Patent Publication Number: US-11656045-B2

Title: Ammunition loading and storage assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202122260347.8, filed on Sep. 17, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an ammunition device, and more particularly to an ammunition loading and storage assembly for placing scattered bullets. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An ammunition box is a container designed for safe transport and loading of ammunition. Known ammunition boxes are typically made of steel plates and labelled with caliber, quantity, and manufacturing date or lot number. A rubber gasket is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage. The resealing ammunition box is largely a NATO tradition. 
     For simplicity, “ammunition” as used herein shall be considered as a lightweight bullet and gunpowder for hand-held weapons such as pistols, rifles, and shotguns and the like. For ammunition, there are strict guidelines on how ammunition is to be handled, and there are various requirements for ammunition boxes, since they have to be capable of withstanding hostile environments, and must be placed safely to protect the ammunition from falling and exploding. Usually after the shooting exercise training is over, there will be some scattered ammunition or shells. Most armed departments do not have dedicated scattered ammunition collection box. It is usually collected by soldiers or individuals performing tasks with cloth bags, marching bags or other non-professional boxes, and then stored in non-professional collection devices such as old ammunition boxes and wooden boxes. This traditional method of collecting scattered ammunition has disadvantages in terms of convenient carrying, counting of numbers, and safe custody. In addition, due to the large ammunition requirement of rifle, the prior loading device cannot rapidly and large-capacity loading the rifle at one time, and the operation is very inconvenient, and even ammunition is missed, which causes inconvenience to the rifle user. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide a professional scattered ammunition collection box for solving the issues. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of this, the present disclosure is designed to provide an ammunition loading and storage assembly that can store or download bullets or gunpowder conveniently. 
     An ammunition loading and storage assembly includes a housing in the shape of a cylinder and an upper cover rotatably arranged at one end of the housing. The housing includes a plurality of discrete elongated cavities distributed in the housing along a center axis of the housing, a plurality of discrete grooves distributed on an outer surface of the housing along the direction of the center axis of the housing. The upper cover includes a main body with a protruding buckle, a guide tube extending from the main body along a direction far away from the housing. a straight channel is formed by the guide tube cooperatively with one of the plurality of elongated cavities, on condition that the protruding buckle is received in one of the plurality of discrete grooves. The guide tube deviates from each of the plurality of elongated cavities so that the elongated cavity is covered and blocked by the main body of the upper cover, on condition that the upper cover is rotated and the protruding buckle is accommodated in another groove adjacent to the one of the plurality of discrete grooves. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiment. 
         FIG.  1    is an isometric view of an ammunition loading and storage assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is an isometric exploded view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is an enlarged view of part A in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is an enlarged view of part B in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is an isometric view of an upper cover of the ammunition loading and storage assembly in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  6    is a bottom view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly shown in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  7    is a top view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly shown in  FIG.  1   , with an elongated cavity being open. 
         FIG.  8    is a top view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly shown in  FIG.  7   , with the elongated cavity being closed. 
         FIG.  9    is a top view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly shown in  FIG.  7   , from another aspect, with another elongated cavity being open. 
         FIG.  10    is a cross-sectional view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly shown in  FIG.  1   , with a straight channel being formed. 
         FIG.  11    is an isometric view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  12    is an isometric view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, with a housing and a lower cover being removed. 
         FIG.  13    is a cross-sectional view of the ammunition loading and storage assembly in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, with a straight channel being formed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings. It should be noted that the figures are illustrative rather than limiting. The figures are not drawn to scale, do not illustrate every aspect of the described embodiments, and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     It should be noted that when a component is considered to be “connected” to another component, it can be directly connected to another component or a central component can be present between two components at the same time. When a component is considered to be “provided” another component, it may be arranged directly on another component or possibly with a centered component. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning, which is used in the description of the present disclosure to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the disclosure. The term “or/and” used here includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     The present disclosure provides an ammunition loading and storage assembly for storing light bullets or gunpowder. It may conveniently count the number of bullets, and is also convenient to carry and quickly load ammunition for gun. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  10   , an ammunition loading and storage assembly  100  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The ammunition loading and storage assembly  100  includes a housing  10  in the shape of a cylinder for loading bullet or gunpowder, an upper cover  30  rotatably arranged at one end of the housing and a lower cover  20  mounted on the other end of the housing  10 . The upper cover  30  is arranged in an opening direction of the housing. It is optional that the upper cover  30  may be made of metal, plastic or translucent plastic. The lower cover  20  is used to seal the bottom of the housing. The lower cover  20  is detachably mounted on the housing  10 . 
