This invention relates to a Bullet Trap and relates particularly but not exclusively to a bullet trap for use with weapons that are used in military or like applications.
Hitherto, bullet traps have been known. In some cases, bullet traps are provided for use with rocket launchers in order to capture a bullet that is fired with the rocket launcher and used as a consequence of the detonation to generate gas pressure for the launching of the rocket. Desirably, the bullet is not required to travel with the rocket and is therefore captured. The resulting gas pressure, in turn, launches the rocket and may even detonate the rocket for continued flight. In other applications, such as training of military personnel, it is desired to use blanks so as to prevent death. As a safety precaution, in the event that ball ammunition is loaded in the weapon, a bullet trap is provided. Bullet traps can therefore act as a safety device to capture bullets that may be accidentally discharged. Known bullet traps can cause hazards to the weapon operator, damage to the weapon and have a limited capacity for capturing multiple bullets.
There is a need for an alternative bullet trap.
Therefore, according to a first broad aspect of the present invention there is provided A bullet trap comprising a hollow body for connecting to a muzzle end of a weapon that can fire a bullet, the body having a chamber into which a bullet can be fired, said chamber having a io plurality of baffles located one behind the other in an aligned series arrangement and being for absorbing the kinetic energy of a fired bullet to enable the bullet to be trapped and held within the body,
each of said baffles having a thickness at the centre of an axis of travel of the bullet less than the thickness at a radially outwardly distant position, whereby to provide for a deformation at the centre of a first of the series of baffles before there will be engagement of a centre of second and subsequent baffles.
In one example said body is a two part body, one part comprising said chamber and the other part comprising a stem that is fittable within a bore end of said weapon, and wherein parts are releasably attached to each other.
In one example the bullet trap comprises a fragment shield positioned in front of said baffles, said fragment shield acting to assist shielding from at least some fragments that may break off a bullet striking one or more of said baffles and otherwise clogging a gas outlet vent to said chamber.
In one example the bullet comprises a gas discharge shield external of the discharge end of a venting aperture through which gas can be discharged, consequent on firing of a bullet or blank, so that the discharge shield will direct discharged gas in a direction corresponding to the direction of firing of the bullet and not rearwardly.
In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained, an example for use with a rifle manufactured by Thales Australia will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Typically, such rifles/weapons utilise F1 ball ammunition manufactured by Thales Australia.
In the drawings:
Throughout the specification, the term “bullet” is to encompass ball ammunition and other similar ammunition which fires projectiles.
Referring firstly to
The bullet trap 1 also comprises a fragment shield 29 that is positioned in front of the baffles 27 (relative to a direction of firing of a bullet) and acts to assist shielding from at least some fragments that may break off a bullet striking one or more of the baffles 27 and otherwise returning in an opposite direction to the direction of firing and into gas outlet vents (to be described hereinafter).
The bullet trap 1 also comprises a gas discharge shield 31 which is used to direct any gas discharged from the firing of the weapon in direction corresponding to the direction of firing of the bullet, and not rearwardly towards the person operating the weapon 3. The gas discharge shield 31 is releasably fastened to the body 11 by screw threadably fastening to the one part 13 by screw thread 33. The gas discharge shield 31 therefore provides a narrow forwardly directing annular passageway 35 between its internal cylindrical surfaces and the external cylindrical surfaces of the one part 13.
A tell tale shot detector 39 is positioned between and against the fragment shield 29 and the end of the other part 15 that is attached to the one part 13. The tell take shot detector 39 can be used to permit a person to visually determine if the bullet trap 1 has been used for trapping a bullet by noting a visible change of the integrity of the tell tale shot detector 39. Thus, a person can release the one part 13 from another part 15 and visibly inspect the tell tale shot detector 39 for any visible disconformity and change in integrity that would be caused on the passage of the bullet 5 from the weapon 3. Alternatively a go/no go gauge may be used. If blank ammunition is used then a gauge consisting of a rod of diameter larger than the tell tale shot detector bore is inserted into the bullet trap and it will stop at a specific length when it engages the tell tale shot detector. On the other hand if a bullet has passed through the tell tale shot detector then the same gauge will sink further into bullet trap thus signalling that a bullet was fired. The tell tale shot detector 39 has a central aperture 41 to allow gases which may generate on firing of a blank shot to pass into the chamber 13 and then out through at least one vent 37 and the annular passageway 35.
