Rifle to fire pistol cartridges

Abstract

A rifle platform with semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic shooting options uses a pistol cartridge. The rifle barrel includes an extension having a ramp for loading the cartridges and having a key way for the shell extractor. The magazine of the rifle is mounted to the lower receiver so as to load the cartridges in a direction perpendicular to the rifle barrel. The magazine follower automatically locks the bolt after the last cartridge is fired. The bolt and bolt carrier are integrally machined, and fully enclose the cartridge to preclude out of battery firing.

Claims

1. A semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle for shooting a cartridge, comprising: an upper receiver having a cartridge chamber having a longitudinal axis; a lower receiver pinned with pins to and below the upper receiver and having a magazine well; a one-piece bolt within the upper receiver and slidable without rotation between forward and rearward positions; a magazine removably insertable into the magazine well; a butt stock extending rearwardly from the lower receiver; a barrel extending forwardly from the upper receiver and having a rifled bore; and wherein the bolt has a reduced diameter forward end to engage a rear end of the cartridge when the bolt is in the forward position to preclude out of battery firing.

2. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 1 further comprising an ejector in the upper receiver.

3. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 1 further comprising a feed ramp in the lower receiver to direct the cartridge from the magazine into the chamber.

4. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 1 further comprising the magazine extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and being adapted to feed the cartridge into the cartridge chamber; the magazine having a chamber for holding a plurality of the cartridges, and the chamber having a longitudinal axis extending in a straight line.

5. The semi-automatic, select fire and/or fully automatic rifle for shooting a cartridge of claim 1 wherein the bolt has a recess in the forward end to receive a rear end of the cartridge.

6. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 1 wherein a forward end of the bolt completely encloses a rear end of the cartridge when the bolt is in the forward position to preclude out of battery firing.

7. A semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle, comprising: an upper receiver having a cartridge chamber having a longitudinal axis; a lower receiver pinned with pins to and below the upper receiver and having a magazine well; a bolt within the upper receiver and movable between forward and rearward positions; a magazine removably insertable into the magazine well; a butt stock extending rearwardly from the lower receiver; a barrel extending forwardly from the upper receiver and having a rifled bore; and an ejector pinned with a pin directly to the upper receiver so that the ejector is fixed in a stationary position on the upper receiver.

8. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 7 wherein the bolt has an integrated carrier.

9. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 7 further comprising a feed ramp in the lower receiver to direct the cartridge from the magazine into the chamber.

10. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 7 further comprising the magazine extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and being adapted to feed a cartridge into the cartridge chamber; the magazine having a chamber for holding a plurality of cartridges, and the magazine chamber having a longitudinal axis extending in a straight line.

11. The semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 7 wherein a forward end of the bolt completely encloses a rear end of the cartridge when the bolt is in the forward position to preclude out of battery firing.

12. The semi-automatic, select fire and/or fully automatic rifle of claim 7 wherein the bolt has a recess in the forward end to receive a rear end of the cartridge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the semi-automatic, select fire and/or automatic rifle according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the rifle.

(3) FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of FIG. 2.

(4) FIG. 2B is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2A, but showing the chamber empty without a cartridge and the bolt locked back.

(5) FIG. 2C is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2B with the magazine follower extended to the bolt lock position after the last cartridge is fired.

(6) FIGS. 3A-3E, 4A-4D, 5 and 6 show the bolt of the rifle, according to the present invention.

(7) FIG. 3A is a side elevation view of the bolt.

(8) FIG. 3B is a bottom plan view of the bolt.

(9) FIG. 3C is another side elevation view of the bolt from the side opposite that is shown in FIG. 3A.

(10) FIG. 3D is a top plan view of the bolt.

(11) FIG. 3E is a view similar to 3C, with the bolt rotated slightly about its longitudinal axis.

(12) FIG. 4A is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3A.

(13) FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3B.

(14) FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken along lines C-C of FIG. 3C.

(15) FIG. 4D is a sectional view taken along lines D-D of FIG. 3D.

(16) FIG. 5 is an elevation view from the forward end of the bolt.

(17) FIG. 6 is an elevation view from the rear end of the bolt.