     In the embodiment, the housing  10  includes a cylindrical body  11  having a center axis, a plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  distributed in the housing  10  along the center axis and a plurality of discrete grooves  14  distributed on an outer surface of the cylindrical body  11  along the center axis.  FIG.  3    illustrates eight elongated cavities  12 , but, the amount of the elongated cavity is not limited to eight, and may be adjusted to six, nine or others according to actual requirements. General, the plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  pierce the cylindrical body  11  so as to form a plurality of openings from a top end into a bottom end of the housing  10 , respectively. The plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  are surrounding around a positioning hole  16  arranged in the central area of the housing  10 . The lower cover  20  is mounted on the bottom end of the cylindrical body  11  for sealing the openings on the bottom end. The opening at the top end of cylindrical body  11  is used for loading or outputting ammunition, and ammunition is loaded into the plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  from the opening at the bottom of the cylindrical body  11 . The plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  are uniformly distributed in the shape of a ring. In other words, a distance between two adjacent elongated cavities is equidistant. A dividing wall  121  is between two adjacent elongated cavities  12 . A top view of each of the plurality of discrete elongated cavities  12  is circular. Since the diameter of the circle of the elongated cavity  12  matches a diameter of a bullet, a plurality of bullets may be aligned in a row in one of the elongated cavities  12 . It can be understood that an axial length of the housing is at least greater than that of one bullet, and the diameter of each discrete elongated cavity  12  is greater than that of the bullet. Therefore, bullets may be loaded into each discrete elongated cavity  12  from the bottom of the housing  10 , and the lower cover  20  is mounted on the housing  10  for sealing. 
     In additional, the housing  10  may be made of metal, wood or transparent plastic or translucent plastic. Since the size of the ammunition is standard, as long as the depth of the elongated cavity is known, the maximum number of ammunition that may be loaded in the elongated cavity can be known. 
     In the embodiment, since the plurality of discrete grooves  14  distributed on the outer surface of the housing  10  along the center axis, two ridges  13  are provided on both sides of each of the plurality of discrete grooves  14 , respectively. It can be understood that the grooves  14  and the ridges  13  are alternately arranged each other on the surface of the cylinder. The number of ridges  13  is the same as the number of grooves  14 . A curved transition surface  131  is provided between the ridge  13  and the groove  14  for connecting to each other. 
     In additional, a clamping slot  15  is provided on each of the plurality of ridges  12 . Therefore, a plurality of clamping slots  15  on the surface of the cylindrical body  11 . The clamping slots  15  on each ridge  13  together form an intermittent annular groove  151  for matching and connecting the upper cover  30 . It can be understood that the intermittent annular slot  151  is provided on a region close to the top end of the cylindrical body  11  that can be covered by the upper cover  30 . 
     In the embodiment, the upper cover  30  includes a main body  31  in the shape of a bowl, a guide tube  32  extending from the main body  31  along a direction far away from the housing  10 . A central axis of the guide tube  32  is offset from a central axis of main body  31  of the upper cover  30 . In other words, the guide tube  32  is arranged on the edge area of main body  31  of the upper cover  30  for communicating with the elongated cavity  12 . The main body  31  includes a bottom  311  and a side wall  312  extending from the bottom  311 . The guide tube  32  has a through hole  33  which may be matched and communicated with any one of the elongated cavities  12  in the housing  10 . A diameter of the through hole  33  allows one bullet to pass through. The number of the guide tube  32  is one in this embodiment. The upper cover  30  may be rotated on the housing  10 , and when the through hole  33  is aligned in a straight line with any one of the elongated cavities  12 , a straight channel  40  is formed by the guide tube  32  cooperatively with one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 . Then the elongated cavity  12  may be opened to load or download ammunition for gun. Furthermore, The side wall  312  has a ring body and a plurality of protruding buckles  314  extending from the ring body along a counterclockwise direction. The term “counterclockwise” here is not limited to counterclockwise, it may be “clockwise”, and the extending direction substantially the same as the radian of the ring body.  FIG.  5    illustrates two protruding buckles  314 , but, the amount of the protruding buckle  314  is not limited to two, and may be adjusted according to actual requirements. The two protruding buckles  314  separated from each other and equidistant from each other on the upper cover  30 . Each protruding buckle  314  includes an elastic beam  3141  extending from the ring body and a protrusion  3142  extending from the elastic beam  3141  towards the inner side of the upper cover  30 . To improve the elasticity of the elastic beam  3141 , it is understood that a gap  3143  is provided between the elastic beam  3141  and the ring body. During the rotation of the upper cover  30 , when the protrusion  3142  and the groove  14  are matched with each other so that the protrusion  3142  is received in the groove  14  of the housing  10 , the elongated cavities  12  may be covered by the upper cover  30 . A dividing wall  121  between two adjacent long cavities faces the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  so that each of the plurality elongated cavities  12  are covered by the bottom  311  of the upper cover  30  for blocking ammunition loading or downloading. 
