Firearm Ejector

This application is related to and claims priority benefit from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/644,962 (“the '962 application”), filed on May 9, 2024. The '962 application, is hereby incorporated in its entirety by this reference.

The field of the invention relates to firearms, particularly firearms that need an ejector that is separate from the bolt carrier group.

Many modern firearms (including handguns, rifles, carbines, shotguns, etc.) rely on at least one of an extractor mechanism and an ejector mechanism for expelling a cartridge or cartridge case from the firearm when the bolt moves away from the chamber. The ejector mechanism may be based on a mechanical operation and/or may be operated by a spring. In addition, the ejector mechanism may be located or attached to a lower receiver, an upper receiver, a bolt, or any other relevant portion of the firearm. Many firearms and related accessories are designed for compatibility with the AR-15 variant (civilian) or M16/M4 (military) firearm platform (i.e., collectively, AR-15 style firearms). Many of these products follow traditional designs based on industry standards and/or military specification (milspec).

To simplify the firearm operating system, to increase reliability, and to increase consistency of the ejection pattern for cartridges or cartridge cases exiting the firearm, it may be desirable to design a new ejection mechanism that is part of the lower receiver.

The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a bolt lever for a firearm comprises: a main body; a hole extending through the main body; and an ejector arm that extends in a forward direction from the main body.

The subject matter of embodiments of the present invention is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described.

Although the illustrated embodiments shown inillustrate components of various semi-automatic or automatic firearms, the features, concepts, and functions described herein are also applicable (with potential necessary alterations for particular applications) to handguns, rifles, carbines, pistols, shotguns, or any other type of firearm. Furthermore, the embodiments may be compatible with various calibers including rifle calibers such as, for example, 5.56×45 mm NATO, .223 Remington, 7.62×51 mm NATO, .308 Winchester, 7.62×39 mm, 5.45×39 mm; pistol calibers such as, for example, 9×19 mm, .45 ACP, .40 S& W, 380 ACP, 10 mm Auto, 5.7×28 mm; and shotgun calibers such as, for example, 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, .410 gauge, 10 gauge, 16 gauge.

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, as shown in, a firearmmay include a bolt leverattached to a lower receiver, a grip, a buffer tube, a magazine, and a bolt carrier group. The bolt levermay interface with the lower receiversuch that holeof the lower receiveris coaxial with holeof the bolt leverand a pin, rod, fastener, or other appropriate object is inserted through one or both of these holes allowing the bolt leverto pivot about hole. The lower receivermay include a spring and/or plunger that biases the bolt leverto a standard configuration. In the standard configuration, the forward protrusionof the bolt leveris approximately adjacent to the upper surfaceof the lower receiver. Some components (e.g., upper receiver, barrel, charging handle, shoulder stock, handguard, etc.) are not illustrated for simplicity. In some cases, at least a portion of the bolt leveris located within the upper receiver. The bolt levermay be designed to work with a standard lower receiver for a known modular firearm such that the lower receiver can interface with a standard upper receiver. For example, the bolt levermay be designed to function and engage with (i) components of AR-15 variant (civilian) or M16/M4 (military) firearms; (ii) components of AR-10 variant firearms; or (iii) components of any other relevant firearm.

In some embodiments, as shown in, the bolt levermay include an ejector armthat extends in a forward direction. The ejector armmay be an integral component of the main body(as shown in the drawings) while, in other embodiments, the ejector armmay be a separate component that is removably attached or permanently attached to the main body. The ejector armmay interface with a corresponding groove in the bolt carrier group(see). In some cases, the ejector armincludes a proximal portionthat is inclined steeply upwards, a joint, and a distal portionthat is inclined less steeply. In some embodiments, the shape of the ejector armis designed to ensure that the magazinedoes not interfere with the ejector arm.

The proximal portionmay be between approximately 45° and 75° above horizontal. In some cases, the proximal portionmay be between approximately 50° and 70° above horizontal. In other cases, the proximal portionmay be between approximately 55° and 65° above horizontal. In some cases, the proximal portionmay be approximately 60° above horizontal.

The distal portionmay be between approximately 2° and 14° above horizontal. In some cases, the distal portionmay be between approximately 4° and 12° above horizontal. In other cases, the distal portionmay be between approximately 6° and 10° above horizontal. In some cases, the distal portionmay be approximately 8° above horizontal.

As shown in, at least a portion of the ejector armis disposed in the corresponding groove of the bolt carrier group. As the bolt carrier groupmoves rearward away from the chamber, the ejector armslides through the groove until the forward end of the ejector armreaches the bolt face (i.e, the forward end of the bolt carrier group), which is approximately shown in. In this condition, a cartridge or cartridge case that is on the bolt face will contact the ejector arm, which causes the cartridge or cartridge case to be propelled off the bolt face and out of the firearm (i.e, ejection).

The bolt levermay also include features that allow functions related to securing the bolt carrier groupin a rearward configuration and interfacing with a follower of the magazine. For example, the main bodyof the bolt levermay be designed to pivot about holesuch that the operator can pivot the bolt leverusing either the lower protrusion(to raise the bolt lever) or the upper protrusion(to lower the bolt lever). The follower of the magazinemay interface with the forward protrusionto raise the bolt lever. When the bolt leveris in the raised configuration, the rear surfacemay engage and hold the bolt carrier groupin the rearward configuration.

The components of any of the firearms and bolt leverdescribed herein may be formed of materials including, but not limited to, thermoplastic, carbon composite, plastic, nylon, glass-filled nylon, polyetherimide, steel, aluminum, stainless steel, high strength aluminum alloy, tool steel, titanium, other plastic or polymer materials, other metallic materials, other composite materials, or other similar materials. Moreover, the components of the firearms may be attached to one another via suitable fasteners, which include, but are not limited to, screws, bolts, rivets, welds, co-molding, injection molding, or other mechanical or chemical fasteners.

Different arrangements of the components depicted in the drawings or described above, as well as components and steps not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative and not restrictive purposes, and alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or depicted in the drawings, and various embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims below.