Abstract:
A gas dispersion nozzle for a gun silencer having a nozzle portion with a front end and a rear end and walls enclosing a hollow interior therein. The rear end of the nozzle portion is attached to the gun silencer and the nozzle portion extends into the interior of the gun silencer. The rear end also attaches to a firearm. The walls have channels which direct flow of propellant gases out of the hollow interior and into the interior of the gun silencer at an angle to a path along which the projectile passes when the firearm is discharged. The channels cause the flow of propellant gases to become turbulent or rotational or both and can cause the flow rate of said propellant gases to decrease. The gas dispersion nozzle reduces the report and/or flash produced by the discharge of a firearm.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 13/772,206, filed Feb. 20, 2013. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to firearm silencers and, more particularly, to a vented chamber or gas dispersion nozzle, placed between a firearm&#39;s barrel and a firearm silencer, to direct high-pressure propellant gases perpendicular to the firearm&#39;s bore, thereby adding greatly to the silencer&#39;s overall efficiency in reducing both the report and flash produced by the propellant gases. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well known that when a firearm is discharged, jets of gas are formed within the barrel muzzle due to the expansion of gases upon detonation of the cartridge. Additionally, jets of gas are also formed as the bullet is propelled forward through the barrel, caused by the compression of gases in front of the bullet as it moves forward. Flash is caused by the incomplete combustion of gases as they exhaust from the barrel. Specifically, when a weapon is fired, the gases released are typically still burning when they exhaust from the barrel. As such, a “flash” of light can commonly be seen as these gases dissipate and burn off. Muzzle blast (sound) is caused by a shockwave exiting the weapon&#39;s barrel. It is also known that turbulence of the hot gases in the chamber of a silencer also increases the dwell time of the gases within the silencer, allowing the further combustion of gases. Accordingly, when these gases exit the gun silencer the amount of flash is reduced. 
     As technical advances in the firearm silencer industry increase, competition for greater effectiveness in smaller silencer systems has also increased. The area where propellant gas release pressure (and discharge noise) is the highest resides at the muzzle of a barrel, in the rearmost portion of a silencer. Any release of gas that exceeds the speed of sound (roughly 1,100 feet per second, or FPS) will make a loud sound (sonic crack) as the gas is released into the atmosphere. Under some conditions the sound can be heard up to four miles away. The speed of released gases from typical U.S. military rifles (0.223 and 0.308) is roughly 16,000 FPS, well beyond the speed of sound. 
     One of the common difficulties with silencers is a phenomenon called first round pop wherein the first shot in a series will be notably louder than the rest. This occurs because oxygen in the air (air is roughly 20% oxygen) within a silencer body will combine with superheated, unburned gaseous components in hot propellant discharge and reignite, causing a report that is significantly louder than subsequent reports from shots fired within a following minute or two. In a military setting the first shot should be the most quiet, not the loudest. 
     Pressure at the muzzle of some firearms can reach 20,000 PSI (pounds per square inch), at which point the propellant gas tends to behave more like a liquid than like a gas. The gas has increased weight and velocity, like a moving liquid under high pressure, but it also expands, like a gas. Propellant gas which is released at a firearm&#39;s muzzle also produces an electrical event, where billions of free electrons are suddenly released into the atmosphere, causing a visible flash. The propellant gas release also emits a strong burst of electrical energy and a powerful burst of radio waves. The visible flash of light is enhanced when hot, ionized propellant gas mixes its flame front with free oxygen in air, allowing unburned combustion products to reignite. 
     Once the propellant gases have slowed below 1,100 FPS their lessened release velocity will not cause a loud sound or sonic crack. A visible flash of light may not be totally extinguished, but it will be greatly diminished with an effective baffling system within the silencer chamber. What is needed is a more effective way to turbinate (spin rapidly, in a volute curve) the released propellant gases within the confines of a silencer&#39;s shell or container, and to capture and slow the release of propellant gases into the atmosphere to prevent a sonic crack and visible flash. This should be accomplished in such a way that will allow the use of smaller silencers compared to the size of silencers presently required to reduce sound and flash. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a gas dispersion nozzle for a gun silencer having a nozzle portion with a front end and a rear end and walls enclosing a hollow interior therein through which a projectile and propellant gases pass. The rear end of the nozzle portion has a base portion attached thereto constructed to attach the nozzle portion to the gun silencer and to extend the nozzle portion into an interior of said gun silencer. The base portion is also constructed to attach the nozzle portion to a barrel of a firearm. The base portion has walls enclosing a hollow interior therein through which a projectile and propellant gases pass. The walls of the nozzle portion having channels which direct the flow of the propellant gases out of the hollow interior of the nozzle portion at an angle to a path along which the projectile passes. These channels in the nozzle portion cause the flow of the propellant gases to become turbulent or rotational or both, and they decrease the flow rate of the propellant gases. The nozzle portion may have an internal choke at the front end of the nozzle portion to direct the propellant gases into the channels of said nozzle portion. This nozzle portion decreases the report and/or flash produced by the discharge of a firearm as a result of the decrease in flow rate of propellant gases when they pass through the side channels in the nozzle portion. 
