Cartridge Clip Reloader

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 07/935,547 filed Aug. 26, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,386.

Guns, particularly handguns such as pistols, are commonly structured to receive cartridge clips. The cartridge clip carries a series of cartridges or bullets, and is adapted to feed those bullets one at a time in succession to the gun's firing chamber. This cartridge clip approach to hand guns allows the hand gun to fire a series of cartridges, e.g., six or eight or more, without need for hand loading cartridges one at a time to the gun. And the cartridge clip allows plural cartridges, e.g., six or eight or more, to be easily loaded in proper firing sequence with the gun simply by loading a single clip into the gun.

The basic structure of a cartridge clip includes a magazine with an ejection end and a closed end in combination with a compression spring positioned within that magazine, The cartridges are loaded sequentially within the magazine against the compression force exerted by the spring. Once loaded in the clip, the cartridges are spring loaded toward the ejection end for subsequent ejection therefrom when the clip is loaded in a gun.

A substantial spring force must be available in a cartridge clip in order to properly move a succeeding cartridge in sequence to the clip's ejection end after a preceding cartridge has been ejected from the clip. When the clip is reloaded, i.e., after all cartridges have been ejected from the clip, the compression spring must be compressed sequentially in response to the loading of each individual cartridge until the clip's maximum cartridge supply is received. Now the more cartridges that are put into the clip when reloading the clip, the greater the resistance of the compression spring against further compression. And this means that the last cartridge loaded into the clip is significantly harder to load than the first cartridge load into the clip.

Therefor, it has been the primary objective of this invention to provide an improved reloader for a cartridge clip in which the compression force exerted by the compression spring interiorly of the clip's magazine can be eliminated when it is desired to load a successor top cartridge in the cartridge clip, same being accomplished by providing a reloader structure which allows the cartridge clip and reloader to be held in operational assembly by one of a user's hands while allowing the reloader to be manually operable by the thumb of that same one of the user's hands, thereby leaving the other of the user's hands free to reload cartridges in the cartridge clip.

It has been another objective of this invention to provide an improved reloader for a cartridge clip where the reloader's sleeve that is adapted to receive the cartridge clip in seated relation during reloading of the clip is open at a section of its periphery so that the cartridge clip can be engaged with and disengaged from the sleeve in a direction generally normal to the sleeve's longitudinal axis, in combination with a handle connected to the sleeve which allows the clip to lay against that handle when the clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader so that one of a user's hands can manually grip the cartridge clip and the handle to aid in maintaining operational assembly of the clip with the reloader during use.

It has been a further objective of this invention to provide an improved reloader for a cartridge clip where the reloader includes a plunger that is manually reciprocable to depress a top cartridge already seated in the cartridge clip to accommodate receiving another cartridge as a successor top cartridge in the cartridge clip in combination with an operator arm connected with the plunger for reciprocating same where that operator arm is manually operable by a user's thumb and is oriented to at least partially close an open section of the sleeve's periphery during use of the reloader so as to aid in holding a cartridge clip in operational assembly with the reloader where the reloader's sleeve is open along a section of its periphery to accommodate operational assembly of the cartridge clip with the reloader.

It has been still a further objective of this invention to provide an improved reloader for a cartridge clip that includes a sleeve adapted to receive the clip in seated relation during reloading which includes an adjustable stop connected with the sleeve that is adjustable to accommodate cartridge clips of at least first and second different lengths so as to present the open end of each cartridge clip, whether of the first or second length, at about the same location relative to the sleeve when either length cartridge clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially broken away perspective view of a cartridge clip reloader in accord with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a reloader having a cartridge clip in operational assembly therewith;

FIG. 4 is a side operational view illustrating use of the reloader shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a blown up view of the top portion of the reloader in the operational position illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative reloader embodiment in accord with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second alternative reloader embodiment in accord with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 7A is an enlarged broken away perspective view of lower portion or reloader illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a partially broken away side elevational view of the second alternative reloader embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partially broken away and enlarged side elevational view of a top portion of the reloader illustrated in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

The reloader 10 of this invention is adapted for use with a cartridge clip 11 of the type particularly shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. The cartridge clip 11 basically includes a magazine 12 with an ejection end 13 and a closed end 14 that includes flange 15. A compression spring 16 is positioned within the magazine 12, cartridges 17 that are loaded into the magazine being spring loaded in the direction shown by phantom arrow 18 toward the magazine's ejection end 13 for subsequent ejection therefrom when the clip 11 is installed with a gun (not shown). The magazine 12 is in the form of a tubular housing with its upper or ejection end 13 having inwardly flared side walls 19 that neck down to define an ejection slot 20 at that open end. The upper flared side walls 19 are sized and configured to prevent ejection of the cartridges 17 in the phantom arrow 18 direction. The compression spring 16 is in the form of a coil spring which seats a cartridge follower 21 in its top loop 22. The follower 21 includes a formed upper surface 23 against which the lowest cartridge 17 in a stack of cartridges within the clip 11 rests when the clip is ready for use.

