Ordnance – Machine guns – Revolving barrels
Patent
1996-09-12
1997-10-07
Eldred, J. Woodrow
Ordnance
Machine guns
Revolving barrels
89 141, 89 2712, 89126, 89160, F41F 100
Patent
active
056751052
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a firing abort and hang fire safety system for a small or medium calibre multi-barrel automatic weapon. The weapon includes a body which supports in rotation an assembly revolving around an axis parallel to the direction of fire of the weapon barrels. The revolving assembly includes notably the weapon barrels and an ammunition loading and firing system so that the weapon barrels successively fire one round of ammunition during each revolution of the revolving assembly.
In such a weapon, of the GATLING type, the role of the firing abort and hang fire safety system is essentially that of controlling the immobilization of the revolving assembly of the weapon be it in response to the deliberate activation of an external control to abort firing, for example during or after the firing of a burst of ammunition, or automatically for safety reasons further to the misfire of a round of ammunition by one of the weapon barrels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main aim of the invention is to design a firing abort and hand fire safety system in which the revolving assembly of the weapon can be immobilized in the best possible conditions given the kinetic energy of the revolving assembly at the instant of activating the firing abort or hang fire safety system.
The invention proposes a firing abort and hang fire safety system for a small or medium calibre multi-barrel automatic weapon, which is characterised in that it comprises a system to immobilizing the revolving assembly of the weapon in rotation. The system incorporates shock-absorbing means mounted coaxially to the revolving assembly of the weapon, a control device comprising a cylindrical body which is coaxial to and integral in rotation with the revolving assembly and is also able to translate, and means to cause the translational movement in response to the detection of the misfire of a round of ammunition or to the activation of an external control to abort firing, to compress the shock-absorbing means and absorb the rotational kinetic energy of the revolving assembly of the weapon, thereby triggering the shock-absorbing means and thereafter causing the revolving assembly to be rotated in the opposite direction to the one in which it was moving before firing was aborted.
The rotational axis of the revolving assembly is provided by a fixed central shaft which is extended axially by a rod. One end of the rod is attached to the central shaft by means of a coupling. The other end of the rod supports a locking ring.
The shock-absorbing means can be formed of two stacks of spring-rings respectively housed in two telescopic tubes mounted sliding along the rotational axis of the revolving assembly.
The first telescopic tube comprises at one end a bottom wall through which the central rod passes. The second telescopic tube, which is intended to be engaged at one end in the other open end of the first telescopic tube, also comprises a bottom wall through which the central rod passes, such that the spring-rings of the first stack bear respectively on the two bottom walls of the two tubes. The spring-rings of the second stack respectively bear on the bottom wall of the second telescopic tube and on the locking ring carried by the central rod.
The means causing the translational movement of the cylindrical body, which enables the shock-absorbers to be compressed, comprise a sleeve, which encompasses the cylindrical body, linking means between the sleeve and the cylindrical body to firstly drive the sleeve in synchronised rotation with the cylindrical body and secondly to enable the translational movement of the cylindrical body with respect to the sleeve, and a device to stop the sleeve in rotation so as to cause the translational movement of the cylindrical body. The stopping device is activated in response to the misfire of a round of ammunition or to the external control to abort firing.
The linking means between the element, which enables the shock-absorbing means to be compressed, and the sleeve are formed of a cam-
REFERENCES:
patent: 4193335 (1980-03-01), Tassie
patent: 4274325 (1981-06-01), Snyder et al.
patent: 4841835 (1989-06-01), Bohler et al.
patent: 4924753 (1990-05-01), Tassie et al.
patent: 5127309 (1992-07-01), Menges et al.
Pichot Patrice
Simon Georges
CTA International
Eldred J. Woodrow
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