Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
4~f~7
"BREECH L~CKING SYST~M FOR SEL~ LOADING FIRE ARMS"
This invention relates to fire arms of the self
loadinQ, locked breech, short recoil, pistol type, in
which a separate locking block is employed, and more
particularly to fire arms o~ the kind having means for
automatically locking the barrel and breech block
together during the discharge of the cartridge in the
breech, for the purpose oF ensuring pDsitive obturation
of the cartridge case walls tD the breech chamber until
the high pressure period of the powder gases is over,
and then to automatically allow the breech block s~ide
to separate from the barrel and permit the extraction
of the cartridge case safely.
The usual practice in sel~ loading locked breech
pist~ls is for them to employ a barrel locking to the
slide, either by studs, ribs, or other means, and
rotated, cammed, or otherwise moved out of engagement
with the s~ide after the end of the high pressure
period of the cartridge powder gases, or to employ a
2û separate block to lock barrel to slide during the
aforesaid high pressure period. The usual practice in
self loading locked breech fire arms is for the
residual pressure in the barrel interior plus the
inertia of the barrel and slide moving rearwards in
reaction to the projectile's discharge to disengage
whatever lock is employed, and to furnish the energy
requ~red to complete the cycle of ca~tridge case
extraction and ejection, and the reloading of the
barrel chamber with a loaded cartridge from a magazine
in the fire arm.
It is usual in self loading locl<ed breech pistols
employing any of the breech locking systemspreviously
mentioned to p~ovide means for the removal of the
barrel from the pistol. The usual practice is for a
catch to be provided which, by manipulation or removal,
allows the barrel and slide, together with, in most
lX64~47
types of pistol, the recoil spring assembly, to be
r~moved from the pistol main frame. Usually, the
barrel can then be removed from within a recess in the
slide. The disadvantage of this practice in pistols
is that in order to remove the barrel for any reason,
additional parts of the pistol must be removed from the
main frame, and it is inconvenient to find accommodation
for such parts which are liable to be exposed to dirt,
be misplaced or be damaged. In the Walther P38 and
10 Beretta models 951 and 92, the locking block is
accommodated in a recess under the rear of the barrel.
Although the Walther locking block is easily detached
fI~om the barrel it is possible to reassemble the pistol
with the block absent, rosulting in a very dangerous
situation should the pistol then be fired with a
normal ball cartridge. The Beretta pistols require
tools to detach the locking block. Greater
convenience is provided by certain oistols using low
pressure cartridges and not requiringa locked breech,
that allow the barrel alone to be removed initially,
with the rest of the pistol intact.
It is,therefore, an object of the present
invention to provide for self loading pistols using
high pressure cartridges, a system that provides a
positive lock bet~een barrel and breech block or slide
during the high pressure period of the firing cycle,
and that allows the normal operation of such a pistol
or fire arm, while also providing that the barrel
alone can be removed from the fire arm when required.
It is another object of the invention to simplify
the manipulations involved in disassembling and
assembling a selF loading pistol or other fire arm.
It is another object of the invention to provide
a locking block for a self loading pistol or other
fire arm that is easily removed but is an essential
part ofthe pistol or other fire arm, and cannot be
left out on assembly.
126~
It is another object of the invention to provide a
breech locking system for a self loading pistol or
other fire arm that does not r~quire tools to assemble
and disassemble.
It is a subsidiary object of the invention to
provide means of indication to indicate to the user
when the inserted cartridge magazine is empty.
Finally, it is an object to provide a breech
locking system for s self loading pistol or other
fire arm which is of simple construction and cheap to
manufacture .
According to the invention, there is provided
a self loading fire arm of the locked breech, short
recoil pistGl type having a barrel and a breech black
slide provided with a separate locking block
accommodated between the underside of said barrel and
the upper surface of a movable trigger guard, said
locking block having means for positively locking
the barrel to the slide during the high pressure period
of the firing cycle of the fire arm and means for
raleasing the slide from the barrel during the remainder
of the firing cycle, said trigger ~uard being normally
locked to the frame, and hold open means operable in
the absence of cartridges in a magazine and in the
breech to allow said slide to be held in the fully
retracted position and simultaneously to release said
trigger guard for limited forward and downward move-
ment, said trigger guard being provided with means
which on said movement cause said locking block to
disengage from the barrel, whereby the barrel can be
removed without the necessity for further disassembly
of the fire arm.
