The disclosure generally relates to firearms and more particularly relates to expansion barrel nut systems and methods for attaching a handguard to an upper receiver of a firearm.
Typical barrel nuts comprise convoluted attachment mechanisms that include a number of screws and/or bolts to attach a handguard to an upper receiver of a firearm.
Some or all of the above needs and/or problems may be addressed by certain embodiments of a barrel nut assembly for a firearm disclosed herein. According to an embodiment, the barrel nut assembly may include a barrel nut comprising a plurality of expansion flanges. The barrel nut assembly also may include an expansion plug comprising an expansion surface. The expansion surface may be configured to abut and expand the plurality of expansion flanges when the expansion plug is attached to the barrel nut.
Other features and aspects of the barrel nut assembly will be apparent or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and the detailed description. All other features and aspects, as well as other system, method, and assembly embodiments, are intended to be included within the description and are intended to be within the scope of the accompanying claims.
The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and/or components other than those illustrated in the drawings, and some elements and/or components may not be present in various embodiments. Elements and/or components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout this disclosure, depending on the context, singular and plural terminology may be used interchangeably.
Described below are embodiments of a barrel nut assembly (as well as individual components of the barrel nut assembly) for attaching a handguard to a firearm. Methods of installing and using the barrel nut assembly on the firearm are also disclosed. The firearm may be a conventional firearm. For example, the firearm may be an M-16 style rifle, an AR-15 style rifle, an AR-10 style rifle, or an M-4 style rifle, among others. Any type of firearm may be used. The firearm may include, among other things, an upper receiver, a barrel, a gas block, and a gas tube extending from the gas block. In some instances, the barrel nut assembly may be used to attach a handguard (or other type of rail) to the upper receiver about the barrel, the gas block, and the gas tube. For example, the barrel nut assembly may include a barrel nut and an expansion plug for attaching the handguard to the upper receiver.
The upper receiver may include a threaded extension. The barrel nut may include a corresponding threaded bore that can be threaded onto the threaded extension of the upper receiver. The barrel nut also may include a front end, a rear end, an internal flange that separates the threaded bore into front threads and rear threads, a number of grooves disposed on the rear end, a number of expansion flanges disposed on the front end, and a number of slots disposed between the expansion flanges. In some instances, the slots may be keyhole slots or the like. The internal flange, grooves, expansion flanges, and slots may be any size, shape, or configuration.
In some instances, the grooves may be evenly spaced about the rear end of the barrel nut. The grooves may be any size, shape, or configuration. Any number of grooves may be used. In some instances, the grooves may extend axially along an outer surface of the barrel nut. The grooves may be configured to mate with a complementary gripping structure (such as one or more lugs or the like) on a wrench or other tool. In this manner, the grooves may be used to tighten the barrel nut to the threaded extension on the upper receiver. In some instances, the rear threads in the threaded bore of the barrel nut may be attached to the threaded extension on the upper receiver.
The expansion plug may include a front end, a rear end, a bore, a number of apertures disposed on the front end, external threads disposed on the rear end, and an expansion surface disposed between the front end and the rear end. An outer radius of the expansion surface may increase from rear to front. As a result, the expansion surface may be configured to abut and outwardly expand the expansion flanges of the barrel nut when the external threads of the expansion plug are threaded into the threaded bore of the barrel nut. For example, the external threads of the expansion plug may be threaded into the front threads in the threaded bore of the barrel nut. In certain embodiments, the expansion flanges of the barrel nut may include an internal chamfer to facilitate engagement with the expansion surface of the expansion plug.
The apertures may be evenly spaced about the front end of the expansion plug. The apertures may be any size, shape, or configuration. Any number of apertures may be used. In some instances, the apertures may extend radially between an outer surface and the bore of the expansion plug. The apertures may be configured to mate with a complementary gripping structure (such as one or more lugs or the like) on a wrench or other tool. In this manner, the apertures may be used to tighten the external threads of the expansion plug into the front threads in the threaded bore of the barrel nut, which may cause the expansion surface to abut and outwardly expand the expansion flanges of the barrel nut.
In order to secure the handguard to the upper receiver, the handguard may be positioned about the expansion flanges of the barrel nut. In this manner, the expansion flanges of the barrel nut may expand against the hand guard to secure the handguard in place when the external threads of the expansion plug are threaded into the front threads in the threaded bore of the barrel nut. That is, the expansion surface may push or expand the expansion flanges of the barrel nut against an inner surface of the handguard, which may lock the handguard in place. The handguard may be any size, shape, or configuration.
In some instances, the gas tube may extend from the gas block through one of the grooves on the barrel nut. For example, the gas tube may pass through the upper most groove (i.e., the groove located at the 12 o'clock position) when the barrel nut is attached to the upper receiver. Similarly, the handguard may include a rail having two protrusions that extend through two of the grooves. The rail may be any size, shape, or configuration. In some instances, the rail protrusions may extend through the grooves located on either side of the groove the gas tube passes through. In certain embodiments, the grooves on the barrel nut may form a circumferential slot, in which a portion of the handguard may nest.
