Title: Safety mechanism for bolt-action firearm
Abstract: A safety lever (safety control member) is provided in its inner surface with first, second and third positioning holes. The tapered outer end part of a safety lock (trigger blocking member) is engaged in the first positioning hole of the safety lever to retain the safety lever at a perfect lock position. In this state, the forward turning of the upper arm of the trigger is blocked by the safety lock. Thus, the trigger cannot turn even if the same is pulled. Since the safety lock is fitted in a sliding hole formed in a casing so as to be slidable in directions perpendicular to a plane in which the trigger turns, and force applied to the trigger is born by the casing, the safety lock does not deform and is able to block the movement of the trigger with reliability even if the trigger is pulled strongly. In this state where the safety lever is at the perfect lock position, the bolt blocking part of the safety lever is engaged in a groove formed in a bolt. In this state, the bolt is locked perfectly and cannot be turned to open the chamber. When the safety lever is turned to a safety position, the bolt can be operated, while the trigger is still restrained from turning by the trigger blocking part of the safety lock.
Patent Number: 6,957,508 Issued on 10/25/2005 to Sato
| Inventors:
|
Sato; Teruhiko (Aichi-Ken, JP)
|
| Assignee:
|
Howa Machinery, Ltd. (Aichi-ken, JP)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
797314 |
| Filed:
|
March 10, 2004 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Apr 02, 2003[JP] | 2003-098695 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
42/70.06; 42/14; 42/70.01 |
| Intern'l Class: |
F41A 017/00 |
| Field of Search: |
42/7006,700.1,14,16
89/271.2
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 2379946 | Jul., 1945 | Baker.
| |
| 2490474 | Dec., 1949 | Roemer.
| |
| 2514981 | Jul., 1950 | Walker et al.
| |
| 2869269 | Jan., 1959 | Couture.
| |
| 3024559 | Mar., 1962 | Weatherby.
| |
| 3130513 | Apr., 1964 | Knode, Jr.
| |
| 4870770 | Oct., 1989 | Forbes et al.
| |
| 5551180 | Sep., 1996 | Findlay et al.
| |
| 5752338 | May., 1998 | Lameiras Guede.
| |
| 6018900 | Feb., 2000 | Guede.
| |
| 6073380 | Jun., 2000 | Hauser et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 04 78919 | Dec., 1992 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Clement; M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ladas and Parry LLP
Claims
1. A safety mechanism for use in a bolt-action firearm that includes a receiver,
a bolt axially slidably received in the receiver, a casing fastened to a lower
part of the receiver, a firing mechanism, and a trigger having an upper arm and
pivotally supported on the casing so as to be interlocked with the firing mechanism,
the safety mechanism comprising:
a safety control member supported for turning on an outer surface of one of opposite
side walls of the casing and capable of being selectively located in one of first,
second and third positions so as to control movement of the trigger and the bolt,
the safety control member having a bolt blocking part capable of engaging with
the bolt;
a trigger blocking member slidably fitted in a sliding hole of the casing, the
sliding hole being provided in the surface of the one of the opposite side walls
of the casing, on which the safety control member is supported, the sliding hole
opening into a space between the opposite side walls of the casing, in which the
upper arm of the trigger moves, the trigger blocking member having a trigger blocking
part capable of moving so as to be advanced into and retracted from a moving path
of the upper arm of the trigger; and
a spring urging the trigger blocking member fitted in the sliding hole of the
casing toward the safety control member;
wherein the safety control member is provided with first, second and third positioning
holes arranged on a circle having its center on an axis on which the safety control
member turns; the trigger blocking member engages in the first, the second and
the third positioning holes of the safety control member to locate the safety control
member in the first, the second and the third positions, respectively; the bolt
blocking part of the safety control member is engaged with the bolt to block the
movement of the bolt when the safety control member is located in the first position,
whereas the bolt blocking part of the safety control member is disengaged from
the bolt to permit the bolt to be operated when the safety control member is located
in the second or the third position; the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking
member is advanced into the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger to block
the movement of the trigger when the safety control member is located in the first
or the second position, whereas the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking
member is retracted from the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger to permit
the trigger to move when the safety control member is positioned in the third position.
