Abstract:
Self-locking chambers for magazine speed loaders is disclosed. A self-locking chamber features a chamber, comprising of two parallel walls, that engages with an alignment wall and a locking block, the alignment wall and the locking block configured to work in conjunction with one another in restraining the lateral mobility of cartridges placed in between them. Cartridges positioned in between the two parallel walls and in between the locking block and the alignment wall are restrained from lateral movement and serve to restrain the lateral mobility of the chamber, hence locking the chamber in linear alignment with a feed opening of a magazine that is coupled adjacent to the locking block and alignment wall.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of ammunition speed loaders for firearms magazines and more particularly relates to a chamber locking system for magazine speed loaders. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Most ammunition speed loading devices for rifle magazines work on a system of stacking multiple ammunition cartridges into a single file within a chamber, aligning that chamber with the feed opening of a magazine, urging the cartridges in the chamber against an opposing force exerted by the spring of the magazine, overcoming that opposing force and further urging the cartridges into the magazine. The flaw with this system is that if a chamber is not maintained in fixed alignment with a magazine feed opening, the force applied in overcoming the opposing force of a magazine spring is often deteriorated while being transferred through a file of cartridges to a magazine spring. This is because force applied onto an a file of cartridges that is not structurally reinforced on two widthwise sides, such as a file of cartridges in an unfixed chamber, has a tendency to be vectored away from its original direction of urging by the cartridges of the file, which have an inclination to slide off from one another while in a file configuration due to their circular shape. 
         [0005]    Therefore, in an attempt to conserve the utility of the force applied through cartridges to overcome a magazine spring, speed loaders are designed with a feature that locks a chamber in alignment with a feed opening of a magazine, so that a file of cartridges within a chamber is constantly reinforced on two widthwise sides up to the point where the chamber meets the magazine feed opening. This allows a chamber to constantly maintain its cartridges in a file, thus allowing force that is applied onto the cartridges to directly transfer through the cartridge file, in a linear manner, to a magazine spring with minimal force lost from being re-vectored through the cartridges. Hence, with locked chambers, the overall force required to load cartridges into a magazine is relatively equal to the force required to overcome the opposing force of a magazine spring. 
         [0006]    Though prior art discloses a means for permanently locking a single chamber in alignment with a magazine feed opening, prior art does not provide a means for successively and temporarily locking a series of chambers in alignment with a magazine feed opening. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In view of the absence of known designs or methods for successively locking multiple chambers into alignment with a magazine feed opening coupled relative to the multiple chambers, it is the intent of the present invention to provide self locking chambers that can lock and subsequently unlock from alignment with a magazine feed opening so that successive chambers, as part of a system, can align and lock into alignment with a magazine feed opening. 
         [0008]    To accomplish this objective, self locking chambers, in their preferred embodiment, comprise a first elongated wall that is comprised of a front face and a back face. The front face perpendicularly extends three parallel partition walls that are parallel with the length of the first elongated wall. These partition walls run the entire length of the first elongated wall and are spaced apart from one another by a distance equal to the width of one cartridge. These cartridge wide spacings, defined as chambers, are configured to host ammunition cartridges. The first elongated wall also defines a cut out at a short edge of the first elongated that runs a portion of the width of the short edge. The cut out also runs along a long edge of the first elongated wall for a portion of the long edge length. The cut out also runs from the back face of the first elongated wall, through the elongated wall, into a portion of the partition walls. The back face is slideably engaged with a face of a second elongated wall. The face of the second elongated wall perpendicularly extends an alignment wall at a long edge and perpendicularly extends a locking block at a short edge. The locking block is sized to engage within the cut out of the first elongated wall and is distanced away the alignment wall by a measurement equal to the width of a cartridge. The locking block, the alignment wall and the front face of the first elongated wall collectively define the space commonly bordered by each of these entities as a cartridge wide channel. A first chamber of the first elongated wall is linearly aligned with the cartridge wide channel, while simultaneously overlapping the channel, and a first partition wall bordering the first chamber is engaged within an opening defined by the partition wall. An ammunition magazine is coupled relative to the cartridge wide channel in such a manner that a magazine feed opening defined by the magazine is linearly aligned with the channel. Ammunition