Abstract:
A forward set trigger device for a firearm, includes a striking element that is acted upon by a main spring and has a catch interacting with a locking element, which can be disengaged from the catch by a trigger blade via a release member. The forward set trigger further includes an uncocking mechanism for the main spring by means of which a main spring support facing away from the striking element can be brought into a position that uncocks the main spring. A forward setting mechanism having a spring element, is articulated to the trigger blade and supported on a stop and which can be brought into an unstable cocked position during a forward setting movement of the trigger blade, and wherein the uncocking mechanism brings the spring element out of its unstable cocked position when the main spring support is moved into the uncocked position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Phase application of International Application No. PCT/AT2013/050020 filed Jan. 24, 2013 which claims priority to Austrian Utility Patent Application No. GM 50011/2012 filed Feb. 20, 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a forward set trigger device for a firearm, comprising a striking element that is acted upon by a main spring and has a catch interacting with a locking element, which can be disengaged from the catch by a trigger blade via a release mechanism. 
     Trigger devices with a forward setting function are known, e.g. from AT 338 658, DE 297 09 330 U1 or DE 33 01 754 A1, and serve to bring the trigger blade in an unstable cocked position with especially low trigger weight by a forward setting movement, or set trigger movement, for precision shots. On the other hand, uncocking mechanisms are known for a long time for conventional trigger devices to uncock the main spring for safety purposes. The invention at hand sets its aim to equip a forward set trigger device with a safe uncocking mechanism. 
     SUMMARY 
     This aim is achieved with a forward set trigger device of the type mentioned in the introduction, which is characterised by the novel combination of: 
     an uncocking mechanism for the main spring by means of which a main spring support facing away from the striking element can be brought into a position that uncocks the main spring; and 
     a forward setting mechanism of a kind known per se, having a spring element which is articulated to the trigger blade and supported on a stop and which can be brought into an unstable cocked position during a forward setting movement of the trigger blade; 
     wherein the uncocking mechanism brings the spring element out of its unstable cocked position when the main spring support is moved into the uncocked position. 
     In this way the forward setting mechanism is uncocked (“un-set”) while uncocking the main spring, so that the forward setting mechanism is uncocked in any case when recocking the firearm, thereby removing the danger of an accidental triggering of a shot. The safety of the forward set trigger device in use is thereby decisively increased. 
     According to a preferred feature of the invention, the main spring support has a nose which presses onto an adjusting screw of the trigger blade during uncocking to un-set the trigger blade, which yields a simple and effective safety mechanism. 
     Preferably said adjusting screw is accessible from the bottom side of the trigger blade, whereupon the uncocking mechanism of the forward setting mechanism can be adjusted to the uncocking mechanism of the striking mechanism without disassembling the weapon. 
     The forward set trigger device according to the invention can be combined with further features known per se from AT 336 658, according to which the stop of the spring element is adjustable via a screw and/or the unstable cocked position of the spring element is a biased beyond-dead center position and/or the spring element is a leaf spring, each ensuring an operation mode which is safe and not susceptible to breakdowns. 
     In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the release member is mounted in a pivoting lever, which can be pivoted away from the locking element by means of the uncocking mechanism. Thereby faulty activations in the uncocked position can be prevented under all circumstances. 
     Preferably the uncocking mechanism has a cocking slide which moves the main spring support via a linkage, wherein especially preferably the cocking slide is lockable by means of a press button. Using a cocking slide for uncocking the forward setting mechanism enables a familiar usage for the user and requires only minor modifications at existing trigger devices to integrate the uncocking functionality according to the invention. 
