Dual mode ammunition loading air or gas-powered gun

A dual mode ammunition loading air or gas-powered gun. The gun is conceived for shooting manually loaded small bullets shot by shot, or for alternatively acting as a repeating weapon for spherical ammunition (2) fed from a loader (4), dispensed one by one into a pocket (9) of an ammunition shifting body (8) mounted in a sliding arrangement, perpendicular to the barrel (3), so as to shift the ammunition up to a position in coalignment with the barrel (3) and with an air/gas delivery hole (17), of a compression chamber. The trigger (18) of the gun, is pin-jointed with a drawing member (19) spring-loaded at one (19a) of its ends and whose other end (19b) is connected to the striking hammer (21) for its cocking and ulterior release. The shifting body (8) is linked with the trigger through an assoicated lever (23) whose first end (23a) is rotatably pin-jointed with said trigger (18) and whose other end (23b) is hinged connected with said shifting body (8). A filter block (41) made of a porous material is located between the outlet of a reservoir (29) and the chamber (39).

The present invention refers to a dual mode ammunition loading air or 
gas-powered gun, i.e. a gun conceived for shooting small bullets shot by 
shot, said small bullets being manually loaded into the barrel inlet, said 
barrel being tiltable for such a purpose, or for alternatively acting as a 
repeating weapon for shooting spherical ammunition (allowing to employ 
balls of several diameters: of lead, of iron with nickel coating of the 
"BB" type, etc.) fed from a loader. Said loader, known in itself, 
comprises a tubular magazine closed at one end on which rests a spring 
associated with a pusher provided with an appendage emerging through a 
longitudinal slot of said magazine and being apt to fit into a notch, said 
appendage allowing to shift said pusher thereby compressing the spring and 
allowing to load several spherical projectiles into the magazine, said 
spherical projectiles being after the release of the pusher dispensed one 
by one through the opposed end of the magazine into an ammunition shifting 
body which is mounted in a sliding arrangement at right angles with the 
barrel and is provided with a pocket apt to receive one only projectile 
from the loader and to shift it up to a position in coalignment with the 
barrel and the compresed-air/gas delivery hole. 
As regards publications of prior art can be cited utility model no. 290417 
relative to a projectile feeding device for gas-powered rifles, and patent 
no. 8702332 and utility model no. 8802566 also referring to ammunition 
feeding systems for rifles. In all cases the shifting of an ammunition 
shifting body has been foreseen by way of a slide at right angles to the 
barrel, said shifting being carried out by means of parts linked to the 
tilting portion of the barrel or through a specific auxiliary lever. 
These publications of prior art do generally entail a complex and costly 
execution of the mechanism for shifting said shifting body, and their 
application to a gun would besides determine a bulky assembly. 
Patent of invention no. 551101 describes in its turn a projectile loading 
system for air or gas-powered guns which comprises an external magazine 
like the above-mentioned one which is laterally fixed to the barrel, and a 
swinging carrier body apt to come into alignment with the outlet of the 
magazine and with the bore of the barrel. 
The structure of the gun loading mechanism of this latter publication of 
prior art does also imply a bulky assembly, and because of the fact that 
the carrier body moves along an arcuate path the accuracy with which the 
ammunition receiving pocket can be aligned with the barrel is less than 
that obtainable with bodies acting by way of a linear slide at right 
angles with the barrel. 
These publications of prior art do neither foresee the possibility of using 
diverse spherical ammunition with somewhat different diameters. 
The gun as per the invention comprises a fixed loader of the 
above-mentioned type which is arranged inside the weapon and is accessible 
for reloading the latter with ammunition once the gun has been opened by 
tilting the barrel which is pin-jointed at its front end, the gun being 
provided with an ammunition shifting body that is structured by way of a 
perfectly guided slide actuated by means of the trigger with the 
interposition of a spring member. By means of such a structure said 
trigger, which is also linked as per a basic structure with a drawing 
member for the cocking and ulterior release of the striking hammer and for 
the positioning of an element assuring the proper actuation of said hammer 
(safety catch to prevent an accidental firing of the gun in case of its 
falling), makes it possible that along a first length of its travel the 
trigger positions the ammunition in shooting position by shifting said 
shifting body, the trigger being thereupon apt to travel an additional 
short length to release the cocked hammer. A highly compact and safely 
operating assembly is thus obtained. 
The invention will be hereinafter described in detail with reference to 
drawings showing a practical embodiment cited only by way of an 
illustrative and nonlimiting example.

