SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING A MAGAZINE
Systems and methods for loading and unloading a magazine are comprised herein. An apparatus described herein includes a magazine that has chamber for storing ammunition. A toll that is used for loading and unloading ammunition into the magazine. The tool includes a reservoir container that is defined by three sides of the tool. The reservoir container is configured to hold ammunition cartridges. A funnel interacts with a proximal end of the reservoir container and is configured to route ammunition from the reservoir container into a single row in a repository channel. A loading press that is sized for insertion into the reservoir container and the repository channel, is used, when inserted, to guide ammunition through the tool and into the magazine.
Ammunition magazines are the most common means of storing and delivering ammunition into firearms. While the correlation between firearms maintenance and serviceability has become well known, the importance of maintaining magazines is an issue that is overlooked today. This oversight is noticeable because there is a wide array of cleaning products available for firearms, but there are very few cleaning products available for magazine care. Most users forget that the magazine is a necessary part of a firearm and a part that could easily cause the firearm to malfunction. Along with the lack of understanding that the firearms magazine is integral for the proper functioning of a weapon, many users do not clean or maintain their magazines because of the time and work involved with doing so.
Unmaintained magazines are prone to firearms jams and ammunition misfeeds. A firearm jam is caused when “dirty” ammunition is transferred from the magazine to the weapon. The ammunition becomes “dirty” because debris from the unmaintained magazine is transferred onto the ammunition. A misfeed may be caused because a magazine has weakened coil springs. Coil springs are weakened because the springs have been left compressed at solid height state for a period of time. In other word, weakened springs generally have less return tension. Spring tension loss can lead to a “failure-to-feed” malfunction in a firearm, because ammunition cartridges are not raised quickly enough onto the magazine feed lips to be caught by the bolt of a firearm. Misfeeds in firearms are also caused because the components of the magazine casing have become deformed from the constant pressure exerted onto them by the compressed spring. Feed lips may be deformed as a result of the constant pressure exerted by the compressed spring. Deformed feed lips can lead to a “double feed” of ammunition into a firearm, because the feed lips become spaced open wider. The additional spacing may allow inertia from the recoil of a firearm to eject an ammunition cartridge unintentionally into the firearm. A base plate may also become deformed, which can lead to the base plate falling off over time.
In many instances, a magazine is kept stored with ammunition for ready use. In order to conduct maintenance, the ammunition must be removed before the magazine can be disassembled safely A second magazine is then usually loaded to substitute availability for the first magazine. In order to unload a magazine, the ammunition is removed a single cartridge at a time. The process is repeated when reloading the magazine. The unloading and reloading is slow and tedious, and most users purchase new magazines instead of conducting the necessary maintenance on the current magazine. No means exist in the art to remove the spring itself before unloading the ammunition from a magazine. Likewise, no means exist to transfer ammunition directly from one magazine into another in bulk.
Along with no means for quickly and easily unloading ammunition from a magazine for maintenance, there are no means for reloading ammunition placed into a storage media during maintenance back into a magazine in bulk. In the prior art, reloading ammunition stored in a storage media, such as ammunition boxes or carton racks, would require taking individual cartridges from either types of container and inserting them individually into a magazine. This is a time consuming and tedious process, but no means exist for loading ammunition from a box or carton rack into a magazine in bulk.
The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.
The prior art method for preserving the exertion tension of a spring in a loaded magazine from becoming fatigued requires that the spring of the magazine be manually decompressed through the unloading of ammunition from the magazine. However, this is a time and labor intensive activity especially when dealing with high capacity magazines. It is therefore an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a system by which the spring of a magazine can be maintained from encountering fatigue by unloading the ammunition from the magazine by transferring it into a second magazine without needing to unload and reload the ammunition by individual cartridge.
An example embodiment of the present invention is a process by which ammunition is unloaded in bulk from a magazine with the aid of an apparatus, which then reloads the ammunition into another magazine in bulk. This process involves the use of an apparatus with an extraction funnel, which is inserted into a loaded magazine and routes the ammunition out of the magazine by channeling it between the magazine feed lips, which are used to retain ammunition in the magazine. The apparatus then routes the ammunition into a repository channel, which is tangent and aligned to the extraction funnel at a proximal end on the repository channel. A second magazine, which will be loaded with the ammunition in the repository channel, is coupled to the distal end of the repository channel and the gap between that magazine's feed lips are set in alignment with the repository channel. A loading funnel, tangent to the distal end of the repository channel and aligned with the repository channel, consolidates the ammunition in the repository channel into a single row for passage between the feed lips of the second magazine. A loading press, used to urge ammunition from the repository channel into the second magazine, is inserted into the repository channel and presses the ammunition in the repository channel into the second magazine.
