Slide Takedown and Magazine Disconnect Assembly for Firearms

The present application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/662,312 filed Jun. 20, 2024, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present disclosure generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to a slide takedown and magazine disconnect assembly and related methods for semiautomatic pistols.

Semi-automatic pistols generally include a frame having a grip portion for grasping by the user, barrel defining a chamber for holding a cartridge, firing mechanism for cocking and releasing a striker or hammer to detonate the cartridge, and an axially reciprocating slide supported by the frame. The slide defines a breech block for forming an openable and closeable breech with the rear of the chamber as well known to those skilled in the art.

Disassembly or “field stripping” of semi-automatic pistol for inspection and maintenance requires removal of the slide from the pistol. Removal of the slide is prevented during normal operation of the pistol when in the ready-to-fire condition. To allow the slide to be removed, various approaches to takedown mechanisms or systems may be provided.

A magazine disconnect used for firearms such as semiautomatic pistols with detachable ammunition magazines comprises a mechanism that prevents operating the firing mechanism to strike a chambered cartridge thereby preventing the pistol from firing when the magazine is not inserted in the firearm.

Improvements in takedown and magazine disconnect mechanisms for firearms is desired.

A slide takedown and magazine disconnect assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a magazine disconnect mechanism which operably cooperates and interacts with a slide takedown mechanism. The disconnect mechanism is movably responsive to and interacts with an ammunition magazine when inserted into the magazine well of the firearm, or removed therefrom. The takedown mechanism interacts with the slide. The present assembly advantageously prevents the firearm from being fired without the presence of a magazine in the firearm, and without the takedown lever being in the “blocking” position rendering the firearm ready to be fired. Both conditions must be satisfied in order to discharge the firearm. In one embodiment, the firearm may be a semiautomatic autoloading pistol.

The proposed takedown and magazine disconnect assembly in one embodiment generally includes a longitudinally slideable and spring-biased magazine disconnect member configured to operably cooperate and interface with both the trigger of the firing mechanism and a pivotably movable takedown lever. The takedown lever is manually rotatable transversely to the longitudinal axis of the firearm in one embodiment between blocking and non-blocking positions. The blocking position blocks and limits the rearward path of travel of the slide from the ready-to-fire forward position to a first rearward position associated with normal operation of the firearm for firing. The non-blocking position unblocks the rearward path of travel of the slide. This allows the slide to be retracted to a farther second rearward removal position to completely disengage the slide from the firearm for field stripping the firearm for maintenance and/or inspection.

The takedown and magazine disconnect assembly is responsive to and activated via the presence or absence of the magazine in the magazine well which acts on the movable magazine disconnect member. When there is no magazine in firearm, the spring-loaded magazine disconnect member is automatically biased and moved rearward to block trigger movement and prevent firing the firearm while allowing the takedown lever to be freely rotated to its non-blocking position for removing the slide for firearm maintenance if desired. Thus the firearm cannot be discharged when the takedown lever is in the non-blocking position to disassemble the slide from the firearm.

When the magazine is inserted into the firearm however, the magazine disconnect member is forced forward by engagement with the magazine to unlock the trigger and concurrently lock the takedown lever from being moved out of its blocking position associated with a dischargeable firearm.

In an associated feature of the invention, the magazine disconnect member cannot move forward by a sufficient distance to unlock the trigger and fully insert the magazine when the takedown lever is inadvertently left in its non-blocking position after field stripping the firearm. The takedown lever in this case blocks the disconnect member forward path of travel which prevents the magazine from being fully inserted into the firearm due to interference between magazine and disconnect member. Accordingly, this alerts and requires the user to move the takedown lever back to its blocking position before inserting the magazine into the firearm in order to ready the firearm for firing. This feature therefore prevents the firearm from being fired if the takedown lever is not in its proper position which limits rearward motion of slide under recoil after discharging the firearm.

All drawings are schematic and not necessarily to scale. Parts given a reference numerical designation in one figure may be considered to be the same parts where they appear in other figures without a numerical designation for brevity unless specifically labeled with a different part number described herein. Any reference herein to a whole figure number which may comprise multiple figures with the same whole number but different alphabetical suffixes shall be construed to be a general reference to all those figures sharing the same whole number, unless otherwise indicated.

The features and benefits of the invention are illustrated and described herein by reference to exemplary (“example”) embodiments. This description of exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Accordingly, the disclosure expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features.

As may be used throughout, any ranges disclosed herein are used as shorthand for describing each and every value that is within the range. Any value within the range can be selected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references cited herein to prior patents or patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. In the event of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and that of a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.

