Integrally suppressed handgun

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10520271-B2
Application number	US-201916267547-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2019
Priority date	Feb 5, 2018
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

An integrally suppressed firearm in one embodiment includes a rear firing portion defining an axial projectile bore and front suppressor portion. The suppressor portion includes a longitudinal stack of sound suppression baffles each defining a gas expansion chamber in fluid communication with the projectile bore. A mounting rod extends rearward from a front end cap of the suppressor portion and threadably engages a mounting adapter that removably couples the suppressor portion to the firing portion. A muzzle cap disposed inside a rearmost baffle removably couples the mounting adapter to the firing portion. When tightened, the rod axially compresses the baffle stack and forms a combustion gas tight enclosure without need for an additional external pressure retention tube or sleeve. The baffles are configured to form a press-fit frictional interlock with each other such that the baffle stack is self-supporting. An optional accessory rail may be coupled to the adapter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An integrally suppressed handgun comprising: a longitudinal axis; a frame; a receiver attached to the frame; an elongated barrel insert comprising a rearward mounting portion fixedly coupled to the receiver and a forward retention portion, the barrel insert comprising a rear breech end defining a chamber configured for holding an ammunition cartridge, a front end, and a longitudinally-extending barrel bore defining a projectile pathway; the barrel insert further comprising a plurality of radial gas ports in fluid communication with the barrel bore; a suppressor mounting adapter at least partially surrounding and removably coupled to the barrel insert, the suppressor mounting adapter comprising an upper through passage receiving the barrel insert at least partially therein and a lower through passage; an annular gas expansion chamber formed between the barrel insert and the suppressor mounting adapter in the upper through passage; a threaded muzzle cap removably coupling the suppressor mounting adapter to the barrel insert; a baffle assembly removably coupled to the suppressor mounting adapter and defining a front end of the handgun including a projectile exit aperture, the baffle assembly comprising a plurality of sound suppression baffles arranged in longitudinally stacked relationship, each baffle defining an internal baffle gas expansion chamber; and an elongated mounting rod extending from the front end of the baffle assembly rearward to the suppressor mounting adapter, a threaded rear end of the mounting rod threadably coupled to the suppressor mounting adapter to retain the baffle assembly; wherein when the handgun is discharged, the annular gas expansion chamber fills with combustion gas vented from the gas ports of the barrel insert.

2. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting adapter is configured and operable to direct the gas from the gas expansion chamber back through the gas ports and into barrel bore.

3. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 2 , wherein the gas expansion chamber is only in fluid communication with the baffle assembly via the gas ports and the barrel bore of the barrel insert.

4. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 3 , wherein the lower through passage of the mounting adapter includes a forwardly open front chamber in fluid communication with the baffle assembly and a rear chamber fluidly isolated from the front chamber.

5. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 4 , wherein the lower through passage is fluidly isolated from the gas expansion chamber of the upper through passage by a horizontal partition wall extending longitudinally between the upper and lower through passages.

6. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 4 , wherein the mounting rod extends through the front chamber to threadably engage the mounting adapter.

7. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 6 , wherein the mounting rod threadably engages an internally threaded through socket disposed between the front and rear chambers of the lower through passage.

8. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 7 , wherein the mounting rod is extendible and retractable into and out of the rear chamber of the lower through passage to vary a projected length of the mounting rod from the mounting adapter for accommodating different numbers of baffles in the baffle assembly.

9. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein the barrel insert further comprises an intermediate portion between the forward retention portion and the rearward mounting portion, the intermediate portion having a reduced cross-sectional area relative to the forward retention portion and the rearward mounting portion creating a volume of the annular gas expansion chamber.

10. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein the muzzle cap threadably engages the forward retention portion of the barrel insert to couple the mounting adapter to the barrel insert.

11. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 10 , wherein the muzzle cap threadably engages a reduced diameter threaded extension projecting forward from the forward retention portion of the barrel insert through an axial opening formed in the mounting adapter which receives a rear portion of the muzzle cap.

12. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting adapter further comprises an internal annular protrusion that defines an axial opening through which the forward retention portion of the barrel insert extends, the annular protrusion engaged by a rear end of the muzzle cap to lock the mounting adapter to the barrel insert.

13. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein the muzzle cap includes a rearwardly open gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with the radial gas ports of the barrel insert and the gas expansion chamber of the mounting adapter, the gas inlet chamber configured to receive the gas from the barrel insert in a radial direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, and to direct the gas axially rearward into the gas expansion chamber.

14. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 1 , wherein a front suppressor portion of the handgun comprising the mounting adapter and baffle assembly has a vertically oblong body having a height which is greater than its width.

15. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 14 , wherein each baffle includes an upper section that defines an upper part of the baffle gas expansion chamber and a lower section that defines a lower part of the baffle gas expansion chamber.

16. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 15 , wherein the upper section has a top having an arcuate convex shape in transverse cross section and straight sides, and the lower section has a multi-faceted polygonal shape in transverse cross section.

17. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 15 , wherein the baffles include a rearmost blast baffle coupled to the mounting adapter and a longitudinal stack of primary baffles coupled in turn to the blast baffle, the blast baffle having a different configuration than the primary baffles.

18. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 17 , wherein the rearmost primary baffle has a frictional press fit interface to the blast baffle and each primary baffle has a frictional press fit interface to an adjacent primary baffle forming a sealed pressure retention boundary, the blast and primary baffles configured to form a self-supporting structure without the mounting rod.

19. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 18 , wherein each of the blast and primary baffles includes an outer wall that forms an exposed exterior surface of the baffle assembly.

20. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 17 , wherein each baffle includes an asymmetric flow cone projecting axially rearward from the upper section towards the mounting adapter, the cone defining an oblong central opening concentrically aligned with and obliquely oriented to the longitudinal axis for receiving a projectile therethrough.

21. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 14 , wherein the mounting adapter and plurality of baffles include outer walls having a vertically elongated complementary configuration in cross-sectional shape and dimensions to form a uniform profile of the handgun.

22. The integrally suppressed handgun according to claim 17

Assignees

• Sturm Ruger & Co

Inventors

• Barrett Jonathan

Classifications

• F41A11/00

  Assembly or disassembly features; Modular concepts; Articulated or collapsible guns (F41A3/64, F41A19/10 - F41A19/15, F41A21/48, F41A25/26 take precedence) · CPC title

• F41A21/28

  Gas-expansion chambers; Barrels provided with gas-relieving ports (F41A1/06, F41A13/08 {and F41A21/36} take precedence) · CPC title

• F41A21/30 Primary

  Silencers · CPC title

• F41A21/325

  Mountings for muzzle attachments · CPC title