Abstract:
A semi-automatic handgun is disclosed including a frame having a barrel housing mounted thereon. A barrel is movably mounted on the barrel housing and has a cartridge chamber at its rearward end for receiving a cartridge therein. The barrel is movable between a rearward position and a forward position with respect to the barrel housing and is normally in its rearward position. The barrel moves forwardly in a straight line from its rearward position upon firing of the cartridge in the chamber to counteract the rearward energy of discharge, thereby reducing recoil. The handgun may be fired in either a single action or double action manner. The firing hammer of the handgun is re-cocked, upon firing of the cartridge, by means of a movable piston having a firing pin positioned therein with the firing pin engaging the hammer to move the hammer to its re-cocked position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a semi-automatic handgun and more particularly to a semi-automatic handgun wherein the barrel thereof moves forwardly with respect to the frame of the handgun when the cartridge in the barrel is fired. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The mechanical action of high-powered semi-automatic handguns has changed very little since an invention by John Browning at the turn of the twentieth century. In semi-automatic pistols, such as the Colt 1911 A1 pistol invented by Browning, the recoil action created by the energy of firing a cartridge causes the barrel, which is located in a sliding housing, to move rearwardly and most often tilted downwardly to eject the spent cartridge and to deliver a new round from the cartridge clip or magazine. To prevent excessive blowback at the breech, the barrel and slide are locked together for a short distance to allow the chamber pressure to drop to a safe level before the breech is opened. The higher energy produced by more powerful ammunition results in high velocity of the slide which must be retarded by a strong recoil spring. The strong spring force of the recoil spring requires greater effort in manually retracting the slide to re-cock the hammer and recharge the chamber. As more powerful ammunition has been developed, such as the 10 mm. cartridge, the problem has increased requiring still stronger recoil springs along with more uncomfortable recoil on firing. Further, the fact that the barrel of semi-automatic handguns, such as the 1911 A1 pistol, must be pivoted downwardly necessitates some play between the barrel and the slide through the use of a bushing. The fact that some tolerance must be provided between the barrel and the bushing and due to the fact that wear occurs on the bushing creates accuracy problems. Additionally, since the barrels of semi-automatic handguns such as the 1911 A1 have relatively short lengths, the accuracy thereof is sometimes less than desirable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A semi-automatic weapon such as a handgun is disclosed which includes a frame including a grip, a trigger guard, a trigger, and a cartridge magazine removably mounted in the grip. The cartridge magazine is adapted to have cartridges contained therein in a vertically stacked manner. A barrel housing is mounted on the upper end of the frame and has a breech formed therein which has rearward and forward ends. The breech is in communication with the cartridge magazine to enable the cartridge magazine to successively feed cartridges to the breech. The barrel housing has a first elongated opening formed therein which extends forwardly from the forward end of the breech to the forward end of the barrel housing. The barrel housing has a second elongated opening formed therein which extends rearwardly from the rearward end of the breech towards the rearward end of the barrel housing. An elongated barrel, having forward and rearward ends, is movably mounted in the barrel housing between a rearward battery position in the barrel housing to a forward position therein. The barrel has a bore extending therethrough which defines a chamber at the rearward end thereof. A barrel spring is positioned in the barrel housing for yieldably urging the barrel towards its rearward battery position. The barrel closes the breech when the barrel is in its rearward battery position. 
     A piston is movably mounted in the second elongated opening formed in the barrel housing and is normally urged forwardly by a spring associated therewith. A spring-loaded firing pin is movably positioned in the piston with the forward end thereof protruding beyond the breech face or forward end of the piston with the rearward end thereof protruding rearwardly from the rearward end of the piston. A hammer is pivotally mounted on the frame which is movable between a rearward cocked position and a forward firing or de-cocked position. The trigger is operatively connected to the hammer by means of a sear assembly. A hammer or main spring is positioned in the frame and is connected to the hammer for driving the hammer from its rearward cocked position to its forward firing position when the trigger is depressed. When the hammer is driven forwardly, the hammer strikes the firing pin with the forward end of the firing pin striking the primer of the cartridge located in the chamber of the barrel to detonate the same. The detonation of the cartridge causes the barrel to move from its rearward position to its forward position against the resiliency of the barrel spring. The forward movement of the barrel within the barrel housing reduces the recoil imparted to the frame. The forward movement of the barrel during firing improves the accuracy of the handgun. The cocking of the hammer is achieved by rearward movement of the piston upon firing which imparts energy to the firing pin and in turn to the hammer. 
