This is an original U.S. patent application.
The invention relates to accessories for improved convenience in operating automatic and semi-automatic firearms. More specifically, the invention relates to accessories for altering the trajectory of spent shells ejected from an automatic or semi-automatic firearm so that they fall nearer the shooter, and nearer each other.
Most conventional firearms rely on rapidly-expanding gasses created by rapid or explosive combustion of a material such as gunpowder to drive a projectile through a barrel and towards a target. This process is somewhat inefficient: not all of the energy in the explosion can be transferred to the projectile. However, some firearms make use of a portion of the energy to operate other mechanisms needed by the firearm. For example, semi-automatic and automatic firearms use a portion of the gas pressure to cycle the action, ejecting the spent cartridge and loading the next round. The trigger mechanism is also re-armed (and in an automatic firearm, the next round is fired if the trigger is still engaged).
Spent shells typically leave the ejection port with a fair amount of energy and fly some distance from the gun. In addition, since they are often oddly shaped and balanced, and made of a hard, springy material such as brass, they bounce and roll randomly, coming to rest over an inconveniently large area. This makes recovery of the shells for cleanup and/or reloading more difficult, particularly when a large number of rounds are fired in a short period of time (such as during target practice).
Prior-art methods to capture and/or collect ejected brass typically attach a bag or other receptacle to the gun (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,333 to Kratzer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,141 to Kohnke; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0023803 by Taylor), or place it on a stand nearby, with an opening positioned and sized to catch shells in flight (U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,241 to Pistocchi). However, these approaches are suboptimal because they interfere with the normal operation of the gun as the weight of collected brass increases, or they require that the shooter remain near the collecting bag so that ejected shells travel into the opening. New approaches for controlling ejected firearm shells may be of significant value in this field.
Embodiments of the invention are small structures designed to mount to a particular model or style of firearm in a predetermined location, where they block or obstruct the flight of a spent shell ejected from the firearm, absorb some of its kinetic energy, and deflect the shell so that it is more likely to land in a predetermined area near the shooter (and to stay near where it lands, rather than bouncing or rolling away). Since the brass tends to collect in a smaller, nearby area, cleanup is much easier. In addition, embodiments may be useful to reduce interference with other neighboring shooters (whether in practice or combat situations).
Embodiments of the invention were developed for AR-15 model firearms (it is appreciated that many variations of this gun exist, but the differences required of an embodiment to accommodate the variations are within the level of ordinary skill in the art, once the person has reviewed and understood this disclosure). Embodiments for other automatic and semi-automatic firearms can also be constructed according to the principles described herein. Both handguns and long guns may benefit.
It is appreciated that some varieties of AR-15 upper receivers have a wedge-shaped protrusion formed in the metal of the receiver, behind the ejection port. This wedge functions as a shell deflector, but its primary purpose is simply to prevent ejected shells from flying into the operator's face. An embodiment of the invention may be used with a firearm already having an existing deflector. The embodiment may be secured to the firearm away from the deflector, near the deflector, partly touching the deflector, or mounted substantially on the deflector. Shells may travel from the ejection port and strike the deflector before striking the embodiment, or the embodiment may be placed ahead of the deflector so that only the embodiment is struck. An embodiment of the invention differs from a simple, built-in deflector in several ways.
First, a deflector according to an embodiment is formed from a tough but slightly compliant material such as nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene, silicone, natural or synthetic rubber. These materials absorb some kinetic energy from an impacting projectile, causing the projectile to slow down. In an embodiment, this means that an ejected shell that strikes the deflector will lose some of its energy and travel a smaller distance from the firearm than it would if the deflector was absent.
Second, a deflector according to an embodiment is structured so that the surface impacted by an ejected shell is angled to cause the shell to bounce toward a target collection area near the shooter (rather than simply being deflected away from an undesired area, such as the shooter's face). The result of this combination of compliant material and deflecting surface orientation is that ejected shells tend to come to rest closer to the shooter, and to bounce or scatter over a smaller area than they would without an embodiment of the invention.
Deflectors according to an embodiment may be shaped or constructed differently, provided that the mounting face can be securely affixed to a predetermined location on the firearm, and that the deflection face is located suitably to absorb some impact energy from ejected shells and alter the trajectory of the shells so they land nearby. For example,
Embodiments may be secured to a predetermined location on a firearm by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, an acrylate or cyanoacrylate adhesive, an epoxy adhesive (such as a two-part epoxy), or by screws or similar fasteners. A removeable version may be secured in place using a hook-and-loop fastener, although this is less favorable (it is not as secure, and the mounting-face-to-deflection-face angle and position cannot be maintained as consistently.)
Finally, although the preceding embodiments have been monolithic, solid (or hollow) unitary structures without adjustment, an embodiment may provide an adjustable linkage such as a malleable support stem, a ball-and-socket connection, or a thermoplastic (heat-moldable) armature connecting the mounting surface and the deflecting surface so that the position and/or angle of the deflecting surface can be modified to change the direction towards which ejected-shell trajectories are adjusted.
The features of the present invention have been described largely by reference to specific examples for use on an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that beneficial spent-cartridge control can also be achieved by differently-shaped and -positioned deflectors, provided that such deflectors have the key features identified above, and as recited the following claims.
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