US1418021A - Automatic firearm - Google Patents

Description

1.1. REIFGRABER.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED Iuuss, 1920.

Pmeented.A May 3o, 1929;

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AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1920.

lAlSJUQL Patented May 30, 1922.

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AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION man JUNE 1920.

Patented May 304, 1922,

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AUTOMATIC FIRMEN.'

Application led June 8, 1920. Serial No. 3S7,89. i

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH JOACHIM REIFGRABER, a citizen of the United States,

and a resident of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic firearms, and it consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed.

One of the foremost objects of my invention is to provide a one-hand automatic pisF tol which, as the term implies, is capable of being relieved so that the operator may continue shooting in case of a misre or jam,

Ljam, and not requiring the use of the other hand to aid this function.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic pistol which is inhercntly safe by virtue of the construction and operation of certain elements of which it consists in part, such means as the ordinary safety devices which require manipulation by the other hand, being totally eliminated.

p A further object of the invention is to pro` vide an automatic pistol which embodies a normally locked breech block, but is so arranged that the breech block is unlocked by virtue of the pressure of a fractional part of the gas following the discharge of a bullet.

y Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference behing had to the accompanying drawings, inl

which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved automatic pistol,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, illustrating a bullet in the i tiring position and the other parts of the mechanism in the normal positions,

Figure 3 is a similar sectional View illustrating the position of the hammer at the instant it is about to be released bythe trigger arm upon pulling the trigger, to fire the bullet, l l

F igurel 4f is a similar sectional view illustrating the parts in the positions they assume after the bullet has been discharged,

Figure 5 is a horizontal section 'taken substantially on the lin'e 5 5 of Figure 2,'y

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the l1ne6--6 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of tovcasmg of the pistol, i igure 8 is a detail sectional view of the breech block, and

the

Fi ure 9v is a detail sectional view of thegun rame. l

.Ihls lnventlon 1s an improvement on my prior patent for automatic firearms granted July 27, 1909, No. 929,491, and also my prior Patents Nos. 729,413, ranted May 26, 1903, and 834,753, granted ctober 30, 1906. The construction of the present firearm has been greatly simplified and it is thought not out of place to outline a brief sketch of the purposes and advantages. thereof before proceeding with the description.v

Weapons of this type are ordinarily equipped with various kinds of safety devices which require initial'manipulation before they can be lired. As the reader will presently discover, this automatic pistol has no such devices, nor in fact does it require them, the operation' of unlocking the breech block being performed by the expansion of the gas after a bullet is discharged, against a portion of the breech block which performs the unlocking operation.

All of the necessary operations are carried out by the hand which holds the gun, the

aid of theiother lhand not being required unf der any circumstance. In the event of a misfire or jam, the operator needs'only breech block and pull the trigger, whereupon the defective bullet will be discharged at the side and the shooting maybe proceeded with as in the ordinary course. operation of the automatic pistol may be described as merely the pulling of the trigger, everything else taking care of itself in the proper order of events. With .this brief outline in mind the readers attention is now directed to the general construction of the automatic pistol.

The gun frame comprises the barrel 1 which has a suitably rifled bore 2 with a shallow recess 3 at the rear and a gas vent t near Athe muzzle at the front. Thel trigger recess 5 opens into the cartridge clip cham- In a word, the.

ber 6 which in turn is embodiedin the hanldle 7 of the pistol.

At the rear of the handle there is a bore 8 which houses the main spring 9 and plunger l0, both of which are parts of the breech block operating mechanism. A portion of the upper part of the gun frame is machined shoulder 14 when the parts are in the initial position illustrated in Figure 2. At this time the shoulder 17 rests on the abutment 13, the return movement of the breech block being limited by such engagement and all looseness of the breech block on the gun frame being further prevented by the careful fitting of the breech block on the fore part of the barrel.

The hammer bore 18 communicates with a smaller axial opening 19 at the front, through which the firing pin 2O of the hammer 21 projects upon pulling the trigger 22 to fire the cartridge (J. In addition to the shoulders 16 and 17 already mentioned, 'the breech block has intermediate and rear lock shoulders 23 and 24.