2. The safety mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second
positioning holes of the safety control member are formed in a shape such that
the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking member lies inside the moving
path of the upper arm of the trigger when an outer end part of the trigger blocking
member is engaged in the first or the second positioning hole; and the third positioning
hole is formed in a shape such that the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking
member lies outside the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger when the outer
end part of the trigger blocking member is engaged in the third positioning hole.
3. The safety mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the outer end part of the
trigger blocking member is tapered; the third positioning hole is a tapered hole
having a large diameter and capable of entirely receiving the tapered outer end
part of the trigger blocking member to locate the trigger blocking part of the
trigger blocking member at a releasing position outside the space between the opposite
side walls of the casing; the first and the second positioning holes are tapered
holes having small diameters and capable of partly receiving the tapered outer
end part of the trigger blocking member to locate the trigger blocking part of
the trigger locking member at a blocking position inside the space between the
opposite side walls of the casing.
4. The safety mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the sliding hole of the
casing is provided in a part of the casing which part corresponds to a position
in front of the upper arm of the trigger, and the sliding hole of the casing has
an axis parallel to an axis about which the trigger turns.
5. The safety mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the safety control member
is supported for turning on the same axis as the axis around which the trigger turns.
6. The safety mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the safety control member
has a sectorial central body, an operating arm upwardly extending from an upper
back part of the central body, and a bolt locking arm upwardly extending from an
upper front part of the central body, the bolt locking arm serves as the bolt blocking
part; the central body of the safety control member is provided with the three
positioning holes formed in an inner surface thereof facing the outer surface of
the one of the opposite side walls of the casing; and the bolt locking arm of the
safety control member is engaged in a longitudinal groove formed in the bolt to
block the movement of the bolt.
7. The safety mechanism according to claim 6, further comprising a safety control
member retaining member supported on the casing in sliding contact with an upper
edge of the central body of the safety control member to retain the safety control
member in place on the casing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety mechanism capable of selectively blocking
the movement of a bolt and a trigger included in a bolt-action firearm. More particularly,
the present invention relates to a safety mechanism capable of selectively maintaining
a firearm in the following three positions: a perfect lock position where neither
the bolt nor the trigger of the firearm is movable (operatable); a safety position
where the bolt is operatable and the trigger is unoperatable; and a firing position
where both the bolt and the trigger are operatable.
2. Description of Related Art
A safety mechanism disclosed in JP-B 4-78919 (Patent document 1) includes: a
selector
lever, i.e., a safety lever, capable of being turned about a longitudinal axis
selectively to one of three positions, i.e., a perfect lock position, a safety
position and a firing position; and a trigger locking lever having a control surface
formed in one end thereof and capable of engaging with a cam surface formed in
the selector lever. The trigger locking lever is provided with a trigger blocking
part formed in a front end part thereof, and is supported for turning in horizontal
directions such that the trigger blocking part can be projected to a position in
front of the upper arm of a trigger and can be retracted from the position in front
of the upper arm of the trigger. When the selector lever is turned to the perfect
lock position, the front end part of the trigger locking lever engages with the
front side of the upper arm of the trigger to block the movement of the trigger.
In this state, the selector lever is operated by the selector spur so as to engage
a locking plunger with the bolt to lock the bolt. When the selector lever is turned
to the safety position, the selector spur is separated from the locking plunger
to permit the operation of the bolt, while the trigger locking lever holds the
trigger in a locked position. When the selector lever is turned to the firing position,
both the trigger and the bolts are operatable.
