Abstract:
The present invention is directed to an adaptor for a suppressor comprising a gate for locking the suppressor on the muzzle and a threaded receiver for securing the suppressor to the firearm such that excessive play of the suppressor is removed. It is further directed to a method of securing a suppressor on a firearm by engaging a gate on an adaptor in a groove on a barrel of the firearm to lock on the adaptor, and any attached suppressor, and then tightening the suppressor and the adaptor on the barrel by threading the suppressor into the adaptor until excessive play is removed.

Description:
PRIORITY INFORMATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority from and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/695,399 filed Jun. 30, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an adaptor for mounting a suppressor on a firearm, a method for mounting a suppressor on a firearm and a suppressor having the adaptor. 
         [0003]    Firearm noise and/or recoil suppressors are well-known. Some suppressors and devices to mount suppressors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,679, U.S. 5,679,916, U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,009 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,389 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,820 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,214 B2. However, many technical difficulties still exist with the attachment of the suppressors to the firearm. One problem relates to the excessive play in attaching the suppressor. While it is understood that the bore of the suppressor has to be accurately aligned with the bore of the barrel, excessive play often adversely affects the accuracy of the firearm. Another problem is attachment of the suppressor without properly securing the suppressor on the firearm. Suppressors that are not properly secured have a disturbing tendency to occasionally blow off of the firearm when the firearm fired. Even suppressors that appear to be tightly secured may loosen during firing, causing too much play, and possibly causing the suppressor to be blown off. Additional problems include taking too long to mount the suppressor on or remove the suppressor from the barrel. For example, suppressors that are threaded directly on the barrel often require an inconveniently long time to screw the suppressor securely to the barrel or to unscrew the suppressor from the barrel. Other methods and devices used to mount the suppressor are often too complicated or require the use of tools. The present invention addresses such problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is directed to an adaptor for a suppressor comprising a gate for locking the suppressor on the muzzle and a threaded receiver for securing the suppressor to the firearm such that excessive play of the suppressor is removed. It is further directed to a method of securing a suppressor on a firearm by engaging a gate on an adaptor in a groove on a barrel of the firearm to lock on the adaptor, and any attached suppressor, and then tightening the suppressor and the adaptor on the barrel by threading the suppressor into the adaptor until excessive play is removed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0005]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate two firearms mounted with suppressors in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the suppressor and the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIGS. 3A-E  illustrate how a firearm barrel is disengaged from the suppressor and the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of a suppressor/adaptor assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of a suppressor/adaptor assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  shows a rear view of the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  shows a side cross-sectional view of a suppressor/adaptor/barrel assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  shows a perspective cut-out view of a suppressor/adaptor engaged with a barrel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]    The present invention is described below in considerable detail for particular embodiments for illustrative purposes only. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that alterations may be made in the device itself or in the procedure for using the device without departing from the concept, scope and spirit of the present invention as described in the claims below. Finally, all references, including any priority documents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference. 
         [0014]    For purposes of this disclosure, the term forward, fore and other similar terms will reference the direction from which a fired projectile will exit. The term rearward, rear and other similar terms will reference the direction from which a fired projectile will originate. The term permanently affixed or derivatives thereof refer to affixing a part in a manner that is difficult to reverse without damaging the part or the thing the part is affixed to. The phrase “excessive play is removed,” and other similar phrases refer to the fact that after the suppressor is attached, the movement between the suppressor and the firearm is ameliorated to the extent that the accuracy of the firearm is substantially unaffected or can be reproducibly corrected. 
         [0015]    In  FIG. 1 , two firearms  10   a  and  10   b  are shown with suppressors  12  mounted by adapters  14  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Although shown for rifles, the present invention can be used for a variety of firearms, including pistols. 
         [0016]    In  FIG. 2 , an exploded view of the suppressor and the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Suppressor  12  comprises, from the rear forward, a neck  16  adjacent a stop shoulder  18 . The rear of neck  16  has a circumferentially threaded neck section  20 . Further forward, either integral with stop shoulder  18  or permanently affixed to either or both neck  16  or stop shoulder  18 , a teethed ring  24  is attached flush against stop shoulder  18  with the teeth  26  facing rearward. 
