COLLAPSIBLE FIREARM BUTT-STOCK ASSEMBLY
A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly has a shoulder stock 18 coupled with a pair of guide rods 20, 22 slideable in respective guide holes 14, 16 of a housing 12. A locking mechanism including locking members engageable with guide rod recesses 26, 28 provided in the guide rods has an actuator 30 that is movable in the lengthways direction of the guide rods to release the locking members to allow sliding movement of the shoulder stock relative to the housing.
This application claims the benefit of U.K. patent application no. GB2207069.2 filed on May 13, 2022.
II. FIELD OF USEThe invention relates to collapsible firearm butt-stock assemblies.
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTThe AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms is popular due to their customisable design, which allows the construction and accessorising of the firearm for specific applications. There are many manufacturers producing and selling aftermarket components for customising AR15/M16/M4 firearms
There is a desire amongst many individual users and user bodies to have the option of selectively reducing the size of the AR15/M16/M4 firearm so that it is easier to carry or store. This is achievable by the use of collapsible butt-stock assemblies.
Examples of collapsible firearm butt-stock assemblies are disclosed by US9541347 and US9915497. The collapsible butt-stock assembly disclosed by US9541347 has a locking mechanism that is operable to lock the shoulder stock in a plurality of extended positions relative to a buffer tube housing that is secured to the rear end of the receiver of the firearm. The locking mechanism is mounted on the shoulder stock. US9915497 discloses a similar collapsible butt-stock assembly, but with the locking mechanism mounted on the buffer tube housing. In each case the locking mechanism is released by pressing a release member mounted on a side of the buffer tube housing/shoulder stock in a direction that is perpendicular to the lengthways direction of the butt-stock assembly, which is also perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the firearm.
It is an object of the invention to provide a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly that is an improvement on existing collapsible firearm butt-stock assemblies, or at least, an alternative to existing products that are on the market.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention provides a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly as specified in claim 1.
The invention also includes a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly as specified in claim 15.
The invention also includes a firearm as specified in claim 14.
The invention also includes a method of adjusting a collapsed/extended condition of a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly as specified in claim 17.
In the disclosure that follows, reference will be made to the drawings in which:
In the description that follows, use of the terms front, rear, forwards, rearwards, foremost, rearmost, leading and trailing ends is made with reference to the conventional orientation of a firearm in which the muzzle represents the front, or leading, end and the shoulder stock the rear, or trailing, end of the firearm.
Referring to
In the embodiment illustrated by
The leading end of the housing 12 is provided with one or more protrusions 42 that are configured to engage in a recess or recesses provided in the rear end of the receiver 38 so that the housing 12 is prevented from twisting relative to the receiver once the threading 36 has been screwed into the threading provided in the receiver. Thus, the housing 12 can be rigidly fixed to a receiver 38 of a firearm 40. The firearm 40 may, for example, be an autoloading firearm in the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms. This series of firearms will be well known to those skilled in the art and so the fitting of the buffer tube 34 to and construction of such a receiver will not be given here.
Although not essential, in embodiments that are configured for fitting to a firearm in the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms, the through-bore 32 has a longitudinal axis that extends parallel to the respective longitudinal axes of the first and second guide holes 14, 16 and is disposed in a first plane that is separate from and above a second plane in which the longitudinal axes of the first and second guides holes 14, 16 are disposed. Again, although not essential, for embodiments configured for fitting to a firearm in the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms, the upper portion 48 of the housing 12 (as viewed in
Referring to
The actuator 30 comprises a cylindrical actuator body 64 that is provided with recessing to receive first and second locking members, which in the illustrated embodiment are rolling elements in the form of first and second balls 66, 68. Although not essential, the recessing may take the form of a slot 70 extending around the circumference of the actuator body 64 to receive the first and the second balls 66, 68. The first and second balls 64, 66 are housed in respective transverse bores 72, 74 that extend from the blind bore 54 to the outer periphery of the actuator body 64 so that the first and second balls 66, 68 are trapped between the actuator body 64 and the first and second guide rods 20, 22 respectively. The transverse bores 72, 74 preferably have a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the first and second balls 66, 68 so that the balls are guided by the bores for radial movement generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the actuator body 64.