The prior art method for loading ammunition stored in a container such as a box or carton rack requires taking out individual cartridges from either type of container and loading them one by one into a magazine. However, as this is time and labor intensive, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a system by which ammunition can be transferred from a box or carton rack in mass into a magazine through the assistance of a loading apparatus.
An example embodiment of the present invention is a process by which an open box or carton rack of ammunition, containerized in multiple parallel rows, is placed onto a loading apparatus in bulk for mass loading into a magazine. This is accomplished by inserting ammunition from one of the types of containers into a repository channel on the apparatus with the cartridges on the container facing towards the apparatus, primer/base side first. The containerized cartridges are preferably dropped by force of gravity into a repository channel on the apparatus, which runs lengthwise in the apparatus, through an opening on the side of the apparatus. Once the cartridges are dropped in with their flat base/primer sides facing into the repository channel, the box or carton rack is lifted away, leaving the cartridges in place. While in the channel, the ammunition may be held in a single row or double parallel offset row configuration. A magazine is attached to a proximal end of the repository channel, with the gap between the magazine feed lips placed in linear planar alignment with the repository channel the ammunition contained therein. A loading press, which urges ammunition from the repository channel into the attached magazine, is inserted into the repository channel either through the side opening between cartridges or through the distal end of the repository channel. The cartridges are then pressed through a loading funnel, tangent and aligned to the magazine and the proximal end of the repository channel, which directs the cartridges into a single row for loading between the magazine feed lips into the magazine with the assistance of a loading press.
Another example embodiment of the present invention is a process by which ammunition contained within boxes or carton racks are placed in bulk into a reservoir container for mass loading into a magazine. This is accomplished through inserting either type of container with ammunition into an opening on the side of the reservoir container for feed into a magazine. The containers are placed into the reservoir container while opened with their cartridges facing flat base/primer side first into the reservoir container. Once the cartridge flat base/primer sides are placed onto the reservoir container, the ammunition container is lifted away, leaving the cartridges in place. The reservoir container is tilted 90 degrees and the cartridges then fall onto a proximal end of the reservoir container by force of gravity where they are funneled into a single stack by an extraction funnel. They then proceed into a repository channel, which is aligned with and tangent to the extraction funnel at a proximal end on the repository channel. A magazine is attached to the distal end of the repository channel, with the gap between the magazine feed lips set in linear planer alignment with the repository channel. With the aid of a loading press, which travels in the repository channel and urges cartridges from the repository channel into the magazine, the ammunition in the repository channel is pressed into the attached magazine through the repository channel distal end.
In reference to example embodiments disclosed in
The loading/unloading tool 201 extracts ammunition 106 from a donor magazine 200A with the aid of an extraction funnel 205. In an embodiment, the extraction funnel 205 comprises two non-parallel, non-tangent planar slopes which narrow toward a common focal point, whose narrow opening 219 is coupled to the top apparatus opening 202 and whose broad opening 220 is coupled to a donor magazine 200A. The broad and narrow openings of the extraction funnel 205 are in linear alignment with the repository channel 206. A loading press 208, which assists the movement of ammunition 106 between attached magazines 200 and the repository channel 206, is inserted into the repository channel 206 through the side opening 204. A headway spacer 214, located on the top of the loading press 208, is placed ahead of the broad opening 220 of the extraction funnel 205, further away from the top apparatus opening 202 than the broad opening 220. Both the headway spacer 214 and extraction funnel 205 are inserted into the magazine top opening 119 of an ammunition loaded donor magazine 200A. The headway spacer 214 forces the ammunition 106 in the donor magazine 200A away from the magazine top opening 119 and magazine feed lips 123, which retain the ammunition 106 within the donor magazine 200A, to a place deeper into the magazine 200A. This creates space between the magazine feed lips 123 and the ammunition 106 for the extraction funnel 205 to be inserted in through the magazine top opening 119. Once the extraction funnel 205 is inserted, the headway spacer 214 is pulled out of the donor magazine 200A, allowing the ammunition 106, under pressure of the magazine follower 102, to move towards the extraction funnel 205. Passing through the extraction funnel 205, the ammunition 106, often in double offset parallel rows, merges into to a centered single row bypasses the hold of the magazine feed lips 123 by passing through the gap between them. The ammunition 106 following the headway spacer 214, under force of the magazine spring 102, moves out of the donor magazine 200A into the repository channel 206 while in constant contact with the headway spacer 214. The headway spacer 214 maintains the horizontal stability of the ammunition cartridges 106 while they are in the repository channel 206. When in the repository channel 206, the ammunition 106 can be held in a single row or double parallel offset row configuration. As the channel 206 fills with cartridges 106, the loading press 208 is removed from the tool 201 through the side opening 204, allowing the ammunition 106 to come into contact with the bottom apparatus opening 203.
