US3609790A - Multicaliber and multigauge sectional gun-cleaning rod construction and assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A MULTICALIBER AND MULTIGAUGE SECTIONAL GUN-CLEANING ROD CONSTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A SECTIONAL CORE-ROD, THE JUXTAPOSED END OF WHOSE SECTIONS ARE SCREWTHREADEDLY TELESCOPED INTO EACH OTHER, AND HANDLE SWIVELLED TO THE REARMOST CORE-ROD SECTION, AND SETS OF SECTIONAL TUBULAR SLEEVES TELESCOPABLE OVER THE CORE-ROD AND OVER EACH OTHER, AND INTERCHANGEABLE HEADS OF DIFFERENT CALIBERS AND GAUGES CORRESPONDING TO THE CORE-ROD DIAMETER THE FIRST SLEEVE DIAMETER AND THE SECOND SLEEVE DIAMETER AND ARRANGED TO BE SCREW-THREADEDLY SECURED TO THE FRONTMOST CORE-ROD SECTION AND ADAPTED TO HOLD THE SLEEVES ASSEMBLED THERETO.

Description

3,609,799 -CLEANING Ron Get. 5, 1971 F. J. BuTcH MULTICALIBER AND MULTIGAUGE SECTIONAL GUN CONSTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Mag] l, 1969 KH M C W T w w IJ. K N A R F vm mm1 F. l1. B'uTcH 3,609,790

-CLEANING ROD Oct. A5, 1971' MULTICALIBER AND MULTIGAUGE SECTIONAL GUN CONSTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1969 Wn. wwf V l KM N A D K R y h F NIN Nw/ Nw MULTICALIBER AND MULTIGAUGE SECTIONAL GUN-CLEANING ROD CONSTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY Frank J. Butch, Frank J. Butch Co., 5629 Tulip Road,

Philadelphia, Pa. 19124 Filed May 1, 1969, Ser. No. 821,038 Int. Cl. B081) 9/02 U.S. Cl. 1S-104.165 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to gun-cleaning rods, and it relates more particularly to a variable-gauge or multicaliber sectional gun-cleaning rod assembly and construction, adapted for cleaning rifled and unried barrels of guns of short barrels, as, for instance, target pistols or service pistols and revolvers, and for cleaning guns having various long barrels, such as rifles and shot-guns, and also for cleaning such pistols, guns, rilies and shot-guns of different standard calibers, as, for instance, a .22 caliber, a .32 caliber, and a .45 caliber pistol or hand-gun. Thus, the gun-cleaning rod of the present invention is adapted for cleaning all calibers of ritied gun-barrels from .22 upward, and the entire size-range of unrifled barrels of shot-guns, and also guns of short barrels, for instance, hand-guns such as target-pistols and service-pistols and revolvers.

THE PRIOR ART It has heretofore been the practice to provide sectional gun cleaning rods. Such prior gun-cleaning rods comprise a solid metal rod, generally in three sections, with one of the juxtaposed rod-ends being bored out a short distance and threaded, while the other juxtaposed end is reduced in diameter and threaded, so that the two ends may be threadedly secured to each other, end to end. A handle is secured to the rearmost of the three rod-sections, while to the outermost rod-section the cleaner-head is threadedly secured; the outer end of such rod-section being bored out a short distance and internally threaded, and the cleaner-head being provided with a reduced-di ametered and externally-threaded rod-engaging portion which is threaded into the threaded bore of the rod-section.

Such rods are satisfactory for cleaning a pistol, gun or rie bore whose inner diameter is but slightly greater than the outer diameter of the rod, so that as the rod is inserted into the barrel, it can receive lateral support (against buckling or bending) by contact With the inner wall of the barrel, which stabilizes the rod.

However, where such solid-rod construction is applied to a bore of a pistol, gun, rifle or shotgun whose inner diameter is much greater than the outer diameter of the solid rod, the bore can no longer give the rod the necessary stability.

It has also been the practice to provide swivelable handles on gun-cleaning rods, but such handle construc- United States Patent rice tions have been complicated and expensive to manufacture.

