SELF-LOCKINGLY FASTENED COMPONENTS IN A RECOIL ENVIRONMENT

BACKGROUND

A firearm may be zeroed after an optic is attached thereto. However, with some known optic assemblies, the firearm may need to be re-zeroed after an optic is removed and re-attached to the firearm.

To avoid the need to re-zero the firearm, some firearms include rail-mounting assemblies. In these rail-mounting assemblies, an optic is slidingly coupled to the firearm on a rail. Although these slidingly coupling systems may eliminate the need to re-zero the firearm after the optic is removed and re-attached to the firearm, they may require a dedicated rail-mounted optic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an exploded isometric view of an optic assembly coupled to a locating optic assembly mount, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of the optic assembly of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C illustrates a section view taken along section line OO of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1D illustrates a top view of the bracket of FIG. 1A, with the optic omitted for brevity.

FIG. 1E illustrates a section view taken along section line PP of FIG. 1D.

FIG. 1F illustrates a top view of the slide of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1G illustrates a section view taken along section line QQ of FIG. 1F.

FIG. 1H illustrates a top view of the fastener of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1I illustrates a section view taken along section line RR of FIG. 1H.

FIG. 2A illustrates a section view of an optic assembly coupled to a locating optic assembly mount, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2B illustrates a detailed view SS of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded isometric view of an optic assembly coupled to a slide using an undercut attachment interface, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3B illustrates a side view of the optic assembly of FIG. 3A coupled to the slide of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C illustrates an exploded isometric view showing a bottom of the optic assembly of FIG. 3A coupled to the slide of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4A illustrates a top view of the optic assembly of FIG. 3A coupled to the slide of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4B illustrates a section view taken along section line TT of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C illustrates a section view taken along section line UU of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4D illustrates a detailed view VV of FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5A-B illustrate installation of the bracket of the optic assembly of FIG. 2A on the slide in which the bracket is shown with transparence.

FIG. 5C illustrates a side view of the slide of FIG. 2A.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate top and rear views, respectively, of the slide of FIG. 2A.

FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrate section views taken along lines WW and XX of FIG. 6A, respectively.

FIG. 7A illustrates a side view of the bracket of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 7B illustrates an isometric view showing a bottom of the bracket of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 7C illustrates a bottom view of the bracket of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 7D illustrates a section view taken along section line YY of FIG. 6C.

FIG. 8A illustrates an isometric view of the locating fastener of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 8B illustrates a top view of the locating fastener of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 8C illustrates a section view taken along section line ZZ of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 9A illustrates a side view of a slide assembly including an optic adapter self-lockingly fastened to a slide, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 9B illustrates a top view of the slide assembly of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 10B illustrates a detailed view B of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10C illustrates a detailed view D of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 10D illustrates a detailed view of a part of the self-locking threads of FIG. 10C.

FIG. 11A illustrates a top view of another a slide assembly including an optic self-lockingly fastened to an optic adapter, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the slide assembly of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA′ of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12B illustrates a detailed view B′ of FIG. 12A.

FIG. 12C illustrates a detailed view C′ of FIG. 12B.

FIG. 13A illustrates a top view of the nut of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 13B illustrates a section view taken along section line DD′ of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C illustrates a detailed view E′ of FIG. 13B.

FIG. 14A illustrates a top view of another a slide assembly including an optic self-lockingly fastened to a slide, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 14B illustrates a side view of the slide assembly of FIG. 14A.

FIG. 15A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA″ of FIG. 14A.

FIG. 15B illustrates a detailed view B″ of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 16A illustrates a top view an assembly including a gas key self-lockingly fastened to a bolt carrier, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 16B illustrates a section view taken along section line EE of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 17A illustrates a detailed view F of FIG. 16B.

FIG. 17B illustrates a detailed view G of FIG. 17A.

FIG. 17C illustrates a detailed view of a part of the self-locking threads of FIG. 17B.

FIG. 18A illustrates a top view of the gas key of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 18B illustrates a section view taken along section line HH of FIG. 18A.

FIG. 19A illustrates a top view of the rotatably-driven part of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 19B illustrates a section view taken along section line JJ of FIG. 19A.

FIG. 20A illustrates an assembly including a magwell self-lockingly fastened to a backstrap, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 20B illustrates an exploded view of the backstrap and magwell of FIG. 20A.

FIG. 20C illustrates a side view of the backstrap and the magwell of FIG. 20A.

FIG. 21A illustrates a bottom view of the assembly of FIG. 20C.

FIG. 21B illustrates a section view taken along section line KK of FIG. 21A.

FIG. 22A illustrates a detailed view L of FIG. 21B.

FIG. 22B illustrates a detailed view M of FIG. 22A.

FIG. 23A illustrates a front view of a firearm assembly including a buffer tube self-lockingly fastened to a lower receiver, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 23B illustrates a section view taken along section line NN of FIG. 23A.

FIG. 23C illustrates a detailed view P of FIG. 23B.

FIG. 24A illustrates a front view of the castle nut of FIGS. 23A-B.

FIG. 24B illustrates a section view taken along section line QQ of FIG. 24A.

FIG. 25A illustrates a front view of the end plate of FIG. 23A-B.

