US2882794A - Electrically fired gun charger - Google Patents

Description

April 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 20, 1957 m '4 TI V fi m. mhm m m3. 3 lawn mumU 8 3 8 1 8 .J E 0 3 3 PM f mm mm W 4r EH mm on N? 1y m wm mm 3. 3 m 5 8 .w

April 1959 G. H. BORNHEIM EI'AL 2,882,794

\ ELECTRICALLY FIRED GUN CHARGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1957 United States PatentO ELECTRICALLY FIRED GUN CHARGER George H. Bornheim and Herve J. Ouellette, Springfield, Mass., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application March 20, 1957, Serial No. 647,456

3 Claims. (Cl. 89-1) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

Our invention relates to automatic guns having members with cartridge chambers and actuators for operation of the members and more particularly to a charger for operating the actuators. Such guns usually include a receiver, units disposed for recoil reciprocation thereon and provided with chambers for cartridges, and actuators slidable with respect to the recoil unit. The actuators are usually biased to battery positions to retain the chambers in the battery stations thereof for discharge of the cartridges therein, and are disposed for reciprocation to convey the chambers to the firing stations responsive to the discharge.

Operation of such a gun ceases if a single cartridge fails to fire. Therefore, it is an object of our invention to provide a charger employing electrically-discharged blank cartridges for auxiliary operation of the actuator of the gun.

Another object of our invention is to provide such a charger having a fixed drum with a plurality of chambers for discharge of the blank cartridges therein to operate the actuator.

A further object of our invention is to provide such a charger with means for serial discharge of the blank cartridges in the chambers.

A still futrher object of our invention is to provide means for sealing the discharged gases from the remainder of the chambers.

Other aims and objects of our invention will appear from the following explanation.

In carrying out our invention, a charger is provided with a drum fixed to the receiver and provided with chambers for blank cartridges and individual fixed firing pins projecting into the chambers for engagement with the primers of the cartridges. The drum is electrically grounded and the charger includes a fixed collector ring for connection to the high side of an external electric circuit. A cover removably secured to the drum for access to the chambers supports the firing pins and the collector ring, and a rotor journaled in the cover includes an insulated wiper arm for connection between the collector and the individual ones of the firing pins. A rotary solenoid device is also disposed in the cover, and the rotor and the solenoid device include a ratchet for rotation of the wiper into electrical contact with the firing pins for successive discharge of the cartridges in the chambers responsive to impulses from an external control circuit.

A disk mounted for rotation with the rotor includes an opening indexable into axial alignment with the cartridge to be discharged through contact by the wiper arm to permit escape of the gases from the discharge therethrough. Pressure of the escaping gases after passing through the opening forces the disk against the drum to close the remainder of the chambers and prevent escape of the discharge gases therethrough. The escaped gases are directed through a dome secured to the drum to operiiC ate a piston disposed for auxiliary engagement with the actuator.

For a more complete understanding, reference is directed to the followng description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view, partly in section, of an automatic gun incorporating an embodiment of our invention;

Fig 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the charger 0 Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged exploded view of the charger;

Fig. 4 is a view along line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view along line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a view along line 66 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a view along line 7--7 of Fig. 2. 7

Accordingly, an automatic gun 12 is provided with a unit 14 disposed for recoil on a receiver 15, a member 16 rotatably disposed on the recoil unit and provided with cartridge chambers rotatable to stations including a firing station nearest recoil unit 14, and an actuator 22 axially slidable with respect to the recoil unit. Actuator 22 is biased to a battery position to retain the chambers in the firing station for discharge of the cartridges, and the actuator is disposed for reciprocation responsive to the discharge of each cartridge to rotate member 16 for sequentially indexing the chambers in the battery station. A cylinder 24 is secured to receiver 15 and provided with a piston 26 having a stem 28 which is engageable with actuator 22 for actuation thereof.

It is readily apparent that failure of one of the cartridges to fire stops the gun. Therefore, a charger 30 is provided for auxiliary operation of the actuator and includes a casing 32 secured to receiver 12 and a drum 34 fixed in the casing. Chambers 36 are provided in drum 34 for inclosing blank cartridges 38 and a cover 40 is removably se-' cured to the rear end of drum 34 for access to the chambers. Firing pins 42 are mounted through a cylindrical anvil 41 transversely disposed in cover 40 for respective electrical contact with the primers of cartridges 38 in chambers 36.

