Patent Application
20240280339
The present disclosure relates to an automatic or semi-automatic pistol comprising a slide stop triggered by a magazine feeder.
Pistols are usually equipped with a function called a “slide stop” used for locking the slide in the rear position when firing when the magazine is empty. Thereby, on the one hand, the shooter can see that his/her magazine is now empty. On the other hand, a faster rearming is possible since the shooter just needs to place a new loaded magazine in the weapon and, either to press a manual stop control, or to slightly back the slide then to release the slide in order to chamber a new ammunition.
Without such a function, the slide would close on an empty chamber at the end of the magazine. The shooter could then believe that the weapon is ready to fire, whereas this would not be the case. An incident could result therefrom for the shooter in a combat situation.
The stop control is usually located on a flank of the weapon, between the slide and the shell so as to be actuated with the thumb of the dominant hand without moving the hand from the firing position.
For a long time, shooters just had a stop control on the left side of the weapon, which is not handy for a left-handed shooter.
In recent years, manufacturers have proposed ambidextrous slide stops with a manual control placed on the left flank of the weapon and another placed on the right flank of the weapon. The goal is, of course, to improve the ergonomics of the weapon. U.S. Pat. No. 7,228,780B1 discloses such an ambidextrous stop consisting of one piece.
Such a type of ambidextrous slide stop generally works less well for a left-handed shooter than for a right-handed shooter. By design, the slide stop only hooks the slide on the left side, i.e. the side on which a right-handed shooter presses. The release of the slide is then more responsive for a right-handed shooter.
On the other hand, when a left-hand shooter presses on the control located to the right of the slide, the entire stop is deformed (bending and twisting) and the left-hand shooter often has to make a bigger movement with the control on the right, which requires a bigger effort, so that the slide catch on the left is retracted enough to release the slide.
It should also be noted that the usual position of the stop control corresponds to the position of the thumb of the dominant hand in the firing position. It is thus common to exert a parasitic pressure of the thumb on the stop during firing. Henceforth the stop is prevented from raising and stopping the slide at the end of the magazine. As described hereinabove, the slide would then be pushed forward, without any cartridge in the chamber while the shooter would be thinking that the weapon is ready to fire. In combat situations, a problematic situation would result therefrom.
The present disclosure aims to improve the ergonomics and the reliability of a slide stop and of the manual control thereof.
The present disclosure relates to an automatic or semiautomatic pistol comprising:
According to preferred embodiments, the pistol comprises one or an appropriate combination of the following features:
The present disclosure relates to a slide stop of a pistol 1, for preventing the slide 2 from returning to its closed position when the magazine 24 present in the gun 1 is empty. The slide stop 10 is actuated by a slide stop control lever 8, which is used for raising the slide stop 10 from a low position, leaving the slide 2 free, to a high position where the slide stop 10 stops the slide 2 in the rear position.
The slide stop 10 comprises a stop surface 15 arranged so as to latch the slide 2 in the rear position, via a notch 3 located under the slide 2, when the slide stop is in the upper position.
The raising of the slide stop 10 can either be obtained by an upwards translation movement obtained by sliding in a vertical aperture (not shown) or, preferentially, as shown in
In the absence of an upward force exerted by the slide stop control lever 8, the slide stop is pushed downwards by a spring, or any other suitable equivalent means. This spring, in the example of
The slide stop control lever 8 is rotatably mounted about a pin 9 located at the front of the magazine well. The pin 9 could e.g. advantageously be a pin common with a pin for the trigger 27. Nevertheless, the lever can also be on a pin independent of the trigger 27. The lever 8 extends from the pin 9 at the front of the magazine to the slide stop 10 at the rear of the magazine. The lever 8 further comprises a feeler 14 for the magazine feeder bearing on an actuator 23 for controlling the slide stop when the magazine is empty.
The actuator 23 generally takes the form of a bearing surface at the front left of the feeder 22 of the magazine. The slide stop control lever 8 is located on the same side as the slide stop actuator, and thus, is generally located on the left flank of the weapon 1. The feeler 14 and the actuator 23 are arranged in such a way that when the feeder 22 reaches the end of the travel thereof after the firing of the last cartridge, the actuator 23 lifts the feeler 14, leading to the rotation of the lever 8, raising the slide stop via an upward-facing support surface of the lever 8, pushing under a corresponding support surface of the slide stop. As shown in
As will be seen hereinafter, even in the case of a slide stop with ambidextrous control, the slide stop control lever 8 is preferentially arranged only on one flank, and advantageously the stop surface 15 of the slide stop 10 is located on the same side.
Advantageously, the slide stop 10 of the invention comprises two manual controls 4 arranged on the two flanks of the weapon, the two controls being mechanically connected to each other via an ambidextrous connection 16. In such case, both sides of the slide stop 10 are attached to the pin for the slide stop via pin holes 18 arranged on both sides of the slide stop 10. The arrangement of the slide stop 10, and in particular the axis of rotation 11 thereof, at the rear of the weapon, reduces the length of the levers on which the transmission of mechanical stresses from one face to the other takes place, reducing the deformation of the slide stop 10 accordingly. Such reduction in deformation improves ergonomics for left-handed users.
Such rigidity can also advantageously be improved by producing the part by metal injection molding (MIM) rather than by bending sheet metal as in the prior art.
The arrangement of the slide stop at the rear of the weapon advantageously makes it possible to arrange the manual control 4 at the rear, which reduces the risk of the shooter placing his/her hand on top during firing, which would block the rotation of the stop and lead to the malfunction of the stop. A closing of the moving parts on an empty chamber at the end of the magazine, would result therefrom.
Since the zones of manual control 4 of the stop are henceforth in the region traditionally reserved for the manual safety lever, the manual safety mechanism 26 has advantageously been arranged towards the front of the weapon, above the trigger guard 25. (see
There is a great ergonomic advantage to such a solution. When the user holds his/her weapon in hand, he/she extends the index finger of his/her dominant hand over the trigger guard 25 so as not to risk pressing on the trigger 27. He/she then has the end of his/her index finger on the manual safety button 26. If he/she has to fire, he/she can then easily actuate the manual safety without taking his/her hand off the handle. Such action is thus much easier and faster than in the traditional case of a safety lever placed at the back of the weapon.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21179183.5 | Jun 2021 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/065860 | 6/10/2022 | WO |
