REFERENCES CITED [REFERENCED BY]

U.S. Patent Documents

4,413,437
November 1983
Anderson

4,452,002
June 1984
Musgrave

4,464,855
August 1984
Musgrave

4,689,909
September 1987
Howard

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Conkey

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Holmes

4,993,180
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Upchurch

5,129,173
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Kuykendall

5,301,449
April 1994
Jackson

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Origoni

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Williams

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Bently

6,286,243
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Hinton

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Pikula

6,817,134
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Foreign Patent Documents

304379
November 1921
DE

693501
November 1930
FR

555367
August 1943
FR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to pistols, expressly a device for loading cartridges in a pistol magazine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A magazine is a device to store cartridges in an organized stacked manner for ease of delivering cartridges one at a time to a firing camber in a pistol.

Said magazine is a rectangular shaped ridged tube with one end open where cartridges are manually inserted by a person and then extracted mechanically by the pistol from the said opening when the magazine is in the handle (grip) of a pistol.

Pistols have become very popular for recreation and inserting cartridges in a magazine is an important but time consuming part of this activity. The said pistols are used primarily at shooting ranges where the participants are charged a fee by the hour. Prior art does not fully address this time factor, inconvenience and the cause of finger and or thumb pain in an hour or more of loading cartridges in a magazine.

Prior art for loading cartridges in a magazine is obsolete because the design expressly requires the loader to be operated in the vertical position using one finger or one thumb or one hand. The spring inside the magazine becomes more compressed as the cartridges are installed on top of each other in the magazine requiring more and more pressure by the person loading the magazine. One finger or one thumb or one hand cannot supply enough pressure on the magazine spring to completely fill a magazine with cartridges without difficulty. Prior art requires the loading device to be operated in a cumbersome, clumsy and unstable vertical position making the magazine loading process difficult particularly when loading the last few cartridges because the magazine spring becomes more compressed. To eliminate this defect present art is designed for the strength of one arm with hand, fingers and thumb to slide the device horizontally toward the open end of the magazine and at the same time the strength of the other arm with hand, fingers and thumb slide the magazine horizontally toward the loader until the loader plunger is inside the magazine providing sufficient space for the next cartridge.

Pistol manufacturers feature their own magazine designs. Some manufacturers have single stack and double stack magazines creating wide variances in magazine widths. This creates a problem for prior art, especially for loaders that enclose or straddle the magazine. Prior art assumes that variances in magazine widths require a magazine loader that is bigger, bulky, complicated, adjustable and with moving parts. These features are not satisfactory for ease of storage, transporting and using in an efficient manner especially for owners who are using more than one magazine design.

Prior art of vertical standing loaders with a curved U shaped lip to hold the closed end of the magazine in place have a problem because the lower edge extension on the closed end of some magazines is on the opposite side of the magazine and will not connect. Prior art does not comprise all the essential functions in one magazine loader design.

Present art provides the essential functions because it comprises a magazine loader designed to operate in a stable horizontal position with no moving parts, loads all sizes of magazines, compresses the magazine spring by using both arms and fingers and thumb of each hand, not cumbersome, safe, loads a magazine rapidly, no adjustments, durable, light weight, simple, thin, and small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and in small gun and cartridge carrying cases.

It is evident that present art comprises a divergent design from prior art and this will transform magazine loading because it fulfills obvious needs that have not been satisfied with prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Several prior art pistol magazine loaders are required to provide all the desired features needed in one pistol magazine loader design. Prior art of compressing the spring in a pistol magazine is expressly designed to be held by one hand in an awkward vertical position allowing only one finger or one thump of the other hand to be used restricting the amount of pressure needed.

Present art invention provides all the desired features in one pistol magazine loader comprising one pistol magazine loader designed to operate in a stable horizontal position on a flat surface with no moving parts, compresses the magazine spring by using the strength of both arms and fingers and thumb of each hand, loads all sizes of magazines by using multiple plungers, loads a magazine rapidly, no adjustments, durable, light weight, thin, not cumbersome, safe, simple, easy to use and small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and in small gun and cartridge carrying cases.

Present art provides the only device using the combined strength of both arms, and fingers and thumb of each hand to load cartridges into a magazine and is designed especially for both right handed and left handed use. To simplify the following operating instructions the dominant hand will be referred to as the right hand.

When using the present art to load cartridges in a magazine the fingers and thumb of the left hand are griping the device at one end using the rounded indentations on each side of the device with fingers on one side of the device and the thumb on the other side of the device providing maximum strength to slide the device horizontally toward the open end of a magazine and on the other end of the device the magazine is placed horizontally on the sliding area with the open end of the magazine facing one of the plungers. The palm of the right hand is placed against the back closed end of the magazine with the fingers and thumb of the right hand holding the magazine with fingers on one side of the magazine and the thumb on the other side of the magazine. The magazine and device are pushed toward each other using the strength of both arms, and fingers and thumb of each hand until the plunger is inside the magazine.

The said fingers on the right hand holding the magazine move from the magazine to the rounded indentations on the right side of the device and at the same time the thumb on the right hand holding the magazine moves to the rounded indentations on the left side of the device. The magazine and device remain in place because of the inward pressure of the fingers and thumb of the right hand in the rounded indentations and the location of the palm of the right hand behind the closed end of the magazine are preventing the magazine from moving.

