US2446556A - Rear sight and latch for firearms - Google Patents

Description

9 w. A. SCHAICH 2,446,555

REAR SIGHT AND LATCH FOR FIREARMS Original Filed Oct. 10, 1945 ..1 Fig ri F5 J6 Wilbur A E| Ehui Eh Patented Aug. 10 1948 S ATS TENT FFiCE Original application October 10, 1945, Serial No. 621,647. Divided and this application May 12, 1947, Serial No. 747,580

10 Claims.

The invention as described herein may be manufactured and used b or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a rear sight and latch combination for a firearm wherein the latch yieldingly positions the rear sight while locking the receiver to the breech block.

This application is a division of my application for Automatic firearm, Serial No. 621,647, filed October 10, 1945.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rear sight and latch combination for a firearm wherein the latch yieldingly retains the rear sight in both windage and rocked over positions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple and positive spring-pressed latch to look a stock member to the breech block of a firearm; to look a tubular receiver to the breech block; and to position the rear sight both in its windage and its rocked over movements.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a rear sight and spring-pressed latch combination for a firearm of the type disclosed in my copending application for Automatic firearm, Serial No. 621,647, filed October 10, 1945.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a firearm, partly in longitudinal section, showing the rear sight and latch.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 2--'2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail rear end view of the latch showing the serrated surface thereon.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown in assembled relation a firearm having a breech block i comprising a substantially cylindrical member. A cup-shaped recess is provided therein having interior threads It to cooperate with suitable threads provided on the rear end of a tubular receiver l2. The base [3 of such recess has a cylindrical cartridge seating recess Hi centrally formed therein. The rear periphery of breech block I0 is provided with threads 43 by means of which a stock support tube 2'! is secured to breech block ll].

A flat surface I5 is provided on the top forward portion of breech block In and on this flat surface a rear sight base member I6 is rigidly (Cl. 42r-1) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) secured, as by welding or brazing. Rear sight base 15 is generally U-shaped in cross-section, having a base portion i1 and two laterally spaced, upstanding sight arm portions it and it respectively. Longitudinally extending through base portion I! is a hole 29 having the rear end portion thereof counterbored as indicated at 25.

A latch plunger 22 is slidably mounted in hole 20. Plunger 22 has an enlarged head portion 23 which cooperates in bearing relationship with the counterbore 2|. A generally rectangular latching head 25 is threadably secured to the forward end of plunger 22 which projects out of the hole 20. A spring 25 operates between head portion 23 of plunger 22 and the base of counterbore 2| to impart a rearward bias to the plunger 22 and latching head 24.

In its normal position, the head portion 23 of plunger 22 projects out of the rear of the sight base l6 and cooperates with a slot 25 in the stock tube 21 to lock such tube to the breech block 10. The head portion 23 of plunger 22 may, however, be disengaged from the stock tube by pushing the plunger forwardly against the bias of spring 25.

The bottom portion of latching head 2 in its normal position, projects downwardly through a slot 28 provided in breech block It and a slot 29 provided in the tube 52. Thus the latching head 24 will prevent relative rotation of the tube 12 with respect to the breech block iii and hence maintain these components in proper assembled relationship. The depth of the slots 28 and. 29 are proportioned so that the latching head '2?! may be disengaged from the receiver by forward movement of the latch against the bias of spring 25, followed by rotation of A rear sight 3!) is mounted between arm portions l8 and I9 upon a transverse screw 3!. Screw 3! is journaled in arm portions !8 and i9, and on the left-hand side thereof as viewed in Fig. 2, is provided with an integral, enlarged knob 32. A locking ring 33 is snapped into a groove 34 provided in the end of screw 3| projecting through arm portion I9 and thus prevents the removal of the screw 3! from the rear sight base [6.

The rear sight 30 may comprise any of several well-known types of sights having self-contained elevational adjustment means for a sight aperture 35. Such elevational adjustment of the aperture may, for example, be obtained by rotation of a sight operating sleeve 36. The details of the elevational adjustment of the aperture 35 comprise no part of this invention and will not, therefore, be further described.

Sight 30 has a depending tongue portion 31 through which is provided a threaded transverse hole 38 which cooperates with the screw 31 to provide windage adjustment of the sight by rotation of knob 32. The sight 30 is resiliently latched in either an upright position or a rocked over position through the cooperation of the upper portion of the latching head 24 with tongue portion 31. The juncture of bottom and front surfaces 39 and 40 respectively of the depending tongue portion 31 of the sight 30 is suitably shaped so that rotation of the sight between its upright and rocked over" positions will produce a forward movement of the latching head 24 against the bias of spring 25. In addition, the front surface 4!) of the sight is provided with a plurality of vertical serrations M which are engaged by similar serrations 42 in the rear latching face of the top portion of latching head 24. Thus the latching head 24 also serves to resiliently secure the sight in any selected windage position. Turning of the windage knob 32 produces a transverse movement of the entire rear sight and hence cams the latching head 24 forwardly against the bias of spring 25 a suflicient distance to permit serrations ii and 42 to disengage and then re-engage at a new position one or more notches displaced from the original position. The spacing of the serrations 3! and 42 may be conveniently selected to correspond with any desired increment of minutes of angle, such, for example, as having the space between two adjacent serrations correspond to an azimuthal sight deflection of one-half minute of angle.

From the foregoing description it is clearly apparent to those skilled in the art that there is here provided a unique rear sight and latching arrangement for a firearm. The latch member positively yet yieldingly secures the rear sight in a rocked over position and in any desired windage setting. Such latch also positively aligns and locks the receiver of the firearm to the breech block while at the same time looking a stock support member thereto. The construction of this sight and latch combination is such as to lend itself to ease of manufacture and being of simple and rugged construction does not easily get out of order and will perform its function in a highly satisfactory manner.

I claim:

1, In a firearm having a breech member and a receiver member threadably secured thereto, the improvement comprising a sight base formed on the breech member, said sight base including a pair of upstanding, transversely spaced brackets, a sight adjusting screw journaled in said brackets, a sight member supported on said screw, and a spring pressed latch having one portion thereof engageable with said sight member to resiliently position said sight member in any selected azimuth position and another portion engageable between the receiver and breech members to lock such members against relative rotation.

2. In a firearm having a breech member and a receiver member threadably secured thereto, the improvement comprising a sight base formed on said breech member, said sight base including a pair of upstanding, transversely spaced brackets, a sight adjusting screw journaled in said brackets, a sight member supported on said screw, said sight base having a longitudinally extending hole therein, a spring pressed plunger movably mounted in said hole, and a latching head portion on said plunger, said latching head portion being constructed and arranged to resiliently engage and position said sight member in any selected azimuth position, said latching head portion also being engageable between the receiver and breech members to lock such members against relative rotation.

3. In a firearm, a generally cylindrical breech member, a tubular receiver member threadably secured to the forward end of said breech member, a tubular stock member threadedly secured to the rear end of said breech member, and a spring pressed latch engageable between said breech member and said receiver member and also between said breech member and said stock member to lock such members against relative rotation.

4. In a firearm, a generally cylindrical breech member, a tubular receiver member threadably secured to the forward end of said breech member, a tubular stock member threadably secured to the rear end of said breech member, said breech member having a longitudinal hole therein lying between the facing ends of said receiver member and said stock member, said receiver member and said stock member each having a longitudinal slot therein disposed in alignment with said hole in the assembled positions of said receiver member and said stock member relative to said breech member, a spring pressed plunger movably mounted in said hole, and a latching head portion on each end of said plunger, said head portions respectively engaging said slots thereby locking said receiver member and said stock member against rotation relative to said breech member.

5. A firearm, a generally cylindrical breech member, a tubular receiver member threadably secured to the forward end of said breech member, a tubular stock member threadably secured to the rear end of said breech member, a sight base formed on said breech member, said sight base including a, pair of upstanding, transversely spaced brackets, a sight adjusting screw journaled in said brackets, a sight member supported on said screw, a spring pressed latch having a first portion thereof engageable with said sight member to resiliently position said sight member in any selected azimuth position, a second portion engageable between said receiver and breech members to lock such members against relative rotation, and a third portion engageable between said stock and breech members to lock such members against relative rotation.

6. In a firearm, a generally cylindrical breech member, a tubular receiver member threadably secured to the forward end of said breech member, a tubular stock member threadably secured to the rear end of said breech member, a sight base formed on said breech member intermediate said stock and receiver members, said sight base including a pair of upstanding, transversely spaced brackets, a sight adjusting screw journaled in said brackets, a sight member supported on said screw, said sight base having a longitudinal hole therethrough, said receiver member and said stock member each having a longitudinal slot therein disposed in alignment with said hole in the assembled positions of said receiver member and said stock relative to said breech member, a spring pressed plunger movably mounted in said hole, and a latching head portion on each end of said plunger, said head portions respectively engaging said slots thereby locking said receiver member and said stock member against rotation relative to said breech member, one of said head portions also engaging said sight memher to resiliently position said sight member in any selected azimuth position.

7. For use in a firearm, a sight base member having a pair of upstanding, transversely spaced bracket portions, a windage adjustment screw journaled in said bracket portions, a sighting member threadably supported on said screw and having two selective operating positions angularly displaced about the axis of said screw, said sight base member having a longitudinally extending hole therein, a plunger movably mounted in said hole, a latching head on said plunger having a latch surface disposed adjacent the pivoted end of said sighting member, and resilient means for biasing said plunger axially whereby said latch surface of said latching head is resiliently held in engagement with said sighting member to latch said sighting member in either of its selective angular positions.

8. The combination defined in claim 7 wherein said latch surface and the abutting surface of said sighting member are provided with a plurality of mutually engageable, transversely spaced serrations whereby said latching head resiliently secures said sighting member in any selected one of a plurality of windage positions on said windage screw.

9. In a firearm, a generally cylindrical breech member, a tubular receiver member threadably secured to the forward end of said breech member, a tubular stock member threadably secured to the rear end of said breech member, a sight base formed on said breech member, said sight base including a pair of upstanding, transversely spaced brackets, a sight adjusting screw journaled in said brackets, a sighting member threadably supported on said screw and having an upright sighting position and a rocked over position angularly displaced about the axis of said screw, said sight base having a longitudinally extending hole therein, a plunger movably mounted in said hole, a latching head on said plunger having a latch surface disposed adjacent the pivoted end of said sighting member, resilient means for biasing said plunger axially whereby said latch surface of said latching head is resiliently held in engagement with said sighting member to latch said sighting member in either of its angularly displaced positions, a depending portion on said latching head engageable between said breech and receiver members to lock such members against relative rotation, and a latching head portion on the rear end of said plunger engageable between said breech and stock members to lock such members against relative rotation.

10. The combination defined in claim 9 wherein said latch surface and the abutting surface of said sighting member are provided with a plurality of mutually engageable, transversely spaced serrations whereby said latching head resiliently secures said sighting member in any selected one of a plurality of windage positions on said sight adjusting screw.

WILBUR A. SCI-IAICH.

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