Abstract:
An assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a magazine receiver opening of a pistol having a handle frame member to which a pair of opposing hand grips are removably attachable. The magazine insertion guide is secured in position on the butt portion of the frame member by engagement of a plurality projecting securing members that are concealed by, and cooperatively engage interior elements of specially configured hand grips when the grips are attached to the frame member, the exterior surfaces of which mimic the original equipment grips.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/947,541, filed Jul. 2, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 

   BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a magazine receiver opening of a pistol. 
   2. Background of the Invention 
   A semi-automatic pistol is a type of firearm that uses a magazine for the storage and subsequent delivery of rounds of ammunition, or cartridges, to the chamber. A magazine holds a finite number of rounds. When the magazine is empty, it can be ejected from the firearm and replaced by another full magazine. Compared to a revolver or other type of firearm, a firearm that uses a magazine significantly speeds the process of reloading the firearm, allowing the user rapid access to a relatively large amount of ammunition in a relatively short span of time. An example of a pistol that uses a magazine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 984,519 to Browning, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Semi-automatic pistols produced in accordance with the Browning patent have been manufactured in large volume for use by the military, use .45 caliber ammunition and are popularly known by the trademark and referred to as the “COLT®45”. 
   The replacement of a magazine requires the user to align the fresh magazine with the pistol magazine receiver opening. If the user is in a stressful environment, however, and especially if time is of the essence, then the proper alignment of the magazine with the pistol magazine receiver opening can become more difficult and time-consuming. Oftentimes, the user will waste precious seconds while attempting to properly align a fresh magazine with the magazine receiver opening and may fumble when trying to align and insert it. Examples of stressful environments for the user include organized competitive events, such as those held by the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) or the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), which are generally timed events. Other stressful environments include law enforcement or military use and/or field training exercises. 
   One solution to this problem has involved the use of a magazine insertion guide having a wide-angled opening. 
   Competitive shooters have been known to incur injuries to the portion of their hand that is gripping the pistol in the vicinity of the butt when the other hand fails to get the upper end of the fresh magazine in proper alignment. 
   For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,370 to Smith et al. discloses a wide-angled bifurcated opening magazine entrance guide extension of a pistol mainspring housing. The extension of the grip and provision of the wide-angled magazine receiver entrance guide is provided in a unitary structure with the pistol mainspring housing. The extended structure is attached to the pistol in the same manner as a stock mainspring housing without any machining alteration of the basic stock pistol. 
   The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,370 has been commercially produced and cannot be easily installed, removed, and/or replaced by the average gun enthusiast. For example, the device requires the removal and insertion of a main spring housing pin and a main spring cap pin, respectively, each time the user wishes to interchange the device. The tasks are difficult because the user must (1) first align the main spring housing pin with the openings in the grip and the opening through the mainspring housing; and (2) then align the spring cap pin with a housing opening whilst not disturbing the leafspring, which is held in place by the mainspring housing, whose proper situation is delicate, and without which the firearm will not operate. The device has proved difficult to install and remove by the average user and the services of a gunsmith are used. 
   Furthermore, certain law enforcement agents are required to carry their firearms at all times. However, when these agents arrive at a competitive shooting event, they may wish to switch from a model more suitable for, the constant wear to a model more suitable for competition. 
   By reason of the inconveniences above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a pistol magazine receiver opening that can be easily secured to the pistol by the average user and without the aid and skills of a gunsmith. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a pistol magazine receiver opening, which allows fast and easy interchangeability of several different sized magazine insertion guides with other common elements of the firearm. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The above object and other advantages are achieved by the present invention which includes a magazine insertion guide that mates in interlocking relation with a pair of opposing hand grips. The magazine insertion guide has a flat upper surface for engaging the butt portion of the handle frame member, and a plurality of guide securing members extend upwardly from the upper surface of the magazine insertion guide which are spaced for close-fitting relation to the handle frame member. The pair of opposing hand grips are removably attachable to the sides of the handle frame member, wherein the interior surfaces of the grips are contoured to receive the securing members in close-fitting inter-locking relation. The magazine insertion guide is secured in position on the butt portion of the frame member when the grips are attached to the frame member. The disadvantages heretofore associated with the prior art are overcome by the present invention of an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a magazine receiver opening of a pistol having a handle frame member, wherein the handle frame member has a flat butt portion. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention that follows when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the assembly of the present invention including hand grips and a magazine insertion guide; 
       FIG. 2  is a front cross-sectional view of the assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along line  2 - 2 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the magazine insertion guide of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along line  5 - 5 ; 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the assembly including hand grips and a magazine insertion guide; 
       FIG. 7  is a bottom view of the magazine insertion guide of  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of  FIG. 6  taken along line  8 - 8 ; 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the assembly including hand grips and a magazine insertion guide; 
       FIG. 10  is a bottom view of the magazine insertion guide of  FIG. 9 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of  FIG. 9  taken along line  11 - 11 ; and 
       FIG. 12  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the assembly including hand grips and a magazine insertion guide. 
