Gun Barrel Cleaning Apparatus and Method
A gun barrel cleaning tool for receiving and enclosing a gun barrel while guiding a cleaning brush back and forth through the enclosed gun barrel. Cleaning fluid is introduced through a suitable passage way into the interior of the apparatus and a cleaning brush may thereafter be passed back and forth through an enclosed gun barrel in order to clean it.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/549,717, entitled “GUN BARREL CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD” filed on Aug. 28, 2009, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND1. Field
The subject disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for cleaning gun barrels.
2. Related Art
In the past, apparatus for cleaning gun barrels has traditionally included a wire brush and a bottle of cleaning solvent.
SUMMARYThe following is a summary description of illustrative embodiments of the invention. It is provided as a preface to assist those skilled in the art to more rapidly assimilate the detailed design discussion which ensues and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims which are appended hereto in order to particularly point out the invention.
According to illustrative embodiments, a gun barrel cleaning tool is provided comprising apparatus for receiving and enclosing a gun barrel while guiding a cleaning brush back and forth through the gun barrel. Cleaning fluid is introduced through a suitable passage way into the interior of the apparatus and a cleaning brush may thereafter be passed back and forth through an enclosed gun barrel in order to clean it. Excess fluid is captured in a fluid reservoir attached at one end of the device.
In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a barrel holder component pivotally mounted to a brush guide component and a sleeve positionable in an interior chamber of the barrel holder, the sleeve being shaped and dimensioned to hold a gun barrel. The brush guide component has an opening therein at an end opposite from the fluid reservoir which permits insertion of the brush into the cleaning tool. In such an embodiment, the barrel holder may have first and second side rails and the brush guide may further have first and second slots disposed to slidably mate with the respective side rails. The brush guide may further comprise an upper housing having a cylindrical chamber and an undercarriage fastenable to the upper housing component.
In another embodiment, the gun cleaning tool comprises a lower housing section, and a handle attached to a hinged cover, the cover including a sleeve for holding a gun barrel, the cover further being shaped and dimensioned to mate with the lower housing section so as to entirely encapsulate the gun barrel. A fluid reservoir is again attached at one end of the device and entry way for a cleaning brush provided at the opposite end.
Many additional features, embodiments and advantages thereof are hereafter disclosed in more detail.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which:
An illustrative embodiment of a gun barrel cleaner tool 11 is shown in
As shown in
Referring back to
In one embodiment, a barrier may also be provided to inhibit fluid backwash toward the user. Such a barrier may be a flat machine type washer about ⅛ of an inch thick, formed, for example, out of plastic. A ⅛ inch thick washer has a cone shaped design added to it, in the middle. In one embodiment, the height of the cone may be about ½ of an inch. The opening at the small end or tip of the cone matches the diameter D6 of
As illustrated in
In an alternate embodiment shown in
The sleeve or barrel insert 41 may be formed of a soft plastic, such as, for example, urethane or silicone of, for example, approximately “SHORE 75A” softness so as not to scratch the precision machined barrel surfaces. Sleeves 41 of different inside diameters D6 may be provided to accommodate various size gun barrels, for example, such as 17, 22, 38, or 45 caliber, or 9 millimeter. Thus, in one embodiment, the barrel inserts 41 all have the same outer diameter but the inner dimensions are specific to each barrel's outer diameter, plus or minus approximately 0.007 inches. The interior of the sleeve 41 may be knurled or otherwise made irregular in order to better grip the gun barrel 13. A groove may also be formed down the entire length of the underside of the sleeve 41 to facilitate fluid flow through the tool 11.
As shown in the cross-section of
As may be appreciated, the brush guide 23 is arranged to move back and forth parallel to the central axis of the tool 11, as indicated by arrows 24 in
As shown in
The undercarriage 53 includes respective parallel slots 155, 157 formed in the opposite interior sides thereof. At the interior end 69 of the undercarriage 53, respective lips 71, 73 are formed, which may have a length “L” of, for example, 0.600 inches. The lips 71, 73 are sized and dimensioned such that the pins 75, 77 on the extending tongue portion 79 of the barrel holder 21 may each be placed behind the ends 81, 83 of the lips 71, 73, and then pulled forward in the slots 65, 67 to the position shown in
As further illustrated, for example, in
An alternative and presently preferred hinge mechanism embodiment is illustrated in
An alternative is to use an illumination source fitted into the removable fluid bottle 25. In such embodiment, a hole is first punched (approximately ¼ inch in diameter) in the removable flexible vinyl bottle 25. The hole is located 0.875 inches from the edge of the open end of the vinyl. Starting in the fully seated position, the bottle 25 is slid away from the main portion of the tool but still attached by a friction seal as it overlaps the end of the tool by approximately 0.375 inches. The hole in the vinyl is oriented upward. This location of the vinyl exposes the hole in the vinyl to the cavity portion at the end of the barrel insert 41. The user places the tip of a non-battery powered light gathering device into the hole and angles it toward the already located, gun barrel tip. The light gathering device lights up the barrel interior without allowing the fluids to drip or to contact unwanted places.
Prior to using the gun barrel cleaning apparatus of the illustrative embodiments of
-
- (a) A suitable main rod 19 of the correct length that has a swivel type bearing in the T-handle 17;
- (b) A bristle 21 that is the correct diameter for the bore or barrel size to be cleaned;
- (c) A loop type rod that screws into the end of the main rod when the bristle is removed, and
- (d) An eye dropper.
The loop type rod is like the eye of a needle only somewhat larger. A white cloth cleaning patch can be inserted through the loop, but does not easily pull out when drawn through a gun barrel. Once these items are set out, the bristle 21 is screwed onto the rod 19.
To use the tool 11, it may first be cradled in the left hand. The thumb screws 55, 57 are unscrewed until they clear the top of the rails 28, 30. The brush guide 23 is then pulled to the extended (“open”) position with the right hand. The guide 23 is allowed to drop to approximately a 90 degree angle, as shown in
When the barrel holder 21 is cradled in the user's left hand and the brush guide 23 is in the open and pivoted down position, the user then uses his right thumb and fingers to slide the barrel insert 41 into the hole until the tab 93 stops against the front edge of 21. Additionally, the insert tab 93 (
The gun barrel 13 is then placed into the barrel holder end 21 of the tool 11 by using the thumb and finger of the right hand to grip the chamber end of the barrel 13 and to direct the tip of the barrel, i.e., the “crown” into the barrel insert 41. The barrel is then pushed forward until it stops against the shoulder 40 of the barrel insert 41. The shoulder is generally two thirds of the way back from the crown on most barrel designs.
With the barrel now in the barrel insert 41 and shouldered against the soft silicone or urethane material, the brush guide 23 is lifted and drawn level with the rest of the tool 11, and then moved forward until it contacts the barrel 13, as shown in
Still holding the tool in the left palm, the user then tilts the tool 11 slightly lower towards the bottle end, and places the bristle tipped rod 19 into the cone shaped end 27 of the brush guide 23. Due to its size, the bristle 21 will not travel through the barrel by gravity alone, and hence is stopped at the chamber end of the barrel, resulting in the bristle being positioned under the tunnel 47 that is designed to route the fluid to the top of the bristle 21.
The user then takes the eye dropper in the right hand, draws up solvent, places the eyedropper into the eyedropper channel 47, and squeezes, causing the cleaning fluid to move onto the bristle 21. The bristle 21 is then plunged back and forth through the barrel until 4 or 5 passes are completed. The user then stops the bristle 21 at the entrance to the chamber and squeezes more solvent onto the bristle and continue the reciprocating cleaning action until cleaning is complete. Due to construction of the device the rod 19 remains centered in the tool 11 during this reciprocating cleaning action and hence does not contact or damage the end or “crown” of the gun barrel 13.
Inspection of the barrel to determine when to discontinue cleaning is accomplished by looking through the barrel, which can be done in several ways. One way is to remove the rod 19 and bristle 21, and the bottle end 25, and look through the barrel while it is still in the barrel insert 41. Alternatively, the brush guide 23 can be drawn back and down to position shown in
At this point, with the barrel still mounted in the device, after complete cleaning, the bristle 21 is removed and a needle type white patch holder is screwed onto the rod. A white patch is slipped into the a patch holder. The dry patch is passed through the barrel a couple of times, removing excess solvent. A new patch is inserted into the needle type rod attachment and 4 to 6 drops of oil are squirted onto the new white patch. The patch is drawn several times through the barrel. The process is repeated if the user feels it is necessary. The barrel is then removed from the device, and the outside of the barrel is wiped off to remove excess solvent. Some users like to wipe down the outside surfaces of the barrel with a small amount of oil.