Initial reference is made toshowing one embodiment of a firearm in the form of a semi-automatic autoloading pistolhaving a cooperating slide takedown and magazine disconnect assembly according to the present disclosure. Pistoldisclosed herein is a rimfire pistol; however, the slide takedown and magazine disconnect member may be used in a centerfire pistol in other embodiments and is therefore not limited in its application.

Pistoldefines a longitudinal axis LA and includes a framehaving a front portion, rear portion, and intermediate portiondefining a trigger guard, an axially slidable and reciprocating slidemounted on the pistol defining a breech block, a barrelwith rifled boreand having a front muzzle endand a rear enddefining a chamberconfigured for holding an ammunition cartridge, a spring-biased hammerpivotably mounted to the pistol, and a firing mechanism comprising triggerpivotably mounted to pistol and operably linked to the hammer via a conventional trigger mechanism including trigger barfor cocking and releasing the hammer to discharge the pistol via a trigger pull (see, e.g.). Hammer springbiases the hammer forward toward the firing position to strike spring-biased movable firing pincarried by slidewhich contacts and detonates a chambered cartridge in a conventional manner. Hammeris retained in in the rearward cocked position until the trigger is pulled which linearly moves the trigger barto release the hammer. In other possible embodiments where pistolmay be of a striker-fired design, a linearly movable spring-biased striker may be provided in lieu of a hammer. Such striker designs are known to those skilled in the art without further elaboration.

In some embodiments, the longitudinal axis LA may be defined by the barrel bore(see, e.g.). The rear portionof the framedefines an elongated gripfor holding pistol. Gripdefines downwardly open magazine wellconfigured to slideably receive and detachably retain ammunition magazinewhich holds a plurality of spring-biased ammunition cartridges. The magazine may be a box-type magazine in some embodiments as shown which is well known in the art for use with pistols. Magazineis operable to automatically upload cartridges into the breech B of the pistoleach time the action (e.g., slide) is cycled rearward and forward in a conventional manner. Framemay be made of any suitable material commonly used in the art including metal, polymers, or combinations thereof.

It bears noting that a portion of fire control frame insertdefines an axially elongated longitudinal openingwhich can be considered to form the uppermost portion of the magazine wellthat cooperates and is contiguous with the lower magazine well portion defined inside the gripof the firearm frame(see, e.g.). It is within this openingthat the magazine disconnect memberdescribed in detail elsewhere herein is engageable with the magazinewhen inserted into the magazine well to actuate the disconnect member.

depict the fire control frame insertof pistol in isolation. Frame insertmay be removably mountable in the frameto house the firing mechanism including trigger, trigger bar, hammer, and other components associated with the firing mechanism. The frame insertmay be rigidly and fixedly mounted to the framevia any suitable means known in the art including without limitation mechanical fasteners or pins of any type, adhesives, friction or interference fits, etc. so long as the insert remains stationary with the framewhen the pistolis operated for firing.

In some embodiments, barrelmay be fixedly mounted to and supported by the frame insert. Frame insertmay be made of any suitable material including metal such as for example aluminum, titanium, or steel, or reinforced polymers. The barreland hammermay be made of any suitable metallic material such as steel as one example as commonly used in the art for these components. Frame insertmay further include an elongated slide catchwhich is pivotably mounted on the insertand manually moveable in upward and downward directions. When moves to an upward position, slide catchinteracts and cooperates with a slide catch surface (not shown) on the slide in a conventional manner to hold the breech B of the pistol open (defined at the rear of the barrel chamber).

Referring now toas applicable, slideis axially elongated in the direction of longitudinal axis LA and an at least partially hollow structure defining a longitudinally-extending internal cavitywhich receives the barrel. Slideincludes a front end, opposing rear end, topdefining an ejection port, and bottom. Front endincludes an enlarged protuberant bosswhich is vertically elongated and includes a lower lobed portion that projects outward and downward from the main body of the slideas shown. Bossdefines an upper barrel holeconfigured for interacting with and slidably receiving barreltherethrough and a lower guide holeconfigured for interacting with and slidably receiving a guide rodtherethrough (see, e.g.). Holesandextend in an axial direction parallel to longitudinal axis LA. Recoil springis mounted on guide rodfor biasing and returning the slideforward after firing pistolin a conventional manner.

