Mounting and Attachment Assembly for Firearm Muzzle Accessories

Abstract

An accessory mounting system for a firearm is provided. The system can include a connection mechanism on a barrel of the firearm for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory, and a protection mechanism having sleeve that is integrated with and movable about the muzzle end of the barrel between an extended position at least partially covering the connection mechanism and a retracted position at least partially exposing the connection mechanism. When the sleeve is in its retracted position and the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, at least a portion of the sleeve can engage the muzzle accessory to provide a partially tensioned connection and substantially prevent the muzzle accessory from inadvertent loosening or disconnection during use of the firearm. Other aspects are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A firearm, comprising:
 a receiver;   a barrel including an elongated body having an internal bore defined therethrough, wherein a breech end of the barrel is attached to the receiver, and a muzzle end of the barrel includes a connection mechanism disposed therealong for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory;   a protection mechanism including sleeve received over and movable along the muzzle end of the barrel, wherein the sleeve is dimensioned and/or configured to substantially cover the connection mechanism sufficient to enable the sleeve to move thereover, while substantially protecting the connection mechanism from engagement and entry of debris between the connection mechanism and the sleeve; and   a biasing member coupled to the sleeve and configured to apply a force thereto so as to bias the sleeve toward an extended position covering the connection mechanism, while allowing the sleeve to move toward a retracted position upon overcoming the force applied by the biasing member, to at least partially expose the connection mechanism sufficient to enable engagement of the muzzle accessory therewith,   wherein when the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, the biasing member urges at least a portion of the sleeve into engagement against a rear end portion of the muzzle accessory, such that the force applied by the biasing member is transmitted through the sleeve and against the muzzle accessory, so as to create at least a partially tensioned connection between the muzzle accessory and the connection mechanism of the barrel significant to substantially react from inadvertent loosening or disconnection of the muzzle accessory during firing of the firearm.   
     
     
         2 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the connection mechanism includes one or more threaded portions configured to engage one or more corresponding threaded portions of the muzzle accessory for enabling attachment and/or detachment of the muzzle accessory and the barrel. 
     
     
         3 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the firearm accessory includes a silencer, suppressor, flash hider, muzzle break, blast shield, or blast jacket. 
     
     
         4 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the barrel further includes a shoulder portion that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the barrel, and is located substantially adjacent the connection mechanism in a position such that a rear end portion the muzzle accessory engages the shoulder when the muzzle accessory is connected to the barrel. 
     
     
         5 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the barrel further comprises a locking section having a frustroconical or partial conical shape with one or more surfaces that are tapered or angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the barrel, wherein the one or more surfaces at least partially engage a portion of the muzzle accessory to facilitate self-locking or self-alignment of the muzzle accessory as the muzzle accessory is tightened against the connection mechanism to provide a substantially secure and/or substantially aligned connection between the muzzle accessory and the barrel. 
     
     
         6 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve further comprises a front sight along an outer surface thereof, the front sight including having a body shaped to facilitate aiming of the firearm, and having a tab to be at least partially received within a corresponding, complementary notch defined along the outer surface of the sleeve. 
     
     
         7 . The firearm of  claim 1 , further comprising a fastener received along and projecting from a body of the sleeve, and wherein the barrel comprises a slot disposed therealong, in which at least a portion of the fastener projecting from the body of the sleeve is received. 
     
     
         8 . The firearm of  claim 1 , wherein the biasing member includes a wave spring at least partially received about the barrel. 
     
     
         9 . The firearm of  claim 8 , wherein the wave spring includes a series of substantially flattened segments having a non-uniform, irregular configuration, and attached in series to form a composite wave spring body, with a passage defined therethrough and sized to receive at least a portion of the barrel. 
     
     
         10 . An accessory mounting system for a firearm, comprising:
 a connection mechanism disposed along a muzzle end of a barrel of the firearm for connecting the barrel to a muzzle accessory;   a protection mechanism including sleeve having a body engaged with the barrel and movable along the muzzle end of the barrel between an extended position at least partially covering the connection mechanism and a retracted position at least partially exposing the connection mechanism of the barrel; and   a biasing member arranged along the barrel rearwardly of the muzzle end, the biasing member biasing the sleeve towards its extended position, while allowing the sleeve to move to the retracted position to accept the muzzle accessory,   wherein when the sleeve is in its retracted position and the muzzle accessory is attached to the barrel, at least a portion of the sleeve is urged against the muzzle accessory to provide a tensioned connection between the muzzle accessory and the connection mechanism sufficient to substantially prevent the muzzle accessory from inadvertent loosening and/or disconnection during use of the firearm.   
     
     
         11 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection mechanism includes threads configured to engage one or more corresponding threads of the muzzle accessory. 
     
     
         12 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 10 , wherein the firearm accessory includes a silencer, suppressor, flash hider, muzzle break, blast shield, or blast jacket. 
     
     
         13 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 10 , further comprising a sight integrated with the sleeve to facilitate aiming of the firearm. 
     
     
         14 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 13 , wherein the sight comprises a body having a tab that is configured to be at least partially received within a corresponding, complementary notch defined along the sleeve for removeably coupling the sight to the sleeve. 
     
     
         15 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 10 , wherein the biasing member includes a wave spring received about at least a portion of the barrel. 
     
     
         16 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 15 , wherein the wave spring includes a series of substantially flattened segments having a substantially non-uniform construction, and wherein the wave spring body includes a passage defined therethrough that is sized to receive the muzzle end of the barrel. 
     
     
         17 . The accessory mounting system of  claim 10 , further comprising locking features arranged about a forward face of the sleeve and configured to engage with corresponding locking features positioned about a rear end of the muzzle accessory to substantially retard disengagement of the muzzle accessory from the barrel. 
     
     
         18 . A method for attaching a muzzle accessory to a barrel of a firearm, comprising:
 moving a sleeve along a portion of the barrel of the firearm in a rearward direction toward a retracted position, to expose a connection mechanism of the barrel for connecting a muzzle accessory to the barrel of the firearm;   aligning the muzzle accessory with the connection mechanism of the barrel of the firearm, and engaging the connection mechanism of the barrel with a corresponding connection mechanism of the muzzle accessory;   maintaining the sleeve in the retracted position and rotating the muzzle accessory to tighten the muzzle accessory against the connection mechanism of the barrel until at least a portion of the muzzle accessory engages a locking surface of the barrel; and   releasing the sleeve such that a forward face thereof is urged into biased engagement with and presses against at least a portion of the rear end of the muzzle accessory sufficient to generate a non-trivial stress between the connection mechanisms of the barrel and the muzzle accessory that substantially resists loosening of the engagement between the muzzle accessory and the barrel of the firearm during operation of the firearm.