EP0071795B1 - Automatic hand fire-arm - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic shoulder arm, such as a machine gun, which can be changed over to semi-automatic fire, burst and automatic fire. In order to reduce the ammunition consumption in the automatic fire mode and to increase the hit rate, the weapon is provided with a mechanism regulating the cyclic rate of fire (27, 21 to 25) which reduces the cyclic rate of fire in the automatic fire position by means of a deceleration member (27) releasing the next shot. A hammer (14) acting upon a firing pin (10) when a shot is released is preferably releasable by deceleration member (27), which hammer is provided with an additional detent (24) being effective in the automatic fire position and disengageable by deceleration member (27) via a deceleration release lever (21). (FIG. 2a).

Description

The invention relates to an automatic handgun which can be switched to single fire, burst of fire and continuous fire and has a firing cadence regulator which reduces the firing cadence in the continuous fire setting by means of a delay element which releases the triggering of the next shot, by means of which a cock acting on a firing pin when firing the trigger can be triggered is provided with an additional detent which is effective in the continuous fire position and can be triggered by the delay element, the additional detent of the tap comprising a delay release lever which is provided with a nose which engages in a detent of the tap and which is actuated by the delay element can be disengaged, the delay element having a part moved by the closure when it moves backward.

In such an automatic weapon known from DE-A-1578367, when the breech rewinds immediately after a shot is fired, a flying piston which is displaceably mounted in a bore of the breech is moved backwards against a buffer. hurls. When the lock runs back, the tap is also tensioned and locked by a pawl. The flying piston bounces off the buffer and moves forward again. Apparently it is assumed that at this point the closure is already in its closed position. The pawl is released by the flying piston and the next shot is released with a time delay. The well-known weapon is also suitable for single fires. Weapons of other types that can be converted to single fire, continuous fire and burst of fire are well known.

The known weapon has the disadvantage that the delay device compared to the natural cadence of the weapon, which is essentially determined by the moving masses and the springs used, allows only a slight delay in the sequence of shots, because the next shot is caused by the impact of the buffer rebounding flying pistons triggered. Because of its limited mass for triggering the pawl, this piston must have a certain minimum speed in order to apply the kinetic energy required for triggering. In addition, there must also be an excess speed in order to overcome the friction forces which the piston suffers in the bore and cannot be controlled exactly.

The invention has for its object to design the weapon described above so that it has a significantly reduced firing rate in the continuous fire setting compared to the shot burst setting.

This object is achieved on the basis of the device described at the outset in that a delay element, which works mechanically and with a fluid, is provided, which comprises a spring-loaded piston and which protrudes into the movement path of the breech which moves the piston before the next shot is fired and which Piston spring tensions, which retards the piston with a throttle.

An advantage of the invention is that the delay element described allows the spring-loaded piston to be moved as slowly as desired into its position which triggers the next shot within reasonable limits. The energy for triggering the pawl that releases the cock comes from the spring that is loaded and loaded on the piston when the bolt moves back after firing the previous shot and drives the piston along its path. This spring can be made so strong that friction forces to be taken into account can of course also be surmounted here.

The invention makes it possible, in the firing position in which the weapon emits a predetermined number of shots, preferably three shots, in rapid succession when the trigger is pulled once, to select the highest possible firing rate. In particular in the case of refined handguns, such as are known from DE-A-23 26 525, in which the weapon system is mounted displaceably within a housing, a high rate of fire is important because the shooter does not feel any recoil during the firing of the burst of fire and thereby the weapon is not or only slightly deflected from the target. This ensures a high hit quality. In the continuous fire position, on the other hand, a significantly reduced firing rate is favorable to reduce the ammunition consumption, because the shooter is hardly able to pull the trigger for much less than a second, and an increase in the hit rate corresponding to the ammunition consumption is not possible because the Gun moves from shot to shot further from the target. The shot cadence is reduced to 300 or less shots per minute, for example. It is also advantageous that the delay time of the delay element can be set independently of the kinematics and the movement sequences of the weapon, because the delay element practically does not intervene in the movement sequence of the weapon system, but only the cock is released with a delay, which has no repercussions on the Has movements of the shutter, cartridge feed and the like.

