GB2287780A

GB2287780A - Silencer for weapons

Info

Publication number: GB2287780A
Application number: GB9505816A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Herbert Krumm; Heinz Gunter Breuer; Johann Lorenz; Gunter Stoffler
Original assignee: Rheinmetall Industrie AG
Current assignee: Rheinmetall Industrie AG
Priority date: 1994-03-26
Filing date: 1995-03-22
Publication date: 1995-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2015-03-22
Also published as: SE9500469L; GB9505816D0; FR2717891B1; JP2665507B2; FR2717891A1; GB2287780B; SE507569C2; JPH08152296A; SE9500469D0; DE4410625A1; DE4410625C2

Description

Z- '2- 9'7 7 9 0 - 1 TITLE Sc ilencer for Wea-Dons This invention relates

to a silencer for a weapon which is arranged on a mounting device which is separate from the weapon barrel itself.

The construction and mode of action of silencers, particularly for small arms and hand-held firearms, are known from DE-OS 1 553 874, DE-OS 2 127 877, US 3,713,362 and US 4,576,083 for example. Essentially, in the known silencers, a throttled expansion of the propellant gases through the projectile outlet opening on the front face wall of the silencer is achieved by means of several chambers arranged behind each other and sealedoff from the outside. Appropriately, wire grids are arranged in the chambers, which are intended to bring about either an absorption of the energy of the propellant gases or an extensive reflection of the pressure waves in the interior of the chambers (see DE-OS 2 127 877 for example). Generally speaking the individual silencers are fixed directly to the weapon and adapted to the sound emission of the weapon in question, so that they can seldom be used with different weapons.

The arrangement of known silencers directly on the 2 - muzzle of the barrels of large-calibre weapon systems (combat tanks, armoured infantry combat vehicles, armoured anti-aircraft vehicles or artillery systems) has not proved satisfactory in practice since because of the large weapon calibre and the associated noise generation, the silencers must be of correspondingly large dimensions and thus also have a correspondingly heavy weight. To protect the public from noise in the case of firing practice on corresponding firing ranges an attempt was therefore made to deaden the sound only after it had been created, by means of sheds, earthworks, plants and the like, for example. Such structures are, however, very complicated in terms of construction and/or not very effective.

It has already been proposed to fix the silencer not on the weapon barrel itself as in the case of smallcalibre arms but to arrange it on a separate silencer carriage mechanically decoupled from the barrel weapon, the carriage preferably being constructed in such a way that the silencer can be guided synchronously with the movement of the barrel (P 43 17 673. 9).

This application also assumes that the particular silencer used is strictly assigned to a particular weapon system so that a change of weapon system automatically requires the replacement of the silencer and, if 1 q 3 applicable, of the carriage also.

One of the objects of this invention is therefore to provide a silencer, particularly for large-calibre weapons, which brings about a substantial reduction of the sound radiation, is simply constructed and can be used with different weapon systems which may have correspondingly different frequency spectra of the sound.

According to this invention there is provided a silencer for weapons, which is in use arranged on a mounting device which is separate from the weapon barrel, and which comprises a tubular hollow body for positioning in front of the mil zle of the weapon barrel and into which the weapon barrel partially projects through a front face wall, said body having an axial projectile channel and an opening in a rear face wall opposite the front face wall for passage therethrough of the projectile, the silencer comprising a plurality of modules arranged in axial progression with individual modules in each case comprising a housing which contains elements which dampen sound either solely by resonance, (resonator module), reflection (reflector module) or absorption (absorption module).

In this invention the arrangement is essentially based on the concept of constructing the silencer of individual interchangeable modules. The modules dampen 4 the sound in each case on the basis of different physical principles and are designed for different frequency ranges. A module can, for example, comprise a series of resonator elements which principally bring about a damping of individual discrete low frequencies (resonator module). In contrast, a further module can have a number of reflectors which bring about a damping of medium frequencies (reflector module), whilst finally, modules which work according to the absorption principle (absorption modules) can bring about a broad-band damping if correspondingly designed.

By combining the above-mentioned modules it is possible to dampen a very broad frequency spectrum and thus to adapt the silencer precisely to the particular sound emission spectrum of the corresponding weapon system- The individual modules of the silencer can be interchanged or combined with one another- Although the modular construction of the silencer has proved particularly satisfactory with large-calibre weapons it can also be used with small- calibre weapons with equal success- Securing straps may be provided in order to ensure that the modules are assembled quickly and in a durable manner. For this purpose, on their front faces the modules preferably have flanges which are conical on one v - side and which are held together positively by means of a securing or tightening strap that it bi-conical on the inside. The tightening strap may comprise two or more segments which are connected in an articulated manner and are pre-tensioned by means of a tension lever or tension jacks. A play-free fit of the tightening strap and a minimal gap between the flanges is achieved by means of this tightening strap arrangement.

In the same way as the modules, the first and the last module in each case can also be connected to the corresponding front wall of the silencer with the aid of tightening straps.

Around the projectile channel the absorption module and/or the resonator module should preferably each contain a basket-shaped body which is fixed between the front sides of the corresponding module. The basketshaped body comprises rods arranged in an axial direction. The high acoustic permeability of the basket-shaped body ensures that the sound is reduced in the damping material or in the reflection chamber and does not leave the silencer from the front or the rear.

The function of the basket-shaped body can also be achieved by means of a pipe with corresponding holes and/or slots in the casing, such as is customarily used for the resonator unit for example.

