CA2258737C - High-angle artillery gun, in particular grenade projector - Google Patents
High-angle artillery gun, in particular grenade projector Download PDFInfo
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- CA2258737C CA2258737C CA002258737A CA2258737A CA2258737C CA 2258737 C CA2258737 C CA 2258737C CA 002258737 A CA002258737 A CA 002258737A CA 2258737 A CA2258737 A CA 2258737A CA 2258737 C CA2258737 C CA 2258737C
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- gun
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41A—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS AND ORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE
- F41A23/00—Gun mountings, e.g. on vehicles; Disposition of guns on vehicles
- F41A23/34—Gun mountings, e.g. on vehicles; Disposition of guns on vehicles on wheeled or endless-track vehicles
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41F—APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING PROJECTILES OR MISSILES FROM BARRELS, e.g. CANNONS; LAUNCHERS FOR ROCKETS OR TORPEDOES; HARPOON GUNS
- F41F1/00—Launching apparatus for projecting projectiles or missiles from barrels, e.g. cannons; Harpoon guns
- F41F1/06—Mortars
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
- Acyclic And Carbocyclic Compounds In Medicinal Compositions (AREA)
- Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)
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Abstract
A high angle fire gun (1) has at least one adjustable, swivelling tube (3), a tube adjusting mechanism and an adjusting mechanism pointing device (7) for pointing the tubes (3). In order to ensure a wide pointing range with a device which is easy to handle, the pointing device (7) has an independent pointer (8), preferably arranged apart from the adjusting mechanism, for actuating the adjusting mechanism so as to laterally and vertically point the tubes (3) by rotating each tube axis (A) along a conical surface around a vertical axis (H) and/or by swivelling each tube axis (A) along an axial plane through said vertical axis (H).
Description
_ CA 02258737 1998-12-18 . . r p1'""~'~
High-angle Artillery Gun in aarticular Grenade Projector This invention relates to a high-angle artillery gun, in particular a grenade projec-tor, comprising at least one pivoted gun barrel, a switch box for barrel adjustment, and an aiming means for the switch box for aligning the gun barrels.
From AT 399 221 B there is known such high-angle artillery gun, which to in-crease the firing and combat efficiency has a plurality of gun barrels combined to a bundle of barrels and, since it is pivotally mounted on a vehicle, can neverthe-less be used rather flexibly. In the firing position, the ends of the gun barrels are supported via ball-and-socket joints on a base plate to be deposited on the ground and by means of an adjusting frame are kept in the desired position, which adjusting frame consists of lateral pendulum supports and horizontal transverse yokes in the manner of a parallel crank for vertically and laterally aiming the gun barrels, and by means of adjusting arms can be pivoted with respect to the base plate, where in the adjusting arms as well as in the adjusting frame integrated hy-draulic drives provide for the required aligning movements. However, due to the incorporation of this aiming means into the switch box, the aiming range, in par-ticular the lateral aiming range, remains quite restricted and aiming itself requires an individual actuation of each of the hydraulic drives, which is complicated, in-volves a mutual influence of the lateral and vertical aiming and contradicts the principles of ergonomics. In addition, loading the aimed gun barrels creates some difficulties with respect to the alignment of the gun and involves considerable risks.
It is therefore the object underlying the invention to eliminate these deficiencies and create a high-angle artillery gun as described above, which is characterized by its economic use, its simple and safe handling and, last but not least, by its large aiming range and its ergonomically favorable aiming capacity.
High-angle Artillery Gun in aarticular Grenade Projector This invention relates to a high-angle artillery gun, in particular a grenade projec-tor, comprising at least one pivoted gun barrel, a switch box for barrel adjustment, and an aiming means for the switch box for aligning the gun barrels.
From AT 399 221 B there is known such high-angle artillery gun, which to in-crease the firing and combat efficiency has a plurality of gun barrels combined to a bundle of barrels and, since it is pivotally mounted on a vehicle, can neverthe-less be used rather flexibly. In the firing position, the ends of the gun barrels are supported via ball-and-socket joints on a base plate to be deposited on the ground and by means of an adjusting frame are kept in the desired position, which adjusting frame consists of lateral pendulum supports and horizontal transverse yokes in the manner of a parallel crank for vertically and laterally aiming the gun barrels, and by means of adjusting arms can be pivoted with respect to the base plate, where in the adjusting arms as well as in the adjusting frame integrated hy-draulic drives provide for the required aligning movements. However, due to the incorporation of this aiming means into the switch box, the aiming range, in par-ticular the lateral aiming range, remains quite restricted and aiming itself requires an individual actuation of each of the hydraulic drives, which is complicated, in-volves a mutual influence of the lateral and vertical aiming and contradicts the principles of ergonomics. In addition, loading the aimed gun barrels creates some difficulties with respect to the alignment of the gun and involves considerable risks.
It is therefore the object underlying the invention to eliminate these deficiencies and create a high-angle artillery gun as described above, which is characterized by its economic use, its simple and safe handling and, last but not least, by its large aiming range and its ergonomically favorable aiming capacity.
This object is solved by the invention in that the aiming means has an independ-ent aiming device preferably arranged separate from the switch box, by means of which the switch box can be operated or activated for laterally or vertically aiming the gun barrels in the sense of a rotary movement of each barrel axis along a conical surface about a vertical axis and/or in the sense of a swivel movement along an axial plane through this vertical axis. Independent of the number of gun barrels, there may be provided one or more parallel barrels, the vertical position is maintained during lateral aiming due to this aiming measure even without employ-ing a complex rotary tower system, and the lateral position is likewise left un-changed during vertical aiming. There is effected a comparatively fast and precise aiming, where an unrestricted 360° lateral aiming is possible, and the gun barrels can take any spatial position suitable for firing. Since a laterally directed aiming command actually only effects a lateral movement without influencing the eleva-tion and without levelling error, and vice versa a vertically directed aiming com-mand does not affect the existing side value, a fast and precise aiming operation is ensured, which by means of the aiming device can also economically be real-ized either mechanically or under computer control.
When the aiming device has an aiming disk rotatable about a vertical axis and an aiming carriage guided radially on the aiming disk with a pivot point for actuating rods engaging in the switch box, an economic construction is obtained, which combines the aiming movements of the switch box and thus the barrel axes from a rotary movement for lateral aiming and a radial movement for vertical aiming, and resolves the aiming process into exactly transferable and easily controllable aim-ing components. For the actual aiming process of the switch box there need therefore merely be ensured an appropriate transfer of the aiming movements by means of actuating rods, where the actuating rods include mechanical lever sys-tems, but also hydraulic rods and control lines with electric actuators or the like.
In accordance with an advantageous aspect of the invention the switch box com-prises a barrel support accommodating the gun barrels and rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation, by means of which the gun barrels can be swivelled from a firing position into a loading position independent of the aiming means.
This barrel support therefore provides for swivelling the gun barrels into an ap-proximately horizontal position, in which they can be loaded easily and safely. By swivelling back the barrel support, the newly loaded grenades not only slide downwards in the gun barrels to the firing position, but upon reaching the starting position the exact aiming position of the gun barrels is resumed, which consid-erably increases the firing speed. Since the gun barrels are swivelled into a sepa-rate loading position, stationary loading shells for the provided ammunition may be prepared, so that the actual loading operation itself is accelerated and can be performed with less risk. Suitable coupling means between barrel support and switch box on the one hand and additional drives for the relative swivel movement of the barrel support on the other hand provide for an at least semiautomatic loading operation without much additional effort.