At one side of the hammer bore 18 there is a recess 25 (Fig. 8) in which'the finger 26 of the breech-closing lever 27 works. It is through the agency of this lever, actuated by the main spring 9 and plunger 10, that the breech block 15 is returned 'to the forward or initial position after the firing of a cartridge. A flange 28 on each side of the breech bl0ck15aids in accurately loeating the breech block on the fore part of the barrel when the former is in the initial position, this flange 28 being cut out at 29 to coincide with the ejector opening 30 in the top casing 31, when the breech block` is in the rearmost position illustrated in Figure 4,. This top casing is pivoted to the gun frame at 32 at the front and at the rear has an aperture 33 with a branch 34 to cooperate with the locking pin 35..

This pin is suitably mounted on the gun frame. When the exposed ingerpiece 36 is turned down so that the flat part 37 coincidesV with the branch 35, it is obvious that the top casing, 31 mav readily be swung up on its pivot 32 s0 as to gain access to the mechanism on the inside. On the contrary, when the fingerpiece 36 is swung up toward the left as in Figure 1, the flat part is moved out of coincidence with the branchl 34 so that the top casing may not be swung up. It therefore remains in the locked position on the gun frame. The casing has an abutment ure 4.

38 with which the kintermediate and rear shoulders 23 and 24 of the breech block successively engage. Normally, the rear shoulder 24 engages the abutment 38- when the breech block is in the forward or locked position and after the discharge of the cartridge C, at which time the lock shoulders 14, 16 are disengaged, the intermediate shoulder 23 engages the abutment 38 as in F ig- The trigger 22 consists of two main parts: the trigger itself, and the trigger arm 39 which is' pivoted tothe trigger at 40. The trigger is pivoted on the gun frame at 41 and has a bore which houses the spring 42, the spring pressing on the heel 43 of the trigger arm, for the purpose ofy maintaining f the engagementof the upper end with the hammer 21.y The trigger arm is suitably shaped to straddle or embrace the cartridge clip 44 in the, recess 6. The upper end of the spring 42 engages rthe lip 45on the gun frame.

The hammer 21, mentioned above is hollow at 46 to partially contain the ammer spring 47 which rests against the back plug 48 in the bore 18. The back nlug includes the guide pin 49 which keeps the spring centralized in the bore. One side `of the hammer is cut away at 50 so asto make room for te finger 26 of the breech-closing lever 27 ig. 6). f

The lug 51 of the hammer 21 is engaged by the upper claw 52 of the trigger arm 39 when the hammer and breech block are in the normal or forward positions, at which time the lower claw 53 on the same upper end of the arm 39, is clear ofthe heel 54 of the breech-closing lever 27. But if the rear exposed end of the breech block 15 is pressed down with the thumb of the hand which holds the firearm, the lower claw 53 of the trigger arm 39 .is thrust into engagement with the heel 54 of the breeclvcloslng lever 27, it being observed in Figure 2 that the claw 53 is directly above the heel 54.

Of course the breech block is unlocked by 'thus pressing down on the rear end. 1f the trigger 22 is now pulled, the breech closing lever 27 isA carried rearwardly, conveying the breech block with it thereby extracting and ejecting a defective shell from the firearm. The foregoing operation is intended to be carried out only in the event that a defective shell has moved up into firing position. 4 y

When the position in Figure 2 is assumed, the firing pin 20 rests but lightly on the primer of the cartridge, the trigger 22 and trigger arm 39 being. in precisely the proper position to enable the upper claw 52 to engage the lug 51 of the hammer 21 and thus lrestrain the hammer from moving farther iaiaoai It is also to be observed that there isthen a slight space between the shoulder 50 on the hammer and the rear edge of the lever 27 This lever is pivoted at 5-5 on the gun frame and carries a roller 56 which a'ords an anti-friction engagement with the upper i end of the plunger 10.

