Magazine-well Adapter and Magazine Upward-Release Lever

Abstract

A magazine-well adapter is disclosed for use in a conversion stock of an SKS type rifle which permits a standard AK-style detachable magazine (with fore and aft upper locking lugs) to be attached and detached. The adapter is configured such that it may be added to a conversion kit stock without reshaping said stock, incorporates the rigidity of a conversion kit stock to provide rigidity, and may be positioned accurately using the interior configuration of a conversion stock kit. Additionally, an upward-force release lever is disclosed by which a standard detachable box magazine may be released using less complex movements than current magazine release levers.

Claims

1. An adapter attachable entirely to a conversion stock intended to replace an original wooden stock of a carbine or rifle that is originally equipped with a non-detachable magazine, said adapter permitting the ready attachment and detachment of a removable box magazine.

2. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter is configured such that modifications need not be made to said conversion stock to enable installation of said adapter.

3. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter is configured to closely fit within said conversion stock such that said conversion stock adds rigidity and strength to said adapter when installed in said conversion stock.

4. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter is configured to closely fit at least a first configuration in said conversion stock such that said conversion stock provides accurate fore-aft positioning of said adapter when installed in said conversion stock.

5. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter is configured to closely fit at least a second configuration in said conversion stock such that said conversion stock provides accurate vertical positioning of said adapter when installed in said conversion stock.

6. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter is configured to closely fit at least a third configuration in said conversion stock such that said conversion stock provides accurate lateral positioning of said adapter when installed in said conversion stock.

7. The adapter of claim 1 comprising a latch with at least one latch pad attachable to the top of said latch to adjust the height of the top of said latch.

8. The adapter of claim 7 wherein said adapter additionally comprises at least one latch spacer attachable between said latch and said latch pad to further adjust the height of the top of said latch.

9. In a rifle or carbine which uses a detachable magazine released by the motion of a latch, a springloaded latch configured such that upward force may be used to move said latch in the appropriate direction to release said removable magazine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1: SKS Rifle with Original Fixed Magazine

[0027] FIG. 2: Closeup Side View of Original Fixed Magazine

[0028] FIG. 3: Closeup Side View of an Exemplar Prior Art Magazine-Well Adapter

[0029] FIG. 4: Top View of Exemplar Shernic Gun Works Bullpup Conversion Stock

[0030] FIG. 5: Back and Side View of Forward-Sliding Magazine-well Adapter of Current Invention, with Upward-Release Lever

[0031] FIG. 6: Top View of Forward-Sliding Magazine-well Adapter of Current Invention Installed in Exemplar Shernic Gun Works Stock

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] In the following detailed description, like numerals used in multiple figures refer to the same element of the invention.

[0033] An exemplar preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein whereby a magazine-well adapter is shown which closely fits the configuration of a Shernic bullpup conversion stock for an SKS rifle, without prior reshaping modification to said stock. Said magazine-well adapter is affixed with bolts or pins only to the Shernic stock, without utilizing, as in the prior art, the metal attachment point of the SKS original fixed magazine for attachment, rigidity, or positioning. Said preferred embodiment adapter additionally provides at its aft end a spring-loaded latch used to attach a standard AK-style magazine. Said spring-loaded latch may be adjusted by adding latch pads to its upper face to provide a higher upper face as needed for different versions of SKS rifles. Said spring-loaded latch may additionally be retracted to release said standard magazine with a user-accessible lever that retracts said latch when pushed in an upward direction rather than an aftward direction as in the prior art.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional SKS rifle 10 is shown, with barrel 11, original fixed magazine 12, and original wooden stock 13.

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a closeup side view of original fixed magazine 12, with original wooden stock 13 removed for visibility. Shown in phantom is magazine-well 14, within which original fixed magazine 12 is situated. Metal front attachment tang 20 is also shown, permanently attached to metal trunnion 22 which is rigidly affixed to metal barrel 11. It should be noted that front attachment tang 20 is used for the purpose of securing the forward end of original fixed magazine 12.

[0036] While original fixed magazine 12 provides a working configuration of rifle 10, it is often desirable to provide for more rapid or convenient reloading of rifle 10. This is accomplished conventionally by permanently removing fixed magazine 12 and replacing it with a standard box magazine inserted into magazine-well 14, so that a reload consists only of rapidly replacing an empty magazine with a full one.

