Compact Recoil Management System Using Nested Buffer Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The typical buffer tube in firearms like the AR-15 is lengthy, heavy, and cumbersome due to the need to accommodate the recoil spring and bolt carrier, and existing compact designs either require a proprietary bolt carrier or waste the mass of the buffer element as dead weight.
Innovation Solution
A recoil management system comprising a compact buffer tube with a buffer tube recoil spring, a buffer element recoil spring, a collar, a sleeve, and a bumper, which allows for a shorter buffer tube length while utilizing the components as part of the reciprocating mass for improved recoil management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a typical buffer tube is designed to accommodate the recoil spring and bolt carrier, then the buffer tube provides reliable recoil management, but the buffer tube becomes lengthy, heavy, and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tube assembly is divided into multiple components: a buffer tube, a buffer element with buffer element cavity, a recoil spring, and a collar. The buffer element can be inserted into the buffer tube, and the recoil spring is positioned within the buffer tube. This segmentation allows for a more compact overall design while maintaining the necessary functional space for recoil management components
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer element is inserted into the buffer tube, and the recoil spring is positioned within the buffer tube alongside the buffer element. This nesting arrangement allows multiple components to occupy the same spatial envelope, reducing the overall length and mass of the buffer tube assembly while preserving the functional volume needed for recoil management
2Length of moving object
If existing compact designs are used to reduce buffer tube length, then the buffer tube becomes more compact, but the design requires a proprietary bolt carrier
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tube assembly is designed with standardized dimensions and interface features that are compatible with conventional bolt carriers used in AR-15 style firearms. The buffer tube can accommodate standard bolt carriers while housing the compact buffer element and recoil spring assembly, allowing the same buffer tube design to work across multiple firearm configurations without requiring proprietary components
3Length of moving object
If existing compact designs are used to reduce buffer tube length, then the buffer tube becomes more compact, but the mass of the buffer element is wasted as dead weight
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer element is designed to function as both a structural component and a functional recoil management element. The buffer element cavity houses the recoil spring, and the buffer element itself is positioned to be acted upon by the recoil spring during operation. This design allows the buffer element mass to actively participate in the recoil management process rather than serving as dead weight, converting previously wasted mass into useful reciprocating mass that helps absorb and manage recoil forces
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables a more compact and lightweight firearm with effective recoil management, allowing the user to 'shotgun' the upper receiver and utilize standard bolt carriers, while optimizing the mass of the buffer assembly for improved performance.
Implementation Method 1
a buffer tube recoil spring, wherein the buffer tube recoil spring extends from a first end to a second end
Implementation Method 2
the buffer element is positionable within the buffer tube such that the buffer element is reciprocable by the buffer tube recoil spring
Data Source
AI summary
A recoil management system having a buffer element with an elongate buffer element body portion, a buffer element knob, and a buffer element cavity; a collar; a sleeve, wherein a sleeve recess is formed so as to accept at least a portion of the buffer element body portion therein; a buffer element recoil spring, wherein the buffer element recoil spring is positioned about at least a portion of the elongate buffer element body portion, between the collar and the sleeve; and a bumper, wherein a bumper extension portion extends from a first end of the bumper to a bumper shoulder, wherein the bumper extension portion is such that at least a portion of the bumper extension portion can be fitted at least partially within the sleeve aperture.