Various collapsibly telescoped contractible gun-cleaning rods have been devised in the past, in which successive sizes of tubes telescope into each other so as to contract the rod when not in use and to extend it when in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I provide a solid core-rod, in three sections. One section of the core-rod has the swivel handle of my con, struction secured to the rear end thereof and has a screwthreaded socket in the other end thereof. Each of the two successive core-sections has a reduced-diametered and externally-threaded connector portion end at its rear end, and an internally-threaded socket at its outer end, so that the core-sections can be assembled end-to-end, with an internally-threaded head-receiving or adapter-receiving socket at the outer end of the outermost core-section. A first sectional sleeve is telescoped over the sectional corerod, with the ends of the sections of the sleeve merely abutted against each other, and with the abutting ends thereof staggered in relation to the abutted ends of the core-sections, and with a fairly close tit between the inner diameter of the sleeve and the outer diameter of the core-rod. A second sectional sleeve is similarly telescoped over the first sectional sleeve with the abutting ends of the sections thereof staggered in relation to the abutting ends of the first sleeve-sections.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the outer diameter of the outermost 1A" portion of the first section and of the second section of the second set of sleeves is reduced, and the inner diameter of a corresponding portion of the rearmost end of the bore of the second section and the third section of this second set of sleeves is correspondingly enlarged, so that the reduced-diametered outer ends of the lirst and second sections will telescope into the correspondingly enlarged bores of the second and third sections (respectively) of this second set of sleeves. To the outer socket of the core-rod, any one of several sizes of cleaning heads is threadedly secured.

The sectional gun-cleaning rod assembly and kit of my invention provides stability and guidance for the rod in several sizes of gun-bore, and provides inherent rigidity to the rod over and above such guidance by the bore of the gun, and permits a range of gun-calibers to be served by the same gun-cleaning rod kit. l

By the swivel handle construction of the present 1nvention, a highly simplified and inexpensive yet very effective swiveled handle construction is provided, which obviates the shortcomings of the prior handle constructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l represents a side view of a gun-cleaning rod embodying my present invention, shown partly in sectlon, for a .22 caliber pistol and showing the discharge end of the barrel of the pistol, also partly in section.

FIG. 2 represents a section on line 2 2 of FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 represents a side view of an alternate .22 caliber rod-head.

FIG. 4 represents a view of the same rod-head as shown in FIG. 3, but shown at to the view thereof shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 represents a gun-cleaning rod for a .32 caliber rilie, partly in section, and showing a fragmentary portion of the discharge end of the barrel of the rilie which is also partly in section; this rod being formed of the core elements shown in FIG. 1 and the first set of sectional sleeves telescoped thereover, and representing a further embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 6 represents an enlarged sectional view of a portion within the circle 6 on FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 represents an alternate .32 caliber rod-head for use in place of the rod-head shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 represents a side View, in section, of a gun cleaning rod for a 20 gauge shot-gun, with the discharge end of the barrel of the shot-.gun shown partly in section.

FIG. 9 represents an enlarged sectional View of the portion within the circle 9 on FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 represents an enlarged sectional view of the portion within the circle 10 on FIG. S.

FIG. l1 represents a side elevational view of an adaptor for a 0.450 gauge cleaning-rod, shown on an enlarged scale.

IFIG. l2 represents a fragmentary cross-sectional 'view of another embodiment of my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THIE PREFERRED EMBODI- MENTS OF MY INVENTION In the preferred embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, the rearmost core-rod section or member 21 has its rear end 22 provided with an annular groove 23. Such grooved rear end of the rod-section 21 is telescoped into a tubular metallic handle-socket 24 having a bore 25 of a diameter just slightly greater than the outer diameter of the rear end 22 of the rod-section 21 and uniform throughout the length of the bore 2S in its original condition, mainly, prior to assembly, as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 2. A small pressure-relief hole 26 is provided in the rear end of the handle-socket member 24. .A steel ball 27 is inserted into the socket 24, and thereafter the annularly grooved rear end 22 of the core-rod 21 is inserted into the bore 25 of the socket member 24 until the innermost end of the rod slightly touches the ball 27 while the ball is seated upon the inner conical end 218 of the bore. Thereupon an annular portion of the wall of the socket-member 24, in radial registration with the annular groove 23, is contracted or shrunk by rolling or swaging, suciently to force a corresponding annular portion 65 of the metal side-wall of the socket 24 into the annular groove 2.3, without however locking or tightening the rod 21 in the bore 25 but permitting it to swivel or rotate therewithin. Such annular inward deformation of the wall of the socket 24 provides a corresponding annular recess 66 in the outer surface of the socket 24 as indicated in FIG. 2. The plastic handle 50 is then molded around the socket 24 with an integral annular portion 67 thereof extending into the annular groove 66 in the outer surface of the socket 24, thereby mechanically interlocking the plastic handle 50 with the socket 24 against axial separation, as indicated in FIG. 2.