[0037] However, because SKS magazine-well 14 has a considerably longer fore-aft dimension than a standard box magazine, a standard AK-style box magazine will not engage in a standard SKS magazine-well. It is necessary to use a device such as a magazine-well adapter to fill the extra length and to provide a conventional latch point in the appropriate position to removably hold a standard box magazine.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows a closeup side view of such a prior art SKS magazine-well adapter 30, manufactured by TheSKSMagAdapter, and shown with a standard AK-style magazine 31 inserted. An AK-style detachable magazine, commonly used in AK rifle configurations, is a magazine with two short locking lugs in its upper section, one fore lug 36 and one aft lug 37, used for securely attaching and detaching the magazine. Prior art magazine-well adapter 30 is seen to be situated within the front part of magazine-well 14, shown in phantom. As before, original wooden stock 13 is removed for visibility. Prior art magazine-well adapter 30 comprises a front attachment means 32, adapter body 33, conventional aft magazine latch 34 holding magazine 31 in place by engaging with magazine fore locking lug 36, and conventional lever 35 which, when pulled in an aftward direction, retracts latch 34 to release magazine 31 so that it may be removed from the SKS rifle. Front attachment means 32 is configured to secure adapter 30 tightly to tang 20 and trunnion 22 fixed onto barrel 11.

[0039] As aforementioned, for safety and functional reasons, aft latch 34 must be arranged to be precisely and rigidly held in order to secure fore lug 36 of standard AK-style magazine 31 in correct and unmoving alignment for repeatable safe cartridge feeds. Hence, in the construction of adapter 30, front attachment means 32, as the sole attachment means, and adapter body 33, as the sole transmitter of support for aft latch 34, must each be bulky enough and made of rigid materials to provide sufficient rigidity for safety. The necessity to install a bulky magazine-well adapter 30, and the necessity to attach it to trunnion 22 on barrel 11 requires enlarging magazine-well 14 in order to make sufficient room.

[0040] Enlarging magazine-well 14 by removing material from original wooden stock 13, shown in FIG. 1, is not a safety or functional concern, because removing a relatively small amount of wood from a solid wooden rifle stock does not generally significantly change the functional or safety characteristics of said wooden stock.

[0041] However, for various reasons it is common for owners of an SKS rifle to replace original wooden stock 13 with a modern stock made of modern construction and materials. One reason is to reduce weight, as original wooden stock 13 is heavier than modern stocks. Additionally, because the original SKS has a long barrel, it is a long gun. It therefore may be desirable to reconfigure an original SKS into a shorter, more balanced, and more easily maneuverable configuration such as a conventional bullpup configuration, in which the buttstock of the gun is removed and the trigger control is moved forward for overall length and weight reduction. For these and other reasons including cosmetics, original SKS wooden stock 13 is commonly replaced with a newer, lighter stock made of modern construction and materials.

[0042] As will be explained presently, enlarging magazine-well 14 to make room to install prior art magazine-well adapter 30 when original stock 13 has been replaced by a newer, lighter, modern stock, may present functional or safety concerns.

[0043] FIG. 4 shows a top view closeup of the magazine-well area of a bullpup conversion replacement stock for the SKS rifle. Replacement stock 40, manufactured by Shernic Gun Works, is exemplar of a modern stock made of modern materials and construction. Clearly seen in this top view is the shape of magazine-well 14, which includes narrower extended fore section 16.

[0044] The interior construction of Shernic stock 40 may be understood to be considerably different from original wooden stock 13. Original stock 13 is composed of solid wood, with cut-outs as needed for action, trigger-group, barrel, and magazine. By contrast, Shernic stock 40 is composed of a modern material such as plastic, polymer, composite, or metal in a precisely molded or machined shape. The overall shape is defined by thin outer skin 41. Additionally, brace 42, used both to strengthen stock 40 and to accurately position barrel 11 of the SKS rifle, and bracing network 43, used to strengthen interior shoulder 44 are shown as exemplar braces added where needed to provide strength, rigidity, and precise positioning to an otherwise non-rigid stock. The overall result is lightweight yet strong and rigid, as required by a rifle stock for safety and functional reasons. It should be noted as well that interior dimensions of Shernic stock 40 and similar modern stocks are considerably more precise than interior dimensions of older wooden stocks such as original stock 13, which vary by wood quality, machining, age, manufacturer, temperature, and humidity.

[0045] However, unlike a solid wooden stock such as original stock 13, it may be readily understood that the removal or reshaping of brace 42 or similar, which as mentioned previously provides positioning and rigidity, may adversely affect safety or performance characteristics of replacement stock 40 or other similar modern stocks made of modern materials and construction whose interior is constructed of a combination of precisely placed and sized thin skin and braces.

[0046] By way of example, according to instructions from TheSKSMagAdapter, the manufacturers of prior art magazine-well adapter 30 shown in FIG. 3, in order to install prior art magazine-well adapter 30 into a rifle which uses a Shernic bullpup conversion stock 40, it is necessary to first cut away, using a Dremel tool, hacksaw, nipper tool, dykes, or other such imprecise cutting tool, a significant portion of strength and positioning brace 42 found within Shernic stock 40. Such cutting of necessary strength brace 42 may change the safety and functional characteristics of stock 40 in an undetermined and undesirable way.