FIG. 25B illustrates a section view taken along section line RR of FIG. 25A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Locating Fastener for Firearm Optic

FIG. 1A illustrates an exploded isometric view of an optic assembly 3900 coupled to a locating optic assembly mount 3901 defined by a slide 3920, according to various embodiments. FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of the optic assembly 3900 of FIG. 1A, with the optic omitted for brevity. FIG. 1C illustrates a section view taken along section line OO of FIG. 1B. FIG. 1D illustrates a top view of the bracket 3905 of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1E illustrates a section view taken along section line PP of FIG. 1D. FIG. 1F illustrates a top view of the slide 3920 of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1G illustrates a section view taken along section line QQ of FIG. 1F. FIG. 1H illustrates a top view of the locating fastener 3980A of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1I illustrates a section view taken along section line RR of FIG. 1H.

The locating optic assembly mount 3901 is arranged for repeatably removing and alignably attaching an optic 3970 to the slide 3920. It is known that a firearm may be zeroed after an optic is attached thereto. However, with some known optic assemblies, the firearm may need to be re-zeroed after an optic is removed and re-attached to the firearm.

Unlike the rail-mounting assemblies that may require the dedicated rail-mounted optic, locating optic assembly mount 3901 may be compatible with any style of optic (e.g., any style of pistol optic), such as the RMR optic 154 (FIG. 1F).

Referring to FIG. 1C, the locating optic assembly mount 3901 (FIG. 1A) may include locating fastener openings 3980B that have a locating function and a fastening function. The locating function of the locating fastener openings 3980B may provide repeatable locating of the optic 3970 relative to the slide 3920 (by providing repeatable locating of the bracket 3905 in a same position on the slide 3920, in this embodiment). The fastening function may limit movement of the optic 3970 relative to the slide 3920 (by limiting “play” of the bracket 3905 relative to the slide 3920, in this embodiment).

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 1C, the locating fastener openings 3980B include a counter opening 3980D for a head of the shouldered fastener 3980A (e.g., a counter sink), a counter opening 3980C for the shoulder of the shouldered fastener 3980A, and the threaded hole. The counter sink 3980D may be arranged to provide a clearance fit for the head, while the counter bore 3080C may be arranged to provide a slip fit for the shoulder (e.g., dimensioned to slip-fittingly receive the shoulder). The slip fit causes a center axis of the shouldered fastener 3980A to precisely coincide with a center axis of the fastener opening 3080B (the slip fit counter bore 3080C provides the locating function). This contrasts with fastener openings in which the fastener may not be precisely aligned in a fastener hole due to tolerances in the threading (this threading tolerance allows screws to be rotationally driving into the hole).

When the shouldered fastener 3980A is rotatably driven into the slide 3920 (e.g., into a threaded fastener opening), the slip fit may force the fastener 3980A into a centered position in the locating fastener opening 3980B. Although threading may be required to have sufficient tolerance to allow the shouldered fastener 3980A to be rotatably driven into the threaded section of the locating fastener opening 3980B (with no tolerance, driving a screw into a threaded hole may be difficult or impossible), the shoulder may be tight-fitting in the counter bore 3080C, so that a center axis of the locating fastener 3980A precisely coincides with a center axis of the locating fastener opening 3980B when the shoulder is located in the tight-fitting counter bore 3080C. As used herein, the term “locating counter opening” refers to a counter opening that performs this locating function by being tighter-fitting than the threading (e.g., dimensioned to slip-fittingly receive a corresponding part of a rotatably-driven part).

In some embodiments, tapered head may be less tight-fighting in the counter sink 3980D than the shoulder is in the counter bore 3980C (e.g., clearance fitting). This may optimize the ease of rotatably driving the locating fastener 3980A into the locating fastener opening 3980B on the final rotations.

Regarding the shoulder section 3980C, tolerance of this section may be tighter than the tolerance of the threaded section of the locating fastener opening 3980B, which may reduce or eliminate “play” of the bracket 3905 relative to the slide 3920. Also, the shoulders may be wider than an outer diameter of the threading, which may resist sheering similar to any bolt shank described herein.

In this embodiment, an additional counter bore (centered on a same axis as the other counter openings) may provide a pocket for the seal 3981. The seal 3981 and the pocket may be similar to any other seal and pocket described herein. The seal 3981 may prevent moisture from damaging the threading and/or threaded holes (in arrangements without the seal 3981 rust may form—binding up the threading in the threaded holes).

Referring again to FIG. 1A, in this embodiment the locating optic assembly mount 3901 uses fastener openings an opposite ends of the locating optic assembly mount. This may also may reduce or eliminate “play” of the bracket 3905 relative to the slide 3920. In this embodiment, there are three threaded fastener openings, but other embodiments may have different numbers of fastener openings.

Also, in this embodiment, the locating and fastening features of the locating optic assembly mount 3901 may be formed using the same type of tooling (e.g., tooling for making counter openings). This may reduce manufacturing steps in forming the slide 3920 than other locating solutions on slides that may require different tooling for different regions of a locating structure on the slide (e.g., tooling for pins and tooling for grooves).

