US20130227871A1

US20130227871A1 - Cancellation muzzle brake assembly

Info

Publication number: US20130227871A1
Application number: US13/694,775
Authority: US
Inventors: Jeffrey W. Stone
Original assignee: RA Brands LLC
Current assignee: RA Brands LLC
Priority date: 2012-01-06
Filing date: 2013-01-02
Publication date: 2013-09-05
Also published as: WO2013147959A2; EP2800941A2; CA2860764A1; WO2013147959A3; AU2013240588A1

Abstract

A muzzle brake assembly for a firearm provides several benefits including an ability to reduce firearm recoil by redirecting the propellant gases and reshaping the pressure wave in a new manner, reduction or substantial elimination of muzzle movement upon discharge, lessening the acoustic signature of the firearm closer to non-braked levels and relatively easy and low cost to manufacture by current machining practices thereby minimizing cost of manufacturing. Ports in the muzzle brake assembly are arranged opposing one another about a circumference of the muzzle brake assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present patent application is a formalization of previously filed, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/583,942, filed Jan. 6, 2012 by the named inventor of the present Application. This patent application claims the benefit of the filing date of this cited Provisional patent application according to the statutes and rules governing provisional patent applications, particularly 35 U.S.C. §119(a)(i) and 37 C.F.R. §1.78(a)(4) and (a)(5). The specification and drawings of the Provisional patent application referenced above are specifically incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure is directed generally to a muzzle brake assembly for mounting on a muzzle of a firearm to provide a reduction in the felt recoil and muzzle jump of the firearm upon firing, while additionally providing a reduction in sound levels produced by discharge of a round of ammunition as compared to other muzzle brake devices.
2. Related Art
Muzzle brakes for firearms such as rimfire or centerfire rifles typically include ports or baffles in an attempt to reduce recoil and muzzle movement such as muzzle rise upon discharge of the firearm. Often these muzzle brakes significantly increase the resultant sound volume upon discharge of a firearm as compared with the use of no muzzle brake on the firearm. This can lead to hearing problems for shooters exposed to such increased sound volumes. Moreover, many muzzle brakes available are complicated and costly to manufacture, and can provide limited recoil reduction.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure addresses the foregoing needs and provides for a muzzle brake assembly that enables several benefits, including an ability to reduce firearm recoil by redirecting the propellant gases in a new manner, substantial reduction or elimination of muzzle movement and/or an increased muzzle braking assembly effect provided upon discharge of a round of ammunition from the firearm, lessening or maintaining the acoustic signature of the firearm as compared to conventional brake designs, and which has a relatively easy and low cost of manufacture by current machining practices, thereby minimizing cost of manufacturing.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the muzzle brake assembly for a firearm includes a body adapted to be coupled to the muzzle end of a barrel of a firearm and having an outer surface. The body generally will be configured with a bore having a central axis and aligned with the muzzle of the firearm barrel to permit passage of a round of ammunition along the axis. A plurality of ports in fluid communication with the bore are formed along the body. In one embodiment, the plurality of ports are arranged in pairs around a circumference of the body with one port of each pair positioned opposing the other port of the pair to cause intermixing of exiting compressed gas from the paired ports thereby providing at least one of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the muzzle brake assembly for a firearm includes a body having a bore and a plurality of adjacent ports arranged in annular rings or recesses around the circumference of the body and each extending through the bore into fluid communication with the bore. Each of the ports further will include an inlet and an outlet for venting or exhausting pressurized gases generated from firing a round of ammunition from the firearm. The outlets of at least a subset of the adjacent ports are arranged in an opposing relationship and are oriented at angles with respect to a control axis of the bore of the body to direct intermixing of compressed gases from the bore, and/or to direct at least a portion of the gases away from the outer surface of the body. This intermixing of pressurized gases helps cause redirection of a pressure wave created by the exiting gases, providing at least one of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect. The body further can be formed with the barrel of the firearm or can include an attaching mechanism for detachably coupling the muzzle brake assembly to the barrel.
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for forming a muzzle brake assembly for a firearm is provided, including the steps of forming a body having a bore along an axis, the body further having an outer surface, and forming a plurality of adjacent ports arranged around a circumference of the body and in fluid communication with the bore for venting or exhausting portions of the pressurized gases from firing of a round of ammunition from the bore. At least a subset of the adjacent ports can be oriented to cause intermixing of compressed or pressurized gases exhausted from the bore at a location between the at least a subset of adjacent ports at the outer surface, thus providing at least one of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect, when a fired round traverses along the axis.
Additional features, advantages, and aspects of the present disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the present disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various aspects, advantages and benefits of the present disclosure, and together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a muzzle brake assembly, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, of a muzzle assembly, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the muzzle brake assembly of FIGS. 2-3;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the muzzle brake assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an additional enhancement of a muzzle brake assembly according to principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the muzzle brake assembly of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7A-7C are photographs illustrating a pressure/shock wave created by a conventional muzzle brake assembly upon firing.

