Patent Application
20150252284
N/A.
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gun oil composition for use in modern firearms.
2. Background and Relevant Art
For outdoor and shooting enthusiasts, proper care and maintenance of outdoor gear is a priority for ensuring proper function and longevity of use of equipment. In particular, attention to proper cleaning and maintenance of firearms has been a point of emphasis for outdoor and shooting enthusiasts. Most traditional firearms are utilized in outdoor settings where rain, snow, dirt, dust, mud, humidity and other factors can cause rust or otherwise interfere with proper operation of a firearm.
Traditionally, firearm users are encouraged to clean and oil their firearms after each use. Traditional gun oils are intended to clean, lubricate and protect the metal components of the firearms from rust. Traditional gun oils are configured primarily as a barrier to keep metal parts from being exposed to oxygen and environmental oxidizing agents such as moisture. By providing a barrier between the metal and environmental elements such as air, humidity, water, and/or dirt, traditional gun oil protects the barrel of the firearm and other metal components of the firearm from the elements. In short, traditional gun oils are primarily designed to provide protection from rust and corrosion. However, traditional gun oil can also provide other benefits to the firearm including providing lubrication (lubricity) to moving parts, trapping carbon or other fouling within the oil thereby reducing the amount of material that is deposited on internal surfaces of the firearm, and facilitating cleaning of the firearm. Nevertheless, traditional gun oils are largely designed with the objective of preventing rust and corrosion, and secondarily lubrication.
New developments in modern firearms have given rise to new needs and requirements for maintenance, cleaning, and repair. While traditional gun oil is the preferred oil of consumers, it is primarily formulated to prevent rust and corrosion from moisture and the elements. In other words, gun oils have not adapted to the extreme operating conditions which are frequently experienced with modern firearms.
Modern firearms have more complex designs compared to their traditional counterparts. Advancements in “AR” and “AK” technologies involve gas operated moving parts. For example, the AR Rifle (ArmaLite, Inc.) utilizes a direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke piston operation. Gas operated moving parts rely on cycling of combustion exhaust from the firing of ammunition for proper operation of the firearm. As a result, fouling from combustion of the gunpowder in the ammunition is cycled back through the firearm, instead of simply being discharged from the end of the barrel like in traditional firearms. As a result, much higher volumes of carbon exhaust cycle through the moving parts of the modern firearm than in traditional firearms that rely on manual manipulation to cycle the action of the firearm. This leads to faster carbon build-up in modern firearms than in traditional firearms.
Modern firearms are also designed for greater round counts. For example, a user may regularly fire hundreds or even thousands of rounds in a single training session or over the course of a few days, whereas traditional firearms were designed for much less frequent and less extensive use (e.g., 10, 20 or a few dozen rounds). As a result of the greater round counts and the additional moving parts, the amount of friction and heat can be appreciably and substantially higher in modern firearms than in traditional firearms. Greater friction and heat combined with the build-up of carbon leads to fouling and the “baking” of carbon directly on components of the firearm. It is not unusual for shooters to spend significant time and energy removing built up carbon which has caked onto pistons, control arms, or other internal components of a modern firearm.
A variety of tools and techniques have been developed to remove caked on carbon from gun parts. Many of these tools are designed for manually scraping and loosening of the carbon or other build-up. Some strong solvents are also utilized to deal with cleaning and removing of carbon build up or other fouling. However, some are not pH neutral and can actually damage the metal parts and external finish of the gun. Similarly, scraping can lead to scratching the surface of the metal. In many cases, after firing of several hundred or several thousand rounds, the process of removing carbon build-up and cleaning the metal parts of the firearm is not only time-consuming, but can damage the firearm and detract from the precision, integrity, functionality, and value of the firearm, as well as the enjoyment of outdoor and shooting activities for those who clean and maintain the firearm.
Accordingly, there are a number of disadvantages to known gun oil compositions and the use thereof alone and in combination with other firearm care products, tools, and techniques that can be addressed.
Implementations of the present invention solve one or more of the foregoing or other problems in the art with a gun oil composition adapted to address the needs, requirements, and extreme operating environment and conditions of modern firearms. In particular, the gun oil composition is configured to provide greater lubricity and enhanced gun performance under normal and extreme heat and pressure, to reduce, minimize, and/or largely prevent the build-up of carbon and debris fouling on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, to provide enhanced cleaning and substantially reduce cleaning time, and/or to provide increased protection against environmental components such as dust, dirt and rust even in severe environmental applications. In at least one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a high viscosity base oil and a medium-viscosity oil with detergent additive. Certain implementations can also include a low viscosity penetrating oil, a low viscosity sulfurized ester, and/or additional additives.
