Patent Publication Number: US-9404709-B2

Title: Systems and methods for aiding the insertion of detachable firearm magazines

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/282,428, filed on Oct. 26, 2011, by the same title, which was recently allowed, and which application is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to systems and methods for aiding the insertion of detachable magazines in firearms. Accessories for firearms have increased steadily over time in both functionality and flexibility, and today, there is a wide variety of firearm accessories available including detachable magazine accessories. 
     To accomplish an efficient and reliable loading and/or reloading of a firearm, the detachable magazine has to be securely seated in the correct orientation, and this loading/reloading process should preferably be performed solely by feel, i.e., without the user having to look down at the firearm or at the magazine. Loading/reloading by feel enables the user to keep his/her eyes downrange which is very important in tactical situations, such as when a police officer is engaging a suspect during a bank robbery. 
     The inventor of the Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK) type of rifles, also commonly known as a Kalashnikov rifle (named after the inventor), had as his primary design goals exceptional reliability in the field and very low manufacturing cost. As a result, functionality was compromised including long-range accuracy and ease of loading and reloading. For example, the AR rifles, e.g., the Colt AR-15, are inherently more accurate and easier to reload than the AK rifles. 
     Loading an AK rifle variant requires initial insertion of the magazine into a straight-walled magazine opening, engaging the front magazine tab to the rifle, and then rotating the magazine rearward to engage the rear magazine tab into the rifle&#39;s magazine latch. Hence, loading and reloading an AK requires a lot of manual dexterity and the difficulty of a speed load or reload increases exponentially under stress. 
     It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for an AK magazine well attachment to aid the insertion of detachable magazines in AK rifle variants. This improvement enables users to quickly and easily complete a load or reload of an AK rifle without error, especially in stressful situations. 
     SUMMARY 
     To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention, systems and methods for aiding the insertion of detachable magazines in firearms are provided. In particular, a magazine well attachment is provided for AK rifle variants to guide the insertion of detachable magazines. 
     One embodiment of the magazine well attachment includes a well attachment body having a slit configured to slide over a trigger guard of a firearm during the assembly process. The attachment body also includes a beveled well opening configured to guide a tilt-lock magazine into a magazine opening of the firearm. 
     In order to accommodate the dimensional variances between receivers made by different manufacturers, a front retainer, e.g., a metal C-shaped clip, is fastened to the front of the magazine well attachment and is configured to secure the attachment to a front portion of the magazine opening of the firearm. The magazine well attachment also includes at least one rear overhang configured to secure the attachment to a ledge of the firearm&#39;s trigger guard. 
     In some embodiments, the magazine well body includes a pair of beveled steps configured to funnel and center the magazine during insertion, and also includes an angled front well ramp configured to guide the magazine into the rifle at an appropriate angle. 
     It is also possible to include additional functionality to the magazine well attachment. For example, a magazine latch shield can be coupled to or incorporated into the magazine well body to prevent the magazine latch from being activated by the user&#39;s fingers. 
     Note that the various features of the present invention described above may be practiced alone or in combination. These and other features of the present invention will be described in more detail below in the detailed description of the invention and in conjunction with the following figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained, some embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are top and bottom isometric views of a magazine well attachment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 3  is a left side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 4  a right side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 5  front view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  attached to a receiver of a Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK) variant rifle; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are isometric views showing two exemplary retaining clips for attaching the magazine well attachment of  FIG. 1A  to the rifle of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is an isometric view illustrating the trigger guard area of the AK rifle of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIGS. 9A-9C  are isometric, side and bottom exploded views of another embodiment of  FIG. 1A  with an optional magazine latch shield; and 
         FIG. 9D  is an assembled view of showing the embodiment of  FIG. 9A  attached to the rifle of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to several embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention. The features and advantages of embodiments may be better understood with reference to the drawings and discussions that follow. 
     Aspects, features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing(s). It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments of the present invention provided herein are illustrative only and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. All features disclosed in this description may be replaced by alternative features serving the same or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Therefore, numerous other embodiments of the modifications thereof are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention as defined herein and equivalents thereto. Hence, use of absolute and/or sequential terms, such as, for example, “will,” “will not,” “shall,” “shall not,” “must,” “must not,” “first,” “initially,” “next,” “subsequently,” “before,” “after,” “lastly,” and “finally,” are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention as the embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary. 
     The present invention relates to systems and methods for aiding the insertion of detachable magazines in AK rifle variants. To facilitate discussion,  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are top and bottom isometric views of a magazine well (magwell) attachment  100  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5  are the top view, left side view, right side view and front view, respectively, of magwell attachment  100 . In this embodiment, magwell attachment  100  includes trigger guard grips  122 ,  124 , magazine latch grips  132 ,  134 , magwell walls  166 ,  168 , and front receiver latch  114 . 
