Patent Publication Number: US-11029108-B1

Title: Magazine loader with coupled top and front round pushers

Description:
BACKGROUND—CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent issued from an application that claims priority of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/864,120, Filed 2019 Jun. 20. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND—PRIOR ART 
     Small firearms, including pistols, assault rifles, and submachine guns, utilize and fire rounds (also known as cartridges and ammunition). Each round is substantially elongated and comprises a deep cylindrical cuplike case (also known as a shell, casing, and sometimes a cartridge), usually of brass, which is filled with an explosive propellant. At its rear or closed end, the case has a rim or flange containing a primer; the front and opposite end of the case as manufactured is open. A bullet, slug, or head, usually of lead (optionally jacketed) is partly inserted into the open or front end of the case, where after the case is crimped onto the bullet to secure it in the case. 
     Firearm magazines usually hold a plurality of rounds and feed them into the firearm. Detachable magazines have become dominant throughout the world. The term ‘magazine’ is broad, encompassing several geometric variations, including box, curved, and drum magazines. Most detachable boxed and curved magazines are similar, varying in form and structure, rather than in their general principles of operation. Drum magazine usually store rounds differently than boxed and curved magazines. All magazines have a catch, usually a hole, dent, or protrusion, to enable locking and retention to a designated magazine-well of the firearm. 
     Non-drum magazines usually take the form of an elongated container having a generally rectangular cross-section which can be removably attached to the firearm. They are commonly made of aluminum alloys, plastic, steel, or a combination. They are usually closed on five sides and open on a sixth, upwardly facing, top, side, or end, and are substantially hollow. The top or open side includes two round-retaining members, known as feed or round-retaining lips. The magazines have an internal spring which urges a follower or pusher (a shaped piece of plastic or metal) straight up toward the open side. The follower in turn urges the rounds as a group up towards the lips. The lips act as a stop for the rounds so that they are not all expelled at once upwardly from the magazine, but can be pushed out one at a time by the firearm&#39;s extractor mechanism. 
     Some magazines, like the popular 30-round .22WMR (0.22 Magnum) magazines, are made by Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc., of Cocoa Fla., and are sold under Kel-Tec&#39;s trademarks PMR-30 and CMR-30, and are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,776,419 to Obermeit, 2014 Jul. 15. These are non-drum magazines where rounds are double stacked in two vertical and parallel columns below the magazine&#39;s feed or retaining lips. The rounds are staggered so that each column is offset from each other. The longitudinal axes of the rounds are substantially parallel and perpendicular to the direction of travel of the spring and follower. Adjoining rounds are oriented in the same direction, i.e., the bullets of adjacent rounds are next to each other. These and some other magazines have space between the retaining lips which is smaller than the rim diameter of the round. Also, these magazines are designed so that only one of the two lips of the magazine hold the topmost round in place, rather than both lips (as in most pistol magazines). Thus the topmost round is held alternately by either the left or right lip. 
     Still further, the PMR/CMR magazines are uncommonly designed such that, in addition to retaining lips, the magazine also has retaining flaps (like miniature lips) which are narrower than the lips and extend forward as a continuation of the retaining lips and are spaced apart more than the retaining lips. The spacing between the lips and the spacing between the flaps is such that the rim of the round can pass freely between the flaps but not the lips. The topmost round can be loosely and temporarily retained at the open top of the magazine in-front of the retaining lips by the flaps. When the round is fully inserted, the follower urges it upward against the one lip and its flap so that the lip and its flap partly cover the case of the round sufficient to hold it in the magazine. 
     Prior to use, a firearm magazine must be loaded (charged or filled). When each round is loaded into the magazine, it is necessary to depress the follower and any previously loaded rounds to provide space below the lips so that an additional round can be inserted. Each time another round is loaded the spring is further compressed, requiring increased manual force by the user. When rounds are loaded with one&#39;s bare hands, the press-down force required increases as each additional round is loaded against the spring&#39;s force (which forces the rounds toward the lips). When a user loads a large number of rounds or many magazines the force required will cause finger pain, which will increase with the number of rounds and magazines loaded. 
