EP4105591A1 - Stationing device for a projectile - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for positioning (1) a projectile in a chamber (101) of a weapon barrel (100), comprising a discharge impeller (2) comprising a frame (20) and at the at least one member (24) for thrusting the projectile along the axis (A1) of the chassis to push the projectile back to its stationing position. The device (1) further comprises a support (3) for guiding the introduction of the projectile into the weapon chamber (100), the support (3) being rigid, integral with the at least one thrust member ( 24), and configured to be cantilevered from the frame (20) in the final pushing position, whereby the support (3), intended to penetrate at least partially into the tube (100) during discharge, is able to limit the amplitude of any oscillation of the projectile (P) during its projection towards its positioning position.

Description

The technical field of the invention is that of devices for positioning projectiles in a chamber of a rifled weapon, in particular of large caliber.

The positioning of a projectile, that is to say the sinking of the projectile into the chamber of the barrel of the rifled weapon, aims to jam the projectile in the forcing cone of the weapon thanks to his belt so that he is kept in this position within the weapon while waiting to be fired. During positioning, the projectile is roughly guided to the forcing cone by the inner wall of the tube.

To post a projectile, it is necessary to drive the projectile back inside the tube to the forcing cone. Since the projectiles are heavy, they must be pushed back at a sufficient speed to get stuck and ensure a seal in the forcing cone without the risk of falling, and this regardless of the position of the weapon tube in elevation.

Several posting methods and devices are known.

Conventionally, positioning is done using a pusher cylinder which pushes the projectile into the forcing cone. The main drawback of such a device is its slow loading. Indeed, the times for accompanying the projectile and withdrawing the device are too long and greatly penalize the rate of fire.

To overcome this drawback, it is known to use an impeller device which gives the projectile a strong acceleration allowing it to move by its sole inertia to its station position in the tube. the projectile is thus projected into the tube by the impeller, which remains outside the weapon. The French patent FR3043190 B1 describes an example.

However, with such an impeller device, it may happen that the projectile is not positioned correctly, which causes possible stalls of the projectile or problems with the tightness of the belt.

Indeed, the internal diameter of the tube being substantially larger than the diameter of a projectile, the chamber allows unwanted oscillations of the projectile during the pulse. Such oscillations can cause unsatisfactory collisions of the projectile in the forcing cone because the projectile is off axis with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tube when it comes into contact with the forcing cone.

Furthermore, the tube comprises in its lower rear part a zone called a spoon which corresponds to a slight recess in the chamber. This spoon is intended to allow propellant charges to be partially housed within it and has a retaining edge which is located towards the rear of the chamber in order to retain the charges in the chamber when the weapon is pointing at a positive website. Thus, the spoon causes a local increase in the diameter of the chamber which then allows, when placing the projectile in position, more ample oscillations of the projectile in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the weapon. The risk of unsatisfactory hooking of the projectile is therefore particularly present when the projectile oscillates in said vertical plane.

In order to solve this problem of incorrect positioning of the projectile, the American patent application US2020/0326146 A1 proposes as a solution to use, in addition to the impeller, an additional rammer, designated by correction rammer, allowing a second positioning of the projectile in the event of a stall, by applying more moderate thrust to the projectile than during the initial impulse by the impeller.

The use of such a correction rammer, however, has the disadvantage of increasing the size of the positioning device, which can make it difficult to integrate it into an artillery piece.

Moreover, although this solution can in principle ensure a correction of an incorrect positioning of the projectile, the fact remains that the rate of fire can still be affected.

The present invention proposes a positioning device aimed at ensuring correct positioning of the projectile from the initial impulse by the impeller, by reducing the risks of the projectile being misaligned with respect to the longitudinal axis of the weapon, whether or not it includes a spoon.

