Abstract:
A semi-automatic firearm includes a frame and a movable slide mounted on the frame. The slide defines an ejection port and lateral walls that extend longitudinally from a rear face of the slide to adjacent a front face through which an opening is formed to permit egress of a round of ammunition, the rear face and the front face being generally perpendicular to the lateral walls. The firearm further includes a firing mechanism and an access port formed in the lateral walls of the slide.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a divisional application of, and claims priority to, previously filed U.S. application Ser. No. 09/778,490 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,979, filed Feb. 7, 2001, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention applies to semi-automatic firearms in general, and to apparatus and methods for removing the slide of a semi-automatic firearm in particular. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A semi-automatic pistol includes a slide assembly slidably mounted on a frame, a firing mechanism, and a magazine. The magazine is received within the handle portion of frame. The firing mechanism is mounted in the frame and includes a trigger, a trigger bar, and a spring activated striker-firing pin. The trigger bar is pivotally mounted on one end to the trigger and on the other end to a mechanism that actuates the striker firing-pin. In some pistols, a sear assembly is the mechanism that actuates the striker firing-pin. Movement of the trigger causes the pivotally connected trigger bar to move laterally within the frame and actuate the sear assembly out of engagement with the striker firing-pin, thereby allowing the striker firing-pin to engage an ammunition round loaded in the firing chamber unless otherwise prevented by another safety. 
   Most pistols today include a magazine safety to ensure the firearm cannot be fired when the magazine is removed. Many of those magazine safeties operate by impairing the ability of the firing mechanism to move an amount sufficient to fire the firearm. In those instances, it may not be possible to remove the slide from the frame of the firearm while the magazine is removed. It would be advantageous to be able to remove the slide from the frame while the magazine is removed from the firearm. 
   What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus and a method for removing the slide from a firearm that can be done while the magazine is removed from the firearm. 
   OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for removing the slide from a firearm that can be done while the magazine is removed from the firearm. 
   According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for removing the slide from a semi-automatic firearm is provided that includes the steps of: (1) providing an access port within the slide of the firearm that is positioned to align with the firing mechanism of the firearm; (2) inserting a probe into the access port; and (3) manipulating the firing mechanism with the probe, and thereby enabling the slide to be removed from the frame. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, a semi-automatic firearm is provided that includes a frame, a slide removably mounted on the frame, a striker firing-pin mounted within the slide, a firing mechanism, and an access port disposed in the slide. When the slide is in a predetermined position, the firing mechanism can be accessed through the access port with a probe and manipulated to allow removal of the slide from the frame. 
   An advantage of the present invention is that the slide can be removed when the magazine is removed from the firearm. The procedure for removing the slide of a pistol typically involves some movement of the firing mechanism. Most magazine safeties impair movement of the firing mechanism when the magazine is removed from the magazine well. As a result, the slide cannot be removed unless the magazine is received within the magazine well of the firearm. The present invention permits the slide to be removed with the magazine removed from the firearm. 
   According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a semi-automatic firearm includes a frame and a movable slide mounted on the frame. The slide defines an ejection port and lateral walls that extend longitudinally from a rear face of the slide to adjacent a front face through which an opening is formed to permit egress of a round of ammunition, the rear face and the front face being generally perpendicular to the lateral walls. The firearm further includes a firing mechanism and an access port formed in the lateral walls of the slide. 
   These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in light of the detailed description of the best mode embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic partially section view of a semi-automatic pistol type firearm. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic partial view of a first type of pistol firing mechanism. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic partial view of a second type of pistol firing mechanism. 
       FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic face view of a sear assembly. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic side view of a sear mounted in a swing arm. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic view of a sear assembly that includes a magazine safety. 
       FIG. 7  is a partial side view of a slide showing a probe inserted into an access port 
       FIG. 8  is a partial end view of a slide showing a probe inserted into an access port 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIG.1 , a semi-automatic pistol indudes a frame  10 , a firing mechanism  12 , a slide  14 , a magazine  16 , a magazine safety  18  (see  FIG.6 ), and apparatus  20  for removing the slide. As is typically known in the art, the slide  14  further includes a distal end face D through which a bore  17  is formed to permit the egress of a round of ammunition. The magazine  16  is received within the handle portion  22  of frame  10 . The firing mechanism  12  is mounted in the frame  10 , and includes a trigger  24 , a trigger bar  26 , a sear assembly  28 , and a spring activated striker-firing pin mechanism  30 . The trigger bar  26  is pivotally mounted on one end to the trigger  24  and on the other end to the sear assembly  28 . Movement of the trigger  24  causes the pivotally connected trigger bar  26  to move laterally within the frame  10  and actuate the sear assembly  28  as will be described in more detail below. Actuation of the sear assembly  28  causes the sear  32  to disengage with the striker-firing pin mechanism  30  and thereby allow the mechanism  30  to engage an ammunition round loaded in the firing chamber unless otherwise prevented. 
