PROJECTILE WITH INSERT

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/733,885, filed Dec. 13, 2024, which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to projectiles. More specifically, this disclosure relates to projectiles with inserts.

BACKGROUND

Ammunition can comprise a projectile (also known as a bullet) housed within a casing with propellant, such as gunpowder, and a primer to ignite the propellant. Ammunition can be used for certain sporting or non-sporting purposes and fired from, for example, a rifle, shotgun or handgun (as those terms are applied by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives). Typical projectiles are formed from metals, such as lead and copper. In some aspects, projectiles can comprise a lead core, commonly enclosed within a copper jacket. To prevent overpenetration of the bullet through a target, such as to prevent the bullet from traveling through a target and striking objects behind the target, expanding bullets that expand on impact are often used, such as hollow-point bullets, which can comprise a soft alloy core, such as lead, defining a “hollow,” pit, or cavity at the front end of the bullet. Expanding bullets are also used to increase stopping power against a target, such as in the cases of hunting or self-defense.

Many jurisdictions are now banning the use of lead in bullets due to environmental concerns from the toxicity of lead. However, manufacturing an expanding bullet without a lead core can be difficult and/or expensive, can trigger increased regulation (often restricting who can produce, possess and use it), and the resulting lead-free expanding bullet may not perform as satisfactorily as an expanding bullet with a lead core.

SUMMARY

It is to be understood that this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. This summary is exemplary and not restrictive, and it is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope thereof. The sole purpose of this summary is to explain and exemplify certain concepts of the disclosure as an introduction to the following complete and extensive detailed description.

Disclosed is a projectile comprising an insert comprising an arm; and a body enclosing at least a portion of the insert.

Also disclosed is a bullet comprising a projectile comprising an insert comprising an arm and a body enclosing at least a portion of the insert; and a casing, the projectile mounted in the casing and extending from a front end of the casing

Also disclosed is a method of forming a projectile comprising forming an insert; and overmolding a body around at least a portion of the insert.

Various implementations described in the present disclosure may include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which may not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and components of the following figures are illustrated to emphasize the general principles of the present disclosure. Corresponding features and components throughout the figures may be designated by matching reference characters for the sake of consistency and clarity.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a projectile, in accordance with various aspects of the current disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the projectile of FIG. 1, with a body of the projectile shown as transparent to show an insert within the body.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the insert of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the insert of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is another side view of the insert of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the projectile of FIG. 1, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the projectile of FIG. 1, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the projectile of FIG. 1, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the projectile of FIG. 1 in accordance with another aspect of the current disclosure, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent to show the insert within the body.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the insert of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the insert of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is another side view of the insert of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 10.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the insert of FIG. 10.

FIG. 16 is a front view of the projectile of FIG. 10, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent.

FIG. 17 is a rear view of the projectile of FIG. 10, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the projectile of FIG. 1 in accordance with another aspect of the current disclosure, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent to show the insert within the body.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the projectile of FIG. 1 in accordance with another aspect of the current disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the projectile of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the projectile of FIG. 19, with the body of the projectile shown as transparent to show the insert within the body.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the insert of the projectile of FIG. 19.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the insert of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a rear view of the insert of FIG. 22.

FIG. 26 is another perspective view of the insert of FIG. 22.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a bullet comprising the projectile of FIG. 19 and a casing, in accordance with various aspects of the current disclosure.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of the bullet of FIG. 27 taken from line 28-28 in FIG. 27.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, examples, drawings, and claims, and the previous and following description. However, before the present devices, systems, and/or methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, systems, and/or methods disclosed unless otherwise specified, and, as such, can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.

The following description is provided as an enabling teaching of the present devices, systems, and/or methods in its best, currently known aspect. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects of the present devices, systems, and/or methods described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present disclosure. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present disclosure can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present disclosure without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present disclosure are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present disclosure. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof.

As used throughout, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “an element” can include two or more such elements unless the context indicates otherwise.

Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another aspect includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another aspect. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.