An embodiment of the invention is shown in the
drawings and ~vill be described in greater detail
hereinafter.
Fiqure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents,
partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal vertical
~X~4~47
-- 4
section, a self loading semi-automatic pistol provided
with means constructed and arranyed in accordance with
this invention for locking and unlDcking the slide and
barrel together during the firing cycles of the pistol,
and means to allow the pistol to be disassembled,
showing the pistol in battery position, cartLidge in
chamber, locking block forward, slide lDcked to barrel
by locking block;
Figure 2 is a part elevation, part longitudinal
vortical section of the upper part of the pist~l in
battery position;
Fi~ure 3 is a part elevation, part longitudinal
-
vertical section of the upper part of the pistol during
a period of the firing cycle;
Fiqure 4 is 2 part elevation, part longitudinal
vertical section of the upper part of the pistol during
a further period of the firing cycle;
Fiqure 5 is a part elevation, part longitudinal
vertical section of the upper part of the pistol during
a further period of the firing cycle;
Fiqure 6 is a part elevation, part longitudinal
vertical section of the upper part of the pistol, with
the slide in the rear locked position;
Fiqure 7 is a part elevation, part longitudinal
vertical section of the upper part of the pistol,
showing part of the operation to disassemble barrel
from pistol;
Fiqur _ is a similar view to Figure 7 showing a
further part of the operation to disassemble barrel
from pistol;
Fiqure 9 shows on an enlarged scale and partly in
section and partly in elevation details from Figure 8
of the trigger guard and frame;
Fiaure 10 shows on a reduced scale a part
elevation of the pisto~ with slide locked to rear;
Fiqure 11 shows on a reduced scale a part
elevation of the pistol with trigger guard in the
~2~ 47
position as in Figure ~;
Figure 12 is a transverse vertical section of
Figure 1 along line 1;
Fiqure 13 i~ a transverse vertical section of
Figure 1 along line 3;
Figure 14 is a transverse vertical section of
figure 1 along line 2;
Figure 15 is a perspective view of the lacking
b)ock;
Fig_re 16 is aDother perspective view of the
locking block;
Figure 17 is yet another perspective view of the
locking block;
Figure 18 is a perspective view of the trigger
guard with trigger axis pin;
Figure 19 is a perspective view of the slide
hold open assembly;
Figure 20 is a perspective view of the barrel;
Figure 21 is a perspecti~e view of a trigger guard
spring;
Figure 22 is a perspective view of an alternative
trigger guard spring;
Figure 23 is a perspective view of the upper
frame;
Figure 24 is a perspective view of the slide; and
Figure 25 is a partial left side elevation of the
pistol with the chamber loaded, hammer cocked, and the
hold open catch in the midway position, indicating
an Pmpty magazine is held in the pistol. The dotted
lines sho~ the upper and lower limits of the hold
open catch.
The same letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in several Figures of the drawings.
In the self loading pistol represented in Figure
1, the barrel C and slide B are mounted on the frame
A. The locking block E which rides on the surface D2
of trigger guard D, is engaged by means of wing El
1264~47
into recess Cl in barrel C and recess B3 between slide
recoil rails Bl and B4 and B2 and B5. The slide B
nnd barrel C being held together by locking block
wing El are thrust forward by recoil springs Pl and
P2 compressed by rear guides Rl and R2 (not shown)
acting upon frame wings A2 and A3, and retained in
the slide by forward recoil guides Ql and q2 (not
shown) by recoil springs retainer R~. The s]ide and
barrel and locking block together are thrust forward
as a whole and thereby the groove E2 in the front
locking block surface impinges on frame pin Al which is
permanently held in the frame, the frame pin Al
thereby restricting the forward motion of the whole
slide, barrel and locking block combination. When the
cartridge XX is fired by the firing pin B? which is
thrown forward by hammer J being rotated on axis pin
EE by main spring B8, pressure is exerted eq~ally on
bullet XXl and through breech insert F to the slide.