Referring again to FIG. 1A, the bolts 3964 and barrel nuts 3975 may be similar to any bolts and barrel nuts described herein. The optic 3970 may be similar to any optic described herein. The bracket 3905 includes a dovetail groove for a rear sight (the rear sight is shown installed in the dovetail groove). The bracket 3905 may include any features of any bracket described herein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the locating optic assembly mount is arranged to receive an optic assembly that includes the bracket 3905. In other embodiments, a locating optic assembly mount may be arranged for direct-mounting an optic on a firearm (e.g., a slide include a locating optic assembly mount arranged for direct-mounting an optic).

In this embodiment, the coaxial counter openings are circular openings to mate with circular sections of the locating fastener 3980A. In other embodiments, a locating fastener may a faceted section in place of at least one of the circular sections (e.g., a square shoulder).

In this embodiment, the optic assembly 3900 includes the bracket 3905 and the optic 3970. In other embodiments, it may be possible and practical to provide an optic assembly with an optic to mount directly to a locating optic assembly mount (e.g., without any bracket). In these embodiments, locating fasteners (similar in various respects to the locating fasteners 3980A) may attach the optic directly to the locating optic assembly mount.

In this embodiment, the optic assembly 3900 is attached to the locating optic assembly mount 3901 using a homogenous group of fasteners (e.g., three locating fasteners 3980A). In other embodiments, an optic assembly may be attached to a locating optic assembly mount using a heterogeneous group of fasteners. Such a heterogeneous group of fasteners may include any number of locating fasteners (similar in various respects to locating fastener 3980A) and any number of other fasteners now known or later developed. For example, a single locating fastener opening may be all that is required to achieve the locating function—and the fastening function may be provided in part using other fasteners now known or later developed (in one example, the single locating fastener opening is provided on one end of the locating optic assembly mount and threaded holes for any threaded fasteners now known or later developed may be provided at the other end of the locating optic assembly).

The embodiments described in the previous paragraph may use threaded openings on both ends of a locating optic assembly mount (e.g., using locating fastener openings exclusively or using any number of locating fastener opening(s) in combination some other attachment feature that utilizes fasteners). However, in yet other embodiments, the other attachment feature may not require threading (or even separate fasteners). For example, in one embodiment, an optic assembly may include a bracket with a non-threaded structure (such as a tab) or recess to mate with a corresponding recess or non-threaded structure (such as the tab), respectively, on a firearm. The optic assembly may be installed by coupling the non-threaded structure with the recess on the one end, and then attaching the other end of the optic assembly to at least one locating fastener opening of the locating optic assembly mount. This is one example of an attachment feature for one end of an optic assembly in which the attachment feature does not use threading (or even separate fasteners). In various embodiments, an optic assembly may use any attachment feature now known or later developed in combination with at least one locating fastener opening (which may be similar in various respects to any locating fastener opening described herein).

FIG. 2A illustrates a section view of an optic assembly 4906 coupled to a locating optic assembly mount, according to various embodiments. This embodiment may be similar in any respect to the embodiment of FIG. 1A, but with a different fastener opening (both of the counter openings 4080C and 4080D of the locating fastener opening are counter bores) and a corresponding locating fastener 4080A.

In this embodiment, the shoulder section 4080C is shown with a slip fit arrangement (the spacing on the head section is exaggerated to illustrate the contrasting clearance fit). As the fastener threading (which may be similar to fastener threading of FIG. 1A) is rotatably driven into the threaded section 4080B of the locating fastener opening, the shoulder section 4080C (which may have a tighter tolerance than the threaded hole 4080B) may precisely locate a center axis of the locating fastener 4080A coincident with a center axis of the locating fastener opening. The shoulder section 4080C may also may resist sheering similar to any bolt shank described herein.

The counter bore 4080D may be arranged to be non-contacting a sidewall of the head of the locating fastener 4080A, as illustrated. In this embodiment, the counter bores 4080C and 4080D are coaxial, but this is not required. In other examples, a counter bore (or other opening for a fastener head) may a center axis that is offset from a center axis of a locating counter opening.

In the embodiments illustrated herein, the mechanism (e.g., a socket) for rotating the locating fasteners is covered by an optic when the optic is coupled to a bracket. In other embodiments, the mechanism for rotating the locating fasteners may be exposed, which may allow the optic assembly to be removed from the firearm without removing the optic from the bracket. For example, in some embodiments a rear iron sight may be omitted from the bracket, and fastener opening(s) for the rear end of the optic assembly may be provided below this part of the bracket, so that the rotation mechanism of the rear fastener(s) may be exposed when the optic is attached to the mount. Fastener opening(s) for a front end of the optic assembly may also be exposed when the optic is attached to the mount. In other embodiments, one end of the optic assembly may attach to a firearm using a non-threaded attachment structure (such as a tab), and the other end of the optic assembly may attach to the firearm using one or more locating fasteners having rotating mechanisms that are exposed when the optic is attached to the bracket. In these embodiments, the optic assembly may be removed from the firearm without removing the optic from the bracket.

