Variable Diameter Magazine Spring for Reliable Ammunition Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ammunition magazines for small arms weapons often lack durability and reliability in delivering ammunition, leading to malfunctions and inconsistent performance.
Innovation Solution
A magazine design featuring a casing with a specific magazine spring configuration, including a plurality of coils with a defined coil ratio and preloaded force, to efficiently store and feed ammunition cartridges, enhancing durability and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional magazine spring designs are used, then the magazine structure is simple, but the reliability of ammunition delivery deteriorates due to inconsistent feeding and malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The spring wire is formed with varying cross-sectional dimensions along its length, creating different local properties. Specifically, the wire has a first diameter in a first portion and a second diameter in a second portion, allowing different sections of the spring to perform different functions - some sections provide stronger support while others allow greater flexibility, thereby improving overall feeding reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the spring wire by varying its cross-sectional diameter along the length. This parameter variation allows the spring to maintain optimal force characteristics throughout its range of motion, ensuring consistent ammunition feeding from a nearly empty magazine while managing resistance at the front of the casing
2Reliability
If the magazine spring exerts strong force on cartridges, then feeding reliability improves, but the spring requires greater preload force increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
By creating sections of the spring wire with different diameters, the invention concentrates the necessary force-generating properties in specific portions of the spring while allowing other portions to be more compliant. This local differentiation enables the spring to generate sufficient feeding force without requiring excessive overall preload
3Quantity of substance
If the magazine spring is designed for high capacity, then more cartridges can be stored, but the spring may lose grip on cartridges when nearly empty reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The varying cross-sectional diameter of the spring wire creates a non-uniform spring constant along its length. This parameter variation ensures that even when the magazine is nearly empty, the remaining active coils maintain sufficient spring force and grip on the cartridges, preventing feeding failures that occur in conventional uniform-spring designs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The magazine spring design provides consistent and reliable feeding of ammunition cartridges, improving the durability and effectiveness of ammunition delivery, even when the magazine is nearly empty, by maintaining a firmer grip on cartridges and overcoming resistance at the front of the casing.
Implementation Method 1
a magazine spring inside the casing. The magazine spring may comprise a first end connected to the follower, a second end connected to the floor plate, and a plurality of coils
Data Source
AI summary
A magazine for storing and feeding ammunition cartridges to a small arms weapon which comprises a casing, a floor plate, a follower, and a magazine spring inside the casing. The magazine spring may comprise a first end connected to the follower, a second end connected to the floor plate, and a plurality of coils. Each of the plurality of coils may include a first segment having a first radius, a second segment having a first length adjoining the first segment, a third segment having a second radius adjoining the second segment, the second radius being greater than the first radius, and a fourth segment having a second length adjoining the third segment, the second length being approximately equal to the first length.