EP0660915B1 - Gun silencer - Google Patents

Abstract

The gun silencer proposed can be adapted for use with a wide range of ammunition types by virtue of the following features: an adapter (2) designed to be attached to the mouth of the barrel; an end-piece (6) forming the mouth of the silencer, with an aperture (42) designed to allow the projectile to pass out; a central element (4), located between the adapter (2) and the end-piece (6), with a number of compartments (24) disposed one behind the other in a straight line, each compartment having an aperture designed to allow the projectile to pass through; each compartment (24) being attached in modular fashion to the next compartment (24) and the outer walls (28) of the series of compartments (24) forming the outer wall of the silencer.

Description

The invention relates to a silencer according to the preamble of claim 1, as known from FR-A-684 938 (VERGNE).

This known silencer consists of an attachable to the muzzle of a weapon, an end piece and in between a series of centering rings that form the outer wall of the muffler and between which a partition is inserted with a through-opening to form successive chambers.

The length of the individual rings differs from one another, so that each length section of the muffler is assigned only a single, special ring.

From FR-A-323 574 (HUMBERT) it is known to arrange the components forming the individual chambers within a common outer tube.

The terms used here such as front and back or front and back refer to the weft direction, the front facing the weft direction and the back facing the weft direction.

A muffler in use today is known from DE 17 03 420 B1 or the corresponding US Pat. No. 3,385,164 (WALTHER). Its center piece has a cylindrical cladding tube, on the back of which the extension piece and on the front of the end piece are attached. The extension piece can be screwed gas-tight onto an external thread attached to the barrel of a rifle. In the cladding tube there are, in addition to other elements, several successive, mutually supported chamber parts, each one against the inner wall of the cladding tube have a longitudinal sleeve and a cross bar. The crossbar extends generally across the longitudinal sleeve and thus across the longitudinal axis of the muffler. In the middle it has a penetration opening, from which it widens in steps. The chamber parts are centered via the cladding tube.

Similar silencers are known from: DE-PS 241 846 (BILLERBECK), DE-OS'en 15 53 874 (H&K) and 28 24 546 (FEHSE), GB-PS 30 240/1909 (SMALL ARMS COMPANY) and U.S. Patents 1,017,033 (KENNEY) and 1,111,202 (WESTFALL).

Basically, the number and possibly also the design of the chamber parts must be adapted to the weapon and the ammunition used in it. The requirements placed on the silencer must also be taken into account. It can be assumed that each chamber part reduces the muzzle bang by around 4 db - provided that only a limited number of chamber parts are used.

Overall, a silencer should always be as short as possible. It increases the length of the firearm, which is laboriously shortened by other constructive means, and also leads to a weighting of the muzzle, which affects the balance of the weapon.

Even if different weapons can be of the same caliber and of the same design at the muzzle, it is still necessary to manufacture and keep many silencers of different lengths in order to meet all requirements. This high effort is disadvantageous.

The invention has for its object to further develop the known silencer mentioned at the outset so that it can be adapted to the respective requirements with little effort.

The invention solves this problem with the subject matter of claim 1, that is, an object in which the generic features are linked to the further features that each chamber part is attached directly to the adjacent chamber part according to the modular principle and the outer walls of the successive chamber parts form the silencer outer wall.

The successive outer walls of the chamber parts thus form the outer wall of the silencer. The cladding tube necessary in the known silencer is thus eliminated.

In known silencers, the cladding tube directly delimits the expansion chamber. It must therefore have a strength and therefore a wall thickness that can withstand the gas pressure that arises. The longitudinal sleeves of the known chamber parts essentially serve as spacer sleeves. This increases the weight of the muffler considerably, which is disadvantageous for the reasons already mentioned. All of these disadvantages are eliminated in the subject of the invention, since the cladding tube is eliminated. The muffler according to the invention stands out not only because of its lower weight, but also because of its lower manufacturing costs from the known mufflers.

Since the cladding tube is omitted, it can no longer determine the length of the silencer. Rather, this can each be composed of a number of suitable chamber parts of your choice so that it is optimized according to the respective area of application, such as barrel length, type of cartridge and the desired damping effect. For this purpose, only a sufficient number of chamber parts of the respective training have to be produced, which is possible simply and inexpensively, for example by die casting, but especially in automatic lathes. During assembly, a wide variety of silencers can then be manufactured using a modular system by suitably combining the chamber parts.