     To load PMR/CMR magazines, described above, the user first places a new round, case (rim end) first and substantially perpendicular to the magazine, on top of the follower or on top of an already loaded round, in front of the retaining lips and between the flaps. The bullet of the round extends forward from the magazine. The user then uses a thumb to force down the new round, and hence all the round(s) below it, into the magazine to make sufficient space below one of the lips of the magazine for insertion of the new round in that space. The round is now in a partly inserted position. Then the user slides or pushes the round rearwardly into the vacant space below the lip to be retained by it in a final position. The lip and its flap partly cover the case of the round sufficient to keep it in the magazine. The user repeats this procedure by alternately inserting a round below each lip until the magazine is full. Hereafter the term ‘magazine’ will mean box-type magazines of the type described above that requiring a push-down and slide-back round loading where one lip retains the topmost round and where flaps or similar can hold the round partly in place in front of the retaining lips. As such, a new round must be forced down in front of the lips and then slid rearwards below one lip to be placed in final position. 
     Hand loading does not usually utilize a special magazine feature where a new round can be loosely retained in-front of the lips prior to rearwardly sliding into a vacant space below a retaining lip into its final position, like the PMR/CMR magazine described above. 
     To increase loading speed and decrease finger pain associated with loading magazines, several magazine loaders were developed, which will now be reviewed. 
     Non-Patent Literature 
     American Speedloaders, LLC of Caro, Mich., makes three different loaders for the PMR/CMR-30 magazines: 
     1. A ‘Double Action’ speed loader for the PMR/CMR-30 magazine, shown at https://americanspeedloaders.com/product/pmr-30-kel-tec-22wmr-double-action/, has a top horizontal slider for pushing down and sliding a topmost round rearwardly. The slider is coupled to a body which is not lockable to the magazine, but rather is vertically slidable on the top of the magazine. This loader has no leveraging means to ease the force of the magazine&#39;s spring to load rounds. 
     2. A ‘Single Action’ speed loader for the PMR/CMR-30 magazine, shown at https://americanspeedloaders.com/product/pmr-30-cmr-30/, is a single-part loader which is vertically slidable on the top of the magazine. It has a simple tooth for just pushing down the topmost round in front of the lips. 
     3. A ‘Nest style’ speed loader for the PMR/CMR-30 magazine applies friction and force against the curve of the bullet to make it slide into place in the magazine. Excessive force is required to push down the magazine to load a round. This loader has no leveraging means and is shown at https://americanspeedloaders.com/product/kel-tec-pmr-30-single-action/. 
     The above three loaders and all other prior-art magazine-lockable loaders which we are aware of are large and hence not pocketable, are complex and difficult to operate, and/or are not reliable in operation, i.e., they can get jammed. Also, they lack any leveraging means to ease the force required to load a round into a magazine and are hence inefficient and uncomfortable for repeated use. 
     The following additional simple single-part loaders also have no leveraging means to ease loading: 
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaKRx1KcKNO&amp;feature=youtu.be 
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_RTC5ApGXg 
     https://www.makershot.com/speedloaders/kel-tec-pmr-30-22-wmr-magazine-speedloader 
     Advantages 
     Accordingly, several advantages of one or more aspects of our loader are to provide (a) a magazine-lockable loader with leveraging means for increased loading comfort and ease, (b) a simple mechanical mechanism for providing a low cost, pocket-size, lightweight loader, (c) a loader which has relatively few parts, is efficient, reliable, and comfortable to use, (d) a loader which does not get stuck and does not dent delicate .22WMR (or other cal.) case shells, and (e) a loader adapted to more easily load magazines of types like the Kel-Tec PMR/CMR-30 factory magazines. Further advantages of one or more aspects will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present firearm magazine loader facilitates loading small-caliber loose ammunition rounds into a firearm magazine of the type requiring a round push-down to temporarily hold, slide-back loading action. It basically comprises, in one aspect adapted to load Kel-Tec&#39;s PMR/CMR30 magazines, a body designed to lock on top of a magazine, a tiltable top press coupled to the rear top of the body which includes a protruding round plunger, a tiltable front bullet-pusher coupled to the lower front of the body and coupled by wire or other means to the top press. The body is fitted and locked to the magazine with its protruding lock pin fitting in a magazine&#39;s side catch hole. A round is placed and the press, and its plunger is tilted down with leverage to push the round down to be temporarily locked in the magazine in front of the magazine&#39;s lips. The front bullet-pusher is then pushed to slide the round rearward below a lip while tilting up the press. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS—FIGURES 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective top left side view of a new magazine loader shown with its press in an ‘up’ position. 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective exploded top left side view of the loader. 