(18) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the upper receiver of the rifle.

(19) FIGS. 7A and 7B are side elevation views of the upper receiver, from opposite sides.

(20) FIG. 7C is a top plan view of the upper receiver.

(21) FIG. 7D is a bottom plan view of the upper receiver.

(22) FIG. 7E is an end elevation view of the upper receiver from the forward end.

(23) FIG. 7F is an end elevation view at 90 of the upper receiver from the rearward end.

(24) FIG. 7G is a sectional view of the upper receiver taken along lines 7G of FIG. 7B.

(25) FIG. 7H is a view similar to FIG. 7G showing the upper receiver, showing the ejector in the upper receiver.

(26) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lower receiver.

(27) FIG. 8A is an elevation view from one side of the lower receiver.

(28) FIG. 8B is an elevation view from the opposite side of the lower receiver.

(29) FIG. 8C is a top plan view of the lower receiver.

(30) FIG. 8D is a bottom plan view of the lower receiver.

(31) FIG. 8E is an elevation view from the rear end of the lower receiver.

(32) FIG. 8F is an elevation view from the front end of the lower receiver.

(33) FIG. 8G is a sectional view of the lower receiver taken along lines 8G-8G of FIG. 8D.

(34) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the extension of the rifle.

(35) FIG. 9A is a top elevation view of the extension.

(36) FIG. 9B is an elevation view of the extension from the forward end.

(37) FIG. 9C is another elevation view of the extension from the rearward end.

(38) FIG. 9D is a sectional view taken along lines D-D of FIG. 9A.

(39) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the feed ramp for the rifle.

(40) FIGS. 10A and 10B are opposite end elevation views of the feed ramp.

(41) FIG. 10C is a side elevation view of the feed ramp.

(42) FIG. 10D is a top plan view of the feed ramp.

(43) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the ejector for the rifle.

(44) FIG. 11A is a side elevation view of the ejector.

(45) FIG. 11B is another elevation view of the ejector, turned at 90 from FIG. 11A.

(46) FIG. 11C is a bottom plan view of the ejector.

(47) FIG. 11D is a sectional view of the ejector taken along line D-D of FIG. 11B.

(48) FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the bolt charging handle guide.

(49) FIG. 12A is a side elevation view of the guide.

(50) FIG. 12B is a top plan view of the guide.

(51) FIG. 12C is an end elevation view of the guide.

(52) FIG. 12D is a sectional view of the guide taken along lines D-D of FIG. 12C.

(53) FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the semi-automatic, select fire and/or automatic rifle according to the present invention.

(54) FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the rifle magazine.

(55) FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the magazine.

(56) FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the magazine.

(57) FIG. 17 is a lateral sectional view of the magazine taken along line 17-17 of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(58) A semi-automatic, select fire, and/or fully automatic rifle according to the present invention is generally designated in the drawings by the reference numeral 10. The invention focuses on several key components of the rifle 10, including the bolt 12, the upper receiver 14, the lower receiver 16, and the magazine 18.

(59) The bolt 12 is shown in FIGS. 3-6. The bolt 12 has a one piece, integral construction. The bolt is slideably received within the upper receiver 14 for movement between a retracted rear position which allows the cartridge 20 to be fed into the chamber 22 in the upper receiver 14, and a forward firing position. The forward end of the bolt 12 has a recess 17 which receives the rear end of the cartridge. When the bolt 12 is in the firing position, the forward end of the bolt fully encloses the rear of the cartridge 20, as shown in FIG. 2A. This complete enclosure of the cartridge 20 by the chamber and bolt precludes out of batter firing, and thus prevents damage to the rifle 10 and injury to the user and/or firearm. This integrated bolt and carrier 13 design allows the cartridge case to be secure inside the chamber before the rifle can be fired. Also, the hand over hand type bolt and chamber design will not permit case rupture, even in the event of bolt slap (which is normally eliminated by the bolt 12). The solid, one piece bolt carrier 12, 13 eliminates the need to disassemble multiple parts for cleaning, as in the prior art, and increases bolt mass for the blow back system.

