Abstract:
A cocking/de-cocking mechanism for semi-automatic striker-fired pistols having a multi-function cocking lever for controlling, by rotational movement, the cocking or arming of the tiring pin, while effecting de-cocking by the lateral displacement of the cocking lever on its support pin.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is directed to a safety mechanism in the nature of an improved cocking and de-cocking assembly for striker-fired pistols enabling the striker to be de-cocked with ease and speed for safe field stripping of the weapon. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Safety mechanisms for pistols have been developed for both hammer-fired and striker-fired semi-automatic weapons to prevent accidental discharge should the weapon fall, be dropped, or otherwise be subject to a sudden application of a stray force. Among the mechanisms developed for this objective are locking or blocking members associated with the trigger and/or firing pin to prevent such accidental discharge. It is to an improved cocking/de-cocking arrangement for striker-fired pistols to which the present invention is specifically directed. The new and improved arrangement permits striker-fired pistols to be simply disassembled without having to pull the trigger, a potentially dangerous condition if ammunition is in the firing chamber, as is the case with earlier de-cocking systems. 
       Object Of The Present Invention 
       [0003]    Striker-fired pistols have been well-developed by the art. Such pistols are absent a traditional hammer and firing pin. They employ a spring-biased striker pin urged into a “cocked” pre-firing condition by a cocking lever actuated by a trigger bar linked to a finger trigger. The striker pin itself is typically pre-cocked by the forward movement of the slide into battery position. The shooter&#39;s finger action on the trigger is relieved upon discharge by the striker pin detonating the explosive charge in the ammunition. This simplicity of both operation and design for striker pin fired guns, while making such guns inexpensive to manufacture, can make the pistol vulnerable to mishaps caused by accidental drops of the weapon or rough handling. 
         [0004]    Importantly, the striker pin, which is intercepted by the cocking lever during the forward displacement of the slide, must be safely disarmed whenever it is necessary to disassemble the weapon by free relative movement of the slide and the gun barrel. For this purpose, absent the mechanism which is the subject of the invention, the shooter, heretofore, had to pull the trigger in a potentially dangerous “dry firing” of the gun. 
         [0005]    The new and improved cocking/de-cocking mechanism has a minimum number of parts and lends itself to manufacture using inexpensive, high volume techniques such as stamping and casting, rather than comparatively expensive machining processes, and utilizing off-the-shelf elements as well. The new trigger bar may be stamped at low cost while the cocking lever may be made at low cost by metal injection molding. 
         [0006]    The present invention eliminates this danger attendant with trigger squeezing “dry firing” by providing a simple, safe, and very inexpensive cocking/de-cocking arrangement predicated upon the actions of a specially configured multiple tasking cocking lever, specially configured trigger bar, in cooperation with the slide, frame, and receiver. For a full understanding and appreciation of the new de-cocking mechanism, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating the mechanism and principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of the rear end of a striker-fired semi-automatic pistol incorporating the new cocking lever arrangement with the striker pin in a pre-cocked position and the striker blocked by the safety block, and the trigger in its initial position; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the new pistol showing the trigger bar engaging the cocking lever, with the striker unblocked by the elevation of the safety block; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the non-elevated safety block and blocked striker; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the new cocking/de-cocking arrangement seen from the muzzle and taken through the cocking lever sub-assembly; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the rear end of the pistol with the cocking lever pin visible and accessible for de-cocking by insertion of a de-cocking tool for transverse displacement of the cocking lever pin; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the new cocking lever; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the receiver with the cocking lever and trigger bar; 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly in the “pre-cock” or “at rest” stage; 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at “pre-cock;” 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at the beginning of “armament;” 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at the end of “armament;” 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at “firing;” 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at the beginning of “recoil;” 
           [0020]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the elements of the cocking lever sub-assembly at “end of recoil;” and 
           [0021]      FIG. 15  is a cross section showing engagement of cocking lever with slide during recoil. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the pistol body of the present invention, of generally conventional semi-automatic pistol construction, includes a frame  10  (advantageously of plastic to reduce the overall weight) in which a receiver  11  is mounted. A reciprocating slide  12  and gun barrel  13  are supported on the frame in conventional manner. A spring loaded magazine (not shown) containing ammunition may be inserted in the hollow pistol grip  14  to supply bullets sequentially to the firing chamber  15  in known fashion with each reciprocation of the slide  12 . The gun is fired by actuating the striker pin  16  through a new and improved cocking/de-cocking mechanism incorporated into a fundamental striker-pin fired semi-automatic pistol, and including a trigger  17  biased by trigger spring  44 , trigger bar  18 , multi-purpose cocking lever  19 , striker safety block  20 , and de-cocking pin  22  which supports the cocking lever. 
