Heat mitigating handuards for rifles and method of manufacture thereof

Abstract

Heat Mitigating handguards for rifles and method of manufacture thereof. The handguards are made from advanced thermoplastics that mitigate heat transfer, are 20% lighter than aluminum with like strength characteristics.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A thermally protective handguard assembly for a firearm, comprising:
 at least one handguard member comprising a plurality of ventilation apertures defined between an outer surface and an inner surface of the handguard member, and a plurality of elevated ridges extending upwardly from the outer surface of the handguard.   
     
     
         2 . The handguard of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first and a second handguard member, the first handguard member adapted to cover an upper portion of a barrel of the weapon, the second handguard member adapted to cover a lower portion of the weapon barrel.   
     
     
         3 . The handguard of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a mounting ring assembly, comprising a top mounting ring and a bottom mounting ring,   the top mounting ring comprising a plurality of holes for receiving a fastener to secure the first handguard member to the top mounting ring.   
     
     
         4 . The handguard of  claim 3 , the mounting ring assembly further comprising:
 an annular groove defined in an inner surface of the top mounting ring and the bottom mounting ring.   
     
     
         5 . The handguard of  claim 4 , the mounting ring assembly further comprising:
 a clamping attachment between the top mounting ring and the bottom mounting ring.   
     
     
         6 . The handguard of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a barrel nut comprising a substantially ring shaped cylinder and a plurality of slots defined in an outer surface of the barrel nut.   
     
     
         7 . The handguard of  claim 6 , wherein the barrel nut is clamped by the mounting ring assembly within the annular groove. 
     
     
         8 . The handguard of  claim 1 , wherein the handguard member is formed from a nano-enhanced polymeric material comprising:
 a composition of thermos plastic,   a carbon fiber nano-tube material; and   a glass micro-sphere material.