     The construction of the cartridge magazine is also believed to be unique in that a flexible cartridge retainer means is provided on the upper end thereof which enables the cartridges to be loaded into the magazine in a straight downwardly fashion. The magazine cartridge feeds the cartridges upwardly in a horizontally disposed position so as to be aligned with the chamber and bore of the barrel. The rearward end of the chamber of the barrel is positioned near the rear of the cartridge magazine which results in an effective longer barrel without increasing the overall length of the weapon which also results in increased energy and velocity. 
     It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved semi-automatic handgun. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun having a barrel slidably mounted in a barrel housing with the barrel moving forwardly when the handgun is fired. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic weapon which decreases the amount of recoil imparted to the frame thereof. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun which is constructed so that less force is required to manually open the breech. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein a barrel is slidably mounted in a barrel housing with the barrel moving in a straight line with respect thereto. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic weapon wherein the hammer is re-cocked by means of a movable piston positioned between the rear end of the cartridge in the chamber and the hammer. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the forward movement of the barrel on firing assists in counteracting the rearward energy of discharge, thus reducing recoil. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a handgun of the type described wherein the barrel travels forwardly in a straight line to accomplish ejection of the spent cartridge and recharging of the chamber. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the chamber end of the barrel is positioned to the rear of the cartridge magazine, when the barrel is in the battery position, resulting in a longer barrel without increasing the overall length of the weapon, resulting in increased energy and velocity. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun wherein the cartridges are elevated from a cartridge magazine horizontally and directly in line with the bore thereby eliminating ramp charging to reduce the chances of jamming. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun including a cartridge magazine which may be loaded straight downwardly. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a semi-automatic handgun which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance. 
     These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the handgun of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial exploded view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 7 is a top elevational view of the trigger, bow assembly, sear and hammer; 
     FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the trigger, bow assembly, sear and hammer of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a top elevational view of the handgun; 
     FIG. 10 is a top elevational view of the handgun illustrating the relationship of the barrel housing and hammer safety; 
     FIG. 11A is a sectional view illustrating the handgun with the barrel in its fully forward position; 
     FIG. 11 B is a partial side view of the handgun illustrating the ejection system; 
     FIG. 12A is a sectional view illustrating the hammer in its fully cocked position with the sear maintaining the hammer in its fully cocked position; FIG. 12B is a view similar to FIG. 12A except that the trigger has been moved rearwardly to disengage the sear from the hammer; 
     FIG. 12C illustrates the hammer being moved to its de-cocked firing position; 
     FIG. 13A illustrates the handgun in its battery position with the hammer in a de-cocked position; 
     FIG. 13B illustrates the trigger bow assembly being moved backwardly or rearwardly to cock the hammer; 
     FIG. 13C illustrates the bow assembly having been moved further rearwardly from that of FIG. 13B to permit the hammer to be driven to its firing position. 
     FIG. 14 is a rear sectional view of the cartridge magazine and its relationship to the frame as the magazine is being inserted into the handgun; 
     FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 14 except that the magazine is in its fully inserted position to allow the uppermost cartridge to be fed into the breech of the handgun; 
     FIG. 16A is partial perspective view of the rearward end of the barrel with the grip portion being removed therefrom; and 
     FIG. 16B is a rear view of the structure of FIG.  16 A. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The semi-automatic handgun of this invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral  10 . Although the weapon disclosed herein is ideally suited for use as a handgun, it is possible that certain of the mechanisms thereof could also be used in weapons other than handguns. Handgun  10  generally includes a frame  12  including a grip  14 , trigger guard  16 , magazine release button  18 , and an opening  20  extending upwardly into the lower end of the grip  14  designed to receive a cartridge magazine or clip  22 . 