[0047] FIG. 5 shows by contrast an aft and a side view of an exemplar preferred magazine-well adapter embodiment of the present invention. Exemplar magazine-well adapter 50 is constructed to closely conform to the precise interior dimensions of narrow extended fore section 16 of exemplar Shernic modern stock 40, shown in FIG. 4. Magazine-well adapter 50 comprises T-arms 51, whose purpose will be made clear presently, and adapter body 52 within which is held spring-latch 53, driven by spring 54. Also seen are latch spacer 57, which may be of varying thicknesses as needed and latch pad 58 held by screw 59, which together provide an ability to adjust the position of the top of spring-latch 53. This allows natural variations in the manufacture of SKS rifles to be accounted for when positioning a removable magazine 31 for secure latching. The top of latch pad 58 secured to latch 53 is the part which engages with fore locking lug 36 of AK-style magazine 31, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0048] Spring-latch 53 is retracted by exerting upward pressure on lever 55 rotating on pin 56, in contrast with the prior art system shown in FIG. 3 in which aftward pressure is used on lever 35 to retract latch 34. This novel positioning and shaping of lever 55 allows for significantly improved hand movements during magazine release. Because spring-latch 52 is retracted by upward pressure on lever 53, a magazine may be released with one single smooth upward motion of the entire hand, during which the magazine is grasped while the upper finger of the hand naturally bumps lever 53 upward, releasing said magazine to be pulled downward and away. This is by contrast to prior art magazine-adapter 30 shown in FIG. 3, in which aft-ward pressure is used on lever 35 to retract spring-loaded latch 34. This is also by contrast to all prior art release mechanisms of standard box magazines. In the prior art, an upward grasping motion must be simultaneously combined with a correct positioning of at least one finger separated from the hand and placed forward of the release lever 35, followed by an aftward pressure by the at least one finger on small lever 35 while the rest of the hand is moving upward, resulting in a more difficult and complex hand motion to release a magazine. Instructions in use of prior art adapter 30 shown in FIG. 3 note that the correct upward hand and aftward finger motions and positioning must be practiced before the magazine release motion becomes smooth and automatic. In the adapter 50 of the current invention, no such complex motion is needed; just one upward motion of the entire hand is used while the hand grasps the magazine.

[0049] In FIG. 5, aft view, it may be appreciated that T-arms 51 and adapter body 52 are constructed to closely conform to the interior configuration of narrow magazine-well extended fore section 16 of FIG. 4. This is shown more clearly in FIG. 6.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows exemplar magazine-well adapter 50 installed into the narrow extended fore section 16 of magazine-well 14. It may be seen that T-arms 55 of magazine-well adapter 50 are configured to rest on shoulder 44 of Shernic stock 40. The portion of shoulder 44 beneath T-arms 55 is shown in phantom. In this manner, adapter 50 uses the precisely machined configuration of stock 40 to provide accurate vertical positioning of adapter 50. Additionally, the body of adapter 50 below the T-arms 55 is also configured to closely fit the narrow portion 16 of magazine-well 14 of stock 40. In this manner, adapter 50 uses the inner configuration of precisely machined stock 40 to provide accurate side-to-side positioning of adapter 50. Further, adapter 50 is accurately positioned fore-aft using the configuration of precisely machined stock 40 by sliding adapter 50 forward until it is positively stopped by the forward end of magazine-well 14. Thus adapter 50 is able to take advantage of the configurations of precisely machined modern stock 40 to provide accurate positioning in vertical, side-to-side, and fore-aft directions, without depending on or using rifle attachment points such as trunnion 22 as in the prior art. Once positioned, adapter 50 is then secured to stock 40 with bolts or pins 60, shown in phantom. Other conventional means to secure adapter 50 may also be used without changing the intent or scope of the invention. In this manner, adapter 50 is attached entirely to modern stock 40, not to metal barrel trunnion 22 as in the prior art.

[0051] It may be seen that, in contrast to prior art adapters as shown by example in FIG. 3, brace 42 is left completely untouched so that the functional and safety characteristics of exemplar stock 40 are unchanged. In contrast to prior art magazine-adapter 30 shown in FIG. 3, no reshaping modifications need be made to brace 42 during installation of adapter 50 of the current invention, because adapter 50 does not have a bulky front locking plate as in prior art adapter 30 and does not engage in any way with barrel 11, trunnion 22, or tang 20, all shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, adapter 50 may be smaller and may be constructed of less costly materials than prior art adapter 30 because it derives its strength and rigidity, necessary for safe functioning, from its close conformation to and attachment to Shernic stock 40, which is designed already to be rigid and strong. By contrast, prior art magazine-adapter 30 shown in FIG. 3 does not connect to stock 40, relying on its own internal design strength and bulk for rigidity and on tang 20 of FIG. 3 for positioning.

[0052] In this manner, magazine-well adapter 50, a preferred embodiment example of the current invention, performs the functions of an adapter which allows use of standard AK-style magazines while exhibiting a number of significant advantages over the prior art of cost, safety, functionality, and ease of use as described in detail above.

[0053] The present invention has been described with reference to certain exemplar embodiments thereof. Doubtless, changes may occur to one skilled in the art having had the benefit of the teaching of the present invention without departing from the scope thereof.