Ammunition magazine and resilient member

Abstract

A magazine for storing and feeding ammunition cartridges to a small arms weapon which comprises a casing, a floor plate, a follower, and a magazine spring inside the casing. The magazine spring may comprise a first end connected to the follower, a second end connected to the floor plate, and a plurality of coils. Each of the plurality of coils may include a first segment having a first radius, a second segment having a first length adjoining the first segment, a third segment having a second radius adjoining the second segment, the second radius being greater than the first radius, and a fourth segment having a second length adjoining the third segment, the second length being approximately equal to the first length.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A magazine for storing and feeding ammunition cartridges to a small arms weapon comprising:
 a casing which comprises an upper end and a lower end;   a floor plate situated near the lower end;   a follower adjacent the floor plate; and   a magazine spring inside the casing which comprises
 a first end connected to the follower, 
 a second end connected to the floor plate, and 
 a plurality of coils, each of the plurality of coils including
 a first segment having a first radius, 
 a second segment having a first length adjoining the first segment, 
 a third segment having a second radius adjoining the second segment, the second radius being greater than the first radius, and 
 a fourth segment having a second length adjoining the third segment, the second length being approximately equal to the first length, 
 
   wherein the second radius divided by the first radius defines a coil ratio, and the coil ratio is between approximately 1.1 and approximately 1.5.   
     
     
         2 . The magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the magazine spring is preloaded for a force of approximately 15 N at a reference length of approximately 180 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The magazine of  claim 2 , wherein the magazine spring has a solid height that is less than or equal to approximately 25 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the second radius is approximately 8.1 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The magazine of  claim 4 , wherein the first radius is approximately 6.5 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The magazine of  claim 5 , wherein the magazine spring is formed from a round wire. 
     
     
         7 . The magazine of  claim 6 , wherein the round wire has an outer diameter of approximately 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The magazine of  claim 7 , wherein the round wire is music wire per ASTM A228. 
     
     
         9 . The magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the magazine spring is preloaded for a force of approximately 15 N at a reference length of approximately 75 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The magazine of  claim 9 , wherein the magazine spring has a solid height less than or equal to approximately 20 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The magazine of  claim 9 , wherein the second radius is approximately 8.1 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The magazine of  claim 11 , wherein the first radius is approximately 6.1 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the magazine spring is formed from a round wire. 
     
     
         14 . The magazine of  claim 13 , wherein the round wire has an outer diameter of approximately 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The magazine of  claim 14 , wherein the round wire is music wire per ASTM A228 
     
     
         16 . The magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the casing is configured and dimensioned to store a plurality of ammunition cartridges for a small arms weapon. 
     
     
         17 . The magazine of  claim 16 , wherein the casing is configured and dimensioned to store  30  or fewer ammunition cartridges. 
     
     
         18 . The magazine of  claim 16 , wherein the casing is configured and dimensioned to store  10  or fewer ammunition cartridges. 
     
     
         19 . The magazine of  claim 16 , wherein the casing is configured and dimensioned to store 5.56×45 mm NATO cartridges. 
     
     
         20 . The spring of  claim 16 , wherein the casing is configured and dimensioned to store .223 Remington cartridges. 
     
     
         21 . A magazine spring for an ammunition magazine for a small arms weapon comprising:
 a wire which comprises a plurality of coils, each of the plurality of coils including
 a first segment having a first radius, 
 a second segment having a first length adjoining the first segment, 
 a third segment having a second radius adjoining the second segment, the second radius being greater than the first radius, and 
 a fourth segment having a second length adjoining the third segment, the second length being approximately equal to the first length, 
   wherein the second radius divided by the first radius defines a coil ratio, and the coil ratio is at least about 1.05.   
     
     
         22 . The magazine spring of  claim 21 , wherein the coil ratio is less than about 3. 
     
     
         23 . The magazine spring of  claim 22 , wherein the coil ratio ranges from approximately 1.10 to approximately 1.50. 
     
     
         24 . The magazine spring of  claim 23 , wherein the coil ratio ranges from approximately 1.20 to approximately 1.35. 
     
     
         25 . The magazine spring of  claim 24 , wherein the coil ratio is approximately 1.25. 
     
     
         26 . The magazine spring of  claim 24 , wherein the coil ratio is approximately 1.32. 
     
     
         27 . The spring of  claim 24 , wherein the wire has a preloaded force of approximately 15 N for a reference length that ranges from approximately 75 mm to approximately 180 mm. 
     
     
         28 . The spring of  claim 24 , wherein the second radius is between approximately 7.8 mm and 8.4 mm. 
     
     
         29 . The spring of  claim 24 , wherein the first radius is between approximately 5.8 mm and approximately 6.4 mm. 
     
     
         30 . The spring of  claim 24 , wherein the first radius is between approximately 6.2 mm and approximately 6.4 mm. 
     
     
         31 . The spring of  claim 24 , wherein each of the plurality of coils has a maximum outer dimension between approximately 49.2 mm and approximately 49.8 mm. 
     
     
         32 . The spring of  claim 23 , wherein the wire is a round wire. 
     
     
         33 . The spring of  claim 23 , wherein the wire is stranded wire. 
     
     
         34 . The spring of  claim 23 , wherein the wire is shaped wire. 
     
     
         35 . The spring of  claim 34 , wherein the shaped wire is selected from the group consisting of square, rectangular, keystone, oval, elliptical, half round, or D-shaped. 
     
     
         36 . The spring of  claim 23 , wherein the wire is carbon steel. 
     
     
         37 . The spring of  claim 36 , wherein the wire is music wire. 
     
     
         38 . The spring of  claim 23 , wherein the wire is alloy steel. 
     
     
         39 . The spring of  claim 38 , wherein the wire is chrome silicon. 
     
     
         40 . A magazine for storing and feeding ammunition cartridges to a small arms weapon comprising:
 a casing which comprises an upper end and a lower end;   a floor plate situated near the lower end;   a follower adjacent the floor plate; and   a magazine spring of  claim 21  inside the casing.