Abstract:
In a hunting and sporting firearm including a rolling block having a cavity for accommodating at least one action, the latter comprising a hammer for actuating a firing pin, a propulsion element for propelling the hammer and a trigger, said propulsion element is subjected to the action of a shock absorber consisting of its own drive means constituted by a spiral spring.

Description:
[0001]    This invention relates to a hunting and sporting firearm. 
         [0002]    In particular, this invention relates to an action forming part of a firearm of this kind. 
         [0003]    The term “action” is used here to mean the combined parts of a percussion and firing mechanism which, upon actuation of the trigger, causes a firing pin to impact the cartridge primer so as to ignite the propellant. 
         [0004]    For simplicity, this specification will refer to a single-barrel firearm, although it will be understood that it also applies to double-barrel firearms (with side-by-side or over-and-under barrels). 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    As is known, the action is mounted inside the rolling block, that is, the steel block attached to the stock and to which the barrels are pivoted. In a single-barrel firearm, the action comprises a hammer mounted on a transverse pin and designed to directly strike the firing pin of the cartridge primer, and means for propelling the hammer, consisting of snap action means actuated by the trigger. 
         [0006]    As also known in prior art, the firing pin consists of a substantially cylindrical rod operated by a spiral retracting spring that causes it to slide lengthways in a through hole made in a separating wall between the inside of the rolling block and the breech. 
         [0007]    When the hammer, actuated by the propulsion means, strikes one end of the firing pin extending into the cavity that houses the action, the second, round-tipped end of the rod penetrates the barrel for a certain length in such a way as to strike the primer. 
         [0008]    After each shot, in order to enable the barrel to be opened to extract the empty cartridge case and reload the gun, the firing pin must be retracted from the breech into the through hole so as to prevent wear and breakage caused by interference of the second end of the firing pin with the cartridge case and the barrel itself. 
         [0009]    This is done by the retracting spring. The firing pin, however, can be retracted only if the hammer is free to withdraw, or in other words, if it is no longer in contact with the propulsion means or subjected to their pushing force. 
         [0010]    For this reason, the propulsion means, which are operated by the spring elastic means, are equipped with stop means, adjusted in such a way that, under end of stroke conditions, that is to say, when the elastic means are extended as far as possible, the hammer is no longer subjected to their pushing force and performs only by inertia a limited final angular stroke until it impacts the cartridge case and thus allows the firing pin to return freely to its initial rest position. 
         [0011]    It has been found, however, that on account of the extremely strong forces applied to the propulsion means by the elastic means, the stopping means are subjected to violent shocks which cause wear and which, in the long run, modify their position to such an extent as to prevent the firing pin from returning to its initial rest position, thereby giving rise to the problems described above. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The aim of the present invention is, therefore, to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing a firearm equipped with a simple action that is more durable and reliable than actions known in prior art. 
         [0013]    According to the invention, this object is achieved by a hunting and sporting firearm having the characteristics described in claim  1 . 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The technical characteristics of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention provided merely by way of example without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which: 
           [0015]      FIGS. 1 to 4  are schematic side views, with some parts in cross section, showing a portion of a firearm equipped with an action according to the present invention in four different operating conditions; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective exploded view of a detail from  FIGS. 1 to 4  comprising the action according to the invention; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 6 to 9  are schematic side views, with some parts in cross section, showing a detail of the action according to the invention in four different operating conditions. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the numeral  1  denotes in its entirety an over-and-under firearm comprising a pair of barrels  2  (partially illustrated), and a stock  3  (partially illustrated), between which there is a rolling block  4  to which the barrels  2  are pivoted by means of a hinge pin  5 . 
         [0019]    The numeral  6  denotes a cavity in the rolling block  4 , designed to accommodate a snap action mechanism  7  comprising, for each barrel  2 , an action  8  which, upon being actuated by a trigger  9 , causes a respective firing pin  10  associated with each barrel  2  to impact the case of a cartridge (not illustrated). 
         [0020]    Each firing pin  10  consists of a substantially cylindrical rod  11  having a rim  11   a  at an intermediate position of it and housed in a through hole  12  made in a transversal wall  13  separating the cavity  6  from the respective barrel  2 . Positioned around each firing pin  10  and abutting against the rim  11   a  there is a helical spring  14  for retracting the firing pin  10  into the cavity  6 . 
