Patent Application
20250216168
This invention relates to cleaning tools for firearms, and in particular, a flexible multi-implement cleaning head for cleaning rods and cables.
Firearms require regular cleaning to remove combustion residue from the interior surfaces of the barrel in order to ensure the safe and consistent operation of the firearm. Typically, barrel cleaning involves using separate cleaning heads mounted to the ends of rigid cleaning rods or pliable cleaning cables that are manually driving back and forth inside the firearm barrel. The separate cleaning heads include various, swabs or mops, wire brushes and slotted fittings with cloth patches that are threaded onto the ends of long rigid cleaning rods and cables. Generally, both solvent soaked mops and wire brushes are used to properly clean a firearm barrel. Swabs or mops saturated with cleaning solutions loosen particulate and lubricate the barrels. Wire brushes are used to scrape particulates from the firearm barrels.
Mops and wire brushes have been combined into a single cleaning head; however, these combination heads have been too long and rigid to allow the head to be guided and inserted through the breach of many firearms when attached to a rigid cleaning rod or flexible cleaning cable. Consistently, such combination cleaning heads must be inserted and withdrawn through the muzzle end of the barrel, thereby limiting their utility.
The cleaning head of this invention includes multiple mops and wire brushes interconnected axially by wire spring sections. The spring sections allow the elongated head to resiliently flex and bend so that the head can be guided and pushed at an angle through the breach of a firearm, as well as be inserted and withdrawn from the muzzle end of a barrel. In various exemplary embodiments of this invention, the cleaning head may have any number or combinations of mops or swabs and wire brushes, and in any order as may be desired. In addition, other embodiments of the cleaning head may incorporate an end jag or slotted tip (not shown) cooperating with a cleaning patch. Such jags and slotted tips are well known in the art of firearm barrel cleaning.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The present invention may take form in various system and method components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating exemplary embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
The drawings illustrate the present invention, in which:
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown byway of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
The cleaning head 100 of this invention includes multiple cleaning implements (swabs, wire brushes, jags or slotted tops) interconnected axially by wire spring sections, which allows the elongated head to resiliently flex and bend so that the head can be guided and pushed at an angle through the breach of a firearm. In various exemplary embodiments of this invention, the cleaning head may have any number or combination of swabs and wire brushes, in any order as may be desired. In addition, other embodiments of the cleaning head may incorporate an end jag or slotted tip (not shown) cooperating with a cleaning patch. Such jags and slotted tips are well known in the art of firearm barrel cleaning. The cleaning head of this invention is intended and adapted for use with conventional rigid cleaning rods and flexible wire cleaning rods, such as the those available from Pro-Shot Products, Inc. of Taylorville, Illinois.
Referring now to the drawings,
Swab or mop 110 follows a conventional construction for a mop type cleaning implements and includes elongated support shank 112 and absorbent fibrous swab body fitted around the shank. Swab body 114 is preferably a cotton bail, sponge or other absorbent material bonded around the distal end of support shank 112. Support shaft 112 is preferably a brass or aluminum rod. Support shank 112 has an exposed end that extends axially from swab body 114.
Similarly, wire brush 120 follows the conventional construction of wire brush cleaning implements and includes a twisted wire shank 122 and a plurality of brass or polymer bristles 124 extending radially outwardly from the center of the twisted wire shank. Bristles 124 are interposed between the twisted strands of shank 122 and extending in a helical pattern therefrom. Opposed ends of twisted wire shank 122 extend axially from wire bristles 124. Threaded fitting 140 is press fit over one of the exposed shank ends of twisted wire shank 122 of the distal most wire brush 120.
Spring sections 130 allow cleaning head 100 to flex and bend axially so that the head can be inserted into the breach of an AR-15 style firearm or other similar weapon (
It should be apparent from the foregoing that an invention having significant advantages has been provided. While the invention is shown in only a few of its forms, it is not just limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. The embodiment of the present invention herein described and illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is presented to explain the invention so that others skilled in the art might utilize its teachings. The embodiment of the present invention may be modified within the scope of the following claims.
