Ordnance – Pneumatic – Explosive charge
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-22
2001-05-01
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Ordnance
Pneumatic
Explosive charge
C089S135000, C042S084000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223642
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to projectile firing weapons.
This invention has particular, but not exclusive, application to large calibre weapons such as cannons, guns and artillery pieces and the like, but it may also be applied to smaller firearms, such as machine guns, self-propelled artillery and the like.
Tests of prototype versions of firearms utilizing barrels of the type illustrated in my earlier International Patent Application No. PCT/AU96/00459 indicate that such barrel assemblies will perform to expectations. Such tests have indicated a surprising effectiveness of the gas seal between rounds which prevents propellant burn past the seal in the next round to be fired. While the initial tests have been limited to small calibre projectiles the inventor considers that similar results would be achieved in large caliber projectiles, although this is yet to be confirmed.
Typically large calibre weapons and fixed machine guns utilise permanently mounted barrel structures which fire projectiles supported in respective disposable cases which must be removed or ejected at each firing.
It is considered that it would be advantageous to increase the presently available rate of firing of such large rounds as it is during the initial moments of bombardment that most damage can be caused. Thus any increase in the rate of firing such rounds increases the number of rounds which can be delivered onto a target during the initial moments of an attack.
Machine guns and particularly those which utilise fixed barrels, such as machine guns mounted in aircraft, have space and weight limitations which limit the number of rounds which can be carried and the rate of firing due to the need to load the round and unload the spent case at each firing.
This invention aims alleviate at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages and/or to provide improved projectile firing weapons.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect, this invention resides broadly in a projectile firing weapon for firing rounds of the type having a projectile and an associated bore seal which is radially expanded by relative axial displacement between the projectile and the bore seal, said weapon including:
a barrel assembly having a barrel bore, a barrel chamber for the round to be fired through the barrel bore and an associated breech chamber for the next round to be fired;
a propellant chamber formed in the barrel assembly between the barrel chamber and the breech chamber;
feed means for feeding propellant into the propellant chamber;
a loading opening to the barrel assembly through which rounds may be fed axially and sequentially into the breech chamber thereby forcing the existing round therein into the barrel chamber;
holding means cooperable with the round fed into the breech chamber for effecting a sealing relationship between the breech chamber and the round therein causing an operative closure of the barrel chamber, and
ignition means for igniting propellant in the propellant chamber.
Propellant material may be introduced into the propellant chamber in any desired manner such as in preformed charges associated with either the trailing or leading end of the projectiles. Alternatively preformed charges may be introduced as separate components between projectiles. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the propellant is injected into the propellant chamber either in liquid or powder form.
The round in the breech chamber, hereinafter referred to as ‘the breeched round’ may be fed laterally by hand or mechanically from a storage magazine in which the rounds are stacked in side by side relationship for feeding into the breech chamber. The round in the barrel chamber is hereinafter referred to as ‘the chambered round’.
Preferably the breeched round is advanced axially into the breech chamber wherein the existing round in the breech chamber is forced into the barrel chamber by the introduction of a further round into the breech chamber. For this purpose the barrel chamber and the breech chamber are spaced so as to operatively accommodate end abutting rounds.
For this purpose projectiles may be stored line astern from the barrel assembly or introduced to a line astern position behind the breeched rounds such as by lateral feeding as described above. Suitably the breech chamber is a plain continuation of the barrel chamber. The barrel bore may be plain or rifled.
Preferably each round is formed with a bore seal thereon which engages in sealing contact with the breech chamber when the trailing round is held by the holding means. The bore seal suitably operatively disengages the breech chamber when the breeched round is advanced to the barrel chamber. If desired the bore seal may be in the form of a sabot assembly which is discarded after discharge from the barrel.
In a preferred form the bore seal is in the form of a collar which encircles a trailing portion of the projectile and is formed with a part conical inner face which engages with a complementary outer face of the projectile such that axial movement of the collar relative to the projectile is accompanied by an outward expansion of the collar into sealing engagement of the breech chamber. This expansion may be induced in any suitable manner such as by forced rearward movement of the projectile or by forward movement of the collar independent of the projectile.
Suitably the holding means operates only to advance the rounds or components thereof towards the barrel chamber. Alternatively the holding means may cause a partial retraction of the round or a component thereof in the breech chamber to effect or break the round seal therewith.
In a preferred embodiment advancement of the holding means is provided by actuation of the holding means which suitably serves only to hold the collar in its sealing relationship with the breech chamber, the projectile being otherwise restrained against forward movement by being in contact with the leading projectile or by engaging stop means or the like in the breech chamber or by locating at the end of a stroke of the loading means which forces the rounds sequentially into the barrel breech.
Preferably the breeched round is restrained against rearward movement by the wedging action between the bore seal and the projectile. However if desired the holding means may act against the collar and projectile to resist rearward movement of the breeched round during firing.
The holding means is suitably retractable, such as by being segmented and outwardly retracted, so that after the firing of a projectile the holding means may be retracted so as not to impede the progress of a further round into the breech chamber. The holding means is also suitably axially moveable so that after a round has been loaded into the breech chamber the holding means may be advanced towards the projectile so as to urge the sealing collar forwardly along the projectile and thus into sealing engagement with the breech chamber.
It is also preferred that the propellant chamber is formed as a rearwardly divergent annular chamber separating the barrel chamber and the breech chamber which is suitably formed as a continuation of the barrel chamber.
In another aspect this invention resides in a projectile firing weapon as variously defined above and including a round in the barrel chamber and an abutting round in the breech chamber arranged with its bore seal urged outwardly into engagement with the breech chamber, and wherein the bore seal on the breeched round is operatively disengaged from sealing contact with the breech chamber when the breeched round is advanced towards the barrel chamber.
Preferably the breeched round is advanced by urging the projectile forward causing initial partial disengagement with the bore seal so as to permit it to disengage from the breech bore.
The propellant chamber may be a cylindrical chamber formed as a rearward extension of the barrel beyond the chambered round and about the nose of the breeched round but preferably the propellant chamber is in the form of a recess in the barrel wall located rearwardly of th
Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein
Johnson Stephen M.
Metal Storm Limited
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