The present invention relates to sound suppression. In particular, the present invention relates to firearm suppressors having baffles separated by spacers that are rotationally oriented around a projectile pathway with respect to each other.
Firearms typically discharge noise and gases into the atmosphere, when fired, which may be harmful or offensive to the shooter and/or to others within the general vicinity. As a result various suppression devices have been devised in order to attempt to solve this problem. These sound suppressor devices may feature baffles that use some form of asymmetry while others may feature the use of baffles that are basically symmetrical. While asymmetrical baffles typically produce high levels of turbulence within the sound suppressor, which aids in producing high levels of sound and flash reduction, asymmetrical baffles may result in some detrimental effects on the accuracy of the host firearm.
The concept behind the use of baffles is to divert gases away from a bore axis along which a projectile travels after leaving the muzzle of a firearm. The more effective the diversion, and subsequent creation of turbulence due to the diverting gases impinging upon other surfaces (e.g., spacers, gas flow channels and vent holes) within the suppressor, generally the suppressor is more efficient with regards to sound reduction.
In accordance with the present invention, a firearm suppressor may include an outer housing and a baffle stack that may be inserted and/or removed from the outer housing. The baffle stack may include three or more baffles that each have a proximal baffle surface and a distal baffle surface. A baffle bore sized to receive a projectile may extend through each baffle along a longitudinal axis. The firearm suppressor may further include two or more spacers that are each disposed between a respective set of two baffles. One spacer may be positioned along a first surface plane having a first orientation, and another spacer may be positioned along a second surface plane having a second orientation. The second surface plane may intersect the first surface plane along the longitudinal axis, and an acute angle may separate the first surface plane and the second surface plane. Additional spacers may be included, where the additional spacers are disposed between respective sets of two baffles and are oriented along respective surface planes that similarly intersect other surface planes along the longitudinal axis.
In accordance with the present invention, a firearm suppressor may include baffle stack including a first baffle, a second baffle, and a third baffle, each baffle including an opening defining a projectile aperture. The first, second, and third baffles may be coaxially positioned along a longitudinal axis defined by the projectile apertures. A first spacer may be connected between the first baffle and the second baffle, and a second spacer may be connected between the second baffle and the third baffle. The second spacer may be rotated about the longitudinal axis at an angle relative to the first spacer.
In accordance with the present invention, a method of manufacturing one or more firearm suppressor components includes the steps of forming all or a portion of three baffles with openings defining a projectile aperture. The baffles may be coaxially positioned along a longitudinal axis defined by the projectile apertures. A first spacer may be formed between a first baffle and a second baffle, and a second spacer may be formed between the second baffle and a third baffle. The orientation of the second spacer may be rotated about the longitudinal axis at an angle relative to the orientation of the first spacer.
The present application may be more fully appreciated in connection with the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
One aspect of the disclosure relates to one or more components of a firearm suppressor. In one embodiment, a firearm suppressor may include three or more baffles, wherein each baffles has a proximal baffle surface and a distal baffle surface, and wherein a baffle bore extends through each baffle along a longitudinal axis. The firearm suppressor may further include two or more spacers. Each spacer may be disposed between a respective set of two baffles. One spacer may be positioned along a first surface plane having a first orientation, and another spacer may be positioned along a second surface plane having a second orientation. The second surface plane may intersect the first surface plane along the longitudinal axis, and an acute angle may separate the first surface plane and the second surface plane. Additional spacers may be included, where the additional spacers are disposed between respective sets of two baffles and are oriented along respective surface planes that similarly intersect other surface planes along the longitudinal axis.
Another aspect of the disclosure relates to gas flow through chambers formed by spacers with cut-out portions, through channels formed by surfaces of a spacer and two baffles, through vent holes, and through channels carved into a spacer that allow the gas to flow to/from chambers separated by two baffles and the spacer.
Another aspect of the disclosure relates to orientations and shapes of baffles and spacers in a three-dimensional space including a longitudinal axis.
Another aspect relates to manufacturing of one or more components of a firearm suppressor. In accordance with one embodiment regarding the manufacture of firearm suppressor components, several baffles may be formed with openings defining projectile apertures, and several spacers are formed, each between a respective set of the baffles. The baffles may be coaxially positioned along a longitudinal axis defined by the projectile apertures, and the orientation of one spacer is rotated about the longitudinal axis at an angle between zero (0) degrees and 360 degrees relative to the orientation of the first spacer.
Certain features of the invention are depicted in the Figures.
Turning to
As shown, the baffle stack 100 includes a plurality of baffles 110a-k, a plurality of relationally-rotated spacers 120a-h, a plurality of cylindrical spacers 130a-c, a plurality of venting holes (e.g., venting hole 140a and 140b), a plurality of bores/apertures sized larger than a projectile (e.g., bores 150a and 150b) through which a projectile (e.g., a bullet) travels along a longitudinal axis through the baffle stack 100 from a proximal end 160 to a distal end 170—e.g., through the center of the baffle stack 100 along the longitudinal axis. As will be illustrated in later figures, the any of the baffles 110 and spacers 120 may be formed or positioned at different orientations to those shown in
As shown in
Other spacers 120 are similarly rotated with respect to each other so that some spacers have different orientations than other spacers. Rotation of the spacers is a unique and advantageous feature of the invention, which provides structural strength while further dampening sound as compared to other suppressors. The different orientations of some spacers in relation to other spacers provide different gas flow characteristics over flow characteristics of other suppressors.
The spacers 120 in
Turning now to
Attention is now drawn to
The outer tube 380 may be held in compression between one indentation 305 (e.g., a machined indentation) of the baffle stack 300 and one indentation 387 (e.g., a machined indentation) of the muzzle connector 385. The outer tube 380 may be held in place when the baffle stack 300 (e.g., as a monocore component) screws into the muzzle connector 385 using female threading on the baffle stack near the proximal end 360 of the baffle stack 300, and male threading on the muzzle connector 385. The outer tube 380 may spin freely around the baffle stack 300 or may be held in place by a locking method (not shown, e.g., a screw that passes through the cylinder to contact the baffle stack 300 or the muzzle connector 385).
The muzzle connector 385, via female threading, may screw onto the end of a firearm barrel (not shown), which would include male threading.
Turning now to
A baffle may also have different shapes beyond the washer shape baffles 110 shown in
Turning now to
The components described herein may be made from any suitable material, including metals, metal alloys, plastics, and other materials capable of necessary heat transfer, sound absorption, durability and other factors appreciated by those skilled in the art. Manufacture of embodiments described herein may include milling single pieces of material into the components, molding the components, welding the components together, or other methods appreciated by those skilled in the art.
It is understood that the specific order, dimension, shape and other characteristics of components disclosed herein are examples of exemplary apparatuses, methods of manufacturing apparatuses, and methods of assembling apparatuses, among other approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order components may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure unless noted otherwise. It is further noted that any of the concepts described herein can be used in combination with each other even if that combination is not explicitly described herein. The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
The disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the specification and drawings, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c.
While various embodiments of the present firearm suppressor and its components have been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in various other forms not specifically described herein. The innovative structures described herein are applicable to a wide variety of sound suppression apparatuses and circumstances besides a firearm suppressor. Therefore, the protection afforded the present invention should only be limited in accordance with the following claims.
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4167987 | Turner | Sep 1979 | A |
8002080 | Bingham | Aug 2011 | B1 |
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8167084 | Moore | May 2012 | B1 |
20100163336 | Presz et al. | Jul 2010 | A1 |