U.S. patent number 3,877,167 [Application Number 05/307,014] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-15 for device for mounting a gun barrel on a firearm.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Carl Walther Sportwaffenfabrik. Invention is credited to Dieter Keppeler.
United States Patent |
3,877,167 |
Keppeler |
April 15, 1975 |
Device for mounting a gun barrel on a firearm
Abstract
A gun barrel has a locking bushing threaded on its rearward end
and secured in position and the barrel end together with the
locking bushing is inserted into a breech casing such that the
locking bushing positions the end of the gun barrel within the
casing. A second bushing is carried on the gun barrel and is
threaded within the breech casing to removeably secure the gun
barrel within the breech casing. The gun barrel is maintained in a
proper relationship within the breech casing by a pin within the
breech casing received within a groove in the locking bushing.
Inventors: |
Keppeler; Dieter (Ulm/Danube,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Carl Walther Sportwaffenfabrik
(Ulm/Danube, DT)
|
Family
ID: |
5825557 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/307,014 |
Filed: |
November 16, 1972 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Nov 19, 1971 [DT] |
|
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2157420 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
42/75.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A
21/482 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41A
21/48 (20060101); F41A 21/00 (20060101); F41c
021/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;89/14R,16,29,185
;42/75B,76R,76A,77 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Bentley; Stephen C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jaskiewicz; Edmund M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a firearm and particularly repeating guns, the combination of
a gun barrel having a locking bushing threaded on its rearward end
and axially adjustable thereon, and a second threaded bushing on
said barrel threadedly engageable with a breech casing and in
abutting engagement with the forward end of said locking bushing
when the rear end of the barrel is inserted into said breech casing
to removably secure the gun barrel within the breech casing, a
breech block secured within said breech casing, said locking
bushing being secured on the rear end of the barrel in a position
corresponding to a predetermined standard distance between the rear
end of the barrel and the forward end of said breech block so that
the gun barrel is exchangeable or replaceable by a same or
different caliber barrel in the same firearm without any change in
the relationship between the gun barrel and breech.
2. In a firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking bushing
has a groove therein, and a pin within said breech casing and
positionable within said groove to locate the barrel and locking
bushing in proper relationship within said breech casing and to
prevent rotary movement of said barrel and locking bushing with
respect to said breech casing.
Description
The present invention relates to firearms including automatic
weapons, more particularly, to the removeable mounting of a gun
barrel on the breech casing of such weapons.
Various structures and assemblies are known for mounting a gun
barrel in such a manner that the gun barrel can be replaced. In one
such arrangement threads are provided around the cartridge chamber
end of the barrel to enable the barrel to be threaded into the
breech chamber to abut against suitable structure therein and also
to enable removal and replacement of the barrel.
Another known structure enables a gun barrel to be threaded into
the breech casing by means of threads arranged on a pin-like
extension and a locking ring positioned on the same threads. The
ring is rotated so as to press the breech against the rear face of
the end of the gun barrel.
It has also been proposed that a locking bushing is inserted into
the breech casing and secured therein against turning and locking
the bolt handle. The rear face of the bushing presses against the
breech casing and its front face acts as an abutment for the rear
end of the barrel which is threaded into the breech casing. For
example, reference is made to French Pat. Nos. 419,869 and 467,967
and the U.S. Pat. No. 2,139,648.
All of the above mentioned structures for mounting a gun barrel are
characterized by having the same great disadvantage, namely the
relatively high cost of manufacturing the several components
involved. As a result, the replacement of a gun barrel becomes a
complex and time-consuming operation. In addition, a replaced
barrel must be readjusted and test-fired after the replacement
before the weapon can be placed in use.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to
provide a novel and improved device for the replaceable mounting of
a gun barrel in a firearm.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple
and relatively inexpensive structure which makes it possible to
quickly replace the barrel of a firearm with a minimum of effort
and without the necessity of subjecting the weapon again to
test-firing.
The disadvantages of the prior art as described above are
eliminated and the objects of the present invention are achieved by
the present invention. According to one aspect of the present
invention a firearm and particularly an automatic weapon has a gun
barrel with a locking bushing secured on its rearward end. The
rearward end of the barrel together with the locking bushing is
inserted into a breach casing. The locking bushing positions the
rearward end of the barrel within the breech casing. A threaded
bushing is carried on the barrel and is threadedly engageable with
the breech casing when the rear end of the barrel is inserted into
the breech casing. The threaded bushing removeably secures the gun
barrel and within the breech casing so that the gun barrel is
exchangeable or replaceable by a different caliber barrel in the
same firearm without any change in the relationship between the gun
barrel and breech.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent upon reference to the accompanying description when taken
in conjunction with the following drawing, which is exemplary,
wherein there is illustrated a partial longitudinal sectional view
through a breech casing and rearward end of the barrel mounted
within the casing.
Proceeding next to the drawing, a specific embodiment of the
present invention will be described in detail.
The rearward end of a gun barrel is indicated at 1 and has an
external thread 2 on the extreme end thereof upon which is threaded
a locking bushing 3. The bushing and threads surround the cartridge
chamber 1' in the end of the barrel. During the manufacture and
assembly of the firearm at the factory, the bushing 3 is threaded
onto the barrel to such a point that the distance between the
cartridge chamber end of the barrel and the breech projection
bearing surfaces 4 of the bushing 3 correspond to a standard
established by the industry and by governmental agencies. This
distance is indicated at 1". The bushing 3 is secured in its
threaded position on the barrel 1 by means of a weld, solder or a
suitable adhesive. The breech projection bearing surfaces on the
bushing 3 are formed by means of recesses as known in the art.
The bushing 3 is provided with an external groove or notch 7 which
receives a pin 9 firmly secured within the breech casing when the
cartridge chamber end of the barrel is inserted into the breech
casing indicated at 8. The pin 9 thus positions the barrel 1 and
bushing 3 into the correct position with respect to breech block 6
having breech projections 5 and also secures the barrel and bushing
assembly against any rotary movement with respect to the breech
block.
A second bushing 10 having external threads 10' is slideably
carried upon the barrel 1 and is threaded into suitable internal
threads provided within the breech casing 8. The bushing 10 urges
the barrel 1 by means of the bushing 3 against an abutment 11
within the breech casing to fix the position of the barrel with
respect to the breech casing.
In order to remove the barrel 1 and bushing 3 from the breech it is
merely necessary to unthread the bushing 10 and the barrel and
bushing assembly can be removed from the breech casing and replaced
by a new barrel and bushing of the same or a different caliber.
After the new barrel has been replaced into the breech casing a
weapon is immediately ready for firing without any necessity for
test-firing since the barrel has been correctly positioned with
respect to the breech.
The quick and precise interchanging of barrels of different
calibers is particularly useful in hunting since this feature
enables the hunter to use the same weapon to shoot at various types
of game. For example, a smaller caliber barrel would be used for
small game, such as rabbits than for larger animals, such as deer.
In a matter of seconds the hunter can replace a gun barrel in the
field without the use of tools.
It is therefore apparent that the present invention has disclosed a
structure or device by which it is possible to insert new barrels
of the same or different caliber into the same weapons without any
changes to the breech distance and without any necessity for
readjustment or test-firing of the new barrel. A further advantage
of the present invention is that certain manufacturing tolerances
may be disregarded since these tolerances can be compensated by the
adjustable features of the present invention.
It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to
modification in order to adapt it to different usages and
conditions, and accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such
modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of
the appended claims.
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