Patent Application
20130219763
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for a firearm attachment. More particularly, the present invention is an attachable upper receiver for a rifle which is especially configured for accommodating safely a “southpaw” or left-handed shooter.
The conventional AR-10 rifles were designed so that the hot spent, cartridge casings would strike a small deflector rib at the back of what is known as the ejection port and rebounds forward at about 40 degrees. As the rifles cyclic rate of fire decreases; the ejection pattern slowly shifts rearward. At around 700 rounds pre minute, the spent hot cartridge cases miss the current defector rib and spins back almost parallel to the side of the rifle, on the left side with respect to the shooter's perspective. For a right-handed rifleman, this condition is dangerous because the hot spent cases strike them in the face eyes and neck, sometimes causing burns, blindness or other injuries. In one unfortunate documented incident for a right-handed shooter, a burning hot expended cartridge was not deflected properly and rolled inside his open shirt neck, eventually burning his stomach areas; panic-shooting led to the accidental death of one soldier and the wounding of still other soldiers. Such spent cases would probably just go over the left shoulder where the rifle rests, if they miss the back end of the ejection port. For a right hander, however the rifle butt rests right shoulder; the fired cases which miss the rib would then likely hit him in the face, neck or eyes. Yet some 78-82% of soldiers statistically are estimated to be right handed. Clearly then, any improvement to safeguard the right handed shooter against spent cases is greatly needed, especially with this rifle/weapons platform, given its widespread use by our Armed Forces and civilians alike.
To remedy this problem the present invention provides for a left-handed upper receiver, with an integrated deflector which is made part of the rifle positioned to the rear of the ejection port protruding/jutting out toward the left side. It provides a barrier for fired cases, preventing same from coming straight back into the shooters face, eyes and neck, but instead to strike and bounce off the deflector and being forced to land considerable away from the shooter's person.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to introduce an improved rifle upper receiver which permits use by left-handed shooters without the possibility of hot spent cartridge cases being cast in the direction of the shooter's face, eyes, and neck areas. It is another object of the present invention to adapt this particular rifle/weapons platform particularly to the needs of a left-handed shooter without affecting ordinary operations. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a rifle which may be used by either right or left-handed operators without the need of any field adaptation for the right-hander, to avoid the possibility of his injury. Other objects and advantages of the inventions will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the attached specifications and drawings.
The applicant here assumes that the reader starts with the knowledge of the ordinary spent cartridge ejection process as it pertains to the weapons platform, at what is termed the said ejection port.
The present invention is intended to be adapted for various firing mechanisms including but not limited to gas impingement, piston, automatic, semi-automatic, open bolt, and locking bolt firing mechanisms. The gas impingement and piston firing mechanisms and systems contribute to the dependability and function of the bolt and the bolt carrier. The other firing mechanisms and systems may apply as desired depending on the user. These other firing mechanisms may be used by the military to provide a readily accessible firearm for those who are predominantly left handed.
As was mentioned previously, the conventional weapons platform is configured so that the spent cartridge case strikes a small deflector rib at the back of the ejection port, 102 area in
The concept of the present invention is applicable to any firearm where the ejection pattern may be rearward. However, the shape of the physical embodiment may require some change to adapt it to a particular firearm. In regards to the AR-10 and other weapon platforms/rifles from scrupulous experimentation, it was discovered that certain features are critical and important. One critical feature is the 45 degree angle slant to surface 103 looking from the top down on the boss as shown in
The present invention comprises an upper receiver (rifle) which is especially configured for accommodating safely a “southpaw” or left-handed shooter and, more specifically, a soldier. The purpose of the left-handed receiver is to fill a much needed void in an arms industry that has traditionally only made arms or rifles for the right-handed shooter. This fact in itself can be considered discriminatory in some industries.
The upper receiver is invented and configured especially with the left-handed, or southpaw, shooter or soldier in mind. The ergonomics of the upper receiver and internal components, such as a bolt carrier and a bolt, are invented and adapted to make it possible for a left-handed user to safely discharge the rifle platform without using adaptors or shell casing deflectors while firing from the left hand. When a southpaw fires right-handed standard rifles, such implements are needed. It is important to note that special instructions, training and or re-training classes are also sometimes needed.
The upper receiver for a left-handed user is invented with the following improvements:
It is important to note that BCG for the left hand only functions in a left-hand upper receiver as described herein. Upper receivers and the bolt carrier group parts for a left-handed and right-handed firearm are not interchangeable.