(60) An extension 26 is mounted on the forward end of the upper receiver 14. The extension is shown in FIGS. 9-9D. The extension 26 threads onto the barrel 34 which slides into the forward end of the upper receiver 14. The extension 26 also has an internal inclined ramp 32 which facilitates movement of the cartridge 20 into the barrel 34 of the rifle 10. The reduced diameter portion 15 on the end of the bolt 12 pushes the cartridge 20 through the extension and into the barrel 34, as seen in FIG. 2A. This steel extension 26 provides a ring or band around the cartridge and chamber, and discourages or prevents use of non-compatible cartridges.

(61) A feed ramp 36 is mounted on the lower receiver 16, such as by roll pins driven down, extending through holes 38 on each side of the ramp 36. The ramp 36 has an inclined surface 40 which aligns with the ramp 32 of the extension 26, as best seen in FIG. 2A, to provide a smooth feed of the cartridge 20 from the magazine 18.

(62) The upper receiver 14 includes an ejection system for ejecting the expended shell case from the rifle 10. The ejection system includes an ejector 42 mounted in the upper receiver 14, as compared to prior art ejectors which are spring mounted on the bolt face. A roll pin pins the ejector 42 to the upper receiver 14 via a hole in the head of the ejector as best seen in FIG. 7H.

(63) The upper receiver 14 and the lower receiver 16 are coupled by pins, as is known in the art. A pistol grip 46 is mounted on the lower receiver 16 in a conventional manner. A conventional trigger 48 is pinned to the lower receiver 16, and a trigger guard 50 is pinned to the lower receiver 16 to prevent accidental actuation of the trigger 48. Other conventional components of the lower receiver include the sear 52, the safety latch 54, the hammer 56, the bolt stop 58, and the magazine catch push button 60. Components of the bolt 12 include the extractor 62, and the firing pin 64. An extractor 62 is mounted in a slot in the bolt 12.

(64) A conventional buffer tube 66 is threadably mounted to the collar 17 on the lower receiver 16, with the butt stock 72 being mounted on the buffer tube, in known manners. A conventional buffer tube plate 68 is provided on the buffer tube 66, is well known in the art. A buffer tube retaining nut 70 is on the rearward end of the upper receiver 14. The butt stock lock latch 74 is also provided on the butt stock 72, as is known in the art.

(65) A bolt guide 76 (FIG. 12) is provided on the bolt 12. A standard charging handle 78 is provided to move the bolt between the forward and rearward positions for loading a round.

(66) A conventional free float tube 80 surrounds the barrel 34. A muzzle device 82 is threadably mounted on the front end of the barrel 34.

(67) The magazine 18 is removably inserted into the lower receiver 16 and retained by the catch 60. The magazine 18 is adapted to hold a plurality of cartridges 20 of the desired small caliber, such a 9 mm and/or 45 ACP. A follower 84 slidably mounts within the magazine shell. The cartridges 20 are pushed into the chamber, in a direction perpendicular to the chamber axis, by the follower 84 via upward force by the spring 90 in the magazine 18. The perpendicular feed direction reduces the spring force, as compared to prior art inclined magazine feeds. The follower includes a unique rib 86 which is received in a groove 88 in the magazine. The rib 86 and groove 88 design allow for the bolt hold open to actuate the bolt stop, which allows the bolt to stop open upon the firing of the last cartridge from the magazine. This will indicate to the user that the magazine 18 is empty and a new magazine needs to be loaded into the lower receiver 16 of the rifle 10. The rib 86 keeps dirt and other contaminants out of the magazine 18. Also, in low light or dark environments, the rear magazine groove 88 provides a tactile feel to the user so as to properly orient the magazine 18 for loading into the lower receiver 16.

(68) When the last cartridge is shot from the rifle 10, the follower 84 extends upwardly. Thus, the bolt automatically locks after the last cartridge is fired, contrary to the prior art wherein the bolt did not lock after the last shot.

(69) The rifle 10 is a complete rifle, and operates in a manner similar to a conventional AR15 shooting a .223 or 5.5645 mm round, except that the rifle 10 shoots a pistol round. No disassembly or substitution of parts is required.

(70) From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of the stated of objectives.