Patent Publication Number: US-11385012-B2

Title: Slidable trigger assembly for firearm

Description:
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/902,706 filed on Sep. 19, 2019. The present invention relates generally to a firearm trigger assembly and specifically to a slidable trigger assembly for a firearm. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Bolt-action firearms are well known in the art. Typically, a cartridge is fed into the receiver from an internal magazine by the forward movement of a bolt. After the shot is fired, the bolt is retracted, which removes the spent casing. The rearward movement of the bolt is limited by a stop machined into the bolt. 
     Some bolt-action firearms have a bolt-located safety that interacts with a notch in a firing pin assembly. However, due to an accumulation of tolerances in the components of the firearm, when assembling the firearm, the notch in the firing pin assembly may not accurately align with a safety cam that is part of the bolt assembly. In order to overcome this the cocking piece is often grinded to removing material in order to adjust the location of the notch in the firing pin assembly. However, this is laborious and time consuming, and adds an undesirable expense to the installation process. 
     Accordingly, it is object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the above-mentioned disadvantage. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with an aspect of an embodiment, there is provided a slidable trigger assembly comprising a main body housing a trigger and a sear; a slider, slidably coupled with the main body; and a slide adjuster configured to set the sear at a target position with respect to the slider. 
     In an embodiment, the main body comprises a flange protruding therefrom. The flange may comprise a flange bore and the slider comprises a slider bore. The flange bore may be larger than the slider bore. The flange bore and the slider bore may be aligned to receive a fastener therethrough. The slider bore may be shaped to snugly receive the fastener. 
     In an embodiment, the flange may comprise a channel shaped to receive the slider. The slider may include a protrusion, distal from an edge of the flange, the protrusion extending perpendicularly into the channel. The main body may comprise a pair of opposing slots, and the protrusion may be coupled to the main body by a pin extending through the protrusion between the opposing slots. The slider may be loosely coupled with the main housing, and the slide adjuster may be configured to set the position of the sear in place one it has been determined. The slider moves laterally in response to adjustment of the slide adjuster. The slide adjuster may comprise a set screw. 
     In accordance with an aspect of an embodiment, there is provided a slidable trigger assembly comprising: a main body housing a trigger and a sear, the main body comprising a flange bore; and a slider, slidably coupled with the main body, the slider comprising a slider bore smaller than the flange bore, wherein the flange bore and the slider bore are aligned to receive a fastener therethrough. 
     In an embodiment, the slider bore is shaped to snugly receive the fastener. The main body may comprise a channel shaped to receive the slider. The slider may include a protrusion, distal from an edge of the main body, the protrusion extending perpendicularly into the channel. The main body may comprise a pair of opposing slots, and the protrusion is coupled to the main by a pin extending through the protrusion between the opposing slots. The slider may move laterally in response to physical manipulation of the slidable trigger assembly to set the sear at a target position with respect to the slider. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a trigger assembly in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 2 . is a cross-section view of the trigger assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     For convenience, like numerals in the description refer to like structures in the drawings. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a trigger assembly in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment it illustrated generally by numeral  100 . The trigger assembly  100  comprises a main body  102 , a slider  104 , a slide adjuster  106 , a trigger  108 , a sear  110 . As is known in the art, the sear  110  interfaces with a firing pin assembly of a firearm (not shown). When a user moves the trigger  108  past a predefined point, the sear  110  drops releasing the firing pin assembly of the firearm. Many different mechanisms, known and proprietary, exist to couple trigger  108  with the sear  110 . However, such mechanisms are beyond the scope of the present invention. 
     The slider  104  is slidably coupled with the main body  102 . The slide adjuster  106  is configured to laterally change the position of the slider  104  with respect to the main body  102 . As will be described, changing the position of the slider  104  with respect to the main body  102  changes the lateral position of the sear  110 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a cross-section view of the trigger assembly is shown. The main body  102  includes a flange  202  protruding therefrom. The slide adjuster  106  is positioned proximal an edge of the flange  202  to facilitate access thereto. The flange  202  includes a channel  204 . The channel  204  and the slider  104  are shaped to be complementary to each other, so that the slider  104  fits with the channel  204 . The width of the channel  204  is similar to the width of the slider  104 . The length of the channel  204  is longer that the slider  104  to allow for lateral movement of the slider  104 . 
     The flange  202  includes a flange bore  206 . The slider  104  includes a slider bore  208 . In this embodiment, the flange bore  206  and the slider bore  208  are cylindrical and the circumference of the flange bore  206  is larger than the circumference of the slider bore  208 . The flange bore  206  and the slider bore  208  are substantially aligned to receive a fastener  112 , such as a screw for example, therethrough. The slider bore  208  is sized to snugly receive the fastener  112  and inhibit lateral motion of the fastener  112  therein. The flange bore  206  is sized to permit lateral motion of the faster  112  therein. 
     The slider  104  also comprises a protrusion  210 , distal from the edge of the flange  202 , extending substantially perpendicular therefrom. The slider  104  is coupled to the main body  102  by a coupling pin  212 . The coupling pin  212  extends through the protrusion  210  and is received by a pair of opposing slots  214  in the main body  102 . The slots  214  facilitates limited lateral movement of the coupling pin  212 , but inhibit other motion. 
     Lateral movement of the slider  104  in the channel  204  can be restricted by the size of the flange bore  206 , the size of the channel  204 , the length of the slot  214 , or any combination thereof. 
     The fastener  112  is configured to fixedly couple the trigger assembly  110  to the firearm. The firearm includes a recess to receive the fastener  112 . If the fastener  112  is a screw, the recess will be threaded to complement the fastener  112 . Accordingly, the fastener  112  couples the trigger assembly  100  to the firearm at a predefined position on the firearm. 
     When attaching the trigger assembly  100  to the firearm, the faster  112  is inserted through both the flange bore  206  and the slider bore  208 . The fastener  112  is then inserted into the recess in the firearm and loosely tightened. Loosely tightening the fastener  112  holds it in place but allows relative movement between the slider  104  and the main body  102 . Because of the relatively snug fit of the fastener  112  within the slider bore  206 , there will be little absolute movement of the slider  104 . Since the position of the slider  104  is fixed with respect to the firearm, adjustment of the slider  104  will result in relative movement of the sear  110 . 
     In an embodiment, the slider  104  is loosely slideable within the channel  104 . Accordingly, the main body  102  can be manually manipulated to position the sear  110 . Once the lateral position of the sear  110  is determined, the slide adjuster  106  is used to set the sear  110  in place. In an alternative embodiment, the slider  104  moves in response to adjustment of the slide adjuster  106 . Accordingly, adjustment of the slide adjuster  106  lengthens or shortens the distance between the fastener  112  and the sear  110 . In both embodiments, set screws can be used to implement the slide adjuster  106 . 
     Adjusting the lateral position of the sear  110  allows a user or manufacturer to easily position the sear  110  with respect to the cocking piece so that the notch in the firing pin assembly accurately aligns with the safety cam that is part of the bolt assembly. This simple alignment is a significant improvement to the installation process for trigger assemblies. 
     Once the position of the sear  110  has been set, the fastener  112  is completely tightened, connecting the trigger assembly  100  to the firearm. 
     The scope of the appended claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.