FIG. 7D is a photograph illustrating a pressure/shock wave created by a muzzle brake assembly according to the principles of the present invention upon firing.

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating the generated recoil Force vs. Time for the firing of a firearm using various conventional muzzle brakes or no muzzle brake versus a muzzle brake assembly according to the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

The aspects of the present disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting aspects and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one aspect may be employed with other aspects as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the aspects of the present disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the present disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and aspects herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. The terms round and round of ammunition, as used herein, include a rimfire round, a centerfire round, shotgun shells including shot, slugs and other payloads, as well as other types of ammunition.
The present disclosure describes a muzzle brake assembly, for mounting on (or locating at) the muzzle of a firearm F, such as a centerfire or a rimfire firearm, for example, and is configured to reduce the felt recoil and reduce muzzle jump upon discharge. The firearm F can comprise a rifle, such as a bolt action rifle, semi-automatic or automatic rifle, such as an AR-15, M-4, ACR or other gas operated rifle, shotguns, and various other types of long guns and handguns. As shown in FIG. 1, in one example embodiment, the firearm F further can include a stock 10, fire control 11 with a trigger 12, and a barrel 13 having a first end 14 defining a chamber 15 in which a round of ammunition A is received, and a second or muzzle end 16 through which the round is discharged upon firing. The muzzle brake assembly according to the principles of the present invention may also produce an acoustic signature that is substantially equivalent to a firearm that does not contain a muzzle brake assembly. The resulting reduction in sound levels produced by the use of the muzzle brake assembly disclosed herein thus provides a significant improvement over currently available muzzle brakes, which tend to produce a loud sound signature, i.e., increased resulting sound and pressure levels experienced by shooters and others nearby upon firing.
The muzzle brake assembly configured according to the principles described by the present disclosure may provide at least the following benefits:

- An ability to reduce firearm recoil by redirecting the propellant gases.
- Reduction or substantial elimination of muzzle movement upon discharge.
- Lessening or maintaining the acoustic signature of the firearm close to non-braked levels.
- Easily manufacturable by current machining practices thereby minimizing cost of manufacturing.