During this period of high cartridge gas pressure
while the bullet travels along barrel bore C2 as shown
in Figure 3 the slide and barrel recoil to the rear,
locked together by the locking block wing, until
locking block surface E3 impinges on trigger guard
cam surface D4. The locking block is forced by the
continuing rearward motion of the slide, as shown in
Figure 4, to be cammed downwards by surface D4 until
the locking block wing extensions disengage from the
rear surface of the slide recoil rails and thereby
allow the slide to freely continue to the rear as shown
in Figure 4. The locking block wing is still engaged
in barrel recess Cl, and as the upper surface of the
locking block wing bears against the underneath surface
of the qlide recoil rails Bl and B4, ~nd cannot move
forward by locking block point E4 bearing on trigger
guard carn D3, the barrel is held stationary by surFaces
C4 and C5 being engaged by the locking block wing.
During the camming of the locking b]ock by surface D4,
~2~41f~47
the cartridge oase is subjected to primary extraction,
being withdrawn frorn barrel ehamber C3 by extractor M.
The bullet has left the barrel and residual pressure
in the barrel and inertia will continue the rearward
motion of the slide to the position as shown in
Figure 5. During the rearward motion of the slide the
cartridge case is extracted completely from the barrel
chamber C3 and striking the nose Ll of ejector L the
cartridge case is ejected From the pistol.
Actiny under pressure of the re~oil springs the
slide will then move forward striking the base of
cartridge YY in magazine T and feed the cartridge into
the barrel chamber. The extractor will engage with
the cartridge canelure YYl while the cartridge is being
chambered. During the forward motion of the slide
the position as shown in Figure 4 is attained. The
cartridge is almost fully chambered when the slide
recoil rail recesses align with the barrel recess
thereby allowing the locking block wing free passage
to rise.
The slide continues forward and the forward inner
face of the slide B9 abuts the rear face of the barrel
C6 thereby forcing the barrel also to move forward
and barrel surface C4 abutting the rear face of the
locking blockwing E5 forces locking block point E4 to
be cammed up the trigger guard surface ~3, thereby
lifting the locking block wing into full engagement in
both slide recoil rail recesses and the barrel recess.
Further pressure by the recoil springs forces s~ide
and barrel and locking block, locked together by the
~ocking block wing, forward until the whole are
arrested by ]ocking block surface E2 impinging on
frame pin Al. When the last cartridge has been fed
from the magazin~ into the chamber of the barrel the
magazine follower will rise until its upper surface U2
impinges on the under surface of the slide. At this
point the shelf Ul will have lifted the hold open unit
12~4~47
- B -
(X, Y) to a point approximately midway between its
lower rest position and the raised position it
assumes when, as shown in Figure 7, the hold open is
locking the slide in the rear position. This midway
position can be seen as in Figure 25, and felt, and
acts as an indicator that the magazine is empty and,
at any point in time, at night, with the pistol or
fire arm in the aimed position, or any other
situation, the user has the knowledge that one cartridge
remains in the chamber and that the magazine is empty.
~hus the pistol or ~ire arm can be reloaded without
at any time being rendered totally inoperable. This
assumes no magazine safety is fitted to the gun; such
a device would have to be removed to render the
magazine indicator capable of serving its full purpose.
In the pistol described no magazine safety is fitted.
The magazine indicator would also operate should the
chamber and magazine be empty. Figure 25 shows the
empty magazine indicated position of the hold open
catch, the dotted lines showing the upper and lower
limit positions of the catch. The hold open unit
consisting of an external member X having a pivot pin
X2 and a rear pin Xl, and an inner member Y having
holes Y2 and Yl to receive the pins X2 and Xl, these
pins passing through holes A4 and A5 in the frame,
the hole A5 being sufficiently large to allow the pin
Xl to move in it.