     In additional, a plurality of jaws  313  extend from the ring body of the side wall  312  of the upper cover  30  along a direction far away the guide tube  32  for matching the clamping slot  15 . Each of the plurality of jaws  313  has an arm  3131  and a hook  3132 . A slot  3133  is provided on the both sides of each jaw  313  for improving the elasticity of the arm  3131 , respectively. 
     Similarly, the lower cover  20  is bowl-shaped, and includes a bottom  21  and an annular side wall  22  extending from the bottom  21 . An outer thread  16  is provided on the outer surface of the bottom end of the housing  10 . An internal thread  23  is provided on the annular side wall  22  of the lower cover  20  for matching the outer thread  16  of the housing  10  for detachably fixing the bottom cover  20  on the housing  10 . In addition to the threaded matching connection, there are other connection methods to block the bottom end of the housing  10 . 
     While assembled, the upper cover  30  is installed on the top end of the housing  10 , and the hook  3132  of the jaw  313  is at least partially received in the clamping slot  15  of the ridge  13  for preventing the upper cover  30  from falling off the housing  10 . The plurality of hooks  3132  are received in the intermittent annular slot  151  formed by the plurality of clamping slots  15 . The intermittent annular slot  151  serves as a guide groove, and the plurality of hooks  3132  act as a guider. Therefore, the upper cover  30  may be rotated on the housing  10 . Furthermore, a width W 1  of each hook  3132  is greater than the width W 2  of each discrete groove  14 . Even if the upper cover  30  is rotated to change the position of the hook  3132 , the hook  3132  stays in the the clamping slot  15  does not slip out. 
     In additional, the protrusion  3142  of each protruding buckle  314  abuts against on the outer surface of the housing  10 . During the upper cover  30  is rotated, each protruding buckle  314  slides on the ridge  13  and the discrete groove  14  alternately arranged one by one. Since elastic beam  3141  of the protruding buckle  314  is elastic, the protrusion  3142  moves from a lower position of the discrete groove  14  to a high position of the ridge  13  without breaking. Obviously, it is easy for the protrusion  3142  to move from the ridge  13  to the groove  14 , and it is difficult to move from the groove  14  to the ridge  13 . 
     During the upper cover  30  is rotated on the housing  10 , the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  rotates relative to each discrete elongated cavity  12  of the housing  10 . When the protrusion  3142  of the protruding buckle  314  is received in one of the plurality of grooves  14 , the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  faces one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12  and overlap each other in a top view direction, then the straight channel  40  is formed by the guide tube  32  cooperatively with the one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 . In this way, ammunition may be loaded into the straight channel  40 , or the ammunition in the straight channel  40  may be downloaded into the firearm. The upper cover  30  continues to be rotated, the protrusion  3142  of the protruding buckle  314  may be slide into an adjacent groove  14 , and the through hole  33  is synchronously deviated from the one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12  so that each of the plurality of elongated cavities  12  is covered by the bottom of the upper cover  30 . The upper cover  30  is further rotated again, the protrusion  3142  of the protruding buckle  314  may be slide into another groove  14  again, another straight channel  40  is formed by the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  cooperatively with another of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 . 
