Integrally Suppressed Barrel Design for Firearm Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing firearm barrels with integrated silencers are often bulky, affecting balance, aiming, and the slim profile of rifles, deviating from conventional dimensions and appearance.
Innovation Solution
An integrally suppressed barrel design featuring a front muzzle end and rear breech end with a rear barrel portion and a permanently affixed front barrel portion, including a tubular upper and lower longitudinal chamber with sound suppression baffles, where combustion gases flow through the baffles to reduce muzzle noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate silencer is attached to the muzzle end of the barrel, then muzzle noise is reduced, but the firearm becomes bulky and affects balance and aiming
Solution Approach 1:
The silencer is merged with the barrel to form an integrally suppressed barrel assembly. The front barrel portion is permanently affixed to the rear barrel portion, creating a unified structure that eliminates the need for separate silencer attachments. This integration reduces the overall volume and eliminates the bulkiness associated with separate silencer components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sound suppression baffles are nested within the front barrel portion. The baffles are positioned inside the tubular upper and lower longitudinal chambers, allowing the suppression function to be embedded within the barrel structure itself rather than requiring external attachment.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate silencer is attached to the muzzle end of the barrel, then muzzle noise is reduced, but the firearm's slim profile and conventional appearance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The silencer functions are integrated into the front barrel portion, creating a unified structure that maintains the conventional appearance of a traditional barrel. The integration ensures that the suppressive elements are not visible as separate attachments, preserving the firearm's aesthetic profile.
3Reliability
If the front barrel portion is permanently affixed to maintain ATF compliance, then regulatory requirements are met, but assembly and maintenance complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The barrel is segmented into a rear barrel portion and a front barrel portion that are permanently affixed together. This segmentation allows the front portion containing the suppression baffles to be manufactured as a separate component and then permanently joined to the rear portion, facilitating manufacturing while ensuring compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The sound suppression baffles are pre-installed within the front barrel portion during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures that the baffles are properly positioned and secured before the permanent affixing process, simplifying the overall assembly process while maintaining compliance requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
An integrally suppressed barrel in one embodiment includes a rear barrel portion defining an axial projectile bore and forwardly extending sleeve affixed to thereto. The sleeve includes vertically stacked tubular upper and lower longitudinal chambers holding a complementary configured horizontal stack of sound suppression baffles. The chambers are in fluid communication via a waist, which may be smaller in width than the chambers. A rod extending from a front end cap on the sleeve to and threadably the rear barrel secures the baffles inside the sleeve. The stack of baffles is removable from the sleeve as a self-supporting unit in one embodiment. The baffles may include upper and lower chambers which are in fluid communication to provide additional volume for gas expansion and sound suppression. The upper chambers include an asymmetrically shaped flow cone configured to direct gas from the upper to lower chambers.