The delay element, which works mechanically and with a fluid, can be designed as desired within wide limits and can be designed functionally differently. For example, it can be a mechanical-hydraulic unit similar to a one-way shock absorber forms, which has a piston guided in a cylinder, the cylinder being filled with hydraulic fluid and the piston being provided with throttles and check valves connected in parallel and being loaded by the spring. Hydraulic delay elements generally have the disadvantage that their delay time is temperature-dependent because the viscosity of the liquid depends on the prevailing temperature. A dependence of the delay time on the outside temperature is not permissible for a weapon that has to function in the tropical climate as well as in the Arctic. A mechanical-pneumatic delay element is therefore preferably provided. Such a delay element works practically completely independent of temperature. In principle, it can be constructed like the previously described shock absorber, ie it can be hermetically sealed from the outside, which has the advantage of being insensitive to dirt and dust.

Finally, it is advantageous that the delay release lever can be attached in a desired manner away from the other cock catches, which in turn are preferably incorporated in the vicinity of the axis of rotation of the cock. The delay release lever can be made long enough so that the delay element requires a relatively small force to disengage the delay release lever and to release the tap.

In a preferred embodiment, the detent cooperating with the delay release lever is provided in the region of the end region of the valve that is remote from the axis of rotation of the valve.

The cadence reduction by means of the delay element can be switched off by holding the delay release lever in a position in which it always remains out of engagement with the engagement surface on the tap. A particularly expedient embodiment is obtained when the safety shaft, which is in any case available for switching on the usual operating modes, is designed such that it holds the delay release lever in a pivoted position in the burst of fire position, in which its nose remains outside the engagement surface of the stop cock. This embodiment has the advantage that the safety shaft automatically deactivates the delay element in the firing position, but on the other hand allows the delay element to take effect in the continuous fire position.

In a further embodiment, which renders the delay release lever ineffective when selecting the fire burst, the delay lever is disengaged from its active position by a member of the automatic counting mechanism that limits the number of shots fired by the burst. In this embodiment, the delay lever is only pivoted out during the shot count and is therefore ineffective, but is also effective in the setting for individual fires, but this has no influence in practical use.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the piston is provided with a cup sleeve serving as a check valve, and the cylinder guiding the piston is vented on one or both sides via an optionally adjustable throttle. This embodiment is characterized by a particularly simple construction because the piston is essentially formed by the cup sleeve, which at the same time also fulfills the function of the check valve. By venting the cylinder chamber to the outside via the throttle, an externally adjustable throttle can easily be used, which has the advantage that the delay time can be set, which will only be important in exceptional cases, however, because the provision of a fixed throttle is more appropriate. When the cylinder is vented to the outside, the throttle can be provided on the pressure side and / or the suction side.

Since the return movement of the piston, which disengages the delay release lever and releases the shot, is relatively slow, irregular delay times may occur because the force disengaging the delay release lever increases only gradually. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylinder is provided with a transverse bore, which the piston releases before it reaches its active end position. This cross bore results in the effect that the deceleration caused by the throttle is switched off at the moment and the piston is moved without delay by the spring when the piston has passed the cross bore. It is thereby achieved that the delay release lever is actuated with the full and undelayed force of the spring displacing the piston. This results in a uniform and very reliable working of the device. A similar effect can also be achieved in that the piston rod is guided in a sealed manner in the support plate and is provided with a longitudinal groove which reaches and bridges the seal before the actual end position of the piston is reached, or in that a groove is provided in the cylinder wall.

In general, such automatic handguns are provided with a return buffer for limiting the return of the breech. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the return buffer is designed as a ring surrounding the piston rod of the delay-element piston, against which a collar attached to the piston rod comes to rest in the closed end position. This makes it possible to mount the delay element in the end region of the breech movement path, as a result of which the delay element is integrated into the weapon and an organic, compact construction is achieved.

• Figur 1 eine Seitenansicht einer Waffe, und die
• Figuren 2a-c Längsschnitte durch die Abzugsmechanik und verschiedene als Kadenzregler dienende Verzögerungsglieder in der Stellung Dauerfeuer bei durchgezogenem Abzug.
• Figur 3 einen Längsschnitt durch ein weiteres Verzögerungsglied.

Further details and refinements of the present invention result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing in Zu connection with the demands. In a simplified and schematic representation, omitting all details of the weapon that are not necessary for understanding the invention:

• Figure 1 is a side view of a weapon, and the
• Figures 2a-c longitudinal sections through the trigger mechanism and various delay elements serving as cadence control in the position continuous fire with the trigger pulled.
• Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section through a further delay element.