         FIG. 1C  is a top view of the body. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective top-right side view of the loader shown with its press in an ‘up’ position. 
         FIG. 2B  is a right-side view of the loader with its press in an ‘up’ position. 
         FIG. 2C  is a perspective top left side view of the loader shown with its press in a ‘down’ position. 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective bottom view of the loader. 
         FIG. 3B  is a perspective top left side view of the loader adapted and fitted on a PMR/CMR type magazines shown with its press in an ‘up’ position and a top round in place. 
         FIG. 3C  is a perspective top left side view of the loader fitted to the magazine with its press in a tilted ‘mid’ position. 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective top left side view of the loader on the magazine with its press tilted to a ‘down’ position. 
         FIG. 4B  is a perspective top rear side view of the loader, less its body, with its press in an ‘up’ position. 
         FIG. 5A  is another perspective top left side view of the loader on the magazine with its press in ‘up’ position omitting the body. 
         FIG. 5B  is another perspective top left side view of the loader on the magazine with its press in fully ‘down’ position omitting the body. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           10  loader 
           12  body or holder 
           14  lock tongue 
           16  lock tooth 
           17  opening 
           18  lower support ears 
           20  lower hole(s) 
           22  upper support ears 
           24  upper hole(s) 
           26  rear hand support 
           28  securing hole 
           30  unloading tooth 
           32  opening 
           34  rear side of opening  32   
           40  press (rounds depressor holder) 
           42  axial hole 
           44  rear plunger (rear rounds depressor) 
           45  support rib 
           46  front plunger (front rounds depressor) 
           47  stop 
           48  press wire hole 
           50  lower pin 
           52  upper pin 
           54  coupling wire 
           60  front pusher 
           62  through hole 
           64  bullet pushing surface 
           66  front pusher wire hole 
           68  tongue 
           70  PMR/CMR magazine 
           70 F top of front wall 
           71  round witness holes 
           72  lips of magazine 
           73  flaps of magazine 
           74  round of ammunition 
           76  case of round 
           78  bullet of round 
           80  rim of round 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION—FIGS.  1 A- 1 C 
       FIG. 1A  is a perspective top left side view of our magazine loader  10  arranged to fit and load rounds into Kel-Tec&#39;s PMR/CMR-30 .22WMR caliber factory magazines ( FIGS. 3B-5B , element  70 ).  FIG. 1B  is an exploded view of the loader seen from the top left side and  FIG. 1C  is a top view of a body  12  of the loader. 
     Body: The loader basically comprises body or holder  12  defined by four connecting side-walls and an open bottom and a partly-open top. The four walls consist of a back wall, a front wall, and two side walls connecting said front and back walls to form a rectangle. It is sized and configured to fit over the top open end, or side, of magazine  70  ( FIGS. 3B-5B ). The body includes two upper support ears  22  extending upward from the top of the rear wall; each ear has a through hole  24  which is aligned with the other ear&#39;s through hole. The body also includes two lower support ears  18  extending forward from the bottom of the front wall; each ear has a through hole  20  which is aligned with the other ear&#39;s through hole. 
     Press: A tiltable top pusher or press  40  is hingedly coupled, at its rear or lower end, to and between support ears  22  by pin  52  ( FIG. 1B ) which extends through holes  24  and through hole  42  of the press. Press  40  has two opposite ends and a pair of opposite sides, one of which is an upper side facing away from the partly-open top of the body and one of which is an underside facing the partly-open top. Thus press  40  is pivotable or tiltable around pin  52 , from its up position ( FIGS. 1A &amp; 2B ) where it extends up from above and is angled to the partly-open top of the body. Its opposite end is relatively far from said body clockwise with respect to the body to its down position ( FIG. 2C ) where its opposite end is relatively close to the body. 
     The press has a relatively long plunger  44  extending from its underside at its lower inner end downward substantially perpendicular to the press&#39;s underside surface (not numbered). The press also has a shorter front plunger  46  further up the press extending substantially parallel to plunger  44 , also extending from its underside. A thin support rib  45  extends between the plungers for strength. Two stops or blocks  47  sandwich the proximal end of front plunger  46 ; when the plunger is rotated down these stops engage the top of the body to provide means for limiting the extent of the downward rotation of the press. 