One example embodiment of a muzzle brake assembly configured according to principles of the disclosure, generally denoted by reference numeral 100, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as being received and/or releasably connected to the muzzle end 16 of the barrel 13 of the firearm. FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the muzzle brake assembly 100 in further detail. As shown in FIGS. 2-3, the muzzle brake assembly generally includes a tubular body 101, typically formed from a high strength material such as a metal or composite material, and will have open first and second or upstream and downstream ends 102 a/102 b. The general shape of the body of the muzzle brake assembly 100 may be configured to be predominantly cylindrical, but other shapes may be employed, and the body should not be and is not limited to this cylindrical shape. The body of the muzzle brake assembly also includes an outer wall 103 and an inner wall 104 defining a longitudinally extending bore 135 (FIG. 4). The muzzle brake bore 135 defined by the inner wall or surface 104 may be substantially concentric with the bore 145 of the barrel 13 of a firearm, along a generally centrally aligned axis 130. The muzzle brake bore 135 accordingly is configured along the axis 130 to permit passage of a round of ammunition from the firearm barrel bore 145 along the axis 130 and out of the second end 102 b of the body.
The muzzle brake assembly 100 is illustratively shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 as located or attached to the muzzle end 16 of a firearm barrel 13 by attaching mechanism 136. In one embodiment, the attaching mechanism may include a threaded arrangement 137 as shown in FIG. 4. Moreover, the muzzle brake assembly 100 may be detachably connectable to the end of the firearm barrel by other releasable locking or coupling connections as will be understood in the art. Alternatively, the muzzle brake assembly may be configured as a permanent or integrally formed part of a firearm barrel; typically located proximate the muzzle end of the barrel.
The muzzle brake bore 135 may be sized to substantially match a particular caliber of a firearm (i.e., diameters are substantially concentric) so that a round of ammunition of a particular caliber will pass through the bore 145 of the firearm barrel 140 and the muzzle brake bore 135. Therefore, the diameter of the muzzle brake bore 135 defined by an inner surface of the bore of a firearm barrel 13 may be configured according to the caliber of the intended firearm with which it may be used.
In one aspect, the shape of the body 101 of the muzzle brake assembly 100 is generally symmetric with respect to the muzzle brake bore 135. Additional possible profile shapes of the muzzle brake bore also can be used and can include circular, triangular, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, dodecagon, and the like. The muzzle brake assembly 100 may also be configured with optional auxiliary features such as a wire cutter 120, coupling mechanisms for connection to further accessories, or a standard muzzle crown geometry.
As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the muzzle brake assembly 100 will be configured with a plurality of gas exhaust ports 105 arranged about the circumference of the body 101 of the muzzle brake assembly 100 and communicating with the muzzle brake bore. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the ports 105 can be arranged in first and/or second, or upstream and downstream sets or groups of ports, and may be configured as extended cylindrical passages 106 a, 106 b, or of a different slotted shape, each including an inlet 107 opening into the muzzle brake bore 135, and an outlet 108 opening along the outer wall/surface 103 of the body. The ports 105 function as gas exhaust or venting passages projecting from and in communication with the inner volume defined by the muzzle brake bore 135 to permit an escape of gases caused by discharge of a round of ammunition from the firearm traversing through the muzzle brake bore 135. The escaping gas is illustratively shown by arrows 125 a-125 d in FIG. 4. The number of ports 105 relative to the muzzle brake bore 135 may be varied as needed and can be used in determining the profile shapes of the muzzle brake bore.
In one aspect, the orientation of the ports 105 relative to the central axis 130 of the muzzle brake bore 135 generally may range from about 30° to about 150°, although other orientations also can be provided as needed. An about 45° to about 90° orientation may be preferred from a manufacturing perspective. However, other orientations also may be used to provide desired operational advantages, as described below.
Referring to FIG. 2, one or more annular or circumferential rings or recesses 112 can be formed in the outer wall/surface of the body at spaced locations there along. In one embodiment, these annular rings 112 can be formed as generally concave grooves 115 a, 115 b with a plurality of facets 110 a, 110 b being formed along adjacent upstream and downstream surfaces 116 a/116 b of the grooves 115 a, 115 b. The facets 110 a, 110 b may be arranged in a plurality of pairs around the circumference of the outer surface of the muzzle brake assembly 100. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, facets 110 a, 110 b can comprise first and second facets, with the adjacent facets of each pair of facets can be formed at least partially opposing one another as shown in FIGS. 2-3. Other sets of paired facets are shown in the figures, but for explanation simplicity only reference to paired facets 110 a and 110 b is described; although the principles are generally the same for the other facets and associated ports and passageways.