     In an alternant embodiment, the rear end of the nozzle portion has a threaded extension attached thereto which attaches the nozzle portion to a gun silencer and extends the nozzle portion into an interior of the gun silencer. The threaded extension also attaches the nozzle portion to a barrel of a firearm. The threaded extension allows extension of the nozzle portion into the interior of the gun silencer off center of the interior of said gun silencer, if desired. The walls of this nozzle portion also have channels which direct the flow of the propellant gases out of the hollow interior at an angle to a path along which said projectile passes and into the interior of the gun silencer. Accordingly, this nozzle portion causes turbulent or rotational flow of propellant gases and decreases the report and/or flash produced by the discharge of said firearm. 
     Preferably, the gas dispersion nozzle is attached at the rear end of its nozzle portion to a gun silencer in which the interior of the gun silencer has one or more slant baffles and one or more blast baffles. The blast baffle has angled grooves to cause the flow of the propellant gases to become rotational, thereby decreasing the flow rate of the propellant gases through the interior of the gun silencer. In this arrangement, when the gas dispersion nozzle is used with a gun silencer it can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 20% to 60%. When the blast baffle, with angled grooves, is used with a gun silencer it can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 10% to 40%. When both the gas dispersion nozzle and the blast baffle are used together with a gun silencer they can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 30% to 90%. In addition, the combination of the gas dispersion nozzle and the blast baffle in the gun silencer can reduce the flow rate of propellant gases below the speed of sound as the propellant gases exit the front end of the silencer. 
     An advantage of the gas dispersion nozzle of the present invention is the reduction or elimination of the report and/or flash produced by propellant gases produced by the discharge of a firearm. 
     Another advantage is a gas dispersion nozzle that attaches easily to a gun silencer and to the muzzle of a firearm, either with a common thread system or with a quick release threaded coupling using an Acme thread, common throughout the industry. 
     Another advantage is a gas dispersion nozzle that allows the use of smaller gun silencers. 
     Another advantage is that the first round pop is greatly diminished or eliminated. 
     Another advantage is a gas dispersion nozzle that is relatively small and easy to manufacture. 
     Another advantage is that when the gas dispersion nozzle is used in a gun silencer having slant baffles and a blast baffle with angled grooves, the flow rate of propellant gases can be reduced below the speed of sound as the propellant gases exit the front of the gun silencer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the gas dispersion nozzle of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross section view of the nozzle portion along line  2  in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows a cutaway view of the gas dispersion nozzle attached to the rear end of a gun silencer. 
         FIG. 4  shows a sectional view of the gas dispersion nozzle attached to the rear end of a gun silencer and to a threaded hollow extension attached to the muzzle of a firearm barrel. 
         FIG. 5  shows a cutaway view of the gas dispersion nozzle positioned in a gun silencer. 
         FIG. 6  shows an enlarged view of the blast baffle having angled grooves. 
         FIG. 7  shows an alternant embodiment of the gas dispersion nozzle positioned between a rifle barrel and gun silencer. 
         FIG. 8  shows the gas dispersion nozzle of  FIG. 7  assembled with the gun silencer and the firearm barrel. 
         FIG. 9  shows a front perspective view of the gas dispersion nozzle of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 10  shows a rear perspective view of the gas dispersion nozzle of  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the following description details the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of the parts illustrated in the accompanying figures, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced in various ways. 
     Gun silencers for self-loading pistols with moving barrels using Neilson adaptors (essentially vented or non-vented pistons that kick moving barrels into opening their actions to ensure reliable self-loading) are known; however, the use of the small fixed chamber of the present invention, placed at the muzzle of a firearm barrel for the purpose of redirecting propellant gases to the side, or in a volute curve, within the gun silencer chamber, are not known in the silencer industry. 
     Vent holes placed in the end of such a chamber can be directly perpendicular to a bullet&#39;s path, or they can be angled to induce a rotary (clockwise or counterclockwise) centrifugal, volute movement within the larger containment of a silencer&#39;s body. Clockwise movement from these vents (when viewed from the rear of the firearm) will also tend to tighten a silencer that uses right-hand attachment threads on its barrel. 
     A dispersion nozzle of this invention with these vents can be part of a silencer&#39;s mounting system or it can be a separate system that involves a muzzle brake or a flash hider that connects a firearm&#39;s barrel to the rear of a silencer. An objective of the nozzle is to capture released gases, and then allow them to vent directly into the rear of a silencer&#39;s chamber in a direction at an angle, preferably perpendicular, to a bullet&#39;s flight path. The nozzle is constructed to have the vent holes in the nozzle sized proportionately to produce maximum turbulence and delay of the propellant gases, whether the gases strike the internal walls of the silencer perpendicularly, or swirl in a volute curve within the nozzle and/or the silencer chamber. 