         [0017]    Adapter  14  comprises a housing  28  having a front end  30  and a back end  32 . At back end  32 , a gate groove  34  contains a gate  36 . Adjacent the gate groove  34  is a lock groove  38  containing a gate lock  40 . Gate lock  40  slides into lock groove  38  with a lock spring  42  between the front of lock groove  38  and the front of gate lock  40 . Lock spring  42  biases gate lock  40  rearward. 
         [0018]    In the embodiment shown, lock groove  38  also has a retaining groove  44 . A threaded bore  46  passes through gate lock  40  and is capable of receiving a retaining screw  48 . The retaining screw  48  is threaded through threaded bore  46  so that its tip engages retaining groove  44  to retain gate lock  40  within lock groove  38 . A gate pin  50  protrudes from the back of gate lock  40  to engage a retaining groove  52  on the front surface (not visible) of gate  36 . 
         [0019]    At the front end  30  of the adapter, a rotation lock groove  54  contains a rotation lock  56  which compresses a lock spring  58  which resides between the rear of rotation lock  56  and the back of rotation lock groove  54 . The lock spring  58  biases the rotation lock  56  forward. Rotation flange  60  (visible in  FIG. 5 ) at the front of rotation lock  56  is capable of engaging teeth  26  to prevent the suppressor from further rotating, possibly in a loosening direction or in both a loosening and a tightening direction. An optional pin  64  can be used to retain rotation lock  56  in the rotation lock groove  54  via an optional rotation lock retention groove  66  (not shown). 
         [0020]    A channel  22  (see  FIG. 6 ) passes through the adaptor  14  having a threaded receiver section  23 . The neck of the suppressor engages the front of channel  22  such that threaded neck section  20  is threaded with threaded receiver section  23 . The suppressor does not need to be fully disengaged from the adapter for most common uses. 
         [0021]    In an embodiment, to mount the suppressor/adaptor assembly onto the barrel, push the rotation lock  56  rearward to disengage the rotation flange  60  from teeth  26 . The suppressor is loosened from the adaptor, for example by about three turns. Gate lock  40  is pushed forward to disengage the gate pin  50  from the gate  36 . The gate  36  is moved upward from the adaptor, thereby expanding the entry way for channel  22 . The barrel having an appropriate retaining collar  62  ( FIG. 3D ) or a gate retaining groove  63  ( FIG. 7 ) is slid into the channel from the rear of the adaptor until gate  36  is in position to be engaged with the gate retaining groove  63 . In the present embodiment, the retaining groove  63  is found on the retaining collar  62 . In an embodiment, side arms of the locking gate are in parallel position to the wrench nut on the flash hider (which acts as the retaining collar). The gate is pushed down to fully engage the barrel and the retaining collar or retaining groove to lock the adaptor on the barrel. Gate pin  50  on gate lock  40  engages gate  36  to lock the gate in the locking position. When the suppressor is tightened onto the adaptor, the entire suppressor/adaptor/barrel assembly is tighteningly secured. 
         [0022]      FIGS. 3A-E  illustrate the manner in which a firearm is disengaged from the suppressor and the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3A  shows a barrel  68  fully engaged with the suppressor  12  by means of an adaptor  14 . Force (shown as thick arrows) is applied to rotation lock  56  to disengage from the teeth of the teeth ring to allow rotational force to be applied to the suppressor to partially unthread the suppressor from the adaptor.  FIG. 3B  shows rotation lock  56  pushed back to disengage rotation flange  60  from teeth  26 , and the suppressor  12  partially unthreaded from the adaptor  14  (for example by about three rotations).  FIG. 3C  shows gate lock  40  pushed forward to disengage gate pin  50  from the gate retaining groove  52 .  FIG. 3D  shows gate  36  pulled upwards to disengage from a retaining collar  62  on the barrel having a retaining groove  63  wherein gate  36  is seated on barrel  68 .  FIG. 3E  shows the barrel  68  disengaged from the adapter  14 . 