     The forward set trigger device of the invention is suitable for all kinds of triggers, breeches and firearms, for example with striking elements of a firing pin or striking bolt type. A preferred application is a use with trigger devices with striking hammers, whose main spring support can be uncocked by a pivoting movement, which can be achieved by said cocking slide via a linkage. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be explained in greater detail hereinafter on the basis of exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows the forward set trigger device of the invention in a schematic side view in the uncocked position of the main spring; and 
         FIG. 2  shows the trigger mechanism of  FIG. 1  in two different operating positions of the forward setting mechanism in the cocked position of the main spring. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In  FIGS. 1 and 2  a forward set trigger device  1  for a firearm is shown, of which only a few parts are shown partially, like a double barrel  2  with firing pins  3 ,  4 , an opening lever  5  for the barrels, a housing  6  for accommodating or mounting, respectively, the trigger device  1 , and a safety lug  7  for the trigger blade  8 . In the shown example, the firearm is an over/under shotgun-rifle with a bullet barrel and a pellet barrel; it is understood, however, that the trigger device  1  is suitable for all kinds of firearms, may it be single- or multi-barrel long arms, pistols, etc. 
     According to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the trigger device  1  comprises a striking hammer  9 , which is pivotably mounted about an axis  10  in the housing  6  and is acted upon by a strong main spring  11 . The main spring  11  rests on its upper end against a ledge of the striking hammer  9  and on its lower end against a main spring support  12 . The main spring support  12  is itself mounted movably with respect to the housing  6 , by being formed on a first arm  13 , which is on the one hand hinged on the axis  10  of the striking hammer  9  and on the other hand coupled at  14  with a second arm  15 . The second arm  15  in turn acts on its other end at  16  on a cocking slide  17  linearly guided in the housing  6 . 
     The cocking slide  17  protrudes in a known manner on the upper side of the housing of the weapon and can be slid via a gripping area  18  from the uncocked position shown in  FIG. 1  forwardly into the cocked position shown in  FIG. 2 . During that, the cocking slide  17  pivots the main spring support  12  via the linkage  13 ,  15  about the axis  10  in the direction of the striking hammer  9 , whereupon the main spring  11  lying therebetween is compressed and cocked. A press button mechanism  19  locks the cocking slide  17  in the forward-slid, cocked position of  FIG. 2 . By pressing the press button  19 , the locking of the cocking slide  17  in  FIG. 2  can be released and the cocking slide can be brought back into the uncocked position of  FIG. 1 . 
     In the cocked position of the main spring  11  ( FIG. 2 ), the striking hammer  9  is held by a locking element  20  until the shot is fired, the locking element  20  engaging into a catch  21  of the striking hammer  9 . In the example shown, the locking element  20  is a one-armed lever pivotably mounted at  22  in the housing  6 . By lifting the end  23  of the lever, the locking element  20  is released or disengaged, respectively, from the catch  21 , to trigger the striking of the striking hammer  9  under the force of the main spring  11 , whereupon the bullet in the barrel  2  is struck by the firing pin  3  and the shot is fired. 
     For this reason, in the cocked position ( FIG. 2 ) the end  23  of the lever of the locking element  20  is engaged from underneath by a release bolt  24 , which is linearly guided in a pivoting lever or pendulum  25  against the force of a spring  26 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the second arm  15  of the linkage  13 ,  15  has an appendix  27 , which presses away the pivoting lever  25  from the lever end  23  of the locking element  20  when the main spring  11  is uncocked, i.e. when the cocking slide  17  is slid back, whereby the release bolt  24  is disengaged from the locking element  20 , which prevents an accidental firing of a shot in the uncocked position of  FIG. 1 . 
     In the cocked position of  FIG. 2 , in which the release bolt  24  rests on the locking element  20 , the release bolt  24  can be actuated by the trigger blade  8 , namely in two different ways: On the one hand, as a “normal” trigger (dashed position of the trigger blade  8  in  FIG. 2 ), on the other hand as a forward set trigger (position of the trigger blade  8  depicted with solid lines in  FIG. 2 ). 
     For the normal trigger function of the trigger blade  8  (dashed lines), the trigger blade  8  rests—with a trigger blade appendix  29  protruding from opposite of its pivot point  28  in the housing  6 —tightly on the lower end  30  of the release bolt  24 . In this position (see also function line  38 ) the release bolt  30  can be pressed up against the force of the spring  26  by drawing back the trigger blade  8  and thereby unlatching the locking element  20  from the catch  21  of the striking hammer  9  to fire the shot. 