When there is provided a vehicle-bound high-angle artillery gun comprising a base plate pivotally mounted on a vehicle by means of pivoted deposition arms for supporting the gun barrel ends via ball-and-socket joints, and an adjusting frame in the manner of parallel cranks for barrel adjustment, where the adjusting frame has lateral pendulum supports parallel to the barrel axes and likewise mounted on the base plate via ball-and-socket joints and at least one transverse yoke connect-ing the pendulum supports with each other and pivotally mounted at the gun bar-rels, the aiming device of the aiming means is advantageously disposed on the vehicle, and the actuating rods are coupling the aiming carriage with the adjusting frame in the sense of a synchronous movement of the pivot points. There is ob-tained a mechanical actuation of the adjusting frame, where the actuating rods at their one end engage in the pendulum supports in the vicinity of the transverse yoke and at the other end may be pivotally mounted at the pivot point of the aim-ing carriage. As a result, a rotary movement of the aiming disk is transferred as a revolving movement to the pendulum supports, whose axes therefore describe a conical surface with the tip in the base point, so that the gun barrels also make a corresponding parallel movement. A radial adjusting movement of the aiming car-riage, however, results in a swivel movement of the pendulum supports and thus also of the barrel axes in planes parallel to the carriage guideway through the vertical axes, which guarantees a perfect lateral and vertical aiming in a mechani-cal way.
When for swivelling the gun barrels into a loading position, the transverse yoke is mounted so as to be swivelled about a longitudinal axis with respect to the pendu-lum supports, and when the pendulum supports are vertically adjustable for lifting the gun barrel ends from the base plate, it is possible to achieve a separate load-ing position for the gun barrels, as for this purpose it is merely necessary to raise the pendulum supports, in order to lift the gun barrels out of the ball-and-socket joints of the base plate, and then the transverse yoke can freely bring the gun bar-rels into an approximately horizontal loading position. Upon loading, the barrels swivel back into their position parallel to the pendulum supports, the pendulum supports put the gun barrels back into the ball cups, and the artillery gun is ready for firing.
When an armoured vehicle is provided with a tailgate, the base plate can be piv-otally mounted at the armoured vehicle instead of the tailgate, and to reach a roof-side transport position of the gun barrels the transverse yoke can preferably be swivelled beyond the loading position. For transport purposes, the base plate performs the role of the tailgate, but in the firing position it properly supports the artillery gun at the ground, where expediently the aiming device is disposed at the ceiling of the interior of the vehicle. Since the gun barrels should not fill the inte-rior of the vehicle during transport, swivelling the transverse yoke with the base plate swung up provides for depositing the gun barrels with the orifice to the rear on the side of the roof in a transport position.
In accordance with a particularly advantageous construction, a barrel support ro-tatable about a horizontal axis of rotation is provided for supporting the gun bar-rels, on which barrel support the gun barrels are pivotally mounted about trans-verse axes normal to the barrel axis and the rotational axis of the support, where at a distance from the rotational axis of the support an adjusting coupler is piv-otally mounted at the gun barrels with pivot axes parallel to the transverse axes.
The gun barrels can be swivelled about a horizontal axis by means of the barrel support and by means of the adjusting coupler also about transverse axes normal thereto, so that the desired aiming movements are obtained by a combination of these two swivel components. The barrel support may be designed as a massive component which absorbs the recoil forces upon firing, and there is obtained a compact artillery gun to be used for a variety of applications, where of course known measures for reducing the recoil, such as recoil brakes, may be incorpo-rated to relieve the barrel support.
When the associated aiming device is disposed axially beside the barrel support and the vertical axis of the aiming disk intersects the rotational axis of the support, _ CA 02258737 1998-12-18 - S -where in the intersection of the axes there is a fixed kinematic point of an aiming lever engaging in the pivot point of the aiming carriage, which aiming lever is in drive connection with the barrel support and the adjusting coupler in the sense of a synchronous movement of aiming lever and gun barrel axes by means of the actuating rods comprising sliding and rotating levers, there is also ensured a functionally reliable and simple mechanical alignment. When corresponding di-mensions are maintained, the axis of the aiming lever is always parallel to the bar-rel axes, so that this aiming lever is optimally suited for accommodating the aim-ing optics and the elevation indicator, and it is possible to determine the lateral aiming just as with a panoramic telescope without parallax error.
To achieve for loading purposes a swivelling of the gun barrel independent of the aiming means, a positive clutch is incorporated in the actuating rods, and for the barrel support an additional drive is provided for swivelling the gun barrels into a loading position, where preferably the aiming carriage has a heterodyne drive for raising up the gun barrels. The positive clutch effects a defined barrel position at the moment of coupling, so that even after the loading operation the set barrel position can safely be taken again. To align the barrels normal to the swivel axis for loading purposes, a heterodyne drive may be provided, which raises up the barrels from the set lateral position vertical to the support axis, and only then re-leases the clutch for swivelling into the loading position.
Due to the compact design, the barrel support can be incorporated in various gun frames or also vehicles, where it is particularly advantageous when the barrel support is mounted in an armoured vehicle, preferably a combat vehicle, trans-verse to the direction of travel, as the high-angle artillery gun can easily be ac-commodated here and can safely be handled, which leads to a high mobility.
When the barrel support constitutes a hollow box for accommodating the gun bar-rel, which is equipped with covering shells cylindrical with respect to the rotational axis of the support, where the armoured vehicle has a recess adapted to these covering shells in the roof cover, the entire weapon constitutes one building unit, and the remaining interior of the vehicle can easily be protected.
A further embodiment is obtained in that the barrel support is incorporated in the tailgate of an armoured vehicle, which by means of actuators can be swivelled open about a transverse axis on the side of the ground, where the rotational axis of the support extends parallel to the tailgate axis, and the tailgate pivotally mounted at the vehicle via lug-type hinges or the like comprises supporting legs.
Thus, the gun is operably integrated in the tailgate, which in an at least partly open position as firing position is independently supported on the ground via sup-porting legs. The movement of the tailgate can also be used as vertical aiming means, where side swivelling is effected by means of the adjusting coupler about axes normal to the barrel support axis. The barrel support itself is pivotally mounted in the tailgate, so that the gun barrels are swivelled together with the same relative to the tailgate and can be brought into a loading position, which of-fers the possibility of operating and loading the weapon from the armoured vehi-cle.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the gun barrels are seated in a barrel support, which is pivotally mounted about a horizontal swivel axis normal to the barrel axes in a rotary tower of an armoured vehicle, which is rotatable about a vertical axis, where preferably the rotary tower additionally accommo-dates a flat-angle gun pivotally mounted along a plane normal to the swivel axis of the support. In this armoured vehicle, the vertical aiming of the gun barrels can be predetermined by swivelling the barrel support, whereas the lateral aiming is achieved by means of the existing rotary tower, so that there is again ensured the desired wide aiming range. However, it is also possible in addition to equip the rotary tower with a flat-angle gun, for instance a machine gun or a machine can-non, and to fit an armoured vehicle with two fundamentally different types of weapon, which leads to a particularly effective armament. Both weapon systems can together be aligned towards the side, but due to the different systems the ver-tical alignment of the two weapons should be effected independent of each other, for which there is advantageously used a fire control computer. For instance in the case of indirect aiming, merely the high-angle artillery gun is set independent of the machine gun by vertically aiming the gun barrels, when fighting against flying targets the machine gun system is aimed independent of the high-angle artillery gun, and in the case of direct aiming it is then of course also possible for a gun layer to employ both types of weapon in one target simultaneously or successively via the same aiming optics.
When the barrel support is mounted in an adjusting frame for a relative swivel movement, which adjusting frame is in turn inserted in a hollow box so as to be swivelled about the swivel axis of the support for vertically aiming the gun barrels, the barrel support can be aligned in its elevation via the adjusting frame, but can in turn be swivelled with respect to the adjusting frame for loading and unloading purposes. The hollow box protects the operating crew against the movements of the weapon, prevents splinters or the like from penetrating through the firing hatch on the side of the roof, provides for a forced ventilation of the hollow box space and the like, so that in addition to the weapon systems sufficient space is left in the rotary tower for a safe accommodation of the crew.
