Recoil reducing and piston shock absorbing mechanism

• US 4,088,057 A
• Filed: 12/03/1976
• Issued: 05/09/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Raci Acquisition Corporation
• Original Assignee: Remington Arms Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Nasypany, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Bentley, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US05/747,204
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 42/1 V, 42/1 W, 42/74, 89/1.7, 89/1.701, 89/42 R, 89/43 R, 89/177, 89/191, 89/198
• US Class Current: 89/1.701
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 21/28 Gas-expansion chambers; Barrels provided with gas-relieving ports F41A1/06, F41A13/08 and F41A21/36 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41C 23/06 Stocks or firearm frames specially adapted for recoil reduction

Abstract

A firearm recoil system that reduces the maximum recoil force felt by the shooter. The recoil force applied to the shooter'"'"'s shoulder is interrupted by tapping off explosive gases produced by firing a cartridge and directing the gases into a gas cylinder to actuate a piston rearwardly and at the same time provide a forward force to the firearm opposite to the rearward recoil movement of the firearm. The rearward piston movement is slowed down by compressing air trapped within the cylinder and then venting the compressed air so that the remaining recoil energy in the piston is gradually phased out. This results in a substantially lesser peak or maximum shoulder force.

Claims

1. A recoil attenuation system for a firearm that reduces the recoil force felt by the shooter, said system comprising a barrel, a gas cylinder attached to said barrel, said gas cylinder having front and rear end walls, a stationary seal ring mounted in said cylinder intermediate its ends thereof to define a forward cylinder section and a rear cylinder section, a movable inertia means having a piston portion positioned for sliding movement in the rear cylinder section and an elongated piston rod portion connected to said piston portion and normally extending through said seal ring into said forward cylinder section, said piston rod portion having at least a portion thereof capable of being slidably moved into said rear cylinder section, means in the forward cylinder section for biasing said inertia means forwardly, a gas chamber in said cylinder defined at its forward end by said seal ring and at its rear by said inertia piston portion, gas port means leading from the barrel to said cylinder gas chamber for bleeding thereinto a portion of the gases produced by a cartridge fired in said barrel whereupon said inertia means is driven sharply to the rear opposite to the direction of travel of a fired cartridge projectile, said inertia means being slowed down in the rear cylinder section by the trapping and compressing of air by the inertia piston portion as it moves toward the rear end wall of the gas cylinder, relief port means in the rear cylinder section to allow the gas pressure to drop rapidly after the inertia piston portion passes the relief port means, and metering means to permit escape of the trapped air in the rear cylinder section to decrease the velocity of the inertia means.

2. A recoil attenuation system as recited in claim 1, wherein said metering means comprises an elongated opening through said inertia means that allows trapped air to vent through the opening into the forward section of the gas cylinder, and relief port means in the forward section of the cylinder that allows the vented air to escape from the cylinder.

3. A recoil attenuation system as recited in claim 1, in which said stationary seal ring is mounted in fixed position to said cylinder by means which are accessible from the outside of the cylinder so that the seal ring can be disengaged from said cylinder, said rear end wall of the gas cylinder being readily removable so that upon removal of said rear end wall and disengagement of said seal ring, the entire inertia means can be removed from the gas cylinder for cleaning purposes.

4. A system of reducing the recoil felt by a shooter after firing a firearm, said system comprising a barrel, a gas cylinder attached to said barrel, a movable inertia weight including a piston portion and a piston rod portion positioned in said gas cylinder, means for tapping a portion of the explosive gases produced by the firing of a cartridge in said barrel and conveying said gases to said gas cylinder to propel said inertia weight rearwardly within said gas cylinder, means for pneumatically slowing down the rearward movement of said inertia weight, spring means normally biasing said inertia weight forwardly but becoming compressed upon rearward acceleration of the inertia weight, said means for pneumatically slowing down the rearward movement of said inertia weight comprising a rear gas cylinder end closure so that upon rearward movement of said inertia weight piston portion toward said cylinder end closure, the air trapped therebetween is compressed to act as a buffer, vent means comprising an opening through said inertia weight that allows a metered portion of the compressed air to escape to the opposite end of the gas cylinder where relief ports permit the vented air to escape.

5. A system of reducing the recoil felt by a shooter as recited in claim 4, relief port means in said gas cylinder which are normally out of communication with said explosive gases until the piston portion of the inertia weight has been moved rearwardly by the gases past said relief port means whereupon the gas pressure driving the piston portion rearwardly drops rapidly.

6. A system of reducing the recoil felt by a shooter after firing a firearm, said system comprising a barrel, a gas cylinder attached to said barrel, a movable inertia weight including a piston portion and a piston rod portion positioned in said gas cylinder, means for tapping a portion of the explosive gases produced by the firing of a cartridge in said barrel and conveying said gases to said gas cylinder to propel said inertia weight rearwardly within said gas cylinder, means for pneumatically slowing down the rearward movement of said inertia weight, spring means normally biasing said inertia weight forwardly but becoming compressed upon rearward acceleration of the inertia weight, a stationary seal ring mounted in said gas cylinder, said inertia weight piston portion normally abutting the rear of said seal ring to limit forward movement of said inertia weight, said inertia weight piston rod portion projecting through said seal ring and extending forwardly thereof, said spring means abutting the forward end of said seal ring and a stop means on the forward end of said piston rod where upon rearward movement of said inertia weight the spring means is compressed so that when the inertia weight reaches its rearwardmost position and comes to a stop, the compressed spring means returns the inertia weight forwardly to its normal forward position.