Cartridge feeding attachment for firearms

• Main Author: CUMMINGS DAVID C
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 04.08.2009
• Subjects: BLASTING; FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS ANDORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE; WEAPONS

A cartridge feeding attachment for a firearm generally consisting of a housing attachable to the firearm having means for guiding a stack of cartridges into the cartridge chamber of the firearm along a first line of travel, a follower engageable with one of such cartridges and means disposed between the housing and the follower for biasing the follower along the first line of travel to feed a cartridge into the cartridge chamber; a sprocket supported on the housing having circumferentially spaced recesses each receiving a cartridge of a cartridge belt trained over the sprocket, and a rotational axis positioned so that upon rotational indexing thereof, a cartridge of the belt will be positioned along a second line of travel extending between the follower and a cartridge of the stack of cartridges; means displaceable along the second line of travel extending between the follower and a rearwardmost cartridge of the stack of cartridges; means displaceable along the second line of travel between a retracted position out of engagement with the cartridge of the cartridge belt positioned along the second line of travel and an extended position engaging and displacing such cartridge between the follower and the rearwardmost cartridge of the stack of cartridges; means for biasing the displaceable means in the retracted position; means for transmitting the force of expanding gases resulting from the firing of the firearm to the displaceable means, operable for displacing the displaceable means between the retracted and extended positions; and means responsive to the displacement of the follower upon actuation of the displaceable means for rotationally indexing the sprocket to correspondingly the position another cartridge of the cartridge belt along the second line of travel.