cartridges are positioned in both chambers of the first elongated wall. Some cartridges positioned in the first chamber and are simultaneously positioned within the cartridge wide channel between the locking block and alignment wall, where they are restrained from moving laterally, or perpendicularly to the length of the channel, by the locking block and the alignment wall. As a result, the partition walls bordering the first chamber, which encapsulate the restrained cartridges on two sides, are restrained from moving laterally by the restrained cartridges. Consequently, this locks the first chamber in linear alignment with the cartridge wide channel and the magazine feed opening. Each cartridge in the first chamber that is not positioned within the cartridge wide channel is successively and sequentially urged into the channel, where it urges the cartridges already in the channel from the channel and first chamber into the magazine feed opening. While each cartridge passes through the channel, it becomes restrained from moving laterally by the locking block and alignment wall and, as a result, maintains the partition walls bordering the first chamber restrained from moving laterally as well. Hence, the first chamber remains locked in alignment with the cartridge wide channel and magazine feed opening as long as there are cartridges within the channel. Once cartridges have been successively urged into the channel, they are further successively urged into the magazine feed opening until all cartridges in the first chamber have been urged from the first chamber. Once the first chamber has been cleared of cartridges, the second chamber is aligned with the cartridge wide channel and magazine feed opening. The cartridges in the second chamber are successively urged into the cartridge wide channel and then subsequently successively urged into the magazine feed opening. 
         [0009]    The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is an angled side view of the preferred embodiment of the sliding wall and support wall; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an angled side view of the preferred embodiment of the sliding wall and support wall aggregated into one unit; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3A  is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the sliding wall and support wall, aggregated, coupled with a magazine and supporting ammunition cartridges positioned in the two chambers; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3B  is a top cross section view  FIG. 3A ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side cross section view of cartridges in the proximal chamber urged through the channel, between the locking block and the partition wall, into the magazine feed opening; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top cross section view of the distal chamber linearly aligned with the magazine feed opening. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0017]    In reference to the example embodiments shown in  FIG. 1 , self locking chambers  100  comprise an elongated sliding wall  101 , which is comprised of a proximal face  102  and a distal face  103 . The sliding wall proximal face  102  perpendicularly extends three parallel partition walls  104 ,  105 ,  106 . In one embodiment, the partition walls  104 ,  105 ,  106  extend perpendicularly out from the proximal face  102  for a distance equal to approximately half the length of a cartridge  300 . A proximal partition wall  104  is extended at one long edge of the proximal face  102 , a distal partition wall  106  is extended at a second long edge of the proximal face  102 , which lies opposite to the long edge of the proximal partition wall  104 , and a center partition wall  105  is extended at a location on the proximal face  102  that lies between the proximal and distal partition walls  104 ,  106 . The partition walls  104 ,  105 ,  106 , are parallel with the long edges of the proximal face  102  and run across the entire length of the sliding wall  101 . 
         [0018]    The multiple gaps between each of the individual partition walls  104 ,  105 ,  106  are defined as chambers  107 ,  108 . The chamber  107  between the proximal partition wall  104  and the center partition wall  105  is more specifically defined as the proximal chamber  107  and the chamber  108  between the center partition wall  105  and distal partition wall  106  is more specifically defined as the distal chamber  108 . In one embodiment, the width of each chamber  107 ,  108  is equal to the width of a cartridge  300 . 
         [0019]    The sliding wall  101  defines a cut out  109  that runs from the proximal chamber  107  to the distal partition wall  106  on one axis, from a proximal short edge  110  of the proximal face  102  toward a distal short edge  111  for a portion of the length of the sliding wall  101  on a second axis, and from the sliding wall distal face  103 , through the sliding wall  101 , into the center and distal partition walls  105 ,  106  for a portion of the height of the center and distal partition walls  105 ,  106  on a third axis. In one embodiment, the portion of the length of the sliding wall  101  run through by the cut out  109  on the second axis is equal to the width of two cartridges  300 . In one embodiment, the cut out  109  runs along the length of the sliding wall  101  on the second axis for the entire length of the sliding wall  101 . In one embodiment, the portion of the height of the central and distal partition walls  105 ,  106  run through by the cut out  109  on the third axis is equal to approximately one fifth of the length of a cartridge  300 . 
