EP3361206B1

EP3361206B1 - Damping butt for a firearm and firearm comprising said butt

Info

Publication number: EP3361206B1
Application number: EP18153747.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giovanni Nardi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-02-09
Filing date: 2018-01-26
Publication date: 2021-06-09
Anticipated expiration: 2038-01-26
Also published as: ES2885071T3; EP3361206A1; IT201700014482A1

Description

The present invention regards a damping butt for a firearm, preferably for a gun, with high capacity to damp the recoil generated by the aforementioned firearm.
The invention also regards a firearm, preferably a gun, comprising the aforementioned butt.
It is known that firearms, such as pistols and guns, exploit the kinetic energy of the gases expanding from a propelling or bursting charge to fire projectiles.
However, this dynamic causes an adverse effect known in the field as "recoil". The expression recoil is used to indicate, in fact, the backward movement of the firearm upon firing a projectile. More precisely, the movement referred to as recoil comprises two combined effects, the actual recoil, i.e. the equal and opposite force the arm is subjected to with respect to the projectile and the so-called "soaring" which instead consists of the rotational effect the firearm is subjected to with respect to the support surface.
Disadvantageously, the occurrence of such two effects upon firing a projectile causes a variation of the motion of the projectile thus leading to the detriment of the firing accuracy of the firearm. Such negative effect is more marked in guns, due to the fact that the recoil and, above all, the soaring force is greater than the one observed in a pistol. It is thus clear that the aforementioned lower accuracy represents a major drawback especially when using firearms, guns in particular, in circumstances and events where maximum firing accuracy is required, for example in the sport disciplines of skeet shooting.
Thus, with the aim of overcoming such drawback at least partly, there is known the application - at the rear part of a firearm, a gun in particular - of a so-called "butt", i.e. an extended element which allows placing the firearm on the shoulder of the user so as to absorb the recoil and soaring energy and thus reducing the risk of changing the motion of the projectile with respect to the ideal trajectory.
Butts usually comprise a main support structure made of a single piece and suitable to be fixed to the rear end of the barrel and to the firing mechanism of the firearm.
A known butt for firearm is described in the document US 2010/071246 and it comprises a connector tube slidable within a conduit in the stock, an attachment member slidable within the tube conduit between fully inserted and fully extended positions and a compression spring placed in the tube conduit and configured to be compressed and absorb the recoil generated by the firearm and for urging the attachment member toward its fully extended position.
Furthermore, a so-called "butt plate", i.e. an element made of a deformable material, usually rubber, is possibly associated to the rear end of such main support structure, especially in sports, with the aim of further absorbing the recoil generated by the firearm before such force is transferred to the shoulder.
However, disadvantageously, the presence of the butt plate is not sufficient to obtain an efficient and quick damping of the recoil thus causing in any case the trajectory of the projectile to change.
Still disadvantageously, failure to appropriately damp the recoil may even seriously injure the shooter, in particular as regards the shoulder on which the firearm is placed.
Furthermore, given that the recoil generated by the firearm is directly proportional to the calibre of the firearm, the recoil is so strong at times to an extent of destabilising the shooter, especially if not very experienced, to a point of making him/her lose balance with the ensuing risk of more or less serious accidents.
The aim of the present invention is to overcome all the aforementioned drawbacks.
In particular, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a firearm butt capable of damping the recoil force generated by the aforementioned firearm.
A further object of the invention is to provide a firearm butt that can be adjusted depending on the intensity of the recoil force to be damped.
Another object of the invention is to provide a firearm butt capable to allow implementing such adaptations in a quick and simple manner.
The aforementioned objects are attained by providing a firearm butt according to the main claim.
In particular, the firearm butt of the invention comprises a connection unit, used for associating the main support structure to the butt plate, and a first elastic damping body configured to absorb the recoil generated by the firearm.
Further characteristics of the butt of the invention are outlined in the dependent claims.
The aforementioned objects, alongside the advantages described hereinafter, shall be outlined in the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, provided solely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

fig. 1 represents a lateral view of the firearm butt subject of the invention;
fig. 2 represents an exploded lateral view of the firearm butt subject of the invention;
fig. 3 represents an axonometric view of the firearm butt subject of the invention;
fig. 4 represents an exploded axonometric view of the firearm butt subject of the invention;
figs. 5a and 5b represent a cross-sectional lateral view of the firearm butt of the invention in inoperative configuration and when firing, respectively;
fig. 6 represents a lateral view of a skeet shotgun comprising the butt subject of the invention.

