Patent Publication Number: US-9846004-B2

Title: Easy loading magazine

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority and herein incorporates by reference U.S. provisional patent application 62/270,316, filed Dec. 21, 2015. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The earliest known firearm was probably the fire lance which was invented in China. It used a primitive form of gunpowder with shrapnel inserted in a bamboo barrel. Eventually as improvements were made, the barrel became metal, the shrapnel was replaced with projectiles made to fit the barrel and the gunpowder was improved to maximize the explosive power. This allowed the gun to revolutionize weaponry and the sword and shield that had existed for thousands of years gave way to modern warfare. 
     Although these improvements allowed the gun to be more and more deadly, the firearms of the time had the major disadvantage of taking much longer than a sword to be ready for use again. Early attempts to overcome this were generally focused on multiple barrels which could be preloaded and fired in succession. This helped but also increased the weight and complexity of the gun and the weight increase limits the number of barrels you can reasonably use. 
     As improvements to ammunition came, the time required to place a new cartridge to be fired in a single barrel was reduced and improvements like the “repeating rifle” allowed multiple shots to be fired with very little time between reloading. In order to feed these new cartridges to the firearm, spring loaded magazines were provided that moved the cartridge into position. Today, most rifles and handguns (not revolvers) utilize a magazine with a clip that holds the ammunition and feeds it as needed. Generally this is done by using a spring of some kind to provide the biasing force to move the cartridge into a firing position within the barrel. In most firearms that use a magazine, it is necessary to load the magazine by pushing down on the biasing spring using the cartridges to be loaded. Because of this, it gets harder to push down as each cartridge is loaded. It can be difficult and awkward especially in high capacity magazines which can hold more than 10 rounds. 
     There is a need for a safe and easy to use magazine that allows the user to load the magazine without having to press down on the cartridges being loaded which makes further loading more difficult. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An easy loading magazine has a magazine tube with a follower that is spring biased to feed cartridges to a firearm. The follower has a follower engagement opening within it that is sized to fit the specific caliber cartridge being used in the magazine. The user places the cartridge within the follower engagement opening and uses the cartridge to force the follower down thus relieving the pressure against the cartridges to be loaded. After the cartridges are loaded within the magazine, the user removes the cartridge that was inserted in the follower engagement opening and this re-engages the follower. In one embodiment, a locking slot is provided that allows the user to temporally lock the follower in place while loading the magazine and then sliding the cartridge back to release the follower. 
     Other features and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a transparent side view of an easy loading magazine according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a transparent side view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 1  being loaded. 
         FIG. 3  is a transparent side view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 1  after loading. 
         FIG. 4  is a transparent front view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a transparent side view of an easy loading magazine for a hand gun according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a transparent cutaway front view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 5  being loaded. 
         FIG. 7  is a transparent side view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a side transparent view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 5  with a locking slot. 
         FIG. 9  is a side transparent view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 8  in a locked position. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the easy loading magazine shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which reference numerals refer to like elements, and which are intended to show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , an easy loading magazine  100  is shown having a magazine tube  110  with a follower  115  that is resiliently biased with a spring  135 . Follower  115  forces a cartridge  120  into position to be fired in a firearm (not shown). In the embodiment shown, spring  135  is a tape spring that is wrapped around a spring spool  145  and is locked in place within magazine tube  110  and unwinds as follower  115  is moved down along a track  130 . Spring  135  provides the biasing force to feed cartridges  120  to the firearm. Cartridges  120  fits within a cartridge track  140  to aid in positioning them as they are loaded within magazine tube  110 . The biasing force increases proportionally as it unrolls and as a consequence, more force is required to unroll it further. This requires the user to supply more force as each cartridge  120  is loaded in conventional magazines. 
     A follower engagement opening  125  is provided to allow a user to insert a cartridge  120  within to manually force spring  135  down without having to push down on a cartridge  120  to move follower  115  down. The user simply places cartridge  120  within follower engagement opening  125  and then moves follower  115  down along a track opening  132  by pushing on cartridge  120  which temporarily relieves the biasing force on follower  115  which allows the user to simply feed cartridges  120  within easy loading magazine  100 . Track opening  132  is provided to allow cartridge  120  to move down along magazine tube  110 . Once loaded, the user removes cartridge  120  which re-engages follower  115  which feeds cartridges  120  as in a conventional magazine. 
     Now referring to  FIGS. 5-7 , an easy loading magazine  200  is shown having a magazine tube  210  which houses a follower  215  which is biased by a spring  235 . Spring  235  provides the biasing force on follower  215  to feed a cartridge  220  to the firearm (not shown). A track  230  is provided to help guide follower  215  within magazine tube  210 . A follower engagement opening  225  is provided to allow a user to insert cartridge  220  within and to force follower  215  down thus releasing the biasing force on follower  215  which allows the user to easily load cartridges  220 . Once loaded, the user removes cartridge  220  and this re-engages follower  215  which allows easy loading magazine to function normally. 
     Now referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , easy loading magazine  200  is shown having a locking slot  250  which allows the user to force follower  215  down and then lock it in position while loading cartridges  220  by sliding it into locking slot  250 . Locking slot  250  is part of track opening  232  and is at ninety degrees from track opening  232  which allows locking. Follower  215  has a follower engagement slot opening  228  that allows the user to slide cartridge  220  into locking slot  250  when follower  215  is moved to the proper locking position. Once loaded, the user slides cartridge  220  back from the locked position to re-engage follower  215  as described above. 
     Magazine tubes  110  and  210  respectively; may be made of plastic, steel or other suitable material as is known in the art. The springs used to provide the biasing force may be tape, coil, leaf, wire or any other suitable spring type as is known in the art. 
     Follower engagement openings  125  and  225  and follower engagement slot opening  228  respectively, are made to fit the specific caliber of cartridge being used by the corresponding magazine. This allows the user to operate the magazine without any special tools other than the proper ammunition that fits within the magazine. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a perspective view of magazine  210  showing cartridge  220  inserted in follower engagement opening  225  to push follower  215  down compressing spring  235  which allows the user to easily insert cartridges  220 . Of course, while shown with magazine  210 , it is understood that the present invention is readily usable with any magazine that uses a follower resiliently biased to advance cartridges. 
     Easy loading magazine  100  is made from sheet metal or any suitable material such as, but not limited to plastic, composite or other suitable material as is known in the art. The specific configuration of the feeding mechanism that feeds the ammunition to the specific firearm being used is understood to match the selected firearm and is well known in the art. The instant invention is understood to be adaptable to any firearm that uses a magazine and can easily be made available as an after-market option since the instant magazine does not add any incompatible parts that would interfere with the normal insertion of a typical magazine. 
     Although the instant invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.