A safety mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,380 (Patent document 2) includes
a safety lever. When the safety lever is turned to a releasing position (firing
position) or a first locking position (safety position), the safety lever is retracted
away from a bolt so that the bolt is operatable. When the safety lever is turned
to a second locking position (perfect lock position), the safety lever blocks the
movement of the bolt. When the safety lever is moved from the releasing position
to either the first or the second locking position, a groove formed in the safety
lever pushes a projection formed in a plate spring, which has a fixed end connected
to a housing and a movable end, to shift the movable end of the plate spring from
a releasing position to a blocking position in the moving path of the upper arm
of a trigger to block the movement of the trigger. When the safety lever is set
in the releasing position, the movable end of the plate spring is located outside
the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger to permit the movement of the trigger.
Another safety mechanism capable of selecting those three positions is disclosed
in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,770 (Patent document 3). In addition, a safety mechanism
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,514,981 (Patent document 4) is capable of selecting
either of a perfect lock position and a firing position. This safety mechanism
determines the position of a bolt locking arm relative to a bolt engaging groove
by means of an urged ball and two positioning holes.
However, in the safety mechanism disclosed in Patent document 1, the selector
lever is positioned selectively in one of the three positions by a positioning
mechanism including a spring-urged locking member that engages selectively in one
of three recesses. The safety mechanism includes, in addition to the positioning
mechanism, a trigger locking mechanism including a trigger locking lever having
a trigger locking part and supported for turning in horizontal directions and hence
the safety mechanism has complicated construction.
In the safety mechanism disclosed in Patent document 2, the groove formed in
the
safety lever pushes the triangular projection of the plate spring so that the movable
part of the plate spring is located in the moving path of the upper arm of the
trigger to block the movement of the trigger. Therefore, if the trigger is pulled
forcibly, the movable part of the plate spring is forced out of the moving path
of the upper arm of the trigger because the plate spring warps resiliently. Consequently,
the movement of the trigger cannot be blocked and there is a possibility that the
firing mechanism operates accidentally.
The safety mechanisms disclosed in Patent documents 3 and 4 are complicated in construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of those problems in the related
art and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a safety
mechanism for use in firearms, which is simple in construction and capable of blocking
the movement of the trigger with reliability when the safety lever is in the safety
position or the perfect lock position.
The present invention provides a safety mechanism for use in a bolt-action firearm
that includes a receiver, a bolt axially slidably received in the receiver, a casing
fastened to a lower part of the receiver, a firing mechanism, and a trigger having
an upper arm and pivotally supported on the casing so as to be interlocked with
the firing mechanism. The safety mechanism comprises: a safety control member supported
for turning on an outer surface of one of opposite side walls of the casing and
capable of being selectively located in one of first, second and third positions
so as to control movement of the trigger and the bolt, the safety control member
having a bolt blocking part capable of engaging with the bolt; a trigger blocking
member slidably fitted in a sliding hole of the casing, the sliding hole being
provided in the outer surface of the one of the opposite side walls of the casing,
on which the safety control member is supported, the sliding hole opening into
a space between the opposite side walls of the casing, in which the upper arm of
the trigger moves, the trigger blocking member having a trigger blocking part capable
of moving so as to be advanced into and retracted from a moving path of the upper
arm of the trigger; and a spring urging the trigger blocking member fitted in the
sliding hole of the casing toward the safety control member; wherein the safety
control member is provided with first, second and third positioning holes arranged
on a circle having its center on an axis on which the safety control member turns;
the trigger blocking member engages in the first, the second and the third positioning
holes of the safety control member to locate the safety control member in the first,
the second and the third positions, respectively; the bolt blocking part of the
safety control member is engaged with the bolt to block the movement of the bolt
when the safety control member is located in the first position, whereas the bolt
blocking part of the safety control member is disengaged from the bolt to permit
the bolt to be operated when the safety control member is located in the second
or the third position; the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking member
is advanced into the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger to block the movement
of the trigger when the safety control member is located in the first or the second
position, whereas the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking member is retracted
from the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger to permit the trigger to move
when the safety control member is positioned in the third position.