The facets 110 a, 110 b may be formed at an angle in relation to the central axis 130 of the muzzle brake, which angle may be from about 30° to about 90° with respect to the control axis 130 of the brake. The ports 105 will be formed within the facets 110 a, 110 b, with the passageways 106 a-106 d of the ports extending at a desired angle (i.e., in a range of from about 30° to less than 90° in relation to the axis 130) from their outlets 108 defined within the facets, to their inlet openings 107 communicating with the inner volume of the muzzle brake assembly 100 defined at least in part by the inner surface of the muzzle brake bore 135. As indicated in FIGS. 2-4, in one particular embodiment, the ports generally will be positioned or oriented substantially perpendicular to the outward facing surfaces 113 a/113 b of their associated facets 110 a/110 b. The orientation/angles of the facets further can assist in formation of the bores at desired angles with respect to the axis 130 of the muzzle brake, as well as in controlling spacing between the outlets of the ports as needed to achieve a desired intermixing of the gases exiting therefrom.
The angle of the surfaces 113 a/113 b (FIG. 3) of the facets 110 a, 110 b may be substantially perpendicular to the axial axis 114 a/114 b of each passageway 106 a, 106 b for directing pressurized gas flows at substantially crossing directions as represented by arrows 125 a-125 d. The angle “y” formed between the two axial axis' 114 a, 114 b (and similarly between 114 c and 114 d) is illustrated as being about 90° in the embodiment of FIG. 3. However, this formed angle “y” may be at a non-90° angle that is more or less than 90° depending on the chosen angle of the passageways 106 a, 106 d in relation to the axis 130. Each passageway, e.g., passageway 106 a or 106 c, may be oriented at angle to an adjacent or opposing passageway, e.g., passageway 106 b or 106 d (and other paired passageways) so that the outlet openings 108 of each port formed along the outer surface of the body of the muzzle brake assembly 100 for each passageway (in this example, the surface being associated with a respective facet 110 a, 110 b) is at least partially facing and opposing an outlet opening of the adjacent passageway of a corresponding port (e.g., at the other port of each pair of ports).
Pressurized or compressed gases generated by firing a round of ammunition are vented or escape, at least in part, from the muzzle brake assembly 100 via the various paired sets of ports 105, such as the ports 105 configured in adjacent facets 110 a, 110 b. The mutually opposing ports 105 permit and foster an intermixing of the exiting compressed/pressurized gas flows (e.g., as represented by arrows 125 a-125 d) and tend to direct the gases away from the shooter from the paired ports 105, thereby providing at least any one or more of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect. In addition, the spacing and orientation of the adjacent facets 110 a/110 b along which the opposed pairs of ports 105 are located enables the facets 110 a/110 b opposite each port 105 to act as redirecting surfaces to help foster turbulence and create an eddying effect to the gases exiting the ports to further help direct the resultant pressure wave for such gases forwardly and away from the shooter as indicated in FIG. 7D. In addition, as indicated in FIGS. 2-3 and 5-6, because of the pressure of the compressed gases generated by the firing of the round of ammunition generally being higher at the upstream or inlet end 136 of the bore 135 and decreasing as the gases proceed down-bore, and the resultant differences in gas flow through paired ports 105 and their associated paired passageways, such as paired passageways 106 a-106 b and paired passageways 106 c-106 d, due to such pressure differences, the opposed ports of each pair of ports can be provided with different diameters or sizes.
For example, one of the passageways, in this example, the downstream passageways 106 b and 106 d can be configured with a diameter that is the same or greater than its respective paired passageway 106 a and 106 c. That is, due to gas dynamics, the ports 105 having their inlets 107 (FIG. 4) and associated passageways (e.g., passageways 106 b, 106 d) closer to the distal end 102 b of the brake body (the end where the round exits the muzzle brake assembly 100) of each paired set of ports is configured with a diameter that is greater than or equal to the diameter of the its corresponding/associated paired port nearer the proximal end 102 a of the brake body (the end where a round enters the muzzle brake assembly 100 thus the gas flow pressures are at their highest in operation).
This diameter difference relationship of paired ports and is illustrated in FIGS. 2-3; and the diameter difference relationship of the corresponding paired passageways (e.g., 106 a/106 b and 106 c/106 d) generally is illustrated in FIG. 4. The diameter difference relationship of paired ports/passageways may compensate variances in flow rates for the escaping pressurized gases to provide for a substantially equivalent gas mass for each of the opposing flows because of the direction of flow of the compressed gases along the bore 135 of the muzzle brake assembly 100, with the gases exiting the upstream ports/passageways potentially being of a higher pressure. As a result, the resultant direction and shape of the pressure wave of the gases exiting the ports generally is changed such that the gas flow and the corresponding sound signature or wave is in a direction away from the shooter as shown in FIG. 7D, rather than being directed rearwardly as can occur with conventional muzzle brakes, such as shown in FIGS. 7A-7C. The ratio of diameters of paired ports/passageways can be from about 3-4:1, within the distal port (the downstream port of each pair of ports which is further away from the shooter) upstream or paired having a longer diameter or size versus its proximal port/passageway, or greater to about 1:1 (distal port to paired proximal port/passageway), and with about 2:1 (distal port to paired proximal port/passageway) being a preferred ratio.
