Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a replica of a real firearm, for example an automatic pistol or a machine pistol. 
     A firearm replica has for the object to reproduce faithfully the characteristics of a real firearm, particularly its weight, its volume and its real firing conditions, whilst replacing the cartridges and the percussion mechanism, by small light plastic balls and an ejection mechanism, for example compressed air. 
     There is already known a firearm replica comprising: 
     a removable loader whose casing contains projectiles constituted of small light balls, particularly of plastic, 
     a frame comprising a substantially elongated portion carrying the barrel, a downwardly elbowed portion serving as a grip, and a receptacle to receive the loader, the elongated portion of the frame containing an ejection mechanism for the projectiles and an actuating mechanism connected to a detent, and 
     a slide mounted movably longitudinally on the elongated portion of the frame to load a projectile into the barrel and to cock the ejection mechanism. 
     However, in such a firearm replica, there is fairly frequent breakdown, by blockage of a ball between the slide and the frame, which requires taking the mechanism entirely apart, to locate the blockage site, and gives rise to supplemental costs, and trouble for the user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention has for its object to facilitate disassembly of a firearm replica, in the case of possible blockage of a ball in the frame and/or in the slide. 
     To this end, the invention has for its object a firearm replica of the mentioned type, characterized in that it comprises control means integrated to locate, without preliminary disassembly, the site of possible blockage of a projectile in the slide and/or the frame. 
     Preferably, the control means is constituted by at least a portion of the slide end of the frame of transparent plastic material. Preferably, the assembly of the slide and frame is of transparent plastic. In this case, the control means also promotes locating possible breakdown in the ejection mechanism and/or the actuating mechanism. 
     According to another characteristic, an indicator means is provided to indicate the size and number of balls available in the loader. Preferably, this indicator means is constituted by at least a portion of the loading housing in transparent plastic material. Preferably, the assembly of the loading housing is of transparent plastic material. 
     According to still another characteristic, the firearm replica of the invention comprises balancing means to simulate firing conditions of a real firearm. Preferably, the balancing means comprise a counterweight in the elongated portion of the frame, substantially in vertical alignment with a trigger guard surrounding the trigger. The balancing means can also comprise a counterweight fixed along the grip at its rear surface. The loader can also comprise a counterweight disposed between the legs of a U shaped recess forming a reservoir for the projectiles. 
     In a first embodiment, the ejection mechanism is provided to eject the projectile with an energy of the order of 0.5 J to simulate the firing conditions of a real firearm, whilst in a second embodiment, for a toy, the ejection energy is of the order of 0.08 J. 
     Preferably, the grip is covered with two removable protective covers of transparent plastic material, said covers defining along the rear surface of the grip a recess to receive the mentioned counterweight. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, characteristics and advantages of the latter will become more clearly apparent, in the course of the explanatory detailed description which follows, of a particular embodiment of the invention that is presently preferred, given solely by way of illustration and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded elevational view of a firearm replica according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the firearm replica in the course of loading, with the slide in retracted position; and 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the kinematic mechanism chain of actuation of the firearm replica of FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     According to the embodiment shown in the drawings, the firearm replica of the invention is in the form of an automatic pistol  1 , with a removal magazine  2 . 
     The firearm replica  1  comprises a fixed frame  3  constituted by an elongated body  4  extending rearwardly, with a downwardly elbowed portion  5 , which serves as a grip. A trigger guard  6  extends between the lower surface of the elongated body  4  and the front surface of the grip  5 , to receive a trigger  7 . The upper portion of the elongated body  4  is surmounted by a longitudinally movable slide  8 . 
     The elongated body  4  of the frame  3  comprises a guide rod  9  which extends forwardly. A return spring  10  is mounted coaxially on the guide rod  9  and bears, with one end turn, on a fixed abutment  4   a  on the frame  3 , and by the opposite end turn against a tongue  11  which projects downwardly from the slide  8 . 
     The elongated body  4  and the frame  3  carry, above the guide rod  9 , the barrel  12  to eject the projectiles. The barrel  12  can be provided in metallic material. 
