ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,253,329, issued on March 18.
"Handguard" was invented by James Matthew Underwood (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Larry Cullen Underwood (Canton, Ga.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A handguard assembly for a firearm includes an outer member, an inner member disposed at least partially within the outer member, and at least one engagement feature for securing the inner member relative to the outer member. The at least one engagement feature includes at least one protrusion within an interior of the outer member and at least one recess in the inner member. The inner member is secured relative to the outer member by inserting the at least one protrusion...