EP0702202A1 - Device for regulating the balancing system of an artillery piece depending on the external temperature - Google Patents

Abstract

The regulator connects the carriage (2) to a pivoted weight (3) and comprises a gas chamber (6) which exerts a force (Fe) opposite to that (Fp) of the weight. The chamber (6) cooperates with a moving piston (7) as the weight pivots through an angle relative to the carriage, so that the pressure of the gas in the chamber varies as a function of the angular displacement. The volume of the gas in the chamber is calculated so that at a given pressure it exerts a force which is equal and opposite to the force exerted by the pivoted weight. The regulator also has a mechanical system for modifying the gas pressure inside the chamber for other temperatures, and a second mechanical system for modifying the speed of variation of the gas volume during the angular movement of the pivoted weight.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for adjusting as a function of the outside temperature of a balancing system for an artillery piece.

This system connects the mount of the artillery piece and the pivotally mounted mass (which notably includes the muzzle of fire of the piece) on this mount. This system includes a gas chamber, the pressure of which exerts a force opposite to the force exerted by the above pivoting mass.

In the device described in the document "US MIL SPECS" Military Handbook, the balancing is carried out using a nitrogen chamber. The calculations are made by studying the moment generated by the balancer (i.e. studying the variation of the force and the length of the lever arm). The balancing curve is readjusted on the pointing curve, depending on the outside temperature, by means of a pump to modify the initial pressure and by varying the length of the lever arm to change the balancing moment for all pointing angles.

In the device described in EP - A - 309646 A, the balancing pressure is fixed as a function of the outside temperature thanks to a regulation valve, a gas tank and a pressure sensor.

The drawbacks of the above state of the art lie in the fact that the balancing is carried out by action on the moments of imbalance, not on the scoring effort itself. The system requires the use of a pressure adjustment pump as well as a pressure sensor.

The object of the present invention is to provide an adjustment device using only mechanical adjustment means in order to ensure the most rigorous balancing possible as a function of the outside temperature, this balancing acting on the pointing force and not on the moment, and the adjustment being possible at any angle of aiming in height of the artillery piece.

The invention thus relates to a device for adjusting as a function of the outside temperature of a balancing system for an artillery piece, this system connecting the mounting of the artillery piece and the mass pivotally mounted on this carriage and includes a gas chamber, the pressure of which exerts a force opposite to the force exerted by said mass.

According to the invention, this device is characterized in that the gas chamber cooperates with a piston movable relative to the latter during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass relative to the mount, so that the pressure of the gas in said chamber varies as a function of the above angular displacement, in that the volume of the gas contained in the chamber is calculated so that at a given temperature, the pressure of the gas exerts a force which is opposite and substantially equal to the force exerted by the pivoting mass and in that the system further comprises a first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber for other temperatures and a second mechanical means for modifying the speed of variation of the volume of the gas during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass.

Thus, thanks to these two mechanical adjustment means alone, which make it possible to modify the volume of gas and the speed of variation of the volume of gas, it is possible to balance the aforementioned forces over a wide range of temperatures and for any pointing angle in height of the part artillery.

According to an advantageous version of the invention, said piston is connected to the carriage by a rod articulated to the latter, this piston being slidably mounted in a cylinder constituting said gas chamber, this cylinder being connected in an articulated manner to the pivoting mass.

This piston slides in the cylinder during modifications of the aiming angle in height of the artillery piece, which makes it possible to modify the pressure of the gas in the chamber and therefore to balance the forces, at a given temperature, for any pointing angle in height.

Preferably, said first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber comprises a second piston mounted to slide in the cylinder opposite the first piston, this second piston being connected to means allowing the latter to move by compared to the first piston during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass to modify the volume of the gas.

The displacement of this second piston makes it possible to modify the volume of the gas in the chamber, to take temperature variations into account.

Preferably also, said second mechanical means comprises means making it possible to modify the speed of movement of the second piston during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass to modify the speed of variation of the volume of the gas.

This modification of the speed of variation of the volume of gas in the chamber makes it possible to balance the forces for any temperature and any pointing angle in height.

The means for controlling the movement can be constituted for example by a cable and adjustment slides making it possible to respectively adjust the initial volume of the gas chamber and the speed of variation of this volume.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the description below.