According to the safety mechanism of the present invention, the position
of the safety control member is determined by the trigger blocking member; in addition,
the position of the trigger blocking member in the sliding hole of the casing is
determined by the positioning holes of the safety control member, and the trigger
blocking part of the trigger blocking member is moved into and out of the moving
path of the upper arm of the trigger. Thus, the safety mechanism is simple in construction
as compared with a safety mechanism separately provided with a safety lever positioning
mechanism and a trigger blocking mechanism. Since the trigger blocking member is
slidably fitted in the sliding hole of the casing, the trigger blocking member
does not warp like the plate spring to permit the trigger to move, even if the
trigger is pulled strongly.
In the safety mechanism of the present invention, it is preferable that the first
and the second positioning holes of the safety control member are formed in a shape
such that the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking member lies inside
the moving path of the upper arm of the trigger when an outer end part of the trigger
blocking member is engaged in the first or the second positioning hole; and the
third positioning hole is formed in a shape such that the trigger blocking part
of the trigger blocking member lies outside the moving path of the upper arm of
the trigger when the outer end part of the trigger blocking member is engaged in
the third positioning hole. In this arrangement of the safety mechanism, it is
preferable that the outer end part of the trigger blocking member is tapered; the
third positioning hole is a tapered hole having a large diameter and capable of
entirely receiving the tapered outer end part of the trigger blocking member to
locate the trigger blocking part of the trigger blocking member at a releasing
position outside the space between the opposite side walls of the casing; the first
and the second positioning holes are tapered holes having small diameters and capable
of partly receiving the tapered outer end part of the trigger blocking member to
locate the trigger blocking part of the trigger locking member at a blocking position
inside the space between the opposite side walls of the casing.
In the safety mechanism of the present invention, it is preferable that the sliding
hole of the casing is provided in a part of the casing which part corresponds to
a position in front of the upper arm of the trigger, and the sliding hole of the
casing has an axis parallel to an axis about which the trigger turns.
In the safety mechanism of the present invention, the safety control member may
be supported for turning on the same axis as the axis around which the trigger turns.
In the safety mechanism of the present invention, it is preferable that the safety
control member has a sectorial central body, an operating arm upwardly extending
from an upper back part of the central body, and a bolt locking arm upwardly extending
from an upper front part of the central body, the bolt locking arm serves as the
bolt blocking part; the central body of the safety control member is provided with
the three positioning holes formed in an inner surface thereof facing the outer
surface of the one of the opposite side walls of the casing; and the bolt locking
arm of the safety control member is engaged in a longitudinal groove formed in
the bolt to block the movement of the bolt. In addition, this arrangement of the
safety mechanism may further comprise a safety control member retaining member
supported on the casing in sliding contact with an upper edge of the central body
of the safety control member to retain the safety control member in place on the
casing. Since the safety control member retaining member retains the safety control
member urged resiliently outward by the spring close to the side wall of the housing,
the safety lever may not play and may be stably positioned at any one of the three positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention
will become more apparent from the following description taken in connection with
the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of a bolt-action firearm around
a trigger and a firing mechanism, the bolt-action firearm including a safety mechanism
of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are sectional views taken on the line III—III
in FIG. 1, in which the safety lever is in a perfect lock position, a safety position
and a firing position, respectively;
FIG. 4 is a right-hand side elevation of the part shown in FIG. 2, with the
safety lever being in the perfect lock position;
FIG. 5 is a right-hand side elevation of the part shown in FIG. 2, with the
safety lever being in the safety position;
FIG. 6 is a right-hand side elevation of the part shown in FIG. 2, with the
safety lever being in the firing position;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VII—VII in FIG. 4, in which
the receiver is mainly shown;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the bolt included in the bolt-action firearm