     The primary benefit of the chamber/nozzle system of the present invention is a rapid diversion of the blast of propellant gas coming from a firearm&#39;s muzzle. The dramatic change of direction and breakup of this blast causes heat and gas movement to be diminished, which in turn allows baffles in a gun silencer downstream from this device to do their job more effectively. This in turn allows the use of a silencer with a smaller body and shorter overall length to accomplish the same reduction of flash and report, yielding a smaller, lighter, more efficient silencer unit. 
     A secondary benefit of the chamber/nozzle system is that the first round pop is greatly diminished by turbinating the propellant gas mixture vigorously, thus preventing a flame front from causing a secondary combustion when air instead of spent gases remains within various internal chambers. 
       FIG. 1  shows the gas dispersion nozzle  10  which has a nozzle portion  11  and a base portion  12 , wherein the nozzle portion  11  has a front end  8  and a rear end  9 . The base portion  12  is attached at one end to the nozzle portion  11  near the rear end  9  of nozzle portion  11 . The gas dispersion nozzle  10  is shown as circular having walls  15  which define a hollow interior  13  within. The gas dispersion nozzle  10  could also take other geometric forms, such as square, rectangular, hexagonal, etc. The front face  16  of the nozzle portion  11  has an exit opening  17 . Holes or channels  14  extend from the hollow interior  13  through the walls  15  of the gas dispersion nozzle  10 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a cross section view of the nozzle portion  11  along line  2  in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2  illustrates that channels  14  extend through walls  15  in a perpendicular orientation to the hollow interior  13 , or its longitudinal axis. When the propellant gases are expelled through channels  14  their flow rate becomes turbulent and the flow rate decreases.  FIG. 2  further illustrates that other channels  24 , shown in dotted lines, can be angled with respect to the hollow interior  13 , or its longitudinal axis, as shown. When the propellant gases are expelled through the angled channels  24  they will rotate and/or create a vortex. This rotational flow also decreases the rate of flow of the gases. 
       FIG. 3  shows a cutaway view of the gas dispersion nozzle  10  attached to the rear end  19  of a gun silencer  18 .  FIG. 3  further illustrates that the gun silencer  18  has an outer casing  20  which defines an interior  21  of the gun silencer  18 , and that the nozzle portion  11  projects into the interior  21  of the gun silencer  18 . The base portion  12  has an entrance opening  23  and the surface of the hollow interior  14  of the base portion  12  has threads  22  which engage threads of a threaded hollow extension attached to the muzzle of a firearm barrel (see  FIG. 4 ). Threads  22  may extend into the hollow interior  14  of the nozzle portion  11 . Although the gun silencer  18  is shown as cylindrical in shape it could also take other geometric forms, such as square, rectangular, hexagonal, etc. 
       FIG. 4  shows a sectional view of the gas dispersion nozzle  10  attached to the rear end  19  of a gun silencer  18  and to a threaded hollow extension  31  attached to the muzzle of a firearm barrel  30 . The gas dispersion nozzle  10  is attached by its base portion  12  to the gun silencer  22  by methods well known in the art, preferably by welding it in place, indicated by the welding joints  33 . The gun silencer may also be attached by soldering or threading. The front end  8  of the nozzle portion  11  may have an internal choke  32 . The dotted arrows show the paths of the propellant gases from the firearm barrel  30  and threaded extension  31  through the channels  14  and the exit opening  17 . 
     A projectile from a discharge of the fire arm will pass through the hollow interior  13  of the threaded extension  31  on the firearm muzzle, through the interior  13  of the gas dispersion nozzle  10 , out through the opening  17  of the nozzle portion  11 , and through the interior  21  of the gun silencer  18 . The propellant gases will follow a similar path but, in addition, a portion of these gases will also pass through the channels  14  and into the interior  21  of the gun silencer  18 . The channels  14  are oriented 90 degrees to the path of the projectile. As a portion of the gases pass through the channels  14 , the laminar flow of these gases is converted into a turbulent flow, thereby decreasing the rate of flow of these gases and prolonging the duration of time these gases are contained within the gun silencer interior  21 . The longer the duration of the gases in the interior  21  of the gun silencer  18  the greater the degree of the combustion of the gases. The internal choke  32  helps direct the gases through channels  14 . Decreasing the rate of flow of the gases in this manner can reduce or eliminate the loud sound and flash that can occur as the gases exit the gun silencer  22 . The gas dispersion nozzle  10  is most effective when used with the gun silencer described in my patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,426, dealing with slant baffles and a bullet-stabilizing blast baffle, but can be used with other baffle systems as well. 