It is particularly advantageous when the hollow box is supported in the rotary tower so as to be swivelled about a horizontal swivel axis normal to the swivel axis of the support, where possibly the flat-angle gun is mounted so as to be swivelled together with the hollow box, so that by means of a simple swivel movement a swing compensation can be achieved, where this swing compensa-tion just as the lateral aiming is effected simultaneously both for the high-angle gun and for the flat-angle gun.
When the hollow box has a loading device on the side facing away from the flat-angle gun, and preferably an unloading device on the side of the ground, where a grenade magazine is associated to the loading device in the rotary tower, an automatic loading and unloading operation can be achieved, for which purpose the barrel support should be swivelled with respect to the adjusting frame first to-wards the unloading device and then towards the loading device. To take into ac-count the swing compensation, the hollow box might again swivel back to a neu-tral position for loading purposes, in which neutral position the loading device is adapted to the magazine firmly mounted in the rotary tower, or it is possible to provide an adjustable grenade magazine, which makes a parallelogram-like offset movement along with the swing compensation for adaptation to the respective position of the hollow box.
To facilitate the cooperation of the two weapon systems and their simultaneous alignment, the barrel axes of the gun barrels and of the flat-angle gun and the swivel axis of the hollow box define a common plane.
_ g In the drawing, the subject-matter of the invention is represented in detail by way of example, wherein:
Fig. 1 represents an embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a functional diagram, Fig. 2, 3 and 4 show a vehicle-bound high-angle artillery gun in accordance with the invention in a side view, a rear view and a top view, Fig. 5, 6 and 7 show a further embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view, a rear view, and the transport position of this gun in a side view, Fig. 8 shows a modified embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a functional diagram, Fig. 9, 10 and 11 show such high-angle artillery gun incorporated in an armoured vehicle in a partly sectional side view, in a top view and in a partly sec-tional rear view, Fig. 12, 13 and 14 show a further embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view during the transport and in the firing position as well as in a rear view, and Fig. 15 and 16 represent an additional embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view and in a top view, as well as Fig. 17, 18 and 19 represent part of this high-angle artillery gun in three different functional positions, each in cross-section.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, a high-angle artillery gun comprises four gun barrels 3 supported on a base plate 2 and disposed one be-side the other transverse to the direction of travel of the associated vehicle, where the barrel axes A extend parallel to each other. For barrel adjustment, the gun barrels 3 are inserted in a parallel-crank-type adjusting frame 4, which includes lateral pendulum supports 5 parallel to the barrel axes A, which are likewise mounted on the base plate 2 via ball-and-socket joints, and at least one trans-verse yoke 6 connecting the pendulum supports 5 with each other and pivotally mounted at the gun barrels 3. For aligning the gun barrels 3 with respect to the predetermined target, the adjusting frame 4 has an associated aiming means 7 which has an independent aiming device 8 arranged separate from the adjusting frame 4, which aiming device consists of an aiming disk 9 rotatable about a verti-cal axis H and an aiming carriage 10 guided radially on the aiming disk 9. The aiming carriage 10 has a pivot point 11, on which fork-like actuating rods 12 are pivotally mounted, which engage in the pendulum supports 5. The adjusting movement of the aiming disk 9 and/or the aiming carriage 10 can thus synchro-nously be transferred to the adjusting frame 4, so that the circular adjusting movement of the aiming disk 9 enforces a movement of the barrel axes A along a conical surface about a vertical axis H extending through the pivot points on the side of the base plate and guides a radial adjustment of the aiming carriage 10 to perform a swivel movement of the barrel axes A through these vertical axes H.
There is obtained a simple and exact lateral and vertical aiming of the gun barrels 3, where the lateral aiming can be effected without influencing the elevation, and the vertical aiming can be effected without influencing the lateral aiming.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 to 4, the high-angle artillery gun 1 is mounted on a vehicle 13, where the base plate 2 is pivotally mounted on the rear of the vehicle via deposition arms 14 and can be lowered from a transport position on the loading surface (dash-dotted position shown in Fig. 2) into a stand-by position on the ground. The aiming device 8 of the aiming means 7 is firmly mounted on the vehicle 13 and upon depositing the gun 1 to the ground provides for a fast and precise alignment of the gun barrels 3, where an unre-stricted lateral aiming is ensured.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 to 7, the high-angle artillery gun 1 is mounted on a combat vehicle 15, where the base plate 2 is pivotally mounted at the rear of the vehicle and not at the tailgate and can be swung up and down via adjusting cylinders 16 as deposition arms. The adjusting frame 4 has vertically adjustable pendulum supports 51, and the transverse yoke 61 is mounted so as to be swivelled with respect to the pendulum supports 51 about a longitudinal axis L, so that the gun barrels 3 can be swivelled out of the plane of the adjusting frame 4 together with the transverse yoke 61. By lifting the pendulum supports 51, the pivoted ends 17 of the gun barrels 3 are lifted out of the ball cups of the base plate, so that by means of an appropriate swivel drive for the trans-verse yoke 61 the gun barrels are then swivelled into an approximately horizontal loading position (indicated in broken lines in Fig. 5) and can be loaded horizon-tally from the interior of the combat vehicle 15. By swivelling back the gun barrels, the grenades slide into the firing position, the gun barrels resume their aimed position when the transverse yoke 61 is properly seated between the pendulum supports 51, and upon lowering the pendulum supports 51 the gun barrels are again properly supported on the base plate 2 and ready for firing. For actually aiming, the adjusting frame 4 is adjusted via the actuating rods 12 by the aiming device 8 mounted at the inside of the vehicle roof. For transport purposes, the gun barrels 3 can be swivelled beyond the loading position into a roof-side transport position (Fig. 7), so that the interior of the vehicle is left free for the crew.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the high-angle artillery gun 101 likewise comprises four mutually parallel gun barrels 103 arranged one be-side the other, which gun barrels 103 are supported on a barrel support 102 ro-tatable about a horizontal axis of rotation D and are in turn pivotally mounted about transverse axes Q normal to the barrel axis A and the rotational axis D
of the support, where an adjusting coupler 104, which is pivotally mounted at the gun barrels 103 about pivot axes K parallel to the transverse axes Q, provides for a parallel swivel movement. The barrel support 102 is of a stable construction and can form a hollow box 105 accommodating the gun barrel support and the gun barrels, so that there is obtained a compact building unit. Due to the rotary move-ment of the barrel support 102 on the one hand and the swivel movement of the gun barrels on the other hand, aiming movements of the barrel axes A can be performed, which for lateral aiming involve a conical movement about the associ-ated vertical axes H and for vertical aiming involve a swivel movement in an axial plane extending through the vertical axes H. The aiming means 107 comprises an aiming device 108 disposed axially beside the barrel support 102, where an aim-ing disk 109 rotatable about a vertical axis H includes a radially adjustable aiming carriage 110. An aiming lever 112 engages in the pivot point 111 of the aiming carriage 10, which aiming lever has a fixed kinematic point in the intersection S
between the vertical axis H of the aiming disk 109 and the rotational axis D
of the barrel support. By means of actuating rods consisting of rotating and sliding lev-ers 113, 114 the barrel support 102 and the adjusting coupler 104 are in drive connection with the aiming lever 112, so that an aiming adjustment of the aiming device 108 effects a corresponding aiming movement of the barrel support 102 and the adjusting coupler 104 and thus of the barrel axes A. In the case of appro-priate dimensions, the aiming lever 112 always extends parallel to the barrel axes A, so that the position of the gun barrels 103 can be taken from the position of the aiming lever 112. In this case, too, a rotary movement of the aiming disk 109 ef-fects a conical movement of the barrel axes A about their vertical axes H, and a radial adjustment of the aiming carriage 110 leads to a swivel movement of the barrel axes A in an axial plane through the vertical axis H, so that again perfect aiming movements can be achieved both laterally and vertically.