Undercut Attachment Interface for Firearm Optic

As described in the previous section, one end of an optic assembly may be arranged to attach to a firearm using a non-threaded attachment structure (such as a tab), and the other end of the optic assembly may attach to the firearm using one or more locating fasteners having rotating mechanisms that are exposed when the optic is attached to the bracket. In an optic assembly including a bracket and an optic, this may allow the optic assembly to be removed from the firearm without removing the optic from the bracket—which preserves zero. In the embodiments that follow, undercut structure(s) may be used to define a non-threaded attachment structure that may be used, in combination with one or more fasteners (e.g., one or more locating fasteners), to allow removal of the optic assembly from the firearm without removing the optic from the bracket.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded isometric view of an optic assembly 4100 coupled to a slide 4120 using an undercut attachment interface, according to various embodiments. FIG. 3B illustrates a side view of the optic assembly 4100 of FIG. 3A coupled to the slide 4120 of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C illustrates an exploded isometric view showing a bottom of the optic assembly 4100 of FIG. 3A coupled to the slide 4120 of FIG. 3A.

A locating optic mount 4101 defined by a top of the slide 4120 includes an undercut structure 4199B (FIG. 3A) to mate with a corresponding undercut structure 4199A defined by an underside of the bracket 4105 (FIG. 3C). Referring briefly to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D, in FIG. 6A a dashed line 4499 illustrates the undercut of undercut structure 4199B (the undercut is also shown in FIG. 6C). The corresponding undercut structure 4199A (FIG. 3A) of the underside of the bracket 4105 is shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D.

In this example, one of the undercut attachment structures 4199A and 4199B may include a first dovetail (e.g., the undercut attachment structure 4199B, in this example), and the other of the undercut attachment structures 4199A and 4199B may include a second dovetail (e.g., the undercut attachment structure 4199A, in this example) to mate with the first dovetail. However, in other examples undercut interfaces having any shape, dovetail or otherwise, may be used for an undercut attachment interface.

Referring again to FIG. 3A, the locating optic mount 4101 defined by the top of the slide 4120 may also include a locating fastener opening 4180B, which may be similar in various respects to any locating fastener opening described herein. A locating fastener 4180A includes threading and a shoulder to mate with the locating fastener opening 4180B. However, the locating fastener 4180A also includes a tapered head to mate with a tapered opening 4185 defined by a top surface of the bracket 4105. The locating fastener 4180A is illustrated in more detail FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C.

Referring again to FIG. 3A, the locating optic assembly mount 4101 may also include a fastener opening 4180B to provide a fastening function, and the bracket 4105 may include a tapered opening 4185 to provide a locating function. The fastening function may limit movement of the optic assembly 4100 relative to the slide 4120 (by limiting “play” of the bracket 4105 relative to the slide 4120, in this embodiment), similar to the locating fastener 3980A (FIG. 1A). Regarding the locating function, the tapered head of the locating fastener 4180A is arranged to engage with part of a tapered opening 4185 of the bracket 4105 to interlock the undercut structures 4199A and 4199B, which repeatably locates the bracket 4105 (and therefore the optic 4170 installed thereon) in the same position on the slide 4120.

Installation of the bracket 4105 on the locating optic mount 4101 is illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The slide 4120 includes recesses 4488 (FIG. 6A), and the bracket 4105 includes projections 4489 (FIG. 7B) that drop into the recesses 4488 to position the bracket 4105 on the slide 4120, as shown in FIG. 5A. Next, a user slides the bracket 4105 forwardly to perform an initial alignment of the bracket 4105 on the slide 4120 (e.g., when the tapered opening 4185 and the locating fastener opening 4180B align, as shown in FIG. 5B, which allows the locating fastener 4180A (FIG. 3A) to be installed through the aligned openings 4185 and 4180B).

As the locating fastener 4180A is installed in the aligned openings 4180B and 4185, referring now to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, as shown in FIG. 4D a part of the tapered head 4180D engages a part of the tapered opening 4185. This engagement urges the bracket 4105 forward, which interlocks the undercut structure 4199B (FIG. 3A) and the undercut structure 4199A (FIG. 3C). FIG. 4D shows a gap 4186 (not to scale) on only one side of the tapered head 4180D to emphasize the forward-urging caused by the taper-engagement. This interlocking performs a final alignment of the bracket 4105 on the slide 4120.

Still referring to FIG. 4D, in this embodiment the locating fastener 4180A includes a non-threaded shoulder 4180C. In one embodiment, this non-threaded shoulder 4180C may be slip fit with the locating opening 4180A similar to any locating opener described herein. A part of the non-threaded shoulder 4180C may be clearance fit with the straight section below the tapered opening 4185 (so that the only part of the locating fastener 4180A that contacts the bracket 4105 is the tapered head 4180D, which is illustrated in the drawing), in various embodiments. Other embodiments may not include the non-threaded shoulder—instead the entire length of a locating fastener below a tapered head may be threaded.

The threading on the locating fastener 4180A can be similar to any threading described herein. In some embodiments, the locating fastener opening 4180B may have a counter bore for receiving a seal (not shown), similar to the counter bore 3982 (FIG. 1C). This may prevent corrosion—so that the threading does not bind up over time.

Referring again to FIG. 6A, a part of a sidewall of the undercut structure 4199B (FIG. 3A) of the slide 4120 may have a pair of non-parallel straight sections 4479B (FIG. 6A) located between curved sections 4479A and 4479C. This pair of non-parallel straight sections 4479B interlocks with a corresponding pair of non-parallel straights sections on the undercut structure 4199A— contributing, together with the tapered head 4180D, to alignment (e.g., lateral and/or front/aft alignment) of the optic assembly 4100 in a repeatable position on the slide 4120.

