US 12,631,414 B2Granted

Gun magazine including spring with uneven stack height upon compression

OwnerBrandon Vitulliinventor

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Abstract

A gun magazine spring and magazine assembly having a novel design. The coils of the spring are configured to nest in certain regions and overlap in others. The result is that—as the spring nears its fully compressed state—the spring has an uneven stack height from left to right. The uneven stack height produces a predictable lateral displacement of the follower. The higher of the two stacked sides of the spring protrudes laterally outward through a lateral relief in the follower. This feature allows the spring and follower to overlap in the vertical direction to a greater extent than would be possible with conventional laterally-even spring nesting. The additional overlap produces additional internal space while also ensuring that the spring and follower assembly behave in a predictable manner.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A magazine for feeding a plurality of cartridges into a firearm, comprising:

(a) a tube having a lower end, an upper end, a forward wall, a left wall, a rearward wall, and a right wall;
(b) a base closing said lower end of said tube;
(c) a follower within said tube, said follower being free to slide up and down in said tube;
(d) a magazine spring compressed between said base and said follower, including,
(i) a plurality of coils,
(ii) each coil in said plurality of coils including a forward region, a left region, a rearward region, and a right region,
(iii) a first quantity of said left regions being positioned to nest with other left regions upon compression of said magazine spring,
(iv) a second quantity of said right regions being positioned to nest with other right regions upon compression of said magazine spring,
(v) wherein said second quantity is less than said first quantity, so that a right side compressed height of said magazine spring is greater than a left side compressed height of said magazine spring;
(e) said follower having an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being configured to bear against said cartridges loaded in said magazine and urge said cartridges upward;
and
(f) said follower including a downward-opening spring receiver cavity:
(g) an upper portion of said magazine spring resting within said spring receiver cavity;
and
(h) said greater compressed height of said right side of said magazine spring with respect to said left side of said magazine spring producing a lateral movement of said follower with respect to said spring upon compression of said spring.

12 more elements

A magazine for feeding a plurality of cartridges into a firearm, comprising:

(a) a tube having a lower end, an upper end, a forward wall, a left wall, a rearward wall, and a right wall;
(b) a base closing said lower end of said tube;
(c) a follower within said tube, said follower being free to slide up and down in said tube;
(d) a magazine spring compressed between said base and said follower, including,
(i) a plurality of coils,
(ii) each coil in said plurality of coils including a forward region, a left region, a rearward region, and a right region,
(iii) wherein said left regions nest to a greater extent than said right regions upon compression of said magazine spring, so that a right side compressed height of said magazine spring is greater than a left side compressed height of said magazine spring;
(e) said follower having an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being configured to bear against said cartridges loaded in said magazine and urge said cartridges upward;
(f) said lower portion of said follower including a downward-opening spring receiver cavity;
(g) an upper portion of said spring resting within said spring receiver cavity and being connected to said follower by a tilt-limiting engagement;
and
(h) said greater compressed height of said right side of said magazine spring with respect to said left side of said magazine spring producing a lateral movement of said follower with respect to said spring upon compression of said spring.

9 more elements

A magazine for feeding a plurality of cartridges into a firearm, comprising:

(a) a tube having a lower end and an upper end;
(b) a base closing said lower end of said tube;
(c) a follower within said tube, said follower being free to slide up and down in said tube;
(d) a magazine spring compressed between said base and said follower, including,
(i) a plurality of coils,
(ii) each coil in said plurality of coils including a forward region, a left region, a rearward region, and a right region,
(iii) wherein one of said left or right regions nest to a greater extent than the other of said left or right regions upon compression of said magazine spring, causing a first side compressed height of said magazine spring to be greater than a second side compressed height of said magazine spring;
(e) said follower having an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being configured to bear against said cartridges loaded in said magazine and urge said cartridges upward;
(f) said lower portion of said follower including a spring receiver cavity;
(g) an upper portion of said spring resting within said spring receiver cavity and being connected to said follower by a tilt-limiting engagement;
and
(h) said greater first side compressed height of said magazine spring with respect to said second side compressed height of said magazine spring producing a lateral movement of said follower with respect to said spring upon compression of said spring.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/884,263Filed 13 Sep 2024 · continuation in part
Priority: 8 Mar 2023
Published: US 2025/0003708 A12 Jan 2025
Granted: 19 May 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

F41A 9/70
Box magazines having a cartridge follower: arrangements thereon for discharging, e.g. cartridge followers or discharge throats
F41A 9/69
Box magazines having a cartridge follower: characterised by multiple-row or zigzag arrangement of cartridges
F41A
Functional features or details common to both smallarms and ordnance

Family

Application18/118,952Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 8 Mar 2023
US 2025/0003708 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Jan 2025
US 12,241,711 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2024/0302119 A1Published application
US 12,631,414 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.