Abstract:
The present disclosure teaches an apparatus for removing a firearm magazine&#39;s floorplate comprising a substantially elliptically shaped element comprising an open end, a top surface, a bottom surface and an inner surface, a notch located in the upper surface of the element, a slit on the open end opposite the notch and a plurality of projections located on the inner surface. Methods of using the apparatus are also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/038,115, filed Mar. 20, 2008 entitled “Apparatus for Firearm Maintenance.” 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The disclosed apparatus relates to the proper maintenance of firearms. More particularly, the invention discloses a tool useful for removing the floorplate of a firearm&#39;s magazine. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    A magazine also called a clip is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm (fixed) or removable (detachable). The cartridges in the magazine are loaded or fed into the firearm&#39;s chamber either automatically or manually depending on the firearm, but almost always by a spring. The most common type of magazine is the detachable “box” type. 
         [0004]    Firearms must be clean to function reliably and safely. One common area of firearm malfunction, especially in the field (i.e., hunting, a law enforcement operation or military combat), is dirt or debris inside the magazine which interferes with the proper loading of ammunition from the magazine to the chamber. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a tool that allows quick and easy access to the magazine&#39;s magazine tube, via removal of the magazine&#39;s floorplate, so that the magazine tube and spring can be cleaned to insure proper operation. 
         [0005]    Some firearms, such as some Glock® pistols, have magazines that are very difficult to disassemble and clean. One possible method of removing a magazine&#39;s floorplate is known in the prior art. The method relies upon a pliers-like device to remove the floorplate. The pliers&#39; beaks must be held in place, while the handles are at a distance from the magazine, making it difficult to apply pressure on the locking tabs, maintain control of the magazine and manipulate the release of the floorplate with the other hand. Consequently, a device that provides easy application of force on the locking tabs while removing the floorplate is desirable. The current invention allows the user to secure the magazine and apply force to the magazine releasing the locking tabs in a manner which is easily accomplished with one hand, allowing the other hand to remove the floorplate and preventing damage to the magazine. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    It should be noted that identical features in different drawings are shown with the same reference numeral. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a firearm magazine. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a firearm magazine with the floorplate removed exposing the locking tabs on the magazine and the retaining cut outs on the floorplate. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  show a three quarter (¾) view of one embodiment of the tool disclosed herein. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  shows a side view of one embodiment of the tool disclosed herein. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  shows a top view of one embodiment of the tool disclosed herein with the magazine (shown in dotted lines) inserted into the tool. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of a magazine inserted into one embodiment of the tool. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  shows one possible embodiment inserting the magazine into one embodiment of the tool. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The current invention discloses a tool used for removing a floorplate of a firearm&#39;s magazine. The tool allows its user to apply sufficient force to the magazine&#39;s side walls to disengage locking tabs on the magazine from retaining cut-outs on the floorplate and to remove the floorplate. 
         [0015]      FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  6  and  7  show a firearm magazine  22  used to store ammunition (not shown). The ammunition is stored in a magazine tube  26  and is fed by a spring-loaded mechanism (not shown) into the firearm&#39;s chamber (not shown). To assure safe and dependable operation of the firearm, the magazine  22  must be cleaned from time-to-time. Many magazines  22  have a floorplate  24 , located on the bottom of the magazine  22 , which must be removed to clean the magazine  22 . Some floorplates  24  employ locking tabs  28  located on the magazine  22  (often the locking tabs  28  are located on opposite sides of the sidewalls  32 ) that fit into retaining cut outs  30   a  and  30   b  on the floorplate  24  locking the floorplate  24  into position thereby enclosing the lower end of the magazine tube  26 . It is desirable to preserve the structural integrity, i.e., the “locking mechanism”, by preserving the shape of the locking tabs  28  and the retaining cutouts  30   a  and  30   b  assuring a close fit between the floorplate  24  and the magazine  22 . One method of preserving the integrity of the locking mechanism is to completely or nearly completely disengage the locking tabs  28  from the retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b  before attempting to remove the floor plate  24 . 
         [0016]    Generally, to remove the floorplate  24  from the magazine  22 , one must apply sufficient force to the magazine&#39;s side walls  32  to depress the locking tabs  28  and disengage them from the retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b . Once the locking tabs  28  are disengaged, the floorplate  24  may be slid off the magazine  22  in a horizontal or nearly horizontal motion as depicted in  FIG. 2 . This particular embodiment shows the method of removing the floorplate from a “Generation I” magazine for the Glock® pistol. “Generation II” and “Generation III” Glock® magazines have a retaining pin which is part of the reinforcement plate which must be depressed with a punch or other similar instrument before depressing and disengaging the locking tabs. The present invention will work with any generation of the Glock® magazines. 
         [0017]    One embodiment of the invention is depicted in  FIGS. 2 ,  3   a,    3   b,    4 ,  5  and  7 . The tool  10  has an upper surface  6 , lower surface  2 , an inner surface  4 , an open-end having a slit  16 , a long horizontal axis  8  and two (2) arms  18   a  and  18   b . The slit  16  allows the user to squeeze the tools arms  18   a  and  18   b  together, but only to the point the arms  18   a  and  18   b  touch. This particular embodiment has a notch  12  located on the upper surface  6  of the tool  10  located opposite the open-end. The notch  12  allows for easy removal of the floorplate  24 . The tool  10  has a plurality of projections  14   a  and  14   b  on its inner surface  4 . 
         [0018]    In this particular embodiment, the tool  10  is a rectangularly-shaped hollow ring made of a plastic, nylon or other polymer. The tool  10  may be made from a rigid or semi-rigid material (the “construction material”) having the stiffness and strength to displace the locking tabs  28  from the floorplate&#39;s retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b , yet flexible enough (i) to allow the user to “squeeze” or apply pressure to the tool&#39;s arms  18   a  and  18   b  together creating the force necessary to use the tool  10  and (ii) allow the tool  10  to return to its original shape after each use. In one embodiment, the construction material is glass filled nylon. In one embodiment the glass filled nylon contains between about 0 to 20 percent glass. In another embodiment glass filled nylon contains between about 21 to 40 percent glass. In yet another embodiment, the glass filled nylon contains between about 41 to 60 percent glass. In yet another embodiment, the glass filled nylon contains over 60 percent glass. Other materials may be added to the construction material to yield the desired flexibility and stiffness. Accordingly, as one skilled in the art will realize, the tool  10  may be made from a variety of materials. 
         [0019]    Further in this embodiment, the tool  10  has two (2) projections  14   a  and  14   b  on its inner-surface  4  and a slit  16  perpendicular to its long horizontal axis  8 . In an alternate embodiment (not shown) the tool has four (4) projections on its inner surface. The slit  16  is located opposite the notch  12 . In this embodiment, the tool  10  has measurements of about 2.5″ long, about 1.25″ wide and about 0.75″ tall. Further, the slit  16  in this embodiment may be about 0.125″ wide. However, the slit  16  may range from about 0.0625″ to 0.250″ wide. In an alternate embodiment the slit is not perpendicular to the long horizontal axis  8 . These dimensions of the embodiment of the invention are designed to fit a magazine for a Glock® pistol with a caliber of either 9 mm, 0.40 S&amp;W, or 0.357 Sig. For a Glock® pistol with a caliber of 10 mm, 0.45 ACP, or 0.45 GAP, the dimensions will be larger due to the larger diameter of this ammunition and the correspondingly larger width of the magazine  22 . For magazines with a “single stack” configuration, the dimensions of the invention will be smaller due to the decreased width of the magazine  22 . If the tool  10  is configured to receive magazines for different firearms, the tool  10  may have different dimensions as would be obvious to one skilled in the art. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7  show one possible embodiment of using the tool  10 . In this embodiment, the tool  10  is configured to receive or slide over a Glock® firearm&#39;s magazine  22 . After sliding the tool  10  lengthwise, from top to bottom, along the magazine  22  until the tool  10  rests against the locking tabs  28 , the user squeezes the tool&#39;s arms  18   a  and  18   b  together creating pressure points on the magazine&#39;s side walls  32 . The projections  14   a  and  14   b  create pressure points immediately adjacent to the magazine&#39;s locking tabs  28 , sufficient to disengage the locking tabs  28  from the floorplate&#39;s retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b . As shown in  FIG. 7 , after the locking tabs  28  are disengaged from the floorplate&#39;s retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b , the floorplate  24  is slid in a horizontal or nearly horizontal motion off of the magazine  22 . Once the floorplate  24  is removed, the user can clean the inside the magazine tube  26  to remove debris and other materials which may interfere with the proper operation of the firearm. 
         [0021]    To replace the floorplate  24  after cleaning, the user will again slide the tool  10  lengthwise, from top to bottom, along the magazine  22  and squeeze the arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the tool  10 , applying pressure to the magazine&#39;s side walls  32 , thereby allowing user to slide the floorplate  24  and corresponding retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b  over the locking tabs  28  into a secure position. 
         [0022]    Other embodiments of the present invention are possible. For example, some magazines  22  (such as Glock®&#39;s second and third generation magazines) have additional attachment mechanisms attaching the floorplate  24  to the magazine  22 . One such mechanism is a retaining pin (not shown) which must be released before the floorplate  24  may be removed. The present invention should be understood to assist the user in removing a floorplate  24  from any magazine  22  including without limitation the second and third generation Glock® magazines. 
         [0023]    The current invention has several advantages. First, the tool  10  minimizes the wear on the magazine&#39;s locking tabs  28  and the floorplate&#39;s  24  retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b  during disassembly (or assembly) by disengaging the locking tabs  28  from the retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b , allowing the floorplate  24  to be easily removed (or replaced) preserving the structural integrity of the retaining cut-outs  30   a  and  30   b  and the locking tabs  28 . Further, using the tool  10 , the magazine  22  may be disassembled (or assembled) without marring or scuffing the magazine  22 . This is especially important when the tool  10  is used to remove the floorplate of a Glock® firearm&#39;s magazine as Glock® magazines are often made of polymers (i.e., composite materials) which may be marred or scuffed during assembly and disassembly. Additionally, the tool  10  limits the amount of force that can be applied to the magazine&#39;s side walls  32 . By limiting the amount of force applied to the magazine&#39;s side walls  32  during disassembly or assembly, damage to the magazine&#39;s metal liner (not shown) may be avoided. Finally, the tool&#39;s  10  precise fit over the magazine  22  allows for easy disassembly, assembly and cleaning of the magazine  22  by one person. 
         [0024]    While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed here.