The “brake” effect accomplished by the muzzle brake assembly according to the present invention generally is created by the redirecting of the propellant gases in directions that generally are not generally parallel to the axis 130 of the barrel and muzzle brake bore 135. To this end, the force vectoring produced by the propellant gases is angled away from the bore of the firearm barrel and muzzle brake assembly axis 130 as indicated in FIG. 4, i.e., as noted, the direction and shape of the resultant pressure wave can change, from being generally concave and expanding toward the shooter as shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, to a generally convex, forwardly moving shape wave as shown in FIG. 7D. This redirection of the propellant gases changes the force response of the gases as related by Newton's third law. Also, the kinetic energy, associated with the escaping gases is directed radially away from the barrel and muzzle brake centerline axis along substantially equally spaced radial paths so as to resist muzzle lift or jumping or other movement of the muzzle end of the barrel upon firing of the round of ammunition. Therefore, the energy available for transmission to the shooter via recoil also can be reduced.
In addition, the intermixing of the gas flows caused by the orientation of the outlets 108 (FIGS. 3-4) of each of the ports 105 tends to disrupt the pressure wave created by the exiting pressurized gases, which can cause a reduction and/or a redirection of this pressure wave in a direction away from the shooter, for example, forwardly with respect to the axis of the muzzle brake assembly and firearm barrel. Such a forwardly redirected pressure wave is shown in FIG. 7D. As a result, the acoustic signature may be reduced, or maintained to a substantially lower acoustic level (such as substantially the same decibel level, or less) as if no brake was being used or as compared to a standard brake design, by redirecting the propellant gases into opposing or nearly opposing or nearly opposing directions from different longitudinal locations along the length of the muzzle brake assembly 100. Still further, by redirecting the radial gases from different longitudinal locations, the spherical pressure waves generally produced from the various locations are destructively additive or mutually cancelling, thereby lessening the net effective pressure wave. Therefore, the acoustic signature as experienced by the shooter and those in proximity may be reduced or approaching a level as if no muzzle brake assembly was being used, depending on the geometry of the longitudinal and radial gas exits.
As illustrated in the graph of Force versus Time provided in FIG. 8, a resulting reduction in sound may be achieved by an effective cancellation (at least in part) of the sound waves exiting or caused by the escaping compressed/pressurized gases being directed at or crossing with the gas flows exiting from the opposed ports 105 of adjacent facets 110 a, 110 b (and similarly all the other paired mutually opposing ports) of the muzzle brake assembly 100, creating the intermixing of the gases such as shown in FIG. 7D. This intermixing of the gases causes a disruption of the pressure wave(s) created by the escape of the pressurized gases, reducing the sound levels created thereby, and, to some extent, further cause the direction of such gases away from the shooter, e.g., forwardly along the body of the muzzle brake assembly 100, which can additionally lessen the sound levels experienced by the shooter. FIGS. 7A-7C sequentially show the creation of pressure waves of gases as generated by a conventional muzzle brake flowing/expanding rearwardly toward the shooter. As indicated in these Figures, as the gases exit the conventional muzzle brake, they tend to expand outwardly and rearwardly (FIG. 7B) in a concave, cone shape focused toward a rearward direction along the firearm barrel. FIG. 7C further shows the rapidly expanded, enlarged pressure wave having a generally concave shape and moving rearwardly along the barrel of the firearm, i.e., toward the shooter. By contrast, the pressure wave exiting the muzzle brake according to the present invention shown in FIG. 7D exhibits an opposite or forward expansion and movement of gases, expanding away from the shooter, in a generally convex configuration or pattern with respect to the shooter and potentially having a more limited expansion of the pressure wave shape or pattern. This provides a reduction in the sound signature associated with such a pressure wave.
The following table discusses the differences in measured sound levels (by decibel) of a conventional AR15 style rifle (DPMS A2) fired (both with and without a flash hider) without a muzzle brake, fired with a .308 Miculek muzzle brake, an AAC Blackout muzzle brake, and a muzzle brake formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention (labeled “Cancelation Brake” in the table below. As can be seen in the table below, there was a significantly lower sound signature achieved with the muzzle brake assembly according to the principles of the present invention versus the other muzzle brakes tested.


