Safety for a hand firearm

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention pertains to a safety for a hand firearm.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] Mechanical safeties for hand firearms are already known, in which a safety element interacting with the firing pin is activated by means of a transmission element coupled to the trigger rod. The transmission element transmits the motion of the trigger rod to the safety element such that the safety element is biased into a safety position, usually by a spring until a desired trigger point is reached. Then, the safety element is released by the rocking lever into a released position. However, if the trigger path in such safety systems is to be shortened, there is the problem that the resulting smaller shifting of the trigger rod is no longer sufficient to move the safety element from the predetermined safety position into the released position. The path provided between the safety position and the released position of the safety element should not be selected too small because otherwise the safety function could be canceled just by small vibrations or impacts. Increasing the spring force on the safety element in the safety position would in turn increase the trigger weight, which could have a negative effect on the firing behavior.

[0005] The problem dealt with by the invention is the design of a safety, which guarantees a high degree of safety against undesired firing of a shot even for a small trigger path and low trigger weight.

[0006] This problem is solved by the present invention by providing a safety with the features described in detail hereinafter. Preferred configurations and advantageous refinements of the invention are also described.

[0007] In the safety according to the invention, the transmission element for moving the safety element is first activated by the trigger rod. Only when the trigger reaches a predetermined trigger position does a control element on the transmission element reach the transmission lever in a position in which it can contact the hammer and is activated by this lever for moving the safety element into the released position. The moving of the safety element into the released position no longer has to be realized completely by the trigger rod, which means that the trigger path can be shortened. The connection between the transmission element and the hammer, however, is designed such that the movement of the transmission element through the firing pin for releasing the safety can be realized only when the trigger is located in the desired trigger position. This configuration guarantees safety against undesired firing of a shot even for a shortened trigger path.

[0008] In a structurally preferred configuration, the control element on the transmission element engages in a lateral recess of the hammer until the predetermined trigger position is reached. The control element contains a rear control surface, which is led into contact with a radial cam of the hammer only in the predetermined trigger position in order to generate the movement of the safety element into the released position by the hammer.

[0009] The transmission element is preferably formed as a rotary lever, which can be manufactured as a stamped and bent part. The control element is a bracket, which is bent inwards and whose rear side has a control surface for contact with the radial cam of the hammer. The transmission element with the control element, however, can also be produced from a solid block or realized in some other way.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a trigger 1, which is arranged in a not-shown handle, an insert, or another suitable part of a hand firearm so that it can rotate about a trigger pin 2. The front end of a trigger rod 3 is hinged to a part of the trigger 1 lying above the trigger pin 2 such that the trigger rod 3 is moved forward when the trigger 1 is activated. In the rear region of the trigger rod 3, on the bottom side there is a projection 4, which is bent inwards and which is used to activate a releasing lever, which is not shown here. The hammer 6 that can rotate about a hammer shaft 5 and that is biased by a hammer spring is released by the releasing lever for striking a firing pin 7. This function is known, so that the illustration of the releasing lever interacting with the projection 4, as well as other components not required for the description of the safety have been omitted for reasons of clarity.

[0017] In the rear region of the trigger rod 3, on its top side there is a tab 8, which projects upwards and which engages with a connecting piece 9 bent outwards in the direction of the trigger rod 3 at the lower end of a transmission element 11 that can rotate about a transverse shaft 10. The upper end 12 of the transmission element 11 embodied as a rotary lever contacts a safety element 14, which is biased downwards by a spring 13 and which has an inner projection 15 extending in the direction of the firing pin 7 for engaging in a corresponding lateral safety groove 16 on the firing pin 7. By means of the transmission element 11, the safety element 14 embodied as a safety slide can move between a lower position shown in FIG. 1, in which the projection 15 engages in the safety groove 16 and blocks the firing pin 7, and an upper released position, in which the projection 15 is led out of engagement with the safety groove 16 and releases the firing pin 7.

[0018] The transmission element 11 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B in perspective view from both sides contains, in addition to the connecting piece 9 bent outwards, also an inward-projecting control element 17 that extends into a lateral recess 18 of the hammer 6 shown in FIG. 1 and that contains a rear, diagonal control surface 19 for engaging a radial cam 20 on the hammer 6. In the shown configuration, the control element 17 is embodied as an inward-bent bracket of the transmission element 11 and has a roof- or wedge-shaped cross-section. The transmission element 11 with a hole 21 is preferably formed as a stamped and bent part from sheet metal. The radial cam 20 located above the recess 18 is designed such that this is then led into contact with its control surface 19 for rotating the transmission element 11 only when the trigger 1 is activated. Otherwise, the control element 17 is led without contacting the hammer 6 into the recess 18 embodied, e.g., as an open cut section, so that the safety element 14 does not shift into the upper released position due to the hammer 6.

[0019] The function of the safety is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 3–5.

[0020] FIGS. 3A and 3B show an untensioned starting position, in which the trigger 1 is located in an unactivated front position and the hammer 6 is located in an untensioned position away from the firing pin 7. In this starting position, the safety element 14 embodied as a safety slide is forced by the spring 13 into the lower safety position, in which the projection 15, which cannot be seen here, engages in the associated groove 16 of the firing pin 7 and prevents its axial movement. The transmission element 11 embodied as a rotary lever receives a force from the safety element 14 biased downwards by the spring 13 such that the outward-bent tab 9 contacts the projection 8 of the trigger rod 3. As can be seen especially from the enlarged detailed view in FIG. 2B, the inward-pointing control projection 17 of the transmission element 11 engages in the recess 18 in this position without contacting the hammer 6, such that for an unactivated trigger 1, both in the shown position of the hammer 6 and also for unintended pulling of the trigger and striking of the hammer 6 on the firing pin 7, there is no contact between the firing lever 6 and the transmission element 11, and therefore also no further shifting of the safety element 14 into the released position. The safety element 14 remains in the bottom safety position, so that the firing pin 7 cannot move, and thus also cannot trigger an unintended shot.

[0021] FIG. 4 shows the safety shortly before the firing of a shot. The trigger 1 is located in a triggered position, wherein the trigger rod 3 has been moved forward and also downwards at its rear end through a control diagonal 22 in connection with the hammer shaft 5 simultaneously acting as a control element for releasing the hammer 6. In this way, the transmission element 11 was also turned in the counterclockwise direction by means of the tab 8 and the bent-forward connecting piece 9, and therefore the safety element 14 was shifted upwards into the shown intermediate position. In this intermediate position, the projection 15 of the safety element 14 is also still engaged in the lateral groove 16 of the firing pin 7 and prevents its movement.

[0022] When the hammer 6 is released in the position of FIG. 4, the radial cam 20 on the hammer 6 is led, shortly before it strikes the firing pin 7, into contact with the control surface 19 of the transmission element 11 and thus ensures that it is turned further in the counterclockwise direction and thus shifts the safety element 14 embodied as a control slide into the upper released position shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. In the upper released position of the safety element 14, the rear projection 15 is located in a longitudinal open cut section 23 of the firing pin 7, so that the safety of the firing pin 7 is raised. The movement of the safety element 14 from the still-locked intermediate position into the upper released position is initiated by an activated trigger 1, thus by the hammer 6.