Patent Application
20220252369
Example embodiments relate generally to feeding geometries for firearm barrel assemblies, firearm barrels that support and position a cartridge, and associated assemblies, components, and methods.
Tactical rifles and other types of firearms may be equipped with a barrel that includes a chamber for holding a cartridge during operation of the firearm. A magazine contains the cartridges that are fed from the magazine to the chamber during operational cycles. Actuation of the operational cycle of the firearm may be performed manually by an operator (e.g., a bolt action rifles) or by way of an autoloading action (e.g., automatic or semi-automatic rifles), such as a high pressure propellant gas.
The firearm may integrate the barrel into a barrel assembly with a barrel extension attached to the rear of the barrel that defines lugs for engaging the lugs of the firearm bolt. Barrels and barrel assemblies can cause misfires and jams if their geometries are not sufficiently tolerant to permit consistent feeding, and barrels and barrel assemblies having overly accommodating geometries for feeding may suffer from weakness around the chamber and make likewise suffer reliability issues. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein.
The present disclosure generally relates to barrel assemblies and configurations that at least support, guide, or position a cartridge during a firearm's operational cycle.
According to some aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a barrel assembly of a firearm. The barrel assembly may comprise a barrel. The barrel assembly may comprise a barrel extension configured to attach to the barrel. The barrel may comprise an inner surface defining a bore configured to guide a projectile as the projectile is propelled through the bore by pressurized gas. The barrel may define a muzzle end and/or a chamber end opposite the muzzle end. The inner surface may define a chamber at the chamber end. The chamber may be configured to receive a cartridge and/or to support at least a portion of a casing of the cartridge during firing. The barrel may define a longitudinal axis extending between the muzzle end and the chamber end. The barrel may define one or more barrel feed ramps at the chamber end configured to guide at least a portion of the cartridge into the chamber during an operational cycle of the firearm.
In some embodiments, the barrel may define a barrel extension interface comprising one or more engagement features, and wherein the barrel extension defines a complementary barrel extension interface comprising one or more complementary engagement features.
In some embodiments, the one or more engagement features and the one or more complementary engagement features interface to securely engage the barrel and the barrel extension.
In some embodiments, the barrel further defines a chamber end surface defining an end of the barrel at the chamber end, the chamber end surface being connected to the inner surface of the barrel via a transition. In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps are formed in the chamber end surface and the inner surface of the barrel at the chamber end.
In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps define at least one recess formed at least at the transition between the chamber end surface and the inner surface of the barrel.
In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps extends axially into the chamber farther from the chamber end surface than the transition in at least one other circumferential position that lacks the one or more barrel feed ramps, such that the one or more barrel feed ramps define a more gradual transition from the chamber end surface to the inner surface at the chamber than the transition at the at least one other circumferential position.
In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more barrel feed ramps extends radially farther from the longitudinal axis of the barrel along the chamber end surface than the transition in at least one other circumferential position that lacks the one or more barrel feed ramps.
In some embodiments, the chamber end surface is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the inner surface at the chamber, and wherein the transition between the chamber end surface and the inner surface of the barrel defines a substantially right angle at circumferential positions other than circumferential positions of the one or more feed ramps.
In some embodiments, the transition is circumferentially asymmetrical such that the chamber is configured to provide a greater axial length of contact with the cartridge at circumferential positions that do not include the one or more barrel feed ramps than at circumferential positions that include the one or more barrel feed ramps.
In some embodiments, the inner surface of the chamber extends farther rearward towards the chamber end surface at the circumferential positions that do not include the one or more barrel feed ramps than at the circumferential positions that include the one or more barrel feed ramps.
In some embodiments, a wall of the barrel is thinner in at least a location of the one or more barrel feed ramps than in other locations at the chamber end.
In some embodiments, each of the one or more barrel feed ramps define a semicylindrical contour oriented at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis.
