Double feed training cartridge for firearms

Abstract

A training cartridge for use in firearm malfunction training is disclosed. The training cartridge is used in a firearm including a clip or magazine to prevent conventional ammunition cartridges from being properly fed into the firing chamber of the firearm. The training cartridge includes a generally cylindrical body, a skirt portion extending outwardly relative to an outer surface of the body, an annular rim spaced from a lower surface of the skirt that is oriented toward the rim such that an annular recess is formed between the lower surface of the skirt and the rim. A feed malfunction is induced when a conventional ammunition cartridge, as it is fed into the firing chamber, is snagged by the adjacent training cartridge.

Claims

1. A training cartridge, for inclusion with an adjacent live ammunition cartridge in a magazine of a firearm, operable to prevent the adjacent live ammunition cartridge from correctly feeding into a firing chamber of the firearm, the training cartridge having a longitudinal axis, the training cartridge comprising: a conical nose at a front of the training cartridge; an annular rim at a rear end of the training cartridge; an inwardly tapering body extending from the conical nose to an outwardly flared annular skirt; and a catch wall extending from said annular skirt, said catch wall being separated from the annular rim by an annular recess.

2. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the training cartridge has a cylindrical body having dimensions conforming to those of the adjacent live ammunition cartridge, such that the training cartridge sits in the magazine in a same manner as the adjacent live ammunition cartridge.

3. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the skirt portion of the training cartridge is configured to cooperatively seat within an annular recess of the adjacent live ammunition cartridge such that the adjacent live ammunition cartridge is snagged as the adjacent live ammunition cartridge is moved longitudinally along and adjacent to the training cartridge.

4. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the training cartridge is configured such that, during operation of the firearm, a rim of a live cartridge being fed into the firing chamber is forced inwardly of the annular recess by the annular skirt.

5. The training cartridge of claim 4, wherein the annular skirt is configured to seat within an annular recess of the live cartridge such that the rim of the live cartridge engages the catch wall, thereby catching the rim of the live cartridge such that the live cartridge cannot feed into the firing chamber of the firearm.

6. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the skirt portion has an outer edge portion that is spaced equal distance from a central axis of the generally cylindrical body as an outer annular surface of the annular rim.

7. A training cartridge for use in firearms including a clip or magazine for retaining conventional ammunition cartridges to be fed to a firing chamber of a firearm, the training cartridge comprising a cylindrical body, a skirt portion extending outwardly relative to an outer surface of the body, an annular rim spaced from a lower surface of the skirt that is oriented toward the rim such that an annular recess is formed between the lower surface of the skirt and the rim.

8. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the skirt portion has an outer edge portion that is spaced equal distance from a central axis of the cylindrical body as an outer annular surface of the annular rim.

9. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the cylindrical body tapers inwardly from a front end of the body toward the skirt.

10. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the training cartridge is integrally formed.

11. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the front of the body includes a conical portion extending therefrom.

12. A magazine for retaining and feeding rounds of ammunition to a firing chamber of a firearm, the magazine including at least one training cartridge as defined in claim 7.

13. A method of training a user of a firearm having a magazine for feeding ammunition to a firing chamber of the firearm how to clear ammunition jams that may occur during use of the firearm, the method comprising the steps of: placing a plurality of conventional ammunition cartridges into the magazine together with at least one training cartridge, wherein one of the conventional ammunition cartridges is placed immediately above and in contact with the at least one training cartridge; inserting the magazine within the firearm; firing the firearm until the at least one training cartridge jams with the one conventional ammunition cartridge; and thereafter, removing the magazine and clearing the jam by removing the at least one training cartridge from the magazine, wherein the training cartridge comprises a cylindrical body, a skirt portion extending outwardly relative to an outer surface of the body, an annular rim spaced from a lower surface of the skirt that is oriented toward the rim such that an annular recess is formed between the lower surface of the skirt and the rim.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the training cartridge is configured such that, during operation of the firearm, a rim of a live cartridge being fed into the firing chamber is forced inwardly of the annular recess by the skirt.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the skirt is configured to seat within an annular recess the live cartridge such that the rim of the live cartridge engages a catch wall, thereby catching the rim of the live cartridge such that the live cartridge cannot feed into the firing chamber of the firearm.

16. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the training cartridge does not contain explosive powder.

17. The training cartridge of claim 1, wherein the training cartridge does not include a releasable bullet.

18. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the training cartridge does not contain explosive powder.

