Cleaning bodies for cleaning the barrels of firearms

Abstract

Cleaning body (10) for cleaning barrels of firearms, wherein the cleaning body (10) comprises wool felt and is formed in a circular cylindrical shape and has a diameter adapted to a caliber of the barrel to be cleaned, characterized in that the cleaning body (10) has a coloring on at least one end face (12) in a color which serves as an indicator for the diameter of the cleaning body (10).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to cleaning elements for cleaning the barrels of firearms, in particular those having rifling and lands.

[0002] It is known that the barrels of firearms become fouled through use, particularly through firing. Residue from the burnt propellant regularly adheres to the inner surfaces of the barrel after firing. Any residue from the projectile passing through the barrel can also remain there. Such fouling and residue in the barrel can impair the firearm's function. This can lead to a reduction in accuracy. Furthermore, the residue can harden and alter the bore geometry.Furthermore, corrosion can occur, especially if residues from firing remain in the barrel, not just from the firing process itself, but also if moisture and / or similar contaminants penetrate the barrel from the outside. This can happen, for example, when using the firearm outdoors in rainy weather, high humidity, or in extreme terrain. Such external contamination of the firearm's barrel occurs regardless of whether a shot has actually been fired during the operation.

[0003] To prevent negative consequences for the firearm and its safe and accurate use, and especially to preserve its lifespan, it is typically cleaned after use and before proper storage. In addition to cleaning the exterior of the firearm, this cleaning process primarily involves cleaning the inside of the barrel. Cleaning discs are regularly used for this purpose. These discs are attached to push or pull devices, such as rods, cables, or chains, and are pulled or pushed through the barrel. As they do so, they slide along the inner barrel wall, scraping and collecting dirt and foreign particles, or removing them from the barrel. This cleaning effect can be enhanced by cleaning agents, such as gun oil, applied to the cleaning discs or introduced into the barrel beforehand.

[0004] Typical cleaning pads used here consist of densely compressed felt and are cylindrical in shape, with an outer diameter adapted to the specific caliber of the firearm barrel being cleaned. These felt pads have the advantage of being absorbent, readily wicking away moisture, oil, and other liquids, while also trapping contaminants. Furthermore, they are malleable, allowing them to conform to the rifling of rifled barrels and clean them reliably. Finally, the softer the felt material is compared to the barrel material, enabling gentle cleaning. In addition, these felt cleaning pads are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

[0005] Such felt cleaning elements are disclosed, for example, in DE 27 06 886 A1. In DE 200 01 771 U1, as well as in US 4,547,924 A, a cleaning rod is described which can be fitted with felt elements of the type described above at a cleaning section, and then moved through the barrel of a firearm to be cleaned, thereby guiding the felt element through the barrel in close contact with the inner surfaces of the barrel as described, thus achieving the cleaning effect. US 2011 / 0209380 A1 and US 2012 / 0186128 A1 each show and disclose cleaning devices equipped with a pull cord to which different cleaning elements can be attached for pulling through the barrel of a firearm for the purpose of cleaning that barrel.

[0006] Gun owners often possess not just one, but several firearms, regularly in multiple calibers. Hunters, for example, frequently carry several firearms in different calibers, choosing them depending on the game being hunted. Smaller game animals, such as foxes, are often hunted with smaller calibers than larger animals, such as deer. Similarly, sport shooters often own various weapons in different calibers, which they use in different competition disciplines.

[0007] Owners of multiple firearms of different calibers often stock cleaning rods of the aforementioned type with varying cylindrical diameters, corresponding to the specific caliber they are cleaning. While these cleaning rods are typically purchased separately and delivered in individual packages, mixing and confusion can occur during use and storage. This can lead to problems when attempting to clean a barrel of a specific caliber with a cleaning rod whose outer diameter is not matched to that caliber. • In the event that an undersized cleaning element is used, i.e., a cleaning element whose diameter is smaller than intended for the caliber of the barrel to be cleaned, the pressure of the cleaning element against the inside of the barrel will be too low and the cleaning effect will be insufficient. • In the event that an oversized cleaning body is used, i.e., a cleaning body whose diameter is larger than intended for the caliber of the barrel to be cleaned, there is a risk that it will press against the inside of the barrel with too much pressure, possibly fray and leave particles behind, or even become jammed and cannot be easily removed from the barrel.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to prevent the problems and shortcomings described above. This object is achieved by a cleaning body with the features of claim 1 and, in a further aspect, by a set with the features of claim 5. Advantageous embodiments of the respective aspect are shown in the dependent claims.

