US1002115A - Bayonet joint. - Google Patents

Description

W. O. BARNES.

BAYONET JOINT.

APPLICATION TILED 11113.4, 190a.

1,002,1 15, Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTCE.

WILLIAM O. BARNES, OF QUEBEC, QUEBEC, CANADA.

BAYONET-J'OINT.

To all whom 'it may concern.

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM O. BARNES, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Quebec, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bayonet- Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to improvements in bayonet joints for attaching bayonets in a fixed position for service upon the end of, and preferably beneath, the barrel of a rifie or other firearm.

The objects of this invention are in general to provide a joint which securely holds the bayonet in its seat upon, and in the desired relation to, the end of the rifie or other firearm; to enable the bayonet to be easily and quickly attached in place in the desired alinement or parallelism or other desired relation to the barrel, and to be as readily removed therefrom even though the parts may have become rusted or clogged with dirt; to make the parts of simple construction so that they can be manufactured at a low cost, and may be used interchangeably with each other and with the firearm upon which they are to be used; and to make the attaching joints of such a character that they will take up whatever looseness may be due to variations in manufacture or to wear, so as to insure snug fitting of the bayonet and avoid rattling of the joints.

My preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which- Figure l is a side "iew showing the front end of a rifle barrel and the rearward end of a bayonet connected together. Fig. 2 is a front view projected from the right hand end of Fig. 1, showing mainly the blade of the bayonet and the guard or cross piece thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view in section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged views showing details of the connection between the cross piece of the bayonet and the end of the barrel. Fig. 4: is a. side view in section taken on the line H of Fig. 5; and Fig. 5 is an end view in section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an end view in section taken on the line 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a similar end view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a side view in section, similar to that of Fig. 1, showing a modified arrangement of the rearward joint.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 4, 1908.

Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

Serial No. 419,123.

Fig. 9 is a plan View, and Fig. 10 a side view of the spring preferably employed in connection with the rearward joint between the bayonet and the firearm.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the barrel 10 is provided with a front sight 11, and with a front band 12 for securing forestock 13 to the barrel. These parts are, or may be, of any ordinary or convenient construction.

The bayonet is attached to the barrel at two points at a substantial distance apart, so as togive an extended base of support to the bayonet to fix it firmly in position. The front attachment is therein shown to be made by the guard or cross-piece 16 forming an extension of the bayonet guard, which is provided with an aperture for receiving the end of the barrel or any suitable stud on the firearm. The rear attachment is preferably made between the pommel end of the hilt and the front band 12, the latter being in the present instance provided with a T-shaped knob 18, which engages with a T-slot in the pommel 19 of the bayonet.

For various practical reasons it is desirable to have the joints, by which the bayonet is attached to the firearm, fit closely together at the attached position, so as to have a firm connection; and also to avoid rattling noises. On the other hand, it is desirable to make these joints so that the bayonets can be quickly and surely attached, particularly in cases of emergency, when in haste, and in the dark. If the joints, which may be designated as slip joints, were made to fit closely throughout their sliding contact, they would be diflicult to enter, and would be liable to cramp in moving them to their fixed position. On account of the difficulty of entering the two separate joints at the same time, the rearward joint is made longer than the other, and the bayonet is first attached at this joint, the members of which are slid together until the members of the other joint meet and interlap. During this initial sliding movement of the members of the first or rearward joint, before they are guided and steadied by the union of the second or front joint, the bayonet should be free to rock considerably upon the rearward joint so as to avoid cramping therein, due to unskilful or unsteady manipulation, in the dark, or by an unskilled recruit. These desirable objects are attained in the present invention. The rearward joint fits closely only at those portions of the joint surfaces which are in contact when the bayonet is fully seated, these surfaces being herein designated as a contact seat at and adjacent to the line aa of Fig. 1. The surfaces of one or both of the joint members adjacent to their contact seat are rounded or otherwise relieved, thus allowing the bayonet to rock freely in this joint in a lateral direction until the second or front joint is made, which brings the bayonet into proper alinement or parallelism with the barrel, whereupon the members of the rearward joint are brought to their close fitting position. This arrangement prevents the bayonet from catching or cramping at its rearward end during the act of attaching it to the gun, and avoids the necessity of guiding the front end of the bayonet in any exact re lation up to the time that the second joint is made. It also enables the two parts to be joined firmly together, in spite of variations that may occur in the manufacture of the parts. The surfaces of the T-slot are inclined or flared at their rearward ends, so as to afford a wide entrance for the knob.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the joint is made by the flanges 22 of the T slot projecting inwardly toward each other into the neck portion of the knob 18, and between the under side of that knob and the surface 24: of the front band 12. The final or contact seat of the joint is at or adjacent to the plane indicated by the line aa inFig. 1, at which plane the flanges 22 closely fill the space between the head of the knob and the surface 241. The upper and lower surfaces of the flanges 22 are relieved bot-h forwardly and rearwardly from the contact seat to permit the desired rocking movement of the joint. The flanges 22 taper from the contact seat toward their rearward ends 25, thus enabling these ends to enter the neck of the knob freely in the operation of attaching the bayonet. The bottom surface 26 of the T-slot in the pommel is also inclined downwardly, so that both the upper and lower surfaces of this portion of the T- slot are flared to permit the easy entrance of the head of the knob into the rearward end of the T-slot.

In the embodiment of the invention herein shown the front joint is made between the guard or cross-piece 16 of the bayonet and the end of the barrel or muzzle, although that joint, or a similar joint, could be made between any suitable members or appurtenances of the bayonet and the barrel. The upper end of the cross-piece 16 is bored at 29 to receive the end of the muzzle as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and to flt with a reasonable degree of closeness, which, however, depends portion 35 of the spring.

upon the limits of variation recognized or allowed in the manufacture of the parts, this variation differing with different manufac turers, according to the skill of their workmen, or their other facilities for doing close work. Even in the best practice it is, however, considered necessary to provide for variations of some degree; hence the crosspiece is bored to the largest limit size of the barrels, and means are provided for taking up the looseness in the varying degrees of smaller sizes, so as to avoid in all of them the liability of rattling. In the present instance this is provided for by making an annular recess 28 in the bore 29 of the cross-piece, and placing in that recess a ring or band-shaped spring 30, the form and disposition of which is best shown in large scale in Figs. 4 and 5. The circle of the spring 30 is preferably larger than the circle of the bore 29, so that that spring, or at least the edge portions thereof, lie outside of that circle of that bore to avoid presenting abrupt shoulders to the entrance of the barrel. Those portions of the spring which are to contact with the barrel are bent inwardly so as to form crimps 81 in the spring at about the middle of its width, as shown in Fig. 4:. Only one of these crimps is herein shown, but their number is immaterial and depends upon the size of the barrel and whether it is round, octagonal, hexagonal, etc, it being considered generally advisable to hold the barrel at three points disposed about equally around its perimeter, one of which points of contact may be directly between the barrel and the one side of the bore 29. These crimps present inclined faces to the entering edges of the barrel.

What has herein been said about the de sirability of providing for variations in the practical manufacture of firearms, applies also to the rearward joint, and provision is also there made for taking up whatever looseness may result from such variations or from the wear of the parts. In that case a spring 33 is seated in the pommel of the bayonet and held by means of a pin 3%. The pin is preferably provided with an annular groove at about the middle of its length, in approximate conformity with the width and thickness of the spring 33 at that point, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 6, the corresponding portion of the spring being bent around the pin, so as to flt in the annular groove of the pin and between the shoulders thereof. Thus the pin holds the spring in position and is itself held by the spring against endwise movement. The center of the hole for the pin 34 is drilled approximately in the plane of the surface 26 of the T-slot, so that the. half circle of the pin 3% is below the plane of the surface 26, that surface being recessed to receive the downwardly curved That recess is made deep enough to allow the said curved portion 35 of the spring to be sprung down while driving the pin 34: through to its place, so as to allow the enlarged end of the pin to pass over the spring. One of the ends of the pin may be larger than the other, as shown in Fig. (3, and in other ways may be adapted to facilitate the assembling and disassembling of the parts. That portion 36 of the spring 33 which bears against the knob 18 is preferably cupped as shown in Fig. 10, and split, as shown at 37 in Fig. 9, so as to form a resilient yet sufficiently stiff seat between the knob 18 and the bottom surface 26 of the T-slot when the knob is at its attachingposition shown in Fig. 1. The intermediate portion 38 of the spring is preferably inclined so as to impose a resilient resistance to the entrance of the knob, and give a feeling of firmness in the operation of fixing the bayonet.

As a means for latching the bayonet endwise in position, I have herein shown a well known form of latching bolt, consisting of a spring bolt 40, which passes transversely through the pommel below the T-slot. The enlarged head ll of the bolt projects upwardly into the path of movement of the knob, and locks behind the knob, as shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 8, when the bayonet is seated in place. The forward end of the knob is rounded or beveled, as shown at t2, and the head of the bolt may also be bevee or rounded, as shown at 43 in Figs. 1 and 3 to enable the head to push the bolt back automatically as the knob enters the rearward end of the T-slot. The bolt is yieldingly held to its locking position by means of a spring stat, which is seated in a counterbored portion of the pommel, beneath the screw cap &5, which serves as a convenient button by means of which the bolt may be retracted by the thumb or finger of the soldier, when attaching the bayonet to or detaching it from the firearm; This locking mechanism, however, is of well-known construction, and forms no part of the present invention. If such a latch bolt is used a portion of the spring 33 should be cut away as shown at 39 in Fig. 9, to clear the head of the bolt.

Various modifications may be made in these parts for securing the objects and ends described. One of these modifications is shown in Fig. 8, in which the flanges 47 are made parallel instead of tapering, the upper side 48 of the knob 49 being rounded to permit the desired rocking movement and also to facilitate the easy entrance of the knob between the underside of the flange 47 and the top surface of the spring 33, the construction and operation of which are like those of the previous figures. Obviously also the spring 33 may be omittedfrom this and any of the other forms shown, and the seating contact be made between the top and bottom surfaces of the T-slot and the upper and lower sides of the head, those sidesof the head being rounded as shown by the rounded side 48 in Fig. 8- to permit of the required rocking movement; or the under surface 24L of the band shown in Fig. 1 may be rounded like the under surfaces of the flanges 22 in Fig. 1. The underside of the knob may be rounded as shown in Fig. 8, either with tapering flanges 35, as shown in Fig. l, or with those flanges made substantially parallel as in Fig. 8. In many such ways which will be apparent to those skilled in this art, the details of the invention may be reversed, transposed, or other- Wise modified to suit different conditions of manufacture or use, or to suit the preferences of purchasers.

I claim as my invention 1. Means for attaching bayonets to firearms, comprising a knob appurtenant to one of said members, and flanges appurtenant to the other member for receiving the said knob between them, one of the contact surfaces between the knob and the said flanges being rounded or inclined to facilitate the entrance of the knob and permit correct alinement and seating of the bayonet in attaching it to the firearm.

2. Means for attaching bayonets to firearms, comprising a knob appurtenant to the firearm, flanges appurtenant to the bayonet for receiving the knob between them with the head of the knob projecting beneath the flanges, the contacting surfaces of the flange and the knob at the seating position of the knob forming a joint fitting more closely than elsewhere, to permit rocking movement of the bayonet relative to the firearm, to facilitate attachment in correct relative position and alinement.

3. Means for attaching bayonets to firearms, comprising a knob appurtenant to the firearm, flanges appurtenant to the bayonet for receiving the knob between them with the head of the knob projecting beneath the said flanges, the upper and lower surfaces of said flanges being adapted to fit the knob closely at its seating position, and being inclined or relieved from the said seating position toward the ends of the flanges to facilitate the entrance of the knob and permit proper positioning of the bayonet relative to the firearm.

4. Means for attaching bayonets to firearms, comprising a knob appurtenant to the firearm, flanges appurtenant to the bayonet, forming a joint with the knob, having a rounded seat to permit rocking movement of the bayonet thereon, to facilitate the attaching of the bayonet, the latter being also provided with a second attaching member for engaging with the firearm.

5. A bayonet provided with means for detachably securing the bayonet to firearms, and a spring appurtenant to one of the joint members, and bearing against the other joint member for taking up the looseness of the joint.

6. A bayonet and firearm provided with a joint for detachably connecting them together, and a spring appurtenant to the bayonet, and forming one of the surfaces of the joint for taking up the looseness of the said joint.

7. A bayonet and firearm provided with a plurality of detachable joints for connecting them together, each of said joints being provided with a resilient member forming part of the joint surface for taking up the looseness and wear of the said joints.

8. A bayonet and firearm provided with slip joints for detachably connecting them together, one of said joints being provided with a spring, forming one of the joint surfaces, the said spring being detachably held in position adjacent to its joint.

9. The combination, with a bayonet pro vided with a slip joint, of a spring forming one of the bearing surfaces of the said joint, and means for detachably securing the spring in position adjacent to the said joint, comprising a pin seated in the said bayonet, the spring being bent partway around the pin and seated in a recess adjacent to the said pin.

10. The combination, with a bayonet provided with a slip oint, of a spring forming one of the bearing surfaces of the said joint, and means for detachably securing the spring in its place in the joint, consisting of a pin having an annular recess forming a seat for one side of the spring, the latter being bent partway around the pin in the said recess, and being seated in a recess also partly surrounding the said pin, whereby the pin secures the spring, and the spring by means of its annular seat in the pin holds the latter against unintentional dislodgment.

11. A bayonet, and means for securing it to a firearm, comprising a knob appurte nant to the firearm, a seat in the pommel of the bayonetfor receiving the knob, and a spring appurtenant to the pommel of the bayonet and bearing against the head of the knob to take up looseness and wear.

12. A bayonet and a firearm, and means including a slip joint for removably attach ing them together, and means for taking up the looseness and wear of the joint, comprising a spring having a cupped portion forming one of the surfaces of the joint.

13. The combination, with a bayonet, and

firearm, of a self alining joint for attaching them together, consisting of a member appurtenant to the bayonet provided with an aperture for receiving the coengaging member of the firearm, the said aperture being recessed to receive a spring, and a spring seated in said recess and resiliently bearing against the said coengaging member of the firearm.

14. Means for attaching a bayonet to a firearm, comprising a member appurtenant to the bayonet provided with an aperture for receiving an attaching member of the firearm, an annular recess in the said aperture, and a curved spring seated in said annular recess, and resiliently bearing against the said attaching member of the firearm.

15. Means for attaching a bayonet to a firearm, comprising a member appurtenant to the bayonet provided with an aperture for receiving an attaching member of the firearm, an annular recess in the said aperture, and a curved spring seated in said annular recess provided with a raised surface bearing against the said attaching member.

16. Means for attaching a bayonet to a firearm, comprising a member appurtenant to the bayonet provided with an aperture for receiving the barrel of the firearm, an annular recess in the said aperture, and a ring-like spring seated in said recess and bearing against the barrel.

17. Means for attaching a bayonet to a firearm, comprising a member appurtenant to the bayonet provided with an aperture for receiving the barrel of the firearm, an annular recess in the said aperture, and a ring-like spring seated in said recess and bearing against the barrel, the spring being provided with a rounded crimp bearing against the barrel.

18. The combination in a bayonet and firearm, of self-adjusting joints for removably but firmly attaching them together, consisting of a knob, and a slotted recess for attaching the pommel of the bayonet to the firearm, and of an aperture in the cross piece of the bayonet for receiving the barrel of the firearm, the said aperture being provided with an annular recess, and with a ring-like spring seated in said recess and bearing against the barrel.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM O. BARNES.

Witnesses FRED B. PAULIN, WV. A. FELLOWS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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