The weapon shown in FIG. 1, which is an automatic rifle, comprises a barrel 1, a sighting device 2, a hand guard 3 surrounding the rear part of the barrel, a pistol grip 4 with a trigger 6 pivotally mounted in a trigger box 5 and a shoulder rest 7. A cartridge supply is located in a magazine 8 attached in front of the trigger box 5. The weapon is designed as a recoil loader like the known G 3 rifle; it could also be constructed as a gas pressure charger. In all cases, the handgun includes a breech that closes the barrel, returns after a shot has been fired, ejects the empty cartridge, advances under the force of a spring, and thereby inserts the next cartridge into the chamber.

FIGS. 2a-c show the rear part of the breech 9, the breech 9 being in its front end position in which it closes the cartridge chamber. The closure 9 with a firing pin 10 is displaceable along a line 11. The trigger 6 is rotatably mounted in the trigger box 5 about an axis 12. A trigger lever 13 is also pivotable about the axis 12 and can be displaced longitudinally to a limited extent, as is known from the aforementioned weapon. A tap 14 is pivotable about an axis 15 and is provided with a catch 16 and a further catch 17 at a short distance from its axis 15. The cock 14 is loaded in a known manner by a cock spring, which pivots it counterclockwise after the release in the illustration according to FIG. 2a until it hits the firing pin 10 and thus triggers the shot. In parallel to the axes 12 and 15, a securing shaft 18 is provided, which, in a known manner, not shown, in the “secured” position blocks an extension 19 of the trigger 6 and thus an actuation of the trigger 6. A delay release lever 21 is pivotally mounted about a further axis 20 and is loaded by a spring 22 in the clockwise direction. The delay release lever 21 is provided with a lug 23 which engages in a catch 24 which is incorporated in the cock 14 in its end region facing away from the axis 15. The delay release lever 21 is also extended and projects with an arm 25 into the path of movement of a head 26 of a delay element 27 or 27 'or 27 ", the head 26 also being movable along the line 11, but with the arm 25 moving laterally is located outside the path of movement of the closure 9.

A catch pawl 29 is rotatably mounted about an axis 28 and is provided with a nose 30, on which the cock 14 with the catch 16 comes to rest when the catch pawl 29 is not pivoted out. The end of the catch pawl protrudes into the movement path of a release lever 31 which is attached to the closure 9 and can be moved together with it. When the closure is closed, the catch pawl 29 is pivoted such that the nose 30 is outside the movement path of the catch 16 and thus the cock 14, as far as it is not otherwise held, can strike the firing pin 10.

The delay elements 27, 27 'and 27 "comprise a cylinder 32 fastened to the trigger box 5 or the lock guide, in which a piston 33 is displaceably guided in the direction of line 11, which is provided with a piston rod 34, on the piston rod 33 facing away from it End of the head 26. The piston rod 34 is passed through a support plate 35 fixedly attached to the weapon and between the head 26 and the support plate 35 there is a ring 36 surrounding the piston rod 34 made of an elastically deformable material, which serves as a buffer The piston 33 comprises a support plate 37 and a guide plate 38, which fix a cup sleeve 39 made of an elastic sealing material between them, the open side of the cup sleeve 39 pointing towards the head 26. A helical compression spring is supported on a base 40 of the cylinder 32 41 from which, on the other hand, bears against the guide plate 38 and loads the piston 33, so that it moves in the direction of au f tries to move the shutter 9. In the delay elements 27 and 27 "(FIGS. 2a and 2c), a bore 42 is machined into the base 40 of the cylinder 32, which bore can be completely or partially covered by a plate 44 pivotably fastened by means of a screw 43 a transverse bore 45 is incorporated, the position of which is selected such that the cup sleeve 39 has passed the bore under the action of the compression spring 41, just before the head 26 reaches the arm 25.

In the delay element 27 according to FIG. 2a, only the negative pressure in the space containing the spring 41 is used to delay the movement of the piston 33. Accordingly, a ventilation hole 46 having a sufficiently large cross section is machined into the support plate 35. If, on the other hand, according to FIG. 2b, only the excess pressure in the space of the cylinder 32 opposite the spring 41 is used in the delay element 27 'to delay the movement of the piston 33, then the bore 46' serves as a vent and is arranged instead of the bore 42. A bore 42 'machined into the support plate 35 serves as a throttle and can be completely or partially covered by a plate 44' which is pivotably fastened by means of screw 43 '. The bore 45 is replaced by a longitudinal groove 45 'in the piston rod 34, which is sealed by an O-ring 47 in the support plate 35 until the groove 45' extends outward through the sealed area. Both the negative pressure and the excess pressure are used in the delay element 27 "according to FIG. 2c.