A compression sleeve 43 is located within the chamber 17 between and against a first baffle 27 and the fragment shield 29. The compression sleeve 43 is of a suitable length so that when the one part 13 and the another part 15 are attached to one another, the compression sleeve 43 will be axially longitudinally compressed and cause the baffles 27 to matingly engage with each other at the distal end 25 of the chamber 17 and to cause the fragment shield 29 to be urged in the direction towards the other part 15. The compression sleeve also suitably spaces the fragment shield 39 relative to the first baffle 27.
A lock in the form of a locking pin 45, or any other suitable lock, may be utilised to lock the gas discharge shield 31, said one part 13, and said other part 15 from releasable attachment to each other until the lock is released. In this case, the locking pin 45 passes through suitable apertures in the gas discharge shield 31, the one part 13, and the another part 15 where they are screw threadably attached to each other. Unlocking occurs by radially outwardly moving the locking pin 45 to a position where it is removed from those apertures. The gas discharge shield 31 can then be unscrewed from the one part 13, and the one part 13 can then be unscrewed from the other part 15.
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Typically, for use with an Austeyr A1/A2rifle manufactured by Thales Australia, the first part 13 will have an overall length of approximately 88 mm. The chamber 17 will have a length of approximately 77 mm. The diameter of the chamber 17 will be approximately 15 mm and the outer diameter of the one part 13 that extends parallel with the bore of the chamber will have a diameter of 24 mm. The overall length of the another part 15 will typically be 61 mm. The baffles 27 typically have a diameter of 14.9 mm and a thickness of approximately 5 mm. The radius of the domed recess will be typically 8 mm, and the open face of the dome has a maximum diameter of 11.9 mm. The thickness of the material at the centre of the longitudinal axis will be 2.3 mm. The length of the fragment shield 29 will be typically 13 mm with the external diameter being approximately 14.9 mm. The gas discharge shield 31 typically has an external diameter of 31 mm and an internal diameter of 26 mm. The external surface may be suitably knurled. The compression sleeve 33 can have an external diameter of 14.9 mm with an internal diameter of 12.9 mm, and a length of 16 mm. The tell tale shock detector 39 may have a diameter of 8 mm and a thickness of 2 mm. The central aperture may be 1.3 mm in diameter.
The one part 13, the another part 15, the gas discharge shield 31, the fragment shield 29, and the tell tale shot detector 39 may all be manufactured from steel and finished with a manganese phosphate coating The baffles 27 may be manufactured from steel to AS1443/1045 or 4040 quality and manganese phosphate coated.
Tests with an example of the bullet trap described above show that up to eight bullets can be captured without there being significant change to the external surface of the bullet trap.
It should be appreciated that because the baffles 27 have a generally spherical concave impression, a bullet is guided towards the centre of mass. This assists in reducing the transfer of energy from one baffle to the next as the bullet moves forwardly through the baffles into the bullet trap device. The gap between adjacent baffles therefore facilitates the transfer/absorption of kinetic energy from the bullet in a progressive manner and does not act like a collective solid mass of baffles 27. Once a baffle 27 is penetrated by a bullet, the back edges of the baffle 27, being the edges facing the direction of the receipt of the bullet, act as catching edges and reduce any spawling from the bullet travelling into the gas vents.
Modifications may be made to the example described above without departing from the ambit of the invention. For example, instead of fastening the one part 13 and another part 15 and discharge shield 31 to each other by screw threaded fastening means, other fastening means may be utilised. One of these alternative fastening means may include bayonet type rotating fastening means. Similarly, the bullet trap 1 may be fitted to the end of the weapon 3 by any suitable convenient fastening attachment means and need not be screw threaded as shown in the example. For example other fastening means such as bayonet type screw fastening means may be utilised. Whilst eight baffles 27 have been shown, other numbers of baffles 27 may be included and the appropriate length readjusted to accommodate the number of baffles 27 utilised.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.
These and other modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of the invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007902058 | Apr 2007 | AU | national |
This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/AU2008/000476, filed 3 Apr. 2008, which claims benefit of Ser. No. 2007902058, filed 19 Apr. 2007 in Australia and U.S. Ser. No. 60/944,136, filed on 15 Jun. 2007 and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. This application is based on and claims the benefit of the filing dates of Australian provisional application 2007902058 filed 19 Apr. 2007, and U.S. provisional application 60/944136 filed 15 Jun. 2007 the contents of which are incorporated herein their entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/AU2008/000476 | 4/3/2008 | WO | 00 | 11/24/2010 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2008/128276 | 10/30/2008 | WO | A |
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Extended European Search Report for corresponding European Patent Application No. 08733310.0-1260 (mailed Feb. 5, 2013). |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110056364 A1 | Mar 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60944136 | Jun 2007 | US |