From DE-OS 1 553 895 or the corresponding FR-PS 1 597 401 (OY TAMPELLA) a muzzle attachment on pipes for swirlless projectiles is known. Muzzle attachments of this type serve to significantly improve the trajectory of the swirlless projectiles, for example projectiles of a mortar, ballistically. They are not silencers.

Such muzzle attachments usually have no cladding tube. The known muzzle attachment consists of a stack of approximately disk-shaped ring disks. Spacers are arranged between the individual washers. The entire stack is held together by many tie rods. The muzzle gases can escape directly between the washers over the entire length of the muzzle attachment.

A similar arrangement is also known from AT-39 274 (LOTH), which relates to a silencer. This muffler also has individual chambers which are held together by tie rods in a similar manner to the case with the above-mentioned mufflers by means of a cladding tube.

In the muffler according to the invention, the individual chamber parts can be connected to one another, to the extension piece and / or the end piece, for example by resistance welding. With this type of connection, parts with a non-circular cross-section can also be attached to each other.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, each chamber part has a circumferential thread at its front end and a circumferential thread complementary to this at its rear end, for example and preferably a nut thread at its front end and a father thread at its rear end. In addition to these threads, the end piece and the end piece are each fitted with a male or female thread. The direct fastening of the chamber parts - among themselves as well as on the end piece and on the extension piece - by means of thread enables particularly simple assembly of the silencer; additionally a gas-tight connection. The combination of male and female threads has the advantage that incorrect assembly, ie the installation of a chamber part in the wrong orientation, is excluded. This is particularly important in Chamber parts whose sound-absorbing effect depends on the direction in which the muzzle gases flow through them (claims 2 to 4).

It is fundamentally possible and, in the case of a larger number of chamber parts, also advantageous to assign a cylindrical centering section to each thread in a known manner. This ensures an exactly centered, mutual assignment of the silencer elements according to the invention.

With a smaller number of chamber parts, however, about five chamber parts, the centering effect of a fine thread is already sufficient; in particular when the chamber parts together with their circumferential thread are produced with the narrow tolerances which are readily possible in an automatic lathe (claim 5).

The threaded connections of the individual elements enable the silencer to be dismantled easily, for example for cleaning purposes. However, this also involves dangers: Fine threads can be damaged by improper or insufficient screwing, which also applies to the silencer elements when using unsuitable tools.

For this reason, according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, all threaded connections, but at least those of the chamber parts to one another, are fixed in a practically non-detachable manner after assembly, for example by flanging or punching the circumferential joints. Thus, it is also possible to use a relatively soft, easily machinable material for the chamber parts, possibly also for the other elements of the silencer, in which multiple screwing and unscrewing without damage the thread would hardly be possible. Any necessary cleaning can be done by rinsing. (Claim 6).

The chamber parts preferably consist of an easily machinable aluminum alloy, as does the end piece. The attachment, which often has to be screwed onto the pipe mouth of the firearm to be equipped with the silencer and has to be unscrewed from it again, can consist of a material that can be subjected to higher loads.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the outer wall of each chamber part is essentially formed by a longitudinal sleeve, in the free end portions of which the complementary circumferential threads are arranged. The longitudinal sleeves are preferably designed as circular cylindrical sleeves. Such a configuration of the chamber parts enables a particularly simple assembly of the silencer. The successive outer walls of the longitudinal sleeves together form the outer wall of the muffler (claim 7).

A transverse web arranged in the interior of the chamber parts and widening in a funnel shape promotes sound absorption in a known manner (claim 8).

In principle, the crossbar can be arranged at that end of the chamber part or the longitudinal sleeve which carries the male thread.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the crossbar is arranged in a central region of the outer wall part of the chamber, ie the longitudinal sleeve, that is to say in a region which is not occupied by the threads. A tensioning tool can be attached to this area when assembling the silencer, the attack of which is then supported by the crossbar. This in turn enables one thin-walled design of the outer chamber wall, ie the longitudinal sleeve, without having to fear problems during assembly. The same advantage also results when the chamber part is clamped during its manufacture in an automatic lathe chuck. Preferably, the crossbar is integrally connected to the longitudinal sleeve (claim 9).

