This invention relates to suppressors or silencers for firearms. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and method for connecting individual baffle members and spacer members within a suppressor or silencer.
To fire a bullet from a firearm, gunpowder is ignited behind a bullet. The gunpowder creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas. The pressure of the gas forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end of the firearm barrel, the pressure behind the bullet is immense and just like popping the cork on a bottle; the “pop” sound it creates is very loud. The sound is from the initial pressure wave coming out the barrel. Additional gas comes out after the initial pressure wave but not as much as the initial wave.
Known suppressors or silencers typically consist of an outer housing that is connectable to the end of the rifle barrel by screw threads. Traditional suppressors or silencers have a larger volume compared to the barrel (20 or 30 times greater). With the suppressor or silencer in place, the pressurized gas behind the bullet has a big space to expand into, decreasing the pressure of the heated gas. When the bullet finally exits through the hole in the suppressor or silencer, the pressure being released is decreased; therefore, the sound of the gun firing is much softer.
The interior of the housing of typical suppressors or silencers support a plurality of individual cone-shaped baffle members separated by spacer members. There is a balancing act with suppressors or silencers used with many firearms. The baffles within the suppressors are needed to divert the gas from the bore in order to allow the gas to expand and depressurize; but, if the suppressor or silencer is too efficient in slowing gas down, it builds up an excess amount of pressure in the firearm barrel and causes the firearm to malfunction.
In a traditional suppressor or silencer, the baffles are welded into position between a series of spacers using filler rod. During a fusion welding process, some of the filler rod material ends up being elevated above the original diameter of the baffle and spacers and the excess filler rod material must be milled or lathed away prior to putting the outer tubular casing over the baffle and spacers. When part of the weld is removed, it makes the joint weaker.
There is a point of diminishing returns on efforts to eliminate sound from a firearm since a suppressor cannot eliminate the supersonic shockwave, or “crack” caused by the bullet traveling in excess of the speed of sound. Instead, it is important to focus on inventive concepts that allow the suppressor or silencer to be made smaller, cheaper, stronger, more durable and/or lighter in weight.
As such, there would be an advantage of having a more efficient way to weld the baffles into position between spacers that does not require the use of filler rod and then subsequent milling or lathing to remove excess material.
The present invention seeks to meet these needs by providing a stronger, more durable, and potentially shorter and lighter suppressor by using a baffle/spacer joint wherein the diameter of the individual spacers is slightly larger than the diameter of the adjacent baffle members. Additionally, the thickness of the spacer member casing increases as it approaches the joint. This configuration produces a joint such that the entire well seam is inside the diameter of the spacer, i.e. no material extends beyond the diameter of the spacer. The extra material on the spacer at the baffle/spacer joint is used for the filler material in the welding process, thus eliminating the need for a filler rod and subsequent milling or lathing of excess material, resulting in a stronger welded joint.
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For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, this specific language intends no limitation of the scope of the invention, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional aspects of the system (and components of the individual operating components of the system) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/490,259 filed Apr. 26, 2017. The entire contents of the above application are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62490259 | Apr 2017 | US |