Patent Abstract:
Permanent safety device for preventing the accidental firing of a weapon whose firing mechanism comprises a trigger, a hammer, a loaded spring which exerts a force along a given line of action on said hammer, retention means which hold the hammer in opposition to said spring and, inserted between the trigger and said hammer retention means, a lever which disengages these latter at the time of firing as a result of the trigger being pulled. The abovementioned firing mechanism includes a stop piece which can be moved between an interference position in which it interferes with the action of said spring on the hammer and a position in which it does not interfere with said action, and vice versa, and a mechanism, connected to the trigger, which is designed to move said stop piece out of said interference position only if the trigger is pulled.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a permanent safety device for preventing the accidental firing of a weapon whose firing mechanism comprises a trigger, a hammer, a loaded spring which exerts a force along a given line of action on said hammer, retention means which hold the hammer in opposition to said spring and, inserted between the trigger and said hammer retention means, a lever which disengages these latter at the time of firing as a result of the trigger being pulled. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Firing mechanisms of the type detailed above are well known within the firearms sector, in both hunting and military guns. 
     The fact these mechanisms include a safety device which can be engaged and disengaged manually is also well known. 
     The known manual safety devices usually used in firearms consist of catch mechanisms which, once engaged, make it impossible to move those components which are designed to disengage the hammer retention means and therefore, even if pressure is exerted on the trigger, prevent the sequence of movements that result in a shot being fired from taking place, including, in particular, the movement of the hammer which, as is known, is permanently subjected to the action of a spring. 
     Despite immobilizing the components mentioned above, or even the trigger, by means of the conventional safety devices found in firearms, there is still the problem—and one which can sometimes have extremely serious consequences—of the gun firing accidentally as a result of the hammer retention means being disengaged inadvertently. 
     As mentioned earlier, the hammer is permanently subjected to the action of a spring and is held in opposition to the latter by means which are usually in the form of a hook. 
     If these means should, for whatever reason—for example as a result of a violent knock to the weapon or wear of the hooking surfaces—cease to function properly, the hammer is released and the force of the spring is fully discharged onto said hammer, causing the gun to fire accidentally. 
     The object of the present invention is to equip the firing mechanism of a firearm of the type specified above with a permanent safety device which is independent of the conventional safety catch and which, even if the hammer retention means are released or disengaged accidentally, will not allow the hammer, even though it is subjected to the force of the spring, to receive a sufficient force to cause the gun to fire. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This object is achieved by a permanent safety device for preventing the accidental firing of a weapon whose firing mechanism comprises a trigger, a hammer, a loaded spring which exerts a force along a given line of action on said hammer, retention means which hold the hammer in opposition to said spring and, inserted between the trigger and said hammer retention means, a lever which disengages these latter at the time of firing as a result of the trigger being pulled. The permanent safety device includes a stop piece which can be moved between an interference position in which it interferes with the action of said spring and a position in which it does not interfere with said action, and vice versa, and a mechanism, connected to the trigger, which is designed to move said stop piece out of said interference position only if the trigger is pulled. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to a number of practical embodiments thereof which are given solely by way of non-limiting example and illustrated in the appended drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the basic elements of a firing mechanism of a firearm, especially a hunting rifle or shotgun, fitted with the permanent safety device according to the invention in a first embodiment; 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a component of the mechanism of the permanent safety device according to the invention, from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of the permanent safety mechanism of the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the active position; 
     FIG. 4 shows the mechanism of the previous figure in the inactive position that immediately precedes an intentional shot; 
     FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the permanent safety device according to the invention, in its active position; 
     FIG. 6 shows the device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 in the inactive position that immediately precedes an intentional shot; 
     FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the permanent safety device according to the invention, in the active position; 
     FIG. 8 shows the device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 in the inactive position immediately prior to an intentional shot. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the abovementioned figures and in particular to FIGS. 1 to  4 , the reference  1  denotes, overall, the support frame of the firing mechanism of a firearm, for example a shotgun. 