As is known, the penetration opening in each crosspiece should be as small as possible in order to form the narrowest possible throttling point for incoming powder gases after passing through the projectile. Although direct rubbing of the projectile is avoided by appropriate dimensioning of the bullet opening, a very high erosion occurs there. After prolonged use of the muffler, the penetration opening can widen and thus reduce the sound absorption.

In order to remedy this problem, according to a further embodiment, the penetration opening is covered with a bushing, which can consist of a more resistant material than the chamber part, for example made of steel (claim 10).

The effectiveness of the muffler according to the invention is further increased by the fact that the end piece and / or the extension piece have an additional relaxation chamber, especially since they have a corresponding length anyway if they are provided with a male or female thread. The relaxation chamber formed in the end piece is preferably designed as a diaphragm body which dampens the muzzle flash (claims 11 and 12).

As already noted, differently dimensioned and designed chamber parts can be put together to form a silencer according to the invention; however, the chamber parts of a muffler are preferably identical to one another. This is a mix-up when assembling excluded and at the same time achieved a particularly simple manufacture.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the attached schematic drawing. The only figure of the figure illustrates practically to scale a longitudinal section through a currently preferred embodiment of a silencer according to the invention.

The silencer shown is intended for the G3 rifle manufactured by the applicant. Its overall length is 255 mm, its largest outside diameter is 40 mm and its overhang over the muzzle of the G3 rifle is 152 mm.

According to the figure, the silencer consists of three main parts, namely an extension piece 2, a middle part 4 and an end piece 6.

The extension piece 2 consists of an elongated tube, preferably made of aluminum, on the front in a cup-like manner, and has, from back to front, in succession: a tube section 8, a narrowed cylindrical fitting section 10, a threaded section with an internal thread 12, one radially following one another internally extending stop shoulder 14, a passage 16, the diameter of which only slightly exceeds that of a projectile from the rifle (not shown), a chamber 18 which widens conically towards the front and a greatly enlarged cup section 20 with a fine nut 22.

The extension 2 is screwed (after unscrewing the muzzle fire damper from the tube mouth of a rifle G3) with its internal thread 12 onto the tube mouth. The fitting section 10 slides tightly onto a complementary fitting section of the pipe mouth, and the end face of the pipe mouth lies against the stop shoulder 14. The stop heel 14, the internal thread 12 and the fitting section 10 thus center the extension 2 exactly on the pipe mouth.

The middle part 4 is composed of several, here four screwed together chamber parts 24. One of these chamber parts 24 is described below.

Each chamber part 24 consists of a heat-resistant aluminum alloy and has an overall circular cylindrical, tubular longitudinal sleeve 26 with an overall smooth, circular cylindrical inner wall and outer wall 28. The front end of the longitudinal sleeve 26 is turned out and provided with a nut fine thread 30, which corresponds in length and other dimensions to the nut thread 22 in the cup section 20 of the extension piece 2.

The rear end of the longitudinal sleeve 26 carries a male fine thread 32, which is designed to be complementary in length and dimension to the female fine threads 22 and 30.

A crosspiece 34 fills the clear width of the longitudinal sleeve 26. It has the shape of a funnel which is concentric with the longitudinal sleeve 26 and widens towards the front, the edge of which is integrally connected to the inner wall of the longitudinal sleeve 26 in the area between the two fine thread ends 30 and 32.

The forward-facing inner wall of the funnel-shaped crosspiece 34 does not form a continuous frustoconical surface, but is composed of a radially inner rear frustoconical surface and a radially outer front frustoconical surface offset therefrom. The inner truncated cone surface has a smaller apex angle and merges into the outer truncated cone surface. This design of the chamber part 24 increases the damping effect.

The constriction of the funnel 34 thus formed lies with the rear end of the longitudinal sleeve 26 approximately in a radial plane. A tight-fitting sleeve 36 made of sheet steel is pressed into it and knocked backwards and radially outwards around the rear end of the constriction. The steel bushing 36 is thus non-detachably and firmly connected to the funnel constriction and lines it. The clear width of the steel bushing 36 is dimensioned such that, taking into account all the tolerances that occur, it can just pass the projectile without it rubbing against it.

In the figure, four such chamber parts 24 are screwed together. The space in front of the crosspiece 34 of the rear chamber part 24 and the space behind the crosspiece 34 of the front chamber part 24 together form an expansion chamber, the outer wall of which is formed by the successive outer walls 28 of two adjacent longitudinal sleeves 26.