   The sear assembly  28  shown in FIGS.  2  and  4 – 6 , includes a sear  32 , a sear guide  34 , a swing arm  36 , a housing  38 , a sear spring  40 , and a swing arm spring  42 . The swing arm  36  includes a pair of panels  44 , 46  within a cavity  48  located in the sear housing  38 . The swing arm panels  44 , 46  are pivotally mounted on one end by a pivot pin  50  that extends through the housing cavity  48 . The sear  32  is slidably disposed between the swing arm panels  44 , 46  at the other end of the swing arm  36 . The sear guide  34  includes a pair of pins  52 , 54  that extend between the swing arm panels  44 , 46  and through a slot  56  in the sear  32 . A portion  58  of one of the sear pins  52 , 54  also extends a distance outside of one of the swing arm panels  44 , 46 . The sear pins  52 , 54  limit the travel motion of the sear  32  along a line extending between the two pins  52 , 54 . The pivot mounting arrangement of the swing arm  36  within the housing cavity  48  enables the sear  32  and the swing arm  36  to rotate within the housing cavity  48 . The sear spring  40  biases the sear  32  toward the end of the swing arm  36  opposite the pivot pin  50 . The swing arm spring  42 , which is mounted on the swing arm pivot pin  50 , biases the swing arm  36  toward a “forward” position, located at one end of the swing arm&#39;s arcuate path. Both the sear spring  40  and the swing arm spring  42  resist the actuation of the trigger  24 . When the pistol is in a fireable condition, actuation of the trigger  24  and pivotally mounted trigger bar  26  causes the sear  32  and attached swing arm  36  to rotate about the pivot pin  50 . After a certain amount of travel, the sear  32  disengages the striker firing-pin mechanism  30  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) and thereby permits the striker firing-pin to spring forward and strike the primer on the round of ammunition, if any, loaded in the firing chamber. 
   Referring to  FIG. 6 , the magazine safety  18  is included to prevent the firearm from being fired when the magazine  16  is removed. The magazine safety  18  includes a lever spring  60  and a lever  62  that is pivotally mounted to the sear housing  38 . The lever  62  includes a notch  64  for receiving the sear pin portion  58  that extends outside a swing arm panel  44 , 46 . The lever spring  60  acts on the lever  62  to bias it into engagement with the sear pin  52 , 54 . When the sear pin  52 , 54  is received within the lever notch  64 , the sear  32  and swing arm  36  are held in position and cannot be rotated about the swing arm pivot pin  50 . The trigger bar  26  that mechanically connects between the sear  32  and the trigger  24  consequently does not permit the trigger  24  to be actuated an amount that would cause the pistol to be fired. Thus, when the magazine  16  is removed from the magazine well, movement of the firing mechanism  12  is impaired to an extent that the firing mechanism cannot be actuated unless the magazine safety is disengaged. When the magazine  16  is fully inserted into the pistol&#39;s magazine well, the magazine  16  contacts the lever  62  causing it to rotate out of engagement with the sear pin portion  58 . As a result, the sear  32  and the swing arm  36  are no longer held in position and the pistol may be fired unless otherwise prevented. The phantom line view of the lever  62  shows the lever  62  displaced by the magazine  16 . An example of the above described magazine safety  18  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,784 issued to Lenkarski and commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,784 is hereby incorporated by reference. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , in a pistol that utilizes a striker firing-pin type mechanism  30  the slide  14  can be removed by first depressing the slide catch (not shown) and subsequently sliding the slide backward along the frame  10 . In the absence of a magazine safety  18  (e.g., like that described above), the movement of the slide  14  along the frame rails causes the sear  32  (or other type firing mechanism) to disengage from the striker firing-pin mechanism  3 . Once the sear  32  is rotated out of engagement, the slide  14  can be removed from the frame  10 . If a magazine safety  18  is of the type that does not allow the striker firing-pin mechanism  30  to be actuated when engaged, then it will not be possible to remove the slide  14  from the frame  10  unless the magazine safety  18  is disengaged by reinserting the magazine  16  within the magazine well. In many instances, it would be preferable to be able to remove the slide  14  from the frame  10  without first having to reinsert the magazine  16 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  7 , and  8 , the apparatus  20  for removing the slide includes an access port  66  disposed in the slide  14 . The access port  66  is located at a predetermined position that is aligned with the firing mechanism  12 .  FIGS. 1 ,  3 , and  7  show the access port  66  positioned in the slide  14  so as to be aligned with the firing mechanism  12  when the slide is in a chamber-closed position. In other instances, the access port  66  may be positioned in the slide  14  so as to be aligned with the firing mechanism  12  when the slide is an alternative position; e.g., a chamber-open position. A probe  68  inserted into the access port  66  can be used to manipulate the firing mechanism  12  to allow removal of the slide from the frame even when the magazine  16  is not received within the magazine well. In terms of the above-described firearm that utilizes a sear  32 , the access port  66  is disposed in the slide  14  and aligned with the sear  32  when the slide  14  is in the chamber-dosed position. In this position, the probe  68  can be inserted into the access port  66  and brought into contact with the sear  32 . Inserting the probe  68  further into the access port  66  causes the sear  32  to depress within the sear housing  38  and out of engagement with striker firing-pin mechanism  30 . Once the sear and the striker firing-pin mechanism are disengaged, the slide can be drawn back along the rails and removed from the pistol frame. The apparatus  20  for removing the slide is not limited to the firing mechanism shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In addition, in those instances where the firearm includes a magazine safety, the apparatus  20  for removing the slide may also be aligned with the magazine safety  18  so that slide  14  can be removed by disengaging the magazine safety  18  via the access port  66 . 
   As therefore generally shown in  FIGS. 1 and 7 , and specifically enumerated in  FIG. 8 , the slide  14  includes a housing  80  that extends longitudinally and substantially parallel to a direction of movement of the slide  14 . The access port  66  is therefore formed in the housing  80  so as to provide selective access to the sear assembly  28 . 
   Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. For example, the above Detailed Description of the Invention describes the invention in the context of a firearm having a firing mechanism that includes a sear assembly  28  and an access port  66  aligned with the sear  32 . Alternatively, the access port  66  might be aligned with another element of the firing mechanism  12 , or the firing mechanism  12  might utilize a mechanism other than a sear  32  to actuate the striker firing-pin  30 .  FIG. 3 , for example, shows an alternative type of firing mechanism  12  with which the present invention can be used.