A reloader 10 in accord with the principles of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The reloader 10 includes a sleeve 25 adapted to receive the cartridge clip 11 in seated relation during reloading. The sleeve 25 is open at its top end 26 and also at its bottom end 27. The sleeve 25 is also open at a section 28 of its periphery, and this provides the sleeve with a generally C-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The open top end 26 and open peripheral section 28 of the sleeve, in the FIG. 6 alternative embodiment described in further detail below, allow the cartridge clip 11 to be engaged with and disengaged from the sleeve 25 in a direction (illustrated by phantom arrow 29) generally normal to the sleeve's longitudinal axis 30. A handle 31 is connected to the sleeve 25, and indeed formed integral with the sleeve. The cartridge clip 11 is adapted to lay against the handle 31 when the cartridge clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader 10. Hence, a user of the reloader 10 manually grips in one hand 32 both the cartridge clip 11 and the handle 31 to aid in maintaining operational assembly of the cartridge clip with the reloader during use, see particularly FIG. 4.

A stop 33 is connected with the handle 31, the stop providing a support against which the closed end 14 of the cartridge clip 11 is abutted when the clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader 10. Preferably this stop 33 is an adjustable stop, the stop being adjustable to accommodate cartridge clips 11 of first, second and third different lengths with the sleeve 25 so as to present the open end 13 of the cartridge clip, whether of the first or the second or the third length, at about the same location relative to the sleeve when either of the first or second or third length cartridge clips is engaged in operational relation with the reloader 10. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, the adjustable stop 33 is provided by three grooves 34-36 at the bottom end 37 of the handle 31. The three grooves 34-36 are each sized to receive the flange 15 carried by the cartridge clip 11 at the clip's closed end 14. That one of the three grooves 34-36 used when the cartridge clip 11 is in operational relation with the reloader 10 depends on whether the clip is of the first or second or the third length. The adjustable stop 33, in the alternative reloader embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, is in the form of an adjustable floor 38 connected to the handle 31. The floor 38 is movable relative to the handle 31, and is held thereto by a pin 39 that cooperates with bores 40-42 located on each side of the handle. The connection position of the floor 38 with the handle 31 is changed depending on whether a cartridge clip 11 of the first or second or third length is to be reloaded.

A plunger 43, in the form of a crooked finger, is connected with the reloader 10. The plunger 43 is manually reciprocable in a direction shown by phantom arrow 44 to depress a top cartridge 17a already seated in the cartridge clip to accommodate receiving another cartridge 17b as a successor cartridge in the cartridge clip 11 when the clip is operationally engaged with the reloader, see FIGS. 4 and 5. The plunger 43 is fixed to an axle 45 that is journaled in bracket 46 fixed to the reloader's sleeve 25. The plunger 43 includes a groove 47 in its cartridge flange contact surface 48. The groove 47 prevents contact of a cartridge's primer 49 with the plunger's cartridge flange contact surface 48 while allowing contact of the cartridge's flange 50 with the plunger's contact surface 48 during reloading of a successor top cartridge 17b in the cartridge clip 11, note particularly FIG. 5. A spring unit 51 continuously biases the plunger 43 to that ready position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. In the ready position, the plunger 43 is out of contact with the top cartridge 17a already seated in the cartridge clip 11. The plunger 43 is reciprocated against the bias of the spring unit 51 to move the plunger to a depress position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, where the top cartridge 17a already seated in the cartridge clip 11 is depressed to accommodate receiving another cartridge 17b as a successor top cartridge. The spring unit 51 includes a piston 52 and a piston rod 53, and a coil compression spring 54 that surrounds the piston rod, this assembly being located in a seat 55 defined in the reloader's bracket 46. Specifically, the piston 52 continuously bears against the plunger's foot 52 as biased by the coil spring 54, the coil spring being seated in the bracket's seat 55, to continually bias the plunger 43 to the ready position.