     Body  12  also includes body-locking or attaching means for removably attaching the body to the magazine. Such means comprises an outwardly flexible elastic magazine lock tongue  14  ( FIG. 1A ). Its vertical sides are detached from the body, as is its top, which is bent outwardly; its bottom end is integrally attached to and molded with the body. The inner side of the lock tongue contains a lock tooth or pin  16  ( FIG. 3A ) projecting into the body. The magazine ( FIGS. 4A &amp; 4B ) has a series of inspection holes  71  (“witness holes” in firearm parlance) for enabling a user to determine how many rounds are in the magazine When the loader is slid over magazine  70  (( FIG. 4A ) tooth  16  is designed and positioned to enter the topmost witness hole, so that this hole also serves as a holding hole for locking the loader to the magazine. Lock tongue  14  can be flexed outward by pulling its top end out; this will release lock tooth  16  from the witness hole. The body-locking means can comprise any other apparatus for removably attaching the body to the magazine. 
     Body  12  includes a rear hand support or grip  26  (seen best in  FIGS. 2B and 3A ) extending rearward from the top of the body to enable the user to grip the loader securely. The front of body  12  ( FIGS. 1A-1B ) also has two distal lower support ears  18  extending forward, each with a through hole  20 . 
     Pusher: The loader has a front pusher  60  (best shown in  FIGS. 2A-3C ) which comprises a member having a pair of opposite ends, one of which is a lower end and the opposite end of which is an upper end. The pusher has an open position where it extends away from and is angled to the front wall of the body ( FIG. 2C ) so that its opposite, upper end is relatively far from the front wall, and a closed position ( FIG. 3B ) where its upper end is relatively close to the front wall. The pusher also has a pair of opposite sides, one of which is an outer side facing away from the front side of the body and one of which is an inner side facing the front side. The pusher further has a through hole  62  at its bottom hingedly coupled to the body adjacent a lower end of the front wall between ears  18  by pin  50 , which extends through pusher  60  and holes  20  in ears  18 . 
     Pusher  60  further has a projecting tongue  68  at its upper end that extends from the inner side of the pusher adjacent its upper end. The tongue has a free end that is spaced from a topmost round in said magazine when the pusher is in its open position and past the front wall and into the open end of the magazine so that it can engage and push an end of a topmost round in the magazine when the pusher is moved to the closed position. The tongue has a substantially vertical bullet-pushing surface  64  (better seen in  FIGS. 4B and 5B ) pointing towards and slightly entering an opening  32  of the body. Pusher  60  further has a side hole  66  ( FIG. 1B ) extending into its upper left side. The pusher is tiltable with respect to the body around pin  50 . 
     A metal wire  54  ( FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A-2C, 3B &amp; 3C ) with a 90° bend at each end couples the press and front pusher by extending into hole  48  in the press, located above hinging holes  42  and hole  66  in the front pusher. The wire serves as means for coupling the press to the pusher so that movement of the press from its up position to its down position will move the pusher from its closed position to its open position. Conversely, when the pusher is moved from its open position to its closed position the means for coupling will move the press from its down position to its up position. Hence, when press  40  is pressed down, it moves wire  54  forward, thereby tilting pusher  60  frontward, away from the body. When pusher  60  is pushed back to the body, it moves wire  54  backward, causing press  40  to be tilted back upward again. The means for coupling can alternatively be realized by two wires, or members with other shapes, or by any other suitable coupling mechanism. 
       FIG. 1C  is a top view of the body showing substantially rectangular through opening  32  at the top having a rear side  34 . Opening  32  is centered in the body (right &amp; left). Plungers  44  and  46  of press  40  are not visible from the top as they are under press  40  but are shown in hidden lines in  FIG. 1C . The plungers are sized to pass through opening  32  when press  40  is pushed to a ‘down’ position ( FIG. 2C ). Plungers  44  and  46  are narrower than the distance between magazine lips  72  ( FIGS. 4B, 5A-5B ).  FIG. 1C  illustrates, in broken lines, plunger  44  positioned adjacent rear side  34  of opening  32  when the press is fully down ( FIG. 2C, 4A, 5B ). Rear side  34  is designed to be positioned just forward of lips  72  ( FIG. 5B ) of the magazine, and plunger  44  is designed to be just forward of rear side  34 , as illustrated in FIG. IC. 
     The loader&#39;s body, press, and front pusher are preferably made of durable glass-fibered polymer material, such as polyamide-6, and produced by plastic injection molding. Wire  54  is preferably made of spring wire or stainless-steel wire and the two pins are preferably made of metal for strength. 