     In rearward prolongation of the barrel  12 , there is provided an ejection mechanism  13  for projectiles in the form of small light plastic balls  14 . The ejection mechanism  13  comprises within the elongated body  4  of the frame  3 , a piston  15 , at the center of which is provided a pressure pin  16  which projects in the direction of the barrel  12 . A helicoidal ejection spring  17  bears, on the one hand, against the surface of the piston  15  opposite the pin  16 , and on the other hand, against a flange  18  which projects above the elongated body  4 . A guide pin  19  extends longitudinally from this projecting flange  18  to serve to guide the ejection spring  17 , in the course of its cocking, and in the course of ejection. As in a real firearm, the slide  8  has on its upper surface a rear sight  21  and a front sight  22 . To simulate a real firearm, an indentation  23  is provided on the other side of the slide  8 , substantially at its center, said indentation  23  serving, in a real firearm, to eject cartridge cases after firing. Of course, in this case the slide  8  does not undergo a recoil movement during firing, because the ejection energy of the projectiles is too low. 
     In the elongated body  4  is also provided an actuating mechanism connected, on the one hand, to the trigger  7 , and, on the other hand, to the ejection mechanism  13 . This actuating mechanism comprises a lever  24  secured to the trigger  7 , at its articulation axle  25  on the frame  3 . The opposite end of the lever  24  is articulated to a bar  26  which is adapted to move substantially in its longitudinal direction under the actuation of the trigger  7 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the bar  26  is secured by an articulated connection  26   b  to a leg  27   a  of a sear  27 , to cause the sear  27  to swing about its pivot point  27   c  (see FIG. 3) during movement of the bar  26 . The sear  27  comprises another leg  27   b  which is adapted to coact with a notch  50  of a tongue  51  secured to the piston  15 , to retain the piston  15  in its retracted position, shown in FIG.  2 . The leg  27   a  of the sear  27  moreover comprises a hook adapted to coact with a hammer  28  which is articulated at the rear of frame  3 . The hammer  28  hooks onto the leg  27   a  of the sear  27 , when the hammer  28  is swung downwardly, under the action of the rear edge of the slide  8  which is moved rearwardly in the direction of the arrow F, as shown in FIG.  2 . The hammer  28  in this case has only the function of giving a sound, because the firearm replica does not use percussion. 
     The grip  5  of the firearm replica  1  is hollow and open at its base to define a receptacle for receiving the magazine  2 . The grip  5  comprises a pushbutton  29  extending transversely and adapted to coact with a notch  30  in the magazine  2  to block it in the receptacle of the grip. One of the surfaces of the grip  5  comprises a slot  31  (see FIG. 3) of substantially inverted L shape, in which engages a lug  26   a  projecting from the bar  26 . The projecting lug  26   a  is adapted to move substantially longitudinally in the base of the L, during actuating movement of the trigger  7 . A safety  32  is articulated on said surface of the grip  5  and is provided with an angular return spring  33  at the level of its axle of articulation  32   a . The safety  32  comprises a lug  32   b  which projects into the slot  31  and is adapted to move along the substantially vertical leg of the L. In the upper position of the safety  32 , the projecting lug  32   b  blocks the movement of the lug  26   a  projecting from the bar  26 , which prevents movement of the trigger  7 . 
     The grip  5  is covered on each of its surfaces with a protective cover  34 . One of the covers  34  covers the safety  32 , except its free end  35  which extends beyond the cover  34  to permit swinging of the lever between an active position blocking the trigger  7  and a lower inactive position. A retaining tongue  36  is provided on each side of the frame  3  to retain the upper edge of each cover  34 . Once assembled, the two covers  34  define along the rear edge of the grip  5  a substantially vertical recess  5   a  in which is disposed a metallic counterweight  37 . Each cover  34  is fixed on the grip  5  by two small screws  38 . 