An operator arm 57 is connected with the plunger 43 for reciprocating the plunger, the operator arm being fixed to axle 45 at one end 58. A thumb rest 63 is connected to the operator arm at its other end 64. Note particularly in both the FIGS. 1 and 6 embodiments that the operator arm 57 is oriented to at least partially close the open peripheral section 28 of the sleeve 25 during use of the reloader 10 so as to aid in holding the cartridge clip 11 in operational assembly with the reloader, see FIG. 3. The operator arm 57 is manually operable by a user's thumb 59 on one of a user's hands 32 to reciprocate the plunger 43 while manually gripping the cartridge clip 11 and handle 31 by the fingers 60 and palm 61 of that same one of the user's hands when the cartridge clip is in operational relation with the reloader, thereby leaving the other 62 of the user's hands free to reload cartridges 17b in the cartridge clip, see particularly FIG. 4. So the operator arm 57 is pivotally connected to the sleeve 25 adjacent one side thereof and the thumb rest 63 is connected to the operator arm adjacent an opposite side of the sleeve. Further, the operator arm 57 is located or positioned outboard of a side 65 of the cartridge clip 11, and the thumb rest 63 is located between the open 13 and closed 14 ends of the cartridge clip, when the cartridge clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader. Note particularly from FIGS. 1 and 2 that this structural relationship of the operator arm 57 with the plunger 43 allows the plunger to reciprocate in a first operational plane 66 and the operator arm to reciprocate in a second operational plane 67, those operational planes being parallel to but spaced from one another.

The spring unit 51 also includes an upstop 68 connected with the plunger 43, the upstop cooperating with the operating arm 57 to locate the plunger in the ready position in response to the spring 54 bias, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. This upstop 68, in the FIG. 1 embodiment, is comprised of a detent 69 fixed to the front side 70 of the sleeve 25 which cooperates with an abutment 71 in the form of a seat defined on the top surface of the operator arm's thumb rest 63, the detent being located in that thumb rest seat to locate the plunger 43 in the ready position. The upstop 68, in the FIG. 6 embodiment, is comprised of a detent 72 fixed to the rear side 73 of the sleeve 25 which cooperates with an abutment 74 in the form of the operator arm's top edge so as to locate the plunger 43 in the ready position.

The sleeves 25 of both the FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 embodiment, as earlier noted, are both of a generally C-shaped configuration, thereby providing a section 28 of each sleeve's periphery that is open. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, that open section 28 is closed during use by the reloader's operator arm 57. In the FIG. 6 embodiment, the reloader's operator arm 57 also functions as a side of the sleeve. But in the FIG. 6 embodiment, a latch device 75 is provided that is movable between a latch position (not shown) where a cartridge clip 11 is restrained within the sleeve, and an unlatch position (shown in solid lines) where the cartridge clip can be removed from operational assembly with the reloader. This latch device 75, in the FIG. 6 embodiment, cooperates in maintaining the cartridge clip 11 in operational assembly with the reloader 10 during use.

Use of the FIG. 1-5 embodiment of the reloader of this invention is particularly illustrated in FIGS. 3-5. As shown, a cartridge clip 11 is initially installed with the reloader 10, the clip's flange 15 being seated in that one of the three grooves 34-36 which is appropriate depending on the clip's length L in order to position the clip's open top end 13 in proper operational relation with the reloader's plunger 43. With the cartridge clip 11 and reloader 10 so assembled, a user's one hand 32 grips the clip 11 and handle 31 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The thumb 59 of that same user's hand 32 then depresses the operator arm 57 in the direction shown by phantom arrow 76 so as to cause the plunger 43 to depress the top cartridge 17a in the cartridge clip 11. With the top cartridge 17a in the cartridge clip 11 so depressed, and as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the user's other hand 62 then installs a successor top cartridge 17b in a direction shown by phantom arrow 77 within the clip's top end 13, the space 78 provided for insertion of that new successor top cartridge 17b being created because the plunger 43 pushes down against the clip's compression spring 16 in the direction shown by phantom arrow 79 those cartridges 17 previously loaded in the cartridge clip 11. With the new successor top cartridge 17b then positioned as illustrated in FIG. 5, the reloader's operator arm 57 can be released by the user's thumb 59 so that the successor top cartridge can be pushed into its final position where the cartridge's flange 50 abuts the clip's rear wall 80. In other words, the plunger 43, being continuously spring 54 biased toward the ready position illustrated in FIG. 3, the operator need only release the operator arm 57 to remove the plunger from the spring clip 11. As the plunger 43 is spring 54 biased out of the clip's interior, the plunger's cartridge contact surface 48 does not contact the cartridge's primer 49 because that primer rides in the plunger's groove 47. Successor top cartridges 17b are thereafter installed in the cartridge clip 11 until the cartridge clip is full.

Use of the FIG. 6 embodiment, from the standpoint of the operator arm 57 and plunger 43, is the same as use of the FIGS. 1-5 embodiment. On the other hand, in the FIG. 6 embodiment the reloader's floor 38 is initially positioned in the proper location by pin 39 and bores 40-42 depending on the clip's length L. Further, the clip 11 itself is installed with the reloader 10 in a direction laterally, as shown by phantom arrow 29 of the clip's longitudinal axis 81 so as to locate it easily within the reloader's sleeve 25 and against the reloader's handle 31. With the clip 11 so seated (in a position not shown) the reloader's latch 75 is dropped from the unlatch position shown to the latch position (not shown) where it also aids in holding the cartridge clip in operational assembly with the reloader 10.