In one embodiment, reciprocating axial movement of slideon pistolmay be guided in part by the enlarged bosson the front portion of the slide (slidably interacting with the barreland guide rod) and at the rear portion of the slide by conventional mating pairs of slideably engaged guide slotsand guide flanges,disposed inside the slide and on frame insert, respectively. Such mating guide slots and flanges are a well known construction in the art for slideably mounting a slide to the firearm. The pairs of guide rails and guide flanges,are disposed on each lateral side of the slideand frame insert. The guide rail and flange set define both a slide guidance and retention system that operates in concert with the slide takedown lever to either prevent or allow removal of the slidefrom pistol, as further described herein.

During normal firing of pistoland cycling of the action, the slidereciprocates axially between a forward ready-to-fire operating position associated with a closed breech B (shown in) and a rearward re-loading operating position associated with an open breech (shown in) for extracting and ejecting a spent cartridge casing from the pistol. When slideis in the open breech position, barreland recoil spring guide rodremain slideably engaged with the protuberant bosson the slide (see, e.g.).

In one embodiment, the slideis further movable in a rearward direction beyond the normal open breech position associated with firing pistol(i.e. first rearward reloading position) to a second rearward removal position for field stripping the pistol. Both positions are axial positions on the frame insertand frame. The slide removal position is located farther rearward than the cartridge ejection and re-loading open breech position of the slide.

To prevent removal of the slide from the pistolduring normal pistol operation, a takedown mechanism is provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure which operates to restrict the maximum rearward movement of the slideto the first rearward reloading position described herein that is associated with normal cycling of the action when firing the pistol. Accordingly, when activated, the takedown mechanism prevents rearward movement of slideto the second rearward removal position beyond the reloading position. In some embodiments, the takedown mechanism may be a takedown leverthat may be pivotably mounted to pistol. In one embodiment, takedown levermay be pivotably mounted to frame, and in a certain embodiment to frame insertas shown in. The takedown lever and operation thereof will now be described in further detail.

Referring first, takedown levermay be mounted to a front portion of frame insertas shown via a pivot pin. In one embodiment, takedown leveris located below slideunderneath and on the underside of framewithin a recess(see, e.g.), and in one certain embodiment generally within the confines of the trigger guardof the frame. Pivot pindefines a pivot axis P axially oriented in the direction of longitudinal axis LA (i.e. parallel to the longitudinal axis) so that takedown leverpivots and rotates in lateral upward and downward directions perpendicular to longitudinal axis LA between its two operating positions as further described herein. Accordingly, takedown leverpivots within a vertical and laterally-oriented plane that is perpendicular to and intersects longitudinal axis LA. Pivot pinin one embodiment may be laterally offset from longitudinal axis LA and vertical centerline LC of pistolas shown inbeing mounted closer to one lateral side of frame insertthan the other lateral side (right side in non-limiting illustrated embodiment).

Takedown leveris movable between an upward blocking position nested proximate to framewhich engages and prevents movement of triggerrearward beyond the normal first reloading position, and a downward non-blocking position projecting distally from the frame.

When takedown leveris in the upward blocking position shown in, slidecannot be removed from frame insertand pistolwhich is in the ready-to-fire condition. The maximum rearward movement of the slide is limited to the first rearward reloading position by abutting engagement between protuberant bosson the front of the slide and the takedown lever. The slide can be move to this reloading position either by manually cycling the action (e.g., slide) or automatically upon firing the pistol.

When takedown leveris pivoted downward to the non-blocking position shown in, the slidecan be manually moved by a farther distance back to the second rearward slide removal position. In this position, slideis fully removable from the pistoland frame insertfor inspection and maintenance purposes. The takedown lever no longer blocks the rearward path of the protuberant bosson slideas shown which can now pass and travel over top of the leverto the second rearward removal position.

Referring to, takedown leverin some embodiments may be maintained in the upward blocking position via a retaining mechanism such as without limitation a spring loaded detent plungerwhich engages a complementary configured detent recessdisposed in frame, or alternatively frame insertas shown in.

To facilitate manually operating the takedown lever, some embodiments of takedown levermay further include a cantilevered grasping portionformed on a free end of the lever opposite the mounting end of the lever at pivot pin. The grasping portionmay seat substantially flush with the underside of framenested in recesswithin the trigger guardwhen takedown leveris in the upward blocking position as shown into prevent interfering with the shooter's trigger finger. Accordingly, this placement and nesting locates the grasping portionin an unobtrusive position when not deployed and replaces some conventional arrangements having takedown pins or levers cantilevered from the sides of slide that adds to the number of exposed levers and profile of the pistol, and further creates the possibility of snagging the pistol on the user's clothing or other object.