The firearm butt subject of the invention is represented in figs. 1 to 5 where it is indicated in its entirety with 1. In fig. 6 the butt 1 of the invention is represented associated to a firearm 100, in particular a skeet shotgun 101.
In detail, the butt 1 of the invention, as observable in fig. 2, comprises a main support structure 2 suitable to be integrally associated to the barrel 102 and to the firing mechanism 103 of such firearm 100. Furthermore, the butt 1 comprises a butt plate 3 suitable to absorb the recoil generated by the firearm 100 upon firing. The connection between the butt plate 3 and the main support structure 2 of the butt 1 is obtained by means of a connection unit 4.
Such connection unit 4 comprises a male tubular element 5 associated to the butt plate 3 and a body 6 associated to the main support structure 2.
According to a variant embodiment of the butt 1 of the invention, the male tubular element 5 could be associated to the main support structure 2, while the body 6 could be associated to the butt plate 3.
As observable in figs. 2 and 4 and in the sections of figs. 5a and 5b, in the body 6 there is provided a female housing 7 with a substantially longitudinal development with an inlet opening 71 which allows the slidable insertion of the male tubular element 5 into the female housing 7. Furthermore, such female housing 7, on the opposite side of the aforementioned inlet opening 71, has a bottom 72, defining the maximum limit of insertion of the aforementioned male tubular element 5 into the female housing 7.
According to the invention, the butt 1 comprises a first elastic damping body 8 arranged between the bottom 72 and a first abutment element 51 defined in proximity of a first end 5a of the male tubular element 5 suitable to be faced to the bottom 72.
Advantageously, such first elastic damping body 8 is configured so as to be compressed and absorb the recoil generated by the firearm 100, as observable in fig. 5b. As a matter of fact, upon firing, the expansion gas exerts a force which pushes the projectile exiting from the barrel 102 and simultaneously generates an equal and opposite thrust on the main support structure 2 which is transmitted to the bottom 72. Such bottom 72 then discharges the aforementioned thrust on the first elastic damping body 8 which, being compressed, prevents such force from being transmitted to the male tubular element 5 and to the butt plate 3, thus damping the recoil force, thus attaining one of the main objects of the present invention.
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the first elastic damping body 8 is made of elastomeric material.
However, according to different embodiments of the invention, it cannot be ruled out that such first elastic damping body 8 can be made of different material as long as it is suitable to be compressed.
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the butt 1 comprises an end stop element 9 with substantially longitudinal development associated to the bottom 72 according to an incident direction with respect to the bottom 72. Such end stop element 9 is defined passing through the first abutment element 51 and it comprises, at the free end thereof, a second abutment element 91 suitable to oppose the first abutment element 51 on the opposite side with respect to the bottom 72.
Advantageously, such opposition enables a stable association between the bottom 72 and the male tubular element 5 defining the maximum limit for moving the latter away on the opposite side with respect to the bottom 72.
Preferably but not necessarily, the end stop element 9 is a screw configured to be removably associated to the bottom 72 by insertion into a threaded hole present on the surface of the bottom 72 facing the housing 7.
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the first elastic damping body 8 is substantially cylindrical-shaped with the outer diameter smaller or equal to the inner diameter of the male tubular element 5, so as to be advantageously inserted at least partly length-wise into the latter in proximity of the end 5a.
Such preferred embodiment provides for that the first elastic damping body 8 comprises a through hole 8a defined along the longitudinal direction and configured to enable the insertion of the end stop element 9, as represented in figs. 4 and 5a.
Advantageously, the presence of the through hole 8a enables the insertion of the end stop element 9 into the through hole 8a thus enabling arranging the first elastic damping body 8 between the bottom 72 and the first abutment element 51 according to the aforementioned incident direction and preventing it from being moved away inadvertently.
However, it cannot be ruled out that such first elastic damping body 8 be prismatic shaped.
Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that the butt 1 be without the end stop element 9 and the first elastic damping body 8 be without the aforementioned hole 8a.
According to the invention, the first abutment element 51 is configured to be adjustably associated along the inner part of the male tubular element 5.
Advantageously, such adjustable association enables varying the relative position of the abutment element 51 along the male tubular element 5. In other words, the aforementioned adjustable association enables varying the position of the male tubular element 5 in the female housing 7 with respect to the bottom 72 in the inoperative configuration of the first elastic damping body 8.
It should be observed that the expression "inoperative configuration" is used to indicate the configuration taken by the first elastic damping body 8 when the firearm 100 is not in firing mode, as observable in fig. 5a.
Still advantageously, such adjustable association enables varying the position of the male tubular element 5 and the butt plate 3 associated thereto with respect to the bottom 72 along the longitudinal development direction of the butt 1, thus adapting the firearm 100 to the morphological and shouldering/ holding characteristics of the user.
According to the invention, the first abutment element 51 comprises a first shaped body 511 on the lateral surface of which there is defined a thread and the male tubular element 5 has - on the inner surface - a counter-thread so as to obtain the aforementioned adjustable association between the first abutment element 51 and the male tubular element 5.
Furthermore, the first abutment element 51 comprises adjustment means 52 accessible from the second end 5b of the male tubular element 5 opposite to the first end 5a and represented in fig. 4.
Advantageously, such adjustment means 52 enable varying the position of the first abutment element 51 in the male tubular element 5 and vice versa, through a rotary movement.
In particular, as clearly represented in figs. 2 and 4, preferably for mechanical assembling reasons, such adjustment means 52 are defined in a second shaped body 512 different from the first shaped body 511 and configured to be removably associated to the latter in the assembled configuration of the butt 1 of the invention.
Furthermore, such adjustment means 52 may have a housing 53 configured to be reversibly associated with displacement means, preferably a tightening key, for example an Allen wrench, and enable the relative rotary movement of the aforementioned housing 53 and thus of the first abutment element 51 along the male tubular element 5.
Preferably but not necessarily, such housing 53 is defined on a surface of the second shaped body 512 facing the end 5b so as to be reachable by the aforementioned displacement means through such end 5b when the latter is free.
Advantageously, the aforementioned adjustment enables to change the clearance between the male tubular element 5 and the bottom 72 thus attaining the previously described advantages.
As represented in figs. 5a and 5b, according to the invention, the first abutment element 51 further comprises a first bearing 10 interposed between the first shaped body 511 and the first elastic damping body 8 and configured to reduce the friction between the first abutment element 51 and the first elastic damping body 8 during the aforementioned rotary movement.
Advantageously, such first bearing 10 enables a free rotation of the first abutment element 51 with respect to the first elastic damping body 8.
Preferably but not necessarily, such first bearing 10 is a per se known axial bearing and it has a through hole according to the longitudinal direction configured to enable the insertion of the end stop element 9.
However, it cannot be ruled out that the first bearing 10 be not provided with a through hole.
The butt 1 may comprise a second elastic damping body 11 arranged between the first abutment element 51 and the second abutment element 91.
Advantageously, such second elastic damping body 11 is configured to be compressed and slow the return of the end stop element 9 to the inoperative position following the recoil. It should be observed that the expression "inoperative position" is used to indicate the position taken by the end stop element 9 when the firearm 100 is not in firing mode.
Such second elastic damping body 11 is preferably made of elastomeric material and it comprises a through hole according to the longitudinal direction, configured to enable the insertion of the end stop element 9.
Preferably but not necessarily, as represented in the sections of figs. 5a and 5b, the first abutment element 51 comprises a second bearing 12 interposed between the first shaped body 511 and the aforementioned second elastic damping body 11 to reduce friction between the latter and the first abutment element 51 during the previously described rotary movement.
However, it cannot be ruled out that such second elastic damping body 11 and/or such second bearing 12 be absent.
The butt 1 may comprise a metal washer 13 arranged between the second elastic damping body 11 and the second abutment element 91 and having a through hole suitable to enable the insertion of the end stop element 9.
Advantageously, such metal washer 13 prevents contact between the second abutment element 91 and the second elastic damping body 11 thus limiting the wear thereof due to the returns of the end stop element 9 in the inoperative position after firing.
However, it cannot be ruled out that such metal washer 13 be absent.
As observable in figs. 1 and 3, according to an embodiment of the invention the butt 1 further comprises a cheek piece 14 associated to the male tubular element 5 through coupling means 15.
Advantageously, such coupling means 15 are arranged passing through a slot 61 which extends according to a direction substantially parallel to the development axis of the female housing 7 and it is defined passing through into the body 6. The aforementioned slot 61 and the coupling means 15 are configured to enable the relative movement of the male tubular element 5 with respect to the body 6 along the longitudinal direction.
Still advantageously, such characteristic enables limiting the rotation effect of the cheek piece 14 caused by the so-called soaring that occurs on the firearm 100.
However, it cannot be ruled out that the cheek piece 14 be absent or connected to the main support structure 2.
The firearm 100, preferably a gun 101, comprising a barrel 102, a firing mechanism 103 and a butt 1 having the characteristics of the preferred embodiment or of the alternative embodiments described above, is also part of the invention.
In particular, as observable in fig. 6, such gun 101 is preferably a skeet shotgun.
Thus, in light of the above, the damping butt for a firearm of the invention attains all pre-set objects.
In particular, the presence of the first elastic damping body attains a firearm butt capable of damping the recoil force generated by the aforementioned firearm.
Furthermore, the presence of adjustment means enables adjusting the intensity of the recoil force to be damped.
Last but not least, the butt of the invention enables carrying out such adjustments in a quick and simple manner.

Claims

Butt (1) for a firearm (100, 101) comprising:
- a main support structure (2) suitable to be integrally associated to the barrel (102) and to the firing mechanism (103) of said firearm (100, 101);

- a butt plate (3) suitable to absorb the recoil generated by said firearm (100, 101);

- a unit (4) for connecting said main support structure (2) to said butt plate (3) comprising a male tubular element (5) and a body (6) in which there is obtained a female housing (7) with substantially longitudinal development and provided with an inlet opening (71) and a bottom (72) defined on the opposite side of said inlet opening (71), said female housing (7) being suitable to receive said male tubular element (5), said body (6) being associated to said main structure (2) and said male tubular element (5) being associated to said butt plate (3), or vice versa;

- a first elastic damping body (8) arranged between said bottom (72) and a first abutment element (51) defined in proximity of a first end (5a) of said male tubular element (5) suitable to be arranged facing said bottom (72), said first elastic damping body (8) being configured to be compressed and absorb the recoil generated by said firearm (100, 101);
characterised in that said first abutment element (51) is configured to be adjustably associated along the inner part of said male tubular element (5) and comprises a first shaped body (511) on the lateral surface of which there is defined a thread, said male tubular element (5) providing - on the inner surface thereof - a counter-thread so as to obtain said adjustable association between said first abutment element (51) and said male tubular element (5); said first abutment element (51) comprising adjustment means (52) accessible from the second end (5b) of said male tubular element (5) opposite to said first end (5a), said adjustment means (52) enabling to vary the position of said first abutment element (51) with respect to said male tubular element (5) through a rotary movement; said first abutment element (51) comprising a first bearing (10) arranged between said first shaped body (511) and said first elastic damping body (8) and configured to reduce the friction between said first abutment element (51) and said first damping body (8) during said rotary movement.
Butt (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises an end stop element (9) with substantially longitudinal development associated to said bottom (72) according to an incident direction with respect to said bottom (72), said end stop element (9) being defined passing through said first abutment element (51) and comprising - at the free end thereof - a second abutment element (91) suitable to counter said first abutment element (51) on the opposite side with respect to said bottom (72).
Butt (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said first elastic damping body (8) is made of elastomeric material.
Butt (1) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterised in that said first elastic damping body (8) is substantially cylindrical-shaped with the outer diameter smaller than or equal to the inner diameter of said male tubular element (5), said first elastic damping body (8) comprising a through hole (8a) defined along the longitudinal direction and configured to enable the insertion of said end stop element (9).
Butt (1) according to claim 2 or to any one of claims 3 or 4 combined with claim 2, characterised in that it comprises a second elastic damping body (11) arranged between said first abutment element (51) and said second abutment element (91) and configured to be compressed and slow the return of said end stop element (9) to the inoperative position after said recoil, said first abutment element (51) preferably comprising a second bearing (12) interposed between said first shaped body (511) and said second elastic damping body (11) to reduce the friction between said second elastic damping body (11) and said first abutment element (51) during said rotary movement.
Butt (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a cheek piece (14) associated to said male tubular element (5) through coupling means (15), said body (6) comprising a through slot (61) that extends according to a direction substantially parallel to the development axis of said female housing (7), said coupling means (15) being arranged passing through said slot (61), said slot (61) and said coupling means (15) being configured to enable the relative movement of said male tubular element (5) with respect to said body (6) along said longitudinal direction.
Firearm (100, 101) comprising a barrel (102), a firing mechanism (103) and a butt (1), characterised in that said butt (1) is of the type according to any one of the preceding claims.