   

   To facilitate understanding of the invention, identical reference numerals have been used, when appropriate, to designate the same or similar elements that are common to the figures. Further, unless stated otherwise, the figures are not drawn to scale, but are shown for illustrative purposes only. 
   The novel features of the present invention, which are considered as characteristic for the invention, are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional advantages and objects, will be best understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1-5  illustrate the assembly of the present invention according to a first preferred embodiment. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , the assembly  10  includes a pair of opposing hand grips  11 L,  11 R and the magazine insertion guide  32  of the present invention. The pair of opposing hand grips  11 L,  11 R are removably attached to the sides of the handle frame member  41  as further described in  FIG. 2 . Each hand grip is provided with an upper opening  13 L,  13 R and a lower opening  14 L,  14 R which receive screws (not shown) in order to secure the hand grips  11 L,  11 R to the handle frame member. Preferably, the hand grips  11 L,  11 R are configured to replace the original equipment grips of a commercially produced pistol, incorporating Browning&#39;s construction of semi-automatic pistol having a magazine receiver in the handle portion. For example, the hand grips  11 L,  11 R may replace the grips of an original or a replica of a COLT® semi-automatic model 1911. As discussed in further detail below, the magazine insertion guide  32  is engaged by, and secured in position on the butt portion of the frame member when the grips  11 L,  11 R are attached to the frame member. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , the magazine insertion guide  32  includes an inner surface  36  having a wide-angled configuration in order to direct a fresh magazine into the cavity  40  of the pistol, as shown by the arrows. The inner surface  36  effectively creates a “funnel.” Therefore a user can more rapidly insert a fresh magazine  50  without having to precisely align the magazine  50  with the pistol magazine receiver opening as defined by the cavity  40 . The hand grips  11 L,  11 R each include a friction surface portion  12 L,  12 L. The upper openings  13 L,  13 R (not shown) and the lower openings  14 L,  14 R extend through the entire cross section of the hand grips and may terminate in a beveled opening at the outer surface. The handle frame member  41  terminates at a flat butt portion  42 . As shown in further detail by  FIG. 3 , the magazine insertion guide  32  has a flat upper surface  33  and a plurality of guide securing members  21 L,  21 R extending upwardly from the upper surface  33 . In a preferred embodiment, the guide securing members  21 L,  21 R are integral with the magazine insertion guide  32 . The guide securing members  21 L,  21 R include a leg portion  23 L,  23 R which terminates in an outwardly disposed flange  22 L,  22 R. In a particularly preferred embodiment, one pair of securing members is provided. Alternatively, additional securing members can be provided. The guide securing members  21 L,  21 R can conveniently be configured of rectilinear elements or other shapes can be employed. The plurality of guide securing members  21 L,  21 R are positioned for close-fitting relation to the handle frame member  41 . 
   As shown in further detail in  FIG. 3 , the magazine insertion guide  32  has a flat upper surface  33 , an outer surface  35 , and a side wall  34 . The outer surface  35  tapers outwardly towards a bottom surface (see  FIG. 4 ). The guide securing members  21 L,  21 R include a leg portion  23 L,  23 R which terminates in an outwardly disposed flange  22 L,  22 R. In a preferred embodiment, the portion of the securing member  21 L,  21 R that extends from the upper surface  33  of the magazine insertion guide  32  is about 0.15 inches/3.75 mm wide, about 0.77 inches/19.25 mm long and about 0.11 inches/2.75 mm thick and the lower surface of the flange  22 L,  22 R extends about 0.3 inches/7.5 mm from the junction with the leg portion, and is about 0.08 inches/2.0 mm thick. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, in other embodiments these dimensions can be varied. 