Upon the discharge of the last cartridge in the
barrel chamber the slide will recoil and the magazine
follower will rise fully when the slide base moves
clear of the follower, and thereby the magazine
follower shelf Ul will raise the hold open fully, in
this position as shown in Figure 6, the shelf has
impinged on the hold open rear pin Xl, which moves
within frame aperture A5, and forces the hold open
and to rotate on its axis pin X2, which pivots in
frame aperture A4 and since the hold open pins Xl and
~2~i4;~47
g
X2 pass through hold open inner ho]es Yl and Y2
respectively, the whole hold open unit is made to pivot,
compressiog hold open spring Z against the forward part
Hl of the trigger bar H. As the whDle hold open unit
rotates the inner rear end Y3 r~f the inner member rises
and locates in slide recoil rail recess B3 when the
slide reaches the full rearward position under recoil or
whPn manually retracted. It will be observed that the
forward end Y4 of the hold Dpen inner member depresses
as the rear Y3 elevates, and the forward end moves to
clear the front of stud Dl which is permanently fixed
transversely in the trigger guard cam lug D5. It is
only in this position that the trigger guard can be
moved forward against the resistance of the trigger
guard spring, thus during all firing operations of the
pistol, the trigger guard cannot move forward.
To remove the barrel from the pistol the slide is
locked to the rear by the hold open unit as previously
described and the magazine is removed by depressing
from the left or right side of the pistol the magazine
catch plunger UU which will retract the nose VVl of
the magazine catch VV which is forced to the rear by
spring WW. The forward inner surface D6 of the
trigger guard is pushed furward, as shown by the arrow
in Figure 7, and thereby the locking block which i9
seated in the trigger guard recess D9 will be Forced
forward and impinge on the frame pin Al. The trigger
guard surface D7 will move clear of frame point A6
and the trigger guard can be moved downwards, the
3U trigger guard and locking block will then be rotating
on the frame pin Al. The rotation of the trigger guard
will be arrested by the trigger bar contacting frame
surface A7 and frame ledge A6 will seat in trigger
guard detent groove D8. The locking block, when in
its lowered position within the trigger guardl will
completely disengage the locking block wing from
barrel recess Cl leaving the barrel free to move
12~i4;~47
- 10 -
forward on the runners C7 sliding in the frame guides
A8 each side, with reference to Figures 12 and 20 and
23. The barrr-~l will slide clear of the frame and when
the hold open unit is disengaged from the slide, the
slide can be slid forward off the frame. TD remove
the locking block the trigger guard is returned to the
position as shown in Figure 10 and with the barrel and
slide detached from the frame the locking block can
be removed upwards f~om the frame. To reassemble
the slide and barrel to make the pistol operational
the trigger guard with the locking block is put in the
position as shown in Figure 8. The slide is mounted or,
the frame with the slide guides B8 engaged with frame
runners A9 and held in the rear position with the hold
open catch. The barrel is then mounted in the frame
with the barrel runners in the Frame guides and slid to
the rear until barrel face C5 abuts with the forward
face E6 of the locking block. The trigger guard is
then pivoted upwards which engages the locking block
wing to the position as Fiqure 7, and the trigger guard
spring will then force the trigger guard and lDcking
block and barrel rearwards to the position in Figure 6,
the rearward motion of the trigger guard, and thus
the whole, being arrested by frame pin A10 which is
permanently mounted transversely in the frame.
If no magazine is in the pistol, the hold ope
unit can be operated manually by rotation of the outer
member X tD hold the manually retracted slide in
position.
When the trigger guard is in the Figure 8 position
the trigger axis pin DD can be extracted from either
side of the trigger guard to permit the trigger G and
trigger bar H to be removed frorn the pistol.
The application of the invention to other small
arms differs in no essential respect from its
application to pistols of the type hereinbefore
described.
47
- 11
The terrns "hori~ontal" and"vertical" as used
herein refer tD the pistol ~r other fire arm when held
in the normal firing pDsition.
