Firearm with a propellant-actuated projectile

Abstract

The present invention relates to a firearm in which a projectile is driven by means of a propellant, in particular by means of a propellant gas or a mixture of gases, wherein the firearm comprises a barrel (1) with a seat for receiving a projectile (2), a propellant reservoir (3) and a trigger assembly (5). The trigger assembly (5) comprises a first pressure chamber (7) with a blocking member (11), a second pressure chamber (10) fluidly connected to the first pressure chamber (7) and having a firing pin (13), a hammer (14) cooperating both with the firing pin (13) and with the blocking member (11), and a trigger means (16).

Description

FIREARM WITH A PROPELLANT-ACTUATED PROJECTILE

[0001] The present invention relates to a firearm with a propellant-actuated projectile, in particular by means of a propellant gas or a mixture of gases, wherein the firearm comprises a barrel having a seat for receiving the projectile, a propellant reservoir, and a trigger assembly.

[0002] In known firearms with a propellant-actuated projectile, in particular by means of a propellant gas or a mixture of gases, the trigger mechanism is usually the element that releases a spring-loaded hammer. The spring load of the hammer must be adapted to the pressure that keeps a valve closed, wherein the spring load is typically adjusted by integrating a screw into the firearm which, when screwed in, compresses or preloads the spring. In this way, the force exerted by the hammer and consequently the impact energy on the valve are altered.

[0003] In firearms comprising a pressure regulator, a constant regulated pressure is used to drive the projectile. In this case, the force closing and / or opening the valve is constant, irrespective of which successive shot is being fired, until the pressure in the firing chamber falls below the pressure in the propellant reservoir. Since the spring is preloaded in this case, rebound of the hammer occurs. In practice, this means that, upon triggering the firearm, the spring begins to drive the hammer, which presses against the valve and opens it. The propellant pressure on the opposite side of the valve closes the valve again, thereby pushing the hammer back and partially recompressing the spring, which in turn again pushes the hammer towards the valve. The hammer reopens the valve, albeit to a lesser extent than the first time, which leads to rebound and unnecessary consumption of propellant. In addition, the spring preload force must constantly be adapted to the pressure acting on the valve, or to the force keeping the valve in the closed position.

[0004] According to one variant intended to eliminate the above-mentioned rebound, it is provided that the spring is not preloaded. In this case, when the firearm is in the uncockedposition, the hammer must have a certain amount of free travel, whereby, upon firing the firearm, when the valve pushes the hammer back towards the spring, the energy available for reopening the valve is reduced.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a trigger mechanism for a firearm by means of which the disadvantages of the known solutions are eliminated.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention by the features specified in the characterising portion of claim 1. Further details of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

[0007] The invention is explained below with reference to a non-limiting embodiment and the accompanying drawings:Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of the trigger mechanism of a firearm prepared for firing,Fig.2 shows a schematic representation of the trigger mechanism of the firearm according to Fig. 1 at the moment of firing,Fig.3 shows a schematic representation of the trigger mechanism of the firearm according to Fig. 1 after firing.

[0008] A firearm with a propellant-actuated projectile, in particular by means of a propellant gas or a mixture of gases, for example air, CO2or the like, comprises a barrel 1 with a projectile seat 2, a propellant reservoir 3, a regulating assembly 4 and a trigger assembly 5. The reservoir 3, which contains the propellant at a pressure pi, is fluidly connected to the regulating assembly 4 by means of a first connecting line 6a. The regulating assembly 4 is further fluidly connected to a first pressure chamber? of the trigger assembly 5 by means of a second connecting line 6b. The regulating assembly 4 is provided for reducing the supply pressure pi of the propellant from the reservoir 3 to a firing pressure p2of the propellant, which must be available in the first pressure chamber 7 and is required for driving the projectile 2 out of the barrel 1. By adjusting the regulating assembly 4, the user of the firearminfluences the magnitude of the firing pressure p2, thereby varying the power of the firearm. The reservoir 3 is filled with the propellant in a manner known per se, which is not the subject of the present invention.