         [0023]    The pistol frame  10  (advantageously of molded plastic construction) encloses the metal receiver  11  in which the new cocking lever  19  ( FIG. 6 ), cocking lever spring  23 , de-cocking pin  22  and retaining ring  24  are mounted. The receiver has an aperture  53  through which cocking lever lug  27  projects laterally ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ). These parts are assembled in the receiver  11  as follows: 
         [0024]    First the multi-purpose cocking lever  19  and its associated biasing spring  23  are inserted and the de-cocking pin  22  inserted to support the cocking lever  19  on its bore  42 , then the retaining ring  24  is inserted in an associated groove. The spring  23  is constrained at one end on the cocking lever  19  and at the other end on the receiver  11 . The cocking lever  19  has a right (as viewed from the rear of the gun) lobe  31 , and left lobe  37  with surfaces  38 ,  40 , and a lug  27 . 
         [0025]    In accordance with the invention, the cocking lever  19 , in this advantageous arrangement, possesses two distinct degrees of freedom: (1) rotation for moving the striker  21  rearward by lobe surface  38  until disengagement, and (2) the lateral translation within the receiver (dashed line position,  FIG. 4 ) by displacement of the de-cocking pin  22 . 
         [0026]    The return in position of the multi-function cocking lever  19  from either one of its rotational or lateral movements is provided by the action of cocking lever spring  23  designed to function both in torsion and compression. The new assembly achieves multiple separate functions of the cocking lever, rotation for cocking and linear axial translation for de-cocking. In accordance with the invention, axial translation of the lever  19  is achieved by pushing the concavely recessed right end  45  of the pin  22  inwardly with a simple tool such as a punch key (phantom) to effect the de-cocking function. It is important to note that the de-cocking operation is absolutely safe, since the striker will stop against the safety block  20 , thus prohibiting travel forward into the cartridge primer. Further safety is ensured by the reduced energy of the relaxed striker spring  29  at de-cocking (pre-cock position), which is insufficient to contact and to ignite the primer. 
         [0027]    The new cocking/de-cocking subassembly operates as follows: the trigger bar  18  is pushed rearward by squeezing the trigger  17  (after releasing trigger lock  43  pivotably attached through pivot  52  to the trigger  17 ) and, after a short pre-travel, the trigger bar nose  28  contacts the cocking lever lug  27  having a faceted surface, which projects laterally from the receiver  11  through the small aperture  53  formed therein. After contact has been established between the trigger bar nose  28  and the surface of the cocking lever lug  27 , the trigger bar cammingly rotates cocking lever  19  counterclockwise with lobe surface  38  engaging striker lug  33  to move the striker  21  rearward until complete armament of the striker spring  29  by full compression is achieved ( FIGS. 10 ,  11 ). Limitation of the vertical travel of the trigger bar  18  is provided through the front notch surface  30  of the trigger bar, engaging the de-cocking pin  22 .  FIG. 2  illustrates the mechanism at striker release, at the end of the armament travel, with the trigger bar still in contact with cocking lever through lug  27 . From this full armament condition, the striker  21 , biased by the fully compressed spring  29 , fires the gun by forward movement until impact of striker pin  16  with the loaded ammunition and full indentation of the cartridge primer. Importantly, during armament and firing, the striker safety block  20  is elevated, out of the striker path, by lobe  31  by the cocking lever. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , the striker  21  includes a stop surface or step  46  which will block forward travel of the striker by surface  47  of the safety block  20  when it is in its “down” position. However, when the bottom  48  of the safety block is engaged by right lobe  31 , it will be cammed upwardly to align passageway  49  with the step  46 . When in the elevated position, the passageway will unblock the step  46  to permit the striker to make its forward movement during firing. In the elevated position, indicator pin  54  of the block  20  projects through opening  55  in the slide to provide visual indication that the safety block is elevated and the pistol is in armament phase. 