For purposes of the current disclosure, a material property or dimension measuring about X or substantially X on a particular measurement scale measures within a range between X plus an industry-standard upper tolerance for the specified measurement and X minus an industry-standard lower tolerance for the specified measurement. Because tolerances can vary between different materials, processes and between different models, the tolerance for a particular measurement of a particular component can fall within a range of tolerances.

As used herein, the terms “optional” or “optionally” mean that the subsequently described event or circumstance can or cannot occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.

The word “or” as used herein means any one member of a particular list and also includes any combination of members of that list. Further, one should note that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain aspects include, while other aspects do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular aspects or that one or more particular aspects necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular aspect.

Disclosed are components that can be used to perform the disclosed methods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods and systems. This applies to all aspects of this application including, but not limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that can be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps can be performed with any specific aspect or combination of aspects of the disclosed methods.

Disclosed is a projectile and associated methods, systems, devices, and various apparatus. The projectile can be for an expanding bullet. Example aspects of the projectile can comprise a body and an insert, which can also be called a “core,” within the body. In some aspects, the body can be overmolded over the insert. It would be understood by one of skill in the art that the disclosed projectile is described in but a few exemplary embodiments among many. No particular terminology or description should be considered limiting on the disclosure or the scope of any claims issuing therefrom.

One aspect of a projectile 100 is disclosed and described in FIG. 1. The projectile 100 can comprise a body 110 and an insert 120 positioned within the body 110. The body 110 can define a front end 111, a rear end 112 distal from the front end 111, and a side surface 113 extending from the front end 111 to the rear end 112. The projectile 100 can define an axis 101 extending from the front end 111 to the rear end 112, and the side surface 113 can extend circumferentially around the axis 101. The body 110 can further comprise a rounded edge 114 at the front end 111 and a chamfered edge 115 at the rear end 112, and the side surface 113 can taper from the chamfered edge 115 to the rounded edge 114. However, in other aspects, the body 110 can define any desired shape for the projectile 100. In the current aspect, the projectile 100 is a 9 mm caliber wadcutter, but the projectile 100 can define other calibers in other aspects, such as other rifle or handgun calibers including round-nosed projectiles 100 and pointed projectiles 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, with the body 110 shown in transparency, the insert 120 is positioned within the body 110 and aligned with the axis 101. The insert 120 can comprise a center stem 210 and a plurality of arms 220 extending radially outward from the center stem 210 relative to the axis 101. The center stem 210 extends to a front tip 211 that can be aligned with and/or flush with the front end 111 of the body 110. The insert 120 also defines a rear end 212 that is spaced apart from and does not extend to the rear end 112 of the body 110 in the current aspect. The center stem 210 can also define a conical portion 213 proximate to the front tip 211 and distal from the rear end 112. Each arm 220 can define an outer arm surface 221 that can be aligned with and/or flush with the side surface 113 of the body 110.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the current aspect, the insert 120 can define three arms 220a, b, c spaced circumferentially around the center stem 210, as shown more clearly in FIG. 6, though any number of arms 220 and desired spacing can be present in other aspects. As shown in FIG. 3, each arm 220 can extend in a radial and axial direction from the center stem 210. In the current aspect, each arm 220 extends radially outward from the center stem 210 proximate to the rear end 212 of the insert 120 and axially towards the front tip 211, such that the arms 220 are forward facing, and each arm 220 can define an arm tip 321. In the current aspect, the arm tip 321 of each arm 220 can be curved. In some aspects, each arm 220 can define a curved inner surface 322. In some aspects, as shown, a portion of the inner surface 322 can be flat, such as a portion adjacent to the arm tip 321. Further, in the current aspect, each arm 220 can define a pair of side surfaces 323a, b. In the current aspect, the side surfaces 323a, b can be flat.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each arm 220 can define a flat rear surface 420 that is aligned with and/or flush with the rear end 212 of the insert 120. In addition, the stem 210 can define a slight taper from the rear end 212 to the conical portion 213. Further, the curved inner surface 322 can be generally U-shaped in combination with the stem 210 in the current aspect. As shown in FIG. 6, each arm 220 can taper circumferentially in a radially outward direction from the stem 210 (e.g. each arm 220 can define a thickness in a circumferential direction that decreases as the arm 220 extends radially outward). As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the outer arm surface 221 can be aligned with and flush with the side surface 113 of the body 110. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the front tip 211 can be aligned with or flush with the front end 111 of the body 110 and the rear end 212 of the insert 120 can be spaced apart from the rear end 112 of the body 110 such that the rear end 212 of the insert 120 is not visible from an exterior of the projectile 100. In the current aspect, the front tip 211 and the outer arm surfaces 221 can be visible from an exterior of the projectile 100 such that at least a portion of the insert 120 is enclosed within the body 110, although in other aspects, either or any of the front tip 211 and the outer arm surfaces 221 may not be visible from an exterior of the projectile 100, and the insert 120 can be entirely enclosed by the body 110.

