COMPARATOR FOR DETERMINING AMMUNITION UNIFORMITY

Description

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/680,311, filed Aug. 7, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

No new matter is introduced by this substitute specification.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the use of firearms and, more specifically, the ammunition used with firearms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Firearms have many uses, ranging from self-defense, military and law enforcement use, general personal use, and competitive shooting which is at the pinnacle of firearm use. Mastery of shooting, in particular for competitive shooting, is an art form requiring many athletic, psychological and physiological elements, all for the purpose of perfecting one's skill in shooting, particularly in the area of long gun shooting. The term “firearms” as used in this disclosure comprises pistols and long guns. The term “long gun” comprises rifles. The term “competitive shooting” as used in this disclosure includes comparative competition with the shooting skills of others as well as against one's self for personal shooting enjoyment and skill building.

The elements of competitive shooting go beyond the level of one's personal skills, which are controllable by the shooter. Other factors are not controllable by the shooter but can be compensated for by the shooter. At long distances, environmental factors such as wind direction, wind velocity, air pressure, humidity, and temperature come into play. Other factors include bullet drop (trajectory) and drift over a long distance. A skilled shooter can compensate for many of these factors with improved optics and experience. However, there are two particular factors that extend beyond human error or control. Those include the firearm being used and the ammunition shot from the firearm. The present invention is drawn to the latter. That is, the “comparator” of the present invention now allows the shooter to have control over the ammunition used, which includes the ability of the shooter to determine ammunition uniformity. For the shooter using boxed ammunition or even handloaded ammunition, there are variability factors that enter into the equation of maximizing the accuracy of a shot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The comparator of the present invention provides the truly serious competitive shooter with another control over his or her success. As alluded to above, the term “handloading” refers generically to the manual assembly of ammunition cartridge elements, one such element being the cartridge case, or casing (which terms will be used interchangeably in this disclosure). The cartridge case is that element which keeps all of the other elements together, those other elements comprising: a propellant (gunpowder or cordite) which is contained within the case; a primer which ignites the propellant when struck by a firing pin, the primer being seated in a pocket at the first end (or bottom) of the case; a rim, also disposed at the first end of the case, which allows an extractor to grip the casing and remove it and the spent primer from a chamber of the firearm after firing of the cartridge; and a projectile that is disposed at the open end of the case which is most often referred to simply as the “bullet”. The bullet is captured or crimped within the cartridge until firing. Handloading can also include “reloading” which refers to the handloading of previously fired cartridges.

In the area of competitive shooting, commercial grade ammunition can be used, but doing so can also introduce shooting variables that the shooter has no control over. Those variables are not impactful to the casual shooter. But they are impactful to the accuracy of the competitive shooter. Those variables include cartridge length, rim thickness, primer length and depth of the primer pocket.

The comparator of the present invention allows the competitive shooting handloader to take a number of empty cases, or empty cases with un-spent primers, measure them and sort them in such a way that each case can be segregated and uniformity of sorted cartridges can be achieved.

The foregoing and other features of the comparator that is constructed and used in accordance with the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the comparator that is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side and bottom view of a typical cartridge illustrating its elemental components.

