Ambidextrous safety mechanism

• US 4,590,697 A
• Filed: 06/25/1984
• Issued: 05/27/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sturm Ruger & Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Sturm Ruger & Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Ruger, William B., Melcher, Roy L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle, Deborah L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parr, Ted L.
• Application Number:
  US06/624,188
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 42/70 R, 42/70 F
• US Class Current: 42/70.08
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/56 Sear safeties, i.e. means for rendering ineffective an intermediate lever transmitting trigger movement to firing pin, hammer, bolt or sear F41A17/02 - F41A17/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/64 Firing-pin safeties, i.e. means for preventing movement of slidably- mounted strikers F41A17/02 - F41A17/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/74 Hammer safeties, i.e. means for preventing the hammer from hitting the cartridge or the firing pin F41A17/02 - F41A17/40 take precedence

Abstract

A two-position manual safety arrangement for an automatic pistol which pistol has a pivotal firing pin, a hammer blocking means, a trigger bar, a sear rotated by the pin blocking means and a configured slide. The safety arrangement includes a safety lever body rotatably mounted in the slide. The lever body carries first means to prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin in the first safety position and second means for preventing striking of the firing pin in the second safety position. The firing pin blocking means also blocks the firing pin in the second position.

Claims

1. In a semi-automatic pistol having a reciprocating slide with a firing pin therein, a trigger, a trigger bar, a sear, and a hammer, the improvement comprising

(A) a pivotal firing pin blocking means mounted on the pistol frame, the blocking means having

(i) an upper finger means for blocking the firing pin;

(ii) a lower trigger-bar-engageable projection lug positioned in and at times engageable with the trigger bar;

(B) a trigger bar having a forward end portion and a rearward end portion;

(i) the forward end portion pivotal about the trigger;

(ii) the rearward end portion having

(a) a configured opening therein for receiving said blocking means projection lug;

(b) a hammer engageable extension; and

(c) an upper surface engageable with a surface on the slide;

(C) a sear mounted adjacent the blocking means and engageable with the hammer when the hammer is lowered;

such sear caused to rotate by rotation of the blocking means;

(D) a configured surface on the slide in engagement with the upper surface of the trigger bar to permit the rearward end portion of trigger bar to (i) raise when the slide is forward and (ii) to lower when the slide is rearward;

a manual safety lever arrangement comprising

(a) slide bearing openings in such slide adjacent the firing pin;

(b) a safety lever body portion rotatably mounted in the slide bearing openings straddling the firing pin, said body portion including a right-hand body section projecting from the right-hand of the slide and a left-hand body portion projecting from the left-hand side of the slide;

said body portion being rotatable to a first position and to a second position;

(c) first hammer means on one of the body sections for permitting the hammer to engage the firing pin in the first position;

(d) second hammer means on one of the body sections for preventing the hammer from engaging the firing pin when the lever is in the second position;

(e) firing pin blocking means on one of the sections for blocking the firing pin in the second position;

(f) sear engaging means on one of the body sections for rotating the sear so it cannot engage the hammer in such section safety lever position; and

(g) trigger bar engaging means for engaging the trigger bar to prevent the bar, in its forward movement, from rotating the firing pin blocking means to unblock the firing pin.

2. The manual safety lever arrangement of claim 1 in which one body portion is held in the slide by detent means positioned in a recess in the slide and in a depression in such body portion.

3. The manual safety lever arrangement of claim 1 in which a flexible readily removable bar means is positioned in a recess in the slide and in a depression in the body portion.