Referring again to FIG. 3A, the optic 4170 may be similar to any optic described herein. The fasteners 4175 that couple the optic 4170 to the bracket 4105 may also be similar to any fasteners described herein for attaching an optic to a bracket, or any known fastener. The rear sight 4189 may be fixably installed (e.g. press fit) to a rear end of the bracket 4105 using a dovetail groove, as illustrated.

In another embodiment, an optic may be installed more aftly on a bracket, and a rear sight may be fixably installed to a front end of the bracket using a dovetail groove. In another embodiment, an optic guard (e.g., any optic guard described herein) may be fixably or releasably installed to a front end of the bracket using a dovetail groove.

Self-Lockingly Fastened Components in a Recoil Environment

Various firearm assemblies have some degree of modularity. Sometimes modularity is provided by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the firearm—an operator may have the option of configuring and/or operating the firearm with or without an optional component. The firearm may be manufactured with the optional component fixably installed on the attachment interface, in some examples. If the firearm is configured with the optional component, the operator may wish to uninstall the component of the firearm for some applications and re-install the component for other applications.

In other instances, modularity may be provided in the aftermarket. As a simple example, a user may replace the original barrel of a firearm with a threaded barrel to provide modularity. This essentially adds an additional attachment interface—the threaded part of the barrel. The user may then thread mating accessories, such as compensators, suppressors, or the like, onto the threaded barrel.

In either case, in some examples, the attachment interface is located on a reciprocating component of the firearm. An example is an optic attachment interface on a slide. This may expose the attachment interface to various recoil-based forces with each movement of the assembly including reciprocating component and the reciprocating-component mounted device.

To withstand the repeated action of the reciprocating-component, various known attachment interfaces may fixably install the reciprocating-component mounted device on the reciprocating component. In a fixable installation, a non-temporary deformation occurs when installing and/or or removing the reciprocating-component mounted device from the reciprocating component. In many examples of fixable installations generally, non-temporary deformation must occur at both installation and removal. For example, with riveting, the rivets are non-temporarily deformed on attachment and removal. In other examples, non-temporary deformation may be occur in response to clamping, drilling, welding, or the like.

In other fixable installations, non-temporary deformation may occur at removal specifically. One example is an adhesive, such as a thread locking adhesive. Once the thread-locking adhesive cures, the cured adhesive must be broken in order to remove the reciprocating-component mounted device from the reciprocating component. A user may unintentionally damage the reciprocating component or the reciprocating-component mounted device when attempting to break the cured adhesive. Even when this damage is avoided, the user may still have to clean up the devices (i.e., remove the broken cured compound in order to apply the required new adhesive for fixable re-installation).

U.S. Pat. No. 11,480,414, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a taper lock interface. This taper lock interface may be utilized to barrel-mount a firearm accessory. What is needed is an attachment interface that may be similar in some respects to the '414 embodiments. It would also be beneficial for such an attachment interface to have attributes consistent with self-lockingly fastening a wide variety of parts in a recoil environment (e.g., not limited to barrel-mounting, and having attributes consistent with use in various locations of a firearm assembly, such as compact dimensions, ease of use, etc.)

Various embodiments described herein include an assembly to operate in a recoil environment in which the assembly may be mounted on a device that produces or transmits recoil. At least one part of the assembly may be self-lockingly fastened to a mating part. In various embodiments, the mating part may be a slide or other reciprocating part of a recoil-producing device.

While various features described herein may be arranged to withstand the variety of forces involved when the mating component is a reciprocating component (e.g., a slide), any of the features described herein are also well-suited to self-lockingly fastening the assembly to some other mating part of a device that produces or transmits recoil (e.g., a non-reciprocating part such as a frame assembly of a firearm, or another part of an assembly in which both parts are mounted on a reciprocating or non-reciprocating part in a recoil environment). For example, the features described herein may be used for self-lockingly fastening a magwell to a backstap, self-lockingly fastening a gas key to a bolt carrier, self-lockingly fastening a buffer tube to a lower receiver, or self-lockingly fastening any other parts in a recoil environment.

In various embodiments, an apparatus including at least one part of an assembly self-lockingly fastened to a mating part may include a threaded opening defining self-locking threads, and a non-threaded opening defining: a tapered opening comprising a locking taper, or a tapered counter opening arranged to make contact (e.g., taper-to-taper contact) with a taper defined by a rotatably-driven part, wherein the threaded hole is arranged to mate with threading defined by the rotatably-driven part. In various embodiments, the at least one part of the assembly may be self-lockingly fastened to the mating part in more than one way (e.g., using the locking taper and self-locking threads).

In some embodiments, the threaded and non-threaded openings may be part of a same fastener opening, and the rotatably-driven part may be a rotatably-driven fastener. The fastener opening may have a top section and a bottom section located below the top section in the fastener opening. The bottom section may define the threaded opening and the top section may define the non-threaded opening.

In various embodiments, one of the self-lockingly fastened parts may define the threaded opening and the other of the self-locking fastened parts may define at least a portion of the tapered counter opening.

