Gas system for firearms

1. A gas redirecting piston assembly for a gas-operated firearm of the type having a chamber and a barrel, the gas redirecting piston assembly comprising:

a gas expansion housing defining an inner bore and having a gas port extending therethrough and into communication with the barrel of the firearm;

a piston slideably received within the inner bore of the gas expansion housing, and having a first end, a second end, a substantially cylindrical outer wall, defining a chamber dimensioned to receive a spring-loaded connecting rod, an annular recess of a selected depth formed about at least a portion of a circumference of the outer wall of the piston at a location proximate the first end of the piston, and at least one longitudinally extending groove formed in the outer wall of the piston, in communication with and extending along the outer wall of the piston approximately from the annular recess to the second end of the piston for forming a pathway for redirecting the portion of gases from firing along the outer wall of the piston and along the bore of the gas expansion housing from the gas port thereof into engagement with the second end of the piston;

wherein during operation, a flow of pressurized gases generated from firing are diverted through the gas port and are received within the annular recess of the piston, which redirects the pressurized gases along the at least one longitudinally extending groove formed in the outer wall of the piston of the piston, whereupon the pressurized gases expand along the at least one longitudinally extending groove and are redirected against the second end of the piston so as to drive the piston axially from a first, retracted position within the housing to a second, extended position.

2. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 1 wherein the piston comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves, arranged in spaced series about the outer wall of the piston.

3. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 2 wherein the piston comprises three similarly formed and dimensioned longitudinally extending grooves.

4. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 1 and further comprising:

(a) at least one slot formed in the outer wall of the piston; and

(b) a stop extending through the gas expansion housing into the slot.

5. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 4 wherein:

(a) the annular recess comprises a front edge, a rear edge, and a cylindrical surface; and

(b) the at least one slot extends along the cylindrical surface of the annular recess from a point forward of the front edge of the annular recess to a point rearward of the rear edge of the annular recess.

6. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 1 further comprising an annular gas seal proximate the first end of the piston.

7. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 6 wherein the annular gas seal comprises a tubular member having a series of spaced annular ridges and grooves formed thereabout.

8. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 1 wherein when the piston is in its extended position, the outer cylindrical wall of the piston at least partially blocks the flow of gases from the gas port into the gas expansion housing.

9. The gas redirecting piston assembly of claim 1 further comprising at least one slot formed proximate the first end of the piston and in communication with the annular recess, wherein when the piston is in the its extended position, the at least one slot extends outwardly from the housing to provide a gas vent for the gas expansion housing.

10. A gas-operated firearm for automatically loading a next round of ammunition after firing, comprising:

a bolt;

a chamber section;

a barrel;

a gas expansion housing defining an inner bore and a gas port extending through the expansion housing and communicating with the inner bore of the gas expansion housing and the barrel;

a gas duct located adjacent the chamber section and extending between the barrel and the gas port of the gas expansion housing;

a piston slideably received within the inner bore of the gas expansion housing, the piston comprising:

an outer wall;

a first end, a second end spaced from the first end, and an inner bore extending between the first and second ends;

a connecting rod received within the inner bore;

an annular recess formed along the outer wall of the piston proximate the first end thereof and adapted to receive exhaust gas diverted from the barrel upon firing through the gas duct and gas port;

at least one longitudinally extending groove formed in the outer wall of the piston, in communication with and extending from the annular recess of the piston along the outer wall of the piston to the second end of the piston for directing the exhaust gas from the annular recess to a point between an end of the gas expansion housing and the second end of the piston so as to be redirected against the second end of the piston; and

wherein pressurized exhaust gas is diverted from the barrel via the gas duct, through the gas port of the gas expansion housing and into the annular recess, whereupon the exhaust gas is enabled to expand longitudinally as it flows along the at least one longitudinally extending groove of the piston to the second end of the piston, whereupon the pressurized exhaust gas is directed against the second end of the piston and urges the piston axially along the expansion housing from a first position to a second, extended position for cycling the bolt of the firearm to load the next round of ammunition in the chamber of the firearm.

11. The firearm of claim 10 wherein the at least one longitudinally extending groove comprises a plurality of similarly formed longitudinally extending grooves spaced about the outer wall of the piston.

12. The firearm of claim 10 wherein the at least one longitudinally extending groove comprises three similarly formed and dimensioned grooves.

13. The firearm of claim 10 and further comprising:

(a) at least one slot formed in the outer wall of the piston; and

(b) a stop extending into the slot.

14. The firearm of claim 13 wherein:

(a) the annular recess comprises a front edge, a rear edge, and a cylindrical surface; and

(b) the at least one slot extends along the cylindrical surface of the annular recess from a point forward of the front edge of the annular recess to a point rearward of the rear edge of the annular recess.

15. The firearm of claim 10 further comprising an annular gas seal proximate the first end of the piston.

16. The firearm of claim 15 wherein the annular gas seal comprises a tubular member having a series of spaced annular ridges and grooves formed thereabout.

17. The firearm of claim 16 wherein when the piston is in its extended position, the outer cylindrical wall of the piston substantially restricts a flow of the exhaust gas from the gas port into the inner bore of the gas expansion housing.

18. The firearm of claim 10 further comprising at least one slot formed proximate the first open end of the piston and in communication with the annular recess, wherein when the piston is moved to its extended position, the at least one slot extends outwardly from the housing to define a vent for escape of the exhaust gas from the expansion housing.

19. The firearm of claim 10 and wherein said piston comprises a stop defined adjacent the first end of the piston and adapted to engage a corresponding bearing surface of the gas expansion housing to limit the axial movement of the piston rearwardly along the gas expansion housing.

20. A gas-operated firearm for automatically loading a next round of ammunition after firing, comprising:

a barrel having a chamber section adjacent a proximal end thereof;

a gas expansion housing mounted adjacent the barrel and including a first end, a second end, an inner bore extending between the first and second ends, and a gas port extending through the expansion housing and communicating with the inner bore of the gas expansion housing and the barrel;

a gas duct located between approximately 2 inches and approximately 8 inches from an upstream end of the chamber section of the barrel, extending between the barrel and the gas port of the gas expansion housing;

a piston slideably received within the inner bore of the gas expansion housing, the piston comprising:

an outer wall;

a first end, a closed second end spaced from the first end, and an inner bore extending partially along the piston from the first end toward the second end;

a connecting rod received within the inner bore;

an annular recess formed in the outer wall of the piston proximate the first end thereof and extending about at least a portion of a circumference of the piston, the annular recess dimensioned and adapted to receive pressurized exhaust gases diverted from the barrel after firing through the gas duct and gas port;

at least one longitudinally extending groove formed in the outer wall of the piston, in communication with and extending from the annular recess of the piston along the outer wall of the piston to the closed second end of the piston for redirecting the exhaust gases from the annular recess to a point between the second end of the gas expansion housing and the closed second end of the piston so as to be redirected against the closed second end of the piston; and

wherein pressurized exhaust gases are diverted from the barrel via the gas duct, through the gas port of the gas expansion housing and into the annular recess, whereupon the pressurized exhaust gases are enabled to expand longitudinally as the pressurized exhaust gases flow forwardly along the at least one longitudinally extending groove of the piston to the closed second end of the piston, whereupon the pressurized exhaust gases are redirected against the closed second end of the piston so as to urge the piston axially rearwardly along the expansion housing from a first position to a second, extended position for cycling the bolt of the firearm to load the next round of ammunition in the chamber of the firearm.