Enhanced Charging Handle

Abstract

An enhanced charging handle for a firearm which has an elongated shaft having a forward end and a rear end. The forward end is formed into a bolt hook that engages the bolt carrier group within the firearm. Attached to the rear end is a latching assembly comprising an L-shaped latch, a vertical lever, and a compression spring where the latch and vertical lever are pivotably attached to the rear end. The latch and vertical lever operate together such that pivoting the vertical lever disengages the latch from the upper receiver of a firearm allowing the charging handle to be moved freely by the user independent of the upper receiver of the firearm.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates in general to firearms and more particularly to charging handles for firearms.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Many modern firearms operate by utilizing a longitudinally reciprocating bolt within the firearm. A popular example of such a firearm is the M16 family of firearms which includes the AR-15. A reciprocating bolt configuration is typically contained within a receiver where it cannot be manually operated without partially disassembling the firearm. In instances where the bolt needs to be manually operated, such as moving the bolt into battery or clearing a jam or manually ejecting a cartridge, an externally accessible charging handle is employed to allow the firearm user to manually operate the bolt quickly without disassembling the firearm.[0003]The original M16 charging handle is in the general shape of a T where the longer member is inserted into the receiver with a distal end that interfaces with the internal bolt. ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is provided for an enhanced charging handle which allows a firearm user to reliably operate the charging handle. The apparatus replaces the existing charging handle with an improved charging handle with a lever that is vertically disposed as opposed to the designs currently used which utilize one or two horizontally disposed levers. The present invention's vertical lever incorporates more surface area for the firearm user to grasp when unlatching the charging handle and pulling the handle rearward. The improved ergonomics of the present invention enables the user to more reliably operate the charging handle when using gloves, when the user's fingers are wet, or where the user's fingers are injured and the user must improvise other means for operating the charging handle. The vertical lever may also be easily formed into shapes that allow ambidextrous operation.

[0006]In the preferred embodiment, the enhanced charging handle has an elongated shaft like the original charging handle in order to fit in the firearm without modification. Thus the present invention operates with any standard upper receiver and bolt. The present invention uses a v-shaped vertical lever to operate the latching mechanism. At the end of each leg of the v-shaped vertical lever is a finger pad which has a knurled concave forward face to receive the user's fingers. The vertical lever and finger pads in this configuration are much more ergonomic than any existing charging handle design due to having more surface area and friction with the user's fingers thus preventing the user's fingers from slipping off the lever. Using a vertical lever also creates more leverage to reliably unlatch the charging handle. The superior ergonomics and leverage make the enhanced charging handle much more reliable to operate in a variety of situations over the other charging handle designs currently proposed.

Problems solved by technology

These proposed changes still leave the charging handle with deficient ergonomics which can prevent the user from moving the bolt via the charging handle in high-stress situations.

The charging handle designs currently proposed can result in improper operation when the firearm user is wearing gloves, as many military and law enforcement personnel use, or when the user's hands are wet from sweat, water, mud, blood or other liquid.

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