US12313374 - One-piece gunstock of advanced composite material for firearm and manufacturing method thereof

The patent describes a one-piece gunstock for firearms made from advanced composite materials, utilizing a vacuum-bag molding process to create a frame that includes two half-shells and a transversal connection element. The manufacturing method involves a series of steps to arrange composite sheets in molds, generate vacuum, and cure the resin to form the final gunstock structure.

Claim 1

1. A process for manufacturing a one-piece gunstock for firearm, wherein the one-piece gunstock comprises a frame having two half-shells extended longitudinally and defining a recess inside the frame, a plurality of seats and a space for housing respective mechanical components formed between said half-shells and delimited by a transversal connection element of said half-shells, the process comprising the steps of: providing a mould split into two half-moulds having each a recess with a shape being complementary to the external shape of one of the half-shells of the frame of the one-piece gunstock to be manufactured; arranging at least one sheet of an advanced composite material comprising fibres and a resin in one of the half-moulds so as to fill in the recess of said half-mould without projecting therefrom; arranging at least one sheet of an advanced composite material comprising fibres and a resin in the other half-mould so as to fill in the recess of the other half-mould and project from said recess; inserting into said other half-mould at least one bag having an open end portion projecting from said other half-mould; inserting into said other half-mould at least one shaped insert being adapted to define internal recesses of the frame of the gunstock to be manufactured; coupling said half-moulds, keeping said open end portion of at least one bag outside the resulting mould and thereby obtaining the overlap of the sheets of advanced composite material arranged in said half-moulds; inserting said mould into a vacuum bag and arranging said open end portion of at least one bag in communication with the outside; generating vacuum in said vacuum bag so as to extract air from said mould; curing the resin of the sheets in the mould kept under vacuum and generating a pressure inside at least one bag through said open end portion thereof in communication with the outside so as to compact the sheets inside the mould, thus obtaining said one-piece frame; extracting said one-piece frame from the mould. the process comprising the steps of: providing a mould split into two half-moulds having each a recess with a shape being complementary to the external shape of one of the half-shells of the frame of the one-piece gunstock to be manufactured; arranging at least one sheet of an advanced composite material comprising fibres and a resin in one of the half-moulds so as to fill in the recess of said half-mould without projecting therefrom; arranging at least one sheet of an advanced composite material comprising fibres and a resin in the other half-mould so as to fill in the recess of the other half-mould and project from said recess; inserting into said other half-mould at least one bag having an open end portion projecting from said other half-mould; inserting into said other half-mould at least one shaped insert being adapted to define internal recesses of the frame of the gunstock to be manufactured; coupling said half-moulds, keeping said open end portion of at least one bag outside the resulting mould and thereby obtaining the overlap of the sheets of advanced composite material arranged in said half-moulds; inserting said mould into a vacuum bag and arranging said open end portion of at least one bag in communication with the outside; generating vacuum in said vacuum bag so as to extract air from said mould; curing the resin of the sheets in the mould kept under vacuum and generating a pressure inside at least one bag through said open end portion thereof in communication with the outside so as to compact the sheets inside the mould, thus obtaining said one-piece frame; extracting said one-piece frame from the mould.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12313374

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12313374