Patent Publication Number: US-10782081-B2

Title: Charging handle attachment for firearm slide

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to weapons and weapon accessories, and particularly to a charging handle attachment that can be used to better grip and pull the slide of a firearm to charge the firearm. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional semi-automatic handguns generally make use of a slide assembly to load, cycle and fire individual rounds. When loading an initial round into a chamber, a user must generally pull or “slide” the slide assembly to a rearward position, whereby a topmost round is stripped from a magazine and fed into the chamber. The force required to direct the slide assembly to the rearward position can be more than a user expects and in some cases, create difficulty for smaller or older individuals to operate. Manufacturers have addressed this by creating ribs, channels and/or similar features on the sides of the slide assembly to provide a gripping area by which the user can more easily retain and apply force to the slide assembly. However, these gripping areas are often times insufficient for certain users. 
     There is a need for a user-friendly accessory to assist in cycling the slide assembly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention seeks to provide a charging handle attachment that can be used to better grip and pull the slide of a firearm to charge the firearm, as is described more in detail hereinbelow. The terms firearm and weapon and used interchangeably throughout. 
     There is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the invention a firearm slide accessory including a charging handle member including an upper member and a lower member, wherein both the upper and lower members are formed with internal serrations that mate with external serrations of a slide, and one or more fasteners that secure the upper and lower members together. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the upper and lower members are formed with external serrations that match external serrations of the slide. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention one of the upper and lower members is formed with one or more tapped holes to accept the one or more fasteners. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the upper member does not block a rear sight of the slide. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are simplified exploded and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of a weapon before and after attachment of a charging handle member to a slide of the weapon, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are simplified end-view illustrations, respectively, before and after attachment of the charging handle member to the slide of the weapon; and 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are pictorial and enlarged illustrations, respectively, of the charging handle member attached to the slide, as seen from the underside of the slide 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which illustrate a charging handle member  10  for use with a firearm  12 , constructed and operative in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. 
     The firearm  12  is illustrated as one of the GLOCK handguns. The firearm  12  has a slide  14 , barrel  16 , frame  18 , trigger  20 , handle  22 , and a magazine well  24  for inserting therein a magazine  26 . Slide  14  must be pulled back for initially charging the firearm. A rear portion of slide  14  is manufactured with external serrations  28 . Slide  14  has rear and forward sights  30  and  32 . 
     The charging handle member  10  includes an upper member  34  and a lower member  36 . Both the upper and lower members  34  and  36  are formed with internal serrations  38  that mate with the external serrations  28  of the slide  14 . In this manner, both the upper and lower members  34  and  36  are positively secured to slide  14 . Both the upper and lower members  34  and  36  may also be formed with external serrations  40  that match the external serrations  28  of the slide  14  so as to give an aesthetically pleasing texture to the charging handle member  10  that blends with the original serrations of the slide. 
     The upper and lower members  34  and  36  are secured together with one or more fasteners  42 , such as screws. For example, the upper and lower members  34  and  36  may be formed with one or more mounting holes  44  to accept the fastener or fasteners  42  (one set of the holes may be tapped to accept the fasteners so that no nuts are needed; other fasteners may be used, such as but not limited to, screws with nuts, pins or rivets and others). The fasteners  42  are important so that the charging handle member  10  is properly secured to slide  14  and will not budge during years of use. 
     The upper and lower members  34  and  36  may be made of any suitable material, such as but not limited to, polymer, aluminum alloy, steel alloy, elastomer and the like. The upper and lower members  34  and  36  may have the same color as slide  14  or may be made of different colors. 
     As seen especially in  FIG. 4 , the upper member  34  does not block the rear sight  30  of slide  14 . 
     As seen in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the lower member  36  may be formed with ridges  53  that overlie the bottom surface of the slide  14 . These ridges  53  help secure the charging handle member  10  to the slide  14  so that it does not fall off the slide  14 . 
     As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , a rear face of lower member  36  may be formed with a lower cutout  46  having an upper narrower portion  46 A and a lower wider portion  46 B. The cutout  46  accommodates the back plate of the slide (not shown) which is found in GLOCK models.