Flex-fire technology
Patent No. US9568264 (titled "Flex-fire technology") on Sep 10, 2015. The application was issued on Feb 14, 2017.
What is this patent about?
’264 is related to the field of semi-automatic firearms, specifically focusing on the fire control groups of striker-fired handguns and rifles. In traditional semi-automatic designs, the trigger relies on relatively weak spring tension to return to its reset position after a shot is fired. This dependence on spring energy can limit the speed and reliability of the reset, especially during rapid-fire sequences where the user’s finger might not fully release the trigger in time for the next cycle.
The underlying idea behind ’264 is to replace spring-dependent reset energy with a high-energy mechanical reset driven directly by the reciprocating mass of the gun bolt. By utilizing the kinetic energy of the bolt as it moves rearward under recoil, the system forces the trigger back into its forward, ready position through physical interference. This ensures a positive reset that can overcome significant finger pressure, effectively decoupling the trigger’s reset force from the weight of the trigger pull itself.
The claims of ’264 focus on a handheld semi-automatic arm that utilizes rigid mechanical contact between the trigger and the gun bolt to manage the firing cycle. Specifically, the independent claim protects a configuration where the bolt physically interfaces with the trigger to force a reset during the first half of the operating cycle. Furthermore, the claim specifies that this physical contact serves as a lockout mechanism, preventing the trigger from being depressed for up to 99% of the total cycle time.
In practice, the invention works by positioning the upper surface of the trigger in the path of the gun bolt’s travel. As the bolt moves rearward following a discharge, its bottom surface strikes and holds down the trigger, ensuring it is reset even if the shooter maintains rearward pressure. This positive mechanical reset occurs almost immediately—potentially within the first 10% of the cycle—giving the shooter the maximum possible time to react to the reset event before the bolt returns to battery.
This approach differs from prior art by eliminating the 'medium energy' spring-buffered resets that can fail if a user pulls the trigger too forcefully. By using a direct interference fit, the system provides a more robust safety and fire control mechanism that prevents premature firing until the bolt is nearly fully closed. This design allows for a lighter trigger pull without sacrificing the speed of the reset, ultimately enabling a higher rate of controlled, precise fire in close-range defensive scenarios.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2010s when ’264 was filed, semi-automatic fire control systems were typically implemented using low-energy or medium-energy trigger reset mechanisms. At a time when systems commonly relied on user-supplied energy or light mechanical springs to return a trigger to its reset position, the force available for reset was often limited to ensure a manageable trigger pull weight. In these standard architectures, hardware constraints made it non-trivial to achieve a high-energy, positive reset without increasing the resistance of the trigger pull itself, as the reset energy was generally decoupled from the primary reciprocating mass of the firearm.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement through an architectural shift in fire control dynamics, specifically by establishing a rigid mechanical link between the reciprocating gun bolt and the trigger assembly. This integration enables a high-energy trigger reset where the trigger is positively forced into a reset position by the direct mechanical reaction of the moving bolt, rather than relying on spring tension. This structural solution overcomes the constraint of low reset energy by making the reset force independent of trigger spring weight, while simultaneously providing a safety capability where the trigger is physically blocked from depression during the majority of the operating cycle.
Claims
The patent contains a total of 5 claims, with claim 1 serving as the sole independent claim. This independent claim focuses on the mechanical configuration of a handheld semi-automatic arm, specifically detailing a trigger reset mechanism that utilizes rigid mechanical contact between the trigger and the gun bolt to control trigger depression throughout the operating cycle. The dependent claims serve to further refine the firearm's design by introducing specific safety lock mechanisms, striker assemblies, sear surface arrangements, and biasing member configurations that interact with the bolt and trigger systems.
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US9568264
- Application Number
- US14850380A
- Filing Date
- Sep 10, 2015
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2017
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents