Spring Enhanced Buffer for Firearm Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The M16/AR15 carbine's shorter barrel and telescoping stock system result in higher operating pressures and bolt velocities, requiring different spring and buffer combinations than the rifle, leading to reliability issues and increased complexity in firearm systems.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible stock tube assembly using a single uniform spring and buffer system, adjustable for varying barrel lengths from seven to twenty-four inches, with a sleeve-based buffer containing weights and a plastic bumper to maintain mass consistency and silence noise, ensuring reliable operation across carbine and rifle configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a shorter barrel and telescoping stock system is used to create a carbine, then the weapon becomes more compact and easier to handle, but the operating pressures and bolt velocities increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the buffer (increasing mass) and spring (increasing stiffness) to compensate for the higher operating pressures resulting from the shortened barrel configuration
2Reliability
If different spring and buffer combinations are used for rifle and carbine configurations, then reliable operation is achieved, but the complexity of the firearm system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal buffer/spring assembly that can be used across multiple firearm configurations (rifle and carbine) by adjusting the buffer mass, eliminating the need for different combinations for each configuration
3Productivity
If the gas port is moved closer to the breach in the carbine system, then the weapon operates at higher cyclic rates, but the gas pressures nearly double
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the buffer mass parameter to absorb and manage the doubled gas pressures that result from moving the gas port closer to the breach in the carbine configuration
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 provides improved reliability, accuracy, and reduced complexity by using a single spring and buffer system for firearms of different lengths, eliminating noise and enhancing operational consistency.
Implementation Method 1
a spring contained within the stock tube configured to maintain the buffer at a predetermined location within the stock tube when the action mechanism is at rest
Implementation Method 2
a buffer contained within the stock tube and configured to reduce the impact of the action mechanism on the stock tube when the action mechanism is fired
Data Source
AI summary
A buffer for a firearm having a sleeve member having an open end and a closed end. A set of weights having a combined predefined mass are contained within the sleeve member. A bumper secures and seals the open end of the sleeve. A spring is positioned between two of the weights within the sleeve to maintain the mass at a predetermined location when the buffer is in an at-rest position.