Firearm and Method of Assembly with Two-Stage Independent Taper-Lock Barrel Nuts
A firearm assembly has a barrel and a barrel receiving unit for receiving the barrel. A primary barrel nut is disposed over the barrel and mating with the barrel receiving unit. A primary end of the barrel is mated to a barrel extension. The primary barrel nut has an internal shoulder making contact with a shoulder of the barrel extension. A secondary barrel nut is disposed over the barrel and mating with the primary barrel nut to align the barrel with the barrel receiving unit. The internal shoulder of the primary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension can be flat or beveled. The secondary barrel nut has an internal shoulder contacting a shoulder of the barrel. The internal shoulder of the secondary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel are beveled or tapered.
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The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/265,701, filed Dec. 20, 2021, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates in general to firearms and, more particularly, to a firearm and method of assembly with two-stage independent taper-lock barrel nuts.
BACKGROUNDModern firearms are designed and manufactured to operate with multiple inter-operational components and often with modular construction. In one example, an AR-10 or AR-15 style sporting rifle 100 uses a modular construction with an upper receiver 102 and lower receiver 104, as shown in FIG. la. Lower receiver 104 is characterized by trigger guard 106, trigger assembly 108, pistol grip 110, and magazine well 112. Buttstock 114 attaches to lower receiver 104.
Upper receiver 102 is characterized by bolt carrier assembly, forward assist, charging handle, and gas-operated reloader. Ejector 118 provides for exit of spent cartridges from upper receiver 102. Barrel assembly 120 with handguard 122 attaches to upper receiver 102. Lower receiver 104 is attached to upper receiver 102 by removable rear take-down pin 124 and forward pivot pin 126. Removing rear take-down pin 124 allows upper receiver 102 to hinge and rotate about forward pivot pin 126, see
Barrel assembly 120 is typically secured to upper receiver 102 with a single barrel nut. The barrel nut torques the barrel to upper receiver 102. Unfortunately, the single barrel nut does not ensure, and generally does not provide, properly alignment between the bore of the barrel and the bore of upper receiver 102. Any misalignment between the bore of the barrel and the bore of upper receiver 102 can cause wear on the bolt, catastrophic failure of the bolt, and un-torqueing of the barrel extension due to vibration and heat expansion. Moreover, even when the barrel is properly secured to the upper receiver via the barrel nut and barrel extension, the ignition of ammunition inside the barrel chamber still can cause the length of the barrel to move, i.e., “whip,” due to harmonic vibration. The harmonic vibration decreases the reliability and accuracy of the barrel.
and
The following describes one or more embodiments with reference to the figures, in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements. While the figures are described in terms of the best mode for achieving certain objectives, the description is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Upper receiver 202 includes bolt carrier assembly, forward assist, charging handle, and gas-operated reloader. Ejector 218 provides for exit of spent cartridges from upper receiver 202. Barrel assembly 220 with handguard 222 attaches to upper receiver 202. Lower receiver 204 is attached to upper receiver 202 by removable rear take-down pin 224 and forward pivot pin 226. Removing rear take-down pin 224 allows upper receiver 202 to hinge and rotate about forward pivot pin 226, see
In
Barrel assembly 276, 278 is mounted to upper receiver 202 using a two-stage or double independent taper-lock barrel nut assembly, as will be described in
In accordance with the embodiment of
In
In
By nature of internal beveled or tapered shoulder 316 contacting beveled or tapered shoulder 268, barrel 230, and correspondingly bore 242, is centered and aligned with upper receiver 202. Secondary barrel nut 300 is tightened to 54-108 newton meters (nm). Once the barrel alignment is secure, primary barrel nut 280 is tightened to 54-108 nm to lock barrel assembly 276 to upper receiver 202. The proper alignment between upper receiver 202 and bore 242 of barrel 230 avoids wear on the bolt, catastrophic failure of the bolt, and un-torquing of the barrel extension due to vibration and heat expansion. The proper alignment between upper receiver 202 and bore 242 of barrel 230 reduces harmonic vibration, while increase dynamics, durability, and accuracy of sporting rifle 200.
Barrel assembly 278 can also be mated to upper receiver using the double barrel nut 280 and 300 assembly process, similar to
As shown in
While one or more embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail, the skilled artisan will appreciate that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A firearm assembly, comprising:
- a barrel;
- a barrel receiving unit adapted for receiving the barrel;
- a first barrel nut disposed over the barrel and mating with the barrel receiving unit; and
- a second barrel nut disposed over the barrel and mating with the first barrel nut to align the barrel with the barrel receiving unit.
2. The firearm assembly of claim 1, further including:
- a barrel extension, wherein a first end of the barrel is mated to the barrel extension; and
- the first barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder making contact with a shoulder of the barrel extension.
3. The firearm assembly of claim 2, wherein the internal shoulder of the first barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension are beveled or tapered.
4. The firearm assembly of claim 2, wherein the internal shoulder of the primary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension is flat.
5. The firearm assembly of claim 1, wherein the second barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder contacting a shoulder of the barrel.
6. The firearm assembly of claim 1, wherein the internal shoulder of the second barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel are beveled or tapered.
7. A firearm assembly, comprising:
- a barrel;
- a barrel receiving unit;
- a primary barrel nut contacting the barrel and mating with the barrel receiving unit; and
- a secondary barrel nut contacting the barrel and mating with the first barrel nut.
8. The firearm assembly of claim 7, further including:
- a barrel extension, wherein a first end of the barrel is mated to the barrel extension; and
- the primary barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder making contact with a shoulder of the barrel extension.
9. The firearm assembly of claim 8, wherein the internal shoulder of the primary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension are beveled or tapered.
10. The firearm assembly of claim 8, wherein the internal shoulder of the primary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension is flat.
11. The firearm assembly of claim 7, wherein the secondary barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder contacting a shoulder of the barrel.
12. The firearm assembly of claim 7, wherein the internal shoulder of the secondary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel are beveled or tapered.
13. The firearm assembly of claim 7, wherein the primary barrel nut is threaded onto the barrel receiving unit and the secondary barrel nut is threaded onto the primary barrel nut.
14. A method of making a firearm assembly, comprising:
- providing a barrel;
- inserting the barrel into a barrel receiving unit;
- disposing a first barrel nut over the barrel and mating with the barrel receiving unit; and
- disposing a second barrel nut over the barrel and mating with the first barrel nut to align the barrel with the barrel receiving unit.
15. The method of claim 14, further including:
- providing a barrel extension, wherein a first end of the barrel is mated to the barrel extension; and
- the first barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder making contact with a shoulder of the barrel extension.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the internal shoulder of the first barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension are beveled or tapered.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the internal shoulder of the primary barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel extension is flat.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the second barrel nut comprises an internal shoulder contacting a shoulder of the barrel.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the internal shoulder of the second barrel nut and the shoulder of the barrel are beveled or tapered.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein the first barrel nut is threaded onto the barrel receiving unit and the second barrel nut is threaded onto the primary barrel nut.
Type: Application
Filed: May 11, 2022
Publication Date: Jun 22, 2023
Applicant: 03312004 LLC (Chandler, AZ)
Inventor: Thomas Afshari (Chandler, AZ)
Application Number: 17/662,994