U.S. patent application number 10/907094 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-21 for improved shotgun barrel construction.
Invention is credited to Ernest R. Lazor.
Application Number | 20060207154 10/907094 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37008816 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060207154 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lazor; Ernest R. |
September 21, 2006 |
IMPROVED SHOTGUN BARREL CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A multi-barreled shotgun barrel assembly construction, which
breaks down barrel components into a Muzzle Block, Extended Chopper
Block, and Barrel Tubes that join the two blocks enabling precise
alignment to direct shot to a desired point of impact.
Inventors: |
Lazor; Ernest R.;
(Southbury, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mr.Ernest R. Lazor
135 Ridgeview Road
Southbury
CT
06488
US
|
Family ID: |
37008816 |
Appl. No.: |
10/907094 |
Filed: |
March 19, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
42/76.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 21/06 20130101;
F41A 21/482 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
042/076.01 |
International
Class: |
F41A 21/00 20060101
F41A021/00 |
Claims
1. A shotgun barrel construction for firearms, comprising: a muzzle
block as a means to manufacture a precisely aligned barrel to
direct fired shot to a desired point of impact, said muzzle block
contains choke tubes or fixed chokes as a means to control the
spread of fired shot so a desired pattern of shot is directed to a
desired point of impact, said muzzle block has multiple barrel
tubes as a means to connect the muzzle block to the extended
chopper block and constitute a barrel assembly, said muzzle block
has integral mid ribs as a means to provide an aesthetically
pleasing appearance and front muzzle attachment point for a top rib
sighting plane, barrel tubes as a means to connect the muzzle block
to the extended chopper block, said barrel tubes have a tenon joint
end as a means of attachment into extended chopper block and a
threaded tenon end for attachment into muzzle block, said joints
and threads are adhered with some form of adhesive, solder, or
braze material in various forms as a means to provide solid joints
that resist shock and pressure of firing said shotgun and hold
these components in solid relationship to adjoining components as a
barrel assembly, an extended chopper block as a means to contain a
chamber for the shotgun shell to be loaded into with all varying
lengths of shot shell produced, a long polished forcing cone to
funnel the fired shot components from the larger internal diameter
of the chamber to the bore diameter in a smooth transitional manner
so as to reduce felt recoil and friction with related heat
build-up, and a bore section to stabilize the components of the
fired shell, being the shot and all related components that exit
the shell upon firing of said shell, a sighting plane as a means
for the shooter to align the gun and hit a desired point of impact
by mounting to said firearm and can be in the form of a ventilated
rib, solid rib, or single or multiple aligned sights, whereby said
firearm is precisely aligned and manufactured to direct the shot to
a desired point of impact.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] This invention relates to firearms and more particularly to
improvements in the construction and functionality of shotgun
barrels.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Traditionally shotgun barrels construction has either been
chopper lump or mono-block construction in multi-barreled
shotguns.
[0005] Chopper lump construction entails manufacturing barrel tubes
in various ways and allowing extra material on the breech end. This
extra material provided a way to join the barrels by forming this
material into a dovetailed joint. Barrels are also shaved to create
flat areas of contact to allow the barrels to fit closer together
so lower overall heights and widths are achieved. This procedure
reduces weight while lowering the overall height to provide a more
naturally pointing firearm.
[0006] The muzzle end of the barrel set, ribs for the top sighting
plane and side covers are joined by soldering, brazing, or welding.
All of these pieces have to be held together for this process so
that perfect alignment of the barrels is achieved. This alignment
assures that the shot fired from the shot-shell will hit a specific
point of impact. This process is tedious and requires considerable
handwork to remove chemical fluxes and excess solder or braze.
Excessive heat from the process can also distort the barrels and
impact the quality of the finished product.
[0007] Manufacturing a barrel set in this manner is time consuming
and expensive while requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and
luck to produce a quality barrel that will shoot consistently. The
manufacturer is faced with the problem of making thin wall barrel
of between 0.025 to 0.035 thick while keeping the barrel straight
and concentric so that shot patterns are uniformly distributed and
consistent.
[0008] Mono-block construction simplified barrel construction by
eliminating the extra chopper lump material and dovetail joint. The
mono-block ("block") creates the chambering area for all barrels
and barrel tubes are screwed into or slide into the "block". The
barrels are soldered or glued to the "block".
[0009] The process of joining the muzzle end of the barrels and
issues of manufacturing straight concentric barrel tubes remain as
described above with the chopper lump construction. Advancements
have been made to replacing solder, brazing and welds with higher
performance adhesives.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] This invention simplifies and improves multiple barrel
construction by introducing a muzzle block with extended chopper
block as a shotgun barrel construction method. This construction
method breaks the barrel assembly into four (4) types of
components: 1) a muzzle block, 2) multiple barrel tubes, 3) an
extended chopper block, and 4) ribs. The main principle behind this
invention is to break the barrel assembly down into smaller
components that are easier to manufacture to close tolerances, with
emphasis on straightness and concentricity of the bore that
positively influences overall shooting accuracy in a shotgun, and
each component can be made from different materials that provide
improved overall performance for that specific area of the barrel
assembly.
[0011] The muzzle block allows for precise barrel alignment and
regulation of all barrels since it is a single smaller part that
can be more readily manufactured to close tolerances. This part can
be made from a higher performance material which stands up better
to the higher shock loads around the choke forcing cone area of the
shotgun muzzle. Also this part can be heat treated and/or coated
with performance materials to withstand the use of steel shot while
allowing the barrel tubes to be treated differently for higher
ductility.
[0012] The muzzle block comprises the area of the muzzle to through
the choke forcing cone into a length of straight bore. This enables
the containment of the choke area where the bore is choked down or
constricted to the choke bore that produces the desired pattern at
the target point. The muzzle block allows a choke tube to be
screwed into the muzzle end to facilitate the use of different
chokes for each barrel depending on the shooters needs or
preferences. The muzzle block is threaded on the barrel tube end to
accept the barrel tubes and provide a shock proof joint through the
use of the threads and thread sealants, adhesives, or other
medium.
[0013] The extended chopper block joins the barrels on the breech
end through the shell chamber area through the extended forcing
cone, which transitions the shell diameter down to the straight
bore diameter, and into the straight bore. As mentioned before,
barrel tubes connect the extended chopper block and muzzle block to
complete the barrel assembly. The major difference with this
construction is the containment of the extended or long forcing
cone within this block. Prior to this construction this functional
area would be within the barrel tubes necessitating full assembly
of the barrel assembly before the chamber and forcing cone reaming
to the required shape and dimensions could be completed. This
construction allows the chamber and forcing cone reaming to occur
just on the extended chopper block part which is considerably
shorter than a full barrel assembly. This translates into a more
simplified task that is easier to complete with the ability to hold
tighter tolerances to the specified shape and dimensions.
[0014] The extended chopper block to barrel tube joint is a slip
joint that uses sealants, adhesives or other medium to adhere the
parts together. This joint does not develop considerable impact or
stress as it is beyond the extended of long forcing cone where the
impact or stress occurs with the firing of a shell within the
shotgun's chamber.
[0015] The extended chopper block can be manufactured from
materials that optimize this part's individual performance since
this is the area that contains the explosive forces of a shell when
it is fired and is susceptible to considerable impact, pressure,
and related heat.
[0016] Barrel tubes join the muzzle block to the extended chopper
block to produce a barrel assembly. These barrel tubes can be made
30 to 40% shorter than other barrel construction means and thereby
can be manufactured easier and more effectively to tighter quality
standards for straightness, concentricity, and bore finish.
[0017] The barrel tubes have the ability to be standard bored or
over-bored to provide less felt recoil when firing the shotgun. The
barrel tubes are threaded on the muzzle block end for the shock
proof joint benefits stated earlier. The barrel tubes have a slip
fit joint on the extended chopper block end as stated earlier.
[0018] The barrel tubes do not have to be shaved to provide a low
overall height of the barrel assembly as they join the extended
chopper block beyond the extended or long forcing cone area.
Basically all of the heavy thick barrel section is part of the
extended chopper block which allows the barrel tube to have a
considerably thinner wall thickness and thereby does not need to be
shaved or specially fitted to the barrel assembly.
[0019] This barrel assembly construction is completed by the
attachment of the top sighting plane rib and with or without mid
ribs. This construction allows he barrel assembly to be completed
without mid ribs with the muzzle block providing the integrated mid
rib profile. This construction choice allows more effective air
circulation and cooling around the barrels and is also easily
manufactured to repeatable quality standards. The optional choice
is traditional or modern mid rib designs which can be fitted the
barrel assembly.
