Rotating Suppressor Forend for Folding Firearm Optics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Folding firearms with attached optics or accessories often obstruct folding or limit the extent of folding, requiring removal and reattachment, which is inconvenient and can affect accuracy, and existing solutions that allow folding with optics are expensive, add weight, and lack suppression capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A folding firearm with an integrated suppressed barrel and a rotating suppressor tube forend that enables folding while maintaining attached optics, allowing the optics to be rotated out of the line of sight for compact storage without disturbing their zero, and incorporating a suppressor to reduce auditory report.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a folding firearm has mounted optics or accessories, then the firearm can maintain its sighting accuracy, but the optics obstruct folding or limit the extent of folding
Solution Approach 1:
The forend is designed to rotate between a first position (aligned with the barrel axis) and a second position (perpendicular to the barrel axis), transforming from a static to a dynamic structure. This rotation allows the forend with mounted optics to clear the folding barrel path, enabling the firearm to fold while maintaining optics attachment and zeroing
2Ease of operation
If optics are removed prior to folding, then folding is enabled, but the firearm is not immediately ready for use and accuracy may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable forend allows optics to remain mounted during folding by rotating the forend to clear the folding path. The optics stay attached to the forend and maintain their zero, eliminating the need for removal and reattachment while preserving sighting accuracy
3Ease of operation
If an after-market rotating forend is used, then folding with optics is enabled, but cost and weight increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the forend and suppressor into a single integrated assembly. The suppressor serves dual purposes: as a noise-reducing device and as the rotating forend structure that enables folding with optics. This merging eliminates the need for separate rotating forend accessories, reducing overall cost and weight
4Object-affected harmful factors
If suppression capability is added to enable folding with optics, then auditory report is reduced, but cost, weight, and overall length increase
Solution Approach 1:
The suppressor is integrated with the forend structure, creating a single component that provides both noise suppression and the rotating mechanism needed for folding with optics. This eliminates the need for separate suppressor and forend components, reducing overall weight and cost while maintaining suppression capability
5Ease of operation
If a rotating forend mechanism is implemented, then folding with optics is possible, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The forend rotates about a pivot axis that is offset from the barrel axis, creating a simple hinge mechanism. The rotation is constrained to two positions (aligned and perpendicular) through gravity and geometry, providing a straightforward mechanical solution without complex locking or actuation systems
Data Source
AI summary
Folding firearms have a frame having a trigger assembly and defining a passage containing a bolt, a barrel assembly pivotally connected to the frame, the barrel assembly including a barrel element defining a barrel axis, the barrel element including a barrel, a plurality of suppressor baffles forward of the barrel, and having an interior space, the barrel assembly including a sleeve encompassing the barrel, the sleeve having an interior defining an expansion chamber in gas communication with the interior space of the barrel element, a front closure and a rear closure at respective ends of the sleeve to provide a gas seal enclosing the expansion chamber, and the sleeve being rotatable about the barrel axis. The sleeve may be movable between an operating condition in which the sight facility is in a first position and a stowage condition in which the sight facility is rotationally offset from the first position.