FIG. 10 shows another aspect of a projectile 100 comprising the body 110 and the insert 120. In the current aspect, the insert 120 can comprise the arms 220 that are closer to the front tip 211 than the rear end 212 and can extend and can curve from the stem 210 radially outwards and axially toward the rear end 212, such that the arms 220 are rear-facing. The front tip 211 can be aligned with and/or be flush with the front end 111 such that the front tip 211 is visible from an exterior of the projectile 100. In addition, the conical portion 213 can be defined proximate to the rear end 212. The outer arm surface 221 can define a smaller surface area than the outer arm surface 221 of FIG. 2 such that only a small portion of the arm 220 is visible from an exterior of the projectile 100. FIGS. 11-15 show various views of the insert 120 of FIG. 10, and FIGS. 16 and 17 show views of the projectile of FIG. 10. The arms 220 of insert 120 can define curved inner surfaces 322 and a curved outer surfaces 1122. Referring to FIG. 13, the stem 210 can also taper from the front tip 211 to the rear end 212, including the conical portion 213.

FIG. 18 shows another aspect of a projectile 100 comprising the body 110 and the insert 120. In the current aspect, the arms 220 can be thinner than previous aspects. The arm tips 321 can also be pointed.

To manufacture the projectile 100, the body 110 can overmolded over the insert 120. The insert 120 can first be formed, such as by injection molding or 3D printing, and can comprise a plastic material, such as nylon, polypropylene, or polyester. The insert 120 can also comprise other materials in other aspects, such as a plastic/metal mix. In some aspects, the insert 120 can comprise a nylon and copper or a nylon and tungsten mix. In other aspects, the insert 120 can be formed from a mix of plastic, such as nylon, with steel or bismuth. In other aspects, the insert 120 can comprise a solid metal, such as copper, tungsten, steel, or bismuth. After formation, the insert 120 can be monolithic, such that the insert 120 is formed as a single piece of material without joints or seams.

After formation of the insert 120, the body 110 can be overmolded over the insert 120 by, for example and without limitation, placing the insert 120 into a mold 1800 and pouring or injecting a liquid material around the insert 120 within the mold 1800, thereby enclosing at least a portion of the insert 120, to form the body 110 and thereby the projectile 100 upon hardening of the liquid material. An exemplary mold 1800 with a projectile 100 within the mold 1800 is shown in FIG. 18. The insert 120 is thereby positioned within the body 110 by overmolding the body 110 around the insert 120. In some aspects, the front tip 211 and the outer arm surfaces 221 can contact an interior surface of the mold 1800 to hold the insert 120 in place within the mold 1800 such that the body 110 can be formed around the insert 120. In other aspects, any other desired portion of the insert 120 can be configured to contact the mold 1800 to hold the insert 120 in place. In some aspects, the front tip 211 can define a pocket or hole sized to receive a retention pin mounted in the mold 1800 to hold the insert 120 in place within the mold 1800. In some aspects, the liquid material can be injected into the mold 1800 from the rear end 112 of the body 110.