An extractor of any approved type, may be employed in connection with the breech block mechanism. For the purpose of illustration, a conventional form of extractor 57 is shown attached to the breech block in Figure 5. The free Vend of the extractor engages the rim of the cartridge C and pulls the empty shell out ofthe recess-3 in the barrel, on the rearward movement of-the breech block.` When the empty lshell C reaches the opening 30 in the top,l casing 31,

the'firing pin 20 of the hammer 21 acts as the ejector, in themanner described under the operation. l

When the breech block uncovers the magazine recessk6, a fresh cartridge is moved up into the breech of the Apistol in position to be forced into the recess 3 on the return or forward movement of the breech block. Al-

though not shown, the reader will under-r stand that there is a spring inside of the cartridge magazine 44 which forces the cartridges upwardly. The functions of Ithe various parts described above will be more readily understood in connection with the following operation: Normally, the breech block 15 is in the position illustrated in Figure 2, the shoulder 16 being supported on the shoulder 14 of the gun frame, the rear shoulder 24 and abutment 38 being in engagement, and the hammer 21 being in the position at which the ring pin 2O is: retractedin the aperture 19, but resting lightly on the cartridge primer. A

The operator now pulls the trigger 22. This causes the trigger arm 39 to move rearwardly a sufficient distance with the trigger, the upper claw 52 being in engagement with the lug 51, causing the hammer 21 to move backwardly in the bore 18 against the tension of the hammer spring 47, and when the position in Figure 3 has been reached, the upper claw slips from the lug 51. rihe hammer 21 is then released and the firing pin 20 caused to strike the primer and explode the cartridge C; Up to this time, the breech block 15 remains immovable in respect to the gun frame.

But as soon as the bullet reaches the vent 4, Vand a. fractional part of the gas behindy it, expands against the front portion of the breech block in advance of the shoulder 16,`

the breech 1block is lifted from engagement with the shoulder 14 while the rear shoulder 24 is lowered from engagement with the abutment 38, thereafter moving rearwardly until the position in Figure 4 i's reached.v It

position mentioned in connection -with Figure 4.

The arrangement is 'such that on the rearward stroke of the trigger arm 39, (as long as the breech block 15 is llocked) the'lower claw 53 avoids the heel 54 of the breech closing lever 27 but at thevsame time, the upper claw 52 engages the lug 51 of the hammer. Afterthe trigger 22 has reached the rear- 'ward position, the trigger arm 39 assumes a different position'by reason of its uppermost curvature, the supper claw 52 then being unable to engage the lug 51 of the hammer as can be plainly seen both in Figures 3 and 4.

As stated above, the oldA shell is extracted from the recess 3 by the extractor 57 on'the rearward movement of the breech block 15, and when the opening 30 is reached, is ej ected by the firing pin of the hammer.l This action canv readily be understood by bearing in mind that so long as the breech block is locked in its forward position, there is a space between the shoulder 50 and the closing lever 27 but the moment the breech is unlocked, that space is taken up by the consequent but slight downward movement of the breech block from its locking abutment.

rlhis downward movement of the breech block necessarily causes the finger 26 to move slightly Ifarther into the recess behind the shoulder 50 so that the firing ypin is withdrawn within the aperture 19 and remains in this position until the breech block reaches the rearmost position in Figure 4. At that time the tip of the finger is very low in the recess behind the shoulder 50 and provides room enough for the hammer spring 47 to force the hammer 21 forwardly so vthat the firing pin projects beyond the aperture 19 as clearly shown in Figure 4. When the pin has thus been projected, the empty shell ejecting action takes place, the extractor hook 57 acting as a pivot on which the shell isswung out.

Now when the breech block moves forwardly again through the action of the spring 9 on the breech closing lever 27, which lever operates against the hammer shoulder 50 to gradually retract the hammer and hold it in that positionduringthc entire forward or return movement. now be assumed that the breech is closed but not locked. lThe locking of the breech occurs when it moves slightly upwardly to bring the rear shoulder 24 into engagement with the abutment 38, this by virtue of the spring 9 acting on the finger 26, whereafter the upper claw 52 reengages the lug 51 and lightly supports the firing pin 20 on the primer of the cartridge.

' While the construction and arrangement ofthe improved automatic, pistol as herein described and claimed, is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made Without departlng from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

l. A firearm, including a body with a portion having an abutment, and a barrel with a lock shoulder; and a breech block with rear and front shoulders normally in engagement with the abutment and lock shoulder respectively, to lock the breech block in the initial position, and an intermediate shoulder engageable with the abutment to limit the recoil of the breech block when a portion of the block adjacent the front shoulder is lifted from the lock shoulder by gas pressure.