When a positive clutch 115 is incorporated in the actuating rods, the barrel sup-port 102 can again be swivelled independent of the aiming position, and the gun barrels 103 can be brought into a loading position. When a heterodyne drive not represented in detail is provided for this purpose in the vicinity of the aiming car-riage 110, the gun barrels 103 can be swivelled up into a position normal to the rotational axis D of the support before swivelling them into the loading position, in order to simplify the loading operation.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 9 to 11, the high-angle artillery gun 101 is incorporated in a combat vehicle 116, where the barrel support 102 is seated in the vehicle with its rotational axis D transverse to the direction of travel.
By swivelling the barrel support 102, the gun barrels 103 can be swivelled into a horizontal barrel holder 117, which on the one hand determines the loading posi-tion of the gun barrels, but on the other hand is also utilized as transport position.
In addition, the barrel support 102 is equipped with covering shells 118, 119 cy-lindrical with respect to the rotational axis D of the support, which covering shells fit into a corresponding recess 120 of the roof cover 121 of the armoured vehicle, and thus always ensure a safe closure of the interior of the vehicle even during a swivel movement.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 12 to 14, a high-angle artillery gun 201 with its four gun barrels 203 is incorporated in the tailgate 204 of an ar-moured vehicle 205. This tailgate 204 has supporting legs 206 for supporting the same at the ground, is pivotally mounted at the rear of the vehicle via lug-type hinges 207, and can be swung up and down via hydraulic arms 208. The gun bar-rels 203 are pivotally mounted about transverse axes Q on a transverse barrel support 202, which is inserted in the tailgate 204 so as to be swivelled about a rotational axis D parallel to the tailgate axis P. For vertical aiming, the swinging position of the tailgate may be utilized, and the hydraulic drive 208 may be used as aiming means. The lateral aiming is in turn effected by an adjusting coupler 209, where for coordinating the aiming movements an aiming means not repre-sented in detail is provided in the vehicle. The barrel support 202 provides for a swivel movement of the gun barrels relative to the tailgate 204, so that the gun barrels can be brought into an unloading and loading position directed towards the interior of the vehicle (indicated in broken lines in Fig. 13).
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 15 to 19, the high-angle artillery gun 301 is equipped with four gun barrels 303, whose barrel axes A are moved along conical surfaces about a common vertical axis H for lateral aiming, and in a common axial plane through this vertical axis H for vertical aiming. The. gun bar-rels 303 are seated in a barrel support 302, which is supported in a rotary tower 304 of an armoured vehicle 305 which is rotatable about the vertical axis H, so as to be swivelled about a horizontal swivel axis D normal to the barrel axes A.
The barrel support 302 is mounted for a relative swivel movement in an adjusting frame 306 which can in turn be swivelled about the rotational axis D of the support for vertically aiming the barrel support 302 via a pendulum aiming drive 307, where a hollow box 308 accommodates the entire high-angle artillery gun 301.
The hollow box 308 is pivotally mounted inside the rotary tower 304 about a hori-zontal swivel axis N normal to the swivel axis D of the support, which provides for a swing compensation, and for the gun barrels 303 it is on the one hand equipped with an unloading device 309 and on the other hand with a loading device 310, where a grenade magazine 311 is associated to the loading device 310 in the ro-tary tower 304.
In addition to the high-angle artillery gun 301 the rotary tower 304 is equipped with a flat-angle gun 312, where the barrel axis F of the flat-angle gun 312 lies in a plane defined by the barrel axes A of the high-angle artillery gun and the swivel axis N. The holder 313 of the flat-angle gun is connected with the hollow box via the swivel bearing 314, so that not only the rotation of the rotary tower 304, but also the swivel movement of the hollow box 308 are equally effective for both weapons. There is thus achieved a combination of two weapon systems, for which the lateral aiming and the swing compensation are effected together, and only the vertical aiming must each be performed separately because of the different sys-tems.
The hollow box 308 is closed towards the interior of the tower, so that the operat-ing crews remain protected although the firing hatch of the high-angle artillery gun is open at the top when the hatch cover is open, where here as well the relative adjustment of the barrel support 302 with respect to the adjusting frame 306 pro-vides for loading independent of the aiming operation. When the barrel support 302 with the gun barrels 303 is swivelled into a horizontal position with the barrel orifice facing away from the flat-angle gun 312, there is obtained a transport posi-tion, but also a loading position, in which grenades from the magazine 311 can be introduced into the gun barrels via the loading means 310 (Fig. 17). Now, the bar-rel support 302 can be swivelled back into the adjusting frame 306, which has been brought into a pre-aimed position and therefore immediately effects the de-sired alignment also for the loaded gun barrels, where stops not represented in detail determine the mutually allocated positions (Fig. 18). Upon discharge of a shot, the barrel support 302 with the gun barrels 303 swivels towards the unload-ing station 309, where the grenades to be unloaded are dumped into correspond-ing collecting devices (Fig. 19). Subsquently swivelling back into the loading posi-tion provides for another loading of the high-angle gun and makes the same again ready for firing.
By means of a fire control computer, the flat-angle gun 312 and the high-angle artillery gun 301 can be adjusted to each other, where with one gun layer both guns can perfectly be aligned.
When the aiming device has an aiming disk rotatable about a vertical axis and an aiming carriage guided radially on the aiming disk with a pivot point for actuating rods engaging in the switch box, an economic construction is obtained, which combines the aiming movements of the switch box and thus the barrel axes from a rotary movement for lateral aiming and a radial movement for vertical aiming, and resolves the aiming process into exactly transferable and easily controllable aim-ing components. For the actual aiming process of the switch box there need therefore merely be ensured an appropriate transfer of the aiming movements by means of actuating rods, where the actuating rods include mechanical lever sys-tems, but also hydraulic rods and control lines with electric actuators or the like.
In accordance with an advantageous aspect of the invention the switch box com-prises a barrel support accommodating the gun barrels and rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation, by means of which the gun barrels can be swivelled from a firing position into a loading position independent of the aiming means.
This barrel support therefore provides for swivelling the gun barrels into an ap-proximately horizontal position, in which they can be loaded easily and safely. By swivelling back the barrel support, the newly loaded grenades not only slide downwards in the gun barrels to the firing position, but upon reaching the starting position the exact aiming position of the gun barrels is resumed, which consid-erably increases the firing speed. Since the gun barrels are swivelled into a sepa-rate loading position, stationary loading shells for the provided ammunition may be prepared, so that the actual loading operation itself is accelerated and can be performed with less risk. Suitable coupling means between barrel support and switch box on the one hand and additional drives for the relative swivel movement of the barrel support on the other hand provide for an at least semiautomatic loading operation without much additional effort.
When there is provided a vehicle-bound high-angle artillery gun comprising a base plate pivotally mounted on a vehicle by means of pivoted deposition arms for supporting the gun barrel ends via ball-and-socket joints, and an adjusting frame in the manner of parallel cranks for barrel adjustment, where the adjusting frame has lateral pendulum supports parallel to the barrel axes and likewise mounted on the base plate via ball-and-socket joints and at least one transverse yoke connect-ing the pendulum supports with each other and pivotally mounted at the gun bar-rels, the aiming device of the aiming means is advantageously disposed on the vehicle, and the actuating rods are coupling the aiming carriage with the adjusting frame in the sense of a synchronous movement of the pivot points. There is ob-tained a mechanical actuation of the adjusting frame, where the actuating rods at their one end engage in the pendulum supports in the vicinity of the transverse yoke and at the other end may be pivotally mounted at the pivot point of the aim-ing carriage. As a result, a rotary movement of the aiming disk is transferred as a revolving movement to the pendulum supports, whose axes therefore describe a conical surface with the tip in the base point, so that the gun barrels also make a corresponding parallel movement. A radial adjusting movement of the aiming car-riage, however, results in a swivel movement of the pendulum supports and thus also of the barrel axes in planes parallel to the carriage guideway through the vertical axes, which guarantees a perfect lateral and vertical aiming in a mechani-cal way.