         [0021]    Since the two actions  8 , each associated with one of the barrels  2 , are exactly the same, reference will hereinafter be made to only one firing pin  10  and to the respective action  8 . 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 , the cavity  6  has at the bottom of it an opening  15  and is defined by the aforementioned transversal wall  13  and by two longitudinal walls  16  and an end wall  17  attached to the stock  3  and an upper wall  18  that closes it. 
         [0023]    The action  8  forms part of a unit  19  that can be extracted from the cavity  6  and re-inserted into the latter through the opening  15 , and is mounted in the cavity  6  by quick fitting and release means labelled  20  in their entirety. 
         [0024]    The extractable unit  19  includes a supporting member  21  on which the action  8  is mounted and which is defined, at the bottom, by a mobile wall  22  that closes the opening  15  and has a trigger guard  23  attached to it. 
         [0025]    The trigger  9  projecting outwardly from the wall  22  forms part of the action  8 . The action  8  further comprises a hammer  24  for directly actuating the firing pin  10 , mounted on the supporting member  21  by means of a transverse pin  25 , a customary mechanism  26  (not illustrated) for releasing the hammer  24  when the trigger  9  is actuated and a propulsion element, labelled  27  as a whole, for propelling the hammer  24 . 
         [0026]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 to 9 , the propulsion element  27  comprises means  28  for actuating the hammer  24  and mobile, along an axis  29  defined by guide means  30  consisting of a rod  31 , between a retracted loading position ( FIGS. 1 and 6 ) and an advanced position ( FIG. 7 ) in which the hammer  24  is propelled towards the firing pin  10 . 
         [0027]    The actuating means  28  consist of a tubular element  32  coaxial with the axis  29  and having a first, round-tipped end  33  that actuates the hammer  24  and a U-shaped protrusion  34  at the other end. 
         [0028]    The tubular element  32  houses means  35  for driving the actuating means  28  and consisting of a spiral spring  36  wound around the guide rod  31  which, at its free end, is equipped with a substantially parallelepiped-shaped end block  37  abutting against a pin  38  transversal to the axis  29  and attached to the supporting member  21 . 
         [0029]    The numeral  39  denotes means for stopping the actuating means  28  and having an elongated portion  40  parallel to the axis  29  and slidably inserted between the branches of the U-shaped protrusion  34 . The elongated portion  40  has a T-shaped end  41  whose transversal section is designed to engage the branches of the protrusion  34  which thus defines means for opposing the T-shaped portion of the end  41 . 
         [0030]    As can be seen better in  FIG. 5 , at its second end the elongated portion  40  has a wall  42  transversal to the axis  29  and having made in it a hole  43  through which the rod  31  can slide. The wall  42  is interposed between one end of the spiral spring  36  protruding from the tubular element  32  and the block  37  and, for the reasons that will become clear in the description of how the propulsion element  27  operates, constitutes abutting means  44  integral with the stopping means  39 . 
         [0031]    The numeral  45  denotes a guide wall, orthogonal to the wall  42  and coplanar with the elongated portion  40  and designed to slide on an upper face of the end block  37 . 
         [0032]    During use, starting from the condition illustrated in  FIG. 1  e  6 , where the hammer  24  is retracted in the cocked position and the tubular element  32  and spring  36  are, respectively, retracted and compressed, pulling the trigger  9  causes the mechanism  26  to release the hammer  24  which turns about the pin  25 , in an anticlockwise direction in the drawings, driven by the tubular element  32  under the action of the spring  36 . 
         [0033]    The tubular element  32  drives the hammer  24  so it turns as far as the point where the branches of the protrusion  34  engage the T-shaped end  41  of the stopping means  39 , after which, by inertia, it performs a limited final angular stroke until the firing-pin  10  impacts the cartridge case. 
         [0034]    The impact of the T-shaped end  41  of the elongated portion  40  against the branches of the of the U-shaped protrusion  34  of the tubular element  32  causes the spring  36  to be compressed by the wall  42  and, thus, at this stage, the propulsion element  27  is subjected to the action of respective shock absorbing means  49  consisting of elastic means constituted by the spiral spring  36  itself. 
         [0035]    The presence of these shock absorbing means  49  makes the action  8  according to this invention more durable and reliable than prior art actions described above. 
         [0036]    Lastly, it should also be noticed that replacement of the action  8 , should this be necessary for any reason, is extremely quick and easy thanks to the quick-release means  20 , consisting of a pressure fit  46  between the supporting member  21  and the wall  13 , and a button  47  for releasing a pin  48  that locks the supporting member  21  itself on a longitudinal wall  16  of the rolling block  4 . 
         [0037]    It will be understood that the invention described may be useful in many industrial applications and may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements.