Collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly

Abstract

A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly has a shoulder stock 18 coupled with a pair of guide rods 20, 22 slideable in respective guide holes 14, 16 of a housing 12. A locking mechanism including locking members engageable with guide rod recesses 26, 28 provided in the guide rods has an actuator 30 that is movable in the lengthways direction of the guide rods to release the locking members to allow sliding movement of the shoulder stock relative to the housing.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprising:
 a housing provided with a first guide hole and a second guide hole;   a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod that is inserted in said first guide hole and a second guide rod that is inserted in said second guide hole, the guides rods being configured so as to be able to slide in the respective guide holes to allow movement of said shoulder stock relative to said housing; and   a locking mechanism comprising at least one locking member releasably engageable with at least one guide rod recess defined by said guide rods to limit said movement of the shoulder stock relative to said housing, and a user operable actuator that is movable in i) a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock to release said at least one locking member from engagement with said at least one guide rod recess to allow said guide rods to slide in said guide holes so that said shoulder stock can move relative to said housing and ii) a second direction that is towards said shoulder stock to cause said at least one locking member to engage said at least one guide rod recess.   
     
     
         2 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said actuator is mounted in a bore provided in said housing, said bore having an open end facing said shoulder stock and configured to enable said user to operate said actuator. 
     
     
         3 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 2 , further comprising a resilient biaser disposed in said bore to bias said actuator in said second direction. 
     
     
         4 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said housing has a face that faces said shoulder stock, said bore extends into said housing from said face and said actuator has an end that protrudes from said face when said at least one locking member is in releasable engagement with said at least one guide rod recess. 
     
     
         5 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said first guide rod is provided with at least one first guide rod recess and said second guide rod is provided with at least one second guide rod recess and said locking mechanism comprises a first said locking member that is releasably engageable with said at least one first guide rod recess and a second locking member that is releasably engageable with said at least one second guide rod recess. 
     
     
         6 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said actuator is configured to cause said first and second locking members to move in opposite directions when said actuator moves in said second direction. 
     
     
         7 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said first guide rod is provided with a plurality of said first guide rod recesses and said second guide rod is provided with a plurality of said second guide rod recesses and each said first guide rod recess is disposed opposite and facing a said second guide rod recess. 
     
     
         8 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said actuator is provided with recessing to receive said at least one locking member when said actuator is moved in said first direction. 
     
     
         9 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said at least one locking member comprises at least one rolling element. 
     
     
         10 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said actuator is provided with at least one inclined face that faces said shoulder stock and is configured to drive said at least one locking member in a radially outwards direction when said actuator moves in said second direction. 
     
     
         11 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said actuator moves parallel to said first and second guide rods when moving in said first and second directions. 
     
     
         12 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said housing is provided with a buffer tube through-hole configured to house a buffer tube. 
     
     
         13 . The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in  claim 9 , wherein said shoulder stock comprises a hole aligned with said buffer tube through-hole and configured to receive a buffer tube housed in said buffer tube through-hole at least when said shoulder stock is in a position corresponding to a fully collapsed condition of the collapsible firearm assembly. 
     
     
         14 . A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprising:
 a buffer tube housing having a hole to receive a buffer tube;   a first guide rod and a second guide rod;   a shoulder stock coupled to said guide rods; and   a locking mechanism for locking said shoulder stock in at least one fixed position relative to said buffer tube housing;   wherein said buffer tube housing is provided with respective guide holes that are configured so that said guide rods can slide in said guide holes to permit movement of said shoulder stock relative to said buffer tube housing such that the shoulder stock can be moved towards and away from said buffer tube housing in a lengthways direction of said buffer tube housing,   wherein said guide rods each have a plurality of guide rod recesses disposed at spaced apart locations along said guide rods to define respective extended positions of said shoulder stock,   wherein said locking mechanism comprises a first locking member that is releasably engageable with the guide rod recesses of said first guide rod, a second locking member that is releasably engageable with the guide rod recesses of said second guide rod and a user operated actuator operable to release said first and second locking members from engagement with said guide rod recesses, and   wherein said actuator is configured to be movable by a said user in a direction parallel to the lengthways direction of said first and second guide rods to release said first and second locking members from engagement with said recesses.   
     
     
         15 . A firearm comprising a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly, wherein said collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprises:
 a housing provided with a first guide hole and a second guide hole;
 a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod that is inserted in said first guide hole and a second guide rod that is inserted in said second guide hole, the guides rods being configured so as to be able to slide in the respective guide holes to allow movement of said shoulder stock relative to said housing; and 
 a locking mechanism comprising at least one locking member releasably engageable with at least one guide rod recess defined by said guide rods to limit said movement of the shoulder stock relative to said housing, and a user operable actuator that is movable in i) a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock to release said at least one locking member from engagement with said at least one guide rod recess to allow said guide rods to slide in said guide holes so that said shoulder stock can move relative to said housing and ii) a second direction that is towards said shoulder stock to cause said at least one locking member to engage said at least one guide rod recess. 
   
     
     
         16 . The firearm claimed in  claim 15 , wherein said firearm is of the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms. 
     
     
         17 . A method of adjusting a collapsed/extended state of a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly that comprises a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod and a second guide rod that are inserted in respective guide holes that are provided with a housing fixed to the firearm and a locking mechanism that has respective locking members that releasably engage respective guide rod recesses defined by said first and second guide rods, the method comprising:
 moving an actuator at least partially housed in said housing in a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock and into said housing to cause said locking members to disengage from said guide rod recesses to permit movement of said shoulder stock with respect to said housing.   
     
     
         18 . The method claimed in  claim 17 , further comprising using a hand to grip a pistol grip of said firearm and moving said actuator in said first direction with a thumb of said hand. 
     
     
         19 . The method claimed in  claim 18 , wherein a trigger finger of said hand is inserted in a trigger guard of said firearm. 
     
     
         20 . The method claimed in  claim 17 , wherein said actuator is moved parallel to said first and second guide rods when moving in said first direction.