The mouth of the chamber 18 of the extension piece 2, which widens towards the front, is arranged and dimensioned such that there is a relatively narrow annular gap to the rear outer peripheral edge of the steel bushing 36 or the transverse web 34 of the rearmost chamber part 22. The annular gap leads into a first expansion chamber, which is delimited by the following parts: the rear of the transverse web 34 and the rear part of the longitudinal sleeve 26 of the rearmost chamber part 24 and the bottom of the cup-like extension 20 of the extension piece 2.

The end piece 6 is an essentially cup-shaped body with a short pipe socket 38, one end of which is closed by an outwardly curved end wall 40. A committee opening 42 passes through the middle of the end wall 40. The inner edge of the committee opening 42 is strongly countersunk.

The outside of the pipe socket 38 carries a male thread 44, the dimensions of which correspond to the male threads 32 of the chamber parts 24.

The inside of the pipe socket 38 carries an internal thread 46, into which a diaphragm body 48 serving to muzzle fire or flame damping is screwed. For this purpose, the diaphragm body 48 has a threaded ring 50, the rear end of which is closed by a radial plate 52. The radial plate 52 is penetrated centrally by a bullet hole. Its peripheral edge extends to the inner surface of the adjacent longitudinal sleeve. The panel body 48 can be made from an easily machinable aluminum alloy, but preferably from a more resistant material. The bullet hole can be lined with a sheet steel sleeve similar to the sleeves 36.

The diaphragm body 48 and the end wall 40 of the end piece 6 delimit a foremost, last expansion space 49.

In the forward-facing outer surface of the end wall 40 - two blind holes 54 are made on both sides of the reject opening 42, into which a key for turning the end piece 6 and thus for tightening all threads 16, 30, 34 44 and 46 can engage, the rear tubular end of the extension 2 can be held, for example, in a collet.

The threads 16, 30, 32, 44 and 46 are preferably either filled with a heat-resistant putty or adhesive before screwing or caulked after tightening or otherwise secured so that the fully assembled silencer can no longer be dismantled.

Claims (12)

1. Silencer for a fire-arm, preferably a portable firearm, especially a gun, having

   - an extension piece (2) attachable to the barrel muzzle of the fire-arm,

   - an end piece (6) forming the muzzle of the silencer through which a discharge opening (42) passes,

   - a central piece (4) arranged between the extension piece (2) and the end piece (6) and having a number of chambers located one behind the other and aligned with one another each having a part through which a firing opening passes, wherein

   - the outer walls (28) bounding the chambers form the outer wall of the silencer, and

   - each chamber is fastened directly to the adjoining one,

   characterised in that

   - the chambers with their outer wall (28) are each formed by a chamber part (24) through which a firing opening passes, and

   - the chamber parts (24) can be put together in modular technique their number and capability corresponding to the area of application.
2. Silencer according to Claim 1, characterised in that on the front and reverse side of each chamber part (24) circumferential threads (30, 32) complementary to one another are constructed.
3. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the chamber parts are fastened to one another in gastight manner.
4. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the rearmost chamber part (24) is directly on the extension piece (2) and/or the frontmost chamber part (24) is directly on the end piece, especially by means of a thread (22, 44) on the front side of the extension piece (2) or on the reverse side of the end piece (6) which is constructed in each case to fit the circumferential threads (30, 32) of the chambers (24).
5. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that all chamber parts are of equivalent construction, especially are automatic lathe parts.
6. Silencer according to one of Claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the thread connections (22 and 32; 30 and 32; 30 and 44) are fixed in non-detachable manner after assembly of the silencer.
7. Silencer according to one of Claims 2 to 6, characterised in that the outer wall (28) of a chamber part (24) is formed essentially of a longitudinal casing (26) in the free end sections of which the circumferential threads (30, 32) complementary to one another are arranged.
8. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the chamber parts (24) each have internally a transverse web (34) widening preferably in the shape of a funnel towards the front through which the firing opening passes.
9. Silencer according to Claim 8, characterised in that the transverse web (34) is connected for instance to the central region of the longitudinal support (26), especially joined in one piece.
10. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the firing opening of the chamber parts (24) is cased with a liner (36).
11. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the extension piece (2) and/or the end piece (6) have an additional expansion chamber (18, 49).
12. Silencer according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a shielding body (48) reducing the muzzle flash is constructed in the end piece (6).

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