Retractable Gun Bore Cleaning Tether System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gun bore cleaning methods risk damaging the muzzle or crown due to the use of cleaning rods, leading to accuracy issues, and require careful handling to prevent scratches.
Innovation Solution
A retractable, pull-through gun cleaning system with a tether and cleaning attachment that includes a connection hoop and catch mechanism to prevent accidental disengagement, allowing safe and efficient cleaning without direct contact with the bore's interior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning rod is used to pull a patch through the bore, then the bore can be cleaned, but the muzzle or crown may be damaged causing loss of accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful cleaning rod from the system and replaces it with a tether that passes through the cleaning attachment. The tether remains outside the bore during insertion, eliminating direct contact between the rod and the bore's interior surfaces, thus preventing damage to the muzzle or crown while still enabling effective cleaning through the patch.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning attachment serves as an intermediary device between the tether and the bore. It provides a protected interface where the patch contacts the bore for cleaning, while the tether and connection hoop remain external, mediating the force transmission without directly touching the sensitive interior surfaces of the barrel.
2Ease of operation
If cleaning rods are inserted into the muzzle, then cleaning can be performed, but scratches can be caused to the bore interior
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful cleaning rod is extracted from the traditional insertion method and replaced with a tether that routes through the cleaning attachment. This allows the cleaning function to be accessed from the muzzle while keeping the rod external, preventing scratches to the bore interior while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of inserting the cleaning rod directly into the bore from the muzzle, the invention inverts the approach by having the tether pass through the cleaning attachment which then interfaces with the bore. The cleaning action is reversed from direct rod contact to indirect patch contact through a protective attachment mechanism.
3Reliability
If a tether with connection hoop is used, then accidental disengagement can be prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection mechanism is segmented into distinct functional elements: the connection hoop on the tether and the coupling recess with catch on the cleaning attachment. This segmentation allows each component to be simple in itself while collectively providing secure anti-disengagement functionality, balancing reliability with manageable complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling recess and catch are merged into a single integrated feature on the cleaning attachment, while the connection hoop is merged with the tether end. This merging reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying the overall device while maintaining the security function to prevent accidental disengagement.
Data Source
AI summary
A gun cleaning system and method is disclosed. The system includes a housing with a retractor. A tether is coupled with the retractor. A connector hoop is disposed at one end of the tether. A cleaning attachment separate from the housing and the tether is configured to detachably couple with the tether. The cleaning attachment has a coupling recess with an opening providing access to the recess. Inserting the tether's connector hoop into the recess couples the tether and the cleaning attachment. A catch adjacent to the opening prevents the connector hoop from exiting the recess. A method of cleaning a gun bore includes passing the tether through the bore, attaching a cleaning patch to the cleaning attachment, coupling the cleaning attachment and the connector hoop, and pulling the tether and the cleaning hoop member back through the bore in the opposite direction. Other embodiments are also included herein.