In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps define at least one intermediate angle between an angle of the chamber end surface and the longitudinal axis of the barrel relative to a plane defined in part by the longitudinal axis.
In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps comprises a plurality of barrel feed ramps, and wherein each barrel feed ramp of the plurality of barrel feed ramps is oriented at least partially towards the longitudinal axis of the barrel and at least partially towards the muzzle end.
In some embodiments, the plurality of barrel feed ramps comprises two barrel feed ramps, and wherein each barrel feed ramp is angled towards a plane defined between the two barrel feed ramps, and wherein the plane is defined in part by the longitudinal axis.
In some embodiments, a first barrel feed ramp and a second barrel feed ramp are positioned adjacent to each other to engage staggered cartridges from within a magazine that are fed from alternating sides of the magazine, such that the first barrel feed ramp and the second barrel feed ramp are configured to alternatingly engage the staggered cartridges.
In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps are manufactured by removing material from the barrel.
In some embodiments, the barrel extension comprises one or more locking lugs.
In some embodiments, one or more barrel extension feed ramps configured to align circumferentially relative to the one or more barrel feed ramps.
In some embodiments, the barrel comprises two feed ramps, and the barrel extension comprises two barrel extension feed ramps.
According to another aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a firearm. The firearm may comprise a barrel assembly. The barrel assembly may comprise a barrel and a barrel extension configured to attach to the barrel. The barrel may comprise an inner surface defining a bore configured to guide a projectile as the projectile is propelled through the bore by pressurized gas. The barrel may define a muzzle end and/or a chamber end opposite the muzzle end. The inner surface may define a chamber at the chamber end. The chamber may be configured to receive a cartridge and to support at least a portion of a casing of the cartridge during firing. The barrel may define a longitudinal axis extending between the muzzle end and the chamber end. The barrel may define one or more barrel feed ramps at the chamber end configured to guide at least a portion of the cartridge into the chamber during an operational cycle of the firearm.
In some embodiments, the firearm may comprise a bolt defining one or more bolt lugs. The firearm may comprise a bolt carrier group comprising a bolt carrier, a firing pin, and an ejector. The firearm may comprise a trigger assembly comprising a trigger, a hammer, and a disconnector. The firearm may further comprise one or more other firearm components, including without limitation one or more of a stock, a trigger guard, a pistol grip, a heat shield, a barrel shroud, an upper receiver, a lower receiver, various hardware components (e.g., screws, pins, springs, clips, and other types of hardware fasteners known in the art), and other firearm components known to one of ordinary skill in the art. The trigger assembly may be configured for automatic, burst, and/or semi-automatic operations.
According to another aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing at least a portion of a barrel assembly of a firearm. The barrel assembly may comprise a barrel and a barrel extension. The barrel may comprise an inner surface. The inner surface may define a bore configured to guide a projectile as the projectile is propelled through the bore by pressurized gas. The barrel may define a muzzle end and a chamber end opposite the muzzle end. The inner surface may define a chamber at the chamber end. The chamber may be configured to receive a cartridge and/or to support at least a portion of a casing of the cartridge during firing. The barrel may define a longitudinal axis extending between the muzzle end and the chamber end. The method may comprise attaching the barrel to a barrel extension. The method may comprise removing material from at least the barrel to define one or more barrel feed ramps at the chamber end while the barrel and barrel extension are attached. The barrel may define one or more barrel feed ramps at the chamber end configured to guide at least a portion of the cartridge into the chamber during an operational cycle of the firearm.
In some embodiments, the method of manufacture may comprise connecting, directly or indirectly, the barrel assembly with a plurality of other firearm components, including but not limited to connecting the barrel assembly directly or indirectly with at least a bolt carrier group, a trigger assembly, a receiver assembly, and a gas delivery system.
A variety of additional aspects are also described in the following detailed description and in the attached claims. The aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broader inventive concepts upon which the example embodiments disclosed herein are based.