In some embodiments, the rotatably-driven fastener may define the self-locking threads—such as in the case of a nut (e.g., a sleeve nut, a castle nut, or any other nut). In some embodiments, the tapered opening may mate with a tapered surface defined by an exterior of the nut, in which the threaded opening is defined by an interior of the nut.

FIG. 9A illustrates a side view of a slide assembly 5900 including an optic adapter 5905 self-lockingly fastened to a slide 5920, according to various embodiments. FIG. 9B illustrates a top view of the slide assembly 5900 of FIG. 9A. FIG. 10A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA of FIG. 9B. FIG. 10B illustrates a detailed view B of FIG. 10A. FIG. 10C illustrates a detailed view D of FIG. 10B. FIG. 10D illustrates a detailed view of a part of the self-locking threads of FIG. 10C.

In this embodiment, the reciprocating-part mounted assembly includes an optic adapter 5905 (to receive an optic, not shown) and the illustrated fasteners, and the mating part is the slide 5920. The optic adapter 5905 is self-lockingly fastened to the slide 5920, rather than being fixably installed on a slide like other slide assemblies that may require adhesive (e.g., a thread locking compound).

Like other self-lockingly fastened embodiments described herein, the slide assembly 5900 includes a non-threaded opening and a threaded opening (5980A and 5980B, respectively). In this embodiment, self-locking threads (FIG. 10C, 5980C) are defined by the mating part (by the slide 5920 in this embodiment), and a tapered opening (e.g., a conical counter opening) is defined by the other part 5905.

The tapered opening may have a slope that is corresponding to (e.g., matching) a slope of a tapered section of the rotatably-driven fastener 5975, to provide taper-to-taper contact (as illustrated). Referring to FIG. 10B, a conical taper 5976 may make taper-to-taper contact with the tapered opening.

Depending on a number of factors including a slope of the tapers, this taper-to-taper contact may produce some resistance to the rotatably-driven fastener 5975 backing out due to a recoil impulse transmitted into the rotatably-driven fastener 5975 by, say, the mating part (which hereinafter may be referred to as ‘recoil-loosening resistance’). The slope of the conical taper 5976 is shallow compared to the conical taper 6676 of the locking taper illustrated in FIG. 17A. A degree of slope may be varied depending on design requirements. Referring again to FIG. 10B, in this embodiment using the shallow slope allows an optic to ‘sit lower’ on the pistol, because the shallow slope does not require increasing a height of the fastener head, which therefore does not requiring increasing the thickness of a plate of the optic adapter 5905. An optic that sits lower on a pistol is, of course, an advantage for firearm operators. The slope may be varied from what is shown based on any application requirement such as:

- A total magnitude of recoil-loosening resistance required (based on the location of the attachment interface on the firearm, characteristics of the firearm, or the, or combinations thereof);
- Sizing requirements for the attachment interface; or
- A magnitude of total recoil-loosening resistance provided by self-locking threads (which may be impacted by the count of individual threads of self-locking threads used on the mating part, a number of threaded openings used for the attachment interface, a type of self-locking thread, etc.), or the like, or combinations thereof.

In embodiments in which the magnitude of the recoil-loosening resistance provided by self-locking threads alone is not sufficient for an application, a steep slope may be used to provide recoil-loosening resistance that is equal or greater than a threshold amount, such as a recoil-loosening resistance comparably provided by the self-locking threads (e.g., redundancy), e.g., a ‘locking taper’. In other embodiments, a conical taper may have a shallow slope which may provide some other non-zero amount of additional recoil-loosening resistance. In various embodiments, a steep slope (e.g., an included angle) may be thirty degrees or less, as just one example; however, this is just an example—since various factors may impact slope requirements, as previously discussed. In some examples, it may be possible and practical to use a locking taper and any threads now known, or later developed (e.g., no redundancy).

The self-locking threads 5980C (FIGS. 10C and 10D) may be any self-locking threads now known, or later developed, that may provide a threshold recoil loosening resistance alone or in combination with any recoil resistance provided by the taper-to-taper contact, which does not fixably couple the self-locking fastened parts (e.g., do not result in non-temporary deformation on every fastening or unfastening, such as threads that require thread-locking compound to prevent loosening in a recoil environment).

In some examples, the self-locking female threads may have a thirty degree wedge ramp, as illustrated, may be created using threading tools such as the Emuge threading tools described on the Emuge-Fraken Group website. The male threading 5980D may be any threading to mate with the self-locking female threads 5980C.

Referring again to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the self-lockingly fastened parts 5905 and 5920 are non-fixably coupled. Unlike some known firearm assemblies that may fixably install an optic plate on a slide using a thread-locking compound, the optic adapter 5905 can be releasably removed from the slide 5920 and re-fastened to the slide 5920 by loosening and/or tightening the rotatably-driven fastener 5975.