     To activate the forward set trigger function, the trigger blade  8  is pressed forward from the dashed position as shown in  FIG. 2  to the solid lined position as shown in  FIG. 2  to prepare the firing of the shot, which movement is also referred to as “setting” the forward setting mechanism. The backward end of the trigger blade appendix  29  thereby moves down against the force of a spring element  31  into an unstable cocked position of the spring element  31 . In the shown example, the spring element  31  is a leaf spring, which is hinged on its one end at  32  at the trigger blade appendix  29  and rests on its other end on a stop  33  of the housing  6 . The stop  33  can, for example, be adjusted in its position with respect to the spring element  31  via a screw  34 . The spring element  31  can additionally be held with clearance on a bolt  36 , which is stationary with respect to the housing, by means of a long hole  35 . 
     When setting the trigger blade  8 , i.e. when moving the trigger blade appendix  29  down and distancing it from the lower end  30  of the release bolt  24 , the spring element  31  is cocked or slightly bended (as a leaf spring) between the stop  33  and the hinge  32 , until the points  33 ,  32  and  28  come into a stretched (or slightly overstretched) function line  37 . This position constitutes an unstable force equilibrium, i.e. easily movable out of its stop position, of the kind of a biased beyond-dead center position. By slightly pressing the trigger blade  8  backwards, the stretched function line  37  is left and the unstable equilibrium is disturbed: The point  32  with the backward end of the trigger blade appendix  29  snaps up under the force of the spring element  31  and hits onto the lower end  30  of the release bolt  24 , whereupon the locking lever  20  is disengaged from the striking hammer  9  and the shot is fired. In the forward set position, only a very small actuation weight is thus necessary to fire the shot. 
     The uncocking mechanism for the main spring  11 , comprising i.a. the movable main spring support  12 , the linkage  13 ,  15  and the cocking slide  17 , is configured to uncock the forward set trigger mechanism of the trigger blade  8  while uncocking the main spring  11  (FIG.  2 → FIG. 1 ). To this end, the uncocking mechanism  11 - 18  acts on the forward setting mechanism  31 - 38  of the trigger blade  8  to shift it from the set position (solid lines in  FIG. 2 ) into the un-set position (dashed lines in  FIG. 2 ;  FIG. 1 ). This can result from any suited mechanical connection between the main spring uncocking mechanism  11 - 18  and the forward setting mechanism  31 - 38 , for example a linkage, a motion link, a linear guiding, or similar. 
     In the shown example, the main spring support  12  therefor has a nose  39  on the lower side, which can press onto the upper side of the trigger blade  8 , more precisely on a side of the trigger blade  8  opposite side of the appendix  29  with respect to the pivot point  28 . Optionally, the trigger blade  8  can here contain an adjusting screw  40 , which is accessible and adjustable from the lower side of the trigger blade  8  via an opening  41 . The nose  39  of the main spring support  12  thereby presses on the adjusting screw  40  of the trigger blade  8  during uncocking of the main spring  11  and thereby simultaneously uncocks the forward setting mechanism  31 - 38 . 
     In the uncocked position of  FIG. 1 , the main spring  11  as well as the spring element  31  are thus uncocked. Thereby it is ensured that the trigger blade  8  is in the un-set position (function line  38  and dashed lines in  FIG. 2 ) when recocking the weapon. 
     Instead of a striking hammer  9 , a different striking element can be used, e.g. a striking bolt with a striking lug as the catch  21 . Instead of a spring element  31  embodied as a leaf spring, a tilting lever, arm or such, which is acted upon by a pressure spring, can be used. The forward setting mechanism could alternatively also be arranged at the side of the trigger blade  8  which is opposite to the pivot point  28 , in which case the mechanical coupling between the uncocking mechanism and the forward setting mechanism acts on a corresponding other point of the trigger blade  8  or its forward setting mechanism. Also, instead of a cocking slide  17 , a different kind of actuation element could be used for the uncocking mechanism, e.g. an uncocking lever or an uncocking wheel. Instead of a pivoting movement, the main spring  11  could, for example, also be uncocked by a linear movement, by mounting the main spring support  12  linearly movable. 
     The invention is thus not limited to the presented embodiments, but encompasses all variants and modifications thereof that fall within the scope of the appended claims.