     Magwell attachment  100  can be manufactured from a variety of suitable materials, including polymers such as glass-reinforced chemical-resistant nylon, and metals such as aluminum. Ideally, the material is able to flex a little to make the installation a bit easier and to ensure a tighter fit. Depending on the material selected for manufacturing magwell attachment  100 , suitable methods for forming attachment  100  include injection molding, die casting, and/or machining. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the magwell attachment  100  attached to a receiver  620  of an Automat Kalashnikova (AK) variant rifle  600 , also commonly known as a Kalashnikov rifle (named after the inventor). The AK variants include semi-automatic and select-fire variants such as the AK-47. The embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to other long guns using “insert-tilt-lock” type of detachable magazines, including both rifles and shotguns such as the Ruger mini-14, the Springfield Armory M1A, the IMI Galil, and the Saiga 12 shotgun. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , two alternate embodiments of retaining clips, a C-shaped clip  700 A and an S-shaped clip  700 B, are shown. In  FIG. 7A , C-shaped clip  700 A is seated into a shallow pocket  116  of magwell  100 , and then fastened with countersunk screw  720 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 7B , the front edge  114  and shallow pocket  116  of magwell  100  is wedged between plates  730 ,  740  of S-shaped clip  700 B, and then fastened with countersunk screw  720 . 
     As discussed above, a key design goal of the AK rifle variants is very low manufacturing complexity and costs, resulting in the receiver  620  of rifle  600  having a relatively wider range of acceptable tolerances. In addition, AK rifles are manufactured by a wide variety of American, European and Asian manufacturers, and are available with stamped sheet metal receivers or with milled receivers resulting in a large spread of dimensional tolerances. Hence difference profiles of retaining clips  700 A or  700 B can be provided to accommodate these dimensional variations of the different receivers. 
     Magwell attachment  100  can be operatively attached to rifle receiver  620  in the following manner. Referring to isometric view  FIG. 1A  and side view  FIG. 6 , rifle  600  is positioned with the right side of the rifle  600  facing the user as shown in  FIG. 6 . Magwell attachment  100  is oriented so that a slit  108  located between the trigger guard grips  122 ,  124  is now substantially parallel with respect the rifle  600 , and hence also substantially parallel to the bottom of trigger guard  650 . 
     Trigger guard grip  124  is inserted inside the trigger area enclosed by trigger guard  650 , just above the bottom of trigger guard  650 , thereby causing trigger guard  650  to slide into and through the slit  108  between trigger guard grips  122 ,  124 . Trigger guard grips  122 ,  124  are now clear of the trigger guard  650 , and trigger guard  650  is now looped inside magwell attachment  100  and located loosely between magwell walls  166 ,  168 . 
     The magwell attachment  100  can now reoriented as shown in the right side view of  FIG. 4 , by sliding the attachment  100  toward the muzzle of rifle  600 , and seating the attachment  100  to the bottom of rifle  600  as shown in  FIG. 6 . When magwell attachment  100  is properly seated to receiver  620 , ledges  167 ,  169  of magwell attachment  100  are in contact with the outside edges of receiver  620 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1A, 1B  and also  FIG. 8 , magwell attachment  100  includes rear overhangs  122   a ,  124   a  while the front top section of trigger guard  650  forms a ledge  678  adjacent to magazine latch housing  675 . As magwell attachment  100  is slid forward towards its seated location relative to rifle receiver  620 , rear overhangs  122   a ,  124   a  dovetails into the space between trigger guard ledge  678  and the bottom of receiver  620 , thereby securing the rear portion of the attachment  100  to rifle receiver  620 . 
     Referring also to  FIG. 7A , as magwell attachment is slid forward towards its seated location, retaining clip  700 A, which has previously been securely attached to the shallow pocket  116  located proximate to the front  114  of magwell attachment  100 , also engages the front edge of the magazine opening (not shown) of rifle receiver  620 , thereby securing the front portion of the attachment to receiver  620 . 
     Alternate mounting techniques to clips  700 A,  700 B are also possible. For example, while adding a retaining clip  700 A increases the adaptability of magwell attachment  100  to different rifle variants, it is also possible replace clip  700 A with a slightly oversized integral front magwell overhang (not shown) configured to engage the corresponding front edge of the magazine opening of receiver  620 . Such an oversized front overhang can then be custom-fitted to the specific dimensions of a specific rifle receiver. 
     In addition, optional shim(s) can also be incorporated into a custom fitting process, at one or more mating locations between magwell attachment  100  and rifle receiver  620 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 1A , oversized trigger guard shims  122   b ,  124   b  can be provided to be custom fitted to accommodate trigger guard dimensional variations of the different rifle receivers. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the top of magwell attachment  100  is now seated to the bottom of magazine opening of receiver  620 . When magwell attachment  100  is properly seated to receiver  620 , ledges  167 ,  169  of magwell attachment  100  are in contact with the outside edges of receiver  620 . 