In the preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises an upper receiver which is attachable to a buttstock and a barrel of a rifle. The upper receiver further comprises a tubular body wherein a bolt and a bolt carrier are positioned. The bolt is positioned concentrically within a cavity of the bolt carrier. The current bolt and bolt carrier intended for the right-handed upper receiver do not fit or operate correctly with the left-handed upper receiver of the present invention as many of the functions of a right-handed bolt and bolt carrier do not correlate with that of the left-handed upper receiver. The tubular body comprises a barrel receiving end and a buttstock receiving end. The said barrel receiving end and the buttstock receiving end are opened for receiving the barrel and the buttstock of the rifle, respectively. For the purpose of indicting directional positions of the following components, the buttstock receiving end designates the front side of the present invention and the barrel receiving end designates the rear side of the present invention. It is therefore appropriate for the tubular body to comprise a front side and rear side; similarly therefore, the upper receiver comprises a front side and a rear side, as designated by the buttstock receiving end and the barrel receiving end, respectively. It is of further notice to indicate a left side and a right side of the tubular body and, similarly, of the upper receiver. Therefore the upper receiver comprises a left side and a right side. The left side and the right side of the upper receiver are located on the upper receiver with respect to the front side as designated by the buttstock receiving end. It is important to note the left side and the right side in order to distinguish the advantages for modifying the conventional upper receiver for a right-handed rifle by providing a left-side ejection of casings for a left-handed user.
The upper receiver comprises an ejection port, an ejection hinge, an ejection port cover; an oversized casing deflector, a forward assist, and a bolt lock housing. The ejection port is positioned on the left side of the upper receiver. The ejection hinge is positioned on the left side of the upper receiver and above the ejection port. The ejection cover is positioned on the left side of the upper receiver and connects to the ejection hinge by a hinge pin. The ejection cover opens upward about the hinge and the hinge pin. The oversized casing deflector is positioned on the left side of the upper receiver and adjacent to the ejection port and ejection cover so as to allow spent shell casings to exit the ejection port and deflect off the oversized casing deflector. The oversized casing deflector comprises a surface area from which spent shell casings are deflected either up or down depending on the radius of a locking bolt extractor. The oversized casing deflector compensates for a deflection rib which lacks adequate size to completely deflect a spent shell casing in a desired angle and direction. The angle of deflection also depends on the angle of the deflection surface of the oversized casing deflector. The forward assist is positioned on the left side of the upper receiver and adjacent to the oversized casing deflector so as to allow for the bolt to make contact and lock onto a shell. The forward assist may comprise a button for performing said bolt locking. The bolt lock housing is positioned on the right side of the upper housing so as to allow for a head portion of the bolt lock, which is inserted into the bolt carrier, to slide and lock into position.
The aforementioned modifications made to the conventional upper receiver for a rifle affect subsequent parts and equipment. The subsequently affected parts may include but is not limited to the bolt and the bolt carrier. The present invention may further affect the equipment used in creating and manufacturing said components. Affected equipment may include but is not limited to dyes, jigs, and tools. As each component that is fitted specifically for a right-handed upper receiver, subsequent parts and equipment used are affected in the manufacturing for a left-handed upper receiver and subsequently affected parts.
Because the upper receiver of the present invention comprises the bolt lock housing positioned on the right side, the bolt and bolt carrier are subsequently affected. The bolt comprises a bolt lock hole, whose chamfered angle is modified for the left-handed upper receiver. The bolt lock hole is positioned at an angle so as to allow for the bolt to properly lock with a shell and to receive the bolt lock. The bolt carrier comprises a bolt carrier lock hole which is modified so as to allow for being positioned over the bolt lock hole for a left-handed user. The bolt comprises an extractor whose angle changes so as to allow for extraction and ejection of a spent shell. The bolt further comprises a plurality of locking lugs whose angles are also subsequently modified for proper fitting into the left-handed upper receiver. The left-handed bolt locking radius differs from the right-handed bolt. Within the left-handed bolt carrier, the left-handed bolt locks to the right-hand side.
In reference to
A plurality of ridges positioned along the length of the bottom side of the bolt carrier may be mirrored for proper fitting into the left-handed upper receiver. Similarly, a plurality of ridges which serve as a locking mechanism for the forward assist may also be mirrored for proper fitting into the left-handed upper receiver. A plurality of bore-holes may also be mirrored for proper fitting into the left-handed upper receiver.
The bolt carrier group comprises parts which fill an existing need to better and safely accommodate the left-handed shooter without the need of special adaptors and re-training. Re-training may include a shooter learning how to acclimate one's less predominant hand to fire a firearm. As in current practice, re-training involves a left-handed shooter to learn how to fire a right-handed firearm. The present invention eliminates this need by providing a left-handed upper receiver for converting a right-handed firearm into a left-handed firearm.
While the inventions may have been described with reference to a particular embodiment or embodiments, it should be noted and understood that various substitutions and modifications thereto are possible, and that all such changes are also included in this disclosure of the invention, as will occur to one skilled in this art.