[0020] This new and improved construction has the flexibility to
allow all parts to be polished and finished with blueing, thin film
coating, or other finishes before or after assembly depending on
the manufacturing process employed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the barrel assembly. This
illustrates the fully assembly of this improved barrel construction
with all four (4) components assembled.
[0022] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the barrel assembly. This
illustrates the composition of the assembly into four (4) component
parts.
[0023] FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the barrel
assembly illustrating the internal structure of the various parts
of the barrel assembly and connecting points of the assembly
parts.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a Muzzle Block front perspective view.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a Muzzle Block side perspective view. This is an
expanded view of the Muzzle Block from two different perspectives
to illustrate the orientation of the part, integrated regulation
and mid-rib treatment, and sighting plane attachment point.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the Extended Chopper Block.
This is an expanded view of this part with orientation of breech
and barrel tube/muzzle ends along with integral sighting plane.
[0027] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the Barrel Tube.
REFERENCE NUMERIALS
[0028] 1 Extended Chopper Block [0029] 2 Barrel Tube [0030] 2A
Barrel Tube--upper barrel [0031] 2B Barrel Tube--lower barrel
[0032] 3 Muzzle Block [0033] 4 Top Rib Sighting Plane [0034] 5
Barrel Tube or Breech End of Muzzle Block [0035] 6 Top Rib Sighting
Plane attachment point of Muzzle Block [0036] 7 Integrated
Regulation and Mid-Rib of Muzzle Block [0037] 8 Muzzle End of
Muzzle Block [0038] 9 Breech End of Extended Chopper Block [0039]
10 Integral Top Rib Sighting Plane of Extended Chopper Block [0040]
11 Barrel Tube or Muzzle End of Extended Chopper Block and related
hole [0041] 12 Shot Shell Chamber Area in Extended Chopper Block
[0042] 13 Extended or Long Forcing Cone area in Extended Chopper
Block [0043] 14 Barrel bore [0044] 14A Barrel bore in Extended
Chopper Block [0045] 14B Barrel bore in Barrel Tube [0046] 15
Barrel Tube tenon joint end for attachment to Extended Chopper
Block [0047] 16 Barrel Tube threaded tenon joint for attachment to
Muzzle Block [0048] 17 Counter-bored and internally threaded joint
for attachment of a Choke Tube in the Muzzle Block [0049] 18
Internally machined or manufactured area for containment of a Choke
Tube in the Muzzle Block [0050] 19 Internally machined or
manufactured area for attachment of the Barrel Tubes in the Muzzle
Block
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0051] A complete barrel assembly is illustrated in the FIG. 1
perspective view of a multi-barreled shotgun barrel assembly.
[0052] The barrel assembly is simplified into four main components
in the FIG. 2 exploded view of the barrel assembly. These
components are the Extended Chopper Block 1, the Upper Barrel Tube
2A, the Lower Barrel Tube 2B, the Muzzle Block 3, and the Top Rib
Sighting Plane 4.
[0053] FIG. 3, exploded cross-sectional view of the barrel
assembly, illustrates the internal features and characteristics of
this type of barrel construction. The Extended Chopper Block 1 has
a length sufficient to for a Shot Shell Chamber Area 12 providing
for shot shells of all lengths along with an Extended or Long
Forcing Cone Area 13 which transitions the shot column when the
shotgun is fired from the chamber internal diameter to the Barrel
Bore in the Extended Chopper Block 14A. This Extended Chopper Block
construction contains all forces produced when firing the shot
shells in the gun and allows high strength materials to be used to
minimize dimensions and weight while maintaining strength
sufficient to fire proof loads to prove safe use. The Extended or
Long Forcing Cone provides a longer smoother transition to reduce
the felt recoil. By providing a Barrel Bore section in the Extended
Chopper Block 14A, forces from the fired shell and it components
have stabilized in this bore section before entering the Barrel
Tube 2 sections thereby minimizing stress on the Barrel Tube to
Extended Chopper Block joint 11. The Barrel Tubes 2A and 2B have a
Barrel Tube tenon joint end for attachment to Extended Chopper
Block 15 which inserts into the Barrel Tube or Muzzle End of
Extended Chopper Block hole 11. The Barrel Tubes 2A and 2B attach
to the Muzzle Block 3 with the Barrel Tube threaded tenon joint for
attachment to Muzzle Block 16 which attaches into the Internally
machined or manufactured area for attachment of the Barrel Tubes in
the Muzzle Block 19. The Barrel Tubes 2A and 2B connect the
Extended Chopper Block 1 to the Muzzle Block 3 and provide a Barrel
Bore 14B for the fired shell components to travel through. The
Muzzle Block 3 provides the Integrated Regulation and Mid-Rib of
Muzzle Block 7 critical to accurate placement of the fired shells
shot pattern at a point of aim along with Counter-bored and
internally threaded joint for attachment of a Choke Tube in the
Muzzle Block 17 and Internally machined or manufactured area for
containment of a Choke Tube in the Muzzle Block 18.
