Firearms – Stock or barrel connectors – Barrel to receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-15
2001-03-27
Ark, Darren W. (Department: 3643)
Firearms
Stock or barrel connectors
Barrel to receiver
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205696
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a rifle having a barrel which is mounted detachably in the light-alloy breech housing, the rear part of the barrel being surrounded by an inner cylindrical surface of the breech housing. Particularly in the case of repeater rifles, shrink joints or screw connections are normally used to connect the barrel and the breech housing. Shrink joints can be detached only with great difficulty, while screw connections are costly to manufacture. However, above all, screw connections are not suitable for breech housings made of aluminum or light alloys.
In such cases, clamping structures by means of a clamping screw or transverse bolt arranged tangentially in the breech housing are used. However, these require breech housing extensions which are difficult to manufacture and/or weakening longitudinal slots and, furthermore, have the disadvantage of play, resulting from manufacturing tolerances, between the barrel and the housing bore, so that exact alignment of the barrel axis and the housing longitudinal axis is not ensured.
GB 2142125 A admittedly discloses the use of clamping elements for connecting two coaxial surfaces. However, this relates to the joint between a barrel liner and a main barrel which surrounds the latter and, of course, is also composed of steel. The barrel liner is fitted from the rear into a cartridge chamber which has conical wall parts. The clamping elements, which are not slotted, surround an intermediate sleeve which is screwed onto the barrel from the rear, but without tightening the clamping elements. Grubscrews distributed on the circumference are provided for this purpose.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a barrel mounting which avoids these diadvantages and which can also be used for a light-alloy breech housing, with simple production and with production-dependent tolerances and alignment errors being eliminated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the foregoing is achieved by at least one externally cylindrical elastic clamping element, which is slotted in the longitudinal direction and is axially loaded by a clamping nut that is arranged in front of the clamping element and is screwed to a thread on the barrel, being provided between the rear part of the barrel and the inner cylindrical surface of the breech housing.
The clamping elements are mass-produced standard parts and are thus very tightly toleranced but nevertheless cheap, so that very accurate centering is possible. On the outside, they rest against the cylindrical inner wall of the breech housing over a large area so that a reliable friction lock can be achieved with a relatively low load on the breech housing. Since the breech housing does not need any slots or expansions for this purpose, it can be produced easily from light alloy. The thread for the clamping nut on the barrel can absorb considerable forces, since the barrel is actually composed of a material which is hardened or heat-treated. The nut is also composed of a high-strength material and thus occupies very little space and is accessible from the front.
In one possible embodiment, the rear part of the barrel has a conical outer surface, and the clamping element is a clamping sleeve which is slotted alternately from the front and rear. Such clamping sleeves are known in machine tools for clamping workpieces having a central bore. They are likewise cheap and very accurate standard parts, with accurately known characteristics, and are particularly simple to fit.
In one preferred embodiment, pairs of clamping rings having mutually facing conical surfaces are arranged between the clamping nut and a collar on the barrel. The friction force and the stress on the breech housing from the inward pressure exerted by the clamping rings can easily be matched to the respective requirements by choosing the numbers of pairs of rings and their coning angle. The collar allows the barrel to be accurately fixed axially.
In particular cases, it is advantageous, for safety, to provide a holding claw as well, which engages through an opening in the housing into a recess or circumferential groove in the barrel. The simple shape of the housing allows such an opening to be incorporated easily, without having to weaken the cross section of the housing.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 5501135 (1996-03-01), Beretta
patent: 5540008 (1996-07-01), Kirnstatter
patent: 5630406 (1997-05-01), Dumont
patent: 5666756 (1997-09-01), Moller
patent: 5706599 (1998-01-01), Knight
patent: 5737865 (1998-04-01), Brandl et al.
patent: 5802755 (1998-09-01), Tortorici et al.
patent: 5907919 (1999-06-01), Keeney
patent: 5987797 (1999-11-01), Dustin
patent: 423677 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 0697578 (1996-02-01), None
patent: 6-257991 (1994-09-01), None
patent: WO 98/27399 (1998-06-01), None
Ark Darren W.
Bachman & LaPointe P.C.
Steyr-Daimler-Puch Aktiengesellschaft
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