Bolt head locking arrangement for firearm weapons

Abstract

A bolt head locking arrangement for a recoil operated weapon where projectile is expelled by discharging a cartridge. The weapon comprising an action body, a barrel, and a bolt assembly, the bolt assembly being slidable within the action body. The bolt assembly comprising a bolt head, a locking slide and a firing pin, and a locking means arranged so that, upon loading a new cartridge for discharging, the locking means positively lock the bolt head such that, for a predetermined amount of time after the loaded cartridge is discharged, the locked bolt head stops the cartridge from retreating into the action body. The locking means is substantially in an in-line configuration with the bolt assembly. The locking means are arranged so that the recoil momentum of the weapon, caused by the discharge, is used for unlocking the bolt head, wherein the locking means are arranged so that, upon discharge of the cartridge, the locking slide recoils backwards and, once the bolt head is unlocked, the inertia of the locking slide facilitates the recoil of the bolt head.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a locking arrangement for a weapon. In particular, the invention relates to a locking / unlocking arrangement for the bolt head of a firearm.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The problem associated with foreign matter penetrating the internal mechanisms of a firearm during the discharge of a cartridge is well known in the weapon industry. The foreign matter in question includes various gases and particulates released during the discharge, as well as other contaminants, such as water vapour.[0003]To alleviate or ameliorate this problem, various systems have been designed to impose a time delay between the discharge of the cartridge and the release of the bolt head, thus minimising the amount of foreign matter penetrating the inside of the weapon during the cartridge discharge. Some of these systems rely solely on the mass of the bolt head and the spring constant of the associated recoil spring to resist the initial gas pressure of th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]According to a first aspect, the bolt head locking arrangement for a recoil operated weapon where projectile is expelled by discharging a cartridge, the weapon comprising a longitudinal action body, a longitudinal barrel, the barrel being a part of or axially attached to the action body, and a bolt assembly, the bolt assembly being slidable within the action body so as to affect at least one of; loading cartridges in the barrel for discharging, discharging cartridges and extracting discharged cartridges; the bolt assembly comprising a bolt head, a locking slide and a firing pin, at least some of which being arranged for moving with respect to each other, wherein the arrangement further comprises locking means arranged so that, upon loading a new cartridge for discharging, the locking means positively lock the bolt head such that, for a predetermined amount of time after the loaded cartridge is discharged, the locked bolt head stops the cartridge from retreating into the action body, thus eliminating the penetration of pressure caused by the discharge into the action body, the locking means is substantially in an in-line configuration with the bolt assembly, and said locking means are arranged so that the recoil momentum of the weapon, caused by the discharge, is used for unlocking the bolt head, wherein the locking means are arranged so that, upon discharge of the cartridge, the locking slide recoils backwards and, once the bolt head is unlocked, the inertia of the locking slide facilitates the recoil of the bolt head.

Problems solved by technology

Other systems have a dedicated gas tube, which the gas pressure has to traverse before reaching the bolt head, thus creating a time delay between the cartridge discharge and the recoil of the bolt head.

All of these systems are somewhat complex and inefficient.

However, at the initial stages, when the pressure is high, the delay lever transforms the short movement of the bolt into the longer movement of the bolt carrier, thus delaying the opening of the bolt.

However, this system is also too complex and offers only partial locking.

This prior art utilise components such as delay rollers, cam mechanisms and the like that are of complicated design and manufacture and readily prone to wear.

A disadvantage of this locking means is that fouling, such that caused by debris or dirt entering the breech may result.

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