Patent Grant
8418389
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/607,164 entitled “Apparatus and Method for Gun Recoil Mitigation,” both of which have the same assignee.
The invention relates in general to weapons and in particular to recoil reduction of weapons.
Traditional weapons may include an operating group, which may include a bolt carrier and its subcomponents, that recoils towards the user in order to cycle the weapon. Typically, the operating group may impact a surface at the end of its stroke. The impact may cause a “kick” that may be felt by the user. In some instances, many rounds of ammunition may be fired by an individual in a short period of time. The kick of the weapon may be painful or harmful to the user, particularly when using semi-automatic or automatic weapons. Many devices and methods have been used to minimize or eliminate kick. Many of these devices may not be desirable because they may add too much weight to the weapon or may be too costly.
There is a long-felt and unsolved need for an effective recoil reduction apparatus that adds little or no weight to a weapon and is relatively inexpensive. This need is particularly great for automatic and semi-automatic weapons
It is an object of the invention to provide a weapon which produces little or no kick to the user.
One aspect of the invention is a weapon that may include a housing and a receiver translatably disposed in the housing. A barrel may have one end fixed to the receiver. The barrel may be translatable with respect to the housing. A spring stop may be fixed to the barrel forward of the housing. A spring may be disposed between the spring stop and a front of the housing.
An operating group may be translatably disposed in the receiver. A gear rack may be fixed to the operating group. A longitudinal member may have one end fixed to the operating group. A counter-mass may have a second gear rack and an opening. Another end of the longitudinal member may be translatable through the opening in the counter-mass. A second spring may be disposed around the longitudinal member. One end of the second spring may bear against the operating group and another end of the second spring may bear against the counter-mass. A pinion gear may be rotatably fixed to the receiver and operable to mesh with the gear rack and the second gear rack.
The weapon may include a butt stock fixed to the housing. The butt stock may include an open area for reciprocation of the counter-mass and longitudinal member. An ammunition magazine may be removably disposed in the housing.
The operating group may include an impact surface and the counter-mass may include a second impact surface. The impact surface and the second impact surface may be operable to contact each other after firing the weapon.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of mitigating recoil in a weapon having an operating group and a counter-mass. The method may include moving the counter-mass in a direction substantially opposite a direction of movement of the operating group. The counter-mass and the operating group may be substantially coaxial. The method may include impacting the counter-mass and the operating group. The counter-mass and the operating group may move at a same speed or may move at different speeds. The operating group and the counter-mass may have substantially a same mass or may have substantially different masses.
The invention will be better understood, and further objects, features, and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, like or corresponding parts are denoted by like or corresponding reference numerals.
A recoil reduction apparatus may use a rack and pinion and counter-mass system to partially or completely cancel out the rearward impulse of a weapon's operating group. The operating group of the weapon may impact a forward-moving counterweight. This impact may diminish or eliminate the “kick” produced by the operating group. Peak overall recoil forces may be reduced by coupling the recoil reduction apparatus to a recoil-translating barrel.
A barrel 12 may have one end fixed to receiver 30 at area 32 (
A gear rack 40 may be fixed to operating group 34. A longitudinal member 42 may have one end 44 (
As seen in
Prior to firing, the components of weapon 10 may be in the position shown in
Upon firing, the impulse of cartridge 38 may recoil operating group 34 and operating group gear rack 40 rearward, as shown in
After firing and prior to impact of impact surfaces 64, 66, velocities of operating group 34 and counter-mass 46 may have substantially the same absolute value and opposite directions. In addition, if the mass of operating group 34 and the mass of counter-mass 46 are substantially the same, then a large amount of the recoil force may be dissipated and not felt by the user of the weapon 10. When the mass of counter-mass 46 is less than the mass of operating group 34, and, assuming equal and opposite velocities, then, less recoil force may be dissipated in weapon 10.
Momentum is the product of mass and velocity. Thus, if the velocities of operating group 34 and counter-mass 46 are opposite, but not equal, the amount of recoil dissipated in weapon 10 may be varied. In some embodiments of weapon 10, the gear ratios between pinion 60 and gear racks 40, 48 may be varied to vary the velocities of operating group 34 and counter-mass 46. Thus, the amount of recoil dissipated in weapon 10 may be varied by varying the masses and velocities of operating group 34 and counter-mass 46.
While the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, numerous changes, alterations and modifications to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.
The inventions described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the U.S. Government for U.S. Government purposes.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3561319 | Joyce | Feb 1971 | A |
| 3951038 | Van Langenhoven | Apr 1976 | A |