The body 110 can be formed of, for example and without limitation, a monolithic material such as a plastic and metal mix. In some aspects, the body 110 can be formed of a copper and nylon mix. In some aspects, the body 110 can be formed of a copper/nylon mix that is 70% copper and 30% nylon by weight, though the percentages by weight can vary in other aspects and should not be considered limiting on the current disclosure. In other aspects, the body 110 can be formed by a mix of nylon and tungsten. Other plastics, such as polyester or polypropylene, could be used in other aspects, and other metals, such as steel or bismuth, could be used in other aspects. In some aspects, the body 110 could be made entirely from plastic, rather than a metal and plastic mix. The insert 120 can comprise a harder material than the body 110 and/or the body 110 can comprise a material that is more brittle than the insert 120, such that the insert 120 causes the body 110 to fragment upon impact with a target. In addition, the arms 220 within the body 110 can create weak points that increase fragmentation of the body 110 upon impact. Fragmentation of the body 110 upon impact by the insert 120 can prevent over-penetration of the projectile upon impact with a target, such as in hunting or self-defense situations, and/or can increase the stopping power of the projectile 100. Fragmentation of the body 110 can also prevent ricochets of the projectile 100 to prevent anything or anyone around the target from being hit by the projectile 100. In some aspects, the insert 120 can be formed of a material that does not fragment upon impact, and in other aspects, the insert 120 can be formed of a material that fragments after or with the body 110 upon impact. In some aspects, such as when the insert 120 is formed of a solid metal such as tungsten or steel, the insert 120 can provide greater penetration properties such that the insert 120 can pierce through armor or shielding into a target.

The insert 120 and/or the body 110 can also be formed with other components that can allow easier tracking of the projectile 100. In some aspects, for example and without limitation, a transistor or additive could be molded into the insert 120 or a serial number can be inscribed into the insert 120. This could allow for tracking the person that fired the projectile, such as in a law enforcement situation in which investigators wish to know which police officer fired which projectiles 100, where each police officer is assigned projectiles 100 with serial numbers or transistors specific to them.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a projectile 100 in accordance with another aspect of the current disclosure, and FIG. 20 is a side view of the projectile 100 of FIG. 19. The projectile 100 comprises the body 110 and the insert 120 positioned within the body 110. As shown in FIG. 19, the insert 120 can define circumferential strips 1900 along a circumference of the projectile 100 relative to the axis 101. In the current aspect, the projectile 100 can define three circumferential strips 1900, but any number of circumferential strips 1900 can be present in other aspects. In some aspects, the circumferential strips 1900 increase the ability of the insert 120 to remain fixed within the mold 1800 by providing greater surface-to-surface contact between the insert 120 and the mold 1800.

FIG. 21 shows a perspective view of the projectile 100 of FIG. 19 with the body 110 shown transparent, and FIG. 22 shows a perspective view of the insert 120. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the insert 120 defines the arms 220 and the center stem 210, which defines the front tip 211 at the front end 111 of the body 110 and the conical portion 213 proximate to the front tip 211. In the current aspect, three arms 220a, b, c are present, but any number of arms 220 can be present in other aspects. In the current aspect, the insert 120 further comprises a circumferential ring 2200. The circumferential ring 220 defines the circumferential strips 1900 and is attached to the arms 220 at distal ends 2210 of the arms 220. The circumferential ring 2200 can define one or more notches 2220 between each of the circumferential strip 1900, which can allow portions of the body 110 to extend between the circumferential strips 1900 to define portions of the side surface 113 of the body 110 between the circumferential strips 1900. The notches 2220 can be defined by arched portions 2230 of the circumferential ring 2200. During the molding process, the notches 2220 allow material to flow between the circumferential strips 1900 to define the portions of the side surface 113 between the circumferential strips 1900. In addition, the notches 2220 can allow flexure of the circumferential ring 2200 within the mold 1800 if a diameter of the circumferential ring 220 does not exactly match a diameter of the mold 1800, which can assist in ensuring the front tip 211 contacts a front end of the mold 1800 during the overmolding process even if the insert 120 is not sized perfectly to fit within the mold 1800. In the current aspect, three notches 2220 can be defined on the circumferential ring 2200, thereby defining three circumferential strips 1900, but any number of notches 2220 can be present in other aspects. The circumferential strips 1900 can also define front outer conical portions 2222.

