GB2600173A - Combustion gun loading mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

A gun 1 comprises a barrel 2, a magazine 7, a combustion chamber 3, a fuel storage tank 6 having a fuel valve, a gas compression means 8 and a trigger mechanism 9. The combustion chamber 3 has a fuel inlet, an oxidant inlet and ignition means. The gas compression means 8 is adapted to provide compressed fuel and oxidant gas to form volatile mixtures in the combustion chamber 3 and the trigger mechanism 9 is adapted to ignite the volatile mixture in the chamber 3. There is a loading plate 11 between the barrel 2 and the magazine 7. The plate 11 is movable between a first position in which bullets 10 are prevented from entering the barrel 2 and a second position in which a bullet 10 can be loaded into the barrel 2. When the plate 11 is in the first position the fuel valve is operable, and when the plate is in the second position the fuel valve is inoperable.

Description

Combustion gun loading mechanism This invention relates to a gun loading mechanism and in particular a mechanism for loading guns that operate using one or more combustion 5 chambers within the body of the gun.

Most guns operate by means of an explosion within a bullet cartridge. A firing pin strikes a primer at one end of a cartridge, which ignites a propellant powder in the cartridge. The explosion expels the bullet down the barrel. Although this technique has been generally accepted for many years, it does have the disadvantage that the cartridge must be ejected after each firing. It also requires moving parts.

The present invention relates to the type of gun that avoids the use of cartridges by providing a combustion chamber within the body of a gun. Compressed fuel and oxidant gas are introduced into the chamber to form a volatile mixture, which is ignited to eject the bullet from the barrel when the trigger is depressed.

Guns having internal combustion chambers for ejecting a bullet are known. For example, US 8,826,792 discloses a projectile propulsion apparatus comprising a combustion chamber means and valve means enabling cartridge-free projectile propulsion. It employs liquid and/or gaseous propellants which can be injected into the device and combusted to provide the necessary pressures for propelling a projectile.

WO 2005119158 discloses a pistol in which the barrel contains a combustion chamber with a plug that produces sparks. Pellets are propelled from the barrel by means of pressure created by inflammable 30 gas and oxygen mixture, ignited by a spark. -2 -

The problem with this type of device is that, if the trigger is depressed during the re-loading process, fuel may be released into the chamber and ignited inadvertently. There is a need for a safety mechanism for a combustion gun that prevents inadvertent firing. The present invention tackles this problem by the provision of a loading plate within the gun.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a gun comprising a barrel, a magazine, a combustion chamber, a fuel storage tank having a fuel valve, a gas compression means and a trigger mechanism, the combustion chamber having a fuel inlet, an oxidant inlet, and an ignition means, the gas compression means being adapted to provide compressed fuel and oxidant gas to form volatile mixtures in the combustion chamber, and the trigger mechanism is adapted to ignite said volatile mixture in the chamber; characterized in that the gun contains a loading plate between the barrel and the magazine, which plate is movable between a first position in which bullets are prevented from entering the barrel, and a second position in which a bullet can be loaded into the barrel; wherein when the plate is in the first position, the fuel valve is operable, and when the plate is in the second position, the fuel valve is inoperable.

Suitably, the fuel valve is made inoperable by the loading plate being constructed to lift the fuel valve release, thus closing it.

In this way, during normal operation and firing of the gun, no further bullet can be loaded into the barrel. Preferably, the plate is spring-loaded to remain in the first position to allow the gun to be fired. When it is desired to reload the gun, the loading plate is moved to the second position, which prevents fuel from being released and allows a bullet to be loaded.

To move from the first position to the second position, the plate may suitably be moved backwards and forwards within the gun, or from side to -3 -side, depending on the width of the gun and the length and position of the magazine. In a preferred construction, the plate is moved rearwards in the gun to achieve the second position.

Suitably, the plate contains at least one lateral protuberance, which forms a lever outside the body of the gun to allow a user to move the plate forwards and backwards, parallel to the barrel of the gun, or from side to side.

The gun may be, for example, a handgun, rifle, shotgun, nail gun, or an artillery shell gun; it may be manual, single shot, semi-automatic, or fully automatic.

The body of the gun of this invention should be constructed of materials 15 sufficient to withstand high temperatures produced during combustion. Suitable materials include advanced plastic additives, steel and high strength aluminium, titanium, or other metal alloys.

The gun may comprise one or more combustion chambers, for example from 1 to 5 chambers, suitably 2 to 4 chambers. The number of chambers present in the gun depends on the calibre and weight of the bullet or projectile and type of gun. For most smaller guns, suitably the gun contains two chambers.