The fingers and thumb of the left hand required to slide the device toward the magazine are now not needed to hold the device in position allowing the thumb and one or two fingers of the left hand to insert one cartridge into the open end of the magazine before the fingers and thumb of the right hand release there grip on the device allowing the plunger to slide out of the magazine.

When the plunger is out of the magazine the top of the newly inserted cartridge remains slightly above the magazine and is pushed down into the magazine with very little pressure using either hand or either thumb or any finger or a thumb and one or two fingers relieving the possibility of injuring any one finger, thumb or hand.

It is therefore submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements and how it is used from prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to magazine loaders. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.

The desired features and advantages of the present invention are apparent upon reviewing the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the overall view of the present invention for loading cartridges into a magazine.

FIG. 2 is the overall view of the present invention with a magazine in the ready position to be moved forward and loaded with a cartridge.

FIG. 3 is the overall view of the present invention with the plunger and cartridge in the open end of the magazine.

FIG. 4 is the overall view of the present invention with the magazine away from the plunger after receiving a cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is the overall view of device 20 in the flat and horizontal loading position ready to accept one magazine 28 (magazine not shown) at a time.

Rounded indentations 21 on the two long sides of device 20 provide solid gripping surfaces for operator's fingers 33 and 35 and thumb 34 and 36 of both hands 31 and 32 (operator's fingers and thumb of both hands not shown).

Plunger 22 and plunger 25 are different in size to accommodate the many variances in magazine 28 sizes, makes and models (magazines not shown). To further this ability the horizontal position of device 20 for loading magazine 28 (magazine not shown) provides an open uncovered top to accommodate the many variances in magazine 28 sizes, makes and models (magazines not shown).

Sliding area 24 supports magazine 28 (magazine not shown) when plunger 22 enters magazine 28 (magazine not shown) and sliding area 27 supports magazine 28 (magazine not shown) when plunger 25 enters magazine 28 (magazine not shown).

Notch 23 at the end of plunger 22 and notch 26 at the end of plunger 25 will contain each cartridge 29 (cartridge not shown) for proper alignment.

FIG. 2 is the overall view of devise 20 in the flat and horizontal loading position with magazine 28 in the horizontal position on slide area 27 ready to be pushed forward allowing plunger 25 to enter magazine 28. Fingers 33 and thumb 34 on hand 31 are gripping device 20 at one end using rounded indentations 21 on each side of device 20 with fingers 33 on one side of device 20 and thumb 34 on the other side of device 20 providing maximum strength to slide device 20 horizontally toward open end 30 of magazine 28 and on the other end of device 20 magazine 28 is on sliding area 27 with open end 30 of magazine 28 facing plunger 25. The palm (palm not shown) of hand 32 is placed against the back closed end 37 of magazine 28 with fingers 35 and thumb 36 on hand 32 holding magazine 28 with fingers 35 on one side of magazine 28 and thumb 36 on the other side of magazine 28. Magazine 28 and device 20 are ready to be pushed toward each other using the strength of both arms (arms not shown) and fingers 33 and 35 and thumb 34 and 36 of each hand 31 and 32 until plunger 25 is inside magazine 28.

FIG. 3 is the overall view of device 20 in the flat and horizontal loading position with plunger 25 inside magazine 28 and cartridge 29 in opening 30. Fingers 35 on hand 32 holding magazine 28 have moved from magazine 28 to rounded indentations 21 on the side of device 20 and at the same time thumb 36 on hand 32 holding magazine 28 moved to rounded indentations 21 on the other side of device 20. Magazine 28 and device 20 remain in place because of the inward pressure of fingers 35 and thumb 36 of hand 32 in rounded indentations 21 and the location of the palm (palm not shown) of hand 32 behind the closed end of magazine 28 (closed end of magazine not shown) are preventing magazine 28 from moving.

The fingers 33 and thumb 34 of hand 31 (fingers and thumb of hand not shown) required to slide device 20 toward magazine 28 are now not needed to hold device 20 in position allowing thumb 34 and one or two fingers 33 of hand 31 to insert one cartridge 29 into open end 30 of magazine 28 before fingers 35 and thumb 36 of hand 32 release their grip on device 20 allowing plunger 25 to slide out of magazine 28.

FIG. 4 is the overall view of device 20 in the flat and horizontal loading position with magazine 28 moved away from plunger 25 after each cartridge 29 is placed in open end 30 of magazine 28. The top of cartridge 29 remains slightly above magazine 28 requiring cartridge 29 to be moved down into magazine 28 by applying very little pressure using either hand 31 or 32 or either thumb 34 or 36 or any finger 33 or 35 or a thumb 34 or 36 or one or two fingers 33 or 35 before plunger 25 slides into magazine 28 again to receive the next cartridge 29 (hands, fingers and thumbs not shown). When using plunder 22 and sliding area 24 follow the same procedure as described for plunger 25.

In describing the device it is obvious that the present invention can have physical modifications except for the two dominant features referring to the horizontal position of the device for loading a magazine and having an open uncovered top to accommodate a verity of magazine sizes to be loaded can not be modified.