FR2751063A1 - Charge feed for automatic firework thrower - Google Patents

Abstract

The feed for a gas charge into the breech of the projector has slots (E) formed in the breech to receive the gas. The munitions can be contained in individual chambers. The individual chambers can be sealed and connected together in a chain. The individual chambers can have a rigid charging section and an elastic section to retain the projectile. The projectiles can be ejected from the chambers by a fluid cylinder and connecting pipes via hoses or rigid pipes towards the charging slide.

Description

The present invention relates to a new loading system for fireworks shooting machines.

Fireworks firing machines as described in patent 9310649 use the explosion of a mixture of gases injected into a chamber to propel and ignite the firework projectiles at a rapid rate. In the primitive machine described by the patent in question, the ammunition was stacked in bulk in a U-shaped gutter.

A pneumatic finger came to seek them in this gutter to push them towards the barrel, in which the mobile tubular breech discovered a loading window. This breech then slid again to close the window before firing.

This system requires two successive operations (loading-closing) before each shot. It is slow. In addition, the loading of ammunition in bulk requires the use of projectiles of precise and homogeneous shape, which is rarely the case with fireworks.

The system according to the invention considerably improves the loading of ammunition and accelerates their placement in the firing position.

The projectile, comet or fireworks bomb, is placed in an individual cell. This cell can be a part of a rigid loader bar, or an element of an articulated chain. In this case, the cells are sealed with fragile or precut lids and are assembled by clipping in the desired order for firing to form an articulated assembly whose elements, once empty, are recyclable.

The ammunition can also be held in its cell by elastic systems E such as in FIG. 1.

A pneumatic system, the principle of which is illustrated in FIG. 2, is used to advance the strip and to place and maintain the cell A in coincidence with the loading orifice. It is mainly composed of a motor cylinder B and a blocking cylinder C. The shift between the action of these two cylinders is ensured by the sliding cam system D.

At the time of loading, a jack with a hollow rod F drives the projectile out of the cell, by removing the elastic elements or by perforating the lids, depending on the system adopted. The projectile is pushed towards a flexible hose where a jet of gas propels it towards the loading drawer G.

This loading drawer, driven by the cylinder H, is then opened so that its cell milled vertically from side to side is located just below the end of the pipe. The ammunition then comes to rest in this cell on the narrowed part thereof, where it is detected by an optical system which triggers the closing of the drawer. Under the action of cylinder H, the loading drawer closes by sliding in a horizontal milling practiced right through in the block of the explosion chamber. The projectile in the drawer is then placed between the explosion chamber I and the barrel J. The gas mixture (propane and oxygen) is then injected into the chamber through the orifices K. After a short delay, the spark plug L is activated and its spark triggers the explosion. This one drives the flaming projectile out of the barrel. It also repels a small piston M, which acts on the detector N which returns the drawer G to its loading position.

This cycle is governed by a programmable controller and controlled by the firework center console. This console also controls the pointing movements of the barrel, powered by the O motor.

The system according to the invention is intended for supplying automatic machines for drawing fireworks.

Claims (5)

 1) Loading system for automatic machines for firing fireworks by gas explosion, characterized in that the explosion chamber-barrel assembly is drilled right through to allow movement of a loading drawer.  2) System for loading automatic fireworks machines according to claim 1 by gas explosion, characterized in that the ammunition is contained in individual cells.  3) System for loading automatic fireworks machines according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual cells are sealed by lids and articulated in a chain.  4) System for loading automatic fireworks machines according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the individual cells are provided with an elastic ammunition retaining system and are part of a rigid magazine.  5) System for loading automatic fireworks machines according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ammunition is ejected from the cells by a jack and led by a flexible or rigid pipe to the drawer loading.