For various rifles, such as AR-15 rifles, the safety selector can be switched between the “safe” (3 o'clock) and “fire” (6 o'clock) positions by manipulating an arm of the safety selector on one side of the firearm. Firearms and firearm accessories manufacturers have introduced ambidextrous safety selectors that comprise safety selector arms on both sides of the firearm. Ambidextrous safety selectors can give the user the option to shoot either right-handed or left-handed by having an arm for the safety selector present on both sides of the firearm.
Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The present disclosure relates to safety selectors for firearms. With reference to
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The first arm 106 and the second arm 109 can be the portions of the safety selector 100 that are configured to be contacted and manipulated by a user. Accordingly, when the safety selector 100 is installed in the firearm, the first arm 106 and the second arm 109 can be located proximate to the external sides of the firearm. In this location, a user can push or pull the first arm 106 and/or second arm 109 using a finger and/or thumb to rotate the safety selector 100 and selectively cause the firearm to enter a safe or fire state. For a right-handed firearm, the second arm 109 can be the primary selector arm for the safety selector 100 (and manipulated using a thumb), and the first arm 106 can be the secondary selector arm (and manipulated with a finger), which may also be referred to as the “ambidextrous arm.”
The first arm 106 can be attached to the body 103 of the safety selector 100 such that the first arm 106 is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 104 of the body 103. For example, a first arm axis 107 extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the first arm 106 relative to the body 103 can be generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 104 of the body 103.
Similarly, the second arm 109 can be attached to the body 103 of the safety selector 100 such that the second arm 109 is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 104 of the body 103. For example, a second arm axis 110 extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the first arm 106 relative to the body 103 can be generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 104 of the body 103.
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Providing a non-zero angle between the first arm axis 107 of the first arm 106 and the second arm axis 110 of the second arm 109 can facilitate a user toggling the firearm between the fire state and the safety state. For example, a user can use his or her thumb to rotate the second arm 109 to a fire position, for example, and can also use his or her forefinger to rotate the first arm 106 to a safe position, for example. Because of the non-zero angle α between the first arm axis 107 of the first arm 106 and the second arm axis 110 of the second arm 109, it may be possible for the user to rotate the first arm 106 using his or her forefinger without needing to significantly modify his or her hand position with respect to the hand grip of the firearm.
With reference to
For a left-handed embodiment of the safety selector 100, the first arm 106 and second arm 109 can be oriented such that the distal end of the second arm 109 (on the left side of the firearm) is further forward than the distal end of the first arm 106 (on the right side of the firearm). This arrangement can provide a left-handed user the same benefits discussed above with respect to the right-handed embodiment.
With reference to
With reference to
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In various embodiment, the first arm 106 and/or the second arm 109 can include features to facilitate a user's manipulation of the safety selector 100. For example, the first arm 106 and/or the second arm 109 can include texturization, such as stippling, ridges, grooves, or crosshatching, which can improve the friction characteristics of the first arm 106 and/or the second arm 109 and aid in a user manipulating the safety selector 100. Further, in some embodiments, the first arm 106 and/or the second arm 109 can be curved to facilitate a user manipulating the safety selector 100. Moreover, as shown in
Conditional language used herein, such as the words and phrases “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated or indicated otherwise, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense, and not in its exclusive sense, so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
Disjunctive language, such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, Z,” unless indicated otherwise, is used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z). Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.
Numerical ranges described herein are used for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted in a flexible manner to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. To illustrate, a numerical range of “about 0.1% to about 5%” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 0.1% to about 5%, but also include individual values (e.g., 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and the sub-ranges (e.g., 0.5%, 1.1%, 2.2%, 3.3%, and 4.4%) within the indicated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included in the disclosure. For example, the phrase “x to y” includes the range from “x” to “y” as well as the range greater than “x” and less than “y.” The range can also be expressed as an upper limit. For example, “about x, y, z, or less” and should be interpreted to include the specific ranges of “about x,” “about y,” and “about z,” as well as the ranges of “less than x,” “less than y,” and “less than z.” Likewise, the phrase “about x, y, z, or greater” should be interpreted to include the specific ranges of “about x,” “about y,” and “about z,” as well as the ranges of “greater than x,” “greater than y,” and “greater than z.” In some embodiments, the term “about” can include traditional rounding according to significant figures of the numerical value. In addition, the phrase “about ‘x’ to ‘y’”, where ‘x’ and ‘y’ are numerical values, includes “about ‘x’ to about ‘y’”.
The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples of implementations to provide a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. In addition, components and features described with respect to one embodiment can be included in another embodiment. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.
This application is a non-provisional application of, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/746,317, entitled “SAFETY SELECTORS,” filed on Oct. 16, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62746317 | Oct 2018 | US |