     Magazine  22  includes a housing  24  having a follower spring  26  provided therein for urging the cartridges  28  upwardly in a substantially horizontally disposed condition so that they will be aligned with the bore of the barrel as will be described hereinafter. For purposes of description, magazine  22  will be described as including a forward end  30 , rearward end  32 , and opposite sides  34  and  36 . The upper end of side  34  includes an inwardly and upwardly extending portion  38  while the upper end of side  36  includes an upwardly and inwardly extending portion  40 . Lip  42  is provided on the upper end of upwardly and inwardly extending portion  40  and is designed to engage the lug  44  provided on the barrel housing as the magazine is inserted into the handgun. The portion  38  of the side  36  is preferably flexible and yieldably maintains the cartridges  28  within the magazine  22 , as illustrated in FIG.  14 . As the magazine  22  is moved to its completely inserted position, lip  42  engages lug  44  which causes portion  40  to deflect outwardly thereby permitting the cartridges  28  to pass from the upper end of the magazine into the guides  48 . The flexible characteristic of the portion  40 , which may be comprised of plastic or metal, enables the cartridges  28  to be inserted directly downwardly into the magazine when the magazine is being loaded. The relationship of portions  38  and  40  also permits the cartridges to pass directly vertically upwardly from the magazine in a horizontally disposed condition. 
     The barrel housing  46  includes a forward end  48  and a rearward end  50 . The lower end of housing  46  is open and communicates with a breech  52  which also serves as an ejection port. Barrel housing  46  includes an elongated cylindrical opening  54  which extends forwardly from the forward end of the breech  52  to the forward end  48  of the housing  46 . A cylindrical opening  56  is formed in barrel housing  46  and extends rearwardly from the rearward end of breech  52 . The rearward end of the opening  56  defines a shoulder  58 . Opening  60  is formed in barrel housing  46  rearwardly of opening  56 . Barrel housing  46  is provided with dovetail grooves  62  and  64  formed therein adapted to receive sights  66  and  68  therein, respectively. Barrel housing  46  is provided with a pair of slots  70  on opposite sides thereof which extend through the side walls of the barrel housing  46  and which are adapted to receive the legs  72  of retaining clip  74 . A hook or lug  76  extends downwardly from the rearward end of barrel housing  46  and is adapted to be received in a retaining slot  78 , as illustrated in FIG.  5 . Screw  80  extends downwardly through the barrel housing  46  and is threadably received in an internally threaded opening  82  to enable the barrel housing  46  to be selectively removably secured to the frame  12 . 
     The numeral  84  refers to an elongated barrel having a forward end  86  and a rearward end  88 . Barrel  84  is provided with a conventional rifled bore  90  formed therein which extends forwardly from a cartridge chamber  92  formed at the rearward end of the bore  90 . Barrel  84  is provided with an enlarged diameter portion  94  forwardly of its rearward end, as best seen in FIG.  5 . The barrel  84  has a drag link groove  96  formed therein and a trigger block groove  98  formed therein. Barrel  84  is provided with gas ports  100  formed therein adjacent the forward end thereof which extend inwardly therethrough for communication with the bore  90 . The forward end of barrel  84  has an annular groove  102  formed therein which is adapted to receive retaining clip  104 . The rearward end of barrel  84  has a pair of longitudinally extending grooves  106  formed therein on opposite sides thereof adapted to receive the lower ends  108  and  110  of barrel grip portion  112 . 
     Barrel  84  is inserted into the forward end of opening  54  in barrel housing  46 . Barrel spring  114  is slipped over the forward end of the barrel  84  so that its rearward end engages the shoulder  116  at the forward end of the enlarged diameter portion  94 . Barrel stop  118  is then slipped over the forward end of the spring  114  and is held in position by means of the retaining clip or ring  74 , the legs of which are inserted into the openings  70  so as to be received in the openings  120  formed on opposite sides of the forward end of the barrel stop  118 . Muzzle sleeve  122  is then slipped over the forward end of the barrel  84  forwardly of the forward end of spring  114 . The retaining clip  104  is then inserted into the annular groove  102  to maintain muzzle sleeve  122  in position. 
     The numeral  124  refers to a piston which is movably mounted in opening  56 . A spring-loaded firing pin  128  is movably mounted within the piston  124  and is adapted to protrude forwardly from the forward end of piston  124  when the hammer  130  strikes the rearward end of the firing pin  128 . Hammer  130  is pivotally mounted at the upper rearward end of the frame  12  at  132 . The lower rearward end of hammer  130  is pivotally connected to the upper rearward end of hammer spring guide  134  at  136 . Hammer or main spring  138  is mounted on the lower end of hammer spring guide  134  to urge or drive the hammer  130  from its rearward cocked position to its forward firing position. A rotating bolt  140  is selectively rotatably mounted in the frame  12  adjacent the hammer spring guide  134 , as seen in FIG. 4, to selectively prevent the movement of the hammer spring guide  134  thereby preventing the hammer  130  from moving from its cocked position to its firing position. Bolt  140  is provided at the inner end of safety/de-cocker  142  which is positioned adjacent the upper rearward end of the exterior surface of the frame  12 , as seen in FIG.  1 . The numeral  144  refers to a generally conventional grip safety which prevents upward movement of the hammer spring guide  134  when it is in its “on” position of FIG.  4 . When the grip safety  144  is depressed and the safety/de-cocker is in the “off” position, the hammer  130  will move from its fully de-cocked position to its firing position when the trigger is pulled. 
     Trigger  146  is pivotally connected at its upper end to the frame  12  at  148  and is enclosed within a trigger guard  150 . Trigger  146  is prevented from moving rearwardly by means of a trigger safety  152 . Trigger safety  152  includes a spring-loaded trigger block  154 . As the barrel  84  moves to its fully closed or battery position, the front end of the trigger block groove  98  (FIG. 4) causes the trigger block  154  to retract against spring tension so that the trigger may be moved rearwardly. 
     The numeral  160  refers to a bow assembly which has its forward end pivotally connected to trigger  146  at  162 . A cocking pawl  164  is pivotally connected to the rearward end of bow assembly  160  at  166 . Cocking pawl  164  is provided with a pair of lugs  168  and  170  formed therein which define an arcuate groove  172  therebetween. As seen, spring  174  normally urges cocking pawl  164  in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG.  6 . The lower forward end of hammer  130  is provided with a pair of cams  176  and  178  formed at one side thereof which define an arcuate groove  180  therebetween, as also seen in FIG. 6. A spring-loaded sear  182  is pivotally mounted in the frame  12  at  184 . Bow assembly  160  includes a rearwardly extending bearing lug  186  which is adapted to engage the lower end of sear  182  to move the sear  182  out of engagement with the lower forward end of the hammer  130 , as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. As seen in FIG. 7, the sear  182  is adapted to engage a shoulder  188  formed on the lower forward end of the hammer  130  laterally of the pawl  164  and laterally of the lugs  176  and  178 . 
     As seen in FIG. 10, the numeral  190  refers to a spring-loaded hammer safety which is pivoted to the frame  12  at  192 . The forward end of safety  190  has a shoulder  194  protruding therefrom while the rearward end of the safety  190  has a laterally extending portion  196 . Laterally extending portion  196  of safety  190  is positioned in the forward path of hammer  130  until the barrel  84  is in its completely closed position. As the barrel  84  moves rearwardly, the barrel  84  engages shoulder  194  to pivot safety  190  in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 10, so that the laterally extending portion  196  is moved laterally out of the forward path of the hammer  130 . 
     The ejection system of this invention is best illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Ejection system  198  includes an ejector spring  200  and an ejector drag link  202 . The ejector drag link  202  has its forward end movably received in the groove  96 , as illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B. 
     The operation of the handgun is as follows. The cartridge or ammunition magazine is loaded by successively inserting cartridges  28  straight down through the upper end of the magazine. As the cartridge is lowered into the magazine, the cartridge engages the loading lip  42  which deflects outwardly causing the upper end portions  38  and  40  to deflect outwardly so that the cartridge may move downwardly into the magazine compressing the magazine follower spring  26 . Additional cartridges are loaded in the same manner and are stacked as shown in FIG.  15 . 
     To load the weapon, the magazine  22  is inserted in the bottom opening of the grip of the frame and pushed upwardly until secured by the clip release  18  being received by the notch  204  which is formed in the forward end of the magazine  22  (FIG.  6 ). Simultaneously with the loading, the lip  42  engages the lug  44  in the frame causing the upper end portions of the magazine to separate to allow the uppermost cartridge to engage the guides  48  in the barrel housing  46 . 
     To manually charge the chamber, the barrel  84  is grasped at the barrel grip portion  112  and pulled forward which opens the breech and compresses the barrel spring  114 . As the breech is fully opened, the uppermost cartridge  28  is free to move upwardly in the guides  48  until stopped by the extractor  208  which is pivotally secured to the frame  12  at  210 . The rearward end of the extractor  208  is urged upwardly by the spring  212 . The forward end of the extractor  208  includes downwardly extending extractor arm  214  which is received in the groove  216  of the cartridge  28 . At this time, the cartridge  28  is in direct alignment with the centerline of the bore. 
