Firearms – Magazine chargers
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-14
2004-11-02
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Firearms
Magazine chargers
C042S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06810616
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to firearms, particularly to a method and accessory for facilitating loading and unloading of firearm rounds into and out of a firearm magazine.
2. Prior Art
Many small firearms, including assault rifles and submachine guns, utilize and fire rounds (also known as ammunition). Each round is substantially elongated and comprises a cuplike case or cartridge, usually of brass, which is filled with an explosive propellant. At its rear or closed end, the cartridge has a rim or flange containing a primer; the front and opposite end of the cartridge is open. A bullet, slug, or head, usually of lead (optionally jacketed) is partially inserted into the open or front end of the cartridge by crimping the cartridge onto the bullet. When the round is fired, the primer is ignited by a percussive force, and it in turn ignites the propellant, which explodes and forces the bullet out of the cartridge at a high rate of speed.
The rounds are held within and fed into the firearm from a magazine (also known as a clip). A detachable magazine has become dominant throughout the world. The term ‘magazine’ is broad, encompassing several geometric variations, including curved magazines. Most detachable magazines are similar, varying in form and structure, rather than in their general principles of operation.
Magazines usually take the form of an elongated container having a generally rectangular cross-section, which is attached to the underside of the firearm. They are commonly made of aluminum alloys, plastic, or steel. They are usually closed on five sides and open on a sixth, upwardly facing side or end, and are substantially hollow. The open side has a rectangular end and includes two round-retaining members, known as lips. Magazines have an internal spring, which urges a follower (blank piece of plastic or metal) toward the open side. The follower in turn urges the rounds as a group up against the lips. The lips act as a stop for the rounds so that they are not expelled from the magazine. The firearm's chambering mechanism then picks off the rounds individually and transports them to a chamber where they are fired by a firing pin, under control of the user.
Rounds are stacked or oriented in one or two columns in the magazine such that the longitudinal axes of the rounds are substantially parallel and perpendicular to the direction of travel of the spring and follower. Adjoining rounds are oriented side-by-side, i.e., the bullets of adjacent rounds are next to each other, as are the cartridges.
In magazines that contain two adjacent columns, the rounds are stacked in a staggered (zigzag) fashion. Such magazines achieve higher round capacity compare to single column magazines.
Magazines of handguns or pistols contain either a single column of rounds, for smaller pistols, or, for larger pistols, two staggered columns, which converge to a single column at the open end of the magazine. Such magazines expose just a single, topmost, round, between both lips. These handgun magazines are not relevant here.
Magazines of assault rifles and submachine guns, such as the AR15/M16, AK47/74-Kalashnikov, FAL, MP5, G36, Galil, Uzi, etc., are double-stacked, i.e. they contain two staggered columns throughout the magazine to allow higher round capacity. At the top of the magazine, the lips alternately retain the left and right topmost round, as the rounds are fed up and picked off. In contrast to the above handgun magazines, two rounds are exposed between the lips.
Prior to use, a firearm magazine must be loaded (charged or filled). When a magazine is being loaded, it is necessary to depress all previously loaded rounds before an additional round can be loaded. Each time another round is loaded the spring is further compressed, requiring more insertion force. When a magazine is fully loaded, the spring is fully compressed and exerts maximum upward force.
Loading magazines is a relatively time-consuming and tedious practice. When a plurality of magazines are to be loaded, much time is required, shortening reposing, training, or combat time. In combat circumstances, slow reloading can be life-threatening.
Storage of a fully loaded magazine for an extended period of time may result in metal fatigue in the compressed spring, causing it to weaken or “relax”. Thus, the next time the magazine is used in a firearm, the spring force may be insufficient to feed rounds rapidly into the firearm.
Hence, unless one intends to use a loaded magazine, it is desirable to unload all the rounds. Also, in many jurisdictions the transportation of a loaded magazine is unlawful due to hazards involved. Furthermore, unloading magazines is further required for magazine cleaning, repair, training, and overall safety. Still further, some internal military procedures require that each and every loaded magazine be periodically unloaded and reloaded for general inspection of the rounds and magazine, and to decompress the spring.
Several prior-art methods for unloading and loading double-stacked magazines are as follows:
Magazine Unloading: A first method of unloading a magazine is to apply force, usually with the thumb or another handheld round or tool, to the rim of the topmost round, pushing it forward until it slips pass the retaining lip and out of the magazine. While the magazine is being unloaded this way, it is necessary to overcome friction between the topmost round and the retaining lip that secures it, as well as friction between this round and the rounds below it. The spring force causes this friction. The drawbacks of this unloading method are as follows: (1) Using bare fingers to handle rounds against friction of the spring often is painful, especially where the same finger, usually the thumb, is used to unload many rounds. (2) It is slow, cumbersome, and generally unsafe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,003 to Claveau, May 23, 1995, describes a general tool for loading and unloading magazines.
FIG. 16
illustrates the use of this tool, which aids in the above first unloading method. However, this tool is uncomfortable and slow in use.
A second unloading method is to apply an inward thrust to the second-to-topmost round of the magazine, thrusting it and all the rounds below it toward the bottom of the magazine. Such thrust on the second round releases the force on the topmost round, so that it may be gravitationally and forwardly released from the magazine. This action may be repeated until the magazine is fully discharged.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,590 to Musgrave, Feb. 24, 1976, describes a device for emptying a magazine conforming to above second unloading method. However the device is uncomfortable and slow to use. Further, no facilitation of loading is mentioned.
The Claveau patent illustrates in FIGS. 17 and 18 its implementation of the above second unloading method. However, this tool is still uncomfortable to use.
A third unloading method is to initially thrust the second round from the top down so as to release the topmost round, as in the second method above. Then, to limit elevation of all the rounds but the topmost round so that the latter may be released from the magazine, gravitationally and forwardly.
This method is implemented by the Heckler & Koch (H&K) Company of Germany, which provide 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 9 mm magazine unloaders for their submachine guns magazines, found respectively at item B of each of the following sites:
http://www.hecklerkoch-usa.com/Pages/sm
—
9loader.html,
http://www.hecklerkoch-usa.com/Pages/ri_loader556.html,
and
http://www.hecklerkoch-usa.com/Pages/ri_loader762.html.
These unloaders utilize a single protrusion which, by user control, is swung between the two columns of rounds. This engages the second-to-topmost round and thereby limits the elevation of the rounds. However, these unloaders cannot perform loading of rounds.
While the second and third unloading methods above are efficient, most users improvise on these, usually by using a single round or some handy protrusion to engage the second-to-topmost round. This incurs the fol
Tal Guy
Tal Ran
Johnson Stephen M.
Pressman David
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