       FIG. 5  shows a cutaway view of the gas dispersion nozzle  10  positioned in a gun silencer  18 . The front end of silencer  18  has a cover  36  with an entrance/exit opening  37 . The interior  21  has slant baffles  38  with entrance/exit openings  37 . Also, the interior  21  has a blast baffle  39  positioned in front of the nozzle portion  11  and behind the slant baffles  38 . The blast baffle  39  has angled grooves  40  around its circumference and has a rear side  41  with an entrance opening  42 . The slant baffles  38  and blast baffle  39  are shown attached to the interior walls of the gun silencer  18 . The blast baffle  39  is in front of the nozzle portion  11  and behind the slant baffles  38 . The blast baffle  39  may also be connected to the front end  8  of the nozzle portion  11 .  FIG. 6  shows an enlarged view of the blast baffle  39  from the front side  43  which has an exit opening  44 . Exit opening  44  has a greater diameter than entrance opening  42 , forming a conical shaped interior  45  in blast baffle  39 . When the propellant gases are expelled through the slanted grooves  40  they will rotate and/or create a vortex. This rotational flow further decreases the flow rate of the propellant gases. 
     When the gas dispersion nozzle  10  is used with a gun silencer it can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 20% to 60%. When the blast baffle  39 , with angled grooves  40 , is used with a gun silencer it can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 10% to 40%. When both the gas dispersion nozzle and  10  and the blast baffle  39  are used together with a gun silencer they can increase the efficiency of the gun silencer in reducing sound and flash by 30% to 90%. In addition, the combination of the gas dispersion nozzle  10  and the blast baffle  39  in the gun silencer can reduce the flow rate of propellant gases below the speed of sound as the propellant gases exit the front end of the silencer. 
       FIGS. 7 ,  8 ,  9 , and  10  describe an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The gas dispersion nozzle  50  is shown positioned between a rifle barrel  57  and gun silencer  61  in  FIG. 7 . The gas dispersion nozzle  50  is cylindrical having walls  51  which define a hollow interior  69  (see  FIG. 9 ). It has a front end  52  and a rear end  53 . The rear portion  54  is a threaded extension having threads  56 . The gas dispersion nozzle  50  has holes or channels  55  similar to those described for the gas dispersion nozzle  10 , and may also have angled channels as shown in  FIG. 2 . The firearm barrel  57  has a threaded extension  58  an exit opening  60 . The gun silencer  61  has a rear end  63  with a face  62 . There is an opening  64  in face  62  and it is shown as off center in the face  62 . However, the opening  64  can be placed in the center of face  62  if desired. The opening  64  has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the portion of the nozzle  50  that has holes  55  so that this portion of the nozzle  50  cannot pass through opening  64 . The extension  54  on nozzle  50  has a diameter smaller than the diameter of opening  64  so extension  54  can pass through opening  64 . Nut  65  screws onto threaded extension  54  and threaded extension  58  on firearm  57  screws into the threaded interior  68  (see  FIG. 10 ) of threaded extension  54 . This feature allows an eccentric silencer to be rotated to an optimal position, and then fixated into that position with a jam nut. 
       FIG. 8  shows the gas dispersion nozzle  50  assembled with the gun silencer  61  and the firearm barrel  57 . The nozzle  50  is inserted into the hollow interior of the gun silencer and the threaded extension  54  is passed through opening  64 . Nut  65  is then screwed onto threaded extension  54 , thereby reversibly attaching nozzle  50  to gun silencer  62  with the portion of the nozzle  50  having channels  55  being retained within the interior and at the rear  63  of gun silencer  62 . The threaded extension  58  of firearm  57  is then screwed into the threaded interior  68  of the entrance opening  67  of nozzle  50 .  FIG. 9  shows a front perspective view of the gas dispersion nozzle  50 , further showing the front face  59  and the exit opening  66  as well as the hollow interior  69  of the nozzle  50 .  FIG. 10  shows a rear perspective view of the gas dispersion nozzle  50 , further showing the entrance opening  67  and the threaded interior  68  of nozzle  50 . 
     The foregoing description has been limited to specific embodiments of this invention. It will be apparent, however, that variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to the disclosed embodiments of the invention, with the attainment of some or all of its advantages and without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the gas dispersion nozzles of the present invention can be made of any suitable materials and can be used with any type of gun silencer and firearm. The gas dispersion nozzle can be made in any desired size. A combination of perpendicular and angled channels can be used in the nozzle. The angled channels and the angled grooves can rotate the propellant gases clockwise or counterclockwise. The gun silencer can be attached to the nozzles by methods well known in the art, including welding, soldering, threading, three-lug cam mounting system, etc. The gun silencer can be reversibly attached to the nozzles, for example, by threading. 
     It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated above in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle and scope of the invention as recited in the following claims.