shown in FIG. 1, in which the groove of the bolt is mainly shown; and
FIG. 9 is a view of taken in the direction of the arrow IX in FIG. 6, in which
the circular retaining head for preventing the upper edge of the safety lever from
being urged axially outward is shown.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, a bolt
2 is fitted axially slidably in a receiver
1 attached to a rear part of a gunbarrel, not shown, so as to be turnable
about its own axis. A bolt handle
3 for turning and axially moving the bolt
2 is formed integrally with a rear part of the bolt
2. The bolt handle
3 rests on an oblique handle stopping surface
4 formed in the receiver
1 when the bolt handle
3 is set at a closing angular position A as
shown in FIG. 2. A firing pin
6 included in a firing mechanism
5
is axially movably inserted in the bolt
2 and is urged forward by a firing
pin spring
7. A casing (trigger frame)
10 is fastened to a lower
part of the receiver
1. The casing
10 has a left side wall
11
and a right side wall
12 defining a groove
14 for receiving a trigger
mechanism
13. The trigger mechanism
13 includes a trigger
15
disposed in the groove
14 between the opposite side walls
11 and
12. The trigger
15 is supported for forward and backward turning
on the opposite side walls
11 and
12 by a support pin
16 passing
through a middle part of the trigger
15. The support pin
16 has a
part projecting outside from the right side wall
12 and supporting a safety
lever (safety control member)
40. An upper arm
15a of the
trigger
15 has a thickness substantially equal to the distance between the
respective inner surfaces of the left side wall
11 and the right side wall
12 of the casing
10. The upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 lies between the left side wall
11 and the right side wall
12
of the casing
10 as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. A sear
17 is pivotally
supported on the casing
10 and is urged upward by a sear spring
18.
The tip of the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 can be engaged
with and disengaged with the lower surface of a front part of the sear
17.
When the bolt
2 is fitted in the receiver land the bolt handle
3
is turned to the closing angular position A, the parts are set in a firing state
as shown in FIG. 1 with the trigger
15 being pressed against a stopper
20
with a trigger spring
19. When the trigger
15 in the firing state
is pulled, the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 turns forward,
and the trigger
15 is disengaged from the sear
17. Then, the sear
17 is turned clockwise by the resilience of the trigger spring
19,
and an upper part of the sear
17 is disengaged from a step
21a
formed in a cocking piece
21 to permit the firing pin
6 to advance
together with the cocking piece
21. Consequently, the firing pin
6
strikes and detonates a sensitive explosive of the cartridge loaded in the chamber
to shoot a bullet. The aforementioned mechanism is well-known.
A safety mechanism in a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be
now
described. Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3C, a sliding hole
30 having a circular
cross section is formed through a part of the right side wall
12 of the
casing
10. The sliding hole
30 is placed at a position in front of
the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15. The axis of the sliding
hole
30 is parallel to that of the support pin
16. A part of the
sliding hole
30 is cleared away by the groove
14 that is a space
between the opposite side walls
11 and
12 of the casing
10.
The sliding hole
30 opens into the groove
14 and has a bottom end
formed in the left side wall
11. A safety lock
31 having a circular
cross section is axially slidably fitted in the sliding hole
30. A coil
spring
33 is extended between the bottomed end, formed in the left side
wall
11, of the sliding hole
30 and the safety lock
31 to
urge the safety lock
31 outward. The safety lock
31 has a tapered
outer end
34. The diameter of the safety lock
31 is greater than
the outside diameter of the coil spring
33. The inner end of the safety
lock
31 serves as a trigger blocking part
35. The trigger blocking
part
35 can be projected into and retracted from the groove
14.
Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, a V-shaped safety lever (safety control member)
40 is placed in sliding contact with the outer surface
12a of
the right side wall
12 and is supported for forward and backward turning
by the support pin
16 on the right sidewall
12. The safety lever
40 has a sectorial central body
41, an operating arm
43 upwardly
extending from an upper back part of the central body
41 and having a laterally
extending end provided with a lever spur
42, and a bolt locking arm
44
upwardly extending from an upper front part of the central body
41. Three
positioning holes
45,
46 and
47 are formed in the inner surface,
facing the outer surface of the right side wall
12, of the central body
41 on a circle having its center on the axis of the support pin
16.