The gun of the present invention operates by using an expansion of gas in the combustion chamber to eject the bullet through the barrel, the expansion of gas being provided by the ignition of a volatile mixture of fuel and oxidant in the chamber. The fuel employed may be any gaseous or volatile material that is combustible with an oxidant. Suitable fuels include hydrogen, natural gas, and hydrocarbons, such as methane propane, butane, or petroleum. A preferred fuel is hydrogen, as it produces an extremely high expansion when ignited.

The fuel is stored in a fuel storage tank, which is suitably situated within the gun, for example within the handle of the gun. The fuel storage tank may be connected via conduits, such as pipes, to provide a fuel inlet for the chamber. The flow of fuel into the chamber is controlled by a fuel valve. The fuel valve may be operated manually. Preferably, however, the fuel valve is operated by the trigger of the gun. For example, the trigger may be mechanically or electrically connected to the fuel valve, so that, if the loading plate is in the first position, then depressing the trigger first opens the fuel valve to allow a predetermined volume of fuel to enter the chamber; and further depression of the trigger ignites the volatile mixture in the chamber.

The oxidant may be, for example, oxygen or air. In this case, the extremely high temperatures caused by the ignition process produce wet and dry superheated steam, which provides additional expansion of gases within the combustion chamber. Preferably, the oxidant is air, which may be conveniently drawn into the chamber from the atmosphere through oxidant inlets in the form of a one-way valve. When the oxidant is other than air, a separate oxidant storage tank may be provided, with oxidant inlets to the chamber.

A gas compression means is provided to compress the gas within the chambers. Suitably the gas compression means comprises a pump, connected to the chamber. In one embodiment of this invention, a pump is situated within the handle of the gun, adjacent the magazine, such that loading the magazine causes the pump to be activated to compress the gas in the chamber. The gas compression means is required only when the magazine is loaded, prior to the gun being fired. It can therefore be considered as a primer. After the gun has been fired, the expansion of gas leaves a vacuum in the chamber, thus drawing further oxidant into the chamber.

The combustion chamber is provided with an ignition means, to ignite the volatile mixture therein. The ignition means is suitably a set of discharge terminals situated in the chamber, which create a spark therein. The electricity for the sparks is produced by an electricity generating ignition source, for example a pieso-electric generator. Alternatively, the ignition source could be a battery.

The trigger mechanism is adapted to ignite the volatile mixture in the chamber, preferably by activating the ignition source. An electrical circuit between the ignition source and the ignition means, such as discharge terminals, then creates a spark in the chamber. The effect of that ignition is to create an expansion of gas, which is directed towards the bullet.

Preferably, when the loading plate of this invention is in the second position, the ignition circuit between the ignition source and the ignition means is also broken, so that ignition cannot be triggered, providing a further safety feature during reloading. This may be achieved, for example, by attaching one connector of the ignition circuit to the loading plate, and a second connector of the ignition circuit brought into contact with the plate, to complete the circuit, only when the plate is in the appropriate position. For that reason, it is preferred that the loading plate of this invention is constructed of an electrically conductive material such as a metal.

In a further embodiment of this invention, the loading plate can be moved to a third position, in which the bullets can be moved into the barrel and the fuel valve and ignition circuit are operational. This position of the plate is suitable for semi-automatic operation of the gun. Thus, when the trigger is depressed, it first opens the fuel valve to release fuel into the chamber. Further depression of the trigger then completes the ignition circuit, so that the gun is fired. As soon as the bullet is ejected, a further -6 -bullet moves from the magazine into the barrel and the firing process can be repeated immediately. Suitably the plate is moved forwardly in the gun to achieve the third position.

It is also possible to construct a fourth position for the reloading plate, which is suitable for fully automatic operation of the gun; and may be achieved, for example, by moving the plate further forward, beyond the third position. In this fourth position, bullets can be continually moved from the magazine into the barrel. In addition, the primary ignition circuit and fuel valve are rendered inoperative, but a second ignition circuit and fuel valve are connected. This second fuel valve allows continual flow of fuel. The second ignition circuit is electronically programmable to control the ignitions in the chamber. In this fourth position, the trigger is not required to control release of fuel, nor to complete the ignition circuit.

Instead, the trigger may be adapted to be depressed to a third position which connects the programmed circuit to control the ignitions and thus operate the gun in automatic mode.

