Firearm Magazine Angled Projections Reduce Cartridge Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Firearm magazines experience cartridge misfeeding and jamming due to frictional forces, requiring frequent lubrication and cleaning to maintain reliability, which disrupts firearm operation and user efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The magazine design features angled projections and edges that define a transition opening, reducing friction and allowing for smoother cartridge ejection, with components made from materials like aluminum, steel, or plastic, enabling reduced jamming and increased reliability without frequent lubrication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If frequent lubrication and cleaning are performed to prevent cartridge misfeeding, then reliability is improved, but loss of time and operational efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The angled surfaces and projection geometry are designed to automatically guide cartridges onto the correct feeding path without requiring external intervention. The structure itself performs the function of preventing misfeeding through its geometric design, eliminating the need for frequent manual lubrication and cleaning operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the magazine components by introducing specific angled surfaces (with defined angles) and projection dimensions. These parameter changes create a feeding path that reduces friction and guides cartridges more reliably, thereby improving reliability without increasing maintenance time.
2Reliability
If lubrication is applied to reduce frictional forces, then cartridge misfeeding is reduced, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lubrication function from the system by designing angled surfaces and projection geometries that reduce friction through geometry alone. The harmful frictional forces are countered not by adding lubrication complexity but by removing the need for lubrication through clever structural design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful frictional forces into beneficial guiding forces. The angled surfaces are designed so that the friction between cartridge and surface actually helps guide the cartridge onto the correct feeding path, transforming what was previously a harmful force into a useful one.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional magazine geometry is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but cartridge misfeeding occurs due to inadequate friction management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing angled surfaces and projections only in specific critical areas where cartridges interact with the magazine structure during feeding. The rest of the magazine maintains simple geometry for ease of manufacture, while the localized complex features provide the friction management needed for reliable feeding.
Data Source
AI summary
A magazine for a firearm is provided. The magazine includes a first wall and a second wall coupled to the first wall to define an enclosure. A first projection extends from a first portion of the first wall, a first end of the first projection being adjacent an end of the first wall, the first projection having a first angled surface opposite the first end. A second projection extends from a second portion of the second wall, a second end of the second projection being adjacent the first end, the second projection having a second angled surface arranged opposite the first angled surface.