Personal firearm system

• US 5,852,253 A
• Filed: 06/05/1997
• Issued: 12/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Societe Etienne Lacroix Tous Artifices
• Original Assignee: Etienne Lacroix Tous Artificess.A.
• Inventors: Valembois, Guy, Baricos, Jean, Castarede, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): JOHNSON, STEPHEN
• Application Number:
  US08/765,168
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 89/1.41, 89/176, 89/127, 89/162, 89/44.01, 89/13.1, 42/1.11, 42/105, 102/432, 102/439
• US Class Current: 89/1.41
• CPC Class Codes: F41C 33/001 Shooting harnesses; Stabilising devices, e.g. straps on the body balancing arrangements on the gun itself F41C27/22
• CPC Class Codes: F41C 7/00 Shoulder-fired smallarms, e.g. rifles, carbines, shotguns specially adapted for underwater use F41C9/06

Abstract

The present invention relates to a personal firearm system characterized by the fact that it comprises at least two launch barrels (300, 500) and damper means (400) associated with at least a main barrel (300) and adapted to limit the recoil force generated thereby on firing.

Claims

1. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired;

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile; and

means for supporting said firearm system in relation to a forearm of a user, wherein said means for supporting said firearm system is adapted to support said firearm system beneath said forearm of said user.

2. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired, wherein each of said at least two launch barrels having different a caliber, said caliber of said secondary barrel being smaller than said caliber of said main barrel, said secondary barrel constituting a damper rod on which controlled friction is exerted; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile.

3. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel, said means for damping comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile, and said means for damping further comprising a shoe, said shoe urged against said secondary barrel by resilient means wherein said resilient means include at least one star washer having an inside periphery and an outside periphery, said at least one star washer formed in the shape of a cone and having a plurality of radial cutouts opening out alternately to its inside periphery and to its outside periphery.

4. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel, said means for damping comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile, and said means for damping further comprising a shoe, said shoe urged against said secondary barrel by resilient means and wherein said means for damping further comprising a resilient abutment and a damper box, said resilient abutment limiting and controlling displacement of said shoe relative to said damper box.

5. A system according to claim 4, said resilient abutment comprising at least one Bellevile type spring washer adapted to stabilize the force response of said means for damping.

6. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired;

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile; and

a magazine containing a plurality of ammunition types and a means for selecting said ammunition types, said magazine loaded into said main barrel.

7. A system according to claim 6, said main barrel having a longitudinal axis and said means for selecting comprising a means for guiding said main barrel in rotation about said longitudinal axis of said main barrel and a lever adjacent to said main barrel for rotating said main barrel.

8. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired, said main barrel further comprising a rear end and a flap adjacent to said rear end, said flap adapted to open automatically to a loading position during recoil of said main barrel; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile.

9. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, said support base comprising a top surface, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired;

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile; and

means for supporting said firearm system in relation to a forearm of a user, said means for supporting comprising a main handle and a cradle adaptable to either a forearm or an elbow, said main handle and said cradle located on said top surface of said support base to enable said firearm system to be supported beneath said forearm of said user.

10. A system according to claim 9, said means for supporting further comprising an auxiliary handle adjacent to said top surface.

11. A system according to claim 9, said means for supporting further comprising at least one strap adjacent to said top surface.

12. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired, said main barrel comprising a front end; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile; and

means for automatically ejecting said main cartridge, of each round of ammunition towards said front end of said main barrel.

13. A system according to claim 12, said main cartridge comprising a base and said means for automatically ejecting comprising a leak in said base of said main cartridge.

14. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile, wherein said projectile is of a mass of about 200 grams to 300 grams.

15. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile,

said main cartridge comprising a base and said round of ammunition further comprising an auxiliary cartridge thruster assembly, said thruster assembly comprising a sleeve housing a central body having radial through-passages and receiving a pressure source, a servo-control valve adjacent to said central body, an intermediate annular chamber formed between said central body and said sleeve, said pressure source communicating with said base of said main cartridge through said intermediate annular chamber communicating with an expansion chamber formed between said thruster assembly and said base of said main cartridge through a passage formed between said sleeve and said servo-control valve, where said passage is controlled by said servo-control valve.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein said sleeve comprising a shoulder and said servo-control valve is formed by a resilient wall movable relative to said shoulder.

17. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile,

said ammunition comprising a main cartridge housing a projectile, said projectile being in the form of a dart having a back end fitted with an auxiliary cartridge thruster assembly.

18. A system according to claim 17, said thruster assembly comprising a plurality of pistons and a plurality of propellant charges associated with said plurality of pistons so that fire is capable of being transmitted automatically between adjacent pistons and propellant charges.

19. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile,

said ammunition comprising a main cartridge having a front portion and a back portion, said front portion housing a burst projectile and said back portion housing an auxiliary cartridge thruster assembly.

20. A system according to claim 19, said thruster assembly comprising a plurality of pistons and a plurality of propellant charges associated with said plurality of pistons so that fire is capable of being transmitted automatically between adjacent pistons and propellant charges.

21. A personal firearm system for launching a projectile within a main cartridge of a round of ammunition, said firearm system comprising:

a support base;

at least two launch barrels in form of a main barrel and a secondary barrel mounted on said support base, at least said main barrel being guided to slide on said support base along a longitudinal axis, said at least two launch barrels being adapted to fire respective projectiles and being subject to a recoil force when a projectile is fired; and

means for damping associated with at least said main barrel to limit said recoil force generated thereby on firing, said means for damping being provided between said support base and said main barrel and comprising means for absorbing kinetic energy of said main barrel upon said main barrel sliding on said support base upon firing a projectile, said main cartridge comprising a base and said round of ammunition further comprising an auxiliary cartridge thruster assembly, said thruster assembly comprising a sleeve housing a central body having radial through-passages and receiving a pressure source, a servo-control valve adjacent to said central body, an intermediate annular chamber formed between said central body and said sleeve, said pressure source communicating with said base of said main cartridge through said intermediate annular chamber communicating with an expansion chamber formed between said thruster assembly and said base of said main cartridge through a passage formed between said sleeve and said servo-control valve, where said passage is controlled by said servo-control valve, said main cartridge having a back portion housing said thruster assembly wherein said servo-control valve is placed in said thruster assembly to form a pressure regulator.