[0009] According to the invention, a cleaning element for cleaning firearm barrels comprises wool felt and can, in particular, be made entirely of such material. However, it can also contain additional material, such as abrasive fibers made of another material, like plastic or metal. The cleaning element is cylindrical in shape and has a diameter adapted to the caliber of the barrel to be cleaned. The special feature of the cleaning element according to the invention is that it has a colored marking on at least one end face, which serves as an indicator of the diameter of the cleaning element.Such coloring, which essentially codes the diameter of the cleaning rod and thus ultimately the barrel caliber of the firearm it can be used to clean, provides a simple, reliable, and quick way to identify the compatibility of the cleaning rod with, or its assignment to, a specific barrel caliber. This prevents misassignments, even if, for example, the cleaning rods are no longer in their original packaging, if they have been mixed up (e.g., dropped), or if the user deliberately stores them together in a separate container, mixing them for multiple calibers. The coloring can be applied across the entire surface of at least one end of the rod and can be in easily recognizable and individually distinguishable colors.

[0010] In addition to being assigned to a diameter of the cleaning body, the color can also be used to code another property of the cleaning body, e.g. to identify a pure wool felt body as opposed to a wool felt body with additional abrasive fibers.

[0011] In the cleaning element according to the invention, it is advantageous to have color markings of the same color on both opposite end faces, which serve as indicators for the diameter of the cleaning element. This facilitates the identification and classification of the cleaning elements when they are lying in a random orientation in a storage container, since the color coding is visible from both longitudinal ends.

[0012] In the cleaning body according to the invention, the outer surface can advantageously be free of any coloring. This prevents, in particular, the surface of the cleaning body, which is in contact with and typically pressed against the inner wall of the barrel during cleaning, from leaving color-coding residues on the barrel during the cleaning process. The cleaning body is pure and unaltered at its actual effective surface, its outer surface, so that the usual and reliable cleaning effect of the wool felt, optionally mixed with other abrasive fibers, is achieved there.

[0013] With a channel-shaped passage opening guided along its longitudinal central axis, which can be advantageously provided for the cleaning body according to the invention, it can be fixed to a pushing or pulling means, such as to a longitudinal end of a cleaning rod or to an end of a pull rope or pull chain, e.g. on a mandrel-like extension, which may in particular have an external thread in order to screw the cleaning body on and fix it there for movement through the barrel of the firearm.

[0014] The cleaning elements according to the invention can be manufactured simply. In particular, a felt mat or sheet can first be produced with a thickness corresponding to the desired axial length of the cleaning elements. The cleaning elements with the desired diameters can then be punched out of this mat or sheet using a suitable punching tool, especially while simultaneously creating a central longitudinal opening for later placement of the cleaning element on, or attachment to, a pull or push piece for passage through the barrel. For color coding, the felt mat or sheet can be colored on one or both surfaces, particularly across the entire surface, before the punching process, e.g., by spraying or by applying the color through a slot nozzle, with a squeegee, or in another suitable manner, and then allowing the color to dry.Thus, after the stamping process, one or both of the end faces of the cleaning bodies are colored, while the outer surfaces remain uncolored.

[0015] In a further aspect of the invention, a solution to the problem formulated at the outset is provided by a set consisting of cleaning elements for cleaning the barrels of firearms. The cleaning elements of this set comprise wool felt and can, in particular, be made entirely of such material, but can also contain additional material, such as abrasive fibers made of another material, such as plastic or metal. The cleaning elements of the set are cylindrical in shape, and the set includes at least two cleaning elements with different diameters, each adapted to a different caliber of barrel to be cleaned with the respective cleaning element.The cleaning elements in the set, which have different diameters, are each colored on at least one end face, and in particular on both opposite end faces, with the different colors serving as indicators for the diameter of the respective cleaning element. Such a set realizes the advantages already described above. The cleaning elements of such a set can, in particular, be stored together and yet still be assigned to the appropriate caliber based on the different color codes, and possibly also identified with regard to another feature coded by the color, e.g., whether with or without abrasive fibers.

[0016] In particular, such a set may comprise several cleaning bodies with identical diameters adapted to a specific caliber of a barrel to be cleaned with these cleaning bodies, which have colorations of the same color on at least one of their end faces, in particular on both of their opposite end faces.

[0017] The outer surfaces of the cleaning bodies of a set according to the invention can be free of colorings with the same advantages as described above.

[0018] The cleaning elements can also each have a channel-shaped opening along their longitudinal central axes.

