US20030019385A1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Subsonic cartridge for gas-operated automatic and semiautomatic weapons
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 2002-09-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2022-09-11
Abstract
Abstract A subsonic cartridge that enables a conventional automatic or semiautomatic weapon to fire a projectile at a subsonic velocity and cycle the weapon to eject the spent cartridge case, without the sonic report characteristic of supersonic projectile velocities. The cartridge includes a case having a tubular shape with an open end oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebetween. The head of the case includes a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web. A primer is stored within the primer cavity, and projectile is disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case. A charge cavity is delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile. The charge cavity is sized and shaped to contain a limited amount of propellant charge that propels the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed.
Inventors
- 👤 John LeaSure
- 👤 Cheryl LeaSure
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 00:45
CPC Classifications
F; F42; F42B; F42B5/00; F42B5/02; F42B5/025
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
1 . A cartridge loaded in a gas-operated weapon selected from the group consisting of gas operated automatic and semiautomatic weapons, the cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, and oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebetween, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within said primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case, the projectile having a weight of about 100 grains or more; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and a propellant charge contained within the charge cavity in an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the weapon.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
1 . A cartridge loaded in a gas-operated weapon selected from the group consisting of gas operated automatic and semiautomatic weapons, the cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, and oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebetween, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within said primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case, the projectile having a weight of about 100 grains or more; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and a propellant charge contained within the charge cavity in an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the weapon.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
2 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge is a .223 caliber, and the charge cavity is sized to accommodate about 14 grains of the propellant charge.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
3 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the projectile has a weight of up to about 130 grains.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
4 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the propellant charge completely fills the charge cavity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
5 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge is a .308 caliber, the projectile weighs about 180 to about 300 grains, and the charge cavity is sized to accommodate about 14 to about 18 grains of the propellant charge.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
6 . A cartridge according to claim 5 , wherein the propellant charge completely fills the charge cavity.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
7 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the projectile has a specific gravity of greater than 11.7.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
8 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the projectile has a caliber of from .22 to .50.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
9 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the weapon has a barrel length of about 10 to about 16 inches.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
10 . A cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein said projectile comprises at least one recess circumventing said projectile.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
11 . A cartridge according to claim 10 wherein said projectile comprises at least one ring adjacent to said recess.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
12 . A cartridge according to claim 11 wherein said projectile comprises three recesses and three rings.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
13 . A cartridge according to claim 11 wherein said ring is at least approximately 0.05 inches to no more than approximately 0.13 inches in width.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
14 . A cartridge according to claim 11 wherein said recess has a depth of at least approximately 0.003 inches to no more than approximately 0.010 inches.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
15 . A cartridge according to claim 14 wherein said depth is no more than approximately 0.006 inches.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
16 . A cartridge according to claim 12 wherein said projectile is at least approximately 114 grains to no more than approximately 135 grains.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
15 words
17 . A cartridge according to claim 16 wherein said projectile is approximately 123 grains.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
151 words
18 . A .223 caliber cartridge loaded in a recycling weapon having a gas-operated reciprocating bolt, the cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, an oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebetween, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within the primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case, the projectile having a weight of about 130 grains; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and about 14 grains of propellant charge that completely fills the charge cavity, the propellant charge within the charge cavity being an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the reciprocating bolt of the weapon.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
151 words
18 . A .223 caliber cartridge loaded in a recycling weapon having a gas-operated reciprocating bolt, the cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, an oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebetween, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within the primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case, the projectile having a weight of about 130 grains; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and about 14 grains of propellant charge that completely fills the charge cavity, the propellant charge within the charge cavity being an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the reciprocating bolt of the weapon.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
19 . A .223 caliber cartridge according to claim 18 , wherein the recycling weapon is chosen from the group consisting of gas operated automatic and semiautomatic weapons.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
59 words
20 . A .223 caliber cartridge according to claim 19 , wherein the weapon has a barrel length of about 10 to about 16 inches, and the amount of the propellant charge in the charge cavity is sufficient to procedure a pressure of about 45,000 psi to 51,000 psi when ignited to propel the projectile from the cartridge case.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
188 words
21 . A process of firing a cartridge from a gas-operated automatic or semiautomatic weapon, the process comprising the steps of: providing a cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, an oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebewteen, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within the primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and a propellant charge contained within the charge cavity in an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed; loading the cartridge in a gas-operated weapon chosen from the group consisting of automatic and semiautomatic weapons having a reciprocating bolt; and then firing the weapon by igniting the propellant charge, the propellant charge producing a chamber pressure sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the reciprocating bolt of the weapon.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
188 words
21 . A process of firing a cartridge from a gas-operated automatic or semiautomatic weapon, the process comprising the steps of: providing a cartridge comprising: a cartridge case having a tubular shape with an open end, an oppositely disposed head, and a bore therebewteen, the head having a primer cavity, a web separating the primer cavity from the bore, and a flash hole through the web; a primer stored within the primer cavity; a projectile disposed within the bore so as to close the open end of the cartridge case; a charge cavity delimited within the bore between the web and the projectile; and a propellant charge contained within the charge cavity in an amount sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed; loading the cartridge in a gas-operated weapon chosen from the group consisting of automatic and semiautomatic weapons having a reciprocating bolt; and then firing the weapon by igniting the propellant charge, the propellant charge producing a chamber pressure sufficient to propel the projectile from the cartridge case at a subsonic speed and to recycle the reciprocating bolt of the weapon.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
22 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the charge cavity has a noncylindrical shape.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
23 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the charge cavity has a tapered shape.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
24 . A process according to a claim 21 , wherein the charge cavity has a uniformly and continuously tapered shape.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
40 words
25 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the cartridge is a .223 caliber, the projectile weighs at least 100 grains, and the charge cavity is sized to accommodate not more than 14 grains of the propellant charge.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
26 . A process according to claim 25 , wherein the propellant charge completely fills the charge cavity.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
43 words
27 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the cartridge is a .308 caliber, the projectile weighs about 180 to about 300 grains, and the charge cavity is sized to accommodate about 14 to about 18 grains of the propellant charge.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
18 words
28 . A process according to claim 27 , wherein the propellant charge completely fills the charge cavity.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
20 words
29 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the projectile has a specific gravity of greater than 11.0.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
30 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the projectile has a caliber of from .22 to .50.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
31 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the weapon has a barrel length of about 10 to about 20 inches.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
58 words
32 . A process according to claim 21 , wherein the cartridge is a .223 caliber, the projectile weights at least 100 grains, and the amount of the propellant charge present in the charge cavity is sufficient to produce a pressure of about 45,000 psi to 51,000 psi when ignited to propel the projectile from the cartridge case.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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