Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a modified upper receiver assembly and method of assembly, which in one form is operatively configured to be fitted to a conventional lower receiver of a rifle so the user can use their normal lower receiver having a pistol grip, trigger assembly and butt stock. The upper receiver is configured to provide a blowback bolt assembly of larger mass than would be possible with similar density materials of a bolt fitted within an upper receiver conventionally made for said lower receiver.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority benefit of and is a Divisional Application of U.S. Ser. No. 13/008,446 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,453. U.S. Ser. No. 13/008,446 claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 61/295,935, filed Jan. 18, 2010. Each of these are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Disclosed herein is an upper receiver assembly having in one example an upper receiver with an interior surface defining an interior chamber. The upper receiver in one form has a longitudinal forward region having a barrel mounting portion and a longitudinal rearward region comprising a surface defining a spring guide passage. There is also an upper region having a surface defining a charge handle passage. 
     One example utilizes a bolt comprising a surface defining a firing pin passageway. A firing pin is movably positioned to move a prescribed amount of distance within the firing pin passageway. The bolt has a longitudinally forward region with a bolt surface. The bolt also has an upper region having a charge handle engagement surface. Also there is a surface defining a recoil guide rod chamber on the bolt. 
     A charge handle is positioned within the charge handle passage of the upper receiver. The charge handle having a bolt engagement feature positioned to engage the charge handle engagement surface of the bolt so the charge handle is configured to reposition the bolt in a longitudinal rearward direction with respect to the upper receiver and further the bolt can reposition longitudinally rearwardly and forwardly without movement of the charge handle when the charge handle is in a longitudinally forward orientation with respect to the upper receiver. 
     A recoil spring guide operatively configured to be assembled to the upper receiver by way of passing through the spring guide passage of the upper receiver is located in a longitudinal rearward portion of the upper receiver where the recoil spring guide rod passes through the surface defining a recoil guide rod chamber within the bolt. A backer plate house is located within the interior chamber of the upper receiver. Other features and arrangements are provided herein. 
     Rifle craft is premised upon training with a rifle of choice by the shooter. A common platform for a high-power rifle is the AR-15 and its various derivatives. In general, an AR-15 has an upper and lower receiver where the lower receiver comprises the trigger assembly, pistol grip and butt stock. Further, the lower receiver is considered by ATF standards the main portion of the firearm, which is subject to regulation for delivery, transport and a host of other regulatory restrictions. The upper receiver of a platform such as the AR-15 generally has the barrel attached thereto and some sort of an action, which is normally a bolt-and-carriage assembly with the characteristic turning locking bolt which provides accuracy for the centerfire .223 Remington round. Of course, in the broader scope, other platforms can be utilized with the disclosure described herein, but in particular with the AR-15 it is common to have a specific lower receiver that the shooter is comfortable with when performing with the rifle and simply training. 
     Recently, the cost for ammunition has risen considerably. At the time of this filing it is fairly cost prohibitive to expend a high number of .223 rounds, as the cost of each round is doubled and almost tripled in some instances in view of cost the same rounds just a few years ago. Preferred alternatives include .22 long rifle rimfire rounds, .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, and similar cartridges which can be shot at a fraction of the cost of a centerfire high caliber round such as the .223 Remington (or alternatively the 5.56 NATO round) and other relatively large calibers. 
     Of course, there are various other alternatives in the marketplace, such as converting an action, such as a Ruger 10-22 action, which is specifically made for the .22 long rifle round, and having fixtures to this action, which gives the same look and feel as an AR-15. However, the underlying action itself is that of a Ruger 10-22 and is limited to the Ruger 10-22 trigger. 
     Disclosed herein is an upper receiver conversion where the shooter can utilize the lower assembly of their existing AR-15, M-4, AR-10 or other variants, and, in the broader scope, other rifle platforms altogether, in particular rifles with a lower receiver having a trigger group housed therein, and utilize these existing elements of their rifle with a dedicated upper assembly and barrel specifically designed for reliability and high performance with the rimfire .22 long rifle round (or, in the broader scope, other rounds could be employed). 