       FIGS. 2A-2C —Perspective Views 
       FIG. 2A  is a perspective top right-side view of the loader shown with its press  40  in the ‘up’ position. Body  12  includes a technical through hole  17  in the right-side wall in order to be able to form lock tooth  16  by the plastic injection molding process. At the bottom of the loader a rearwardly extending tab has a through hole  28  to tie a string or metal ring to secure the loader against loss.  FIG. 2B  is a right-side view of the loader with its press fully up. Coupling wire  54  is long enough and positioned to cause front pusher  60  to be substantially parallel to—or be in a near-most position to—the body. Lock tooth  16  ( FIG. 3A ) is shown extending inward from lock tongue  14 . The rear side-wall of the loader ( FIG. 3A ) has a projecting unloading tooth  30 , which is used to extract a topmost round from the magazine. 
       FIG. 2C  is a perspective top left side view of the loader shown with its press in a fully ‘down’ position where coupling wire  54  tilts pusher  60  to its furthest or away position from the body. Tongue  68  and its pushing surface  64  are retracted maximally from opening  32  and the body. 
       FIGS. 3A-3C —Perspective Views 
       FIG. 3A  is a perspective bottom view of the loader showing lock tooth  16  extending inward in the body and showing unloading tooth  30 . Inner ribs (not numbered) are provided in the body for magazine alignment. 
       FIG. 3B  shows the loader fitted on the top open-side of a PMR/CMR magazine  70 .  FIG. 3B  shows one of several witness holes  71  in the magazine. Lock tooth  16  clicks into preferably an uppermost witness hole in the magazine, shown best in  FIGS. 4B, 5A, and 5B , thereby locking the loader to the magazine. Press  40  is shown in its uppermost position, front pusher  60  is adjacent the body, and a top round  74  is positioned fully rearwardly in the magazine&#39;s upper opening  32  ( FIG. 1C ; not numbered in  FIG. 3B ). In this position rim or closed end  80  of case  76  of the round engages rear side  34  of opening  32  and rests on the magazine&#39;s follower or on an uppermost round in the magazine, not shown nor numbered. A bullet  78  of round  74  rests on top of tongue  68  with the bullet-pushing surface  64  below it. The bullet extends forward few millimeters over tongue  68 . The rim-side of the round is somewhat lower than the bullet end, hence the round is slightly angled. 
       FIG. 3C  shows the press tilted down somewhat until rear plunger tooth  44  engages case  76  of round  74 . Pusher  60  and its tongue  68  are thus tilted somewhat further from the body via wire  54 . At this press and pusher position the bullet still rests on tongue  68 , at a location closer to its tip. 
       FIGS. 4A-4B —Perspective Views 
       FIG. 4A  is a perspective top left side view of the loader coupled to the magazine with its press  40  pushed down to its fully down position, so that coupling wire  54  pushes front pusher  60  to its maximum tilt away from the body. Rear plunger  44  ( FIG. 3B ) on the underside of press  40  has pushed the rear of case  76  of round  74 , near rim  80 , further down into the magazine and front plunger  46 , also on the underside of the press, has pushed the opposite side of the case somewhat down. Bullet  78  has now disengaged from tongue  68  of pusher  60  as the pusher has tilted further away from the body. The bullet now rests on the top edge  70 F of the magazine&#39;s front wall ( FIG. 5B ). Hence, rim  80  and case  76  of the round are substantially in the magazine and are positioned lower than and slightly in front of magazine lips  72 , and have shifted somewhat to either left or right side of the magazine where there was sufficient (alternating) vacant space formed in said staggered magazine. The rim and case are held in place by one of two flaps  73  of the magazine&#39;s upper open side. Flaps  73  are somewhat unique to this magazine since they act as miniature or sub lips capable of holding the topmost round temporary in place in the magazine just in front of one of the two lips  72 . The tip of the bullet is adjacent or touching bullet pushing surface  64 . 
       FIG. 4B  is a perspective top rear side view of the loader, less its body for description, with press  40  in the up-most position. Pusher  60  has now been drawn back by wire  54  so that bullet pushing surface  64  of tongue  68  has pushed round  74  fully rearward below one of two lips  72  of magazine  70  to its final position. 