         [0023]    The present invention works in conjunction with a retaining collar shown as  62  in  FIGS. 3A-E . Such retaining collars can be found as part of flash hiders or other attachment that commonly have flats and grooves for attachments and are routinely found at the tip of a barrel. If such attachments are not found, a separate retaining collar may be permanently affixed to the tip of the barrel. Alternatively, a retaining groove may be machined in the barrel, into which the gate may be directly seated. 
         [0024]    The combination of the gate/lock which secures the adapter to the barrel, and the threaded engagement of the suppressor to the adapter create both a secure attachment and removes excess play. In an embodiment, a push-pull force is used in which the tightening of the suppressor onto an adaptor forces the suppressor against the barrel, while at the same time pulls the adaptor gate against the retaining collar. The opposing push-pull force seats the suppressor securely onto the barrel. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, the rotation lock engages the teeth to prevent the suppressor from loosening. 
         [0025]      FIG. 4  shows side view of a suppressor/adaptor assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the adaptor has an opposing teethed ring.  FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of a suppressor/adaptor assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the rotation flange  60  on the rotation lock  56  is shown to be engaged with teeth  26  of teeth ring  24 .  FIG. 6  shows a rear view of the adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Gate  36  is shown as lowered in the locking position, decreasing the entry way of channel  22 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 7  shows a side cross-sectional view of a suppressor/adaptor/barrel assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The push-pull mechanism is shown as dark arrow forces at the interface of the tip of the barrel  70  and an inner stop shoulder  72  within the suppressor, and at the interface between gate  36  and the retaining groove  63 . Threaded receiver  23  is shown to be engaged to threaded neck section  20 .  FIG. 8  shows a perspective cut-out view of a suppressor/adaptor engaged with a barrel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Once again, the push-pull mechanism is shown at the interface of the tip of the barrel  70  and an inner shoulder  72  within the suppressor, and at the interface between gate  36  and the retaining groove  63 . The threaded portions of both the adaptor and the suppressor are also shown. 
         [0027]    It is possible to have the threaded portions reversed such that the suppressor has a channel having a threaded receiver, while the adaptor has a threaded neck. In this case, the threaded ring and the rotation lock may also be reversed such that the teethed ring is on the adaptor, while the rotation lock is on the suppressor. To create the push-pull effect, a stopper is inserted into the channel of the adaptor to engage tip  70  of the barrel. As the suppressor is tightened onto the adaptor, the push-pull force is found at the interface of the stopper and the tip of the barrel. The previously discussed corresponding force is duplicated at the gate and the retaining groove. 
         [0028]    Maintenance of firearms and firearm suppressors is well-known. The present invention can be maintained without disassembly. Simply soak the suppressor in a suitable solvent overnight or as long as possible, optionally in an ultrasonic cleaner. Remove from the solvent, drain excess solvent and stand upright with the rear on a flat surface. Optionally, blow-dry the unit by blowing air through the suppressor. On can also dry at warm temperature in an oven. Alternatively, the adapter and suppressor can be disassembled, and the various components of the adapter can be separated and cleaned. For the suppressor, a scraper or a brush may be used to scrape off fouling excess. 
         [0029]    If the suppressor has been exposed to water (salt or fresh), immediately clean with the following procedure. Do not use the suppressor before cleaning unless absolutely necessary. Soak and flush out suppressor with very hot water and detergent. Drain and repeat at least three to four times. Soak and flush out suppressor with boiling pure water. Dry in oven set to warm. After thorough drying, lubricate the adapter and the threads. 
         [0030]    All embodiments of the suppressor mount are preferably made of stainless steel. However, other suitable materials, such as high performance polymers, ceramics, or other metals may be used. The materials used need not be the same throughout the device. However, the invention is not limited by the materials disclosed. Any material useful for making the invention or components thereof is within the scope of the invention.