Mounting and Attachment Assembly for Firearm Muzzle Accessories
An accessory mounting system for a firearm is provided. The system can include a connection mechanism on a barrel of the firearm for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory, and a protection mechanism having sleeve that is integrated with and movable about the muzzle end of the barrel between an extended position at least partially covering the connection mechanism and a retracted position at least partially exposing the connection mechanism. When the sleeve is in its retracted position and the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, at least a portion of the sleeve can engage the muzzle accessory to provide a partially tensioned connection and substantially prevent the muzzle accessory from inadvertent loosening or disconnection during use of the firearm. Other aspects are also described.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/563,223, filed Sep. 26, 2017.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCEU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/563,223, which was filed Sep. 26, 2017, is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if presented herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure is, in one aspect, drawn to firearms, and in particular, to systems and methods for mounting muzzle accessories to a firearm barrel.
BACKGROUNDFirearm muzzle accessories (e.g., silencers, muzzle brakes, flash hiders, etc.), typically are coupled to the muzzle end of a host firearm barrel using a threaded attachment mechanism. Threaded attachment mechanisms commonly employ screw threads that often can have sharp ridges or peaks that may pose potential problems. For example, such sharp peaks of the threads may be susceptible to damage, such as from the firearm being dropped or other inadvertent acts resulting in the threads coming into contact with a hard surface. Also, dirt and debris can collect between the threads. Such damaged or fouled threads can be difficult to repair and may impair the connection of an accessory to the barrel, or even render the firearm incapable of accepting or connecting to muzzle accessories. In the past, detachable members with internal threads that simply thread onto and over the exposed muzzle threads of the barrel have been used to protect the muzzle threads when a muzzle accessory is not installed. Such protectors, however, are not always handy or easy to quickly remove and attach. At times, these protectors potentially require tools to facilitate their removal, and may become easily misplaced when not attached to the barrel. Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists to address these and other related, and unrelated, problems in the art.
SUMMARYBriefly described, the present disclosure is directed to, in one aspect, a mounting and attachment system/assembly for mounting firearm muzzle accessories, such as silencers, flash hiders, muzzle brakes, adapters, blast shields, etc., to the barrel of a firearm. The mounting and attachment assembly generally will be mounted at the muzzle or distal end of the barrel. The barrel generally will include an elongated body having an internal bore and a proximal or breech end opposite the muzzle end thereof. The barrel also typically will have a connection mechanism (e.g., one or more threads or other engagement portions), disposed along the muzzle end thereof. The connection mechanism may be configured to matably engage with a corresponding connection mechanism of a muzzle accessory, such as one or more corresponding threads or other engagement portions.
The mounting and attachment assembly further will include a protection mechanism that can be movable along and/or substantially integrated with the barrel. For example, the protection mechanism may include a biased sleeve integrated with and movable along or about the muzzle end of the barrel. The sleeve can be biased towards a forward, extended position under the force of a biasing member (e.g., one or more springs or other biasing element or elements) received about or adjacent the muzzle end of the barrel. The sleeve further can be moved in a rearward direction to a rearward, retracted position, as the biasing force acting thereon is overcome, such that the muzzle threads will be exposed/revealed and ready to accept the threaded portion of the muzzle accessory, and the sleeve can be maintained in such a position by the muzzle accessory attached to the barrel. Upon removal of the muzzle accessory, the sleeve may be returned to its extended or forward position, for example, under biasing force of the spring, to at least partially cover or conceal the muzzle threads to provide substantial protection therefor.
The sleeve further generally can be dimensioned to substantially cover, without necessarily engaging, the threads of the barrel in a manner sufficient to enable freedom of movement of the sleeve, while also generally blocking/retarding entry of dirt and debris between the threads and sleeve, and to prevent damage to the muzzle threads if/when the muzzle end of the barrel comes into contact with a hard surface. Additionally, with the sleeve in its retracted position and a muzzle accessory attached to the barrel, at least a portion of the sleeve (e.g., its forward face or rim) may contact or otherwise engage a rear end portion or face of the muzzle accessory, such that the force of the spring is transmitted through the sleeve and against the muzzle accessory to further provide at least a partially tensioned connection, which also may help substantially prevent the muzzle accessory from becoming inadvertently unscrewed, loosened, or disconnected during use of the firearm.
Various features, objects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
It will be understood that the drawings accompanying the present disclosure, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various aspects, features, advantages and benefits of the present disclosure, and together with the following detailed description, serve to explain the principals of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, accordingly, in practice, various features of the drawings discussed herein are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various features and elements shown or illustrated in the drawings and/or discussed in the following Detailed Description may be expanded, reduced or moved to an exploded position in order to more clearly illustrate the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth herein.