These and other embodiments of the disclosure will be described in more detail through reference to the accompanying drawings in the detailed description of the disclosure that follows. This brief introduction, including section titles and corresponding summaries, is provided for the reader's convenience and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims or the proceeding sections. Furthermore, the techniques described above and below may be implemented in a number of ways and in a number of contexts. Several example implementations and contexts are provided with reference to the following figures, as described below in more detail. However, the following implementations and contexts are but a few of many.
As depicted in
The upper receiver 102 may include a threaded extension 118. As depicted in
In some instances, the grooves 132 may be evenly spaced about the rear end 124 of the barrel nut 114 in a circumferential array. The grooves 132 may be any size, shape, or configuration. Any number of grooves 132 may be used. In some instances, the grooves 132 may extend axially along an outer surface of the barrel nut 114. The grooves 132 may be configured to mate with a complementary gripping structure (such as one or more lugs or the like) on a wrench or other tool. In this manner, the grooves 132 may be used to tighten the barrel nut 114 to the threaded extension 118 on the upper receiver 102. In some instances, the rear threads 130 in the threaded bore 120 of the barrel nut 114 may be attached to the threaded extension 118 on the upper receiver 102.
As depicted in
Referring back to
In order to secure the handguard 112 to the upper receiver 102, as depicted in
In some instances, the gas tube 108 may extend from the gas block 106 through one of the grooves 132 on the barrel nut 114. For example, the gas tube 108 may pass through the upper most groove (i.e., the groove located at the 12 o'clock position) when the barrel nut 114 is attached to the upper receiver 102. Similarly, as depicted in
Referring back to
Although specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described, numerous other modifications and alternative embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure. For example, any of the functionality described with respect to a particular device or component may be performed by another device or component. Further, while specific device characteristics have been described, embodiments of the disclosure may relate to numerous other device characteristics. Further, although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments may not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments.
The disclosure claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/277,998, filed Jan. 13, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2836918 | Pula | Jun 1958 | A |
3193959 | Jaycox | Jul 1965 | A |
3360880 | Finnegan | Jan 1968 | A |
4406182 | Antone | Sep 1983 | A |
4474302 | Goldberg | Oct 1984 | A |
4512099 | Mathew | Apr 1985 | A |
4765224 | Morris | Aug 1988 | A |
5048211 | Hepp | Sep 1991 | A |
5115589 | Shuker | May 1992 | A |
5138785 | Paterson | Aug 1992 | A |
5171924 | Honey | Dec 1992 | A |
5241770 | Lambert | Sep 1993 | A |
5289653 | Szebeni | Mar 1994 | A |
5412895 | Krieger | May 1995 | A |
D361819 | Serrao | Aug 1995 | S |
5475994 | Briley, Jr. | Dec 1995 | A |
5664358 | Haber | Sep 1997 | A |
5732498 | Arreguin | Mar 1998 | A |
5732499 | Canaday | Mar 1998 | A |
5950344 | Ross | Sep 1999 | A |
6584718 | Serrao | Jul 2003 | B1 |
6671990 | Booth | Jan 2004 | B1 |
6912807 | Meyerle | Jul 2005 | B2 |
7150122 | Ha | Dec 2006 | B1 |
7464496 | Davies | Dec 2008 | B1 |
D631312 | Wallimann-Durrer | Jan 2011 | S |
D648606 | Sallander | Nov 2011 | S |
8272306 | Smith | Sep 2012 | B1 |
8296987 | Dlubak | Oct 2012 | B1 |
8387299 | Brittingham | Mar 2013 | B1 |
8424441 | Brittingham | Apr 2013 | B2 |
8677668 | Caldwell | Mar 2014 | B1 |
8726559 | Mueller | May 2014 | B1 |
8739674 | Huber | Jun 2014 | B1 |
8806792 | Yan | Aug 2014 | B2 |
8863426 | Zinsner | Oct 2014 | B1 |
9239204 | Michal | Jan 2016 | B2 |
9372041 | Geissele | Jun 2016 | B1 |
9448027 | Zinsner | Sep 2016 | B1 |
9505009 | Wein | Nov 2016 | B1 |
D789480 | Olsen | Jun 2017 | S |
9784517 | Pittman | Oct 2017 | B2 |
9803944 | Pittman | Oct 2017 | B2 |
20070017139 | Larue | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20100162604 | Dubois | Jul 2010 | A1 |
20100319231 | Stone | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20110000122 | Camarillo | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20110036233 | DeGroat | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110252952 | McNeill | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20120102805 | Buxton | May 2012 | A1 |
20120131835 | Barrett | May 2012 | A1 |
20140115938 | Jarboe | May 2014 | A1 |
20150007478 | Barrett | Jan 2015 | A1 |
20150090105 | Pace | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20150247700 | Merlino | Sep 2015 | A1 |
20150316347 | Shea | Nov 2015 | A1 |
20160003566 | Gomirato | Jan 2016 | A1 |
20160003570 | Tonkin | Jan 2016 | A1 |
20160010938 | Merkley | Jan 2016 | A1 |
20160054096 | Dzwill | Feb 2016 | A1 |
20160116251 | Mather | Apr 2016 | A1 |
20170191779 | Myers | Jul 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20170199006 A1 | Jul 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62277998 | Jan 2016 | US |