As shown in FIG. 23, the center stem 210 can define a front portion 2310 extending from the arms 220 to the front tip 211 and a rear portion 2310 extending from the arms 220 to the rear end 212. The rear portion 2310 can define a conical portion 2313 proximate to the rear end 212 and can extend longitudinally through and past the circumferential ring 2200 relative to the axis 101. Additionally, in some aspects, the front portion 2310 can taper from the arms 220 to the conical portion 213 and the rear portion can taper from the arms 220 to the conical portion 2313. As shown in FIG. 24, the notches 2220 and circumferential strips 1900 can be alternating and spaced equidistant along a circumference of the circumferential ring 2200. The circumferential strips 1900 can define strip surfaces 2400 along an outer circumference of the circumferential ring 2200, which can be flush with the side surface 113 of the body 110 to make the strip surfaces 2400 visible on an exterior of the projectile 100. The arms 220 can define outer surfaces 1122 facing forward towards the front tip 211. As shown in both FIGS. 23 and 24, the notches 2220 can be concave facing both a radially outward and a longitudinally rearward direction relative to the axis 101. As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the arms 220 can define inner surfaces 2520, which can taper in a rearward longitudinal direction relative to the axis 101 towards the rear end 212 to define rear edges 2522. The circumferential strips 1900 can also define rear edges 2524 and inner rear conical portions 2526.

Upon impact with a target, the tapered rear portion 2320 of the center stem 210, the conical portion 2313 of the center stem 210, the rear edges 2522 of the arms 220, the arched portions 2230 of the circumferential rings, and the rear edges 2524 of the circumferential strips 1900 can all assist in fragmentation of the body 110 as the body 110 pushes forward relative to the axis 101 against the insert 110 upon impact with a target.

FIG. 27 shows one aspect of a bullet 2700 comprising the projectile 100 of FIG. 19 and a casing 2710. The casing 2710 can comprise a casing wall 2715, a front end 2712, a rear end 2713, and a rim 2720. An extraction groove 2722 can be defined between the casing wall 2715 and the rim 2720. As shown in FIG. 27, the circumferential strips 1900 are visible adjacent to the front end 2712 when the projectile 100 is mounted in the casing 2710 such that the casing 2710 does not completely cover the circumferential strips 1900. At least a portion of the insert 120 is thereby visible to a user when the projectile 100 is assembled with the casing 2710 to form a bullet 2700. In some aspects, the insert 120 or a visible portion thereof, such as the strip surfaces 2400 and the front tip 211, can be a different color than the body 110, which can be used as an indication to a user. In some aspects, the color can indicate information such as caliber, the type of materials present in the projectile 100, or that the projectile 100 is for an expanding bullet that includes an insert 120 that assists with fragmentation upon impact with a target.

FIG. 28 shows a sectional view of the bullet 2700. In the current aspect, the bullet 2700 is a centerfire cartridge, but any type of bullet 2700 can be present in other aspects, such as a rimfire cartridge. In various aspects, the casing 2710 comprises a neck 2800 a shoulder 2810, a propellant cavity 2820, a primer pocket 2830, and a flash hole 2840, and the bullet 2700 can further comprise a primer (not shown), which can comprise a shock-sensitive chemical, in the primer pocket 2830 and a propellant (not shown), such as a smokeless powder, in the propellant cavity. The rear end 112 of the body 110 can abut the shoulder 2810 and the neck 2800 can surround a portion of the projectile 100 to hold the projectile 100 in place within the casing 2710. In other aspects, the casing 2700 can be any known or desired configuration of casing 2700 known in the art and can be any desired material, such as brass or steel, and the projectile 100 can likewise be any desired caliber.

One should note that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular embodiments or that one or more particular embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Any process descriptions or blocks in flow diagrams should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations are included in which functions may not be included or executed at all, may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. Further, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any and all combinations and sub-combinations of all elements, features, and aspects discussed above. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure.