGS.

In FIG. 2, the trigger or trigger assembly 12 is at a rest position and the pistol 10 cannot be fired. Here the spring or trigger shoe spring 22 rotates the trigger shoe 14 clockwise until the upper portion 24 of the trigger shoe 14 contacts the trigger support 16. This puts the trigger shoe 14 into a position that does not permit rotation of the trigger support 16 and prevents movement of the trigger bar 20. This is due to the fact that a portion 26 of the frame 18 blocks a portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 in this position thereby preventing the pistol 10 from firing unless a bottom portion 30 of the trigger shoe 14 is rotated rearward or the trigger shoe 14 is rotated counter clockwise with respect to the trigger support 16 overcoming the biasing force of spring or trigger shoe spring 22 in the clockwise direction in order to allow portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 to clear the portion 26 of the frame 18. As illustrated, the bottom portion 30 of the trigger shoe 14 is located below the trigger support 16.

The frame 18 is configured to define a receiving area, pocket or opening 31 adjacent to the portion 26 such that when portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 clears portion 26 of the frame 18 it may travel into the receiving area, pocket or opening 31 in order to allow firing of the pistol as will be described below.

As illustrated, the portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 is located between the upper portion 24 and the bottom portion 30. In one non-limiting embodiment, portion 28 may be referred to as a rearward or mid portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14.

In FIG. 3, the trigger or trigger assembly 12 is in the second or ready to fire position where the trigger shoe 14 has been rotated counter clockwise overcoming the biasing force of spring 22 and compressing spring 22 until portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 makes contact with the trigger support 16 and portion 28 is in a portion to clear portion 26 of the frame 18. In addition and in this position, the upper portion 24 no longer contacts the trigger support 16. This puts the trigger shoe 14 into a position that allows the rotation of the trigger support 16 counter clockwise in order to fire the pistol 10.

Referring now to FIG. 4 and in order to fire the pistol 10, the trigger shoe 14 is rotated counter clockwise from the position illustrated in FIG. 2, overcoming the biasing force of spring 22 and compressing spring 22 until the portion 28 of trigger shoe 14 makes contact with the trigger support 16 thereby allowing the trigger or trigger assembly 12 (e.g., trigger support 16, trigger shoe 14 and spring 22) to clear the portion 26 of the frame 18. The trigger or trigger assembly 12 continues to rotate counter clockwise from the position illustrated in at least FIG. 3 moving the trigger bar 20 rearward in the direction of arrow 32. This rearward movement of the trigger bar 20 pushes a striker 34 rearward in the direction of arrow 32 thereby compressing a striker spring (not shown) operably coupled to the striker 34. The rearward movement of the trigger bar 20 from the position illustrated in at least FIG. 3 in the direction of arrow 32 causes a portion 36 of the trigger bar 20 to contact a portion 38 of the striker 34 causing movement of the striker 34 in the direction of arrow 32 thereby compressing the striker spring (not shown). The rearward movement of the striker 34 in the direction of arrow 32 occurs until the portion 36 of trigger bar 20 cams down in the direction of arrow 40 off the portion 38 of the striker 34 thereby releasing the striker 34 and the compressed striker spring thereby causing movement of the striker 34 in a direction opposite to arrow 32 until the striker strikes a cartridge primer igniting a cartridge and firing a chambered bullet of the pistol 10.

The downward movement of portion 36 in the direction of arrow 40 is caused by a cam surface 42 of the trigger bar 20 contacting a complementary cam surface 44 of the pistol 10. It is understood that other configurations of the trigger bar 20 may be used in combination with the trigger or trigger assembly 12 of the present disclosure.