A ring collector 44 is concentrically secured inside of cover 40, and a shaft 45 is supported by an axial hole through anvil 41. A rotor 46 is mounted to the forward end of shaft 45 for rotation therewith by means of corresponding flats, and an insulated wiper 48 extends from such rotor to make selective electrical connections between ring collector 44 and the firing pins 42 when shaft 45 is rotated. Rotation of shaft 45 between selective engagements of collector 44 with the firing pins 42 is provided by a rotary solenoid 50 mounted to the rear end of cover 40 and the ratchet engagement of a drive gear 52, mounted to the shaft of the solenoid, which is actuated into spiral engagement with a driven gear 54 mounted to the rear end of shaft 45. Whereby, rotor 46 is rotated to bring wiper 48 into contact with a succeeding one of the firing pins 42 each time solenoid 50 is energized.

A shaft 56 is axially mounted through drum 34 and is joined to shaft 45 for rotation thereby through suitable tongue and groove means. A disk 58 is mounted to the forwardly projecting end of shaft 56 for rotation therewith by means of corresponding flats, and such disk is provided with a hole 60 which is alignable with successive ones of the chambers 36 each time solenoid 50 is energized for passing gases from the aligned chamber when the cartridge 38 therein is discharged. Disk 58 and rotor 46 are mounted to shaft 56 so that wiper 48 contacts the firing pin 42 respective to one of the chambers 36 after hole 60 is aligned therewith, and so that such disk is pressed by the gases passing through the hole against the front face of drum 34 to seal the gases from the other ones of the chambers.

Mounted within the front end of casing 32 forwardly of disk 58 is a dome 62 which is provided with bores 64,,

front ends of the chambers 36. The bores 64 converge to an axial outlet 66 which is connected by a conduit 67 to cylinder 24 for passing gases from the chambers 36 thereto. A vent 68 is provided to discharge the gases from cylinder 24 to the atmosphere after piston 26 is energized to actuate actuator 22.

Thus, when gun 12 stops, because of the failure of one of the cartridges therein to fire, the electrical circuit leading to solenoid 50 and ring collector 54 may be completed, whereby the solenoid is energized causing drive gear 52 to mesh with driven gear 54 for rotation thereof through the angular pitch which separates the chambers 36 in drum 34. Whereby, disk 58 is rotated to align hole 60 therein with the succeeding one of the chambers 36 and rotor 46 is simultaneously rotated so that wiper 48 thereon engages the firing pin 42 respective to such chamber to discharge the cartridge 38 therein after the hole aligns with the chamber. Disk 58 and wiper 48 are secured in index position through the ratchet character of the gears 52 and 54 and the spiral action of solenoid 50. The gases from the discharge pass through hole 60 into the communicating one of the bores 64 and to cylinder 24 for actua tion of piston 26 against actuator 22 to rotate member 16 and index the succeeding chamber therein in the firing station. If gun 12 does not commence firing, the electrical circuit is opened permitting solenoid 50 to return to normal position and is then completed whereby drive gear 52 engages the succeeding teeth of driven gear 54 for rotation thereof another pitch to fire the succeeding ones of the cartridges 38. This may be continued until gun 12 commences firing or until all of the cartridges 38 in drum 34 have been discharged. It is advisable to provide as many chambers 36 in drum 34 as there are chambers in member 16 whereby such member may be rotated a complete revolution by auxiliary means.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

We claim:

1. In a gun having a firing station and including a car tridge carrying member and an actuator reciprocably actuated through operation of the gun for rotating the member to index the cartridges carried therein in the firing station and continuously discharge the gun, a charger to provide auxiliary means for actuating the actuator including a piston slidingly mounted in a cylinder for actuation against the actuator, a drum mounted against rotation within a case mounted to the gun and provided with a plurality of chambers for receiving blank cartridges for discharge therein, conduit means leading respectively from said chambers to said cylinder for operating said piston against the actuator for actuation thereof, electrically operated means for repeatingly discharging successive ones of blank cartridges, and a rotatable member joined to said electrically operated means and disposed between said drum and said conduit means to provide selective communication between the one of said chambers in said drum, wherein one of said blank cartridges is discharged, and said cylinder.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for repeatingly discharging said blank cartridges includes an anvil mounted adjacent the rear end of said drum, firing pins mounted in said anvil respective to each of said chambers for electrically contacting the primers of said blank cartridges received therein, a ring collector, a rotor for electrically connecting said ring collector to successive ones of said firing pins, a solenoid spirally actuated when energized, and ratchet gear means for converting the spiral action of said solenoid to rotation of said rotor for successive engagements with said firing pins and for securely indexing said rotatable member with selected ones of said chambers.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said rotatable means to provide selective communication between one of said chambers and said conduit includes a disk connected to said gear means for rotation thereby with said rotor and operationally disposed between said drum and said conduit means, and a hole disposed through said disk for alignment with the one of said chambers to be discharged to pass gases from the discharge therethrough to said conduit means and against the front face of said disk for sealing the gases from the remainder of said chambers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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