     Upon depression of the barrel release  218 , the barrel spring  114  drives the barrel  84  rearwardly enclosing the cartridge. The succeeding cartridge is depressed downwardly into the magazine  22  by the bottom of the breech end of the barrel  84 . 
     The hammer  130  is then manually retracted into its firing position. At this point, the handgun cannot be fired unless the barrel is fully home in the battery position due to the hammer safety assembly  190 . Hammer safety  190  blocks movement of the hammer  130  until the rearward end of the barrel  84  engages the forward end of the hammer safety which rotates the safety  190  outwardly against spring tension to clear the path of the hammer  130 . Another safety feature which prevents firing if the breech is even partially open is the trigger safety  152  is the fact that the trigger  146  is prevented from movement by the spring-loaded trigger block  154 . As the barrel moves to the battery position, the front end of the slot  98  in the barrel  84  causes the trigger block  154  to retract against spring tension thereby clearing the hammer to rotate. A further safety feature is the grip safety  144 . The grip safety  144  is spring-loaded to cause the grip safety to rotate outwardly from the frame wherein a lug on the grip safety overrides a lug on the hammer spring guide  134  to prevent upward movement and rotation of the hammer. Yet another safety feature is the safety/de-cocker  142 . The safety/de-cocker  142  must be in the “off” position so that the rotating bolt  140  provides clearance for the hammer spring guide  134  to move upwardly allowing the hammer to rotate. 
     When all of the safety conditions are met, the trigger  146  may be depressed which causes it to rotate and move the bow assembly  160  rearwardly until the bearing lug  186  engages the sear  182  causing it to rotate and release the spring-loaded hammer  130 . This operation is known as a single action operation and the hammer would have already been cocked prior to the trigger being depressed or moved rearwardly (FIGS.  12 A and  12 B). 
     The firing mechanism may also be operated in a double action fashion as will now be described. The trigger  146  is depressed thereby compressing the trigger spring  218  causing it to rotate and move the bow assembly  160  rearwardly until the cocking pawl  164  engages cam  176  on the hammer  130 . This action causes the hammer  130  to rotate to a firing position. Consequently, the cocking pawl  164  rides up the cam  176  until it overrides the cam thereby releasing the hammer to fall until engaged by the sear  182 . Further, rearward movement of the bow  160  causes the lug  186  to engage the lower end of sear  182  causing it to rotate counterclockwise releasing the hammer  130 . 
     After the hammer has been released through a single action or a double action operation, as the hammer  130  falls due to the action of the hammer spring  138 , the hammer strikes the spring-loaded firing pin  128  causing it to strike the cartridge primer and simultaneously drive the piston  124  firmly against the base of the cartridge. As the cartridge discharges, the energy drives the breech piston  124  rearwardly a fraction of an inch until stopped by shoulder  58  of the opening  56 . Simultaneously, the hard contact between the breech piston  124  and the shoulder  58  causes the head of the firing pin to strike the hammer  130  causing it to rotate rearwardly and thereby re-cocking the weapon. Return movement of the hammer  130  is stopped by the spring-loaded sear  182  until subsequently released by the trigger mechanism. 
     As the bullet is driven through the muzzle, a portion of the gas is released through the gas ports  100  near the muzzle into the circular cavity between the fixed barrel stop  118  and the barrel sleeve  122 . The gas pressure forces the barrel sleeve  122  and barrel  84  to move forwardly against the barrel return spring  114  until stopped by the rear shoulder of the barrel stop  118 . The spent cartridge case is held in the open breech by the extractor  208 . 
     As the breech is opened, the chamber end of the barrel  84  passes over the end of the ejector spring  200  which releases the spring tension to strike and eject the spent cartridge case, as seen in FIG.  11 B. The ejector spring  200  is retracted by the forward movement of the drag link  202  which contains an aperture  203  through which the ejector spring  200  passes. The drag link  202  is pulled forward by engagement of a protruding lug on the forward end against a shoulder  205  on the lower portion of the barrel  84 . As the ejector spring  200  is retracted and with the breech open, the succeeding round of ammunition (cartridge) is free to move upwardly from the magazine until it is stopped by the extractor  208 . 
     Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.