The outer end of the core-rod-section 21 is provided with an internally-threaded connector-socket 29. The adjacent intermediate core-rod-section 30 has a reduceddiametered threaded connector-stem 31 at its rear end and a rearwardly facing annular shoulder 32 formed between the connector-stem 31 and the full-diametered main body of the core-section l30. The connector-stem 31 is, adapted to be screw-threaded into the socket 29, so that when it is tightly threaded therein, the rear annular shoulder or end 32 of the intermediate core-rod-section 30 will abut against the outer annular shoulder or end 33 of the core-rod-section 21, and thereby forming a rigid connection between the two core-rod- sections 21 and 30.

The intermediate core-rod-section 30, has a similar internally-threaded connector-socket 34 at its outer end (FIG. into which the reduced-diametered threaded connector-stem 35 of the outer core-rod-section 36 is adapted to be threaded for likewise rigidly connecting the intermediate core-rod-seetion 30 with the outer core-rodsection 36, with their similar annular shoulders 32 and 33 abutting each other. The outer core-rod-section -36 has a similar threaded connector-socket 37, into which the reduced-diametered threaded connector stem 38 of a cleaner-head (39 or 40 or 41) or of an adapter (57) may be screw-threaded as indicated in FIGS. 5, 8 and 10.

The cleaner-heads may be any one of several forms, as, for instance, the knob-head 39, the slotted jag-head 40, and the multi-grooved head 41, illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5 and 7 (respectively). Each of these cleaner-heads has a similar threaded connector-stem 38, which is adapted to be screw-threaded into the threaded connector- sockets 29, 34 or 37 ofthe core- rods 21 or 30 or 36 (respectively), according to the length of the barrel of the pistol, gun, rifle or shotgun.

FIG. l illustrates a cleaner-head (39') secured directly to the rearmost core-rod 21 for cleaning the barrels 58 of .22 caliber target-pistols or service-pistols or revolvers or holster-carried automatics.

FIG. 5 illustrates the attachment of a cleaner-head (as, for instance, the cleaner-head 40) to the outer connectorsocket 37 of the outermost core-rod-section 316, for use in cleaning the long barrel 59' of a rifle or the like. While in FIG. 5 the rst set of sleeve members are shown mounted on the inner core-rod, such full-length ,gun-cleaning rod may also be composed merely of the three core- rodsections 21, 30 and 36, without the first set of sleeve members, or without any set of sleeve members, as, for instance, in cleaning long barrels of small bore, as, for example, .22 caliber rie.

When cleaning a .30 or .32 caliber rie, the rst set of sleeves 43, 44 and 4S are telescoped over the core- rod sections 21, 30 and 36, in manner indicated in FIG. 5, with the abutting ends of the sleeves, at points 46 and 47, being staggered in relation to the abutting ends of the corerods as indicated in FIG. 5. The combined lengths of the sleeves 43, 44 and 45 is slightly less (perhaps by M54" or 41,2", more or less) than the distance between the shoulder 48 of the handle-socket member 24 and the outer end 56 of the outer core-rod member 36, so that when the threaded stem 38 of one of the heads (39, 40 or 41) or of the adapter 57 is screw-threaded into the connectorsocket of the outermost core-rod-section 36 and the successive rods are tightened to each other, the sleeves 43, 44 and 45 will not be under compression but will be free to rotate on the tightly connected core-rod sections.

This permits the cleaner-head,(39, 40 or 41) to swivel in relation to the handle-socket member 24 and the handle 50 in which such handIe-socket-member is iirmly embedded, thereby permitting the cleaner-head to follow the spiral reing in lthe bore of the gun, pistol or rifle.