Having thus described embodiments of the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the drawings are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations provided herein. Example embodiments of the present disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings.
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Indeed, various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements.
As used herein, the term “or” is used in both the alternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The term “along,” and similarly utilized terms, means near or on, but not necessarily requiring directly on an edge or other referenced location. The terms “approximately,” “generally,” and “substantially” refer to within manufacturing and/or engineering design tolerances for the corresponding materials and/or elements unless otherwise indicated. Thus, use of any such aforementioned terms, or similarly interchangeable terms, should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention.
The figures are not drawn to scale and are provided merely to illustrate some example embodiments of the inventions described herein. The figures do not limit the scope of the present disclosure or the appended claims. Several aspects of the example embodiments are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of the example embodiments. One having ordinary skill in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize that the example embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structures and/or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the example embodiments.
The present disclosure relates to feeding geometries associated with firearm barrels and related firearms, assemblies, components, and methods that may provide both strength and support for the cartridge during firing while also exhibiting improved feeding during cycling. Example embodiments include a barrel having one or more barrel feed ramps for facilitating smoother feeding of the cartridges into the chamber. In contrast to barrels using a chamfered transition or other symmetrical transition, a barrel feed ramp or ramps may facilitate better feeding at the positions necessary for guiding the cartridge into the chamber, while the transition between a chamber end surface and an inner surface at the chamber may be sharper and more supportive of the cartridge in other circumferential positions. This benefit may be achieved, in some example embodiments, because the transition at the chamber end need not be sufficiently gradual to accommodate cartridge feeding at all circumferential positions (e.g., a sharper edge with more support may be used at non-feeding locations). In some embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps may be cut into the barrel while the barrel extension is attached to ensure proper rotational alignment.
With reference to
With reference to
The magazine 406 may be configured to stagger the cartridges 24 left-to-right, so that the cartridges are fed into the chamber 26 from slightly left of the center longitudinal axis of the firearm (e.g., left of longitudinal axis 303 shown in
In some embodiments (e.g., an AR-15® platform), the barrel of the firearm may define a chamber end surface at a distal end of the barrel (e.g., chamber end surface 308 shown in
Cartridges that are insufficiently supported (e.g., by a more gradual transition) may cause damage (e.g., splitting, cracking, head separation, etc.) of the casing or other deformations that may result in firearm malfunctions. For example, an insufficiently-supported portion of the casing may expand around the chamber end of the barrel, thus causing the casing to become difficult to extract from the chamber or eject from the firearm. An insufficiently-supported portion of the casing may break open (e.g., split, crack, etc.), thus allowing the expanding gases to escape out the chamber end of the barrel leading to damage to the firearm (e.g., broken ejector, bullet lodged in the bore of the barrel, etc.) or injury to the operator. If there is a pressure overload condition (e.g., too much powder in the cartridge, a blocked barrel by mud or a squib round) any insufficiently-supported section of the cartridge case can blow out and release high pressure gas into the bolt, bolt carrier and upper receiver area. These parts will may then catastrophically fail.
Barrels with insufficient feeding surfaces may cause the bullet of the cartridge to catch on the chamber end surface 308 when feeding the cartridge into the chamber 30. The solutions of the present disclosure may include structures for the chamber end of the barrel 12 of a firearm 10 that provide improved feeding and support for the cartridge.
