Gas Piston System Actuator Assembly for Rifle Automatic Ejection and Reload
An actuator assembly includes a piston chamber assembly having a piston chamber and a pin receiving tube extending from the piston chamber. A gas transfer pin has a first end inserted in the pin receiving tube and a second end received in a rifle sight alignment bore. The gas transfer pin has a longitudinal bore in communication with the piston chamber. A piston member is slidably received in the piston chamber and includes a piston body with a piston member extension tube. The piston body includes a raised piston portion having piston rings, and a ring divider slot positioned between the piston rings. A rod assembly has a rod engagement end received in a piston member extension tube receiving bore. A piston clip has an arm extending through both the rod engagement end and the piston member extension tube connecting the rod assembly and piston member and a spiral end.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/391,188, filed on Oct. 8, 2010. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELDThe present disclosure relates to gas piston automatic ejection and reload operating systems for rifles.
BACKGROUNDThis section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Automatic and semi-automatically operated rifles, such as the M16, also known as the AR15 automatic rifle, can include a gas operating system which uses a portion of the gas pressure generated during a firing operation to automatically eject a spent cartridge and in a continuous operation to load a new shell in the chamber for firing. Known gas operated systems for this purpose use a combination of a cylinder which receives gas pressure from a bypass line opening into the rifle barrel, and a piston slidably displaced in the cylinder by the gas pressure to operate an ejection and reload device.
Because of internal geometries of known piston and cylinder designs, these systems are subject to rapid buildup of gas residue such as burned gun powder. This buildup causes incomplete displacement or complete jamming of the piston which inhibits proper ejection of a spent cartridge and reloading of a new shell. Frequent cleaning of these systems can be required after as few as 200 rounds or less of operation.
SUMMARYThis section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
According to several embodiments, an actuator assembly for a weapon gas piston ejection and reload system includes a piston chamber assembly having a kidney shaped piston chamber and a pin receiving tube homogenously extending from an end of the piston chamber. A gas transfer pin has a first end slidably inserted in the pin receiving tube and a second end slidably received in a pin alignment bore of a rifle sight. The gas transfer pin has a pin longitudinal bore in communication with the piston chamber. A piston member is slidably received in the piston chamber and includes a piston body and a piston member extension tube extending axially away from the piston body. The piston body includes a raised piston portion having at least two piston rings; and a ring divider slot positioned directly between the at least two piston rings. An operating rod assembly has a rod engagement end slidably received in an engagement end receiving bore of the piston member extension tube. A piston clip has a clip arm extending through both the rod engagement end and the piston member extension tube to releasably connect the operating rod assembly to the piston member, and a clip spiral end having a bend leg bending greater than 120 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of piston clip.
According to further embodiments, the at least two piston rings of the piston member include first, second and third piston rings having first and second ring divider slots between successive ones of the piston rings. The piston member further includes a transition portion changing an elevation of the piston member extension tube with respect to a lower face of the piston body.
According to still other embodiments, the gas transfer pin is further slidable within the pin receiving tube during installation of the actuator assembly in the weapon to accommodate dimensional tolerances differing between differing ones of the weapon.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONExample embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
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Piston member 60 includes a piston body 62 having a raised piston portion 64 at a free end thereof. Raised piston portion 64, as well as piston body 62, is kidney-shaped to be slidably received within a kidney-shaped piston chamber 66 of a piston chamber assembly 68. Operating rod assembly 58 is releasably connected to piston member 60 as follows. A piston clip 70 of a steel material such as spring steel is used to releasably join operating rod assembly 58 to piston member 60. First, a second rod engagement end 72 of second rod member 54 has a diameter which is sized to be slidably received within an engagement end receiving bore 74 of a piston member extension tube 76 extending axially from piston member 60. Second rod engagement end 72 is slidably disposed within engagement end receiving bore 74 until a contact portion 77 of second rod member 54 contacts an end face of piston member extension tube 76. At this time, a first clip receiving bore 78 created through second rod engagement end 72 is co-axially aligned with a second clip receiving bore 80 transversely created through piston member extension tube 76. A clip arm 82 of piston clip 70 is slidably inserted through both second clip receiving bore 80 and simultaneously through first clip receiving bore 78 to releasably couple operating rod assembly 58 to piston member 60. By rotating piston clip 70 with respect to a longitudinal axis of clip arm 82, a clip spiral end 84 can be engaged to the outer perimeter of second rod member 54 preventing removal of clip arm 82 and thereby acting as a locking device to releasably lock piston clip 70 onto second rod member 54.
