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US 11,378,352 B1Granted
Gas powered semi-automatic airgun action
AssigneeCrosman Corporation
InventorsJeffrey D. Hanson, David Snyder, Christopher Hand
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Airguns are provided with semi-automatic action.
Claims19
An airgun having:
- a valve configured to release pressurized gas when a valve stem is moved from a closed position and a range of open positions;
- a hammer biased by a hammer spring to move along a hammer path from a cocked position to drive the valve from the closed position through the range of open positions causing the valve to release a flow of pressurized gas;
- a primary sear movable between a primary sear cocked position where a primary sear hammer catch is in the hammer path to hold the hammer at a hammer cocked position to a primary sear return position where a primary sear return surface is in the hammer path;
- a secondary sear movable between a secondary sear cocked position that prevents the primary sear from moving from the primary sear cocked position to a primary sear fired position allowing the primary sear to move from the cocked position to the fired position so that the hammer can strike the valve stem;
- a secondary sear spring biasing the secondary sear toward the secondary sear cocked position;
- a trigger movable between a non-firing trigger position and a trigger fired position;
- and
- a lift movable between an engaged position mechanically linking the secondary sear to the trigger so that the secondary sear moves to the secondary sear fired position as the trigger is moved to the trigger fired position allowing the hammer to move the primary sear from the primary sear cocked position to the primary sear return position,
- wherein a portion of the gas released from the valve during firing travels to the hammer path and drives the hammer along the hammer path away from the valve stem so that the hammer travels to a return position and drives the primary sear from the return position to the primary cocked position;
- and,
- wherein the lift is disengaged after firing to allow separate movement of the trigger and the secondary sear, so that the secondary sear spring moves to the secondary sear cocked position to hold the primary sear in the primary sear cocked position before the hammer spring biases the hammer to move from the return position to a cocked position.
8 more elements
A method for operating an airgun comprising:
- positioning a hammer stop in a cocked position where the hammer stop is positioned to hold a spring biased hammer in a cocked position;
- positioning a sear in a cocked position to hold the hammer stop to prevent the biased hammer from driving the hammer stop out of the cocked position;
- receiving a user pull from a trigger from a non-fired position to a fired position;
- moving the sear in response to the received user pull of the trigger to a fired position where the sear does not stop the biased hammer from driving the hammer stop out of the cocked position;
- opening a valve in response to movement of the hammer past the cocked position to release a pressurized gas;
- using the pressurized gas to return the hammer against the bias to a return position;
- disengaging movement of the sear from movement of the trigger;
- detecting travel of the hammer to the return position and, in response, returning the hammer catch to the cocked position and moving the sear to the cocked position before the biased hammer travels from the return position to the hammer catch;
- returning the hammer to a non-fired position;
- and
- reengaging the hammer.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.