         [0020]    The self locking chambers  100  further comprises of an elongated support wall  112 , which is comprised of a front face  113 . The front face  113  defines a bottom short edge  114 , a top short edge  115 , a right long edge  116  and a left long edge  117 . The support wall front face  113  perpendicularly extends an alignment wall  118  at the right long edge  116  that runs the length of the right long edge  116 . In one embodiment, the alignment wall  118  extends from the front face  113  at the left long edge  117 . The alignment wall  118  defines a pass through space  119  sized to allow the partition walls  114 ,  115 ,  116  passage through the alignment wall  118 . 
         [0021]    The front face  113  perpendicularly extends a locking block  120  at the bottom short edge  114  that runs from the left long edge  117  toward the alignment wall  118  for a portion of the width of the bottom short edge  114 . In one embodiment, the distance of space between the locking block  120  and the alignment wall  118  is equal to the width of a cartridge  300 . The locking block  120  extends from the bottom short edge  114  and runs along the left long edge  117  for a portion of the length of the left long edge  117 . In one embodiment, the portion of the length of the left long edge  117  run by the locking block  120  is equal to the width of two cartridges  300 . In one embodiment, the locking block  120  runs along the left long edge  117  for the entire length of the left long edge  117 . The locking block  120  extends perpendicularly from the elongated support wall front face  113  for a limited height. In one embodiment, this height is equal to the thickness of the sliding wall  101  combined with one fifth of the length of a cartridge  300 . 
         [0022]    The front face  113  defines a raised area  121  between the locking block  120  and the alignment wall  118  that extends perpendicularly from the front face  113  for a distance equal to the thickness of the sliding wall  101 . The raised area  121  extends from the bottom short edge  114  and runs along the length of the support wall  112  for a distance equal to the length of distance run by the locking block  120  along the left long edge  117 . 
         [0023]    The locking block  120 , the alignment wall  118 , and the raised area  121  collectively define the common area bordered by each of these entities as a cartridge wide channel  122 . The cartridge wide channel  122  is sized to allow the passage of cartridges  300  between the locking block  120  and the alignment wall  118  and is configured to interface with a magazine feed opening  201 . The cartridge wide channel  122  is further configured to successively align with each sliding wall chamber  107 ,  108  in a manner that allows cartridges  300  positioned in each chamber  107 ,  108  a linear path through the channel  122  to a magazine feed opening  201  coupled relative to the channel  122 . 
         [0024]    In reference to the example embodiments shown in  FIG. 2 , the sliding wall distal face  103  is slideably engaged with the support wall front face  113  in such a manner that the partition walls  104 ,  105 ,  106  align with the alignment wall  118  in a parallel manner. The sliding wall  101  and the proximal partition wall  104  are engaged within the alignment wall pass through space  119  and the sliding wall proximal chamber  107  is linearly aligned with the cartridge wide channel  122 . While linearly aligned with the cartridge wide channel  122 , the proximal chamber  107  overlaps the channel  122  in such a manner that cartridges  300  positioned in the channel  122  are simultaneously positioned within the proximal chamber  107 . The support wall locking block  120  is slideably engaged within the sliding wall cut out  109  and tangent with the distal chamber  108 . 
         [0025]    In reference to the example embodiments shown in  FIG. 3A and 3B , an ammunition magazine  200 , comprising of a feed opening  201 , is coupled relative to the cartridge wide channel  122  in such a manner that the feed opening  201  is in linear alignment with the channel  122 . 
