Firearm Slide Guide Spacer Design for Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semi-automatic pistols experience frequent jamming due to the accumulation of dirt, grease, and gun residue, which obstructs the movement of the slide and frame, leading to operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The integration of spacers or contact pads along the slide rail guides creates gaps between the frame and slide, allowing for the clearance of extraneous materials and maintaining a clean interface, thereby reducing jamming occurrences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the slide and frame are directly engaged without spacers, then the structural complexity is reduced, but extraneous materials accumulate at the interface causing jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces spacers as intermediary elements between the slide and frame at the slide rail interface. These spacers create a physical barrier that prevents extraneous materials from accumulating at the contact interface, thereby maintaining reliability without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the slide rail interface by introducing discrete spacer elements at specific locations. This segmentation creates multiple small gaps that collectively prevent material accumulation while maintaining the overall structural integrity and simplicity of the firearm assembly.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If spacers are added to create gaps between slide rails and grooves, then extraneous materials are cleared and jamming is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacers act as intermediary elements that physically separate the slide rails from the grooves, creating gaps that eliminate the accumulation of extraneous materials. This directly addresses the harmful factor of jamming while adding only minimal structural elements to the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacers are placed only at specific critical locations where material accumulation causes jamming, rather than modifying the entire slide and frame structure. This localized approach eliminates harmful factors with minimal increase in overall device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the slide interface with the frame is clean, then blockages are minimized and operation is smoother, but maintaining cleanliness requires additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The spacers serve as protective intermediaries that prevent extraneous materials from reaching the slide-frame interface. This passive protection mechanism maintains operational smoothness without requiring active cleaning systems or additional complex maintenance mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer structure passively maintains a clean interface through its physical barrier function, eliminating the need for external cleaning mechanisms or systems. The structure serves itself by preventing contamination rather than requiring separate systems to remove it.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure presents a firearm. The firearm includes a frame having a handle and a slide rail guide, the slide rail guide comprising two parallel grooves extending through a long axis of the frame, and a slide having a long axis, the slide comprising two parallel slide rails extending through the long axis of the slide, the two parallel slide rails operable for slidably engaging the two parallel grooves. The firearm also includes a first spacer, the first spacer fixedly attached to one of the frame and the slide, the first spacer operable to slidably engage the slide rails and the slide rail guide providing a first gap between one of the slide rails and the one of the grooves and a second spacer.