Patent ID: 8522467

Claim:
A firearm accessory device in combination with a firearm having a barrel, the device comprising: a) an elongated tube extending axially along at least a portion of a length of the barrel and extending circumferentially around the barrel; b) a hand guard formed by the tube around a bottom and lateral sides of the tube at a proximal end of the tube; c) an elongated rail formed by the tube along a top of the tube, a bottom of the tube at a distal end of the tube, a lateral side of the tube at the distal end of the tube, or combinations thereof; d) a monolithic shell wall forming the tube and extending circumferentially around the barrel and forming the hand guard and the elongated rail, the shell wall substantially surrounding the barrel in a spaced-apart relationship; e) the elongated rail being aligned with the shell wall and the barrel, and having a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the shell wall and the barrel with a narrower neck and a wider head, and the enlarged head being segmented along a length thereof; f) an elongated hollow defined between the barrel and the shell wall, and extending continuously and uninterrupted radially between the barrel and the shell wall, and into the narrower neck of the rail; g) the shell wall being formed by a composite material with a fiber in a resin matrix; and h) the rail including additional longitudinal fibers with respect to the hand guard.