The positioning holes
45,
46 and
47 position the safety lever
40 at first, second and third positions, respectively, and control the axial
position of the safety lock
31. FIG. 4 shows the safety lever
40
positioned at the first position, namely, a perfect lock position P
1, for
locking the movement of both the bolt
2 and the trigger
15. FIG.
5 shows the safety lever
40 positioned at the second position, namely, a
safety position P
2, for locking the movement of only the trigger
15.
FIG. 6 shows the safety lever positioned at the third position, namely, a firing
position P
3.
The first positioning hole
45 positions the safety lever
40 at
the perfect lock position (the first position) P
1. The first positioning
hole
45 is a small cylindrical hole having a small diameter and a chamfered
edge, and capable of receiving only the tip of the tapered outer end
34
of the safety lock
31. When the tip of the tapered outer end
34 of
the safety lock
31 engages in the first positioning hole
45, the
trigger blocking part
35 of the safety lock
31 projects into the
groove
14 that is a space between the opposite side walls
11 and
12 of the casing
10 and lies at a trigger blocking position S
1
in front of the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 as shown in
FIG. 3A. The second positioning hole
46 positions the safety lever
40
at the safety position (the second position) P
2. The second positioning
hole
46 is a medium cylindrical hole having a medium diameter and capable
of partly receiving only the tapered outer end
34 of the safety lock
31.
When the tapered outer end
34 of the safety lock
31 engages partly
in the second positioning hole
46, the trigger blocking part
35 of
the safety lock
31 projects into the groove
14 between the opposite
side walls
11 and
12 of the casing
10 and lies at the trigger
blocking position S
1 in front of the upper arm
15a of the
trigger
15 as shown in FIG. 3B.
The third positioning hole
47 positions the safety lever
40 at
the firing position (the third position) P
3. The third positioning hole
47 is a large tapered cylindrical hole having a large diameter and capable
of entirely receiving the tapered outer end
34 of the safety lock
31.
When the tapered outer end
34 of the safety lock
31 engages in the
third positioning hole
47, the trigger blocking part
35 of the safety
lock
31 is retracted into the hole in the right side wall
12 of the
casing
10 and lies at a releasing position S
2 outside the moving
path of the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15, i.e., the groove
14 that is a space between the opposite side walls
11 and
12
of the casing
10, as shown in FIG. 3C.
The diameter of the safety lock
31 is determined such that the forward
movement of the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 is blocked
by the safety lock
31 when the trigger
15 is pulled with the trigger
blocking part
35 of the safety lock
31 being positioned at the trigger
blocking position S
1. Thus, the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 remains in engagement with the sear
17. The outside diameter of
the coil spring
33 is determined such that the upper arm
15a of
the trigger
15 is disengaged from the sear
17 before the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 comes into contact with the coil spring
33 when the trigger
15 is pulled with the safety lock
31 being
retracted into the hole in the right side wall
12 to the releasing position
S
2. That is to say, the outside diameter of the coil spring
33 is
determined so that the effective forward movement of the upper arm
15a
of the trigger
15 may not be blocked by the coil spring
33.
Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7, the bolt locking arm
44 of the safety
lever
40 is provided at an end part thereof with a bolt blocking part
44a
that moves in a groove
50 formed in the receiver
1. Referring
to FIGS. 4 to 6 and
8, the bolt
2 is provided with a longitudinal
stopping groove
51 in the back surface of a base part of the bolt handle
3. When the bolt handle
3 is turned to the closing angular position
A, the stopping groove
51 is aligned longitudinally with the groove
50.
