Expended Cartridge Case Receiver
Disclosed is an expended cartridge case receiver unit which catches and contains cartridge cases ejected clear of a firearm and keeps them from underfoot of the shooter. The receiver unit has a weight bearing surface that allows an ejected cartridge case to pass through it into a case trap portion disposed below it. A plurality of the case receiver units can be arranged in a series with the case trap portion of each receiver unit in communication with the case trap of an adjacent receiver unit in the series.
The instant application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/466,324 of the same title, filed 22 Mar. 2011, to which this application is a US national utility application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is in the field of ordinance (Class 89) as related to explosion-operated guns including hand and shoulder firearms. Specifically, the present invention relates to empty shell receivers (Subclass 33.4) to catch spent cartridge cases ejected from a hand or shoulder operated firearm. More specifically, the present invention relates to such empty shell receivers adapted for use in a shooting range.
The present invention is a expended cartridge case receiver for catching and containing spent cartridge cases after they are ejected clear from a firearm. The present case receiver is specifically intended to trap shell cases ejected from a hand or shoulder operated firearm. Also, the present case receiver is intended to be constructed into the floor structure of an indoor or outdoor pistol/rifle shooting range. Referring now to the drawings, the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated. Like elements in the drawings are represented by like numbers, and any similar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix.
The expended cartridge case receiver 10 of the present invention in its preferred embodiment comprises a plurality of individual expended cartridge case receiver units 14, arranged in a series. Each individual cartridge case receiver unit 14 is adapted to catch and contain cartridge cases 16 ejected clear of a firearm 18, while supporting a shooter and the shooter's gear. As exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 2-2a, an individual cartridge case receiver unit 14 includes: a horizontal platform 20, a receiver cover 24 with a grated cross-section 26, and a cartridge/shell case trap 40. Generally, the shell case trap 40 of a case receiver unit 14 has a box-shaped configuration with a floor 42 that is flat or is inclined—the latter to use gravity to help focus collection of the trapped shell cases 16. In a preferred embodiment, an individual receiver unit 14 defines an individual shooting lane (see
The horizontal platform 20 is a weight-bearing surface capable of supporting a shooter and the shooter's gear. A receiver or trap cover 24 is integrated into the platform 20. The receiver/trap cover 24 is a grate or has a grated cross-section 26. The length L and width W dimensions of the openings 28 in the grated cross-section 26 are sufficient to allow an ejected cartridge cases 16 to pass through the platform 20 while supporting the shooter and the shooter's gear. In a preferred embodiment, the openings 28 had a length L of about 4 inches and width W of about 1 inch. The height H and thickness T of the grate 26 is selectable by one of skill in the art to provide the structural integrity necessary to support the weight intended by a user that the platform 20 and receiver cover 24 is to carry. It is preferred that the thickness T be selected to be as small as possible while providing the desired structural integrity for the safety reason set forth below.
It is to be noted that the asymmetric shape of the trap cover openings 28 and orientation of the openings 28 relative to the line-of-fire (arrow) of the shooting lane are both important. The openings 28 are preferred to have a length L sufficient to allow the length of substantially all shoulder operated firearms to easily fall through the receiver cover 24 of the platform 20, as these types of shell cases have a diameter typically much smaller than their length. A rectangular or oblong opening having a length L of about 3-4 inches is satisfactory for this feature. Additionally, the openings 28 are preferred to have a width W sufficient to allow the length of a .45 ACP caliber cartridge case (˜⅞ths of an inch) to fall through the receiver cover 24. Dimensions substantially larger than these may be useful for some special purposes, but generally increasing the dimensions tends to make the quality of the cover's surface less suitable for a shooter to stand on. This is particularly true if the shooter is wearing footware with a small heel surface. Dimensions substantially smaller than these may improve the quality of the cover surface more suitable for standing, but will increase the occurrence of cases that land on the cover surface and fail to pass through the trap cover 24.
Another important feature of the trap cover 24 is the orientation of the cover openings 28 relative to the line-of-fire (arrow) of the shooting lane. It was unexpected to find that even heavy duty steel grating of the type generally used for catwalks and other walkways supporting human foot traffic was not suitable unless the opening 28 were specifically oriented in the cartridge case receiver unit 14 relative to the line-of-fire. Specifically, the length L dimension is to be oriented perpendicular to the line-of-fire (arrow) of the shooting lane. This orientation reduces the tendency of the trap cover 24 to give or sag under the weight of one or more shooters moving about on it. This improved cover surface stability is important for the handling of a loaded firearm. Additionally, this orientation allows a wheel chair (or other wheeled device) to be rolled onto the platform 20 without risk of narrow wheels becoming bound along length of the cover openings 28.
The receiver/trap cover 24 in the preferred embodiment is removable to allow access to the interior of the cartridge/shell case trap 40 below. If it is desired to use a light-weight receiver cover 24 on the platform 20, a cover support 30 (such as the pedestal 30 set on the floor 42 of the cartridge case trap 40 in
The plurality of expended cartridge case receiver units 14 were arranged in a series with the case trap 40 of each receiver unit 14 in communication with an adjacent case trap 40 along the series. That is to say that adjacent case receiver units 14 were without a solid side wall between them (see
Also illustrated in the figure is a holding bin 58 into which the spent cartridge cases 16 collected from the case traps 40 of the individual receiver units 14 can be deposited. In this example, the holding bin 58 is outside the wall of the range and a pass-thru 54 in the range wall connects the interior of the bin 58 with the series of case traps 40 inside the shooting range. As shown in
While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible, which would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, and not just by the embodiments.
Claims
1. An expended cartridge case receiver unit (14) for supporting a shooter and catching and containing cartridge cases (16) ejected clear of a firearm (18), the receiver unit (14) comprising:
- a horizontal platform (20), the platform being a weight-bearing surface capable of supporting a shooter and a shooter's gear;
- a receiver cover (24) integral with the platform (20) and having a grated cross-section (26) to allow an ejected cartridge case (16) to pass through the platform (20) while supporting the shooter and the shooter's gear; and
- a case trap (40) for catching and containing the cartridge case (16) ejected clear of the firearm (18), the case trap (40) disposed below and covered by the grated cross-section (26) of the receiver cover (24).
2. An expended cartridge case receiver (10) for supporting a plurality of shooters and catching and containing cartridge cases (16) ejected clear of a plurality of firearms (18), the case receiver (10) comprising: a plurality of expended cartridge case receiver units (14) of claim 1, arranged in a series and each receiver unit (14) having a case trap (40) in communication with an adjacent case trap (40) along the series.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 5, 2012
Publication Date: Sep 27, 2012
Inventor: William JAMES (League City, TX)
Application Number: 13/411,854
International Classification: F41A 35/00 (20060101);