The actuator 30 is provided with an inclined face 76 that faces the shoulder stock 18 and is configured to drive the balls 66, 68 in a radially outwards direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the actuator when the actuator moves in the second direction. Thus, when the actuator 30 moves towards the shoulder stock 18, the balls 64, 66 are automatically caused to move in a radially outwards direction. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the inclined face 76 is the sidewall of the circumferentially extending slot 70 that disposed closest to the leading end of the actuator body 64 and facing the shoulder stock 18. The inclined face 76 extends radially outwardly and axially towards the inner end 58 of the actuator 30 from a radially innermost end at the base of the slot 70 to the outer periphery of the actuator.
The blind bore 54 extends into the housing 12 from an open end formed in a rear end face of the housing 12 that faces the shoulder stock 18. Although not essential, the trailing, or rear, end of the actuator body 64 may be provided with a reduced diameter portion defining a button 80 that projects from the housing 12, at least when the locking mechanism 24 is acting to limit movement of the shoulder stock 18 relative to the housing 12. It is to be understood that it is not essential that the actuator 30 projects from the housing 12 and all that is necessary is that it a user can engage with it to move it sufficiently far to release the balls 66, 68 so that the balls can disengage the first and second guide rod recesses 26, 28. Thus, for example, provided the actuator 30 is sufficiently wide or sufficient relief is provided at the open end of the blind bore 54 to allow user access to the actuator 30, the actuator may be entirely contained within the housing 12 under all operating conditions.
Referring to
The ends of the guide rods 20, 22 and the though-holes 86, 88 may be provided with respective complementarily engageable flat surfaces 90, 91. Similarly, respective complementarily engageable shoulders 92, 93 are provided on the guide rods 20, 22 and in the through-holes 86, 88. The configuration of the flat surfaces 90, 91 and shoulders 92, 93 is such that when the first and second guide rods 20, 22 are fully inserted into the through-holes 86, 88, the guides rods are correctly positioned so that the first and second guide rod recesses 26, 28 are disposed in opposed spaced apart pairs that are correctly orientated so as to be engageable by the first and second balls 66, 68.
The ends 94, 95 of the through-holes 86, 88 at the rear end face 99 of the shoulder stock 18 are configured to receive respective fixing screws (not shown). The ends of the first and second guide rods 20, 22 housed in the through-holes 86, 88 are provided with a threaded hole 96, 98 by means of which screws inserted into the ends 94, 95 of the through-holes 86, 88 are used to secure the first and second guide rods 20, 22 to the shoulder stock 18.
The shoulder stock 18 may be manufactured from aluminium, an engineering polymer or other suitable metals. The rear end face 99 of the shoulder stock 18 may be textured so as to provide a nonslip surface.
In use, the shoulder stock 18 may be moved between a fully extended locked position and a fully collapsed locked position and a range of extended locked positions intermediate the collapsed and extended locked positions, such as the extended locked position shown in
Starting from the extended locked position shown in
It will be understood that starting from the position shown in
It will also be understood that it is no necessary for the user to continuously press the actuator 30 into the blind bore 54 while the shoulder stock 18 is being moved towards or away from the housing 12. For example, the actuator 30 may be released ahead of the arrival of the first and second balls 66, 68 at the location of the pair of first and second guide recesses 26, 28 corresponding to the desired collapsed/extended state of the butt-stock assembly 10. In that case, the first and second balls 66, 68 will be forced radially outwardly with respective to the actuator 30 into engagement with the first and second guide rods 20, 22 and will roll along the opposing surfaces of the guide rods until they simply ‘pop out’ into engagement with the selected pair of first and second guide recesses 26, 28 as they move into alignment with them. In some embodiments, the first and second guide rods 20, 22 may be provided with a flat track 22F (
Referring to
In
In the illustrated embodiments, the first and second guide rods are each provided with five guide rod recesses, which define a fully extended condition, a fully collapsed condition and three intermediate collapsed/extended conditions. This is not to be taken as limiting and the number of guide rod recesses may be selected to provide a greater or lesser number of collapsed/extended conditions as desired. Indeed, the advantageous features of the butt-stock assembly may apply even when there is only one pair of guide rod recesses corresponding to a fully extended condition of the shoulder stock. In this connection, the skilled person will appreciate that while locking of the shoulder stock in the fully extended and intermediate extended condition is needed, for some applications it may be sufficient that the shoulder stock can be moved to a fully collapsed condition in which it may be maintained by friction between the locking mechanism and the guide rods.
