WO1998050753A1

WO1998050753A1 - Devices to enable flexible replacing of gun barrels

Info

Publication number: WO1998050753A1
Application number: PCT/NO1998/000135
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tor Heen
Original assignee: Tor Heen
Priority date: 1997-05-06
Filing date: 1998-04-30
Publication date: 1998-11-12
Also published as: NO303798B1; AU7240198A; NO972079A; DE19882354T1; DK173563B1; DK199901544A; SE9903873D0; SE516241C2; SE9903873L; NO972079D0

Abstract

A means for joining together a gun barrel (1) and a receiver (3, 4). A fixing sleeve (2) is provided between the gun barrel (1) and the receiver (3, 4). The fixing sleeve (2) adajacent the gun barrel side (1) has an internally threaded portion (8) and adjacent the receiver (3, 4) has an engaging portion (9; 9', 9'') designed for threaded engagement, bayonet attachment, locking pin engagement, or similar connection to the receiver (3, 4). The gun barrel has a rearward area (5) which extends completely or partly through the fixing sleeve (2), said rearward area (5) having an anterior threaded portion (7) for engagement with the internally threaded portion (8) of the fixing sleeve, and an unthreaded portion (6) posterior to said anterior threaded portion (7).

Description

Devices for enable flexible replacing of gun barrels

The present device relates to a means for joining together a gun barrel and a receiver, where a fixing sleeve is provided between the gun barrel (1) and the receiver, and where the fixing sleeve adjacent the gun barrel side has an internally threaded portion, and adjacent the receiver has an engaging portion designed for threaded engagement, bayonet attachment, locking pin engagement or similar connection to the receiver.

Further, the invention relates to a fixing sleeve for joining together a gun barrel and a receiver, where the fixing sleeve is designed as an approximately tubular body having an internally threaded portion.

In addition, the invention relates to a gun barrel intended for mounting onto a receiver with the aid of a fixing sleeve.

For elucidation of the known art in the form of patent publications, the following may be cited: DE 2157420, which necessitates the use of counter nuts for joining the parts, and DE 952506, which describes a combined bayonet- and threaded attachment construction.

Today no standard dimension is found for use in securing a gun barrel into a receiver. It is actually each individual weapons manufacturer who has his own measurements and thread pitches.

As we know, after firing a certain number of shots a gun barrel will be in need of replacement. A second point that is known within the shooting milieu is the fact that competitive marksmen may have a need for alternative barrel weights during shooting, as competition often is carried out in three positions: standing ~ where a lighter barrel is preferable (particularly for female markswomen), kneeling ~ where a moderately heavy barrel is appropriate; and lying down ~ where a heavy barrel is the most common. A further factor may be, additionally or alternatively, that the marksman wishes to change the caliber or to alter the weight or the balance point of the weapon.

The fact that the individual manufacturer has his own specifications for his weapons is, however, a serious limitation on the ease of changing a gun barrel. In fact, it makes it impossible to mount new gun barrels, such as rifle barrels, in convenient manner, since a gun maker either must stock a large number of different gun barrels or must have so- called "blanks" for barrels, i.e., barrel blanks that are delivered unfinished from the factory, but which the gun maker must build into the individual gun. Not only is this an expensive solution, but it also requires a skilled gun maker to perform the work in order to achieve a good result on a valuable gun. Moreover, the weapons factories also have very high prices for their own replacement barrels.

The present invention aims to alleviate the considerable deficiencies of prior art solutions, at the same time as it is an objective that the weapon owner only needs to have a number of replacement barrels for several caliber sizes which can be serviced by the gun and its receiver.

According to the invention, the device introduced above is characterized in that the gun barrel has a rearward area which extends completely or partly through the fixing sleeve, said rearward area having having an anterior threaded portion for engagement with the internally threaded portion of the fixing sleeve, and an unthreaded portion posterior to said anterior threaded portion.

According to the invention, the fixing sleeve introduced above has at its other posterior end a receiver engaging portion formed as an externally threaded part on the sleeve or as locking lugs, or similar devices, disposed internally within the sleeve.

The aforementioned gun barrel is characterized according to the invention in that, for mounting in the fixing sleeve which is secured in the receiver, it has a rearward area having a posterior unthreaded portion and an anterior threaded portion, and that the rearward area has a length equal to or shorter than the length of the fixing sleeve.

According to one embodiment of the gun barrel, the rearward area has a cross section that is smaller than the cross section of an exterior dimension of the adjacent, forward area of the gun barrel, whereby a fitting and stop edge for the fixing sleeve is formed at the threaded engagement between the gun barrel and the fixing sleeve.

According to still another embodiment of the gun barrel, the posterior unthreaded portion has an axial extent that is 2 to 4 times the axial extent of the anterior threaded portion. The present invention makes possible the mounting of a fixing sleeve into the receiver once and for all, thus enabling the user himself to attend to the further replacements of the gun barrel. This is made possible by making a special, standard dimension for the inside of the fixing sleeve which will provide a uniform dimension for all types of relevant gun barrels.

Modern fine mechanics makes it possible to maintain tolerances that are not conventional for a gun maker (0.5 x 10->).