6 Irrespective of the calibre the elements (reflection units, damping units and the like) can be flexibly suspended in the housing with springs, rubber bearings, shock absorbers or with a combination of these elements. This flexible, damped suspension brings about a great reduction of the forces which are transferred to the silencer housing and hence, if applicable, to the carriage or the base.

Further particulars and advantages of this invention will now be described by reference to embodiments shown by way of example in the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a silencer according to this invention comprising three modules, Figure 2 shows the front view of a tightening strap means for fixing the modules, and Figure 3 shows a partial view of a rubber bearing for the flexible suspension of elements in the modules.

Referring to the drawings and to Figure 1, 1 denotes a silencer which is composed of three modules 2, 3 and 4. The individual modules 2, 3, 4 each comprise a metal housing 5, 6, 7, and on their front sides they have flanges 8 to 13 which are conical on one side. The modules are positively and detachably interconnected - 7 using securing means comprising tightening straps 14 and 15 which are biconical on the inside and are placed over the adjacent flanges 9, 10 and 11, 12.

On the side facing the muzzle of the barrel (not shown) the silencer 1 has a front face wall 16 into which the weapon barrel projects on firing as well as a rear face wall 17, opposite the front face wall, with an opening 18 through which the projectile, after passing through a projectile channel 19 in the interior of the silencer 1, leaves. Both the front and the rear face wall 16, 17 are also fixed to the modules 2 and 4 adjacent to them with tightening straps 20, 21.

Figure 2 shows the construction of a tightening strap 14 which mainly comprises two segments 22, 23 which are connected together via a joint 24 and a tension lever 25. To connect two modules the tension lever 25 is pivoted upwards, the tightening strap placed over the adjacent flanges and tightened by pivoting the tension lever 25 downwards.

Further brief details will now be given about the modules of which the silencer 1 is preferably composed:

The module designated as 2 in Figure 1 is a reflector module. In the interior of the module is a basket-shaped body 26 which is fixed between the front sides of the module and which surrounds the projectile 8 channel coaxially. The basket-shaped body 26 essentially comprises rods 27 which extend parallel to the longitudinal axis 100 of the silencer I as well as rings 28 which fix the rods 27. The high acoustic permeability ensures that the sound is largely destroyed in the reflection chambers 29.

The module designated as 3 in Figure I is an absorption module which also contains a basket-shaped body 30 which surrounds the projectile channel 19 coaxially, to ensure a high acoustic permeability. An insert 31 which dampens the sound is located on the side of the basket-shaped body 30 which faces away from the projectile channel 19.

Finally, the module designated as 4 in Figure 1 is a resonator module in which the projectile channel 19 is coaxially surrounded by a metal pipe 32- The metal pipe 32 has a number of holes through which the propellant charge gases reach the adjacent resonator chamber 35 via pipes 34. The dimensions of the resonator chamber 35 and the pipes 34 are selected in such a way that a maximum damping of the sound takes place at relatively low frequencies (such as 50 Hz).

In order to achieve a reduction of the forces which act on the fixing device of the silencer via the silencer 1, it is of advantage if the individual sound-damping 9 elements of the modules are at least partially flexibly connected to the relevant housing 5, 6, 7 of the modules 2, 3, 4 and/or to each other by means of springs, rubber bearings or the like. This is shown in Figure 3.

In Figure 3, 36 indicates the front part of a module housing in diagrammatic form. The front wall 37 is flexibly connected to a carrier 39 fixed to the inner wall of the housing through a rubber bearing 38. The actual elements damping the sound, for example the reflection chambers or the sound-damping inserts, are fixed to the rear part of the module housing between the wall 37 and a corresponding flexibly arranged wall.

Claims

Silencer for weapons, which is in use arranged on a mounting device which is separate from the weapon barrel, and which comprises a tubular hollow body for positioning in front of the muzzle of the weapon barrel and into which the weapon barrel partially projects through a front face wall, said body having an axial projectile channel and an opening in a rear face wall opposite the front face wall for passage therethrough of the projectile, the silencer comprising a plurality of modules arranged in axial progression with individual modules in each case comprising a housing which contains elements which dampen sound either solely by resonance, (resonator module), reflection (reflector module) or absorption (absorption module).
2. Silencer according to Claim 1, wherein the individual modules have a flange in each case on a front face and are positively interconnected by securing means, preferably tightening straps.
3. Silencer according to Claim 2, wherein the flanges of the modules are conical on one side and the tightening straps are bi-conical on the inside.

A 11
4. Silencer according to Claim 2 or 3, wherein the tightening straps comprise at least two segments which are connected together in an articulated manner and which can be tensioned by means of a tension lever or tension jacks.
5. Silencer according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein both the front and the rear face wall can be fixed to an adjacent module in each case by securing means such as tightening straps.
6. Silencer according to any one of Claims 1 to wherein the silencer comprises reflection modules, absorption modules or resonator modules and/or a combination of these modules.
7. Silencer according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the absorption module and/or the reflector module each contain a basket-shaped body which surrounds the projectile channel coaxially and which is secured between front walls of the module in question, the basket-shaped body comprising rods arranged axially and a plurality of rings which secure the rods in a radial direction, sounddamping inserts or reflection chambers being arranged on the side of the basket-shaped body away from the 12 projectile channel in each case-
8. Silencer according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the individual elements of the modules are flexibly suspended in a relevant housing of the modules using springs and/or rubber bearings and/or shock absorbers.
9. Silencer for a weapon constructed and arranged to function as described herein and exemplified with reference to the drawings.
10. In combination a barrel weapon, a silencer according to any preceding claim positioned adjacent the muzzle, and a mounting therefor.