Referring now in greater detail to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, as shown in
As further shown in
An example of a muzzle accessory 36 can include a silencer such as generally shown in
At least part of the locking section or portion 138 can have a frustroconical or partial conical shape/configuration with one or more surfaces 139 that are tapered or angled with respect to the longitudinal axis LA of the barrel (
Additionally, as generally shown in
For example, as shown in
Additionally, as shown in
In one aspect, the protection mechanism 40 can include a sleeve 50 having a body 52 with a proximal or rearward end 52a and a distal or forward end 52b (
The sleeve body 52 additionally can incorporate a front sight 60 that can be formed/integrated therewith, or alternatively can be mountable to and/or detachable therefrom (
Further still, the sleeve body 52 can include one or more holes or apertures 70 defined therein as shown in
The fastener 72 additionally can have an unthreaded section 78. With the fastener 72 at least partially received in the hole(s) 70, the unthreaded section 78 may at least partially extend from an opening 80 of the hole and be at least partially received within a slot or groove 82 defined along an exterior surface 84 of the reduced diameter section. In one example, the reduced diameter section 24 can include a pair of opposing longitudinal slots 82 that are arranged about top and bottom portions of the barrel as generally shown in
In addition, the fastener 72 can further help substantially limit or otherwise regulate the travel of the sleeve 50 along the barrel and may prevent its inadvertent removal therefrom. For example, when the sleeve 50 is in the extended/forward, covering position 44, without a muzzle accessory 36 attached to the barrel 8, the unthreaded portion 78 of the fastener 72 may contact or otherwise engage a forward or distal portion 86 of the slot to prevent removal of the sleeve from the barrel. Also, with the muzzle accessory 36 attached to the barrel 8 and the sleeve 50 in the retracted rearward position 46, the unthreaded portion 78 of the fastener 72 can contact a rearward or proximal portion 88 of the slot to prevent over-stressing of the spring 42. Still further, the fastener 72 also may ensure the front sight is aligned with a rear sight of the firearm.
Turning to
The mounting system/assembly 2 further can include a locking geometry 110, including locking features, such as a series of teeth 112 or other suitable projections, arranged or positioned at least partially about the front/forward face 48 of the sleeve 50, as generally shown in
For attaching a muzzle accessory to a firearm, a user can slidably urge or otherwise the sleeve 50, which can be coupled to or integrated with the barrel 8 of the host firearm, in the rearward direction D1 to its rearward, retracted position 46, overcoming the spring force biasing the sleeve to its forward, covering position 44, such that muzzle threads 28 or other connection mechanism for connecting a muzzle accessory to the firearm are at least partially uncovered or revealed and ready to accept corresponding threads or other connection mechanism of the muzzle accessory 36. Thereafter, the muzzle accessory 36 can be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the barrel 8 of the firearm, e.g., to be substantially coaxial therewith; and, with the sleeve at least partially retracted or moved rearward to enable access to the muzzle threads or other connection mechanism, can be matably engaged with the muzzle threads or other connection mechanism.
The sleeve can be held in its retracted position by a user, e.g., using their hand, or the muzzle accessory can be pressed against the sleeve, and the muzzle accessory 36 can be rotated, e.g., in a clockwise direction, to tighten and move the muzzle accessory against and along the barrel until at least a portion of a rear end 39 of the muzzle accessory 36 contacts or otherwise engages an annular shoulder 38 or self-aligning or self-locking surface 139 of the barrel substantially proximate the muzzle threads 28. Once the muzzle accessory is mounted on the muzzle of the barrel, the sleeve 50 can be released such that a forward face 48 thereof engages and presses against at least a portion of the rear end 39 of the muzzle accessory under force of the spring, to thereby generate a non-trivial stress across the muzzle threads and the corresponding threads of the muzzle accessory to substantially prevent loosening therebetween during operation of the firearm. To remove the muzzle accessory, the muzzle accessory may be rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and upon removal of the muzzle accessory the sleeve may be returned to a forward, covering position under force/tension of the spring to substantially conceal and substantially protect the muzzle threads. In the embodiment with a locking geometry 110, as shown in
The foregoing description generally illustrates and describes various embodiments of the present invention. It will, however, be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the above-discussed construction of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed herein, and that it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as being illustrative, and not to be taken in a limiting sense. Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed to cover various modifications, combinations, additions, alterations, etc., above and to the above-described embodiments, which shall be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, various features and characteristics of the present invention as discussed herein may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the invention, and numerous variations, modifications, and additions further can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A firearm, comprising:
- a receiver;
- a barrel including an elongated body having an internal bore defined therethrough, wherein a breech end of the barrel is attached to the receiver, and a muzzle end of the barrel includes a connection mechanism disposed therealong for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory;
- a protection mechanism including sleeve received over and movable along the muzzle end of the barrel, wherein the sleeve is dimensioned and/or configured to substantially cover the connection mechanism sufficient to enable the sleeve to move thereover, while substantially protecting the connection mechanism from engagement and entry of debris between the connection mechanism and the sleeve; and
- a biasing member coupled to the sleeve and configured to apply a force thereto so as to bias the sleeve toward an extended position covering the connection mechanism, while allowing the sleeve to move toward a retracted position upon overcoming the force applied by the biasing member, to at least partially expose the connection mechanism sufficient to enable engagement of the muzzle accessory therewith,
- wherein when the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, the biasing member urges at least a portion of the sleeve into engagement against a rear end portion of the muzzle accessory, such that the force applied by the biasing member is transmitted through the sleeve and against the muzzle accessory, so as to create at least a partially tensioned connection between the muzzle accessory and the connection mechanism of the barrel significant to substantially react from inadvertent loosening or disconnection of the muzzle accessory during firing of the firearm.
2. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the connection mechanism includes one or more threaded portions configured to engage one or more corresponding threaded portions of the muzzle accessory for enabling attachment and/or detachment of the muzzle accessory and the barrel.
3. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the firearm accessory includes a silencer, suppressor, flash hider, muzzle break, blast shield, or blast jacket.
4. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the barrel further includes a shoulder portion that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the barrel, and is located substantially adjacent the connection mechanism in a position such that a rear end portion the muzzle accessory engages the shoulder when the muzzle accessory is connected to the barrel.
5. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the barrel further comprises a locking section having a frustroconical or partial conical shape with one or more surfaces that are tapered or angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the barrel, wherein the one or more surfaces at least partially engage a portion of the muzzle accessory to facilitate self-locking or self-alignment of the muzzle accessory as the muzzle accessory is tightened against the connection mechanism to provide a substantially secure and/or substantially aligned connection between the muzzle accessory and the barrel.
6. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the sleeve further comprises a front sight along an outer surface thereof, the front sight including having a body shaped to facilitate aiming of the firearm, and having a tab to be at least partially received within a corresponding, complementary notch defined along the outer surface of the sleeve.
7. The firearm of claim 1, further comprising a fastener received along and projecting from a body of the sleeve, and wherein the barrel comprises a slot disposed therealong, in which at least a portion of the fastener projecting from the body of the sleeve is received.
8. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the biasing member includes a wave spring at least partially received about the barrel.
9. The firearm of claim 8, wherein the wave spring includes a series of substantially flattened segments having a non-uniform, irregular configuration, and attached in series to form a composite wave spring body, with a passage defined therethrough and sized to receive at least a portion of the barrel.
10. An accessory mounting system for a firearm, comprising:
- a connection mechanism disposed along a muzzle end of a barrel of the firearm for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory;
- a protection mechanism including sleeve having a body engaged with the barrel and movable along the muzzle end of the barrel between an extended position at least partially covering the connection mechanism and a retracted position at least partially exposing the connection mechanism of the barrel; and
- a biasing member arranged along the barrel rearwardly of the muzzle end, the biasing member biasing the sleeve towards its extended position, while allowing the sleeve to move to the retracted position to accept the muzzle accessory,
- wherein when the sleeve is in its retracted position and the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, at least a portion of the sleeve is urged against the muzzle accessory to provide a tensioned connection between the muzzle accessory and the connection mechanism sufficient to substantially prevent the muzzle accessory from inadvertent loosening and/or disconnection during use of the firearm.
11. The accessory mounting system of claim 10, wherein the connection mechanism includes threads configured to engage one or more corresponding threads of the muzzle accessory.
12. The accessory mounting system of claim 10, wherein the firearm accessory includes a silencer, suppressor, flash hider, muzzle break, blast shield, or blast jacket.
13. The accessory mounting system of claim 10, further comprising a sight integrated with the sleeve to facilitate aiming of the firearm.
14. The accessory mounting system of claim 13, wherein the sight comprises a body having a tab that is configured to be at least partially received within a corresponding, complementary notch defined along the sleeve for removeably coupling the sight to the sleeve.
15. The accessory mounting system of claim 10, wherein the biasing member includes a wave spring received about at least a portion of the barrel.
16. The accessory mounting system of claim 15, wherein the wave spring includes a series of substantially flattened segments having a substantially non-uniform construction, and wherein the wave spring body includes a passage defined therethrough that is sized to receive the muzzle end of the barrel.
17. The accessory mounting system of claim 10, further comprising locking features arranged about a forward face of the sleeve and configured to engage with corresponding locking features positioned about a rear end of the muzzle accessory to substantially retard disengagement of the muzzle accessory from the barrel.
18. A method for attaching a muzzle accessory to a barrel of a firearm, comprising:
- moving a sleeve along a portion of the barrel of the firearm in a rearward direction toward a retracted position, to expose a connection mechanism of the barrel for connecting a muzzle accessory to the barrel of the firearm;
- aligning the muzzle accessory with the connection mechanism of the barrel of the firearm, and engaging the connection mechanism of the barrel with a corresponding connection mechanism of the muzzle accessory;
- maintaining the sleeve in the retracted position and rotating the muzzle accessory to tighten the muzzle accessory against the connection mechanism of the barrel until at least a portion of the muzzle accessory engages a locking surface of the barrel; and
- releasing the sleeve such that a forward face thereof is urged into biased engagement with and presses against at least a portion of the rear end of the muzzle accessory sufficient to generate a non-trivial stress between the connection mechanisms of the barrel and the muzzle accessory that substantially resists loosening of the engagement between the muzzle accessory and the barrel of the firearm during operation of the firearm.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 25, 2018
Publication Date: Mar 28, 2019
Inventor: Michael Leighton Smith (Alpharetta, GA)
Application Number: 16/141,543