19. The training cartridge of claim 7, wherein the training cartridge does not include a releasable bullet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other features and advantages of the invention are obtained will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an illustrational perspective view of a firearm in a form of a pistol having portions broken away to show an ammunition magazine mounted within a pistol grip and showing a conventional cartridge or round being urged from the magazine into a firing chamber by a spring loaded injector assembly and wherein at least one of the cartridges is actually a double feed training round in accordance with the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is an illustrational perspective view of a different type of firearm having portions broken away to show a conventional cartridge as loaded into a firing chamber and with the convention cartridges and at least one double feed training round being fed from a second style of magazine;

(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged illustrational view having portions broken away of a magazine such as shown in FIG. 1 showing one of the training rounds of the present invention positioned between upper and lower conventional live rounds within the magazine prior to the upper round being injected toward a firing chamber of a firearm;

(5) FIG. 4 is partial enlarged illustrational view similar to FIG. 3 showing one of the training rounds of the present invention engaging and interlocking with an upper conventional round to thereby prevent the conventional round from entering the firing chamber and thus jamming the firearm and preventing the firing of the conventional round; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a training round or cartridge of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The inventive concepts, however, may be embodied in various different forms, and should not be construed as being limited only to the illustrated embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided as examples so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, because known processes, elements, and techniques are known by those of skill in the art, they are not always described with respect to some of the embodiments. Unless otherwise noted, like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the attached drawings and written description, and thus descriptions will not be repeated.

(8) Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/or the present specification and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

(9) Referring to the Figures, there is shown an exemplary conventional semi-automatic pistol, which is one but not the only firearm with which the disclosed malfunction rounds may be used. Also referring to the Figures, there are shown exemplary live ammunition rounds according to the prior art and embodiments of the dummy round according to the invention. In the following description, the terms “round” and “cartridge” are used interchangeably and synonymously, and particularly the terms “conventional round” and “conventional cartridge” are used interchangeably and synonymously to refer to a traditional live round of ammunition. The so-called “dummy round” is also referred to herein as “malfunction round” or “dummy cartridge” synonymously and interchangeably, and also a “blank” in view of the dummy round preferably comprising no powder or primer or any means of ignition or explosion associated with the dummy round.

(10) The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the state the art that have not yet been fully solved existing firearm malfunction training aids. In accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein in the embodiments, dummy round or cartridge is provided for initiating jam in the magazine feed of a firearm. The present invention is the long awaited solution to many of the inherent problems and difficulties in firearm malfunction resolution training by allowing additional malfunction types to be simulated in a realistic manner during live fire training.

(11) As previously described, the purpose of the present invention is to educate a user of a firearm how to quickly and efficiently clear a jam in a feed of a round or cartridge of ammunition from a magazine to the firing chamber of a firearm. To accomplish this result, it is necessary to ensure that the firearm will jam, as such occurrences are not frequent in well maintained firearms. With the teachings of the present invention, specially configured rounds of ammunition are placed within training magazines that will create a jam in the feed of ammunition from the magazine to the firing chamber of a firearm without the user knowing in advance when the jam will occur and thus requiring the user to learn how to clear the jam before the firearm can be used to discharge another round of ammunition.

(12) In accordance with the invention, the training rounds of the invention are generally configured as conventional rounds of ammunition of the same caliber to be used in a conventional magazine for introducing the specific caliber of ammunition into a firing chamber of a conventional or specialized firearm. The magazine may be of the type which automatically feeds rounds of ammunition into the firing chamber or of the type that feeds rounds from the magazine into the chamber upon action of the user to cause a round to be fed from the magazine into the firing chamber. The training rounds are different than conventional rounds in that an outwardly extending and downwardly tapering annular skirt is formed in the shell casing or body of the training rounds of ammunition spaced from the base or rim of the training round such that an annular slot or groove is formed between an outer annular wall of the skirt and the rim. The annular slot is of a size to cooperatively receive the rim of a conventional cartridge or round of ammunition as such conventional round is moved longitudinally relative to the training cartridge or round as the conventional round is being fed from a magazine toward a firing chamber of a firearm.

(13) With reference to FIG. 1, a first type or style of handgun 20 is shown which includes a barrel 21, hand grip 22 in which ammunition magazine or clip 24 is housed for feeding cartridges 25 into a firing chamber 26 of the handgun. The magazine is designed and configured to urge a single column of cartridges toward the firing chamber, by way of a spring assembly 27, wherein a loaded conventional cartridge 25 is retained for firing a bullet 28 through a bore 29 of the barrel 21. In accordance with the invention, at least one of the cartridges is actually a special training round 30, see FIGS. 3-5, which is configured to create a jam in a passage 32 between the upper portion of the magazine and the firing chamber to thereby prevent a cartridge immediately above the training round from properly seating within the firing chamber. The details of the double feed training round will be described with respect to FIG. 5.

(14) With reference to FIG. 2, a second type or style of handgun 20A is shown which includes a barrel 21A, hand grip 22A in which an ammunition magazine 24A is housed for feeding conventional cartridges 25 into a firing chamber 26A of the handgun. The magazine is designed and configured to urge a double column of cartridges toward the firing chamber, by way of a spring assembly 27A, wherein a loaded cartridge 25 is retained for firing a bullet 28 of the cartridge 25 through a bore of the barrel 21A. In accordance with the invention, at least one of the cartridges is actually a special training round 30 which is configured to create a jam in a passage 32A between the upper portion of the magazine and the firing chamber to thereby prevent a conventional cartridge immediately above the training round from properly seating within the firing chamber. The details of the double feed training round will be described with respect to FIGS. 3-5.

(15) With reference to FIG. 3, a portion of the magazine 24 of FIG. 1 is shown having portions broken away to show upper and lower conventional live rounds or cartridges 25 of ammunition placed on opposite sides of a double feed training round or cartridge 30, which is not a live round. The conventional rounds of ammunition include a generally conical bullet 28, a cylindrical casing 33 that tapers inwardly toward an end rim 34 thereby defining an annular recess 35. The double feed training round 30 is shaped somewhat similar to the convention round of ammunition so that when placed within the magazine 24 or 24A, the conventional and training rounds are aligned with the cartridge rims and upper shell casings engaged with one another, as is shown in FIG. 3.

(16) However, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the training round is configured to trap or snag the upper conventional cartridge as it is being fed from the magazine toward the firing chamber of the firearm. To accomplish this, the training round or cartridge 30 includes an inwardly tapering shell casing 44 that extends from a conical bullet shaped end 45 to an outwardly flared annular skirt 36 that defines an inwardly extending catch wall 37 that is spaced from an annular rim 38 of the training cartridge 30. The catch wall of the skirt is spaced from the rim 38 of the training cartridge by an annular recess 39. When the feed mechanism of the magazine begins to force the conventional cartridge 25 toward the firing chamber of a firearm, the rim 34 of the convention cartridge 25 is forced inwardly of the recess 39 by the upper tapered surface 40 of the skirt 36 of the training cartridge 30. The annular outer edge 42 of the skirt 34 slides within the annular recess 35 of the conventional cartridge 25 until the rim 34 of the conventional cartridge engages the catch wall 37 of the skirt which traps the rim 34 so that the cartridge 25 cannot move toward the firing chamber of the firearm, thus causing a jamming of the feed of ammunition from the magazine to the firing chamber of the firearm. For the user of the firearm to continue use of the firearm, the user must first clear the jam by removing the magazine and clearing out the training round 30. By repeating the clearance of jammed rounds through repeated use of ammunition clips or magazines including one or more double feed training cartridges 30, the user will learn to be very proficient in removing jammed ammunition from a firearm.

(17) As shown in FIG. 4, the sloped upper wall or surface 40 of the skirt 36 of the double feed training rounds or cartridges 30 is preferably shaped to cooperatively seat within the annular recess 35 of a conventional cartridge to thereby ensure the trapping of a conventional cartridge whenever such a cartridge is being moved longitudinally along and adjacent a double feed training cartridge. Also, the outer edge 42 of the skirt 36 should preferably extend outward relative to a centerline or central axis A-A of the body of the training cartridge 30 to the same distance that the rim 38 extends from the same axis to ensure proper alignment of cartridges 25 and training cartridges 30 within the ammunition magazine 24 as shown in FIG. 3.

(18) As the training cartridges 30 of the present invention are not to fire a bullet, they will not contain any explosive powder nor a releasable bullet and thus they may be made of substantially any material including plastics or metal. In some embodiments, the training cartridges may be integrally molded such as from a plastic material. However, the material must be sufficiently strong enough to overcome the force of a feed spring or assembly of a firearm that feeds ammunition cartridges from an ammunition magazine to the firing chamber of a firearm.

(19) Each conventional cartridge 25 and each training cartridge 30 operates properly in the magazine 24, fitting properly in, and moving smoothly along the length of the magazine 24 without interfering with the higher-up or lower-down cartridges in the magazine. For training, one or more of the training cartridges 30 will be stacked with conventional cartridges 24, with the order of stacking in the magazine being determined by the trainer.

(20) While specific calibers of practice rounds have been shown, it will be appreciated that this is for purposes of illustration only, and that the principles of the present invention are applicable to any desired caliber.

(21) It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect, a particular embodiment, or a particular Figure, that feature can also be used, to the extent appropriate, in the context of other particular aspects, embodiments, and Figures, and in the invention generally. Although this invention has been described above with reference to particular means, materials, and embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed particulars, but extends instead to all equivalents within the broad scope of this disclosure and the scope of the following claims.