Additional features and advantages of exemplary implementations of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplary implementations. The features and advantages of such implementations may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplary implementations as set forth hereinafter.
Implementations of the present invention provide a gun oil composition adapted to address the needs, requirements, and extreme operating environment and conditions of modern firearms. In particular, the gun oil composition is configured to provide greater lubricity and enhanced gun performance under normal and extreme heat and pressure, to reduce, minimize, and/or largely prevent the build-up of carbon and debris fouling on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, to provide enhanced cleaning and substantially reduce cleaning time, and/or to provide increased protection against environmental components such as dust, dirt and rust even in severe environmental applications. In at least one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a high viscosity base oil and a medium-viscosity oil with detergent additive. Certain implementations can also include a low viscosity penetrating oil, a low viscosity sulfurized ester, and/or additional additives.
As used herein, preventing carbon build-up relates to the reduction and prevention of fouling during operation of the firearm and from the combination of heat, pressure, and combustion by-products. Similarly, lubrication relates to reduction of friction and friction related heat. Likewise, cleaning relates to expediting removal of carbon, unburned powder, and other debris that result from operation of the firearm. Furthermore, rust and corrosion prevention relates to protecting the barrel, metal, and other corrosion prone components of the firearm from oxidation and/or other chemical alterations.
In a first implementation, the gun oil composition of the present invention comprises a medium to high viscosity base oil. The base oil can comprise the major component of the gun oil composition. The base oil can comprise a mineral based oil, synthetic or synthetic blends such as a hydrocarbon, polyalphaolefin, polyinternal olefin, and/or API Group V esters. The base oil can comprise, for example, up to 20% by weight of esters in certain implementations. While high viscosity base oils for firearms will be known to those skilled in the art, exemplary base oils of the present invention can comprise conventional motor oil(s), synthetic motor oil(s), and/or blends thereof. According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention, the high viscosity mineral based oil comprises a synthetic 10W-30 weight motor oil. One will appreciate, however, that other high viscosity oils are also contemplated herein. Accordingly, in another implementation of the present invention, the high viscosity mineral based oil comprises another mineral based motor oil.
In some implementations of the present invention, the gun oil composition comprises a medium viscosity mineral oil. For example, a medium viscosity mineral oil can include an automatic transmission fluid (ATF). In at least one implementation, the medium viscosity mineral oil comprises a mineral based or synthetic oil having at least one detergent additive. The medium viscosity mineral based oil can optionally include additional additives including anti-wear additives, rust and corrosion inhibitors, dispersants and surfactants, kinematic viscosity and viscosity index improvers, anti-oxidation compounds, and/or other known ATF additives.
According to one illustrative aspect of the present invention, the medium viscosity mineral based oil can include antiwear and/or extreme pressure agents such as sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, boron, or combinations thereof. The classes of compounds can include alkyl and aryl disulfides and polysulfides, dithiocarbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and phosphorus compounds such as alkyl phosphates, phosphites, dithiophosphites, and alkynylphosphonates. These antiwear and extreme pressure additives can function, at least in part, by thermal decomposition and/or forming products that react with a metal surface to form a solid protective layer that fills surface cavities and facilitates effective film formation to reduce friction and prevent welding and surface wear. Illustrative (metal) films can include iron halides, sulfides and/or phosphates depending upon the antiwear and extreme pressure agents used. Illustrative friction modifiers can form a protective film via physical and chemical absorption.
In certain implementations, the gun oil composition further comprises a penetrating oil. The material properties and chemical compositions of certain penetrating oils will be familiar to those skilled in the art. According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention, a penetrating oil comprises one or more (severely) hydrotreated petroleum distillates, light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ethers, and/or other (proprietary) ingredients.
Penetrating oils can, where appropriate, be characterized as having a low viscosity and can penetrate into millionth inch spaces, effectively preventing or breaking bonds caused by, formed by, resulting in, and/or related to rust, corrosion, contamination or compression. Penetrating oils, in some instances, can allow breaking of the molecular bond of oxidation or other chemical alterations at the (first) molecular level. Disruption of these chemical bonds can occur while remaining chemically neutral to the base metal. In some implementations, the penetrating oil can comprise or consist of a commercially available penetrating oil, such as Kroil™ or a related product or derivative thereof, such as, for example, AeroKroil™, SiliKroil™, Penephite™, etc. (available, for example, from Kano Laboratories). In other implementations, the commercially available penetrating oil can comprise or consist of Deep Creep™, PB Blaster Chemical™, WD-40™ Penetrant, Liquid Wrench™, and/or other similar products. One will appreciate, however, that one or more additional or alternative penetrating oils, including specially-designed or manufactured penetrating oils, non-commercially available penetrating oils, and/or combinations of any of the above or other penetrating oils can be appropriate in certain implementations.