     The trigger  2  pivots on the pin  3  and the hammer  4  is mounted so that it can rotate about the pin  5 . 
     In the example described, the hammer  4  takes the form of a cranked lever having a longitudinal portion  4   a  and a transverse portion  4   b.    
     The latter portion terminates in a hook-shaped end  6 , the front of which engages with another hook  7  carried on the end  8  of a lever  9  which is mounted so that it can rotate about the pin  10 . 
     The other end  11  of the lever  9  is designed to work in conjunction with a catch element of the conventional safety system which has not been illustrated since it is not relevant to the present invention. 
     The back  12  of the hammer is, in the conventional manner, designed to strike the firing pin (not illustrated in the drawings) at the time of firing as a result of its rotation about the pin  5 . 
     The side  13 , opposite the back  12  of the hammer, carries a projection  14  which is permanently in contact with the end  15  of a cap  15   a  which at least partially encloses a compressed spring, shown diagrammatically as  16 . The other end  17  of the spring  16  reacts, in the conventional manner, against the frame  1  which has not been illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 for the sake of simplicity and clarity. 
     The lever  9 , its tooth  7  and the tooth  6  of the hammer  4  that engages with the tooth  7 , constitute the retention means which hold the hammer in opposition to the thrust force exerted along the line of action X—X by the spring  16  which is in permanent contact with the projection  14  via the cap  15   a.    
     Inserted between the lever  9  and the trigger  2  is a lever  18  which, via its end  18   a , is hinged to the end  2   a  of the trigger by means of a pin  19 . 
     The tip of the other end  18   b  presses against the lever  9 , at a point between the pivot pin  10  and the end  8 . 
     This same end  18   b  of the lever  18  has a projection  20 , positioned at an angle with respect to the axial extension of the lever, which engages slidably within the window  21  formed in the end  22   a  of a lever  22 . 
     This lever  22  pivots like a rocker arm by means of the hole  10   a  around the pin  10 —on which the lever  9  is also pivotably mounted—and carries a transverse piece, denoted  23 , on its other end  22   b.    
     The projection  20  and the window  21  form a connection means between the lever  18  and the lever  22 . 
     The piece  23  on the lever  22  is usually positioned such that it interferes with a zone  15   b  affected by the movement of the cap  15   a  containing the spring  16 , generally to the side of the line of action X—X of the force of the spring  16 , as illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     In addition, the piece  23  is positioned, in the direction of the line X—X, a preset distance away from the end  15  of the cap  15   a.    
     This positioning means that, in the event of the teeth  6  and  7  disengaging for whatever reason—for example as a result of wear of the contact surfaces of the hooked connection or an accidental knock, but not because the trigger  2  has been pulled—the thrust force of the spring  16 , whose cap  15   a  is permanently pressed against the projection  14  on the hammer, cannot be fully discharged because, beyond the preset distance, at least part of the end  15  of the cap  15   a  hits the piece  23  on the lever  22 , which acts as a stop. 
     The spring  16  can therefore only transmit a limited thrust via the cap  15   a  to the hammer  4  and this thrust is not enough to release the hammer so that it can strike the firing pin (not illustrated) with sufficient energy to fire a shot. 
     Only when the shot is intentional, i.e. caused by the trigger  2  being pulled, is the piece  23  on the lever  22  first moved out of the zone of displacement of the spring  16 . 
     The axial movement of the lever  18  and the resultant pressure exerted by the end of the latter on the lever  9 , then cause the teeth  6  and  7  to disengage. 
     When this happens, the hammer can then receive the full force of the spring  16  and so strike the firing pin with sufficient energy to fire the gun. 
     Displacement of the transverse piece  23 , which acts as a stop for the cap  15   a  containing the spring  16  and limits the force of the energy discharged by the latter on the hammer, is achieved by virtue of the connection between the lever  18  and the rocker lever  22 . 