Once a round has been fired and a user releases the trigger shoe 14, spring 22 will return the trigger shoe 14 into the position illustrated in FIG. 2 where the pistol 10 cannot be fired unless the biasing force of spring 22 is overcome and the trigger or trigger assembly is moved from the positions illustrated in at least FIGS. 2 and 3 to the position in FIG. 4 so that the pistol 10 can be fired.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the biasing force of spring 22 to maintain the trigger shoe 14 in position illustrated in at least FIG. 2 is sufficient enough to prevent the trigger shoe 14 and ultimately the trigger or trigger assembly from inadvertently moving into the position illustrated in at least FIG. 4. For example, if the pistol 10 is dropped and contacts a surface, any subsequent moments applied to the trigger or trigger assembly 12 due to the contact of the pistol 10 with the surface at the end of the drop will not be sufficient to overcome the biasing force of spring 22. Thus, the trigger or trigger assembly 12 prevents inadvertent actuation or firing of the pistol.

In other words, and in order to fire the pistol 10, a operator must apply a force sufficient to overcome the biasing force of spring 22 to the bottom portion 30 of the trigger shoe 14 in order to rotate the trigger shoe 14 counter clockwise with respect to the trigger support 16 in order to allow portion 28 of the trigger shoe 14 to clear portion 26 of the frame 18.

In addition, the trigger or trigger assembly of the present disclosure provides an improvement to the perceived tactile feel of the trigger pull for the trigger or trigger assembly on a semi-automatic pistol. For example, the user may think the trigger or trigger assembly is only one piece due to its feel, but it is actually two pieces.

The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of +8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A pistol with a trigger assembly, the trigger assembly, comprising: a trigger support pivotally mounted to a frame of the pistol;a trigger shoe pivotally mounted to the trigger support; anda spring located between a portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, the spring biasing the portion of the trigger shoe into a first position where a portion of the frame blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

2. The pistol as in claim 1, further comprising a trigger bar operably coupled to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.

3. The pistol as in claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support when the trigger shoe is in the first position.

4. The pistol as in claim 3, wherein the frame defines a receiving area adjacent to the portion of the frame and when the trigger shoe is rotated such that the upper portion of the trigger shoe no longer contacts the trigger support and the portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support such that the portion of the frame no longer blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

5. The pistol as in claim 4, wherein the portion of the trigger shoe is located between the upper portion of the trigger shoe and a bottom portion of the trigger shoe.

6. The pistol as in claim 5, wherein the portion of the trigger shoe is a mid portion of the trigger shoe.

7. The pistol as in claim 6, further comprising a trigger bar operably coupled to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.

8. A trigger assembly for a pistol, the trigger assembly, comprising: a trigger support;a trigger shoe pivotally mounted to the trigger support, the trigger shoe having an upper portion, a lower portion and a third portion located between the upper portion and the lower portion; anda spring located between the third portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, the spring biasing the third portion of the trigger shoe into a first position where the upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support.

9. A method for preventing inadvertent firing of a pistol, comprising: pivotally mounting a trigger support to a frame of the pistol;pivotally mounting a trigger shoe to the trigger support; andbiasing a portion of the trigger shoe away from the trigger support into a first position with a spring located between the portion of the trigger shoe and the trigger support, wherein a portion of the frame blocks movement of the trigger shoe when it is in the first position.

10. The method as in claim 9, further comprising operably coupling a trigger bar to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.

11. The method as in claim 9, wherein an upper portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support when the trigger shoe is in the first position.

12. The method as in claim 11, wherein the frame defines a receiving area adjacent to the portion of the frame and when the trigger shoe is rotated such that the upper portion of the trigger shoe no longer contacts the trigger support and the portion of the trigger shoe contacts the trigger support such that the portion of the frame no longer blocks movement of the trigger shoe.

13. The method as in claim 12, wherein the portion of the trigger shoe is located between the upper portion of the trigger shoe and a bottom portion of the trigger shoe.

14. The method as in claim 13, wherein the portion of the trigger shoe is a mid portion of the trigger shoe.

15. The method as in claim 14, further comprising operably coupling a trigger bar to the trigger support wherein movement of the trigger bar by movement of the trigger support causes a bullet to be fired from the pistol.