In reference to example embodiments disclosed in
In reference to example embodiments disclosed in
In reference to example embodiments disclosed in
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment.
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a magazine defining a chamber that is configured to contain one or more ammunition cartridges a set of feed lips located at a proximal end of the magazine and a spring with a follower at the spring proximal end of the magazine;
- a tool for loading and unloading ammunition into the magazine, the tool further comprising a reservoir container, defined by three sides of the tool an configured to hold ammunition cartridges, and a funnel to interact with a proximal end of the reservoir container to route ammunition from the reservoir container into a single row in a repository channel; and
- a loading press sized for insertion into the reservoir container and the repository channel such that when inserted the loading press guides ammunition through the tool and into the magazine.
2. A method for interacting with an ammunition magazine, comprising:
- inserting an extraction funnel into at least one of a reservoir container or a magazine through at least one of a reservoir container proximal end and an opening defined by magazine feed lips, the feed lips located at a proximal end of the ammunition magazine and are configured to retain ammunition within the magazine;
- extracting one or more cartridges through at least one of the reservoir container proximal end or between the magazine feed lips using the extraction funnel;
- directing the one or more cartridges into a repository channel through a repository channel proximal end;
- aligning the cartridges into a single row by passing them through the loading funnel located at the repository channel distal end;
- coupling a second magazine to the repository channel distal end with the second magazine feed lips facing into the repository channel; and
- reinserting the ammunition into the second magazine by applying force to the cartridges through a gap defined by the second magazine's feed lips with the loading press.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein magazine feed lips form an obstruction on the left and right sides of the magazine proximal end to prohibit the passage of ammunition cartridges out of the magazine while the ammunition cartridges are in a double parallel offset row configuration.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein magazine feed lips retain ammunition cartridges within a magazine in a double parallel offset row configuration.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the extraction funnel extracts ammunition from a magazine by converging ammunition held in double parallel offset rows into a single centered row for passage between the magazine feed lips.
6. A loading and unloading apparatus for interacting with a magazine, comprising:
- an extraction funnel at a first end of the loading and unloading apparatus and configured to couple with a magazine to extract ammunition;
- a repository channel, defined by a wall of the loading and unloading apparatus and terminating at the extraction funnel and configured to received ammunition through the extraction channel;
- a loading funnel, aligned with the distal end of the repository channel at one end and coupled to a second magazine on the opposite end, configured to consolidate the cartridges from the repository into a single row; and
- a loading press configured to urge the ammunition cartridges from the repository channel through the loading funnel into a second magazine.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a reservoir container configured to store ammunition cartridges, defined by three sides of the loading and unloading apparatus, the reservoir container having an opening on a proximal end to dispense ammunition out of the reservoir container.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the repository channel is exposed through an opening on one long side of the apparatus, to host the insertion of the loading press and ammunition cartridges into the repository channel.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the repository channel is configured to host a container with cartridges for the transfer of cartridges from the container to the repository channel through an opening in the container which faces into the repository channel.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein ammunition cartridges held in the repository channel are partially exposed out of the apparatus through a defined long side opening in the apparatus so as to be visible for inspection and accessible for maintenance
11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the extraction and loading funnels consolidate cartridges stacked in double offset parallel row configurations into single row configurations for passage between magazine feed lips.
12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the extraction funnel is two non-parallel, non-tangent planar slopes which narrow toward a common focal point, whose narrow opening is coupled to the proximal end of the repository channel and whose broad opening is coupled to a magazine or a reservoir container.
13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the loading funnel is two non-parallel, non-tangent planar slopes which narrow toward a common focal point, whose broad opening is coupled to the distal end of the repository channel and whose narrow opening is coupled to a magazine or a reservoir container.
14. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the broad and narrow openings of the extraction funnel and loading funnel are in linear alignment with the repository channel.
15. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the gap between the feed lips of a magazine and the repository channel are in linear planar alignment while the magazine feed lips are coupled to one end of the repository channel during the transfer of ammunition from the repository channel to the attached magazine, and vice-versa.
16. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the loading press travels inside of the repository channel and guides ammunition from the repository channel into an attached magazines and vice-versa.
17. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the loading press maintains the perpendicular alignment of the ammunition cartridges to the length of the repository channel by preventing cartridges from pitching forwards or backwards.
18. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the loading tool has a V-shaped edge which assists the insertion of the loading tool between any two cartridges in the repository channel.
19. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the loading press is inserted between the feed lips of a magazine and forces ammunition deeper into the magazine to create sufficient spacing for the extraction funnel to be inserted into the magazine.
20. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the side opening of the reservoir container can host an open container with ammunition for transfer of ammunition from the ammunition container to the reservoir container.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2011
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2012
Inventor: RAY KIM (Federal Way, WA)
Application Number: 13/016,743