The subject of the invention is thus a device for positioning a projectile in a chamber of a weapon barrel, comprising a discharge impeller comprising a frame which defines a projectile reception space, extending along an axis of the frame and open at one end of the frame, which end is intended to be placed facing an inlet of the tube, and at least one thrust member of the projectile capable of being driven by an alternating translational movement , along the said axis, between an initial position, before the projectile is pushed back, and a final position, from which the projectile is projected towards its positioning position, characterized in that the positioning device comprises also a support for guiding the introduction of the projectile into the tube, the support being rigid and secured to the at least one thrust member so as to be movable in translation with the latter, the support being configured to be located in the reception space when the at least one thrust member is in the initial position and allow the projectile to be supported by the support before discharge, and to be at least partly cantilevered from said end of the frame when the at least one thrust member is in the final position, in which the at least one thrust member has been moved to the vicinity of said end of the frame, whereby the projectile is thrown from of said end and the support, intended to penetrate at least partly into the tube during discharge, is able to limit the amplitude of any oscillation of the projectile during its projection towards its positioning position.

Advantageously, in the case where the positioning device is intended for positioning the projectile in the chamber of a weapon tube which comprises a spoon in its rear part, the support constitutes a means of closing the spoon in the final position of the at least one thrust member. The term "spoon closure" is understood to mean that the support extends above the spoon to cover a major part of the latter, to such an extent that the support forms a bridge extending from the retaining edge to the vicinity of the end of the spoon where the latter joins the conical part of the chamber. This results in the sizing of the length of the support according to the dimensions of the spoon.

Advantageously, the support comprises an introduction part, capable of penetrating into the tube during discharge, which includes the front end of the support, and a connecting part by which the support is secured to the at least one thrust member , the introduction part being in the form of a plate of uniform thickness and curved in the form of a trough following an arc of a cylinder of revolution whose axis is aligned with the axis of the frame, the free transverse edge of the plate forming the front end of the support.

Advantageously, the introduction part and the connecting part are formed by the same curved plate in the shape of a trough.

Advantageously, the plate forming the introduction part, and where appropriate also the connecting part, has an opening angle equal to a constant value, for example a value between 100° and 180°, over all or part of its length, for example over three quarters of its length starting from the connecting part. The opening angle can advantageously be 170°. For lower opening angles it could be necessary to stiffen the support, which can be done for example by adding stiffeners.

Advantageously, said plate has its opening angle which, from its free transverse edge, increases progressively, for example from a value of 60°, until it is equal to said constant value of the angle of opening.

Providing such a variation in the opening angle of the insertion part in the region of its free transverse edge makes it possible, on the one hand, to prevent the support from catching on the tube during insertion and, on the other hand, to take into account the progressive reduction of the diameter of the chamber towards the front to avoid any jamming between the shell and the internal face of the chamber.

The dimensions of the support, in particular of the introduction part, will advantageously be chosen taking into account the dimensions of the spoon of the chamber in which the projectile must be placed, so that during the movement of the part introduction inside the chamber, the introduction part can come into contact, by its sides, on the edges of the spoon.

Advantageously, the support is coated, at least on the support zones, if necessary on the entire plate forming the support, with an anti-friction coating, preferably of the chemical-nickel or PTFE-filled chemical-nickel type.

The support can be made of a metal alloy or a composite material.

The at least one thrust member may be a pusher comprising a bearing surface intended to correspond with a rear face of the projectile.

• [Fig. 1] est une vue schématique de dessus, en coupe longitudinale, de la partie d'entrée d'un tube d'arme et du dispositif de mise à poste selon l'invention, avec un projectile supporté par le support et en position initiale ;
• [Fig. 2] est une vue analogue à la Figure 1, le dispositif de mise à poste étant en position finale, à l'instant où le projectile est projeté par l'impulseur vers sa position de mise à poste ;
• [Fig. 3] est une vue schématique en coupe transversale du dispositif de mise à poste, prise le long du plan A-A sur la Figure 1 ; et
• [Fig. 4] est une vue schématique de côté, en coupe longitudinale, du tube et du dispositif de mise à poste en position finale.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of a particular embodiment, description given in the light of the appended drawings, drawings in which:

• [ Fig. 1 ] is a schematic top view, in longitudinal section, of the entry part of a weapon tube and of the positioning device according to the invention, with a projectile supported by the support and in the initial position;
• [ Fig. 2 ] is a view analogous to the Figure 1 , the positioning device being in the final position, at the instant when the projectile is projected by the impeller towards its positioning position;
• [ Fig. 3 ] is a schematic cross-sectional view of the positioning device, taken along plane AA on the Figure 1 ; and
• [ Fig. 4 ] is a schematic side view, in longitudinal section, of the tube and of the positioning device in the final position.

If we refer to the Figures 1 to 4 , it can be seen that a positioning device 1 according to a particular embodiment of the present invention comprises a discharge impeller 2, used to project a projectile P, shown in dotted lines, into a chamber 101 of a tube 100 until his positioning position, and a support 3 serving to guide the introduction of the projectile P into the tube 100 in a way making it possible to limit any oscillations of the projectile P.

The discharge impeller 2 is a conventional impeller, for example of the type described in the patent FR3043190 B1 .

The impeller 2 thus comprises in a known manner a frame 20 in which is defined a reception space 21 extending along an axis A1 of the frame 20 and leading to an opening 22, called a discharge opening, at a first end 20a, also called discharge, the frame 20. The frame 20 also includes an opening 23, called introduction, through which a projectile P can be introduced into the receiving space 21, this introduction opening being here on top. It could also be provided that the insertion opening, used to introduce the projectile P into the impeller 2, either the discharge opening 22 or is provided at another location of the frame 20.

The impeller 2 also comprises a thrust member 24 movable in translation along the axis A1 alternately between an initial position, illustrated on the Figure 1 and where the thrust member 24 is located on the rear side of the chassis, and a final position illustrated on the Figure 2 and 4 , where the thrust member 24 has been moved to the vicinity of the discharge end 20a, as is well known. The thrust member 24 will be guided and moved by any appropriate means, and one can for example refer again to the patent FR3043190 B1 .

The displacement of the thrust member 24 from the initial position to the final position will be defined so as to obtain a projection of the projectile P. This displacement will present thus a strong acceleration from the initial position and a strong deceleration when approaching the final position.

The thrust member 24 is here formed by a pusher 25 having a bearing face 25a which will come into contact with the rear face of the projectile P in order to push the latter.

It is emphasized here that the present invention is not limited to a specific type, number, guidance and drive of the thrust member 24.

The positioning device 1 is distinguished in that the impeller 2 is provided with a support 3 which is integral with the thrust member 24 and intended to receive the projectile P before discharge, the support 3 also being intended to partly penetrate into the tube 100 with the projectile P during the discharge of the latter, while the thrust member 24 remains outside the tube 100.

The support 3 is thus constructed and dimensioned so as to be able to support the weight of the projectile P and to be partially introduced into the tube 100 during discharge, in the gap present between the body of the projectile and the interior wall of the chamber 101 Thus, in the dimensioning of the support 3, the dimensions of the projectile P and of the tube 100 will be taken into account, and in particular the external diameter of the body of the projectile P and the internal diameter(s) and lengths of the various internal walls of the tube 100.

In this particular embodiment, the support 3 is formed by a simple curved plate 30 in the form of a bucket following an arc of a cylinder of revolution whose axis is the axis A1 of the frame 20. The plate 30 has thus a concave inner face 30a, the concavity of which is here facing the introduction opening 23, on which the projectile P will be placed, and a convex outer face 30b, the convexity of which is facing away from said opening of introduction 23. In other words, in use, the concavity of the inner face 30a will face up and the convexity of the outer face 30b will face down. In order to ensure the stability of the projectile P once placed on the plate 30, the radius of the inner face 30a may only be slightly greater than the outer radius of the body of the projectile P. The radius of the outer face 30b may not be only slightly less than the inside radius of the weapon chamber entrance 100.

It is emphasized here that the expression "chassis axis" means the straight line which will be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the projectile P supported by the support 3 and which during the repression operation is also aligned with the longitudinal axis A2 of the tube 100. It would therefore be possible to provide a frame whose geometric axis is not aligned with the axis A2 during the discharge, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

It should also be noted that, for the sake of clarity of the drawings, certain thicknesses, and in particular that of the plate 30, have been exaggerated.

The plate 30 comprises an insertion part 31 and a connecting part 32. The insertion part 31 is that which enters the tube 100 when the pusher 25 is in the final position, as can best be seen in the Figure 4 , and the connecting part 32 is that which does not penetrate into the tube 100 and by means of which the support 3 is secured to the pusher 25.

The attachment of the support 3 to the pusher 25 can be ensured by any appropriate means, such as for example by welding the outer face 30b to a semi-cylindrical bearing surface 25b of the pusher 25 provided for this purpose.

If we refer more specifically to the Figure 4 , it can be seen that the plate 30 is here semi-cylindrical over three quarters of its length from its transverse edge fixed to the pusher 25, and which constitutes the rear end of the support 3, then its opening angle α gradually decreases, from a value of 180° in the semi-cylindrical part, to the transverse edge 30a of the plate, where the opening angle is for example 60° .

The reduction in the opening angle α can be done according to a constant slope, as illustrated in the Figure 4 where it can be seen that each longitudinal edge of the plate 30 comprises a rectilinear segment 30d which is at the height of the axis A1 and a rectilinear segment 30e inclined. Of course, provision could be made for a reduction in the opening angle α according to a non-constant slope, or even no reduction.

In the initial position of the thrust member 24, illustrated in the Figure 1 , the support 3 is located in the reception space 21 and is ready to receive the projectile P, which is deposited on the support 3 manually or by appropriate handling means, which are well known and will therefore not be described in detail. .

Positioning device 1 is then moved, again by any well-known suitable means, so that discharge opening 22 is aligned with inlet 102 of tube 100.

The thrust member 24 can then be moved to the final position, illustrated on the Figure 2 and 4 , so as to drive back the projectile P by projecting it into the tube 100 to its posting position.

During this movement to the final position, the plate 30 penetrates with the projectile P into the tube 100, passing through the gap present between the body of the projectile P and the interior walls of the tube 100.

Thus, during this movement the support 3 will constitute an obstacle preventing the projectile P from tilting towards the lower part of the tube 100 when the projectile P enters the latter, and will therefore limit the amplitude of any oscillation of the projectile. p.

This is particularly useful where tube 100 has a scoop 103. As noted above, scoop 103 is formed by a recess in the inner wall of tube 100, immediately after inlet 102, so that the entrance 101 has a low cylindrical surface 104 forming a rim 105 intended to retain the propellant charges.

Despite the fact that the spoon 103 in principle creates an additional space allowing a greater amplitude of oscillation for the projectile P, the support 3 allows the projectile P to behave during the discharge as if the spoon 103 were not present.

When the support 3 enters the tube 100, it will come to rest both on the lower bearing surface 104 and on the two longitudinal edges 106 of the spoon 103, at the level of two lateral zones of the support 3 circled in dotted lines on the Figure 2 , which in the present embodiment correspond to the zones where the opening angle α of the plate 30 decreases.

Furthermore, due to the conical shape of the weapon chambers, the support of the two lateral support zones of the support 3 will take place on the conical generatrices of the chamber 101, so that the support 3 will be centered naturally and gradually. in room 101.

In order not to reduce the speed imparted to the projectile P by the thrust member 24, the plate 30 may advantageously be coated, on its inner 30a and outer 30b faces, with an anti-friction coating, preferably of the chemical-nickel type or nickel-chemical filled PTFE.

Finally, in order to avoid jamming of the support 3 between the projectile P and the tube 100, the support 3 will also be dimensioned, according to the dimensions of the tube 100, so that a clearance d1 is present between the front end 30c of the support 3 and tube 100, play measured in the transverse plane to the axis A2 of the tube 100 and passing through the front end 30c, when the thrust member 24, and therefore the support 3, is in the final position. The clearance d1 will preferably be at least 1.5 mm.

It can therefore be seen that the present invention makes it possible to greatly limit any oscillations of the projectile during its discharge, even in the presence of a spoon in the chamber, and therefore to considerably improve the reliability of the discharge device, for a posting successful the first time.

The solution according to the present invention is moreover particularly simple to implement and inexpensive.

It is understood that the particular embodiment which has just been described has been given by way of indication and not limitation, and that modifications can be made without thereby departing from the present invention.

Claims (9)

Device for positioning (1) a projectile (P) in a chamber (101) of a weapon barrel (100), comprising a discharge impeller (2) comprising a frame (20) which defines a space (21) projectile reception, extending along an axis (A1) of the frame (20) and open at one end (20a) of the frame (20), which end (20a) is intended to be placed in facing an inlet (101) of the tube (100), and at least one member (24) for pushing the projectile (P) capable of being driven in an alternating translational movement, along the said axis (A1), between an initial position, before the projectile (P) is pushed back, and a final position, from which the projectile (P) is projected towards its positioning position, characterized in that the positioning device (1 ) further comprises a support (3) for guiding the introduction of the projectile (P) into the tube (100), the support (3) being rigid and integral with the at least one thrust member (24) in such a way to be dep laceable in translation with the latter, the support (3) being configured to be in the reception space (21) when the at least one thrust member (24) is in the initial position and allowing the projectile (P) to be supported by the support (3) before discharge, and to be at least partly cantilevered from said end (20a) of the frame (20) when the at least one thrust member (24) is in the final position, in which the at least one thrust member (24) has been moved to the vicinity of said end (20a) of the frame (20), whereby the projectile (P) is projected from said end (20a) and the support (3), intended to penetrate at least partly into the tube (100) during the discharge, is able to limit the amplitude of any oscillation of the projectile (P) during its projection towards its setting position. Positioning device (1) according to claim 1, intended for positioning the projectile (P) in the chamber (101) of a weapon barrel (100) which comprises a spoon (103) in its part lower rear, the positioning device (1) being characterized in that the support (3) constitutes a means for closing the spoon (3) in the final position of the at least one pushing member (24) . Positioning device (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the support (3) comprises an introduction part (31), capable of penetrating into the tube (100) during the discharge , which includes the front end (30c) of the support (3), and a connecting part (32) by which the support (3) is secured to the at least one thrust member (24), the introduction (31) in the form of a plate (30) of uniform thickness and curved in the shape of a trough along an arc of a cylinder of revolution whose axis is aligned with the axis (A1) of the frame ( 20), the free transverse edge (30c) of the plate (30) forming the front end (30c) of the support (3). Positioning device (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the introduction part (31) and the connecting part (32) are formed by the same plate (30) curved in the form of a trough. Positioning device (1) according to any one of Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the plate (30) forming the introduction part (31), and if necessary also the connecting part (32 ), has an opening angle (α) equal to a constant value, for example a value between 100° and 180°, over all or part of its length, for example over three quarters of its length starting from the connecting part (32). Positioning device (1) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the said plate (30) has its opening angle (α) which, starting from its free transverse edge (30c), increases progressively, for example starting from a value of 60°, until it is equal to said constant value of the opening angle (a). Positioning device (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the support (3) is coated, where appropriate over the entire plate (30) forming the support (3), with an anti-friction coating, preferably of the chemical-nickel or PTFE-filled chemical-nickel type. Positioning device (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the support (3) is made of metal alloy or of composite material. Positioning device (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the at least one thrust member (24) is a pusher (25) comprising a bearing surface (25a) intended to correspond with a rear face of the projectile (P).

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