The optic adapter 5905 and slide 5920 may be similar in any respect to any other optic adapter and slide described herein. In various embodiments, the slide 5920 and/or the optic adapter 5905 may have any locating fastener opening described herein, which may allow the optic adapter 5905 and/or an optic attached thereto (not shown for brevity) to be released and re-fastened without having to re-zero the firearm. The locating fastener opening may be a different opening than the fastener opening illustrated in FIG. 9A, or the illustrated opening may perform the locating function similar to any locating fastener opening described herein. A locating fastener opening may have any threads and/or may or may not provide the same taper-to-taper contact described above (in the case of a locating fastener opening that is also relied upon for recoil-loosening resistance).

FIG. 11A illustrates a top view of another a slide assembly 6100 including an optic 6170 self-lockingly fastened to an optic adapter 6105, according to various embodiments. FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the slide assembly of FIG. 11A. FIG. 12A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA′ of FIG. 11A. FIG. 12B illustrates a detailed view B′ of FIG. 12A. FIG. 12C illustrates a detailed view C′ of FIG. 12B. FIG. 13A illustrates a top view of the nut 6175 of FIG. 11A. FIG. 13B illustrates a section view taken along section line DD′ of FIG. 13A. FIG. 13C illustrates a detailed view E′ of FIG. 13B.

Referring now to FIG. 11B, the optic adapter 6105 may be similar to optic adapter 5905 in any respect, and may be self-lockingly fastened to the slide 6120 in a similar way that optic adapter 5905 is self-lockingly fastened to the slide 5920. The slide 6120 may be similar in any respect to the slide 5920.

In this embodiment, the rotatably driven part 6175 may be a nut (e.g., a sleeve nut, which may be similar in any respect to any sleeve nut described herein), which may include self-locking female threads 6180C that may be similar to self-locking female threads 5980C in any respect. Referring to FIG. 13B, the nut 6175 may have a tapered section 6176 to provide taper-to-taper contact with the non-threaded opening 6180A (FIG. 12B) similar to any other taper-to-taper contact described herein.

The nut 6175 may include any features of any other nut described herein, in various embodiments. Also, although the illustrated nut 6175 (FIGS. 13A-13C) is a sleeve nut in the illustrated embodiment, in other embodiments other types of nuts may be used in a similar way to the sleeve nut 6175. In still other embodiments, other rotatably driven parts similar in any respect to the sleeve nut 6175 may be used in other embodiments in which an optic is self-lockingly fastened to a slide assembly.

In contrast to the previously described embodiments in which the threaded opening 5980A is defined by the slide 5920, the threaded opening 6180B is a threaded hole of the sleeve nut 6175. The non-threaded opening 6180A may receive a head of the sleeve nut 6175, and may provide taper-to-taper contact.

The optic 6170 and optic adapter 6105 may be similar in any respect to any other optic and optic adapter described herein. In various embodiments, the optic adapter 6105 and/or the optic 6170 may have any locating fastener opening described herein, which may allow the optic 6170 to be released and re-fastened to the slide assembly 6100 without having to re-zero the firearm. The locating fastener opening may be a different opening than the fastener opening illustrated in FIG. 12A, or the illustrated opening may be modified to perform the locating function similar to any locating fastener opening described herein.

The fastener 6174 may be a bottom-up fastener 6174 (e.g., a bottom-up bolt), as illustrated. However, in other embodiments, a threaded post may be integrally formed on an optic adapter, to provide the threading 6180D to mate with the self-locking female threads 6180C. Any structure, now known or later developed, to provide threading to which the self-locking threads may be self-lockingly fastened to may be used.

FIG. 14A illustrates a top view of another a slide assembly 6400 including an optic 6470 self-lockingly fastened to a slide 6420, according to various embodiments. FIG. 14B illustrates a side view of the slide assembly 6400 of FIG. 14A. FIG. 15A illustrates a section view taken along section line AA″ of FIG. 14A. FIG. 15B illustrates a detailed view B″ of FIG. 15A.

This is a direct mount embodiment in which slide 6420 includes an optic mounting section to which the optic 6470 may be directly fastened, instead of using optic adapter. There may be a gasket/O-ring and/or a sealing plate (not shown) or the like, located between the directly fastened optic 6470 and the slide 6420, in various embodiments.

In this embodiment, the threaded opening 6480B may be defined by the slide 6420 and the non-threaded opening 6480A (to provide taper-to-taper contact with the taper 6476 defined by the rotatably-driven part 6475) may be defined by the optic 6470. The rotatably-driven part 6475 may provide the threading 6480D to mate with the self-locking threads 6480C. In the illustration, the rotatably-driven part 6475 has threading all the way to its head, but this is not required (in some embodiments the rotatably-driven part 6475 may have a non-threaded shoulder between the threading 6480D and its head).

FIG. 16A illustrates a top view an assembly 6600 including a gas key 6606 self-lockingly fastened to a bolt carrier 6621, according to various embodiments. FIG. 16B illustrates a section view taken along section line EE of FIG. 16A. FIG. 17A illustrates a detailed view F of FIG. 16B. FIG. 17B illustrates a detailed view G of FIG. 17A. FIG. 17C illustrates a detailed view of a part of the threading of FIG. 17B. FIG. 18A illustrates a top view of the gas key 6606 of FIG. 16A. FIG. 18B illustrates a section view taken along section line HH of FIG. 18A. FIG. 19A illustrates a top view of the rotatably-driven part of FIG. 16A. FIG. 19B illustrates a section view taken along section line JJ of FIG. 19A.