Shooters	DPMS A2 -		308	Cancellation	AAC
left ear	flash hider	no brake	Miculek	Brake	Blackout

Shot 1	158	159.6	171	166.5	171.2
Shot 2	158.4	159.4	170.5	166.7	170.4
Shot 3	158.9	159.6	170.6	166.5	170.7
Shot 4	158.4	159.6	170.5	166.6	170.3
Shot 5	158.6	159.4	171	166.2	170.5
dB (avg)	158.5	159.5	170.7	166.5	170.6
	Diff from A2	1.1	12.3	8.0	11.1
	dB

Moreover, the exiting of the compressed gases at an angle not perpendicular to the axis 130 also substantially reduces muzzle movement (i.e., muzzle jump). Reduction of muzzle movement often may be important to a shooter in a critical situation, such as to reacquire a target quickly, for example. Flash hiders such as referenced in the table above, while providing reduction of a visible flash of burning gases exiting the barrel (and possibly some minor sound reduction) generally are not designed to address the reduction of recoil and/or muzzle jump/movement as are muzzle brakes. With the present invention, in addition to a reduction in acoustic signature or sound levels from firing, the mutually opposing configuration of ports 105 accordingly further substantially reduces both muzzle jump/movement, as well as the peak recoil as felt by a shooter. According to laboratory tests, this peak recoil reduction may be as much as about 25%, as compared with using no muzzle brake assembly. A graphical representation of the results of such peak recoil reduction tests is shown in FIG. 8. As the graph of FIG. 8 indicates, a range of peak recoil force reduction may be reduced by about 5% to about 40%, with typical achievable range of about 20% to about 25% reduction, compared with using no muzzle brake assembly or with the use of a flash hider only. These tests employed calibers such as .30-06 SPRG and .308 WIN. However, other calibers may achieve similar results. The peak recoil force reduction further may be related to the caliber used for a particular application.
Alternate configurations of the ports 105 (FIGS. 2-6) also may be possible to give different recoil reduction effects, sound reduction effects and/or possible shifts in resulting frequencies. For example, the ports 105 of each pair of ports may be circumferentially offset from one another so that they are not directly opposing one another, rather by offsetting the ports 105 circumferentially somewhat by a predetermined distance (such as circumferentially offsetting/rotating facet 110 a in relation to facet 110 b, and similarly, the other facets around the grooves 115 a, 115 b), and/or varying the sizes of and/or gas volumes permitted through each of the ports to provide the desired recoil reduction and reduction of sound volume and/or frequencies (lower or higher). In addition, the ports of each pair of ports may be formed in an opposing relationship, but the pairs of ports of the upstream set or group of ports formed along the first or upstream annual ring 115 a may be offset from the pairs of ports of the downstream set(s) or groups of ports formed along the second or downstream annular ring 115 b, and/or a third annular ring 115 c shown in FIGS. 5-6.
Moreover, in one alternate aspect, the principles herein may be achieved without the use of facets. The relative configuration of mutually opposing ports 105 may be achievable without use of facets and/or the annular rings or circumferential grooves 115 a, 115 b.
Still further, the diameter of the ports 105 and associated passageways (e.g., passageways 106 a-106 c), may be sized in accordance with or based on the amount of expected gasses that may be produced by a particular firearm and associated ammunition, so that venting rate of the gasses is appropriate for the intended ammunition and firearm. Moreover, the number of opposing paired ports 105 may be decreased or increased based on caliber size and/or type of ammunition expected, while maintaining effective recoil reduction, sound reduction, and/or acceptable reduction in muzzle movement. This may be accomplished by changing the number of ports or increasing/decreasing the number of concentric ringed sets or circumferential grooves.
FIG. 5 is a side view and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment exemplary muzzle brake assembly, configured according to principles of the disclosure, generally denoted by reference numeral 200. The muzzle brake assembly 200 is shown configured with three concentric rings or grooves 115 a, 115 b, 115 c. The ports 105 of groove 115 c and its associated facets 110 a, 110 b are shown as being offset circumferentially as compared with the ports 105 and its respective facets 110 a, 110 b of grooves 115 a and 115 b. This configuration may provide for ease of manufacturing of the associated passageways that extend from an outer surface, such as the respective associated facets of the muzzle brake assembly 200, to the muzzle brake bore 135, and this configuration may also provide for suitable orientations of the passageways so that they do not interfere with one another in the interior portions of the body of the muzzle brake assembly 200, for example.
The foregoing description generally illustrates and describes various embodiments of the present invention. The examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, aspects, applications or modifications of the present disclosure. It will, therefore, be understood by those skilled in the art that while the present disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary aspects, the present disclosure can be practiced with various changes and modifications which can be made to the above-discussed construction of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed herein, and that it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall not to be taken in a limiting sense.
Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed to cover various modifications, combinations, additions, alterations, etc., to the above-described embodiments, which shall be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, various features and characteristics of the present invention as discussed herein may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the invention, and numerous variations, modifications, and additions further can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A brake assembly for a firearm, comprising:

a body having a bore extending therethrough to permit passage of a round of ammunition through the body; and

a set of gas exhaust ports formed in spaced series about the body, comprising:

a first plurality of ports in communication with the bore, the first plurality of ports extending through the body in a first direction; and

a second plurality of ports in communication with the bore and each having an outlet located in an opposing relationship with an outlet of a corresponding one of the first plurality of ports;

wherein upon firing, an intermixing of pressurized gases exiting from the first and second plurality of ports is created, providing at least one of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect.

2. The brake assembly of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises at least one circumferential groove having a plurality of facets arranged therealong.

3. The brake assembly of claim 2, wherein the plurality of facets are arranged in pairs with each facet of each pair of facets oriented in a diverging direction from an opposed facet of the pair of facets.

4. The brake assembly of claim 3, wherein the outlets of each of the opposing first and second pluralities of ports are located within opposed ones of the plurality of facets.

5. The brake assembly of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of ports in fluid communication with the bore are located at an end of the body where the pressuring gases are received into the body, each of the first plurality of ports having a first diameter, and wherein the second plurality of ports is located downstream from the first plurality of ports and each of the second plurality of ports has a second diameter that is equal to or greater than the first diameter.

6. The brake assembly of claim 5, wherein the first plurality of ports and the second plurality of ports are each oriented at a non-ninety-degree angle.

7. The brake assembly of claim 6, wherein the angles at which the first and second plurality of ports are oriented range from approximately 30° to less than approximately 90°.

8. The brake assembly of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises an attaching mechanism configured to detachably connect the body to an end of a firearm barrel.

9. The brake assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second pluralities of ports are arranged in corresponding pairs of opposed ports spaced about the body, and wherein the intermixing of pressurized gases exiting from each pair of opposed ports creates a pressure wave having a substantially convex shape moving toward a forward end of the body.