Once piston member 60 is releasably connected to operating rod assembly 58 using piston clip 70, a gas transfer pin 86 has a first end slidably inserted into a gas transfer pin receiving tube 88 of piston chamber assembly 68 until friction forces restrict further insertion. To retain gas transfer pin 86 and piston chamber assembly 68, a retention pin 90 is frictionally received in a retention pin bore 92 proximate a free end of gas transfer pin 86, which will be described in better detail with reference to
With actuator assembly 46 thus assembled, a bolt carrier 94 is slidably inserted into a barrel port 96 of receiver 14 such that a chamber 97 of receiver 14 is aligned with a shell port 98 of bolt carrier 94. With bolt carrier 94 thus positioned, an impactor end 100 of first rod member 52 is co-axially aligned such that impactor end 100 can strike an impact member 102 of bolt carrier 94 to axially displace bolt carrier 94 within receiver 14. A threaded bore 104 of a barrel nut 106 connected to barrel 28 is threadably connected to a plurality of male threads 108 of delta ring 44 to threadably connect barrel 28 using threaded bore 104 to delta ring 44.
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A pin longitudinal bore 138 extending axially within gas transfer pin 86 opens into piston chamber 66. A gas entrance bore 140 created in gas transfer pin 86 is oriented perpendicular with respect to and opens into pin longitudinal bore 138, and is aligned to open into a gas transfer chamber 142. Gas transfer chamber 142 is created in a leg portion 144 of second sight mounting leg 40. Leg portion 144 is in direct contact with an outer perimeter portion of barrel 28. Front sight 32 is positioned on barrel 28 to align transfer chamber 142 with an exhaust gas bypass port 146 which is oriented transverse to barrel longitudinal axis 128 and opens into a rifle bore 148. As a shell 150 travels through rifle bore 148 of barrel 28 to the right as viewed in
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After shell 150 exits rifle bore 148, the pressure within rifle bore 148 quickly returns to atmospheric pressure, which also allows a remaining portion of the gas within piston chamber 66 to return through an opposite path and via exhaust gas bypass port 146 to equalize with atmospheric pressure in rifle bore 148. At this time, a biasing force acting on operating rod assembly 58 via bolt carrier 94 returns both operating rod assembly 58 and piston member 60 to the fully extended position shown in
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Features and dimensions of the actuator assembly 46 of the present disclosure are described herein with respect to use with an M16 rifle. It should be evident these features and dimensions are not limited to the M16 rifle and can be varied to use an actuator assembly of the present disclosure in other rifles or weapon systems.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. An actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system, comprising:
- a piston chamber assembly having a piston chamber and a pin receiving tube integrally extending from an end of the piston chamber; and
- a piston member slidably received in the piston chamber, the piston member including: a piston body having a raised piston portion including at least two piston rings; and a piston member extension tube extending axially away from the piston body.
2. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, further including an operating rod assembly having a rod engagement end slidably received in an engagement end receiving bore of the piston member extension tube.
3. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 2, further including a piston clip having a clip arm extending through both the rod engagement end and the piston member extension tube to releasably connect the operating rod assembly to the piston member.
4. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 3, wherein the piston clip further includes a clip spiral end having a bend leg defining a continuous bend with respect to a longitudinal axis of the piston clip.
5. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, further including a ring divider slot positioned directly between the at least two piston rings.
6. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, further including a gas transfer pin having a first end slidably inserted in the pin receiving tube and a second end slidably received in a pin alignment bore of a rifle sight, the gas transfer pin having a pin longitudinal bore in communication with the piston chamber, wherein a backpressure from an expanding gas in the piston chamber during an initial use of the actuator assembly drives the piston chamber assembly forward with respect to the initially frictionally seated gas transfer pin until the pin receiving tube self seats against a flat plate portion of a hand guard cap.
7. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, wherein the raised piston portion is located at a free end of the piston body.
8. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, wherein the at least two piston rings of the piston member include first, second and third piston rings having first and second ring divider slots between successive ones of the piston rings.
9. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, wherein the piston member further includes a transition portion changing an elevation of the piston member extension tube with respect to a lower face of the piston body.
10. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 1, wherein the raised piston portion is in sliding contact between an upper inner wall and a lower inner wall of the piston chamber assembly, thereby creating an upper and a lower clearance space between the piston body and the upper and lower inner walls, the upper and lower clearance spaces providing a throttled gas discharge path to atmosphere from the piston chamber past the raised piston portion during sliding motion of the piston member.