A second alternative embodiment of the reloader of this invention is particularly illustrated in FIGS. 7-10. In this second alternative embodiment, the plunger 43, spring unit (not shown, but analogous to spring unit 51) and operator arm 57 have the same structure, and function in the same way, as the analogous components in the FIGS. 1-5 embodiment and in the FIG. 6 first alternative embodiment. However, in this second alternative embodiment the reloader's sleeve 80 and the reloader's handle 81 are of significantly different structure than those embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 and FIG. 6. In this regard, in this second alternative embodiment the reloader's handle 81 incorporates a different stop 82 structure for providing a support against which the closed end 14 of the cartridge clip 11 is abutted when the clip is engaged in operational relation with this reloader embodiment. And further, this second alternative embodiment reloader includes an adjustable control 83 by which the depth D of the reloader's sleeve can be adjusted to accommodate cartridge clips of a greater depth D' as well as cartridge clips of a lesser depth D". These two features in combination, i.e., the adjustable stop 82 which the closed end 14 of the cartridge clip 11 is abutted when the clip is engaged in operational relation with the reloader, and the adjustable control 83 which allows the sleeve 80 to accept clips 11 of either a greater depth D' or a lesser depth D" in operational relation with the reloader, permits the reloader of this second alternative embodiment to be functional with a wide size variety of cartridge clips.

More particularly, the sleeve 80 of the second reloader embodiment is a closed sleeve, adapted to receive the cartridge clip 11 in seated relation during reloading, see FIG. 8. The sleeve 80 is open at its top end 85 and also at its bottom end 86. But the sleeve 80 is not open at any point around its periphery 87 (i.e., the sleeve is closed around its entire periphery, contrary to the sleeves 25 in the FIGS. 1-5 and FIG. 6 reloader embodiments). A sleeve depth control 83 is connected to the sleeve 80 so as to define face wall 88 of the sleeve at one end of the sleeve. This sleeve depth control 83 is connected at that end of the sleeve 80 opposite to the sleeve's other end at which the plunger 43 is pivotally connected. The sleeve depth control 83 includes face wall 88 which is eccentrically mounted between the sleeve's side walls 89, 90, see FIGS. 9 and 10. The face wall 88 is formed integral with circular hubs 91, 92 at each end so that the face wall 88 is eccentrically mounted relative to the rotational axis 93 defined by those hubs. The hubs 91, 92 are seated in the sleeve's side walls 89, 90 as shown particularly in FIG. 10. A slot 94 in the outer face of hub 92 allows a screwdriver or the like to rotate the depth control 83 between an inner location (shown in solid lines in FIG. 9) where it is positioned to serve a cartridge clip 11 of lesser depth D", and an outer position (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 9) where it is located to serve a cartridge clip of greater depth D'.

The stop 82 connected with the reloader's handle 81, as previously noted, provides a support against which the cartridge clip's closed end 14 is abutted when the clip 11 is engaged in operational relation with the reloader, see FIG. 8. This stop 82 is adjustable for cartridge clips 11 of various lengths so as to accommodate cartridge clips of multiple different lengths in the embodiment shown. The stop 82, as shown in FIGS. 7, 7A and 8, includes a latch pin 95 fixed to a slideable latch plate 96, the latch pin being adapted to cooperate with a series of latch bores 97 in the reloader's handle inside face. A cartridge clip abutment 98 is formed integral with the latch plate 96. The latch plate 96 includes outwardly flaring wings 99 at one end adapted to ride in slide tracks 100 defined by flanges 101 that extend outwardly from the latch plate. Thus, and when the latch pin 95 is not engaged with a latch bore 97, i.e., when it is sprung away from the reloader's handle 81, the latch pin and the latch plate 96 can be slid back and forth along the reloader's handle until the desired position of the abutment 98, i.e., of the stop 82, is achieved. A latch handle 102 is connected to the latch plate's other end above the latch pin 95. This latch handle 102 allows the reloader's user to lift the latch pin 95 out of a latch bore 97 by simply flexing the latch plate 96 (the latch plate being fabricated, preferably, from a flexible plastic material) away from the reloader's handle 81, and then causing the latch plate and latch pin to slide along the handle's tracks 100 until the desired stop position is achieved. At the final location, the latch handle 102 is simply released, the inherent memory of the plastic latch plate 96 causing the latch pin 95 to flex down into the preferred latch bore 97. In the final latched position, the abutment or stop face 98 of the stop 82 cooperates with the bottom edge 14 of the cartridge clip 11 to hold that clip in desired position relative to the reloader's plunger 43, as shown in FIG. 8 .