     It is further well known that .22 long rifle rounds carry a relatively small charge of powder. Therefore, in one form, providing an upper receiver having an enlarged interior passageway with a bolt having more mass relative to conventional interior passageways and bolts, fitted therein is desirable because the blowback feature of the action will have energy being absorbed to accelerate the heavier mass of the bolt, as opposed to pressing against a spring. Although disclosed herein is an assembly with a spring positioned in an operative matter on the bolt, in one form a spring with a lower spring constant and less pre-tension placed thereon can be employed, which can enhance reliability. Further, in general the bolt operates to reset the trigger of the lower receiver. Because the upper receiver assembly is configured to work with a plurality of types of lower receivers including competition triggers, duty triggers and plain stock triggers, which may have higher powered springs acting on the hammer of the trigger assembly, there are numerous unknowns where the upper receiver must be robust enough to have sufficient force placed upon the hammer so as to re-cock the hammer when in operation. By having a dimension provided with a heavier bolt, the momentum energy is conserved and transferred to accelerating the bolt as opposed to compressing a spring, whereas other prior art devices such as the Ciener Kit have limited ability to add mass to the operating bolt by way of operating within the existing upper receiver of the shooter&#39;s firearm. It should be noted that because the upper receivers are preconfigured to be retrofitted to the lower receiver, there are various dimensional constraints placed on the upper receiver. For example, the positions of the magazine and the bullets contained in the magazine are fixed based upon the orientation of the magazine (mag) well of the lower receiver, which is standard in, for example, the AR-15. Further, the location of the trigger assembly in the lower receiver is at a specified location, and the hammer is designed to strike a firing pin on the bolt of the upper receiver at a specified (central) location. Therefore, between the mag well and the hammer there is a limited amount of longitudinal space to fit a bolt. One option would be to have a heavier bolt made of, for example, a denser material such as tungsten carbide, and fit such a bolt within an existing upper receiver of an AR-15. However, this option creates a more expensive product to manufacture. Therefore, as disclosed herein, the interior chamber of the upper receiver has a slightly larger cross-section than, for example, conventional AR-15 specification, so as to provide a heavier bolt to be fitted therein. Further, the upper receiver sold with the bolt can be arranged in a manner so there is a sufficiently tight tolerance that the upper receiver guides the bolt and ensures a true engagement to the barrel to enhance the accuracy, even with a blowback action design. 
     In summary, disclosed herein is a novel and non-obvious arrangement of components in light of the prior art to utilize existing rifle components, including the trigger assembly, pistol grip and butt stock of a lower receiver, with a dedicated upper receiver while shooting a much less expensive round. It should be further noted that other custom elements of the lower receiver are common, such as an increased-size mag well and, in some cases, a customized mag release button. In one form, the upper receiver can be arranged to operate with a black dog magazine, which has a cross-sectional area of sufficient size to fit within the mag well of a conventional AR-15 receiver. Further, the black dog magazines have a desirable round capacity and are presently being operated with devices to quickly load the magazines to allow the shooter to train more and spend less time loading. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  shows a view of one example of the complete rifle assembly; 
         FIG. 1B  shows one example of an upper assembly attached to a lower receiver which is stripped down; 
         FIG. 2  shows an isometric view of one example of a lower receiver with the bolt assembly components positioned thereabove, where this unique view does not show an upper receiver which would house the bolt assembly components; 
         FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view of one example of the upper and lower receivers; 
         FIG. 4  shows an orthogonal view in cross-section of one example of the upper and lower receivers; 
         FIG. 5  shows an exploded view of one example of the bolt assembly components positioned around the upper receiver; 
         FIG. 6  shows one example of the bolt and backer plate position below the interior chamber of the upper receiver; 
         FIG. 7  shows the bolt positioned upwardly and forwardly within the interior chamber of the upper receiver where the backer plate is still positioned therebelow; 
         FIG. 8  shows one example of the backer plate positioned within the interior chamber of the upper receiver; 
         FIG. 9  shows one example of a recoil spring guide about to be assembled to the upper receiver; 
         FIG. 10  shows a view similar to  FIG. 9  except in a cross-sectional view to show the internal components in the upper receiver; 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the one example of bolt. 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded view of another example of the disclosed apparatus. 
         FIG. 13  is an exploded view of several components of the example of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a cutaway view of several components of the example of  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Shown in  FIG. 1A  is a complete rifle assembly  20 . In general, the rifle assembly  20  comprises a lower assembly  22  and an upper assembly  24 . The lower assembly  22  can have a pistol grip  26  and butt stock  28  attached thereto. Further, as shown above, the trigger guard  30  contained within the lower assembly  22  comprises a trigger assembly  32  which forms in part the user engagement portion  34  of the trigger assembly  32  which is visible in  FIG. 1A . In general, a trigger assembly comprises a disconnector, a hammer and a trigger member which operate in a method with an action so some form of an action impinges a force upon the hammer (not shown) so as to cock the hammer rearwardly. The disconnector operates such that if the shooter followed through on the shot and still has the trigger fully depressed, the disconnector will engage the hammer, and as the shooter releases the trigger forward, the hammer will catch against the trigger member and be ready to fire a second shot in semi-automatic mode. Of course, in other forms such as three-round bursts and full automatic such as the M-16, the trigger assembly is arranged in a different manner to allow for this rapid-fire capability. 
     A common example of a trigger assembly, such as a drop-in trigger, is ascribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,937 incorporated herein by reference. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1B , to aid in the description an axes system  10  is defined where the axes  12  indicates a longitudinal axis pointing in the forward direction, the axis  14  is a lateral axis, and  16  is a vertical axis. In general, the axis  14  points in a first lateral direction where an opposing direction would be a second lateral direction. These axes are for general reference purposes to the common orientation of the rifle  20 , and it is understood that the rifle could be orientated in other directions without at all limiting the scope of the disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1B , the lower assembly  22  has been partially stripped down and where the trigger assembly, pistol grip and butt stock are removed therefrom. In a portion of the lower assembly is the lower receiver  38 . In general, the lower receiver has a first connection location  40 , which is generally a pin connection  41 , and further a second connection location  42 . In general, it is common to remove the pin  43  a partial distance at the second connection location  42 , which disengages the rearward portion of the upper assembly  24 , thereby allowing pivotal attachment at the first connection location  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , there is a rather unique view of one embodiment of the bolt assembly components  44  that are generally housed within the upper receiver  46 ( FIG. 4 ). To aid the description of the both assembly components  FIG. 2  shows various orientations of the components. In normal operation, the upper receiver  46  ( FIG. 4 ) houses and properly positions the components of the bolt assembly  44 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the lower receiver  38  which comprises a magazine (mag) well  48  and a butt stuck attachment location  50 . Further, there is a pistol grip attachment location  52  comprising a void  54 , which is generally threaded and configured to fit a screw through the pistol grip to mount the pistol grip thereto. The threaded portion  56  of the butt stock attachment location  50  is generally provided to connect to a tubular member housing a mainspring therein, which is a characteristic portion of an AR-15. The lower surface  58  is generally provided to properly orientate and position the butt stuck while resisting rotation of the butt stock relative to the lower receiver. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the bolt assembly components  44  generally comprise a bolt  60 , a back plate  62 , a recoil spring guide  64 , and a charge handle  66 . In the broader scope, some of these components could be combined or integrate with one another, but in general the components of the bolt, backplate, recoil spring guide and charge handle operate within the upper receiver  46  (see  FIG. 4 ) to provide a functioning upper receiver that is very robust by being able to operate with a plurality of lower receivers, along with a host of different types of .22 long rifle ammunition (in one form). 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , there is a cross-sectional view of the upper assembly  24  attached to the lower receiver  38 . In general, the upper receiver  46  has an interior surface  68  defining an interior chamber  70 . The bolt  60  is arranged to move longitudinally within the interior chamber  70  and in part be guided by the interior surface  68  and further by the recoil spring guide  64 . Positioned in a longitudinally rearward portion of the upper receiver is a backplate  62 , which can absorb the impact from the bolt  60 , and a retaining plug  72  that can be configured to threadedly engage the surface defining the spring guide passage  74  (see also  FIG. 5 ) so as to retain the recoil spring guide  64  and recoil spring  65  therein. Housed within the bolt  60  is the firing pin  78 , which is configured to move a prescribed amount within a firing pin passage  80 . In one form, the firing pin is retained in the bolt by the crosspin  82 , which is configured to fit within the crosspin retaining surface  84 , as shown in  FIGS. 5   6 . It should be noted that the orientation of the mag well  48  with respect to the hammer  81 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , is generally a distance with respect to one another, where, for example, the longitudinally rearward surface  90  of the mag well is at a distance from the pivot point  92  of the hammer  81 . Therefore, it can be appreciated that the lower receiver  38  has the prescribed dimensions of the mag well and the hammer to allow for only so much distance generally defined by the dimension  94  for positioning the bolt. In other words, the hammer face  96 , which is adapted to strike the firing pin  78 , must strike the firing pin at a prescribed point to insure proper firing of the round. In one form the round is a rimfire cartridge. Further, the magazine  98  ( FIG. 1B ), which in one form houses  22  caliber rimfire cartridges, positions the cartridge at a prescribed location, such as the feed region  100  as shown in  FIG. 3 . In general, the barrel  102  has a feed ramp  104  allowing the bullets to slide upward and into the chamber  106 . This feeding action occurs with the bolt surface  108  as the bolt slides longitudinally forward after being positioned in the longitudinally rearward portion of the internal chamber  70 . Therefore, it can be appreciated that the bolt  60  must have specific length to operate with the specifications of a lower receiver  38 , for example an AR-15 lower receiver (as well as other lower receiver platforms). As shown in  FIG. 4 , there is an isometric cross-sectional view taken in the vertical plane orthogonal to the lateral axis  14 . This vertical plane is through a laterally central location of the upper assembly  24  and the lower receiver  38 . This isometric view generally shows the feed region  100  and it can be appreciated that when a round is fired by way of the firing pin  78  impacting the upper rim region indicated at the striker region  112 , the equal and opposite force of the accelerating bullet traveling down the barrel  102  impinges a blowback force upon the bolt  60 . A spring  65  ( FIG. 3 ) in part absorbs energy of the rearwardly accelerating bolt  60 . Further, the hammer  81  generally has a main hammer spring (not shown) attached thereto, such as a torsional spring. Cocking the hammer rearwardly to the various seer surfaces retains the hammer in a retained position. Executed by way of the rearward travel of the bolt absorbing some of the kinetic energy therefrom. The backer plates  62  are designed to impact the rearward portion of the bolt at the longitudinal front surface  118 . As shown in, for example,  FIG. 5 , the bolt  60  can have a larger design, and in one form a more rectangular design corresponding to the general fit of the interior chamber  70 , so as to have a larger cross-sectional dimension than the anterior chamber of a conventional upper receiver of an AR-15. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , there is an upper receiver  46  attached to the barrel  102  and an oblique isometric view showing the opening to the interior chamber  70 . In general, the bolt assembly components  44  are shown in the disassembled exploded view, and there will now be a general discussion of one form of assembling the upper assembly  24 . 
     It should first be noted that the charge handle  66 , which is configured to be mounted within a surface defining a charge handle passage  120  ( FIG. 4 ), is shown in  FIG. 5  in an engaged position within the upper receiver  46 . Referring back to  FIG. 4 , the charge channel has a bolt engagement feature  122  configured to engage the charge handle engagement surface  124  of the bolt  60 . The charge handle is generally operated to reposition the bolt rearwardly to chamber around from a magazine such that when the bolt is in operation, the charge handle does not reposition longitudinally with the bolt during operation of the bolt when firing a round. 
     Now referring ahead to  FIG. 11 , it can be seen that the bolt  60  is shown in a cross-sectional view. In general, the bolt  60  has a surface defining a recoil guard rod chamber  150 , which is also referred to herein as a recoil spring chamber. The angular surface  152  is generally referred to as a recoil guide rod receiving location, which, in one form, can have a portion of a recoil spring  65 , such as a helical spring, imparting the force thereto. The surface defining the firing pin passage  180  can be shown where the laterally extending open passageway defining the firing pin retaining surface  84  is shown where a pin is configured to fit therethrough and keep the firing pin retained therein for a prescribed amount of longitudinal travel with the bolt. Further, the longitudinal rearward surface  136  of the bolt is configured to engage and strike the longitudinal forward surface  118  of the backer plate ( FIG. 8 ). Positioned in the upward region is a small extension, which is generally referred to as a charge handle engagement surface  124 , where the charge handle  66  (see  FIGS. 2-4 ) can engage the bolt to reposition it longitudinally rearwardly, which is generally used to chamber around or otherwise hold the bolt in the rearward location to show a safe condition. 