     Specifically, referring to  FIGS.  7  to  9   , one straight channel  40 A is formed by the through hole  33  cooperatively with one elongated cavity  12 A, on condition that the protruding buckle  314  is received in one of the plurality of discrete grooves  12 . The upper cover  30  continues to be rotated, the protrusion  3142  of the protruding buckle  314  may be slide into another groove  14  adjacent to the one groove, then the straight channel  40 A is gone. At this time, the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  deviates from each of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 , the the dividing walls  121  faces the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  and each elongated cavities  12  is covered by the bottom  311  of the upper cover  30  for blocking ammunition loading or downloading. It is understood that ammunition in each elongated cavity  12  cannot be downloaded, and likewise external ammunition cannot be loaded into the elongated cavity  12 . Then, removing the lower cover  20  from the housing  10 , bullets may be loaded into each discrete elongated cavity  12  from the rear end of the housing  10  without being lost. Rotating the upper cover  30  again, the protruding buckle  314  is received in the next discrete grooves  14  so that another straight channel  40 B is formed by the through hole  33  of the guide tube  32  cooperatively with one groove  12 B of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 , thereby forming a loop. That is to say, another straight channel  40 B is formed by the guide tube cooperatively with another of the plurality of elongated cavities  12 , on condition that the protruding buckle spans at least one discrete groove so as to accommodate in another groove of the plurality of discrete grooves  14 . It is understandable that the term “span” here means the protrusion slides from a first groove into a second groove adjacent to the first groove without staying, and then slides into a third groove adjacent to the second groove. Consequently, rotating the upper cover  30  until at least one protruding buckle is received in one of the plurality of discrete grooves  14 , so as to form a straight channel. Rotating the upper cover  30  again until the one protruding buckle is accommodated in another of the plurality of discrete grooves  14 . At this time, all the plurality of elongated cavities  12  are closed, and the previous straight channel disappears. Turning the upper cover  30  a third time until the one protruding buckle is accommodated in another of the plurality of discrete grooves  14 , and one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12  communicates with the through hole  33  of the upper cover  30  so as to form another straight channel. The one of the plurality of elongated cavities  12  is open for downloading bullet. 
     Referring to  FIG.  11   . which shown a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The ammunition loading and storage assembly  100  includes a bottom cover  20  having a plurality of clamping strips  24  to replace the internal thread  23  on the bottom cover in the first embodiment. Correspondingly, the outer surface of the housing  10  may be provided with a plurality of notchs  17  for receiving plurality of clamping strips  24  so as to firmly connect the lower cover  20 . The lower cover  20  may be an integral part of the housing  10 . Other components shows in  FIG.  10    but not mentioned have the same configurations and functions to the first embodiment. while the ammunition loading and storage assembly  100  is tilted upside down, the ammunition in the housing  10  may be conveniently poured from the guide tube  32  into the barrel of rifle, which is convenient for user. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  12  to  13   . which shown a third embodiment of the ammunition loading and storage assembly  100  of the present disclosure, with the housing and the lower cover being removed. In the embodiment, the structure of the housing and the lower cover is equal to that of the housing  10  and lower cover  20  in the first embodiment. Somewhat differently, what is distinguished from the other embodiments is that a positioning unit  316  matching the positioning hole  16  is located in the central area of the upper cover. Specifically, the upper cover  10  includes a main body  31  in the shape of a bowl, a guide tube  32  with a through hole  33 , a plurality of protruding buckles  314 , a plurality of ribs  315  arranged on the main body  31  for enhancing friction, and the positioning unit  316  at least partially received in the the positioning hole  16  of the housing  10  for rotating coaxially with respect to the housing  10 . The positioning unit  316  further includes a positioning wall  3161  and a positioning hook  3162  separated from the positioning wall  3161 . A protrusion  3162 A extends from the positioning hook  3162  for abutting against the positioning hole  16 , and the positioning hole  16  has a step or a slot for matching the protrusion  3162 A so that the upper cover  30  does not fall off from the housing  10 . Compared with the related art, the configurations of the jaw  313  may be omit. However, the jaw  313  does not hinder the existence of the positioning unit  316 , and them may be provided on the upper cover  30  together, or alternatively. Other components shown in  FIG.  13    but not mentioned have the same configurations and functions to the first embodiment. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, the description of the disclosure is illustrative and is not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Various of modifications to the present disclosure can be made to the exemplary embodiment by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.