For cleaning the larger straight-bore guns such as shotguns 60, which are devoid of riflling, a second set of sleeves 51, 52 and 53 is telescoped over the iirst set of sleeves (43, 44 and 45), with the juncture circles S4 and 55 of the abutting ends thereof staggered in relation to the junctures 46 and 47 between the inner or r.first set of sleeves 43, 44 and 45, as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The combined lengths of the three sets of second or outer sets of sleeves (51, 52 and 53) is just slightly greater than the distance between the shoulder 48 of the handlesocket member 24 and the outer end 56 of the outer corerod 36 when the core- rods 21, 30 and 36 are tightened to each other, so that when a cleaner-head (40 or 41) or a cleaner-head-adapter 57 is threadedly secured to the outer core-rod-section 3-6 and tightened thereto, the outer sleeve members 51, 52 and 53 will be in compression between such cleaner-head or adapter and the shoulder 48 of the handle-socket member 24, thereby preventing the swiveling of the head in relation to the handle and providing greater rigidity for the gun-cleaning rod.

The core- sections 21, 30 and 36 have an outer diameter of 0.198", and are used for cleaning .22 caliber pistols and riiies, with a cleaner-head (39, 40 or 41) having an outer diameter or having a maximum outer transverse dimension of 0.203.

For cleaning .30 caliber, .32 caliber and .38 caliber pistols or rifles, a first or inner sleeve section (43) or the set of first or inner sleeve sections (43 and 44 or 43, 44 and 45) is telescoped over the core, according to the length of the barrel. The inner diameter of the first coresections is 0.203" and their outer diameter is 0.240". It

a .30 caliber barrel is to be cleaned, then a cleaner head having an outer diameter or a maximum outer transverse dimension of 0.225" is secured to the outermost core member. If a .32 caliber barrel is to be cleaned, then a cleaner-head having an outer diameter or maximum outer transverse dimension of 0.278" is secured to the outermost core member. If a .38 caliber barrel is to be cleaned then a cleaner-head having an outer diameter of maximum transverse dimension of 0.312" is secured to the outermost core member.

If a .45 caliber rie or a 410 gauge shot-gun or a 16, 12 or gauge shot-gun is to 'be cleaned, then the second set of sleeve sections (51, 52 and S3) is telescoped over the first set of sleeve sections (43, 44 and 45). The second set of sleeve sections 51, 52 and 53) have an inner diameter of 0.250 and an outer diameter of 0.375. If a .45 caliber rie is to be cleaned then a cleaner-head having an outer diameter or having a maximum transverse outer dimension of 0.395 is secured to the outermost coresection. If a .410 gauge shotgun is to be cleaned then a cleaner-head having an outer diameter or maximum transverse dimension of 0.322 is secured to the outermost core-section. If a 16 gauge shotgun is to be cleaned, then a cleaner-head having an outer diameter or a maximum transverse dimension of 0.380" is secured to the outermost core-section. The same applies to 12 gauge and 10 gauge shot-guns, for which a brush or Wire cleaner is screw-threaded to the outer end of the outermost core-rod section in the manner indicated hereinabove.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the outer diameter of a "/16" or so length of the outer terminal portion 61 of the outer sleeve-section 51 and a similar outer terminal portion 62 of the outer sleeve-section 52 is reduced in diameter, and the inner diameter of a corresponding rear terminal portion 63 of the bore of the intermediate sleeve-section 52 and of the rear terminal portion 64 of the bore of the outer sleeve-section 53 is correspondingly enlarged, so that the reduced-diameter outer ends 61 and 62 of the sleeve- sections 51 and 52 will telescope into the enlarged-diametered rear bore portions of the sleeve- sections 52 and 53, respectively, as indicated in FIG. 12.

For example, with the outer diameter of the sleevesections 51 and S2 ybeing 3&5, the diameter of the terminal portions 61 and 62 thereof may be reduced to .309". Similarly, with the inner diameter or bore of the sleevesections 52 and 53 being Mt, the corresponding rear terminal portions 63 and 64 of the bores thereof are enlarged to .312".

Such telescoping gives the outermost sectional tube portion of the gun-cleaner greater rigidity and hence gives the entire gun-cleaner greater rigidity when the outermost sleeve is in place.