11. An actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system, comprising:
- a piston chamber assembly having a piston chamber and a pin receiving tube homogenously extending from an end of the piston chamber;
- a piston member slidably received in the piston chamber, the piston member including a piston body and a piston member extension tube extending axially away from the piston body, the piston body having: a raised piston portion having at least two piston rings; a ring divider slot positioned directly between the at least two piston rings; a lower face; and a transition portion changing an elevation of the piston member extension tube with respect to the lower face; and
- an operating rod assembly having a rod engagement end slidably received in an engagement end receiving bore of the piston member extension tube.
12. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 11, further including a gas transfer pin having a first end slidably inserted in the pin receiving tube during installation of the actuator assembly and a second end slidably received in a pin alignment bore of a rifle sight.
13. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 12, wherein the gas transfer pin includes a pin longitudinal bore in communication with the piston chamber.
14. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 12, wherein backpressure from expanding gas in the piston chamber initially drives the piston chamber assembly forward with respect to the initially frictionally seated gas transfer pin until the pin receiving tube self seats against a flat plate portion of a hand guard cap, thereafter providing longitudinal and latitudinal support and stability at a connection of the gas transfer pin receiving tube and the gas transfer pin.
15. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 14, wherein an axial gap of approximately 0.051 to 0.089 cm (0.020 to 0.035 in) is originally present between the hand guard cap and an end of the gas transfer pin receiving tube.
16. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 11, further including a piston clip having a clip arm extending through both the rod engagement end and the piston member extension tube to releasably connect the operating rod assembly to the piston member.
17. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 16, wherein the piston clip further includes a clip spiral end having a bend leg including at least one bend bending at least 120 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of piston clip.
18. An actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system, comprising:
- a piston chamber assembly having a piston chamber and a pin receiving tube homogenously extending from an end of the piston chamber;
- a piston member slidably received in the piston chamber, the piston member including a piston body and a piston member extension tube extending axially away from the piston body, the piston body having: a raised piston portion having at least two piston rings; and a ring divider slot positioned directly between the at least two piston rings;
- an operating rod assembly having a rod engagement end slidably received in an engagement end receiving bore of the piston member extension tube; and
- a piston clip having a clip arm extending through both the rod engagement end and the piston member extension tube to releasably connect the operating rod assembly to the piston member and a clip spiral end having a bend leg defining a continuous bend of at least 120 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of the piston clip.
19. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 18, further including gas flow passage providing for gas communication between the piston chamber and a receiving tube bore separated by an end wall.
20. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 19, wherein a passage diameter of the gas flow passage is smaller than an opening of the piston chamber and a diameter of the receiving tube bore.
21. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 18, further including an actuator assembly releasably pinned using the piston clip to the piston member, the actuator assembly having:
- a bushing with a bushing bore;
- the bushing bore sized to be slidingly received about an outer diameter of a solid first rod member; and
- a second rod member having the first rod member releasably connected to the second rod member using a rod connecting member.
22. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 21, wherein a piston chamber inner length is predetermined based on a total axial throw required for the actuator assembly and thereby based on a maximum sliding displacement of the piston member.
23. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 22, wherein the piston chamber inner length is approximately 3.15 cm (1.24 in).
24. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 18, further including a gas transfer pin having a first end slidably received in the pin receiving tube and a second end slidably received in a pin alignment bore of a rifle sight, the gas transfer pin having a pin longitudinal bore in communication with the piston chamber.
25. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 24, wherein an installed position of the actuator assembly with respect to a front sight and a barrel of a rifle is defined by:
- a sliding contact between the first rod member and an outer surface of a barrel nut; and
- a transition portion upper face of the piston member being positioned at a spacing dimension with respect to a barrel longitudinal axis of the barrel.
26. The actuator assembly for a rifle gas piston ejection and reload system of claim 24, further including:
- a first end of the gas transfer pin being slidably received in a gas transfer pin receiving tube of the piston chamber assembly; and
- a second end of the gas transfer pin being slidably received in a pin alignment bore extending partially through the front sight and axis parallel with the barrel longitudinal axis;
- the gas transfer pin being further axially restrained within the pin alignment bore by extension of a retention pin through a retention pin mating bore opening into the pin alignment bore.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 23, 2011
Publication Date: Apr 12, 2012
Applicant: BRADHART PRODUCTS, INC. (Brighton, MI)
Inventors: Karl Thiele (Milford, MI), Stephan Thiele (Milford, MI)
Application Number: 13/215,696
International Classification: F41A 5/18 (20060101); F41C 7/00 (20060101);