[0009] The first pressure chamber 7 is fluidly connected, on the one hand, to the projectile seat 2 in the barrel 1 by means of a connecting line 8, and, on the other hand, to a second pressure chamber 10 by means of a connecting line 9. The first pressure chamber 7 comprises a movable blocking member 11, which is provided for closing and opening the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber 7 into the connecting line 8. The blocking member 11 is continuously loaded by the firing pressure p2of the propellant and by a spring means 12, which force the blocking member 11 into a closed position impermeable to the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber 7 into the connecting line 8 and further into the projectile seat 2 in the barrel 1.

[0010] In the illustrated non-limiting embodiment, the forced retention of the blocking member 11 in the closed position is achieved in that the blocking member 11 is designed in the form of a piston, the radially enlarged section Ila of which is arranged in the first pressure chamber 7 and cooperates therewith so as to be impermeable to the passage of the propellant. A portion of a second section 11b of the blocking member 11 protruding from the first pressure chamber 7 is provided for reliable longitudinal guidance of the blocking member 11 and for cooperation with a hammer 14 of the trigger assembly 5. The spring means 12 forcing the blocking member 11 into the closed position is, in the illustrated nonlimiting embodiment, configured as a compression spring arranged either in the first pressure chamber 7 or outside thereof.

[0011] A movable firing pin 13 is arranged in the second pressure chamber 10 and guided in a wall or extension 10a of the second pressure chamber 10. The firing pin 13 comprises a first radially enlarged section 13a, which is arranged in the second pressure chamber 10 with relatively large clearance, and a second section 13b, which is guided in the longitudinal direction in the wall or extension 10a of the second pressure chamber 10 and is provided for cooperation with the hammer 14 of the trigger assembly 5. Furthermore, in the region wherethe firing pin 13 passes through the wall or extension 10a of the second pressure chamber 10, a sealing means 15 is provided, which cooperates both with the second pressure chamber 10 and with the second section 13b of the firing pin 13 so as to be impermeable to the passage of the propellant.

[0012] The hammer 14 is positionally retained and releasable by means of a trigger means 16, which is not the subject of the present invention.

[0013] The trigger assembly 5 according to the invention thus comprises a first pressure chamber 7 with a blocking member 11, a second pressure chamber 10 fluidly connected to the first pressure chamber 7 and having a firing pin 13, a hammer 14 cooperating both with the firing pin 13 and with the blocking member 11, and a trigger means 16 known per se.

[0014] Fig. 1 schematically shows the trigger mechanism of a firearm prepared for firing. This means that the firearm is cocked, the projectile 2 is located in the projectile seat of the barrel 1, propellant at the firing pressure p2is present in the first pressure chamber 7 and in the second pressure chamber 10, the firing pressure p2being lower than the supply pressure Pi in the propellant reservoir 3, while propellant at a pressure p3, which is lower than the firing pressure p2, is present in the connecting line 8 and in the barrel 1. The pressure p3is usually at least approximately equal to ambient atmospheric pressure.

[0015] The blocking member 11, loaded by the firing pressure p2of the propellant and by the spring means 12, is forced into the closed position impermeable to the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber 7 into the projectile seat 2 in the barrel 1. The portion of the second section 11b of the blocking member 11 protruding from the first pressure chamber 7, which is provided for cooperation with the hammer 14, protrudes from the first pressure chamber 7 by a length Li. The firing pin 13 and the hammer 14, which in this position is spaced apart from said portion of the second section 11b by a distance L2, are in a pressure-loaded position under the firing pressure p2of the propellant acting on the firing pin 13 and pressing it against the hammer 14. The hammer 14 is retained by means of the trigger means 16 at a distance U + L2from the first pressure chamber 7.

[0016] Fig. 2 schematically shows the trigger mechanism of the firearm at the moment of firing, when the user, by actuating the trigger, has moved the trigger means 16 away from the hammer 14 and released it. The firing pin 13, loaded by the firing pressure p2, abruptly moves towards the hammer 14, wherein the second section 13b of the firing pin 13 pushes the hammer 14 in the direction towards the portion of the second section 11b. The hammer 14 strikes the portion of the second section 11b of the blocking member 11 and displaces it against the action of the spring means 12 towards the interior of the first pressure chamber 7. The hammer 14 travels the distance Li + L2and comes to rest against the wall of the first pressure chamber 7, while the radially enlarged section Ila of the blocking member 11 moves away from the inlet of the connecting line 8, thereby allowing the propellant to flow into the connecting line 8 and further into the projectile seat 2 in the barrel 1. The firing pressure p2is now also present in the connecting line 8 and in the projectile seat 2, as a result of which the projectile 2 is expelled from the barrel 1. The firing pin 13 comes to rest with its radially enlarged section 13a against the wall of the second pressure chamber and / or against the sealing means 15, thereby stopping its further movement. The second section 13b of the firing pin 13 is thereby spaced apart from the hammer 14 by a distance Li. At this time, ambient pressure p3is present in the connecting line 8 and throughout the barrel 1 of the firearm.

[0017] Fig.3 schematically shows the trigger mechanism of the firearm immediately after firing and in readiness for cocking and loading with a projectile. The blocking member 11 is again pressed into the closed position by the firing pressure p2of the propellant and by the spring means 12, the closed position being impermeable to the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber 7 into the connecting line 8 and further into the projectile seat 2 in the barrel 1. Consequently, the second section 11b of the blocking member 11 moves by the length Li in the direction towards the hammer 14, whereby the hammer 14 and the second section 13b of the firing pin 13 come into direct contact and are pushed away from the first pressure chamber 7. The radially enlarged section 13a of the firing pin 13 is still pressed against the sealing means 15 by the firing pressure p2. The firearm is now ready to be cocked again or prepared for firing, as shown in Fig. 1.

Claims

Claims1. A firearm firearm with a propellant-actuated projectile, in particular by means of a propellant gas or a mixture of gases, wherein the firearm comprises a barrel (1) with a seat for receiving a projectile (2), a propellant reservoir (3), a regulating assembly (4) and a trigger assembly (5), characterised in that the trigger assembly (5) comprises a first pressure chamber (7) with a blocking member (11), a second pressure chamber (10) fluidly connected to the first pressure chamber (7) and having a firing pin (13), a hammer (14) cooperating both with the firing pin (13) and with the blocking member (11), and a trigger means (16).

2. The firearm according to claim 1, characterised in that the reservoir (3), which contains the propellant at a pressure (pi), is fluidly connected to the regulating assembly (4) by means of a first connecting line (6a), the regulating assembly (4) being further fluidly connected to the first pressure chamber (7) by means of a second connecting line (6b), wherein the first pressure chamber (7) is fluidly connected, on the one hand, to the projectile seat (2) in the barrel (1) by means of a connecting line (8) and, on the other hand, to the second pressure chamber (10) by means of a connecting line (9).

3. The firearm according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the first pressure chamber (7) comprises a movable blocking member (11) provided for cooperation with the hammer (14) and for closing and opening the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber (7) into the connecting line (8), wherein the blocking member (11) is continuously loaded by the firing pressure (p2) of the propellant and by a spring means (12), which forces the blocking member (11) into a closed position impermeable to the passage of the propellant from the first pressure chamber (7) into the connecting line (8).

4. The firearm according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a movable firing pin (13) is arranged and guided in the second pressure chamber (10), the firing pinbeing provided for cooperation with the hammer (14) of the trigger assembly (5).

5. The firearm according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the spring means (12) forcing the blocking member (11) into the closed position is configured as a compression spring arranged either in the first pressure chamber (7) or outside thereof.

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