In the illustrated embodiments, the locking members of the locking mechanism are rolling elements in the form of respective balls. It is to be understood that while the ease with which balls can be caused to move radially with respect to the actuator and past the opposed faces of the guides rods makes the user of balls, the use of balls as locking members is not essential. For example, in some embodiments the locking members may comprise cylindrical rods having a hemispherical guide rod engaging end and an inclined face that at least substantially complements an inclined surface of the actuator body may be used to provide locking members that move radially with respect to the actuator for engaging and disengaging respective guide rod recesses.
A feature of collapsible firearm butt-stock assemblies according to the invention is the ease with which the shoulder stock may be moved relative to the housing. The locking mechanisms of the butt-stock assemblies disclosed by US9541347 and US9915497 have actuators that are operated from a side of the butt-stock assembly, which means that they are handed. Because the actuator in a butt-stock assembly according to the invention is moved in the lengthways direction of the butt-stock assembly, it can be configured so that it is not handed. In other words, a lefthanded or righthanded user can readily operate the actuator using their dominant hand, which is not the case with locking mechanisms disclosed by US9541347 and US9915497. Furthermore, in the case of a butt-stock assembly with the locking mechanism actuator mounted on the shoulder stock as disclosed by US9541347, it is not possible for a user holding the pistol grip 100 (
In the illustrated embodiments, the actuator is housed in a housing that houses a buffer tube and through which respective guide holes for guide rods coupled to the shoulder stock extend. In some embodiments, the housing and buffer tube are particularly configured for fitting to a firearm of the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms. It is to be understood that this is not essential. In other embodiments, the housing for the actuator may be an integral part of the firearm. Furthermore, the guide holes for the guide rods may be defined by suitably configured bodies secured to the housing so that respective guide holes are defined between the housing and the bodies and the housing.
In the illustrated embodiments, there are respective locking members for releasably engaging respective sets of guide rod recesses defined by the first and second guide rod members. It is to be understood that while having the locking mechanism releasably engage guide rod recesses advantageously provides secure and stable locking of the shoulder stock in its extended position or positions, this is not essential. In currently non-preferred embodiments, a first locking member may engage at least one guide rod recess defined by one guide rod, a second locking member merely engages a surface of the other guide rod. While this configuration may not provide such secure locking as the illustrated embodiments, it should still provide stable locking that prevents twisting of the shoulder stock relatively to the housing or firearm. The above-described advantages of improved user operability may also be obtained in currently non-preferred embodiments in which the locking mechanism has only one locking member releasably engageable with one of the guide rods and the locking mechanism does not interact with the other guide rod.
In the illustrated embodiments, the guide rod recesses are disposed in pairs in opposed spaced apart relationship. This is advantageous as it allows the first and second locking members to be releasable into a common slot provided in the actuator. However, it is not essential. Although not currently preferred, in some embodiments, the first and second guide rods may be staggered and the first and second locking members corresponding staggered with respective recessing being provided in the actuator. It will also be appreciated that even when the first and locking members are aligned as in the illustrated embodiments, the actuator may be provided with separate recesses to receive the locking members when they are disengaged from the guide rod recesses. However, this would require that the actuator is mounted in the housing in a particular orientation.
It will be understood that when the shoulder stock 18 is positioned intermediate its fully collapsed position and its fully extended position, it may be considered to be in partially extended or partially extended position and correspondingly, the collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly may be considered to be in a partially extended or partially collapsed condition in this context, the terms collapsed and extended are used interchangeably herein.
Claims
1. A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprising:
- a housing provided with a first guide hole and a second guide hole;
- a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod that is inserted in said first guide hole and a second guide rod that is inserted in said second guide hole, the guides rods being configured so as to be able to slide in the respective guide holes to allow movement of said shoulder stock relative to said housing; and
- a locking mechanism comprising at least one locking member releasably engageable with at least one guide rod recess defined by said guide rods to limit said movement of the shoulder stock relative to said housing, and a user operable actuator that is movable in i) a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock to release said at least one locking member from engagement with said at least one guide rod recess to allow said guide rods to slide in said guide holes so that said shoulder stock can move relative to said housing and ii) a second direction that is towards said shoulder stock to cause said at least one locking member to engage said at least one guide rod recess.
2. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator is mounted in a bore provided in said housing, said bore having an open end facing said shoulder stock and configured to enable said user to operate said actuator.
3. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 2, further comprising a resilient biaser disposed in said bore to bias said actuator in said second direction.
4. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing has a face that faces said shoulder stock, said bore extends into said housing from said face and said actuator has an end that protrudes from said face when said at least one locking member is in releasable engagement with said at least one guide rod recess.
5. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said first guide rod is provided with at least one first guide rod recess and said second guide rod is provided with at least one second guide rod recess and said locking mechanism comprises a first said locking member that is releasably engageable with said at least one first guide rod recess and a second locking member that is releasably engageable with said at least one second guide rod recess.
6. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 5, wherein said actuator is configured to cause said first and second locking members to move in opposite directions when said actuator moves in said second direction.
7. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 5, wherein said first guide rod is provided with a plurality of said first guide rod recesses and said second guide rod is provided with a plurality of said second guide rod recesses and each said first guide rod recess is disposed opposite and facing a said second guide rod recess.
8. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator is provided with recessing to receive said at least one locking member when said actuator is moved in said first direction.
9. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one locking member comprises at least one rolling element.
10. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator is provided with at least one inclined face that faces said shoulder stock and is configured to drive said at least one locking member in a radially outwards direction when said actuator moves in said second direction.
11. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator moves parallel to said first and second guide rods when moving in said first and second directions.
12. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing is provided with a buffer tube through-hole configured to house a buffer tube.
13. The collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly claimed in claim 9, wherein said shoulder stock comprises a hole aligned with said buffer tube through-hole and configured to receive a buffer tube housed in said buffer tube through-hole at least when said shoulder stock is in a position corresponding to a fully collapsed condition of the collapsible firearm assembly.
14. A collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprising:
- a buffer tube housing having a hole to receive a buffer tube;
- a first guide rod and a second guide rod;
- a shoulder stock coupled to said guide rods; and
- a locking mechanism for locking said shoulder stock in at least one fixed position relative to said buffer tube housing;
- wherein said buffer tube housing is provided with respective guide holes that are configured so that said guide rods can slide in said guide holes to permit movement of said shoulder stock relative to said buffer tube housing such that the shoulder stock can be moved towards and away from said buffer tube housing in a lengthways direction of said buffer tube housing,
- wherein said guide rods each have a plurality of guide rod recesses disposed at spaced apart locations along said guide rods to define respective extended positions of said shoulder stock,
- wherein said locking mechanism comprises a first locking member that is releasably engageable with the guide rod recesses of said first guide rod, a second locking member that is releasably engageable with the guide rod recesses of said second guide rod and a user operated actuator operable to release said first and second locking members from engagement with said guide rod recesses, and
- wherein said actuator is configured to be movable by a said user in a direction parallel to the lengthways direction of said first and second guide rods to release said first and second locking members from engagement with said recesses.
15. A firearm comprising a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly, wherein said collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly comprises:
- a housing provided with a first guide hole and a second guide hole; a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod that is inserted in said first guide hole and a second guide rod that is inserted in said second guide hole, the guides rods being configured so as to be able to slide in the respective guide holes to allow movement of said shoulder stock relative to said housing; and a locking mechanism comprising at least one locking member releasably engageable with at least one guide rod recess defined by said guide rods to limit said movement of the shoulder stock relative to said housing, and a user operable actuator that is movable in i) a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock to release said at least one locking member from engagement with said at least one guide rod recess to allow said guide rods to slide in said guide holes so that said shoulder stock can move relative to said housing and ii) a second direction that is towards said shoulder stock to cause said at least one locking member to engage said at least one guide rod recess.
16. The firearm claimed in claim 15, wherein said firearm is of the AR15/M16/M4 series of firearms.
17. A method of adjusting a collapsed/extended state of a collapsible firearm butt-stock assembly that comprises a shoulder stock coupled to a first guide rod and a second guide rod that are inserted in respective guide holes that are provided with a housing fixed to the firearm and a locking mechanism that has respective locking members that releasably engage respective guide rod recesses defined by said first and second guide rods, the method comprising:
- moving an actuator at least partially housed in said housing in a first direction that is away from said shoulder stock and into said housing to cause said locking members to disengage from said guide rod recesses to permit movement of said shoulder stock with respect to said housing.
18. The method claimed in claim 17, further comprising using a hand to grip a pistol grip of said firearm and moving said actuator in said first direction with a thumb of said hand.
19. The method claimed in claim 18, wherein a trigger finger of said hand is inserted in a trigger guard of said firearm.
20. The method claimed in claim 17, wherein said actuator is moved parallel to said first and second guide rods when moving in said first direction.
Type: Application
Filed: May 12, 2023
Publication Date: Nov 16, 2023
Inventor: Duncan William Thomas (Worcester)
Application Number: 18/316,867