In said drawings it can be seen that the air or gas-powered gun in question 
is apt for dual mode ammunition loading thus allowing the shooting of 
small bullets (1) shot by shot, said small bullets being manually loaded 
into the inlet of a tiltable barrel (3) (FIG. 7), or its use as a 
repeating weapon for shooting spherical ammunition (2). In this latter 
case a projectile loader (4) has been provided which is fixed, is arranged 
internally in the weapon, and as can be seen is situated longitudinally 
underneath the position occupied by the barrel (3) in shooting position 
and parallel to the latter. Said loader (4), of conventional structure, 
consists in a magazine in the shape of a tube closed at one end on which 
rests a spring (5) associated with a pusher (6) provided with an appendage 
emerging through a longitudinal slot for the purpose of compressing the 
spring and allowing to introduce several spherical projectiles (2) through 
a hole (7) (FIG. 2) after having raised barrel (3), in such a way that 
after the release of pusher (6) said spherical projectiles are dispensed 
one by one through the open end of the tube into an ammunition shifting 
body (8) which is mounted in a sliding arrangement at right angles with 
barrel (3) and is provided with a pocket (9) apt to receive one only 
spherical projectile (2) from the loader (4) and to shift it up to a 
position in coalignment with barrel (3) and compressed-air/gas delivery 
hole (17). 
The invention is characterized in that said shifting body (8) is linked for 
the purpose of its shifting with trigger (18) of the gun, in such a way 
that said trigger (18), besides being pin-jointed with an intermediate 
point (33) of a drawing member (19) which is spring-loaded at one (19a) of 
its ends and whose other end (19b) is connected to the striking hammer 
(21) for its cocking and ulterior release as per a structure know in 
itself, has now an associated lever (23) whose first end (23a) is 
rotatably pin-jointed with said trigger (18) and whose other end (23b) is 
also linked in a hinged connection with said shifting body (8), a spring 
member (24) having been provided on which said lever (23) rests and which 
is also abutting with a rear wall of trigger (18). 
As shown by FIG. 3, said trigger (18) has an inner hollow defining a recess 
(25) delimited by two lateral walls (18a, 18b) joined by rear wall (18c) 
of the profile of trigger (18), across said lateral walls being arranged a 
pin (26) around which is hinged end (23a) of said lever (23) whose other 
end (23b) is also linked in a hinged connection with a member (14) formed 
integrally with the shifting body (8). As shown by FIGS. 3 and 6, said pin 
(26) serving for the hinged connection of lever (23) with trigger (18) 
includes in a coaxial arrangement a torsion spring (24) ending in two 
elongated limbs (24a, 24b) one (24a) of which abuts against rear wall 
(18c) of trigger (18) whereas the other one (24b) abuts against the lower 
part of said lever (23). Such an arrangement determines that when pulling 
the trigger (18) said lever, in abutment on limb (24b), shifts the 
spherical ammunition shifting body (8) till positioning said spherical 
ammunition (2) in front of the inlet of barrel (3), said shifting body (8) 
coming to a halt at an abutting position whereas said spring (24) allows 
trigger (18) to cover an ulterior travel thereby compressing spring (24) 
whose limbs (24a, 24b) are thus brought nearer to each other up to a point 
where striking hammer (21) is released by said drawing member (19). The 
mutual relationship between lever (23) and trigger (18) with the 
intercalation of said spring (24) does also determine that if for any 
reason there is an obstacle in the travel of shifting body (8) when firing 
no breakage of the parts occurs since said spring (24) will yield 
resiliently. 
As shown by FIGS. 2 and 6, lever (23) comprises at one (23a) of its ends a 
through hole for a pin (26) for its hinged connection to trigger (18), and 
at its other end (23b) a fork-shaped end portion enclosing said member 
(14) formed by a cross member of a through opening (13) of the ammunition 
shifting body (8), said opening being split in two by said cross member. 
The cross member has in this case a configuration with both ends having a 
triangular shape and with a central portion which is doubly convex in 
order to facilitate an adequate hinging at all points of relative motion 
between end (23b) and member (14). Spring (24) has been chosen such that 
its force constant allows to smoothly lift ammunition shifting body (8), 
and said spring will only yield when said body (8) has reached an abutting 
position. 
In FIGS. 4 and 5 can be seen that ammunition receiving pocket (9) of 
shifting body (8) consists in a widened portion with a part-spherical 
contour continuing in a through hole (10) provided to come into alignment 
with the compressed-air/gas delivery passage, a slitting (11) having been 
provided around a wall (12) of said pocket (9), said wall being thus apt 
to resiliently yield thus acting by way of a clip so as to lightly hold 
inside said pocket spherical ammunition of several diameters such as lead 
balls or iron balls with nickel coating of the "BB" type or the like. In 
FIG. 4 can be seen as well recesses (15) and protuberances (16, 16a) of 
body (8) which have been provided in order to guarantee a perfectly guided 
shifting motion of said body as it moves by way of a slide in a housing 
provided for such a purpose in the weapon. 
The drawings show as well several other parts of the gun which have a 
conventional structure, as per the following detail: 
(27): cylindrical boss of hammer (21); 
(27a, 27b): pins for linking boss (27) with rear end (19b) of drawing 
member (19); 
(29): compressed-gas reservoir; 
(30): barrel casing articulated at front pin (31) and releasable by means 
of catch (32); 
(34): lever one of whose ends is pin-jointed at (35) to body (8) and which 
carries a member (36) allowing hammer (21) to actuate on the head of valve 
(22) thus opening the gas passage, said member (36) acting as a safety 
means. 
(43): spring resting on a plate (44) coaxial to the valve member (40); 
(45, 46) sealing joints of the compression air/gas distribution chamber 
(39). 
FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the use of a filter (41) constituted by a porous 
block, for instance in polyethylene, in this embodiment housed inside a 
perforating element (37). 
The use of a filter allows to restrain the passage of micro-particles which 
can be produced at the time of perforating the pressure air/gas reservoir 
(29), coming from the coating o the closure portion thereof and which 
while reaching the compression air/gas distribution chamber (39) can 
deteriorate the sealing joints (45, 46) and loose the air/gas tightness of 
said chamber. 
The above description of the object of this patent being sufficient to 
enable those skilled in the art to put it into practice, it is claimed to 
extend said object to all those variations of detail which do not alter 
its essentiality, which is summarized in the following claims.