When for swivelling the gun barrels into a loading position, the transverse yoke is mounted so as to be swivelled about a longitudinal axis with respect to the pendu-lum supports, and when the pendulum supports are vertically adjustable for lifting the gun barrel ends from the base plate, it is possible to achieve a separate load-ing position for the gun barrels, as for this purpose it is merely necessary to raise the pendulum supports, in order to lift the gun barrels out of the ball-and-socket joints of the base plate, and then the transverse yoke can freely bring the gun bar-rels into an approximately horizontal loading position. Upon loading, the barrels swivel back into their position parallel to the pendulum supports, the pendulum supports put the gun barrels back into the ball cups, and the artillery gun is ready for firing.
When an armoured vehicle is provided with a tailgate, the base plate can be piv-otally mounted at the armoured vehicle instead of the tailgate, and to reach a roof-side transport position of the gun barrels the transverse yoke can preferably be swivelled beyond the loading position. For transport purposes, the base plate performs the role of the tailgate, but in the firing position it properly supports the artillery gun at the ground, where expediently the aiming device is disposed at the ceiling of the interior of the vehicle. Since the gun barrels should not fill the inte-rior of the vehicle during transport, swivelling the transverse yoke with the base plate swung up provides for depositing the gun barrels with the orifice to the rear on the side of the roof in a transport position.
In accordance with a particularly advantageous construction, a barrel support ro-tatable about a horizontal axis of rotation is provided for supporting the gun bar-rels, on which barrel support the gun barrels are pivotally mounted about trans-verse axes normal to the barrel axis and the rotational axis of the support, where at a distance from the rotational axis of the support an adjusting coupler is piv-otally mounted at the gun barrels with pivot axes parallel to the transverse axes.
The gun barrels can be swivelled about a horizontal axis by means of the barrel support and by means of the adjusting coupler also about transverse axes normal thereto, so that the desired aiming movements are obtained by a combination of these two swivel components. The barrel support may be designed as a massive component which absorbs the recoil forces upon firing, and there is obtained a compact artillery gun to be used for a variety of applications, where of course known measures for reducing the recoil, such as recoil brakes, may be incorpo-rated to relieve the barrel support.
When the associated aiming device is disposed axially beside the barrel support and the vertical axis of the aiming disk intersects the rotational axis of the support, _ CA 02258737 1998-12-18 - S -where in the intersection of the axes there is a fixed kinematic point of an aiming lever engaging in the pivot point of the aiming carriage, which aiming lever is in drive connection with the barrel support and the adjusting coupler in the sense of a synchronous movement of aiming lever and gun barrel axes by means of the actuating rods comprising sliding and rotating levers, there is also ensured a functionally reliable and simple mechanical alignment. When corresponding di-mensions are maintained, the axis of the aiming lever is always parallel to the bar-rel axes, so that this aiming lever is optimally suited for accommodating the aim-ing optics and the elevation indicator, and it is possible to determine the lateral aiming just as with a panoramic telescope without parallax error.
To achieve for loading purposes a swivelling of the gun barrel independent of the aiming means, a positive clutch is incorporated in the actuating rods, and for the barrel support an additional drive is provided for swivelling the gun barrels into a loading position, where preferably the aiming carriage has a heterodyne drive for raising up the gun barrels. The positive clutch effects a defined barrel position at the moment of coupling, so that even after the loading operation the set barrel position can safely be taken again. To align the barrels normal to the swivel axis for loading purposes, a heterodyne drive may be provided, which raises up the barrels from the set lateral position vertical to the support axis, and only then re-leases the clutch for swivelling into the loading position.
Due to the compact design, the barrel support can be incorporated in various gun frames or also vehicles, where it is particularly advantageous when the barrel support is mounted in an armoured vehicle, preferably a combat vehicle, trans-verse to the direction of travel, as the high-angle artillery gun can easily be ac-commodated here and can safely be handled, which leads to a high mobility.
When the barrel support constitutes a hollow box for accommodating the gun bar-rel, which is equipped with covering shells cylindrical with respect to the rotational axis of the support, where the armoured vehicle has a recess adapted to these covering shells in the roof cover, the entire weapon constitutes one building unit, and the remaining interior of the vehicle can easily be protected.
A further embodiment is obtained in that the barrel support is incorporated in the tailgate of an armoured vehicle, which by means of actuators can be swivelled open about a transverse axis on the side of the ground, where the rotational axis of the support extends parallel to the tailgate axis, and the tailgate pivotally mounted at the vehicle via lug-type hinges or the like comprises supporting legs.
Thus, the gun is operably integrated in the tailgate, which in an at least partly open position as firing position is independently supported on the ground via sup-porting legs. The movement of the tailgate can also be used as vertical aiming means, where side swivelling is effected by means of the adjusting coupler about axes normal to the barrel support axis. The barrel support itself is pivotally mounted in the tailgate, so that the gun barrels are swivelled together with the same relative to the tailgate and can be brought into a loading position, which of-fers the possibility of operating and loading the weapon from the armoured vehi-cle.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the gun barrels are seated in a barrel support, which is pivotally mounted about a horizontal swivel axis normal to the barrel axes in a rotary tower of an armoured vehicle, which is rotatable about a vertical axis, where preferably the rotary tower additionally accommo-dates a flat-angle gun pivotally mounted along a plane normal to the swivel axis of the support. In this armoured vehicle, the vertical aiming of the gun barrels can be predetermined by swivelling the barrel support, whereas the lateral aiming is achieved by means of the existing rotary tower, so that there is again ensured the desired wide aiming range. However, it is also possible in addition to equip the rotary tower with a flat-angle gun, for instance a machine gun or a machine can-non, and to fit an armoured vehicle with two fundamentally different types of weapon, which leads to a particularly effective armament. Both weapon systems can together be aligned towards the side, but due to the different systems the ver-tical alignment of the two weapons should be effected independent of each other, for which there is advantageously used a fire control computer. For instance in the case of indirect aiming, merely the high-angle artillery gun is set independent of the machine gun by vertically aiming the gun barrels, when fighting against flying targets the machine gun system is aimed independent of the high-angle artillery gun, and in the case of direct aiming it is then of course also possible for a gun layer to employ both types of weapon in one target simultaneously or successively via the same aiming optics.
When the barrel support is mounted in an adjusting frame for a relative swivel movement, which adjusting frame is in turn inserted in a hollow box so as to be swivelled about the swivel axis of the support for vertically aiming the gun barrels, the barrel support can be aligned in its elevation via the adjusting frame, but can in turn be swivelled with respect to the adjusting frame for loading and unloading purposes. The hollow box protects the operating crew against the movements of the weapon, prevents splinters or the like from penetrating through the firing hatch on the side of the roof, provides for a forced ventilation of the hollow box space and the like, so that in addition to the weapon systems sufficient space is left in the rotary tower for a safe accommodation of the crew.
It is particularly advantageous when the hollow box is supported in the rotary tower so as to be swivelled about a horizontal swivel axis normal to the swivel axis of the support, where possibly the flat-angle gun is mounted so as to be swivelled together with the hollow box, so that by means of a simple swivel movement a swing compensation can be achieved, where this swing compensa-tion just as the lateral aiming is effected simultaneously both for the high-angle gun and for the flat-angle gun.