• la figure 1 est une vue en élévation d'une pièce d'artillerie comportant un dispositif de réglage conforme à l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue détaillée à plus grande échelle du dispositif de réglage ;
• la figure 3 est un schéma d'une variante du dispositif de réglage ;
• la figure 4 est une courbe montrant la variation de la force exercée par la masse pivotante de la pièce d'artillerie en fonction de l'angle de pointage en hauteur ;
• la figure 5 montre les courbes de variation de la force précitée et de la force d'équilibrage en fonction de l'angle de pointage en hauteur à la température maximale de 63° C ;
• la figure 6 montre les courbes précitées obtenues à la température minimale de -46° C, avant mise en oeuvre des moyens de réglage selon l'invention ;
• la figure 7, montre les courbes obtenues à -46° C, après mise en oeuvre du premier moyen de réglage ;
• la figure 8, montre les courbes obtenues à -46° C, après mise en oeuvre du second moyen de réglage.

In the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples:

• Figure 1 is an elevational view of an artillery piece comprising an adjustment device according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a detailed view on a larger scale of the adjustment device;
• Figure 3 is a diagram of a variant of the adjustment device;
• Figure 4 is a curve showing the variation of the force exerted by the pivoting mass of the artillery piece as a function of the aiming angle in height;
• Figure 5 shows the variation curves of the aforementioned force and the force balancing as a function of the height pointing angle at the maximum temperature of 63 ° C;
• Figure 6 shows the aforementioned curves obtained at the minimum temperature of -46 ° C, before implementation of the adjustment means according to the invention;
• Figure 7 shows the curves obtained at -46 ° C, after implementation of the first adjustment means;
• Figure 8 shows the curves obtained at -46 ° C, after implementation of the second adjustment means.

In Figure 1, there is shown an artillery piece 1, comprising a mount 2 on which is pivotally attached along an axis XX 'the pivoting mass 3 which we want to balance and which includes in particular the muzzle 4 .

The balancing system is designated by the general reference 5. This system 5 connects the mount 2 of the artillery piece and the mass 3 pivotally mounted on this mount. As shown in FIG. 2, the system 5 comprises a gas chamber 6 whose pressure exerts a force Fe opposite to the force Fp exerted by the pivoting mass 3.

The gas chamber 6 cooperates with a piston 7 movable relative to the latter during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass 3 relative to the mounting 2, so that the pressure of the gas in the chamber 6 varies as a function of the displacement angular above.

The volume of the gas contained in the chamber 6 is calculated so that at a given temperature, the pressure of the gas exerts a force Fe which is opposite and is substantially equal to the force Fp exerted by the pivoting mass 3.

The system further comprises a first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in chamber 6 for other temperatures and a second mechanical means for modifying the speed of variation of the volume of the gas during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass.

As shown in Figure 2, the piston 7 is connected to the mount 2 by a rod 8 hinged at 9 to the latter. The piston 7 is slidably mounted in a cylinder 10 constituting the gas chamber 6. This cylinder 10 is connected to the pivoting mass 3 in an articulated fashion at 11. The screw 8 is mounted in a nut 8a secured to the cylinder 10.

The first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber 6 comprises a second piston 13 slidably mounted in the cylinder 10 opposite the first piston 7.

This second piston 13 is connected to means comprising a cable 14 allowing this piston 13 to move relative to the first piston 7 during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass 3 to modify the volume of the gas.

The second mechanical means comprises means making it possible to modify the speed of movement of the second piston 13 during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass to modify the speed of variation of the volume of the gas.

In the example of FIG. 2, the end of the rod 15 of the second piston 13 is connected to a cable 14 so that the movement of the cable drives the piston 13 in the same direction.

Cable 14 is guided along the cylinder 10 and passes on the axis XX ′ of pivoting of the pivoting mass 3. The end 14a of the cable 14 opposite the second piston 13 is fixed in an adjustable manner to the mount 2.

The adjustment means comprise a first slide 17 secured to the pivoting mass, one of the ends D of which is located under the return pulley 16 and the other end of which C is located at a certain distance, in front of the first end. This slide 17 comprises a slide 18 movable between the two ends D and C above between a position where the cable 14 passes in front of the slide 18 substantially without touching it and adjustable positions situated in front of this position where the cable is pushed towards the front by the slide 18 so that the cable 14 makes with the axis of the slide 17 an increasingly small angle when the slide is pushed forward.