     This is because the axial movement of the lever  18 , which gradually causes the tooth  7  to disengage from the tooth  6  on the hammer  4 , also causes the angular movement of the lever  22  and, because of the different lengths of the arms relative to the pivot pin  10 , moves the piece  23  out of the zone  15   b  of displacement of the cap  15   a , slightly before disengagement of the teeth  6  and  7  takes place. 
     The device of the invention therefore constitutes a permanent safety mechanism which does not need to be engaged and disengaged manually. 
     It is only when the gun is to be fired intentionally that, in an action consequent upon the moving of the trigger, this safety mechanism renders the spring  16  fully active and allows all its energy to be discharged onto the hammer  4  in order to fire a shot. 
     In all other cases, unless the trigger  2  is moved, the safety device continues to remain active, even when the teeth  6  and  7  accidentally disengage, thereby releasing the hammer. 
     More specifically, with reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, if the teeth  6  and  7  do disengage accidentally, the pressure exerted by the spring  16 , via the cap  15   a , on the stop piece  23  tends to cause the lever  22  to rotate clockwise about the pin  10 , thereby holding the piece  23  even more firmly in its operational stop position, therefore making the safety device even more effective. 
     With reference to the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, in which elements corresponding to those in the embodiment o f FIGS. 1 to  4  have been given the same reference numerals, it will be noted that a stop piece  123  is carried by the end  122   b  of a rod  122  which is mounted on the frame of the weapon such that it can be moved axially in both directions. 
     The end  122   a  of this rod  122  hooks onto the end  118   b  of the lever  118  which, similarly to the example shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 , is actuated by the trigger  2 . 
     Unless the trigger  2  is moved, the stop piece  123  interferes with the action of the spring  16  and so prevents, should the teeth  6  and  7  disengage accidentally, the full elastic force of the spring from being discharged onto the hammer  4  and causing the gun to fire accidentally. 
     In contrast, when the trigger  2  is pulled, the lever  118  axially pushes the rod  122  while its tip acts simultaneously on the lever  9 . 
     Before the teeth  6  and  7  are disengaged, the rod  112  moves the stop piece  123  out of the way, thereby releasing the spring  16 . 
     With reference to the example illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, it will be noted that the permanent safety device according to the invention can also be used in a shotgun in which the barrels are on top of each other and which has a known, conventional firing mechanism. 
     It should be noted in this example that the spring  216  is mounted coaxial on a rod  217  whose end  217   a  bears against the hammer  204  which can rotate about the pin  205 , while a portion  217   b  of its opposite end passes through a wall  218  of the frame and terminates in an enlargement  219  formed, for example, by a nut screwed onto the threaded end of the rod. 
     When the hammer is in the cocked position, as shown in FIG. 7, in which the teeth  206  and  207  are mutually engaged, the spring  216  is compressed between the wall  218  and the flange  220  of the end  217   a.    
     The end  221  of a rocker lever  222 , which is mounted so that it can rotate around the pin  223 , is inserted along the portion  217   b  and presses against the enlargement  219 . 
     The other end  224  of this lever  222  is forked, its times  225  enclosing the portion  226  of an extension piece integral with the trigger  2 . 
     When the components are in the position described, it is clear that, if the elements retaining the hammer  204  in position—i.e. the teeth  206  and  207 —are released, the force of the spring  216  cannot be discharged onto the hammer  204  because the rod  217  is axially immobilized by the end  221  of the lever  222 . 
     With reference to FIG. 8 which relates to the same embodiment, it will be noted that, when the gun is fired intentionally, the action of moving the trigger  2  causes the end  221  of the lever  222  to be moved out of the way even before the teeth  206  and  207  are disengaged, releasing the rod  217  which, as soon as the teeth  206  and  207  are disengaged, discharges the full force of the spring  216  onto the hammer  204 , thereby firing the gun. 
     It will be obvious that the invention described with reference to the specific embodiments detailed above can undergo various modifications, especially with regard to the shape of the mechanical parts and their physical layout within the framework of a firing mechanism, depending on the type of weapon, without thereby departing from the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5