The various operating modes, namely safe, single fire, burst of fire and continuous fire are set in a known manner by pivoting the safety shaft 18. In the safe position, the safety shaft blocks the shoulder 19 of the trigger 6, as is also known from the imported weapons G 3 and HK 21 A 1. When the lock is closed, the catch pawl 29 is pivoted by the release lever 31 and thus the nose 30 is disengaged from the catch 16.

If the safety shaft 18 is pivoted into the single-fire position, the trigger 6 can be pivoted and takes the trigger lever 13 with it, the stud of which pivots out of the catch 17 and releases the tap 14. After triggering the shot, the breech runs back, tensions the cock 14 and then runs again under the action of a closing spring, not shown. The tap 14 is initially caught by the nose 30 at the catch 16 until the closure 9 reaching the closed position with the release lever 31 swings out the catch pawl 29, whereupon the tap 14 is caught by the trigger lever 13 with its catch 17. The next shot can be triggered by actuating the trigger 6 again.

In the firing position, a cam 18 'of the safety shaft 18 pivots the delay lever 21 so that its nose 23 is out of engagement with the catch 24 of the cock 14. This ensures that the next shot is triggered each time the breech 9 reaches the closed position of the breech and the release lever 31 swings out the catch pawl 29, whereby the nose 30 is released from the catch 16 and the cock 14 can thereby knock off. The delay release lever 21 is also inoperative in this operating mode.

If the safety shaft 18 is now pivoted into the continuous fire mode of operation shown in Fig. 2a-c, then the delay release 21 is free from the cam 18 ', so that after the first shot is fired (otherwise unchanged as in the burst mode), the through the lock return cock cock 14 is caught at the catch 24 by the nose 23. Here the tap 14 is now held, with the trigger lever 13 remaining pivoted out of the path of the catch 17 by the extension 19 of the trigger 6. Due to the closed closure and the release lever 31, the catch blade 29 and thus the nose 30 is pivoted out of the path of the detent 16. The closure not only tensed the tap 14 when it returned, but also moved the piston 33 into the position shown in FIGS. 2a-c by hitting the head 26, the cup sleeve 39 acting as a check valve that opened automatically in this direction of movement. After the closure buffered by the ring 36 has advanced again under the action of the closing spring, the spring 41 presses the piston 33 in the direction of the closure 9, the piston speed depending on how large the free cross section of the bore 42 or 42 'is , which is adjustable by turning the screw 43 and the plate 44 (unless a fixed bore is preferred). The piston 33 therefore moves with a delay until the cup sleeve 39 has passed the transverse bore 45 (FIG. 2a) or the groove 45 'through the 0-ring 47, whereupon air is practically unthrottled in the or through the transverse bore 45 or the groove 45'. can flow out of the cylinder 32, whereupon the piston 33 with the piston rod 34 and the head 26 is advanced without delay by the spring 41 until the head 26 hits the arm 25 and pivots the delay release lever 21. As a result, the nose 23 is released from the rest 24 and the tap 14 can knock off and trigger the shot.

In this operating mode, in which the delay element 27 is effective, the time interval between two shots is no longer determined solely by the kinematics of the shutter, but essentially by the delay time determined by the delay element 27. So while in the burst position the weapon shoots with unchanged, high cadence, in the continuous fire position it shoots with a reduced cadence. For example, the cadence can be set to 300 rounds per minute or, if desired, even a lot lower, but the firearm's full high cadence is retained in the mode of operation.

It goes without saying that the delay element 27 can also be constructed in a different manner known per se in mechanical delay elements. Instead of a mechanical delay element, for example, an electrical delay element could also be used which, after its delay time has expired, for example via a magnet, releases the tap 14.

The cock 14 is loaded in a known manner via a pressure fork 50 by a helical compression spring 52. These parts are shown broken off to simplify the drawing. Also to simplify the drawing, only a gear 54 of the shot counter present in the weapon is shown in FIG. 2a, which is driven in a manner not shown by the movement of the cock 14. This shot counter is in European Patent Application No. 82 102 962.6 (published on 24-11-82 under No.0065101) ^* dated April 7, 1982, the applicant of which is Heckler & Koch GmbH and whose title is “Shot number limiter for automatic fires -

^* Designated countries: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland with Liechtenstein, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden. weapons with tap firing and which claims the priority of the German patent application P 31 20128.8, described in detail.

The pneumatic delay element 60 shown in FIG. 3 differs from the delay elements described above mainly in that it has in its piston 62 a valve 66 which is loaded by a spring 64 and which moves from the left to the left when the piston 62 moves in FIG. 3 opens automatically on the right, thereby allowing the air originally contained on the right of the piston 62 within the cylinder 68 to pass through a radial bore 70 into the area on the left of the piston 62. If the piston 62 moves to the left from the position shown in FIG. 3, the valve 66 closes and the air located to the left of the piston 62 now passes through the radial bore 70 and a bore 74 running parallel to the axial direction, which is at its end Bore 70 adjacent end merges into a narrow throttle bore 76, again on the right side of the piston 62. In the cylinder wall 80, a longitudinal groove 82 is provided which, when the piston 62 has moved a certain distance to the left, the rapid overflow of the Air from the space to the left of the piston 62 into the space to the right of the piston 62 allows the air to flow past a seal 86 located in an annular groove 84, thereby bypassing the throttle bore 76 and thereby the spring 41 the piston 62, as in the above described embodiments, drives to the left at considerable speed, so that the triggering of the hammer 14 takes place with great certainty. The arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is insensitive to contamination because all parts of the pneumatic delay device are arranged inside the cylinder 68 and are closed off by this and the wall 35 to the outside.

The reference symbols in the claims are not restricted, but are only for easier understanding.

Claims (14)

1. Automatic hand firearm, which can be set to single-shot fire, bursts of fire and continuous fire and comprises a firing rate regulator (27, 21 to 25), which reduces the firing rate at the continuous fire setting by a delay member (27) initiating the release of the next shot, by which a hammer acting on a firing pin (10) when the shot is fired can be released, which hammer is provided with an additional catch, which is operative in the continuous fire position and can be released by the delay member (27), the additional catch of the cocking lever (14) comprising a delay release lever (21), which is provided with a lug (23) engaging in a notch (24) in the hammer (14), which lug can be disengaged by the delay member (27), the delay member comprising a part moved by the breech mechanism as it moves backwards, characterised by a delay member (27) operating mechanically and with a flow medium, which comprises a spring-loaded piston (33) and which projects into the path of movement of the breech mechanism (9), which before the release of the next shot displaces the piston (33) and tensions the piston spring (41), which pushes the piston back delayed by a restrictor (42, 44).

2. Firearm according to claim 1, characterised in that the notch (24) for the delay release lever (21) is provided in the region of the end region of the hammer (14) remote from the hammer fulcrum (15).

3. Firearm according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a safety shaft (18) for setting the types of function in at least one position (burst of fire, single-shot fire) keeps the delay release lever (21) in a turned position, in which its lug (23) remains outside the notch (24).

4. Firearm according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the delay release lever is disengaged from its operative position by way of a member of the automatic counting device limiting the number of shots at the setting « burst of fire •.

5. Firearm according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the piston (33) is provided with a non-return valve.

6. Firearm according to claim 5, characterised in that the cylinder (32) guiding the piston is ventilated on at least one side by way of a restrictor (42, 42', 44, 44').

7. Firearm according to claim 5, characterised in that the piston (62) comprises a restrictor bore (76) passing through it in the longitudinal direction.

8. Firearm according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the cylinder (32) is provided with a transverse bore (45), which the piston (33) releases before reaching its operative end position.

9. Firearm according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the piston rod (34) is guided in a sealed manner in the support plate (35) and is provided with a longitudinal groove (45'), which reaches and bridges the seal before reaching the operative end position of the piston (33).

10. Firearm according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a return buffer is provided for limiting the return of the breech mechanism, that the return buffer is constructed as a ring (36) surrounding a piston rod (34) of the delay member piston (33), against which ring a collar (26) located on the piston rod (34) comes to bear in the end position of the breech mechanism.

11. Firearm according to claim 10, characterised in that the delay member is located substantially behind the return buffer.

12. Firearm according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the cylinder wall (80) is provided with a longitudinal groove (82), which the seal (86) reaches and bridges before reaching the operative end position of the piston (62).

13. Firearm according to claim 5, characterised in that the non-return valve is formed by a cup sleeve (39).

14. Firearm according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the delay member (27) is a mechanical/pneumatic delay member (27).

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