When the hollow box has a loading device on the side facing away from the flat-angle gun, and preferably an unloading device on the side of the ground, where a grenade magazine is associated to the loading device in the rotary tower, an automatic loading and unloading operation can be achieved, for which purpose the barrel support should be swivelled with respect to the adjusting frame first to-wards the unloading device and then towards the loading device. To take into ac-count the swing compensation, the hollow box might again swivel back to a neu-tral position for loading purposes, in which neutral position the loading device is adapted to the magazine firmly mounted in the rotary tower, or it is possible to provide an adjustable grenade magazine, which makes a parallelogram-like offset movement along with the swing compensation for adaptation to the respective position of the hollow box.
To facilitate the cooperation of the two weapon systems and their simultaneous alignment, the barrel axes of the gun barrels and of the flat-angle gun and the swivel axis of the hollow box define a common plane.
_ g In the drawing, the subject-matter of the invention is represented in detail by way of example, wherein:
Fig. 1 represents an embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a functional diagram, Fig. 2, 3 and 4 show a vehicle-bound high-angle artillery gun in accordance with the invention in a side view, a rear view and a top view, Fig. 5, 6 and 7 show a further embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view, a rear view, and the transport position of this gun in a side view, Fig. 8 shows a modified embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a functional diagram, Fig. 9, 10 and 11 show such high-angle artillery gun incorporated in an armoured vehicle in a partly sectional side view, in a top view and in a partly sec-tional rear view, Fig. 12, 13 and 14 show a further embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view during the transport and in the firing position as well as in a rear view, and Fig. 15 and 16 represent an additional embodiment of an inventive high-angle artillery gun in a partly sectional side view and in a top view, as well as Fig. 17, 18 and 19 represent part of this high-angle artillery gun in three different functional positions, each in cross-section.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, a high-angle artillery gun comprises four gun barrels 3 supported on a base plate 2 and disposed one be-side the other transverse to the direction of travel of the associated vehicle, where the barrel axes A extend parallel to each other. For barrel adjustment, the gun barrels 3 are inserted in a parallel-crank-type adjusting frame 4, which includes lateral pendulum supports 5 parallel to the barrel axes A, which are likewise mounted on the base plate 2 via ball-and-socket joints, and at least one trans-verse yoke 6 connecting the pendulum supports 5 with each other and pivotally mounted at the gun barrels 3. For aligning the gun barrels 3 with respect to the predetermined target, the adjusting frame 4 has an associated aiming means 7 which has an independent aiming device 8 arranged separate from the adjusting frame 4, which aiming device consists of an aiming disk 9 rotatable about a verti-cal axis H and an aiming carriage 10 guided radially on the aiming disk 9. The aiming carriage 10 has a pivot point 11, on which fork-like actuating rods 12 are pivotally mounted, which engage in the pendulum supports 5. The adjusting movement of the aiming disk 9 and/or the aiming carriage 10 can thus synchro-nously be transferred to the adjusting frame 4, so that the circular adjusting movement of the aiming disk 9 enforces a movement of the barrel axes A along a conical surface about a vertical axis H extending through the pivot points on the side of the base plate and guides a radial adjustment of the aiming carriage 10 to perform a swivel movement of the barrel axes A through these vertical axes H.
There is obtained a simple and exact lateral and vertical aiming of the gun barrels 3, where the lateral aiming can be effected without influencing the elevation, and the vertical aiming can be effected without influencing the lateral aiming.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 to 4, the high-angle artillery gun 1 is mounted on a vehicle 13, where the base plate 2 is pivotally mounted on the rear of the vehicle via deposition arms 14 and can be lowered from a transport position on the loading surface (dash-dotted position shown in Fig. 2) into a stand-by position on the ground. The aiming device 8 of the aiming means 7 is firmly mounted on the vehicle 13 and upon depositing the gun 1 to the ground provides for a fast and precise alignment of the gun barrels 3, where an unre-stricted lateral aiming is ensured.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 to 7, the high-angle artillery gun 1 is mounted on a combat vehicle 15, where the base plate 2 is pivotally mounted at the rear of the vehicle and not at the tailgate and can be swung up and down via adjusting cylinders 16 as deposition arms. The adjusting frame 4 has vertically adjustable pendulum supports 51, and the transverse yoke 61 is mounted so as to be swivelled with respect to the pendulum supports 51 about a longitudinal axis L, so that the gun barrels 3 can be swivelled out of the plane of the adjusting frame 4 together with the transverse yoke 61. By lifting the pendulum supports 51, the pivoted ends 17 of the gun barrels 3 are lifted out of the ball cups of the base plate, so that by means of an appropriate swivel drive for the trans-verse yoke 61 the gun barrels are then swivelled into an approximately horizontal loading position (indicated in broken lines in Fig. 5) and can be loaded horizon-tally from the interior of the combat vehicle 15. By swivelling back the gun barrels, the grenades slide into the firing position, the gun barrels resume their aimed position when the transverse yoke 61 is properly seated between the pendulum supports 51, and upon lowering the pendulum supports 51 the gun barrels are again properly supported on the base plate 2 and ready for firing. For actually aiming, the adjusting frame 4 is adjusted via the actuating rods 12 by the aiming device 8 mounted at the inside of the vehicle roof. For transport purposes, the gun barrels 3 can be swivelled beyond the loading position into a roof-side transport position (Fig. 7), so that the interior of the vehicle is left free for the crew.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the high-angle artillery gun 101 likewise comprises four mutually parallel gun barrels 103 arranged one be-side the other, which gun barrels 103 are supported on a barrel support 102 ro-tatable about a horizontal axis of rotation D and are in turn pivotally mounted about transverse axes Q normal to the barrel axis A and the rotational axis D
of the support, where an adjusting coupler 104, which is pivotally mounted at the gun barrels 103 about pivot axes K parallel to the transverse axes Q, provides for a parallel swivel movement. The barrel support 102 is of a stable construction and can form a hollow box 105 accommodating the gun barrel support and the gun barrels, so that there is obtained a compact building unit. Due to the rotary move-ment of the barrel support 102 on the one hand and the swivel movement of the gun barrels on the other hand, aiming movements of the barrel axes A can be performed, which for lateral aiming involve a conical movement about the associ-ated vertical axes H and for vertical aiming involve a swivel movement in an axial plane extending through the vertical axes H. The aiming means 107 comprises an aiming device 108 disposed axially beside the barrel support 102, where an aim-ing disk 109 rotatable about a vertical axis H includes a radially adjustable aiming carriage 110. An aiming lever 112 engages in the pivot point 111 of the aiming carriage 10, which aiming lever has a fixed kinematic point in the intersection S
between the vertical axis H of the aiming disk 109 and the rotational axis D
of the barrel support. By means of actuating rods consisting of rotating and sliding lev-ers 113, 114 the barrel support 102 and the adjusting coupler 104 are in drive connection with the aiming lever 112, so that an aiming adjustment of the aiming device 108 effects a corresponding aiming movement of the barrel support 102 and the adjusting coupler 104 and thus of the barrel axes A. In the case of appro-priate dimensions, the aiming lever 112 always extends parallel to the barrel axes A, so that the position of the gun barrels 103 can be taken from the position of the aiming lever 112. In this case, too, a rotary movement of the aiming disk 109 ef-fects a conical movement of the barrel axes A about their vertical axes H, and a radial adjustment of the aiming carriage 110 leads to a swivel movement of the barrel axes A in an axial plane through the vertical axis H, so that again perfect aiming movements can be achieved both laterally and vertically.