     The magazine  2  comprises a body  39  extending substantially vertical with a slight inclination to correspond to that of the grip  5 , and a substantially horizontal base  40 , which is adapted to close the open bottom of the receptacle of the grip  5 . The body  39  of the magazine  2  comprises a substantially U shaped recess  41  extending substantially in the plane of symmetry of the firearm replica, a compression spring  42  being disposed within the recess  41 , so as to be able to occupy all the internal space of this recess. The recess  41  opens at its upper front end through an opening  41   a , to permit the introduction of balls  14  into the magazine  2  and the exit of the balls during the cocking of the firearm replica. The balls  14  contained in the recess  41  press back the spring  42  and are urged by the spring  42  toward an upper flange  43  of the magazine  2  which is in line with the outlet opening  41   a , which prevents the untimely exit of the balls  14 . A proportion of the magazine  2  comprises a longitudinal slot in which an active portion of the slide  8  engages during recoil, said active portion thus pressing back the balls into the recess  41 , to cause the uppermost ball to coincide with the outlet opening  41   a , thereby permitting the loading of a ball  14  into the barrel  12 . A guide ramp  44  is provided in the elongated body  4  of the frame  3 , to guide the ball  14  between the outlet opening  41   a  of the magazine  2  and the inlet of the barrel  12 . The slide  8  moreover comprises a pressing ramp  20 , seen in FIG. 2, which is adapted, during return of the slide  8  toward its rest position, to press the ball  14  toward the ramp  44 , until the ball  14  reaches the inlet of the barrel  12 . 
     As seen in FIG. 1, between the legs of the U shaped recess  41  of the magazine  2 , is disposed a metallic counterweight  45 . Similarly, a metallic counterweight  46  is disposed in the elongated body  4  of the frame  3 , substantially in vertical alignment with the trigger guard  6 . The counterweights  37 ,  45  and  46  have the purpose of balancing the firearm replica  1 , so as to simulate real firing conditions and the heft of a real firearm. In general, the mass of the firearm replica is less than that of a real firearm, but it tends to approach it. 
     An essential characteristic of the invention is that the assembly of the frame  3 , the slide  8 , the magazine  2  and the protective covers  34  is a transparent plastic material. Thus, the user can control the good operation of the actuating mechanism and of the ejection mechanism of the firearm replica, and particularly, immediately locate the site of possible blockage of a ball  14  in the slide and/or the frame. Moreover, the user can immediately determine the size and number of balls available in the magazine  2 . The fact of providing the firearm replica  1  in transparent plastic material also permits visualizing the animation of the mechanisms of the firearm replica. Of course, as a modification, it could be provided that only a portion of the firearm replica  1  be in transparent plastic material, to obtain the desired effects of controlling possible malfunction and the identification of the number and size of the balls. 
     Finally, it will be noted that the ejection mechanism of the firearm replica can be of the compressed air type, with gas, or with electrical actuation, with or without a spring. 
     By way of example, the balls can have a dimension of the order of 6 mm. 
     The operation of the firearm replica will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     In the rest position shown in FIG. 1, with the magazine  2  engaged in the receptacle of the grip  5 , the safety  32  is in a downwardly swung position to permit operation of the trigger  7 . 
     Then, a longitudinal force is exerted in the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 2 to press rearwardly the slide  8  relative to the frame  3 , which has the effect of uncovering the forward portion of the barrel  12 , and free end of the guide rod  9 . Simultaneously, the piston  5  is pressed rearwardly against the ejection spring  17  and the hammer  28  is swung downwardly. The hammer  28  is maintained in downwardly swung position by the sear  27  which retains the piston  15  in retracted position by means of the tongue  51 . The rearward movement of the slide  8  also causes the ejection of a ball  14  as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     The return of the slide  8  to its rest position is ensured by the return spring  10  at the level of the guide rod  9 . This return movement of the slide  8  moves the ball  14  along the ramp  44  to the inlet of the barrel  12 , under the action of the pressure ramp  20 . In this position, the pin  16  of the piston  15  is spaced from the ball  14 , because the piston  15  is retained by the sear  27 . When the user pulls the trigger, the bar  26  is driven forwardly, by means of the lever  24 , which causes the sear  27  to pivot and frees the tongue  51  from the piston  15  which is propelled forwardly under the action of the ejection spring  17 . The swinging of the sear  27  also frees the hammer  28  which strikes the rear of the frame  3  with a clapping sound. The piston  15  is projected forwardly, until its pin  16  strikes the ball  14  which is ejected through the barrel  12  to the exterior. It should be noted that during firing ball  14 , a ball  14  does not automatically replace the ball which has been projected. It is necessary, for this purpose, again to retract the slide  8 . 
     Although the invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment, it is evident that it is in no way thereby limited and that it comprises all technical equivalents of the means described, as well as their combinations if the latter enter into the scope of the invention. The firearm replica of the invention can particularly be adapted for its use as a plaything.

Technology Category: 2