Firearm Handguard and Barrel Assembly with Integrated Sound Suppressor
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional suppressors for firearms increase weight, length, and mechanical complexity, and cause overheating issues, leading to safety hazards and reduced operational safety due to high temperatures, especially during rapid firing.
Innovation Solution
A handguard and barrel assembly with a suppressor that incorporates a unitary body with a radial gap and a thermally insulating second sleeve, utilizing air flow through the gap to dissipate heat and reduce noise and light signature, featuring a first sleeve with high thermal conductivity and a second sleeve with fibrous insulation to minimize heat transfer to the handguard.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a conventional suppressor is attached to the barrel, then noise and flash are reduced, but weight and length of the firearm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The suppressor is merged with the barrel to form a unitary body, eliminating the need for a separate suppressor attachment. This integration reduces the overall weight and simplifies the structure while maintaining the noise and flash suppression functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The unitary body serves multiple functions: it acts as both the barrel and the suppressor, and also incorporates thermal management features. The barrel-suppessor integration provides noise reduction, flash suppression, and heat dissipation in a single component system.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a conventional suppressor is attached to the barrel, then noise and flash are reduced, but the device becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The suppressor and barrel are combined into a single unitary body, reducing the number of separate components and simplifying the mechanical structure. This integration eliminates the need for separate mounting mechanisms and reduces overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The unitary body performs multiple functions (barrel, suppressor, thermal management) in a single integrated structure, reducing the number of separate mechanical components needed and simplifying the overall device architecture.
3Productivity
If rapid firing is performed, then productivity increases, but the suppressor temperature increases causing safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
A handguard is introduced as an intermediary component between the suppressor and the user's hand. The handguard acts as a thermal barrier, protecting the user from heat generated during rapid firing while allowing continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management function is extracted from the suppressor itself and implemented through separate components (handguard with insulating material). This separation allows the suppressor to focus on noise suppression while the handguard handles thermal protection.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the suppressor is designed to reduce noise, then the sound signature is reduced, but the suppressor retains heat for extended periods
Solution Approach 1:
The handguard serves as a thermal intermediary between the hot suppressor and the user's hand. It provides thermal insulation and protection, allowing the suppressor to retain heat for noise reduction purposes while protecting the user from excessive temperatures.
Solution Approach 2:
The handguard incorporates materials with different thermal properties (metal for structural integrity, insulating materials for thermal protection) to create a composite structure that manages heat effectively while maintaining mechanical strength.
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 solution effectively reduces sound and light signatures to safe levels, maintains a handguard temperature below 160°F after prolonged firing, and rapidly cools the system, ensuring user safety and operational accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a second sleeve surrounding the first sleeve, the second sleeve comprising a fibrous thermally insulating material
Implementation Method 2
air flow through the gap from a breach end to a muzzle end of the unitary body when a projectile is fired from the suppressor
Implementation Method 3
Suppressors reduce noise by trapping and decelerating the gases from the fired projectile and contain a majority of the flash within a short tube. The trapped, hot gas exits the suppressor at a reduced temperature over an extended period of time and at a greatly reduced velocity
Implementation Method 4
a first sleeve disposable about the barrel and the suppressor body
Data Source
AI summary
An upper receiver assembly includes a barrel, a suppressor body operable to couple to a muzzle end of the barrel, and a first sleeve disposable about the barrel and the suppressor body, wherein the barrel includes one or more longitudinally oriented ribs extending radially from a barrel body having a bore formed therein, and a second sleeve surrounding the first sleeve, the second sleeve comprising a fibrous thermally insulating material.