When a positive clutch 115 is incorporated in the actuating rods, the barrel sup-port 102 can again be swivelled independent of the aiming position, and the gun barrels 103 can be brought into a loading position. When a heterodyne drive not represented in detail is provided for this purpose in the vicinity of the aiming car-riage 110, the gun barrels 103 can be swivelled up into a position normal to the rotational axis D of the support before swivelling them into the loading position, in order to simplify the loading operation.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 9 to 11, the high-angle artillery gun 101 is incorporated in a combat vehicle 116, where the barrel support 102 is seated in the vehicle with its rotational axis D transverse to the direction of travel.
By swivelling the barrel support 102, the gun barrels 103 can be swivelled into a horizontal barrel holder 117, which on the one hand determines the loading posi-tion of the gun barrels, but on the other hand is also utilized as transport position.
In addition, the barrel support 102 is equipped with covering shells 118, 119 cy-lindrical with respect to the rotational axis D of the support, which covering shells fit into a corresponding recess 120 of the roof cover 121 of the armoured vehicle, and thus always ensure a safe closure of the interior of the vehicle even during a swivel movement.
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 12 to 14, a high-angle artillery gun 201 with its four gun barrels 203 is incorporated in the tailgate 204 of an ar-moured vehicle 205. This tailgate 204 has supporting legs 206 for supporting the same at the ground, is pivotally mounted at the rear of the vehicle via lug-type hinges 207, and can be swung up and down via hydraulic arms 208. The gun bar-rels 203 are pivotally mounted about transverse axes Q on a transverse barrel support 202, which is inserted in the tailgate 204 so as to be swivelled about a rotational axis D parallel to the tailgate axis P. For vertical aiming, the swinging position of the tailgate may be utilized, and the hydraulic drive 208 may be used as aiming means. The lateral aiming is in turn effected by an adjusting coupler 209, where for coordinating the aiming movements an aiming means not repre-sented in detail is provided in the vehicle. The barrel support 202 provides for a swivel movement of the gun barrels relative to the tailgate 204, so that the gun barrels can be brought into an unloading and loading position directed towards the interior of the vehicle (indicated in broken lines in Fig. 13).
In accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 15 to 19, the high-angle artillery gun 301 is equipped with four gun barrels 303, whose barrel axes A are moved along conical surfaces about a common vertical axis H for lateral aiming, and in a common axial plane through this vertical axis H for vertical aiming. The. gun bar-rels 303 are seated in a barrel support 302, which is supported in a rotary tower 304 of an armoured vehicle 305 which is rotatable about the vertical axis H, so as to be swivelled about a horizontal swivel axis D normal to the barrel axes A.
The barrel support 302 is mounted for a relative swivel movement in an adjusting frame 306 which can in turn be swivelled about the rotational axis D of the support for vertically aiming the barrel support 302 via a pendulum aiming drive 307, where a hollow box 308 accommodates the entire high-angle artillery gun 301.
The hollow box 308 is pivotally mounted inside the rotary tower 304 about a hori-zontal swivel axis N normal to the swivel axis D of the support, which provides for a swing compensation, and for the gun barrels 303 it is on the one hand equipped with an unloading device 309 and on the other hand with a loading device 310, where a grenade magazine 311 is associated to the loading device 310 in the ro-tary tower 304.
In addition to the high-angle artillery gun 301 the rotary tower 304 is equipped with a flat-angle gun 312, where the barrel axis F of the flat-angle gun 312 lies in a plane defined by the barrel axes A of the high-angle artillery gun and the swivel axis N. The holder 313 of the flat-angle gun is connected with the hollow box via the swivel bearing 314, so that not only the rotation of the rotary tower 304, but also the swivel movement of the hollow box 308 are equally effective for both weapons. There is thus achieved a combination of two weapon systems, for which the lateral aiming and the swing compensation are effected together, and only the vertical aiming must each be performed separately because of the different sys-tems.
The hollow box 308 is closed towards the interior of the tower, so that the operat-ing crews remain protected although the firing hatch of the high-angle artillery gun is open at the top when the hatch cover is open, where here as well the relative adjustment of the barrel support 302 with respect to the adjusting frame 306 pro-vides for loading independent of the aiming operation. When the barrel support 302 with the gun barrels 303 is swivelled into a horizontal position with the barrel orifice facing away from the flat-angle gun 312, there is obtained a transport posi-tion, but also a loading position, in which grenades from the magazine 311 can be introduced into the gun barrels via the loading means 310 (Fig. 17). Now, the bar-rel support 302 can be swivelled back into the adjusting frame 306, which has been brought into a pre-aimed position and therefore immediately effects the de-sired alignment also for the loaded gun barrels, where stops not represented in detail determine the mutually allocated positions (Fig. 18). Upon discharge of a shot, the barrel support 302 with the gun barrels 303 swivels towards the unload-ing station 309, where the grenades to be unloaded are dumped into correspond-ing collecting devices (Fig. 19). Subsquently swivelling back into the loading posi-tion provides for another loading of the high-angle gun and makes the same again ready for firing.
By means of a fire control computer, the flat-angle gun 312 and the high-angle artillery gun 301 can be adjusted to each other, where with one gun layer both guns can perfectly be aligned.
Claims (17)
1. A high-angle artillery gun, in particular a grenade projector, comprising at least one pivoted gun barrel, a switch box for barrel adjustment, and an aiming means for the switch box for aligning the gun barrels, characterized in that the aiming means (7) has an independent aiming device (8) preferably arranged separate from the switch box, by means of which aiming device the switch box can be operated or activated for the lateral or vertical aiming of the gun barrels (3) in the sense of a rotary movement of each barrel axis (A) along a conical surface about a vertical axis (H) and/or in the sense of a swivel movement along an axial plane through this vertical axis (H).
2. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the aiming device (8) has an aiming disk (9) rotatable about a vertical axis (H) and an aiming carriage (10) guided radially on the aiming disk (9) with a pivot point (11) for actuating rods (12) engaging in the switch box.
3. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the switch box comprises a barrel support (102, 202, 302) accommodating the gun barrels (103, 203, 303) and rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation (D), by means of which barrel support the gun barrels can be swivelled from a firing position into a loading position independent of the aiming means (7).
4. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, compris-ing a base plate pivotally mounted at a vehicle via pivoted deposition arms for supporting the gun barrel ends via ball-and-socket joints, and comprising a paral-lel-crank-type adjusting frame for barrel adjustment, where the adjusting frame has lateral pendulum supports, which are parallel to the barrel axis and are like-wise deposited on the base plate via ball-and-socket joints, and at least one transverse yoke connecting the pendulum supports with each other and pivotally mounted at the gun barrels, characterized in that the aiming device (8) of the aiming means (7) is disposed on the vehicle (13), and the actuating rods (12) couple the aiming carriage (10) with the adjusting frame (4) in the sense of a syn-chronous movement of the pivot points.
5. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the transverse yoke (61) is pivotally mounted about a longitudinal axis (L) with respect to the pendulum supports (51) for swivelling the gun barrels (3) into a loading position, and the pendulum supports (51) are vertically adjustable for lift-ing the gun barrel ends from the base plate (2).
6. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the base plate (2) is pivotally mounted on an armoured vehicle (5) instead of a tailgate, and to reach a roof-side transport position of the gun barrels (3) the transverse yoke (61) can be swivelled beyond the loading position.
7. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, charac-terized in that for supporting the gun barrels there is provided a barrel support (102) rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation (D), on which barrel support the gun barrels (103) are pivotally mounted about transverse axes (Q) normal to the barrel axis (A) and the rotational axis (D) of the support, where at a distance from the rotational axis (D) of the support an adjusting coupler (104) with pivot axes (K) parallel to the transverse axes (Q) is pivotally mounted at the gun barrels (103).
8. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the associated aiming device (108) is disposed axially beside the barrel support (102), and the vertical axis (H) of the aiming disk (109) intersects the rotational axis (D) of the support, where in the intersection (S) of the axes there is located a fixed kinematic point of an aiming lever (112) engaging in the pivot point (111) of the aiming carriage (110), which aiming lever is in drive connection with the barrel support (102) and the adjusting coupler (104) via the actuating rods comprising sliding and rotating levers (113, 114), so as to effect a synchronous movement of aiming lever (112) and gun barrel axes (A).
9. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that a positive clutch (115) is incorporated in the actuating rods (113, 114) and for the barrel support (102) an additional drive is provided for swivelling the gun barrels (103) into a loading position, where preferably the aiming carriage has a hetero-dyne drive for raising up the gun barrels.
10. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9, charac-terized in that the barrel support (102) is incorporated in an armoured vehicle (116), preferably a combat vehicle, transverse to the direction of travel.
11. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the barrel support (102) constitutes a hollow box (105) for accommodating the gun barrels, which is equipped with covering shells (118, 119) cylindrical with re-spect to the rotational axis (D) of the support, where the armoured vehicle (116) has a recess (120) adapted to these covering shells in the roof cover (121).
12. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the barrel support (202) is incorporated in a tailgate (204) of an armoured vehicle (205), which by means of actuators (208) can be swivelled about a transverse axis (P) on the side of the ground, where the rotational axis (D) of the support extends parallel to the tailgate axis (P), and the tailgate (204) pivotally mounted at the ve-hicle (205) via lug-type hinges or the like has supporting legs (206).
13. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the gun barrels (303) are seated in a barrel support (302), which is mounted in a rotary tower (304) of an armoured vehicle (305), which is rotatable about a vertical axis (H), so as to be swivelled about a horizontal swivel axis (D) normal to the barrel axes (A), where preferably the rotary tower (304) additionally accom-modates a flat-angle gun (312) pivotally mounted with respect to the swivel axis (D) of the support along a normal plane.
14. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the barrel support (302) is mounted for a relative swivel movement in an ad-justing frame (306), which in turn is inserted in a hollow box (308) so as to be swivelled about the swivel axis (D) of the support for vertically aiming the gun bar-rels (303).
15. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the hollow box (308) is supported in the rotary tower (304) so as to be swiv-elled about a horizontal swivel axis (N) normal to the swivel axis (D) of the sup-port, where possibly the flat-angle gun (312) is mounted so as to be swivelled to-gether with the hollow box (308).
16. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in any of claims 13 to 15, char-acterized in that on the side facing away from the flat-angle gun (312) the hollow box (308) has a loading device (310) and preferably an unloading device (309) on the side of the ground, where a grenade magazine (311) is associated to the loading device (310) in the rotary tower (304).
17. The high-angle artillery gun as claimed in any of claims 13 to 16, char-acterized in that the barrel axes (A, F) of the gun barrels (303) and of the flat-angle gun (312) and the swivel axis (N) of the hollow box define a common plane.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT0109396A AT408690B (en) | 1996-06-20 | 1996-06-20 | STEALFIRE PROTECTION, ESPECIALLY GRENADE LAUNCHERS |
| ATA1093/96 | 1996-06-20 | ||
| PCT/AT1997/000130 WO1997048959A1 (en) | 1996-06-20 | 1997-06-16 | High angle fire gun, in particular grenade launching weapon |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2258737A1 CA2258737A1 (en) | 1997-12-24 |
| CA2258737C true CA2258737C (en) | 2005-02-08 |
Family
ID=3506441
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002258737A Expired - Fee Related CA2258737C (en) | 1996-06-20 | 1997-06-16 | High-angle artillery gun, in particular grenade projector |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0906553B1 (en) |
| AT (2) | AT408690B (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2258737C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE59710443D1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2203810T3 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1997048959A1 (en) |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE507003C2 (en) * | 1997-04-29 | 1998-03-16 | Roheim Karl Axel | Device for directing, layering and elevating one and more firearm weapons |
| GB9822010D0 (en) | 1998-10-08 | 1999-10-20 | Vickers Shipbuilding & Eng | Improvements in or relating to self-propelled guns |
| DE10133144A1 (en) * | 2001-07-07 | 2003-01-30 | Rheinmetall Landsysteme Gmbh | Armored vehicle |
| DE10160216C1 (en) * | 2001-12-07 | 2003-06-12 | Rheinmetall Landsysteme Gmbh | Independently adjustable secondary armament |
| DE102008052074A1 (en) | 2008-10-17 | 2010-04-22 | Rheinmetall Landsysteme Gmbh | Weapon system with a carrier vehicle and a vehicle-mounted mortar |
| DE102008056112A1 (en) | 2008-11-06 | 2010-05-12 | Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Gmbh | mortar |
| DE102008056108A1 (en) | 2008-11-06 | 2010-05-12 | Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Gmbh | Weapon with return and a damping braking device |
| EE01096U1 (en) * | 2011-08-25 | 2012-04-16 | Vaarmann Steven | Rakis for holding and directing fireworks |
| CN104897002B (en) * | 2012-11-05 | 2016-07-13 | 杭州航海仪器有限公司 | Modularity Common-frame vertical launch device |
| WO2016020558A1 (en) * | 2014-08-07 | 2016-02-11 | Ntgs (New Technologies Global Systems, Sl) | Base plate |
| WO2024056916A1 (en) | 2022-09-12 | 2024-03-21 | Escribano Mechanical And Engineering S.L. | Mortar carrier system and mortar carrier system operation method |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CH550987A (en) * | 1972-03-16 | 1974-06-28 | Oerlikon Buehrle Ag | ARMORED VEHICLE WITH A SIDE-ON GRENADE THROWER. |
| DE3121963A1 (en) * | 1981-06-03 | 1982-12-23 | Rheinmetall GmbH, 4000 Düsseldorf | MOERSER WITH A RETURN RETURN DEVICE INTEGRATED IN A PIPE WEIGHER |
| AT399221B (en) * | 1983-09-16 | 1995-04-25 | Johann Dr Schabelreiter | MOBILE PROTECTION, ESPECIALLY VEHICLE-RELATED GRENADE LAUNCHER |
| EP0373283A1 (en) * | 1987-12-14 | 1990-06-20 | NORICUM MASCHINENBAU UND HANDEL GESELLSCHAFT m.b.H. | Aiming device for mobile mortar guns |
| FR2663727B1 (en) * | 1990-06-22 | 1992-10-02 | Lohr Ind | COMPOSITE STRUCTURE FOR SHOOTING MORTAR FROM A MOTORIZED MACHINE. |
| US5129307A (en) * | 1991-08-01 | 1992-07-14 | United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Side-mounted rolling airframe missile launcher |
| SE506417C2 (en) * | 1992-11-26 | 1997-12-15 | Bofors Ab | mortars |
-
1996
- 1996-06-20 AT AT0109396A patent/AT408690B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1997
- 1997-06-16 CA CA002258737A patent/CA2258737C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-06-16 DE DE59710443T patent/DE59710443D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-06-16 AT AT97926906T patent/ATE245276T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1997-06-16 ES ES97926906T patent/ES2203810T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-06-16 EP EP97926906A patent/EP0906553B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-06-16 WO PCT/AT1997/000130 patent/WO1997048959A1/en active IP Right Grant
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO1997048959A1 (en) | 1997-12-24 |
| DE59710443D1 (en) | 2003-08-21 |
| ES2203810T3 (en) | 2004-04-16 |
| EP0906553B1 (en) | 2003-07-16 |
| AT408690B (en) | 2002-02-25 |
| CA2258737A1 (en) | 1997-12-24 |
| ATE245276T1 (en) | 2003-08-15 |
| ATA109396A (en) | 2001-06-15 |
| EP0906553A1 (en) | 1999-04-07 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |