US1356191A - Buffer for guns - Google Patents

Description

A. M. CRAIG.

BUFFER FOR GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23. 1918.

1,356,191 Patented 0st. 19, 1920..

UNITE- ALVIN 1V1. CRAIG, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

' BUFFER FOR GUNS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19,1920.

Application filed November 23, 1918. Serial No. 263,803.

T 0 all 20 hom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN M. CRAIG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New Haven, county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Buffers for Guns, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description;

My invention relates to improvements in buffers for guns, meaning by this term to include all varieties of firearms, and the objectof my invention is to produce a simple device which is applicable to various styles of firearms and which is particularly applictble to such guns as employ a bolt in the receiver, the buffer being adapted to dissipate and diffuse the shock occasioned by the recoil or backward movement of the bolt. in arms of this type the shock of the bolt as it comes back is detrimental both to the operator and to its effect on the accuracy of the gun. If the gun is a shoulder piece, the blow is such as to make an objectionable kick which gives to the operator a sore shoulder, and furthermore the action, es-

pecially on lighter guns, causes the arm to jump so that it is inaccurate in its fire. My invention is intended to overcome these difficulties as stated and to produce an extremely simple device which can be applied to all firearms of this character, and in which the bolt when near the limit of its stroke strikes the buffer and the latter while having a very small movement, still is able to thoroughly diffuse and dissipate the shock, all of which will be more clearly understood from the description which fol-' lows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the invention showing its application to a part of a, receiver and bolt of a gun, and with the parts in the position they assume before the bolt has struck the bufier.

Fig. 2 is a similar view but with the bolt in contact with the bufi'er and the latter pushed back to its limit, and

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. v

The bolt 10 can be an conventional or preferred type of bolt which slides in a casing 11 which represents a portion of a receiver, or at least a casing which is made toreceive the rear end of the bolt. A second casing 12 which is shown in the form of a nut, is attached to the casing 11, the drawing showing the member 12 screwing into the member 11, and this member 12 has a socket portion 14 initsfront end to receive the head 15 of the buffer, thebody portion 16 of the buffer sliding through or in the member 12, and the body portion 16 has preferably flat-. toned sides in which are sockets 17 to receive the balls'18, the latter extending for only a portion of their radii into the sockets and running in ways 19 which are made transversely in a wall of the, member 12. The balls 18 are pressed to their seats in the member 16 by springs 20, and the sprin s can be held in any convenient way. s

shown a cap 21 screws to the member 12 and covers the several ways 19. i

Obviously the member 16 c desired cross sectional shape, and the buffer can be of one diameter throughout instead of having the head 15, but the portion in which the sockets 17 are located is preferably flattened at the points where the sockets are made because in this way I get a better bearing surface of the walls of the socket on the balls, and consequently a better action of the buffer.

When the buffer is in its forward position shown in Fig. 1, the several balls 18 which may or may not be in alinement, are pressed into the sockets 17 preferably for about twofifths of the diameter of the balls. jWhen the bolt 10 strikes the buffer head 15, the bufier is pushed back slightly and the walls of the sockets 17 pressing against theballs 18v cause the latter to turn and move outward slightly against the tension of their springs-20. I have found in actual practice that the resilience of the buffer is not dependent entirely on the springs 20, but that the shock appears to be dissipated by the rotation of the balls, though the springs also have their cushioning effect. The invention is applicable to various sizes of guns or bolts, and to diffuse thrusts of varying force because the balls can be made larger or smaller and the springs 20 stiffer or li hter as desired.

The experiments which have been made with the buffer have been entirely satisfactory, and in such experiments balls have an be of any been used as the connecting medium between the walls of the bufler and the sockets in the latter.

. The balls are set so that they never leave their seats in the sockets, although they do yield slightly against the pressure of their springs, but they spin when under the impact of the blow which tends to force the buffer lengthwise. In this way the energy of the blow is dissipated or diffused in the spinning of the balls which constantly pre- I seats. and yet yield slightly against their springs, the shock against the buffer is diffused with a very slight longitudinal movement of the buffer. This has been demonstrated by thousands of experiments, and in a gun the shock occasioned by the rearward movement of the bolt is-practic ally all. dissipated or diffused, and Iha've found further that where there is a very heavy shock several 'of'these buffers may be used, one behind the other. so that the slight movement of one will be in part taken up by the one, behindit, but the buffers are made as shown and I refer to this simply to illustrate a more extended use of the structure. 7

In guns of the kind here referred to attention is called to the fact that the rear end of the bolt besides making the gun objectionable for the reasons already pointed out, is apt to become itself battered and useless after a short time because of its violent thrust against the part behind it; but with the buffer described the rear end'of the bolt is left uninjured, and a further advantage is that the action of the gun can be slowed or quickened by regulating the springs 20 behind the balls 18, that is if relatively stiff springs are used the action will be speeded because of the quick, sharp reaction of the springs, and if lighter springs are used the action will be retarded. This regulation of the speed can be further governed by regulating the depth of the ball seats in the bufffer body, as obviously the ball will release quicker if the seat is shallow than it will if the seat is deeper.

I claim 1. A buffer of the kind described compris- 7' 2. A buffer of the kind described comprising acasing, a member sliding longitudi-' nally in the casing and provided with flattened sides having sockets therein, and cushioned balls held transversely in the casing and entering the aforesaid sockets sufiiciently far to retaintheir seats when the buffer is subjected to endwise movement but to turn in said sockets.

A buffer of the kind described comprising a longitudinally sliding member having a guided movement and surface sockets therein, and cushioned balls held opposite the sliding member and entering the sockets sufliciently to retain their seats when the sliding member. is subjected to endwise movement.

4. A buffer of the kind described comprising a sliding member having an enlarged head and sockets in its side surface, a casing fitting the sliding member, and cushioned balls arranged transversely in the casing and enter-ing the aforesaid sockets sufficiently to retain their seats under any endwise movement of the sliding member but to turn in their seats. V

5. The combination with the sliding bolt and a receiver for the rearend portionof the bolt, of a sliding buffer arranged behind the bolt in positionto receive the thrust of the latter,.said buffer having. sockets in its sides, and cushioned'rotary members held opposite the buffer and entering the aforesaidsockets sufiiciently to retain their seats under'the endwise movement ofthe'buffer but to rotate in said seats. -I

ALVIN M. CRAIG. Witnesses: V

WARREN B. HUToHINsoN,

G. ODQNNELL.

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