In a firing state where the bolt
2 is inserted in the receiver
1
and the bolt handle
3 is set at the closing angular position A, the bolt
blocking part
44a of the safety lever
40 is able to lie in
the stopping groove
51 of the bolt
2 to block the rotational movement
of the bolt
2 only when the safety lever
40 is positioned at the
perfect lock position P
1 (FIGS. 4 and 8).
As shown in FIG. 9, a stopper pin
55 is inserted in a hole formed in a
part of the casing
10 above a sectorial central body
41 of the same.
The axis of the stopper pin
55 is parallel to that of the support pin
16.
Limiting projections
40a and
40b formed in the safety
lever
40 come into engagement with the stopper pin
55 to limit the
forward and the backward turning, respectively, of the safety lever
40.
The stopper pin
55 is provided integrally with a circular retaining head
56 at its right end. The retaining head
56 engages with the upper
edge
41a of the sectorial central body
41 of the safety lever
40 to restrain the safety lever
40 urged axially outward by the resilience
of the coil spring
33, which axially outwardly urges the safety lock
31,
from falling off the right side wall
12 so that the tip of the safety lock
31 can surely engage in one of the positioning holes
45,
46
and
47.
When the bolt
2 is inserted in the receiver
1, the bolt handle
3 is turned to the closing angular position A and the safety lever
40
is turned to the perfect lock position P
1, the safety lock
31 engages
in the first positioning hole
45 to retain the safety lever
40 at
the perfect lock position P
1. In this state, the trigger blocking part
35
of the safety lock
31 is at the trigger blocking position S
1, and
hence the forward turning of the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15
is blocked by the safety lock
31 and the trigger
15 cannot turn even
if the same is pulled. Since the safety lock
31 is fitted in the sliding
hole
30 of the casing
10 so as to be slidable in directions perpendicular
to a plane in which the trigger
15 turns, and force applied to the trigger
15 is born by the casing
10, the safety lock
31 does not deform
and is able to block the movement of the trigger
15 with reliability even
if the trigger
15 is pulled strongly. In this state where the safety lever
40 is at the perfect lock position P
1, the bolt blocking part
44a
of the safety lever
40 is engaged in the stopping groove
51 of
the bolt
2, the bolt
2 is locked perfectly and cannot be turned to
open the chamber. Therefore, even if the chamber is loaded with a cartridge, the
cartridge cannot be fired (FIGS. 4 ad
3A).
When the safety lever
40 is turned to the safety position P
2,
the safety lock
31 engages in the second positioning hole
46 to retain
the safety lever
40 at the safety position P
2. In this state, the
trigger blocking part
35 of the safety lock
31 is at the trigger
blocking position S
1, and hence the forward turning of the upper arm
15a
of the trigger
15 is blocked by the safety lock
31 and the trigger
15 cannot turn even if the same is pulled. In this state where the safety
lever
40 is at the safety position P
2, the bolt blocking part
44a
of the safety lever
40 is disengaged from the stopping groove
51
of the bolt
2. Thus, the bolt
2 can be turned to open the chamber
and can be longitudinally moved. Therefore, cartridges can be safely loaded in
and unloaded from the chamber without the danger of accidental firing of the cartridges
(FIGS. 5 and 3B).
When the safety lever
40 is turned to the firing position P
3,
the safety lock
31 engages in the third positioning hole
47 to retain
the safety lever
40 at the firing position P
3. In this state, the
bolt blocking part
44a of the safety lever
40 is disengaged
from the stopping groove
51 of the bolt
2, and the bolt
2
is released. Since the trigger blocking part
35 of the safety lock
31
is retracted from the position in front of the upper arm
15a of the
trigger
15 to the releasing position S
2, the upper arm
15a
of the trigger
15 is able to turn forward as far as the same comes into
contact with the coil spring
33 when the trigger
15 is pulled. Consequently,
the upper arm
15a of the trigger
15 is disengaged from the
sear
17, and the firing mechanism
5 operates (FIGS. 6 and 3C).
*