Referring now to FIG. 16B, the mating part (the bolt carrier 6621, which may be a reciprocating assembly that reciprocates on an inside of an upper receiver) may define the threaded opening 6680B. The non-threaded opening 6680A may be defined by the gas key 6606. Referring now to FIG. 17A, a taper 6676 to form a locking taper is illustrated here. This arrangement is also self-locking in more than one way, given the self-locking threads 6680C to mate with the threading 6680D. One or more of the recoil-loosening resistances provided by the different structures may individually provide a threshold recoil-loosening resistance (e.g., with the other providing some amount of redundancy), or may provide the threshold recoil-loosening resistance in combination.

FIG. 20A illustrates an assembly 7000 including a magwell 7005 self-lockingly fastened to a backstrap 7020, according to various embodiments. FIG. 20B illustrates an exploded view of the backstrap 7020 and magwell 7005 of FIG. 20A. FIG. 20C illustrates a side view of the backstrap 7020 and the magwell 7005 of FIG. 20A. FIG. 21A illustrates a bottom view of the assembly of FIG. 20C. FIG. 21B illustrates a section view taken along section line KK of FIG. 21A. FIG. 22A illustrates a detailed view L of FIG. 21B. FIG. 22B illustrates a detailed view M of FIG. 22A.

Referring now to FIGS. 21B, 22A, and 22B in combination, the threaded opening 7780B may be defined by the mating part (the backstrap 7020). The magwell 7005 may define the non-threaded opening 7780A. A conical taper 7076 of the rotatably-driven fastener has a shallower slope than the previously illustrated embodiment due to application requirements. The self-locking threads 6680C may be defined by the backstrap 7020, and the threading 7080D may be defined by the rotatably-driven part 7075.

FIG. 23A illustrates a front view of a firearm assembly 7300 including a buffer tube 7305 self-lockingly fastened to a lower receiver 7320, according to various embodiments. FIG. 23B illustrates a section view taken along section line NN of FIG. 23A. FIG. 23C illustrates a detailed view P of FIG. 23B. FIG. 24A illustrates a front view of the castle nut 7375 of FIGS. 23A-B. FIG. 24B illustrates a section view taken along section line QQ of FIG. 24A. FIG. 25A illustrates a front view of the end plate 7374 of FIG. 23A-B. FIG. 25B illustrates a section view taken along section line RR of FIG. 25A.

End plate 7374 includes a tab 7390 (FIG. 25A) that engages a corresponding notch in the bottom of the buffer tube 7305. The boss 7391 (FIG. 25B) engages a corresponding recess in the lower receiver 7320 (FIG. 23B). These fix rotational positions (relative to the lower receiver 7320) of the buffer tube 7305 and the endplate 7374, respectively.

This embodiment uses a nut 7375 (e.g., a castle nut) to self-lockingly fasten the buffer tube 7305 to a buffer tube tower of the lower receiver 7320. The threaded opening 7380B is defined by an interior of the nut 7375. In this embodiment, the mating part is a lower receiver assembly including the end plate 7374. The end plate 7374 defines the non-threaded opening 7380A including the tapered opening. A taper 7376 to form a locking taper is illustrated, formed by the taper-to-taper contact of a taper 7376 (FIG. 23B) on the nut 7375 and the steeply sloped non-threaded opening 7380A defined by the end plate 7374.

In this embodiment, the threading 7380D to mate with the self-locking threads 7380C is defined by the other part of the self-lockingly fastened parts (e.g., the buffer tube 7305). The buffer tube 7305 may be threaded to the end plate, and then the castle nut 7375 may be tightened to non-fixably couple the buffer tube 7305 to the mating part.

In any embodiments described herein in which a rotatably-driven part is a fastener, any locating function described herein may be also be performed by the rotatably-driven part, if desired/required. In one example, any self-locking fastener opening described herein may have a locating section located between any threaded and non-threaded openings described herein. The locating section may be dimensioned to slip-fittingly receive a non-threaded shoulder of the rotatably driven fastener to align a center axis of the rotatably-driven part with a center axis of the threaded opening defined by the mating part, similar to any locating fastener opening embodiments described herein. In another example, a conical taper head of a locating fastener may be received by a locating counter opening of the self-lockingly fastened parts to align a center axis of the rotatably-driven part with a center axis of the threaded opening defined by the mating part.

Any of the self-locking features described herein may be used in any embodiments of a locating fastener opening and/or undercut attachment interface. For example:

- Any self-locking threads described herein may be added to any locating counter opening described herein (e.g., added to the locating counter opening illustrated in FIG. 2A);
- The counter opening 4180B (FIG. 3A) may define self-locking threads similar to any self-locking threads described herein, to self-lockingly fasten the optic adapter 4105 to the slide 4120 in more than one way (i.e., in addition to the recoil-loosening resistance provided the locking taper illustrated by that figure).

Also, it is noted that any threaded opening described in the '414 patent can be modified to include any self-locking threads described herein. We claim all modifications and variations coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

	Number	Date	Country
	63412758	Oct 2022	US
	63417236	Oct 2022	US

SELF-LOCKINGLY FASTENED COMPONENTS IN A RECOIL ENVIRONMENT

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