     As stated, when the loader is fitted onto the magazine the loader&#39;s tooth  16  ( FIG. 3A ) is designed and positioned to snap into the top one of holes  71  in the magazine in order to lock the loader onto the magazine. 
       FIGS. 5A-5B —Perspective Views 
       FIG. 5A  is another perspective top left side view of the loader on the magazine with press  40  in the fully up position. The loader&#39;s body is omitted to enable viewing the inside details. A new round  74  is placed in the loader and plungers  44  and  46  under press  40  are clear of case  76  of the round. The bullet rests on and extends over tongue  68  of pusher  60 , which is adjacent the body (not shown). Rim  80  of the round is positioned (by the rear side  34  of opening  32 , not shown) just forward of the front edges of lips  72  of the magazine and rests on the follower (not shown) or the top round (not shown) in the magazine. The round is slightly angled up and is mostly above lips  72  and flaps  73  of the magazine, as also illustrated in  FIG. 3B . 
       FIG. 5B  is another perspective top left side view of the loader on the magazine with its press  40  in fully ‘down’ position (omitting the body), similar to  FIG. 4A . Again, at this state, press  40  and plungers  44  and  46  are at their lowermost position, having pushed case  76  of the new round further into the magazine. The bullet has dropped down about 4-5 mm from tongue  68  to rest on edge  70 F of the front side wall of the magazine and slightly extending forward from it. Pusher  60  is shown tilted furthest away from the body (not shown). Rim  80  and round are substantially in the magazine yet are still positioned just forward of lips  72 . The round has shifted right or left and is held in place by one flap  73  of the magazine partly covering the case of the round. 
     Operation— FIGS. 3B-5B   
     The loader can be used to easily, quickly, and painlessly load ammunition rounds into a PMR/CMR-30 or similar magazine. Assume that the loader is in its open state, where front pusher  60  is pressed in, against the loader&#39;s body, and press  40  is moved up as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 3B, and 5A . The user first orients and slides loader  10  ( FIG. 3B ) down on magazine  70  where lock tongue  14  flexes out until its lock tooth  16  ( FIG. 3A ) clicks in the top one of holes  71  ( FIG. 4B ) of the magazine, locking the loader to the magazine ( FIG. 3B ). Although  FIG. 3B  shows a round  74 , assume that no round is yet in the loader. 
     The loader will remain stably in either its open or closed state. If the loader is initially in its closed state, where press  40  is pushed down and pusher  60  is moved out, away from the body as shown in  FIG. 2C , the user can move it to its open state before assembling it to a magazine. To move the loader to its open state, the user uses a thumb (not shown) to open the loader by pressing pusher  60  towards body  12  to move press  40 , via coupling wire  54 , to its upmost position. 
     Assuming the loader is initially open, or has been opened by the step of the previous paragraph ( FIG. 2A ), the user preferably keeps a thumb on pusher  60  and inserts a new round  74  ( FIG. 3B ) into opening  32  of the body, rim end  80  first, until it moves onto the magazine and engages the opening&#39;s rear side  34 . Bullet  78  rests atop tongue  68  of pusher  60 . The round is now in an initially inserted position. 
     The user then uses a finger (not shown) to move press  40  down. At first, when press  40  moves partly down ( FIG. 3C ), rear plunger  44  pushes down the rim end of the round first so that the rim end of the round slides down along rear side  34  of opening  32 . As the rim end moves down, it moves the magazine&#39;s follower, or any previously-loaded rounds and the follower, down. The round is now in a partly inserted position in the magazine. Also, as the press moves down, it pushes wire  54  forward so that it forces the top end of pusher  60  and its tongue  68  away from the body and out from under the bullet. 
     As the user moves press  40  further down, plunger  46  engages the upper or bullet end of case  76 , pushing it down somewhat ( FIG. 5B ). Thereby both plungers  44  and  46  are engaging the case of the round and tongue  68  has moved forward, away from under bullet  78 . The bullet will then step or drop down from its partly inserted position above tongue  68  to rest atop edge  70 F of the front wall of the magazine ( FIG. 5B ). The round is now fixed at an angle in an intermediate partly inserted position with its bullet resting atop edge  70 F of the magazine&#39;s front wall and the rim of the bullet in a lower position in the magazine. In this position, the rim of the round is just lower than and in front of lips  72  of the magazine, and the round as whole is temporarily and alternatingly held by either the left or the right flaps  73  as it will have shifted sideways slightly to a vacant space formed below a flap as the round pushed down previously loaded rounds further into the magazine. 