     Referring back to the partially disassembled vie of  FIG. 5 , it can be appreciated that the bolt  60  is shown positioned below the interior chamber  70 , and the recoil spring guide and the retaining plugs  64  and  72  are shown positioned longitudinally behind the upper receiver  46 . In a first phase of assembly, the bolt  60  can be vertically inserted into the interior chamber  70 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , it can be appreciated that the longitudinally rearward region  128  of the chamber  70  is of a sufficient cross-sectional area to allow the bolt  60  to be fitted therein, and then positioned forwardly, as shown in  FIG. 7  where the bolt retaining member  130  shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  can be utilized to house the bolt therein and constrain the bolt to longitudinally rearward and forward motion. It should be noted that the charge handle  66  is shown mounted in the upper receiver, but this component too can be removed from the upper receiver  46 . As further shown in  FIG. 7 , the backer plate  62  is also positioned below the interior chamber  70 , and as shown in  FIG. 8 , the backer plate  62  can be housed in the longitudinal rearward portion of the interior chamber  70 . Once the backer plate is in place (see also  FIG. 4 ), it can be utilized to engage the longitudinal rearward surface  136  of the bolt  62  to prevent the bolt from repositioning too far rearwardly to fall out of the interior chamber, or become misaligned during operation of the action. Referring to  FIG. 9 , it can be appreciated that to further assemble and maintain the bolt  60  to be housed in the upper receiver  46 , the recoil spring guide  64  can be mounted therein and pass through the surface defining the spring guide passage  74  of the upper receiver  46 . Further, the retaining plug  72 , otherwise referred to as the guide rod retaining screw, is operatively configured to be engaged and more specifically threadedly engaged to the surface defining a spring guide passage  74 . Further, the back plate locking passage  140  is configured to have a member such as a threaded member  182  pass therethrough and engage the locking location (see  FIG. 6 )  142  of the backer plate  62 . It should be noted that the backplate further has a recoil spring passage  144  to allow the recoil spring guide  64  to pass therethrough. As shown in  FIG. 9 , there would be a helical spring positioned around the recoil spring guide when being inserted through the surface defining a spring guide passage  74 .  FIG. 10  shows a cross-sectional view of the partially assembled upper assembly  24 . It can be appreciated that the interior chamber  70  allows sufficient rearward travel of the bolt  60 . Further, as best shown in  FIG. 10 , the firing pin passage  80  allows for longitudinal motion of the firing pin and the firing pin retaining surface  84 , where a cross pin ( 82  of  FIG. 3 ) engages the flange portion  148  of the firing pin  78 . Further, the recoil spring chamber  150  can be seen where force can be imparted, for example at the annular surface  152  of the bolt to a helical spring  65  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     As further shown in  FIG. 8 , it should be noted that the first lower receiver attachment location  190  is shown along with the second lower receiver attachment location  192 . These attachment locations in one example are designed to be similar in dimension to the attachment locations of an upper receiver of a conventional AR-15 so as to be mounted to the lower receiver of an AR-15. 
       FIGS. 12-14  show another embodiment wherein all of the components can be longitudinally removed from the modified upper receiver  246  through an enlarged rear opening  508 . In this embodiment, components similar to previous embodiments are numbered similarly, but offset by  200 . For example, the recoil spring guide of the previous embodiment is labeled  64 , and in this embodiment is labeled  264 . Similarly, the backplate in earlier embodiments is numbered  140 , and in this embodiment the backplate is numbered  340 . 
     Looking to  FIG. 12 , the upper receiver  246  shown is quite different from a standard receiver in that the interior chamber  270  is machined out to accept a novel bolt  260 . The bolt  260  comprises a spring guide chamber  350 , which allows the recoil spring guide  264  to pass therethrough. It can be seen how the outer surface  341  of backplate  340  slides into an engaging (inner) surface  271  of the interior chamber  270  of the upper receiver  246 . This results in a sliding fit between the two components, such that the backplate  340  can easily be removed to gain access to the other components of the device. In one form, a crosspin  500  engages crosspin receivers  502  and  504  in the upper receiver  246  and backplate  340  respectively to fixedly hold the backplate  340  in place within the upper receiver  246 . 
     The outer surface  325  of the bolt  260  in this example also engages the engaging surface  271  of the interior chamber  270  for longitudinal motion therewithin. 
     Looking to  FIG. 14 , the bolt  260  can be seen in cross-section, along with the recoil spring guide  264 . The recoil spring  265  is shown extending from the retaining plug  272  to the annular surface  352  of the recoil spring chamber  350  to provide expansion forces therebetween. In one form, the forward portion of the recoil spring guide  264  comprises a tapered portion  510  to assist in alignment with a reduced diameter portion  512  of the recoil spring chamber  350  adjacent the annular surface  352 . 
       FIG. 14  also shows one embodiment of the firing pin  278  in cross section, including a flange  514 , which engages a crosspin  282  to maintain position of the firing pin  278  within the firing pin passage  280 . The crosspin  282  may be press fit or slide fit into the crosspin receiver  506  shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     In one form, the retaining plug  272  and recoil spring guide  264  are a single monolithic structure, but they may be independent, connected structures. The bolt  260 , firing pin  278 , and upper receiver  246  may also be monolithic, or substantially monolithic. 
     While the present invention is illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments are described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the scope of the appended claims will readily appear to those sufficed in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants&#39; general concept.