In principle, with the aid of the present invention, the avid hunter and marksman will be able to incorporate into one and the same weapon a plurality of calibers, e.g., 5 calibers, merely by changing the barrel.

This may also be explained by the fact that all calibers for which the cartridge case length is between 50 and 70 mm can be used in an original Mauser M98 rifle. Within this case length are found a countless number of calibers. In principle, it is only the configuration of the magazine that imposes a limitation on the number of calibers. As examples of calibers, one can mention, e.g., cal. 243; 308W; 6.5; 30.06; 8x57; 9.3 x 57; 9.3 x 62, etc.

The tolerances for the engagement between the sleeve and the gun barrel will be so high that it will be possible to screw the gun barrels into and out of the fixing sleeve by manual power. Taking into consideration the increasingly stringent weapons laws, inter alia as regards the number of weapons permitted per weapon owner, the present invention can make it possible to have a universal weapon for all types of hunting and shooting by providing the weapon owner with a standard gun having readily interchangeable gun barrels.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached illustrations.

Figure 1 illustrates the principle for the device, according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows, on a larger scale, details of the gun barrel according to the invention.

Figures 3 and 4 show two typical, alternative embodiments of the fixing sleeve. In Figure 1 are shown a gun barrel 1 , a fixing sleeve 2 and a front connector 3 on the receiver 4. Gun barrel 1 has a rearward area 5 having a posterior unthreaded portion 6 and an anterior threaded portion 7.

Fixing sleeve 2 is designed as an approximately tubular body having an internally threaded portion 8 at the one anterior end thereof. Fixing sleeve 2 also has a receiver engaging portion 9 or 9' at the other posterior end thereof. As is also shown in Figure 3, the receiver engaging portion 9 may be an externally threaded portion on the fixing sleeve. Alternatively, the receiver engaging portion 9' may be formed, as is shown in Figure 4, with locking lugs 9" disposed on the sleeve. As shown in Figure 1, for example, connector 3 on receiver 4 has an internally threaded portion 10 for engagement with the externally threaded portion on fixing sleeve 2. If a receiver engaging portion on the fixing sleeve has a configuration as shown in Figure 4, for example, the connector 3 on receiver 4 will have a complementary shape in order to ensure the necessary engagement.

The gun barrel's rearward area 5 preferably has a length equal to or shorter than the length of fixing sleeve 2. As is clearly apparent from, wter alia, Figure 2, the rearward area 5 has a cross section that is smaller than the cross section of an exterior dimension of an adjacent forward area 11 of the gun barrel. A fitting and stop edge 12 is thereby formed for the front edge section 13 of the fixing sleeve upon threaded engagement between gun barrel 1 and fixing sleeve 2, whereby there is also attained an automatic self-alignment of barrel 1 when it is screwed into the fixing sleeve.

As will be apparent from Figures 1 and 2, the posterior unthreaded portion 6 has an axial extent that is 2 to 4 times the axial extent of the anterior threaded portion. In the preferred embodiment, the axial extent of the posterior unthreaded portion 6 is about three times the axial extent of the anterior threaded portion 7 on gun barrel 1.

Claims

P tent Claims

1. A means for joining together a gun barrel (1) and a receiver (3, 4), where a fixing sleeve (2) is provided between the gun barrel (1) and the receiver (3, 4), and where the fixing sleeve (2) adjacent the gun barrel (1) side has an internally threaded portion (8) and adjacent the receiver (3, 4) has an engaging portion (9; 9', 9") designed for threaded engagement, bayonet attachment, locking pin engagement, or similar connection to the receiver (3,4), characterized in that the gun barrel has a rearward area (5) which extends completely or partly through the fixing sleeve (2), said rearward area (5) having an anterior threaded portion (7) for engagement with the internally threaded portion (8) of the fixing sleeve, and an unthreaded portion (6) posterior to said anterior threaded portion (7).

2.

A fixing sleeve (2) for joining together a gun barrel (1) and a receiver (3, 4), wherein the fixing sleeve is designed as an approximately tubular body having an internally threaded portion (8), characterized in that the fixing sleeve has at its other posterior end a receiver engaging portion (9, 9', 9") formed as an externally threaded portion (9) on the sleeve, or as locking lugs or similar devices (9") disposed internally within the sleeve.

3. A gun barrrel (1) intended for mounting onto a receiver (3, 4) with the aid of a fixing sleeve (2), character ized i n that, for mounting in a fixing sleeve (2) which is secured in the receiver (3, 4), it has a rearward area (5) having a posterior unthreaded portion (6) and an anterior threaded portion (7), and that the rearward area (6) has a length equal to or shorter than the length of the fixing sleeve (2).

4.

The gun barrel as disclosed in claim 3, characterized in that the rearward area (5) has a cross section that is smaller than the cross section of an exterior dimension of the adjacent forward area (11) of the gun barrel, whereby a fitting and stop edge (12) for the fixing sleeve (2) is formed upon threaded engagement between the gun barrel (1) and the fixing sleeve (2).

5.

The gun barrel as disclosed in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the posterior unthreaded portion (6) has an axial extent that is 2 to 4 times the axial extent of the anterior threaded portion (7).