     When the first round drops or is pushed down into the magazine, it aligns on one side of the magazine (not shown) because the one side of the upper surface of the follower (not shown) is deeper than the other. Each subsequent round drops down on alternatingly opposite sides of the magazine to form two columns because the last previously loaded round is on one side or the other and thereby forms a receiving vacant space on the opposite side. 
     The user&#39;s force on press  40  is multiplied or leveraged on the round because pushing plunger  44  is closer to the axis of rotation pin  52  of press  40  than the actual user&#39;s pressing point on the upper surface of the press—which is commonly further up the press. Hence, using the loader to push in rounds is easier than manual loading or loading with any prior-art loader because of leverage. 
     Lastly, the user pushes pusher  60  back in with the thumb and simultaneously releases finger pressure on the press, causing bullet-pushing surface  64  of tongue  68  to push the bullet and hence the round back to a fully inserted position. When the round is pushed back, the tip of the bullet slides off top edge  70 F of the magazine and the round moves fully below flap  73  and lip  72  into its rear-most and fully inserted position in the magazine. The round is now held in place by both lip  72  and flap  73  along either left or right side of the magazine, as illustrated in  FIG. 4B . The loader is now in its open position again, but with a round fully inserted into the magazine. 
     The user repeats these steps for loading additional rounds. The following is a brief summary of the steps: 
     1. Loader Open: If loader is initially closed, the user opens it by pressing pusher  60  toward body to open the loader and tilt press  40  upward, as shown in  FIG. 3B . 
     2. Round Initially Inserted: After the loader is opened, or is initially open, the user inserts a new round, rear or rim end first, into opening  32  and onto the magazine where the bullet rests on tongue  68  of pusher  60 . The round is initially inserted. 
     3. Round Intermediately Inserted: Then the user releases pressure on pusher  60  and pushes press  40  down, thereby pushing the rim end of the round further down into the magazine while simultaneously moving the pusher away from the body to allow the bullet to drop down from tongue  68  to rest atop edge  70 F of the magazine. The round is now in an intermediate partly inserted position below a flap  73  of the magazine. 
     4. Round Fully Inserted: The user releases pressure on press  40  and forces pusher  60  back toward the body and opens press  40 . The free end surface  64  of tongue  68  pushes the tip of the bullet and hence the round rearward into its fully inserted rear position below a lip and flap of the magazine. 
     5. Repeat To Load Rest of Rounds: The user continually repeats the last three steps until the magazine is fully loaded with rounds. With some practice, the user can load rounds quickly and easily by repeatedly cycling from open to round fully inserted positions, until the magazine is full. 
     Use of the loader eliminates the need to load up to 30 rounds with bare-fingers under increasing manual force from the spring in the magazine. Thus, the loader eliminates fatigue and accumulated finger pain. 
     To remove the loader from the magazine, the user simply (a) pulls with one hand the top side of lock tongue  14  outward to disengage lock tooth  16  from the magazine&#39;s top witness hole  71 , and (b) pushes and slides the loader upward away from the magazine with the other hand. 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
     The reader will see that we have provided a magazine loader that can be locked to the magazine for stability and reliable operation. It has two easily operable members which use leverage. It provides a valuable aid to load magazines of the type which have feed lips or feed lips with retaining flaps. The user can load multiple magazines without any thumb pain associated with directly repeatedly pushing new rounds into the magazine. The loader comprises few parts, is highly reliable, comfortable to use, palm-sized, light weight, and simple to operate. 
     While the above description contains many specificities, the reader should not construe these as limitations on the scope but rather as an exemplification of several embodiments thereof. Other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings. 
     Some exemplary ramifications are as follows: The loader described can be altered to fit other magazines and calibers, provided a suitable change in dimensions and construction is made in the loader to suit a magazine. The loader and its components may be made of separate and or different plastic materials, or, alternatively, of other materials, such as aluminum or steel, and any combination thereof. All numerical values provided are approximate; they can be changed to adapt to other magazines or round types and or calibers. Coupling wire  54  can be supplemented with an additional coupling wire on the other side, or by lever arm(s). The shapes of plungers  44  and  46 , as well as all other parts, can be changed to other configurations. The press may have just one plunger extending therefrom for pushing a round down. The loader may be useable on magazines without retaining flaps. 
     Accordingly, the scope should be determined, not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.