An alternative gun barrel cleaner tool embodiment 111 is shown in
A collar 118 is threadably mounted on a rear portion 124 of the tool 111 and is moveable back and forth along the tool's axis as indicated by arrow 120. The collar 118 threads on to the handle 115 to hold the handle 115 in the closed position shown in
As shown in
Once a gun barrel is inserted into the sleeve 119, and the sleeve 119 is attached to the inside surface 121, the handle 115 is lowered to the closed position, and the collar 118 is rotated so as to move it forward, clamping down on the handle 115 so as to tightly close the device 111 to thereby hold the barrel 13 in place. Thereafter, the gun barrel may be cleaned in the manner described above, including the insertion of cleaning fluid via an eyedropper 127 inserted into opening 128 as shown in
When the rod is drawn all the way to the rear (or when the T handle 17 located farthest away from the device), the stop as described, may damage the bristles because they act as a stop. The stop design in
An alternative to the above described stop is to use a very small (outer diameter) washer which is slipped over the male end of the bristle before it is threaded into the rod. The approximate outer diameter of the washer would be 0.230 inches with an inner diameter to accept the standard thread pitch on most rods which is 8-32 per inch. Further this 0.230 diameter washer would interfere with the 0.200 inch diameter guide hole in the cap that is referred to in
Another barrel protector embodiment 230 is shown in
As shown in
The inwardly directed side segments 241, 243 may lie at angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal in one embodiment, while the side segments 237, 239 may be at an angle of eight degrees to the horizontal. These angles may vary in various other embodiments. In one embodiment, the protector 230 is preferably circular in cross-section such that a cross-section perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the device at any point along that axis yields a cross-section with a circular outer perimeter. The design of
A number of advantages accrue from use of a gun barrel cleaning device according to the illustrative embodiments. First, the process is rapid, hands are kept clean and the proper amount of fluid is used. Too little fluid causes excessive wear on an expensive precision machined barrel, while too much wastes money.
Another advantage is that the accuracy of the barrel is not compromised. The barrel is protected from damage during the cleaning process including damage from accidental drop or other impact, damage at the tip (crown), or damage to the precision machined inner diameter. Barrel life is also extended.
The process is also much cleaner and safer. Hands do not have copper bristles embedded, and bristle life is extended. There is also no solvent smell, no copper residue, no lead residue and no gun powder residue embedded in pores of skin, and no solvent spray or drips to contaminate footwear or clothing. The solvent collected in the fluid reservoir can be disposed of properly.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.
Claims
1. A gun barrel cleaning apparatus comprising:
- means for receiving and enclosing a gun barrel while guiding a cleaning brush back and forth through said gun barrel, and
- means for introducing cleaning fluid into an interior of said means for receiving and enclosing.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for receiving and enclosing comprises:
- an interior chamber; and
- a barrel holder having a sleeve positionable in said interior chamber, said sleeve being shaped and dimensioned to hold a gun barrel.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means for receiving and enclosing further comprises:
- a brush guide positioned to guide said brush towards said gun barrel, said brush guide further having an opening therein permitting insertion of said brush into said means for receiving and enclosing.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
- a fluid reservoir removably attached at one end of said means for receiving and enclosing.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said brush guide is pivotally mounted to the barrel holder.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the barrel holder has first and second side rails and wherein the brush guide includes first and second slots disposed to slidably mate with a respective one of said first and second side rails.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the brush guide comprises an upper housing component including a cylindrical chamber and an undercarriage fastenable to said upper housing component.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for receiving and enclosing a gun barrel comprises a lower housing section, and a handle attached to a hinged cover, the cover including a sleeve for holding a gun barrel, the cover further being shaped and dimensioned to mate with said lower housing section so as to entirely encapsulate said gun barrel.
9. Gun barrel cleaning apparatus comprising:
- a barrel protector component having outer rounded rear contours on either side of a threaded opening for receiving a barrel cleaning rod; and
- an interior threaded opening for receiving the threaded end of a barrel cleaning brush.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 7, 2011
Publication Date: May 3, 2012
Inventor: Thomas E. Loftin (Alpine, CA)
Application Number: 13/313,673
International Classification: F41A 29/02 (20060101);