   The magazine insertion guide  32  defines an opening  37  that aligns with the bottom of the cavity (see  FIG. 2 ). The hand grips  11 L,  11 R have interior recesses  18 L,  18 R, that are contoured to receive the securing members  21 L,  21 R in close-fitting interlocking relation. During assembly, the magazine insertion guide  32  is inserted against the flat butt portion  42  of the handle frame member  41  so that the flat upper surface  33  contacts the flat butt portion  42 , and also so that the lower edge  16 L,  16 R of the grips rests against the flat upper surface  33 . The hand grips  11 L,  11 R are then securely attached to the handle frame member  41  with screws so that the guide securing members  21 L,  21 R inter-lock with corresponding female slots  15 L,  15 R disposed in the hand grips  11 L,  11 R. 
   Once assembled, the magazine insertion guide  32  is secured in position in close-fitting relation to the flat butt portion  42  of the frame member  41  with its opening  37  immovably aligned with the opening of the magazine receiver  40  in frame member  41 , as best shown in  FIG. 4 . The inner surface  36  is tapered towards the opening  37  from bottom surface  38  in order to direct a fresh magazine  50  into the cavity  40  of the pistol, as generally indicated by the arrows. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , the interior surface  18 R of the hand grip  11 R defines a lower opening  14 R for receiving a screw (shown) and is contoured to receive the guide securing member  21 R in close-fitting interlocking relation. The female slot  15 R is disposed along the lower edge  16 R of the hand grip  11 R. The female slot  15 R further includes a recess portion  17 R for receiving the corresponding outwardly disposed flange  22 R of the guide securing member  21 R. This close-fitting interlocking relation secures the magazine insertion guide  32  to the butt portion  42  of the handle frame member  41 . 
   A variety of magazine insertion guides having different sizes and/or shapes may be utilized with a single pair of hand grips, as described below with reference to  FIGS. 6-11 . 
     FIGS. 6-8  illustrate a second preferred embodiment which differs from the first embodiment primarily in the size and shape of the magazine insertion guide  32 . The magazine insertion guide  32  of this second preferred embodiment is intended for a standard magazine base pad, in contrast to the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-5  which depicts a longer magazine insertion guide  32  that flares further downwards and outwards and requires an extended magazine base pad or a longer, higher-capacity magazine. 
     FIGS. 9-11  illustrate a third preferred embodiment which differs from the first and second embodiments primarily in the size and shape of the magazine insertion guide  32 . The magazine insertion guide  32  of the third preferred embodiment is u-shaped with an open side pointing towards the barrel of the gun. The sidewall  34  of the magazine insertion guide  32  generally tapers towards the flat upper surface  33  near the open side of the u-shaped opening  37 . This allows the magazine insertion guide  32  to closely follow the contours of the pistol. 
   As shown in  FIG. 12 , the orientation of the male and female interlocking parts of the assembly can be reversed. For example, the guide securing members  21 L,  21 R can terminate in an opening  24 L, ( 24 R not shown) and the grips provided with an interior projecting members  19 L,  19 R, that respectively are received in the openings  24 L,  24 R of the adjacent securing members. 
   The magazine insertion guide  32  can be formed from metal, plastic, resinous fibre, and the like. The magazine insertion guide  32  can further be formed from a single piece of material. The hand grips  11 L,  11 R can be formed from metal, plastic, resinous fibre, and the like. 
   In other embodiments of the present invention, only one of the hand grips is associated with a securing member. In these embodiments the other hand grip can be secured to the magazine insertion guide by a screw connection passing through an opening in a member that is projecting from the flat upper surface of the magazine insertion guide. 
   Although various embodiments describing the invention have been set forth above to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, the description should not be construed to limit the invention, and various modifications and further variations can be made by those with ordinary skill in the art, and the scope of the invention is to be determined by the claims that follow.