Heat Sink Rail System
A method and apparatus providing for a rail system which further acts to cool a firearm. Wherein said cooling process acts by the passage of air through fins of the apparatus. Whereby said method and apparatus provides for a cooling mechanism which does not inhibit the firearm from attaching accessories.
1. Field of the Invention
The application relates to a method and apparatus for a handguard rail system on a firearm with heat dissipating qualities.
2. Prior Art
Presently, most modern automatic small projectile weapons, including machine guns, rifles, and sub-machine guns, use a handguard made of aluminum or other metals with standard picatinny rails in order to mount rifle accessories, such as a flash light, scope, red dot, laser, vertical grip and others.
Though these rails are convenient for mounts and attachments, these Aluminum and metal constructed handguards conduct heat which transfers from the barrel, chamber and gas block to the hand of the shooter quickly, as aluminum and other metals have superior heat conducting ability. To prevent pain or burning during use, shooters must wear gloves or other protection. Though wearing gloves or other protection can keep the shooter's hands safe from the issues of overheating that accompany present embodiments of the prior art, the excessive heat will transfer to the accessories on the rail and cause failure on the electronic components.
One method for fixing the problem of an overheating rail system or handguard is using polymer, wood or other heat resistant materials to form the apparatus. This method slows or stops heat transfer to the rail system by keeping the heat on the barrel of the weapon. This method can cause the barrel to overheat, which will shorten the barrel's effective life, make the weapon less accurate and reliable in its shooting and may cause dangerous cook-off (projectile fires automatically).
Most similar methods for avoiding damage or pain to the user from gripping the firing side of a firearm employ methods that remove a shooter's hand from the vicinity of the hot barrel, generally through the use of material between the grip of the user and the barrel of the firearm. This method is useful in preventing the user from hurting himself or herself, but does not cool the barrel itself and can in some cases cause more rapid overheating of the barrel. Cooling the barrel is as important if not more important than protecting the shooter's hand from painful heat because overheating the barrel will shorten the barrel's effective life, make the weapon less accurate and reliable in its shooting and may cause dangerous cook-off (projectile fires automatically).
It is common among rail systems to employ methods which attach to the barrel at both the front and back ends of the rail system. If the shooter grasps the rail system which is firmly attached to the barrel at both ends, the shooter's grip will affect the firing of the firearm negatively, therefore reducing accuracy or potentially damaging the barrel.
There exists a need for a rail system which can provide heat dissipating properties, thus preventing the overheating of the barrel or gas tube, as well as preventing the overheating of the rail system apparatus as well.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGESAccordingly, several objects and advantages of this invention are:
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- (a) To allow for the possible attachment of accessories and/or mounted attachments to the weapon;
- (b) To allow for the dissipation of heat from the barrel and gas tube to prevent overheating that may be damaging to the weapon;
- (c) To allow for the dissipation of heat from the rail system apparatus such the shooter may be able to hold the rail system with reduced danger of burning or such discomfort;
- (d) Free-float style which only attaches to the barrel at one end, reducing the impact of a shooter's grip on the accuracy of the firearm.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the embodiments and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus allowing for the dissipation of heat within a rail system for a firearm.
So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, which drawings are incorporated as a part hereof.
It is to be noted however, that the appended drawings illustrate only a typical embodiment of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1, 7With reference now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the heat sink rail system according the present invention is herein described. As can be seen in
As can be seen in
The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.
The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
OPERATION FIGS. 1, 7As can be seen in
As can be seen in
Heat transfer can occur primarily through radiation, contact, and convection. As can be seen in
Thus, the reader will see that the method and apparatus provides for the dissipation of heat produced by a firearm during operation. While the above description contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limitations of the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of a preferred embodiment of the invention. Many other variations and embodiments are possible.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Claims
1. A rail system for a firearm comprising:
- A means to provide attachments for accessories to said firearm;
- a means to cool the firearm;
- wherein said means allows air to pass through fins within said rail system;
2. The rail system from claim 1 wherein said fins are configured axially along the axis of the barrel of the firearm.
3. The fins of rail system from claim 1 wherein said fins extend inwardly or outwardly from the rail system.
4. The fins of rail system from claim 1 wherein said fins are of a certain length in order to absorb or dissipate heat, such as a length greater than 3 mm.
5. The rail system from claim 1 wherein said rail system does not touch the barrel of said firearm such that the rail system can be classified as a free-float system.
6. The rail system from claim 1 wherein said rail system further comprises a series of o-rings dividing two layers of the rail system;
7. The o-rings of claim 6 wherein said o-rings are made of non-conducting material, such as silicon.
8. The rail system of claim 6 wherein the space between the two layers of the rail system contains little or no air.
9. The rail system from claim 1 wherein the walls surrounding the space between the two layers of the rail system are of a light color such as white, such that the walls emit and absorb less heat.
10. A firearm comprising:
- A barrel and firing mechanism such that it can operate as a firearm;
- A means to cool the firearm; Wherein said means to cool the firearm is a rail system which allows air to pass through fins within said rail system;
11. The rail system from claim 10 wherein said fins are configured axially along the axis of the barrel of the firearm.
12. The fins of rail system from claim 10 wherein said fins extend inwardly or outwardly from the rail system.
13. The fins of rail system from claim 10 wherein said fins are of a certain length in order to absorb or dissipate heat, such as a length greater than 3 mm.
14. The rail system from claim 10 wherein said rail system does not touch the barrel of said firearm such that the rail system can be classified as a free-float system.
15. The rail system from claim 10 wherein said rail system further comprises a series of o-rings dividing two layers of the rail system;
16. The o-rings of claim 15 wherein said o-rings are made of non-conducting material, such as silicon.
17. The rail system of claim 15 wherein the space between the two layers of the rail system contains little or no air.
18. The rail system from claim 10 wherein the walls surrounding the space between the two layers of the rail system are of a light color such as white, such that the walls emit and absorb less heat.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 28, 2012
Publication Date: Mar 27, 2014
Inventor: Shanyao Lee (Irvine, CA)
Application Number: 13/596,907