In at least one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a low viscosity sulfurized ester or other low viscosity additive such as sulfurized fatty ester or fatty vegetable oil. The sulfurized ester additive can be adapted to provide excellent extreme pressure and antiwear properties (e.g., in combination with appropriate antiwear additives in mineral oils and/or greases. Sulfurized esters can also offer outstanding solubility characteristics in naphthenic hydrocarbons and/or solvents of base oils of the gun oil composition. Similarly, sulfurized esters can provide desired chemical properties when used in combination with ash-comprising or ashless phosphorus-type antiwear and lubricity additives.
Additionally, the sulfurized ester additive can remain inactive for and/or against ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The sulfurized ester additive can be selected from a family of esters which have been found to be useful in severe environmental applications to provide low-temperature flowability with clean, high temperature operation. According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention, the sulfurized ester can provide a combination of branching structure(s), characteristic(s), and/or properties and/or polarity that can protect metal, reduce volatility, and improve energy efficiency through higher lubricity.
According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention, the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a base oil mixture from about 10 wt. % to about 90 wt. % of a first mineral oil selected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such as conventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, and polyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; a medium viscosity oil mixture, such as an automatic transmission fluid from about 10 wt. % to about 50 wt. % having a mineral based oil and at least one detergent additive, and optionally including one or more additional additives, such as those known to one of ordinary skill in the art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a low viscosity penetrating oil from about 2 wt. % to about 25 wt. % comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates, light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/or other (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivative thereof from about 2% wt. % to about 25 wt. %.
According to another illustrative implementation of the present invention, the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a base oil mixture from about 25 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of a first mineral oil selected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such as conventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, and polyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; a medium viscosity oil mixture, such as an automatic transmission fluid from about 25 wt. % to about 45 wt. % having a mineral based oil and at least one detergent additive, and optionally including one or more additional additives , such as those known to one of ordinary skill in the art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a low viscosity penetrating oil from about 5 wt. % to about 15 wt. % comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates, light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/or other (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivative thereof from about 5% wt. % to about 15 wt. %.
According to yet another illustrative implementation of the present invention, the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a base oil mixture from about 25 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of a first mineral oil selected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such as conventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, and polyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; a medium viscosity oil mixture such as an automatic transmission fluid from about 35 wt. % to about 45 wt. % having a mineral based oil and at least one detergent additive, and optionally including one or more additional additives, such as those known to one of ordinary skill in the art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a low viscosity penetrating oil from about 5 wt. % to about 15 wt. % comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates, light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/or other (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivative thereof from about 12% wt. % to about 15 wt. %.
The gun oil composition of the present invention can provide an immediate and/or substantially improved lubricity, improved performance under extreme heat and/or pressure, can minimizes and/or largely prevents the build-up of carbon and/or debris (fouling) on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, and can substantially reduce cleaning time while providing increased protection against environmental components such as dust, dirt and rust. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the gun oil composition of the present invention provides improved performance not only under normal operating conditions, but also in extreme operating environments of high heat, high pressure, and/or during prolonged activity and/or repeated use.
The gun oil composition can include components that are highly viscous, components that are moderately viscous with desirable anti-wear and high pressure performance capabilities, and components that have low viscosity and penetrating properties with additives that can reduce volatility and improve energy efficiency through higher lubricity. Thus, implementations of the gun oil composition can be well-suited to the needs of modern firearms by providing both rust and corrosion resistance, and can provide and/or allow: substantially enhanced lubricity performance under extreme heat and pressure; and substantial improvement in preventing buildup of carbon, debris, and other environmental contaminants by trapping, controlling, and/or removing the same said contaminants.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the performance enhancement provided by implementations of the gun oil composition of the present invention is not only a result of the chemical formulation of the combined components and additives, individually or collectively, at lower temperatures and under milder (loading) conditions, but also as a result of the chemical properties thereof pursuant to thermal decomposition and any resultant products that may result during extreme temperature, pressure, and/or other factors in extreme operating environments. Thus, implementations of the present invention can provide additional benefits, qualities, and/or properties as the components themselves are exposed to normal and/or extreme operating conditions (or undergo chemical, physical, or other changes thereby).
The present invention may be implemented and/or embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