[0054] The Muzzle Block provides accurate regulation of shot to a
targeted point of aim for multi-barreled shotguns, containment of
chokes whether internally machine or fixed or in the form of
interchangeable Choke Tubes, attachment point for the Top Rib
Sighting Plane, and side rib treatment for the barrel assembly as
illustrated in FIG. 4, Muzzle Block front perspective view.
[0055] FIG. 5, Muzzle Block side perspective view, details the
parts of the Muzzle Block. 5 is the Barrel Tube or Breech End of
the Muzzle Block for orientation reference of the Muzzle Block. 6
is the Top Rib Sighting Plane attachment point. The Top Rib
Sighting Plane 4 attaches to this point to provide solid attachment
of this part to the barrel assembly via fasteners, such as a set
screw, roll pin, drive pin, or other fastener type, adhesives in
all various forms, solder, or braze. 7 is the Integrated Regulation
and Mid-Rib which provides the proper spacing between the barrels
and alignment of the barrels to guide the shot from each barrel and
to distribute it to a desired point of impact. The Muzzle Block
allows barrel regulation to be exactingly accurate since this is
the one part that governs the regulation via precise manufacture
(grinding, milling, Electro-Discharge Machining, etc.) for accuracy
within 0.0002 of an inch. 8 is the Muzzle End orientation reference
for the Muzzle Block. Choke Tubes would be inserted into machined
or manufactured accepting surfaces or fixed Chokes machined into
the internal bore of this end of the Muzzle Block respectively.
[0056] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the Extended Chopper Block
that illustrates all external features and orientation references
of the Extended Chopper Block. 9 is the Breech End orientation of
the Extended Chopper Block. 10 is the Integral Top Rib Sighting
Plane of the Extended Chopper Block which provides the Top Rib
Sighting Plane functionality while maintaining a very low overall
height and profile. 11 is the Barrel Tube or Muzzle End of the
Extended Chopper Block.
[0057] The Barrel Tube 2 is illustrated in FIG. 7, Barrel Tube
perspective view. Both the Upper 2A and Lower 2B Barrel Tubes are
the same in this multi-barreled shotgun. 15 is the Barrel Tube
tenon joint end of the Barrel Tube for attachment to Extended
Chopper Block. This tenon allows the Barrel Tubes to slide into the
Extended Chopper Block. 16 is the Barrel Tube threaded tenon joint
for attachment of the Barrel Tube to Muzzle Block. This provides a
high impact resistant joint at this attachment point.
[0058] The Barrel Assembly in FIG. 1 is assembled by taking the
Muzzle Block 3 and screwing in the Upper Barrel Tube 2A via the
threaded tenon 16 into the top threaded hole of the Muzzle Block
and then screwing in the Lower Barrel Tube 2B via the threaded
tenon 16 into the bottom threaded hole of the Muzzle Block. The
threads can be treated with thread locking adhesives, other
adhesives in various forms, solder, or braze to provide a
shockproof joint.
[0059] This assembly is then inserted into the Extended Chopper
Block 1 by placing the Barrel Tube tenon 15 of both the Upper 2A
Barrel Tube and Lower Barrel Tube 2B into the Extended Chopper
Block holes 11. This joint is treated with adhesives of various
forms, solder or braze to provide a solid joint.
[0060] The Top Rib Sighting Plane is the mounted to the barrel
assembly via the front Top Rib Sighting Plane attachment point 6
and the Extended Chopper Block Sighting Plane attachment point. The
Top Rib Sighting Plane is registered into the Extended Chopper
Block Sighting Plane attachment point and then rotated down onto
the Muzzle Block's Top Rib Sighting Plane attachment point 6 and
secured in place with a fastener in various forms and or adhesives,
solder, or braze. All forms and combinations of fasteners,
adhesives, solders, and braze can be utilized.
* * * * *