I claim:

1. A gun-cleaner for alternately cleaning riiled and unried barrels of different lengths and bores, comprising a plurality of solid core-sections adapted to be screwthreadely secured to each other, end-to-end, a handle swivelably secured to the rear end of the rearmost coresection, a plurality of iirst sleeve-sections adapted to be telescoped over the core-sections with but a slight radial clearance therebetween, a plurality of second sleeve-sections adapted to be telescoped over the first set of sleevesections with but a slight radial clearance therebetween, and a cleaner-head adapted to be screW-threadedly secured to the outer end of one of the core-sections, whereby barrels of different bores may be cleaned.

2. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the combined length of the first sleeve sections is slightly less than the combined length of the core-sections.

3. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the combined length of the second sleeve sections is slightly greater than the combined length of the core-sections.

4. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the junctures between the rst sleeve sections are staggered in relation to the junctures between the core-sections.

5. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the junctures between the second sleeve sections are staggered in relation to the junctures between the first Sleeve sections.

6. A gun-cleaner including a core rod and a handle therefor, said handle including a tubular socket member and a molded plastic outer handle portion in which the socket member is firmly embedded, the end of said core rod being telescoped into the tubular socket member, an annular groove in the telescoped portion of the core rod, a registering portion of the tubular socket member being deformed inwardly and projecting into said groove Without binding and without interfering with the rotation of the core rod in relation to the socket member, and said deformation forming a corresponding recess in the outer surface of the tubular socket member, and a corresponding integral portion of the molded plastic outer handle portion extending into said recess and mechanically interlocking the outer handle portion and the inner tubular socket member with each other.

7. A gun-cleaner according to claim 6, including an antifriction bearing-ball in the socket-member, operatively disposed between the inner end of the core-rod and an inner transverse shoulder in the bore of the socketmember.

8. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the meeting ends of the second sleeve-sections are telescoped into each other for a short distance; one of the meeting ends having its outer diameter reduced for such short distance and the other meeting end having the inner diameter of its bore correspondingly enlarged for such short distance to permit such telescoping.

9. A gun-cleaner according to claim 6, in which the inward deformation of the tubular socket member is annular and in which the resultant projection of the socket member into the groove in the telescoped rear end of the corerod is likewise annular and in which the resultant recess in the outer surface of the tubular socket member is also annular and in which the integral portion of the molded plastic outer handle member which extends into such annular recess is likewise annular and substantially lls said recess.

10. A gun-cleaner for alternately cleaning rifled and unried barrels of dilferent lengths and bores, comprising a plurality of solid core-sections having substantially the same and generally uniform outer diameters and adapted to be screw-threadedly secured to each other, end-to-end, one of the juxtaposed ends of each pair of abutting ends of said core-sections having a screw-threaded connectorsocket therein and the other juxtaposed end of each pair of abutting ends having a reduced-diameter threaded terminal portion adapted to be screw-threadedly telescoped into the juxtaposed connector-socket, a handle swivelably secured to the rear end of the rearmost core-section, a plurality of sleeve-sections having substantially the same and generally uniform outer and inner diameters and adapted to be telescoped over the core-sections in end-toend relation to each other and with but a slight radial clearance between the core-sections and the sleeve-sections, and a cleaner-head adapted to be screw-threadedly secured to the outer end of one of the core-sections and to retain the sleeve-sections assembled end-to-end on the core-sections, whereby gun-barrels of different lengths and bores may be cleaned.

11. A gun-cleaner according to claim 10, in which one of the juxtaposed ends of each pair of juxtaposed ends of the plurality of end-to-end sleeve-sections has its outer diameter reduced over a short terminal portion thereof, with an annular shoulder between such reduced-diameter portion and the outer diameter of the rest of the sleevesection, and in which the inner diameter of a corresponding terminal portion of the bore of the other juxtaposed end of the pair of juxtaposed ends is enlarged to a diam- 8 1,556,494 10/1925 cooper 15 1o4.165

eter snugly to receive the aforementioned reduced-diameter portion of the first-mentioned juxtaposed sleeve-end.

12. A gun-cleaner according to claim 1, in which the combined length of the rst sleeve sections is slightly less than the combined length of the core-sections and in which the combined length of the second sleeve sections is slightly greater than the combined length of the coresections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1929 Petersen 287-91 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

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