     In this seated configuration, cutouts on the respective tops of magazine latch grips  132 ,  134  clears the receiver mounting bracket of magazine latch housing  675 , with magazine release lever  670  protruding below magwell attachment  100 . Safety lever cutout  144  of magwell attachment  100  also clears safety lever  622  of rifle  600 . 
     The magwell attachment  100  can be firmly secured into this seated position to rifle  600  by inserting a pair of screws through recessed holes  127 ,  129  and then tightening the screws inside threaded holes  126 ,  128 , thereby narrowing the slit  108  between trigger guard grips  122 ,  124 , now located behind trigger guard  650 . 
     Narrowing the slit  108  between trigger guard grips  122 ,  124  provide sufficiently contact pressure between magazine latch grip  132  and  134  on opposing sides of magazine latch housing  675  to prevent slippage of magwell attachment  100  away from its properly seated configuration relative to rifle receiver  620  during use. 
     Advantages provided to rifle  600  by magwell attachment  100  include ease of initial insertion of a magazine  680 , and superior alignment of the magazine  680  prior to the latching of the magazine to the receiver  620 . These improvements are possible because in most AK rifle variants, the internal walls of the magazine opening are substantially parallel. As a result, the magazines have to be inserted while pre-aligned vertically with very little room for error, potentially causing critical delays under stressful loading and reloading of rifle  600 . 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2 , the internal walls  176 ,  178  of magwell attachment  100  are beveled, i.e., the mouth width of magwell attachment  100  is wider than the magazine opening of the receiver  620 , thereby easing of initial insertion of the magazine  680  into the rifle  600  through attachment  100 . Note that front well ramp  198 , which is angled at approximately 47.7 degrees from the horizontal receiver well opening, provides the proper insertion angle for guiding magazine  680  as it is inserted through magwell attachment  100  and into the magazine opening of the receiver  620 . 
     Once the magazine  680  has been inserted into the receiver  620 , beginning with the magazine top tilted slightly backward, the front notch of the magazine  680  is mated with a corresponding engagement point in the magazine opening of receiver  620  by tilting the magazine  680  slightly forward. Beveled steps  186 ,  188  of magwell attachment  100  serve as a funnel, centering and guiding the magazine  680  during the mating process. 
     Next, using this corresponding engagement point as a pivot, the bottom of magazine  680  is then rotated rearward towards the butt stock causing a rear notch of magazine  680  to engage with a corresponding latch of receiver latch  675 . Magazine  680  is now operatively coupled to rifle  600 , with the magwell attachment  100  providing additional stability. 
     Note that while the AK design uses a (male) engagement notch for the front of the magazine, a (female) engagement depression or hole can also be used for the magazine, for example, the Ruger mini-14 and Springfield Armory M1A magazines have an engagement hole in the front of their magazines instead of a notch. 
       FIGS. 9A-9D  illustrate another embodiment of a magwell attachment  100  with an optional magazine latch shield  900 .  FIGS. 9A-9C  are isometric, side and bottom exploded views of attachment  100  with shield  900 , while  FIG. 9D  shows an assembled view of magwell attachment  100  properly seated to a rifle receiver  620 , with a magazine latch shield  900  operatively coupled to attachment  100  via screw holes  926 ,  928 ,  996  and screw holes  927 ,  929 ,  993 . 
     In this embodiment, magazine latch shield  900  includes a pair of side plates  922 ,  924  extending in a direction away from rifle receiver  620 , and together with a bottom slotted plate  952 ,  954  substantially shields magazine release lever  670 . Shield slot  910  is narrow enough to prevent a finger from accessing magazine release lever  670 , and wide enough to allow a rifle cartridge tip to be inserted into the slot to activate magazine release lever  670 . 
     The resulting configuration prevents magazine  680  from being detached without by hand thereby necessitating the use of a tool, such as a rifle cartridge, to activate magazine release lever  670  for magazine detachment. Such a shield  900  is useful in jurisdictions with firearm regulations restricting the possession and operation of semi-automatic long guns with detachable magazines. 
     Many forms of magwell attachment  100  are also possible. For example, instead of a two-piece embodiment illustrated by, for example,  FIG. 7A or 7B , with a separate main magwell body  100  or  100 B and a separate front clip  700 A or  700 B, a one-piece design (not shown) is also possible, i.e., a magwell attachment with an integral front ledge replacing front retaining clip  700 A. Similarly, instead of a three-piece embodiment illustrated by  FIGS. 9A-9D , with a separate main magwell body  100 , a front retaining clip  700 A and a magazine latch shield  900 , a one-piece design (not shown) is also possible, i.e., a magwell attachment with an integral front ledge and an integral magazine latch shield. These one-piece implementations can be molded from a polymer or cast from a metal, or machined from a polymer or metal. 
     Other alternate multifunctional magazine well embodiments are also contemplated. For example, it is possible to manufacture a multifunctional trigger guard which has a magazine well extension integrated as a one-piece design (not shown). Also possible is a multifunctional trigger guard that has both a magazine well extension and a magazine latch shield integrated into a one-piece design. 
     While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.