The invention concerns to semi-automatic shotguns for military or police use.
The known semi-automatic shotguns have a restricted loading capacity since, without modifying too much the desired size of a modern fighting shotgun, they can carry a maximum of nine or ten cartridges. This is because the cartridges are lodged aligned lengthwise in a tube that the weapon has under the barrel.
If the magazine is extended to increase the loading capacity, the barrel must be extended too. This is undesirable in this type of shotgun. The rest of the solutions to achieve a significant increase in the loading capacity which have been proposed so far, have resulted in increasing some of the dimensions of the weapons, making them uncomfortable and impractical to handle. As a consequence, they are not suitable for military or police use.
Other solutions have been proposed for known shotguns, such as Wagner, Bentley and alike. The applicant considers that said solutions are mere theoretical ones since they result in weakening or eliminating the magazine tube.
The actual function of the magazine tube in standard shotguns is to give resistance to their structure. The rear end of the barrel floats inside the receiver and becomes firm actually because it is attached to the front end of the magazine tube. So, if the magazine tube is weakened or eliminated, the barrel will be assembled without the necessary firmness.
On the other hand, the known shotguns of big loading capacity are slow or difficult to reload.
The present invention is designed to find the solution to the prior art problems.
The applicant tested said system in standard long guns. Two problems arose. Firstly, when the ex works magazine was removed in order to replace it with the cartridges loading system claimed in Record U 3714, the guns were no longer rigid enough to keep the barrel steady and firm. Also, the design of the standard weapons prevented the several barrels from being stable. To couple the cartridges loading system claimed in Record U 3714, it was necessary to modify the way of fixing the barrel to the receiver without the traditional magazine tube.
The second problem upon trying to use said cartridges loading system in standard long guns was, that it always resulted in a non ergonomic adaptation.
The weapons were heavier and uncomfortable to carry and take from one place to another. Thus, the inventor realized that they were not good solutions. The invention presented in this patent document is a new design of semi-automatic shotgun which incorporates the cartridges loading system described in Record U 3714 and makes it possible to use it properly. Said system solves the two problems by providing the necessary firmness and stability in order to operate the weapon, and by achieving an ergonomic, light, easy to carry design of semi-automatic shotgun for police and military use.
The utility model is a new design of semi-automatic shotgun whose main feature is an in-between connection steel part which fixes the barrel to the receiver. This steel part plays three roles. Firstly, it enables the magazine to float. As a result, the receiver can be manufactured in aluminum or plastic, thus making the gun lighter than the standard ones. Secondly, the barrel can be firmly attached to the receiver, thus providing stability. Thirdly, it works as a lock between the steel bolt and the barrel, so that it resists the explosion when the gun is fired, providing firmness. The firmness does not rely on an attached tube as in standard shotguns.
The in-between connection steel part is tube shaped. Its front end is screwed to the barrel, whereas its rear end lodges the bolt head, which is locked inside by two small balls which fit into cavities specially cut in the part. Transversely it comprises a perforated rectangular steel plate which is fixed to the end of the receiver by screws.
In order to attach the barrel and the receiver firmly, the barrel is screwed to the steel part, which, in turn, is fixed to the receiver by screws, preferably five of them.
The cartridges loading system is disclosed in Record U 3714. The mechanism which makes said cartridges loading system work consists in a receiver that contains the bolt, the trigger assembly and a four-canal cylinder connected to a cylinder hand, placed at the end of a two-axle pivot. The cylinder is made of plastic with four longitudinal canals symmetrically cut in their outer surface which have a semicircular section. The cylinder rotates automatically when the gun is fired. The rotation mechanism of the cylinder is a result of changing the movement of the bolt from horizontal into vertical, when the pivot balances firstly on a front axle, and secondly on a rear axle. The cylinder turns 90° clockwise every time the gun is shot.
The bolt slides inside a tube that goes through the receiver longitudinally, together with its inner pieces: inertial mass, nut, small balls and firing pin.
In an advantageous assembly model, the parallel tubes of said cartridges loading system surround the barrel, encircling its sides and lower part.
Their ends are fastened by fitting ends which keep them firmly attached. The magazine is fixed to the gun between the front side of the receiver and a lock with a handle fitted in the barrel near the front end. The retention of the cartridges inside the tubes is done by means of three metallic nails which emerge each from one tube and retain them by the shell head. The nails hold the shell head of the last cartridge, preventing the springs from dislodging them while the magazine is out of the shotgun. As soon as the magazine is placed and the lock with a handle is actuated, the retaining metal nails hide and release the cartridges.
The springs push and enable a cartridge from each tube to enter each canal of the cylinder through openings made into the front side of the receiver under the barrel.
As it is disclosed in Record U 3714, the bolt, which is aligned with the chamber, goes through the upper canal of the cylinder. It remains empty while the others have one cartridge each. When the operating handle of the bolt is operated, the double axle pivot balances and raises the hand which makes the cylinder rotate one fourth turn clockwise. Then, the cartridge in the left canal moves to the upper position, facing the chamber. At the same time, the empty upper canal turns right facing the right loading tube and receiving a cartridge therefore.
When the operating handle is released, the bolt is sent forwards by its recoil spring, and pushes the cartridge which is waiting inside the chamber. Once the gun is shot, the fired shell triggers the semi-automatic mechanism, similarly to that of an ordinary long firearm.
The bolt moves backwards and operates the pivot, which lifts the cylinder handle. Said hand makes the cylinder rotate another fourth turn and the cycle starts again. When all the cartridges in the right tube are discharged, the upper canal is not loaded and remains empty until the gun is fired again. Then, the empty canal aligns with the lower tube and receives a cartridge therefrom. Once the lower tube is empty, it is fed by the cartridges from the left tube. When it is discharged, the magazine is empty and can be replaced by a full one. To eject the magazine, the lever at the end of the barrel is released and the empty magazine is free to fall out of the gun.
The following is a possible way of manufacturing the utility model hereby described.
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The magazine (41) comprises three identical tubes (45) located as seen in the diagram in
When operating the gun (
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The utility model herein claimed, as well as its parts, can be manufactured and reproduced according to the usual methods known to gun manufacturers. It should be taken into account that the in-between connection steel part must be hardened through thermal treatment.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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U3970 | Aug 2003 | UY | national |
This application is Divisional of Ser. No. 10/848,657 filed May 19, 2004, entitled “ NEW DESIGN OF SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON FOR SEVERAL TUBES CARTRIDGES LOADING SYSTEM FOR LONG GUNS”
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10848657 | May 2004 | US |
Child | 11732636 | US |