Ammunition magazine

Abstract

The present invention is an ammunition magazine, preferably made of a glass fiber reinforced polymer, utilizing a structurally enhancing ridge, angular guide rails and a follower made to interface with said guide rails to reduce wobble. The preferred embodiment also features a protective cover that distributes forces from the spring to more structurally sound areas of the magazine, thus reducing feed end splay, and an ammunition indication system comprised of at least one window and a noticeable marker on the follower spring. The follower and magazine casing are also designed to interface to prevent the follower from popping out of the feed end and the floor plate of the magazine utilizes a locking plate and sliding relationship between the floor plate, locking plate and magazine to secure the floor plate onto the magazine casing. The cover features built in tools for, among other things, unloading and disassembling the magazine.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This Application claims priority on prior filed U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 958,274, filed on Dec. 17, 2007, which in turn claims priority on earlier filed U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 941,646, filed on Jun. 1, 2007. This Application incorporates both in their entirety by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to the field of firearms and more particularly relates to an improved ammunition magazine.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Ammunition magazines are well known in the art of firearms. Their basic construction is a containment shell with two open ends. One end is deemed the “floor” of the magazine and is covered by a plate while the opposite end is the “feed” end and interfaces with the weapon. Inside the volume defined by the shell and plate is a spring and follower assembly. When ammunition is loaded into the magazine, the ammunition pushes the follower down towards the floor and thereby compres...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an improved ammunition magazine that overcomes the disadvantages of existing magazines. The new magazine has lateral angularly shaped guide rails and a follower that abuts them, resulting in a more stable follower path. The magazine also features a polymer construction and an ammunition load indicator system. It also has a cover for storage. The invention is not limited to the specific details and can be applied in different ways. The patent text is important for those skilled in the art as it allows for the design of other structures, methods, and systems that achieve the same goals as the present invention.

Problems solved by technology

As the follower must move, there is room for the follower in all the known prior art magazines to move axially, or “wobble” and possibly jam.

This is notorious in the AR15 / M16 magazine style as the geometry of the magazine is inherently not uniform.

Images