         [0026]    Ammunition cartridges  300  are positioned in the chambers  107 ,  108  in such a manner that the lengths of cartridges  300  are oriented perpendicular to the length of the sliding wall  101 . In one embodiment, cartridges  300  are placed into the chambers pointing away from the sliding wall proximal face  102 . Cartridges  300  positioned in the proximal chamber  107  are supported by either the sliding wall proximal face  102  or the raised area  121  while cartridges  300  positioned in the distal chamber  108  are supported either by the sliding wall proximal face  102  or the locking block  120 . In one embodiment, the support of all of the cartridges  300  positioned in the distal chamber  108  is placed on the locking block  120 . The cartridges  300  positioned in the proximal chamber  107  and supported by the raised area  121 , in the cartridge wide channel  122 , are restricted from moving laterally, or perpendicularly to the length of the channel  122 , by the locking block  120  and the alignment wall  118 . As a result, the proximal and center partition walls  104 ,  105 , which encapsulate the restricted cartridges  300  on two sides, are likewise restrained from moving laterally, consequently locking the proximal chamber  107  in linear alignment with the cartridge wide channel  122  and the magazine feed opening  201 . 
         [0027]    In reference to the example embodiments shown in  FIG. 4 , cartridges  300  in the proximal chamber  107 , supported by the sliding wall proximal face  102 , are successively urged from the proximal face  102  onto the raised area  121 , in the cartridge wide channel  122 , where they urge the cartridges  300  already in the cartridge wide channel  122  from the channel  122  and the proximal chamber  107  into the magazine feed opening  201 . Each successive cartridge  300  urged into the channel  122 , between the locking block  120  and alignment wall  118 , restrains the proximal and center partition walls  105 ,  106  from moving laterally and maintains the proximal chamber  107  locked in alignment with the cartridge wide channel  122 . Each cartridge  300  successively urged into the cartridge wide channel  122  is then further urged from the proximal chamber  107  into the magazine feed opening  201  until all cartridges  300  in the proximal chamber  107  are urged into the magazine feed opening  201 . 
         [0028]    In reference to the example embodiments shown in  FIG. 5 , following the clearing of cartridges  300  from the proximal chamber  107 , the sliding wall  101  is further translated laterally across the support wall  112  toward the alignment wall  118  and further engaged within the pass through space  119  until the center partition wall  105  becomes engaged within the pass through space  119  and the distal chamber  108  becomes linearly aligned with the cartridge wide channel  122 . While linearly aligned with the cartridge wide channel  122 , the distal chamber  108  overlaps the channel  122  in such a manner that cartridges  300  positioned in the channel  122  are simultaneously positioned within the distal chamber  108 . The alignment of the distal chamber  108  with the cartridge wide channel  122  causes the distal partition wall  106  to urge cartridges  300  supported by the locking block  120 , in the distal chamber  108 , from the locking block  120  onto the raised area  121 . In one embodiment, all cartridges  300  in the distal chamber  108  are supported by the sliding wall proximal face  102 , and the alignment of the distal chamber  108  with the cartridge wide channel  122  causes cartridges  300  in the distal channel  108  to shift onto the raised area  121  by urging of the force of gravity. 
         [0029]    The cartridges  300  of the distal chamber  108 , which have been positioned on the raised area  121 , in the channel  122 , are restrained from moving laterally by the locking block  120  and the alignment wall  118 . The center and distal partition walls  105 ,  106 , which encapsulate the restrained cartridges  300  on two sides, are restricted from moving laterally by the restrained cartridges  300 , hence locking the distal chamber  108  in linear alignment with the cartridge wide channel  122 . The cartridges  300  in the distal chamber  108 , not supported by the raised area  121 , are successively urged onto the raised area  121 , in the cartridge wide channel  122 , where they urges the cartridges  300  already in the channel  122  into the magazine feed opening  201  while maintaining the distal chamber  108  locked in linear alignment with the cartridge wide channel  122  and magazine feed opening  201 . Each cartridge  300  passed into the cartridge wide channel  122  is then further urged from the distal chamber  108  into the magazine feed opening  201  until all cartridges  300  in the distal chamber  108  are urged into the magazine feed opening  201 .