The device comprises a second slide 19 secured to the carriage 2 extending substantially along the height of the latter and comprising a slide 20 movable between a high end E and a low end A of the slide 19 and to which the end 14a of the cable is fixed.

The upper end E of the slide 19 is located under the first slide 17, substantially to the right of the front end C of the latter.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 3, the first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber comprises a gas cylinder 21 connected to the mount 2 and to the pivoting mass. The gas chamber 22 of this jack 21 is connected by flexible tubing 23 to the gas chamber 6 of the balancing system.

The end 24 of the gas spring 21 connected to the pivoting mass 3 is articulated and sliding in a slide 25 extending from a first end close to the axis XX 'of pivoting of the pivoting mass 3 to a second end 26 located in front of the first.

In the two embodiments described, the volume of the gas contained in the chamber 6 is calculated so that at the maximum temperature provided (for example 63 ° C.) for the operation of the artillery piece, the pressure of the gas exerts a force Fe which substantially balances the force Fp exerted by the pivoting mass whatever the angle formed by the pivoting mass 3.

The means for modifying the volume of gas are adapted to allow a reduction in the volume of this gas sufficient to substantially obtain the balance of the forces Fe and Fp, at the minimum temperature (for example, -46 ° C.) and at the angle minimum of the artillery piece.

The means for modifying the speed of variation of volume of the gas are sufficient to obtain, under the conditions of temperature and angle above, substantially the balancing of the forces whatever the angle formed by the pivoting mass.

We will now explain the operation of the device that has just been described.

The force Fp generated by the pivoting mass of the material on the axis 11 is given by the curve P of the pointing force (see FIG. 4). The object of the invention is to create a force which is the most as close as possible to this aiming effort without ever being equal to it (to avoid changes in direction in the play catch-up) for all angles (in this case, from -6 ° to + 63 °) and for temperatures ranging from -46 ° C to + 63 ° C.

Thanks to a certain volume of gas in the chamber 6 and for a given temperature (+ 63 ° C.), correct balancing is obtained (see FIG. 5) between the pointing P and balancing E curves.

When the temperature drops to -46 ° C; there appears to be a significant difference between the pointing curve P and the balancing curve E (see FIG. 6), (the temperature drop causes a pressure drop and therefore decreases the intensity of the balancing force). This difference can be eliminated as follows:

First increase the nitrogen pressure for the initial angular position (that is to say at -6 °), this allows to obtain a correct balancing force at the start (see Figure 7). This is achieved by decreasing the volume of nitrogen. But although the pressure at the start is the same (correct effort), the temperature and the initial volume are different so the transformation is different and does not give a high enough pressure for the other pointing angles in height.

The forces must be increased again to better correspond to the curve P of the pointing force. The change in volume generated by the pointing must be slower than the initial change. To achieve this, two systems are required: the piston 7, whose movement is controlled by the pointing system which requires a variation in the volume of nitrogen, and a device which makes the increase in volume more or less rapid. Thus the balancing force has a correct intensity for all angles (see Figure 8).

The example cited here was chosen with the temperatures: maximum and minimum, and for the minimum elevation angle. However, the setting allows you to change the volume and speed of the volume change at any elevation angle.

The operation of the system is described below for pointing from a low position to a high position, and for a temperature ranging from + 63 ° C to -46 ° C.

The system has two adjustment slides 17, 19 (see Figure 2).

A + 63 ° C: the cable tie 14 is at B and the slip point is at D.

When the pointing angle increases, the cable 14 does not move relative to the pivoting mass 3 therefore the piston 13 does not move. Only the piston 7 translates. The result obtained is shown in Figure 5.

At -46 ° C: if the settings have not been modified, the pointing and balancing efforts are very different, as shown by the curves in Figure 6. It is therefore necessary to decrease the initial volume to increase the force. The cable tie is placed at A (see result in figure 7).

For the other pointing angles in height, the balancing force remains too low. The nitrogen volume must increase more slowly than that imposed by the piston 7. It is therefore necessary give the piston 13 a movement which tends to decrease the volume of the chamber 6 when the aiming angle increases. For this, the return pulley 18 is adjusted at C (see result in FIG. 8).

The operation of the device represented in FIG. 3 makes it possible to obtain results identical to that of FIG. 2.

In the case of FIG. 3, the piston 13 has been replaced by the jack 21 which makes it possible to modify the volume of gas in the chamber 6 and to modify the speed of variation of the volume of gas, by adjusting the position of the end 24 of the cylinder in the slide 25.

Claims (11)

Adjustment device as a function of the outside temperature of a balancing system for an artillery piece, this system connecting the mount (2) of the artillery piece and the mass (3) pivotally mounted on this mount (2) and comprises a gas chamber (6) whose pressure exerts a force (Fe) opposite to the force (Fp) exerted by said mass (3), characterized in that the gas chamber (6) cooperates with a piston (7) movable relative to the latter during the angular displacement of the mass (3) pivoting relative to the mounting (2), so that the pressure of the gas in said chamber (6) varies according to the displacement angular above, in that the volume of the gas contained in the chamber (6) is calculated so that at a given temperature, the pressure of the gas exerts a force (Fe) which is opposite and substantially equal to the force (Fp) exerted by the pivoting mass (3) and in that the system further comprises a first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber (6) for other temperatures and a second mechanical means for modifying the speed of variation of the volume of the gas during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass (3). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said piston (7) is connected to the carriage by a screw (8) articulated to the latter, this screw (8) being mounted in a nut (8a) integral with the cylinder ( 10), this piston (7) being slidably mounted in a cylinder (10) constituting said gas chamber (6), this cylinder (6) being hingedly connected to the mass swivel. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber, comprises a second piston (13) slidably mounted in the cylinder (10) opposite the first piston (7) , this second piston (13) being connected to means allowing the latter to move relative to the first piston (7) during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass to modify the volume of the gas. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said second mechanical means comprises means making it possible to modify the speed of movement of the second piston (13) during the angular displacement of the pivoting mass (3) to modify the speed of variation of the volume some gas. Device according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that said second piston (13) is connected to a cable (14) wound on a deflection pulley (16) mounted on the pivot axis (XX ') of the pivoting mass (3) and whose end opposite to the second piston (13) is fixed in an adjustable manner to the carriage (2). Device according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a first slide (17) integral with the pivoting mass, one end of which is located under the return pulley (16) and the other end of which is located at a certain distance, in front of the first end, this slide (17) comprising a slide (18) movable between the two ends above between a position where the cable (14) passes in front of the slider (18) substantially without touching it and adjustable positions situated in front of this position where the cable (14) is pushed forward by the slider (18) so that the cable (14) makes with the axis of the slide (17) an increasingly small angle when the slide (18) is pushed forward. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a second slide (19) integral with the mount (2) extending substantially along the height thereof and comprising a slide (20) movable between one end high and a low end of said slide and to which the end of the cable (14) is fixed. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the upper end of the slide (19) is located under the first slide (17), substantially in line with the front end of the latter. Device according to either of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the said first mechanical means for modifying the pressure of the gas in the chamber (6) comprises a gas cylinder (21) connected to the mounting (2) and to the pivoting mass (3), the gas chamber (22) of this jack being connected by a flexible tube (23) to the gas chamber (6) of the balancing system. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the end (24) of the gas spring (21) connected to the pivoting mass (3) is articulated and sliding in a slide (25) extending between a first end close to the pivot axis (X-X ') of the sliding mass (3) and a second end (26) located in front of the first. Device according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the volume of the gas contained in the chamber (6) is calculated so that at the maximum temperature provided for the operation of the artillery piece, the gas pressure exerts a force (Fe) which substantially balances the force (Fp) exerted by the pivoting mass (3) whatever the angle formed by the pivoting mass, in that the means for modifying the volume of gas are adapted to allow an increase in the volume of this gas sufficient to obtain substantially the balance of forces, at the minimum temperature and at the minimum angle of the artillery piece and in that the means for modifying the speed of volume variation of the gases are sufficient to obtain, under the above temperature and angle conditions, substantially the balance of forces regardless of the angle formed by the pivoting mass.

Images