10. The brake assembly of claim 1, further comprising an additional set of gas exhaust ports arranged in opposed pairs of ports about the body, with an outlet of each port of each pair of ports facing toward the outlet of the other port of the pair of ports, and with the additional set of gas exhaust ports offset from the first and second pluralities of ports.

11. A firearm adapted to receive and fire a round of ammunition with a reduced recoil and muzzle movement, comprising:

a receiver;

a barrel having a chamber and a muzzle end;

a muzzle brake assembly mountable to the muzzle end of the barrel and comprising

a body having a bore defined therethrough; and

a series of ports arranged in opposed pairs spread about the body, each of the ports having an inlet in communication with the bore of the body and an outlet, enabling pressurized gas flows generated upon firing of the round of ammunition to be vented from the bore;

wherein the outlets of the bores of each pair of bores are oriented in opposing directions so as to cause the pressurized gas flows passing through the ports of each pair of ports to substantially cross.

12. The firearm of claim 11, further comprising at least a first and second annular ring formed along the body of the muzzle brake assembly, wherein the pairs of ports are formed in spaced series along the first and second annual rings.

13. The firearm of claim 12, wherein the pairs of ports formed along the first annular ring are offset from the pairs of ports formed along the second annular ring.

14. The firearm of claim 11, wherein the ports are located within faceted areas formed along the body, and wherein as the pressurized gas flows passing through the ports engage the facets, additional intermixing and turbulence of the gas flows is created for redirecting the gas flows in a forward direction with respect to the barrel of the firearm.

15. The brake assembly of claim 14, wherein each port is oriented at an angle of less than 90° in relation to the bore, with the outlet of each port at least partially facing and opposing the outlet of the other port of its pair of ports.

16. The firearm of claim 11, wherein an achieved reduction in recoil effect for the firearm is between 5% and 40% in terms of peak force, as compared with using no muzzle brake assembly.

17. The firearm of claim 11, wherein a first port of each pair of ports comprises a diameter equal to or smaller than a diameter of a second, opposite port of each pair of ports.

18. The brake assembly of claim 11, wherein the body is configured as part of the firearm barrel.

19. A method for forming a muzzle brake assembly for a firearm, comprising:

forming a brake body having a bore defined along an approximately centrally aligned axis,

creating a plurality of ports arranged around a circumference of the brake body and in fluid communication with the bore, at least a subset of the ports arranged in opposed pairs oriented to cause intermixing of pressurized gases exhausted from the bore sufficient to provide at least one of: a reduction in muzzle movement, reduction in sound and reduction in recoil effect, when a fired round traverses along the bore.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein creating a plurality of ports comprises forming a first port of each pair of ports of the at least a subset of adjacent ports with a diameter equal to or greater than a diameter of a corresponding second port of the pair of ports.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising forming at least one annular ring along the body along which the plurality of ports is formed.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising forming a series of facets at spaced locations along the length of the body, the facets being oriented at angles with respect to the centrally aligned axis of the body, and each including a substantially flat face oriented perpendicular to an outlet of an associated port extending through the body from the bore to the facets.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the facets define redirecting surfaces adapted to assist in redirecting the pressurized gases exiting from the ports in a forward direction with respect to a muzzle and of a barrel of the firearm to which the muzzle brake assembly is mounted.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein creating the plurality of ports comprises drilling a series of first ports through the faces of the facets to the bore, rearwardly and at an angle of less than 90°, wherein the outlets of the first and second ports are oriented in different directions and are arranged opposite each other to cause the intermixing of the pressurized gases exiting therefrom, and to facilitate redirection of the gases in a forward direction with respect to the axis of the bore.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein creating a plurality of ports around a circumference of the body comprises forming pairs of ports arranged at opposing angles such that the pressurized gases exiting the ports of each of the pairs of ports redirect a pressure wave created by the exiting of the gases in a forward direction with respect to the brake body.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein creating a plurality of ports around a circumference of the body comprises forming pairs of opposed ports facing in opposite directions and arranged at a spacing sufficient to cause formation of a forwardly projecting pressure wave of the pressurized gases exiting the opposed ports.