With reference to
The depicted firearm 10 includes a bolt carrier group 20 and a bolt 22 configured to strip a cartridge 24 from the magazine 406 and feed the cartridge into the chamber 26 of the chamber end 12B of the barrel 12 for firing. The cartridge 24 may be retained in the chamber 26 by a taper (e.g., taper 26A labeled in
The transition 302 may be configured with at least the barrel feed ramps 310 to facilitate guidance of a cartridge 24 from magazine 406 into a firing position in the chamber 26 during firearm operational cycles. The barrel feed ramps 310 of transition 302 may be configured to at least partially facilitate orienting and guiding the cartridge 24 into chamber 26 by directing the bullet tip of the cartridge 24 upward and/or laterally from the top of magazine 406 toward the longitudinal axis 303. By providing the transition 302 between the chamber end surface 308 and the inner surface 30, the barrel feed ramps 310 reduce the likelihood that cartridge 24 will be driven into and jammed by surfaces around the chamber 26 instead of feeding smoothly into the chamber 26 during firing cycles. The barrel feed ramps 310 may further provide clearance for the body of cartridge 24 to tilt inward toward the front of chamber 26 (toward the right side of
With continued reference to
In accordance with various embodiments, the one or more barrel feed ramps (e.g., barrel feed ramps 310, 310A shown in
In various embodiments, the chamber end surface 308 is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the inner surface 30 at the chamber 26. The one or more barrel feed ramps 310, 310A may define at least one intermediate angle between an angle of the chamber end surface 308 and the longitudinal axis 303 of the barrel relative to a plane defined in part by the longitudinal axis (e.g., a plane of the paper in
The barrel extension feed ramps 304 may be configured to align with the barrel feed ramps 310 of transition 302 of the barrel 12, such that at least one feed path may be defined between the barrel extension 28 and the barrel 12 by each pair of the corresponding feed ramps 304, 310. In some embodiments, the barrel extension feed ramps 304 may be used as respective points of reference to manufacture the barrel feed ramps 310 into barrel 12, such as by aligning a drill tip with a center point associated with one or more radii of the barrel extension feed ramps 304. In some embodiments, the feed ramps 304, 310 may be manufactured by removing material from each of the barrel extension 28 and barrel 12 while the two are affixed to each other to ensure proper alignment. The barrel extension feed ramps 304 may be configured to direct the tip of cartridge 24 toward the barrel feed ramps 310.
Turning to
With reference to
During manufacturing, the barrel feed ramps 310, 310A described herein may be manufactured by removing material from the barrel at the intersection of the chamber end surface 308 and the inner surface 30 of the barrel 12. The material may be removed, for example, by milling, drilling, Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), cutting, grinding, reaming, or by any other method known in the art. The EDM processes may include without limitation one or more of die-sinking or ram EDM, wire or wire cutting EDM, or other electrical discharge methods known in the art. In some embodiments, an endmill may be used to mill away material from at least the barrel using a five axis milling machine. To facilitate alignment of the barrel feed ramps 310, 310A with the components of the firearm, including the barrel extension 28 and magazine 406, the barrel feed ramps may be formed in the barrel while the barrel extension is attached. For example, a method of manufacturing the barrel assembly may comprise first attaching the barrel 12 to the barrel extension 28 (e.g., via any method, such as fasteners 28A and/or barrel interface surfaces 28B) before then removing material from at least the barrel to define the one or more barrel feed ramps 310, 310A at the chamber end 12B while the barrel and barrel extension are attached. By way of example, the barrel feed ramps 310, 310A may be formed by drilling or milling in direction D shown in
In some embodiments, the barrels 12 and barrel assemblies 11 discussed herein may be used as part of a new firearm or as replacement parts for an existing firearm. The barrels 12 and barrel assemblies 11 may be configured to fit within a standard platform (e.g., an AR-15® platform) without otherwise modifying the platform.
The embodiments described herein may also be scalable to accommodate at least the aforementioned applications. Various components of embodiments described herein can be added, removed, reorganized, modified, duplicated, and/or the like as one skilled in the art would find convenient and/or necessary to implement a particular application in conjunction with the teachings of the present disclosure. Moreover, specialized features, characteristics, materials, components, and/or equipment may be applied in conjunction with the teachings of the present disclosure as one skilled in the art would find convenient and/or necessary to implement a particular application in light of the present disclosure.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the present disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated, in light of the present disclosure, that different combinations of elements and/or functions can be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as can be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