[0019] The cleaning bodies according to the invention, or the cleaning bodies of a set of such cleaning bodies according to the invention, can in particular have a density in the range of 0.3 to 0.4 g / cm³. 3 exhibit, in particular of 0.36 g / cm² 3Such a material density, it has been shown, still allows for deformation of the cleaning element when it engages the rifling in a rifled barrel and is compressed by the lands. At the same time, the cleaning element is sufficiently dimensionally stable and rigid to exert pressure on the inner walls of the firearm barrel, thus achieving cleaning.

[0020] Cleaning elements according to the invention, or cleaning elements of a set according to the invention, can advantageously have an axial length in the range of 5 to 15 mm, particularly 10 mm. This length, it has been shown, provides good contact with the inner surface of the barrel and thus a good cleaning effect, while at the same time not generating such a high frictional force that passing the cleaning element through the barrel would be excessively difficult or even impossible. It should be noted that the cleaning elements according to the invention, as is also common practice in the prior art, are adapted to the caliber of the barrels to be cleaned and are designed in such a way that, with a certain excess, they press against the inner wall of the barrel of the appropriate caliber, thereby penetrating, in particular, the rifling of rifled barrels and closely enclosing the lands, thus achieving the best possible cleaning through this close contact.

[0021] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a possible embodiment schematically illustrated in the accompanying figure.

[0022] It shows: Fig. 1 A schematic view of a cleaning body as is the subject of the invention.

[0023] In the Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of a cleaning body 10 for cleaning the barrels of firearms in one possible embodiment of the invention. The cleaning body 10 is cylindrical and made of a felt material, and has a cylindrical surface 11 and two opposing end faces 12. The cleaning body 10 is penetrated by a centrally and axially guided through-opening 13. In this respect, the cleaning body corresponds to those already known in the prior art.

[0024] According to the invention, the cleaning body 10 is characterized in that it has a coloration on at least one end face 12, preferably on both end faces 12, which encodes its diameter and thus a barrel caliber of a firearm for whose barrel cleaning it can and should be used. The coloration is selected specifically for the diameter, so that two such cleaning bodies 10 with different diameters, i.e., for cleaning gun barrels of different calibers, have different colorations, e.g., blue and red. The specific coloration can also provide information about a further property of the cleaning body 10, e.g., whether it consists purely of a wool felt material or is mixed with other abrasive fibers made of a different material, such as plastic or metal.

[0025] A set of cleaning elements 10 according to the invention can then contain several cleaning elements, at least some of which have different diameters. The cleaning elements 10 of a set are then color-coded on their respective end faces 12 in such a way that cleaning elements 10 with the same diameters and – if this is also to be coded, further properties as described above – have identical color markings, while cleaning elements 10 with different diameters, and optionally also those with different other properties to be identified, have different and easily distinguishable color markings. The outer surfaces 11 of the cleaning elements 10 are advantageously not colored. Reference symbol list 10 cleaning units 11 Surface area 12 Front surface 13 Passage opening QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 27 06 886 A1

[0005] DE 200 01 771 U1

[0005] US 4,547,924 A

[0005] US 2011 / 0209380 A1

[0005] US 2012 / 0186128 A1

[0005]

Claims

Cleaning body (10) for cleaning barrels of firearms, wherein the cleaning body (10) comprises wool felt and is formed in a circular cylindrical shape and has a diameter adapted to a caliber of the barrel to be cleaned, characterized in that the cleaning body (10) has a coloring on at least one end face (12) in a color which serves as an indicator for the diameter of the cleaning body (10). Cleaning body (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that colorations of the same color are provided on both opposite end faces (12) of the cleaning body (10), which serve as indicators for the diameter of the cleaning body (10). Cleaning body (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer surface (11) of the cleaning body (10) is free from coloring. Cleaning body (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a channel-shaped passage opening (13) guided along its longitudinal central axis. A set comprising cleaning elements (10) for cleaning the barrels of firearms, wherein the cleaning elements (10) comprise wool felt and are cylindrical in shape, wherein the set has at least two cleaning elements (10) with different diameters, each adapted to a different caliber of a barrel to be cleaned with the respective cleaning element (10), wherein the cleaning elements (10) with different diameters have a coloration in a different color on at least one end face (12), in particular on both opposite end faces (12), wherein the different colors serve as indicators for the diameter of the respective cleaning element (10). Set according to claim 5, characterized in that it has several cleaning bodies (10) with identical diameters adapted to a specific caliber of a barrel to be cleaned with these cleaning bodies (10), which have colorations of identical color on at least one of their end faces (12), in particular on both of their opposite end faces (12). Set according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the surface areas (11) of the cleaning bodies (10) are free of colorations. Set according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the cleaning bodies (10) each have a channel-shaped passage opening (13) guided along their longitudinal central axes.

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