FIG. 3 is front elevational view of the housing of the comparator shown in accordance with FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the housing shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a small primer plate that is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a large primer plate that is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a cartridge alignment plate that is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a rim thickness plate for use with the comparator.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a generic flat plate that can be used with other plates provided to support the functionality of the other plates used herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the comparator, generally identified 10 and configured in accordance with the present invention, is shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the comparator 10 comprises an inverted and generally U-shaped main housing 20 and an indicator 30 that is secured atop the housing 20. The shape of the main housing 20 is not limited to the configuration shown.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the main housing 20 comprises a body 29 having a top surface 21 and a pair of opposing legs 28, each leg 28 being flat and coplanar with the other and, together, forming a co-planar bottom 22. A cavity 23 extends between and separates the legs 28 to accommodate certain structure of the indicator 30. An aperture 24 is provided in the main housing 20 to likewise accommodate other certain structure of the indicator 30. Another aperture 27 is also provided for securing the indicator 30 to the main housing 20. The bottom 22 of each leg 28 comprises at least one threaded fastener receiver hole 25.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the indicator 30 shown comprises an upper body 31 having a display 130 and a number of push buttons 135, one of which is used to “zero out” the indicator 30 for comparative measurement which is accomplished using an indicator rod 32 having an indicator tip 33. The others control the “on/off” functionality of the indicator 30 and measurement in inches or millimeters. The indicator 30 is not limited to the type shown nor are the control buttons. The indicator rod 32 extends downwardly from the upper body 31. The indicator rod 32 includes a thumb lever 34. The thumb lever 34 is used with a spring 35 to urge the thumb lever 34 away from the main housing 20. Although the thumb lever 34 is movable along the indicator rod 32, some downward movement of the thumb lever 34 is prevented by a thread adapter 38 which is an extension of the indicator rod 32 and which provides the indicator tip 33 at its distal end relative to the indicator 30. In this way, the spring 35 can be used to resistively compress when the indicator rod 32 is urged upwardly to register a “reading” by the indicator 30 which is visible to the user via its display 130. The thread adapter 38 also includes means for axially attaching a flat 37 to that end 33 of the thread adapter 38 opposite the thumb lever 34. The flat 37 comprises a bottom surface 39 that can engage another surface which will be a surface of the cartridge 50 of the type generally shown in FIG. 2. Various embodiments of the flat 37 may be configured depending on the measurement desired or required by the user.

In FIG. 2, it will be seen that the cartridge 50 presented is generic. It includes a case 51, a first end 52 comprising a flat surface, a second end 56 comprising a mouth and a projectile (or bullet) 58 that seals the case 51 at this mouth, the projectile 58 having a tip 59. An amount of propellant (not shown) is contained within the sealed case 51. The first end 52 further comprises a circumferential rim 55, a primer pocket 53 and a primer 54. In the relevant art, primer pockets 53 comprise a variety of depths in relation to the flat surface of the first end 52 and the bottom of the pocket (not shown). Further, primers 54 can come in a number of diameters but most are considered small primers or large primers. The comparator 10 of the present invention can accommodate both. Lastly, it should be noted that the projectile 58 has a length that extends from a bottom 57 (shown in phantom view) to the tip 59. This length can be measured using the comparator 10 of this invention as will be apparent later in this detailed description.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 through 7, a number of plates are presented. Specifically, a small primer plate 60 is provided. It includes a pair of outer fastener holes 65 that coaxially align with the threaded fastener receiver holes 25 of the housing. It also includes a small primer hole 64 that coaxially aligns with the hole 24 for the indicator rod 32.

Next, a large primer plate 70 is provided. It includes a pair of outer fastener holes 75 that coaxially align with the threaded fastener receiver holes 25 of the housing. It also includes a large primer hole 74 that coaxially aligns with the hole 24 for the indicator rod 32.

Next, a cartridge alignment plate 80 is provided. It includes a pair of outer fastener holes 85 that coaxially align with the threaded fastener receiver holes 25 of the housing. It also includes a cartridge rim hole 84 the size of which is determined by the cartridge rim diameter required. This hole 84 also coaxially aligns with the hole 24 for the indicator rod 32.

Relative to the fastener receiver holes of the plates 60, 70, 80, each is not threaded and intentionally so. Each is provided to receive a cone-headed or taper-headed fastener (not shown) that effectively “pulls” the plate tight up against the main housing legs 28 and better aligns the fastener when the fastener is received within the apertures 25 of the main housing 20.

Lastly, and for particular use of the comparator 10 with the measurement of individual cartridges, a number of “V-block” plates 90 are provided. Each is like-configured to the other plates 60, 70, 80 in that fastener holes 95 are provided. However, each such plate 90 includes a V-shaped structure 94 that replaces the secondary holes of the other plates but presents the tip 59 of the cartridge 50 on center with the hole 24 for the indicator rod 32. The edges of the V-shaped structure 94 are also beveled so as to allow “capture” of the rim 55 of the cartridge 50.

In application, it is to be understood that a generic flat plate 100 having only outer fastening holes 105 (similar to those holes 65, 75, 85 of other plates and precisely aligned with the apertures 25 of the main housing 20) is used with some of the functional methodologies of the present invention.

One way of using the comparator 10 of the present invention is to place either primer plate 60, 70 (depending on whether the primer of the cartridge 50 is a small primer or a large primer) adjacent the main housing 25 and then placing the cartridge alignment plate 80 below it. This use assumes that the cartridge 50 has the primer 54 secured within it. The fasteners (not shown) having the conical heads are inserted into the plates and housing such that those three elements are attached. The first end 52 of the cartridge 50 is then placed within the cartridge rim hole 84 (which has a very small tolerance relative to the diameter of that first end 52) and the indicator tip 33 is urged downwardly via the spring 35. The indicator tip 33 stops once it reaches the top surface of the primer 54. The indicator 30 then gives a reading and the user can “zero out” the indicator display. This provides a reference point for each subsequent cartridge 50 (and primer 54) that is placed and measured in this fashion. This also allows the user to separate cartridges 50 having different primer depths and sort the cartridges 50 according to their respective measurements. In this way, the shooter knows that each cartridge 50 (and primer 54) in a segregated group of cartridges 50 will perform substantially the same way on the firing range. The thumb lever 34 that is perpendicularly positioned to the indicator rod 32 enables the user to move the indicator tip 33 once a measurement is taken. This would be a first measurement method using the comparator 10 of the present invention.

The same can be done with cartridges 50 having no primer 54 contained within the primer pocket 53. The indicator tip 33 would be moved upwardly using the thumb lever 34 and then urged downwardly to the bottom of the primer pocket, again providing the user with useful information concerning a particular grouping of cartridges 50. This would be a second measurement method using the comparator 10 of the present invention.

Additionally, the user can affix a primer plate 60, 70 to the main housing 20 and place the generic plate 100 below the primer plate 60, 70 and place a primer 54 within the primer hole 64, 74. The indicator tip 33 is urged downwardly via the lever (again, not shown) and the indicator tip 33 stops once it reaches the top surface of the primer 54. The indicator 30 then gives a reading and the user can “zero out” the indicator display. This provides a reference point for each subsequent primer 54 that is placed and measured this way. This allows the user to separate primers 54 having the same length and sort the primers 54 accordingly. This would be a third measurement method using the comparator 10 of the present invention. Knowing the length of the primer 54 helps the user when placing it within the primer pocket 53, the primer pocket depth being known by the user by means of the second measurement method referenced above.

Yet another method of use for the comparator 10 of the present invention is to determine the thickness of the cartridge rim 55. This requires use of a plate (not shown) having an opening configured such that the rim 55 can be inserted into the opening.

Prior to measuring the thickness of the rim 55, this plate would similarly be used to zero out the indicator 30. Pushing up on the indicator tip 33 via its extension by the adapter 38 and using the thumb lever 34 then allows the user to insert the cartridge rim 55 and let the indicator 30 measure thickness of that rim 55 when the spring 35 pushes the tip 33 downwardly toward and flush with the bottom surface of the cartridge 50.

Still another method of using the comparator 10 is to configure it to measure overall length of the bullet 58 of the cartridge 50. This is accomplished by securing the generic plate 100 below the main housing 20 by using fasteners (not shown) as previously described. The thumb lever 34 at the indicator tip 33 is retracted, the bullet 58 inserted such that the bottom 57 is flush with the generic plate 100 and flat of the indicator tip 33 is forced to contact the tip 59 of the bullet 58. This will allow the overall length of the bullet 58 to be determined. This is another situation where the indicator 30 can be zeroed out and the length of subsequent bullets 58 can then be comparatively measured, separated and segregated by overall bullet 58 length. In particular, bullet tips 59 can have fabrication imperfections that the user will be able to file down or otherwise remove from the bullet tips 59. The user can also reduce the overall length to similarly create uniformity in the lengths of all bullets 58 measured.

As has been disclosed, the comparator of the present invention allows the competitive shooting handloader to take a number of empty cases and/or primers, measure them and sort them in such a way that each case having those variables can be segregated for enhanced ammunition uniformity for precision shooting. In the experience of this inventor, the comparator of the present invention is not taught by the relevant prior art.