Q. A firearm, including a gun frame, with a reciprocable breech block moved to a recoiled position from an initially locked posi tion on the frame, from which it is released bygas pressure, the breech block having a groove; tensionable means for returning the breech block to the initially locked position, including a frame-housed spring with a plunger; and actuating means including a breech closing-lever movable With the block by engagement of a portion thereof with said groove, and having an anti-friction member bearing on the plunger.

3. A firearm, including a barrel with a lock shoulder and an abutment; and abreech block with avrecessed portion defining shoulders corresponding to and engaging said abutment and lock shoulder respectively when the breech block is initially seated on that portion of the barrel.

4. A firearm, including an inclined-top barrel with a lock shoulder and an abutment, and a top casing With a rear abutment; and a breech block, recessed to define shoulders corresponding to and engaging With the abutment and lock shoulder respectively when the breech block is in the initially locked position on that portion of the barrel, a rear shoulder on the block engaging the rear casing abutment through the then inclined position of the breech'block.

5. The combination of a barrel, a breech block initially seated and locked vin position on the barrel, With a hammer -bore having a `spring-pressed hammer; and a trigger with means for retracting and releasing the hammer independently' of the breech block to discharge a bullet, a portion of the gas behind the bullet releasingr the breech block from the locked position and subsequently moving it, together with the hammer, to a recoiled position.

6. A firearm, including a breech block with a bore and a lateral communicating groove, a spring-pressed hammer in the bore, with a, lateral cut-away portion proper claw initially engaging a portion of the p hammer to move the latter to a firing position when the trigger is pressed and thereupon releasing the hammer, and a lower claw engageable by said vheel on a return movement of said lever to restore the trigger to an initial position `at which the upper claw and hammer portion re-engage.

8. A firearm, including a barrel, with a muzzle-piece` having an upper portion removed to leave a lock shoulder; and a breech block fitting on the barrel, with a front piece offset to leave a shoulder to engage the lock shoulder and secure the breech block in the initial position. i

9. The combination in a firearm, of a hammer, with a firing pin and a lug; a trigger, with a trigger-arm normally engaging the lug to prevent more than the li htest enf gagement of the firing pin with t e primer of a cartridge, and a curve in the arm causing disengagement thereof from the lug after the hammer is predeterminedly retracted by pulling the trigger, to permit the hammer to snap forwardly unobstructedly against the primer.

10. A firearm, comprising a gun frame and top casing, With a cartridge magazine and lateral ejector opening; a breech block normally in locked engagement Withthe top casing, having its rear end exposed for thumb-pressure and movable to an unlocked position in respect to the top casing; and a trigger With a trigger arm in normally operation connection with a hammer carried by the breech block, to move the latter back- Wardly by pulling the trigger and cause the ejectment of a defective cartridge out of said opening.

l1. A firearm, including a barrel with a lock shoulder at the front, a casing abutment, and a breech block with a lock shoulder to normally engage theulock shoulder at the front, a rear lock shoulder normally engaging the casing abutment, and an intermediatelock shoulder adapted to subse# quently engage the casing abutment.

l2. A firearm, including a barrel With a lock shoulder at the front, a casing abutment, a breech block with a lock shoulder to normally engage the lock shoulder at the front, a rear lock shoulder normally en ag ing the casing abutment and an interme iate lock shoulder adapted to subsequently engage the casingabutment; andy instrumen- 'salities vfor separating the front' lock shoulders by gas pressure following the discharge cf a bullet, also separating the rear lock shoulder from the abutment to enable the intermediate lock shoulder to engage said abutthe casing abutment, and an intermediate lock shoulder in normal disengagement; and ahollow hammer actuated by a spring in the breech block bore,- With a ring pin retracted from the axial opening; and means holding the hammer retracted but releasing it to discharge a cartridge, a portion of the escaping gas operating to separate the front lock shoulders and the rear lock shoulder from the casing' abutment with which the intermediate look shoulder subsequently engages. y Y

JOSEPH JOACHEM REIIFGRABER.

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