         [0029]    After firing through the explosion of the gun powder, recoil of slide  12  commences and contact between the trigger bar and lever lug  27  is disengaged by the action of camming notch  41  in the slide  12  engaging the trigger bar peak  32  to push the trigger bar down to “disconnection” (see trigger bar dashed line position in  FIG. 2 ). In the new mechanism, the trigger bar  18  is pivotably hinged by trigger bar pivot  51  to the trigger  17  below the trigger rotation axis defined by the trigger pin  50 . When the trigger is pulled, the trigger bar  18  moves backward. The camming notch  41  in the slide  12  allows such backward movement with no disconnection until completion of the armament. Because of such design, disconnection of the trigger bar operated by the slide is actuated when the slide is even slightly out of battery position, and the ammunition not completely chambered. 
         [0030]    Disconnection of the trigger bar allows the cocking lever lobe  38  to return to vertical position as the slide engages arcuate lobe surface  40 , and upon return of the slide forward to battery, intercepting striker lug  33  to pre-cock the striker. 
         [0031]    Trigger pull release, well after the pistol has fired, returns the trigger bar to the initial position, upwardly biased by a proper spring acting between the frame and the bar (not shown), to an “at rest” position to repeat the gun cycle. 
         [0032]    The functioning of the de-cocking assembly is reliable and safe. It ensures the highest safety condition in the event the slide is, even to a minimum extent, out of battery. Safety against undesired movements of trigger and trigger bar upon dropping of the pistol is provided by a very simple safety lever incorporated in the trigger. The striker, with the exception of only the instant of firing (primer&#39;s indentation) is constantly biased rearwardly by the striker return spring  34  and, in conjunction with the special configuration of the main striker spring  29 , which is confined, at pre-load, inside the striker spring holder  35 , prevented from any dangerous exposure out of the breech face. 
         [0033]    The illustrated mechanism configuration allows the de-cocking of the cocking lever in a very simple and effective manner by simply laterally displacing the cocking lever on the de-cocking pin  22 . 
         [0034]    It will be apparent that the cocking lever assembly, with a minimum number of parts, serves multiple purposes. The de-cocking pin  22 , in addition to serving as the support for cocking lever  19  and cocking lever spring  23 , functions as a limited stop for the trigger bar cam surface  30  and, most importantly, through concave end  25  ( FIG. 4 ), can be laterally moved to de-cock the gun. The cocking lever spring  23  functions as return spring both at firing (torsion mode) and at de-cocking (compression mode), furthermore, being constrained, one end, in a groove of receiver pin ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), provides the additional feature of keeping the receiver pin  36  in place. The cocking lever  19  itself multi-functions through rotation to cock the striker by the left lobe  38 ; to control the striker safety block  20  by the right lobe  31 ; and by simple translation of pin  22  to effect de-cocking. 
         [0035]    In review, the mechanism is shown at pre-cock in  FIG. 1  with the striker  21  abutting the cocking lever  19  through faceted lug  33 , with striker spring  29  partially compressed by the forward pushing slide. The striker safety block  20  is down and engaged with the striker, protecting the pistol from any unwanted discharge of the striker due to accidental drops or rough handling. The trigger bar  18 , starting from the rest position shown in  FIG. 1 , is moved back by the trigger so that bar nose surface  30  contacts cocking lever lug  27 , turning the cocking lever counterclockwise until the striker release condition is achieved ( FIG. 2 ). 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the striker  21  is free to move forward, biased by its own spring  29  at full compression, with the striker safety block  20  elevated out of the striker path, by the counterclockwise rotation of the right lobe  31  of the cocking lever. After firing by the indentation of the primer by striker pin  16  and the consequent explosion of the powder, the peak  32  of the trigger bar, at rest inside the camming notch  41  of the slide (shown in dotted line,  FIG. 1 ), is immediately pushed down by the recoil of the slide to effect trigger bar disconnection from its engagement with cocking lever lug  27  (dashed line position,  FIG. 2 ). The trigger bar at this stage is down “at disconnection.” leaving the cocking lever  19  free to return to vertical position, ready, on the slide return of the battery to catch the striker  21  again. The slide  12 , in its travel forward, ensures that the striker  21  will always be caught by the surface  38  of the cocking lever lobe  37  and that the striker spring  29  is pre-cocked under the thrust of the slide recoil spring  34  working against it. 
         [0037]    The only way to disassemble the slide  12  from the frame  10 , making it move forward, is disengaging the striker  21  from the cocking lever  19 . In order to avoid a dangerous “dry firing” operation utilized in earlier striker fired weapons, the multiple function cocking lever mechanism of the present invention provides simple de-cocking for disassembly which is simple to perform and which is totally safe. 
         [0038]    It should be understood, of course, that the specific form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain changes may he made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.