To limit rearward movement of the slideduring normal operation of the pistol, slide takedown leverincludes blocking surfaceformed on a front face of the takedown leveras shown in, which is interposed between grasping portionon the free end of the lever and the mounting end of the lever at pivot pin. In one embodiment, the intermediate portion of takedown leverdefining blocking surfacemay be physically enlarged in relation to the grasping portionthereby providing a structurally robust element capable of sustaining repeated impacts when the action is cycled automatically upon firing the pistol. The added mass and structural strength of the blocking surface portion of takedown lever helps to better absorb and distribute the recoil forces. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the material selected for takedown leverpreferably may be an impact resistant and energy absorbing materials such as without limitation metals (e.g. steel, aluminum, titanium and alloys thereof) or reinforced polymeric materials such as reinforced nylon polymers commonly used for fabricating other parts of firearms requiring added strength and durability.

An exemplary method of operating takedown leverwill now be described.depict a forward portion of pistolwithout framein place for clarity to show the interaction between slideand takedown lever.

Referring initially to, the slideis shown in the first rearward re-loading operating position being already moved rearwards from a forward ready-to-fire position shown ineither by manually retracting the slide or during cycling of the action (e.g., slide) after firing pistol. The barreland guide rodare shown exposed and protruding forward from enlarged boss. The breech B to the rear of cartridge chamberin the barrel would be in the open condition to allow for extraction of a spent cartridge casing from the chamber and ejection from the pistol. These foregoing operating positions and methodology are conventional and well known to those skilled in the art.

With continuing reference to, takedown leveris shown in the upward blocking position. When either the triggeris pulled and the action is cycled upon discharging the pistol, or if a user manually retracts the slide, the slide will move rearward by an axial distance until blocking surfaceformed on a front face of the takedown leverabuttingly engages a mating blocking surfacedefined on a rear face of the enlarged protuberant bosson the front endof the slide. Blocking surfacesand, which may comprise at least a portion of takedown leverand enlarged bossrespectively, are substantially planar and vertical in one non-limiting embodiment as shown. The slideand frame insertare still interlocked so that the slide cannot be moved vertically and lifted off the frame. Accordingly, the takedown levertherefore blocks the rearward path of travel of the slideand prevents the slidefrom moving rearward far enough from the first rearward re-loading position to the second rearward removal position that would permit complete removal of the slide from the pistol.

To remove the slidefrom pistol, the takedown leveris first manually moved and rotated by a user to the downward non-blocking position shown in. The takedown leveris pivoted in an arcuate path about pivot pinand the longitudinal axis LA and laterally to reach the non-blocking position since the pivot pinis oriented axially parallel to the longitudinal axis. This concomitantly rotates the blocking surfacedownwards and out of the way of protuberant bosson slide. The takedown levertherefore is no longer positioned to engage with or block the rearward path of travel of the slide protuberant boss.

With the takedown leverout of the way, the slide may now be moved manually rearward by a greater axial distance beyond the takedown lever to the second rearward removal position in which protuberant bossabuts the front of the fire control frame insertas shown in. The takedown leveris preferably configured and dimensioned so that the lower lobed portion of the front enlarged protuberant bossis not obstructed and impeded by the lever when moved over top of takedown leverto the second rearward removal position. To accomplish this in one embodiment, takedown levermay have a concave top surfacethat is configured to complement a downwardly convex bottom surfaceof enlarged protuberant bosson slide(see also) to allow the enlarged boss to pass at least partially over takedown lever to reach the second rearward slide removal position.

With the slidenow in the position shown in, the slide may be completely disengaged and removed from the pistol. The guide flangeson frame inserthave left the axial slotin slidewhich would allow the slide to be lifted vertically upward and off of the frame insert. The slideand frame insertare no longer mechanically interlocked.

The slidemay be re-installed on pistolby reversing the foregoing steps.

Advantages of the slide takedown lever mechanism disclosed herein include a convenient and easy to deploy lever which is not obtrusive and does not require excessive manipulation or removal of pin, etc. from the pistol which may be lost. Placement of the lever on the underside of the frame and within the trigger guard reduces the likelihood that the takedown lever will be inadvertently actuated or snag on a user's clothing or other object.

The present invention also provides a unique magazine disconnect memberwhich is engageable with and movably responsive to inserting the magazineinto or removing the magazine from the firearm. Notably, the magazine disconnect member operably interacts and cooperates with the takedown leverin one aspect to prevent moving the takedown lever from the blocking position associated with normal firing operation of pistolto the nonblocking position associated with field stripping the firearm and removing the slide. This ensures the slide remains movable but locked to the firearm when operating the pistol.

Initial reference is made first towhich shows the magazine disconnect memberin isolation. The magazine disconnect member in one non-limiting embodiment comprises an elongated body which may be considered axially elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis LA referring to when the disconnect member is mounted to the firearm. Magazine disconnect memberincludes a front endengageable with the takedown leverand a rear endengageable with the ammunition magazinewhen inserted into the magazine wellof frameas shown in. A pair of opposing parallel lateral sidesextend axially between the front and rear ends.

In one non-limiting embodiment, magazine disconnect memberis configured for slideable mounting to the underside of the fire control frame insert(see, e.g.). For such an embodiment to provide a low vertical profile, magazine disconnect membermay comprise a flattened main bodyformed of a substantially flat plate including a takedown lever engagement protrusionon the front end, and an actuating protrusionon the rear end configured to slideably engage the magazinewhen inserted into the pistol frame. Disconnect memberincludes a central trigger openingthrough which the trigger protrudes downwards into the trigger guardof the pistol frame. Magazine disconnect memberalso comprises an upturned trigger locking protrusionwhich is engageable with a mating locking surfaceon the trigger when the magazine disconnect member is in a rearward locked position to prevent movement of the trigger and disable the firing mechanism of the firearm, as further described herein. Both trigger locking protrusionand actuating protrusionmay extend upwards from and beyond the top surfaceof magazine disconnect member.

In alternative embodiments, the trigger locking protrusionmay be omitted and the trigger locking surfacemay directly engage the top surfaceof magazine disconnect memberon the portion immediately forward of the central trigger opening.

The term “substantially” as used above to describe the flat configuration of the magazine disconnect member embodiment recognizes that a majority of the body is flat but includes certain operating features such as actuating protrusionand trigger locking protrusionwhich extend upwards from the top surface of the disconnect member and therefore do not completely lie in the same horizontal plane as the top surface. The plate has a width and length significantly larger than its vertical thickness as shown, and a length larger than its width.

When mounted to fire control frame insert, magazine disconnect memberis movable between a rearward locked position which engages and blocks movement of the trigger to disable the firearm firing mechanism (see, e.g.), and a forward unlocked position which allows movement of the trigger to fire the firearm and concurrently engages the takedown leverto prevent moving the takedown lever from the upward blocking position associated with the ready-to-fire condition of firearm to the downward non-blocking position associated with field stripping the firearm (see, e.g.).

Inserting the magazineinto the firearm frameengages and moves the magazine disconnect memberto the forward unlocked position, and removing the magazine from the frame disengages and moves the magazine disconnect member to the rearward locked position under biasing action of a magazine disconnect springshown in. Springmay be a helical compression spring in one embodiment acting directly on actuation protrusiondisposed at the rear endof the disconnect member. This advantageously ensures that the actuation protrusion (which extends rearward from main bodyof magazine disconnect member) is forced partially into the front of the magazine wellof framewith positive action when no magazine is present in the firearm (see, e.g.). Inserting the magazineinto the firearm engages the actuation protrusionand compresses springwhen the magazine disconnect membermoves forward via the presence of the magazine fully inserted into the magazine wellof frame. More specifically, the upper portion of front wallof the magazine tubeslideably engages the actuation protrusionto actuate and slideably move the magazine disconnect member(see, e.g.). When the magazine is removed, the spring expands to automatically move and force the magazine disconnect memberback to the rearward locked position which disables the trigger and firing mechanism when the magazine is not present in the frameto prevent firing the pistol if a cartridge possibly remains in the chamber.

Magazine disconnect memberin one non-limiting embodiment may have a monolithic construction in which the actuation protrusion, trigger locking protrusion, and takedown lever engagement protrusionare all integral unitary parts of the disconnect member body. The disconnect member may be formed of a suitable material for the application including metal or strong polymeric material. If formed of metal, the plate-shaped magazine disconnect member be stamped and the uprightand protrusionsmay be bent to shape. In one embodiment, actuating protrusionmay have a recurvant shape as shown to provide an arcuately curved contact surfaceto slideably engage the magazinewhen inserted into the pistol gripof frame.

Various cooperating operational positions of the magazine disconnect memberand takedown leverof the assembly are shown in.

are various views of portions of the pistolwithout a magazinepresent in the firearm and the magazine disconnect memberin the rearward locked position which engages and blocks movement of the triggerin the absence of the magazine in the firearm.