It can be seen that the loading plate of this invention not only provides a 20 safety feature, but also allows the gun to be used in different modes of operation, such as manual, semi-automatic, and automatic.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a gun of this invention, containing a loading plate in a first position.

Fig. 2 shows a cross sectional view of the embodiment of Fig 1, containing a loading plate in a second position.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a loading plate.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a gun of this invention, showing a slidable lever to move the loading plate. -7 -

Referring to Fig. 1, the body of a gun 1 contains a barrel 2 and a combustion chamber 3 having an air inlet 4. The handle 5 of the gun contains a fuel storage tank 6, a magazine 7, and a gas compression means in the form of a pump 8. The body of the gun also contains a trigger mechanism 9. The fuel storage tank 8 contains hydrogen and is connected to the combustion chamber 3.

Bullets 10 are contained in the magazine 7 and are fed into the barrel by a spring mechanism (not shown). When the magazine 7 is loaded into the handle of the gun, it operates the pump 8 to compress the gas in the combustion chamber 3, which then contains a compressed mixture of hydrogen and air.

A loading plate 11 (shown in heavy lines) is situated in a horizontal position between the barrel 2 of the gun and the top of the magazine 7. The plate 11 is made of metal and has portions which have holes 12 through which a bullet can pass. One part of the ignition circuit is attached to the metal plate 11 and the second part of the ignition circuit can be brought into contact with the plate to complete the circuit, only when the plate is in certain positions.

In Fig. 1, the plate 11 is in a position to prevent bullets 10 from passing from the magazine 7 into the barrel 2. This is the normal firing position for the gun and the plate 11 is held in this position by means of a spring (not shown). In this position, the ignition circuit is completed via the plate 11, so that the trigger mechanism can ignite the gas in the chamber 3 of the gun.

In operation, the trigger of the gun is depressed and the upper part of the mechanism is pushed against an ignition source 13, creating an electric current in a circuit which terminates in two discharge terminals (not shown) located in the combustion chamber 3. That creates a spark -8 -between the terminals which ignites the compressed hydrogen and air in the chamber, causing a rapid expansion of the gas mixture directed at the bullet, which is thereby expelled from the gun.

In Fig. 2, the plate 11 is in a position to allow bullets 10 to pass from the magazine 7 into the barrel 2. To reload the gun, the plate 11 is moved towards the rear of the gun into a position shown in Fig. 2. This action first causes the loading plate to depress the fuel valve release 6A, thus closing it, and secondly moves the plate away from the second part of the ignition circuit, thus breaking the circuit and preventing ignition. It is now safe for a further bullet to be released from the magazine into the barrel 2, through the hole 12 in the plate 11. Once the bullet is loaded, the plate is released and is returned by the spring to the position shown in Fig. 1, so that the gun is again operative.

Fig. 3 shows the overall shape of the metal loading plate 11, with holes 12 to accommodate the shape of a bullet. In the centre of the plate, there is a raised metal bridge 14, which is brought into contact with the second part of the ignition circuit when the plate is moved. On each side of the plate 11 are situated protuberances 15, which form levers outside the body of the gun to allow manual operation of the loading plate.

Fig. 4 depicts the lever mechanism on the outside of the gun, shown within the circle marked A. Thus, it can be seen that the levers 15 are moveable within a slot 16, situated along the side of the gun, to allow a user to slide the plate 11 to reload the gun.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS1. A gun comprising a barrel, a magazine, a combustion chamber, a fuel storage tank having a fuel valve, a gas compression means and a trigger mechanism, the combustion chamber having a fuel inlet, an oxidant inlet, and an ignition means, the gas compression means being adapted to provide compressed fuel and oxidant gas to form volatile mixtures in the combustion chamber, and the trigger mechanism is adapted to ignite said volatile mixture in the chamber; characterized in that the gun contains a loading plate between the barrel and the magazine, which plate is movable between a first position in which bullets are prevented from entering the barrel, and a second position in which a bullet can be loaded into the barrel; wherein when the plate is in the first position, the fuel valve is operable, and when the plate is in the second position, the fuel valve is inoperable.
2. 2. A gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fuel valve is made inoperable by the loading plate being constructed to lift the fuel valve release.
3. 3. A gun as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the plate contains at least one lateral protuberance, which forms a lever outside the body of the gun.
4. 4. A gun as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ignition means comprises a set of discharge terminals within the chamber.
5. 5. A gun as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the loading plate is in the second position, the ignition circuit between the ignition source and the ignition means is also broken.
6. -10 - 6. A gun as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the loading plate is constructed of an electrically conductive material.
7. 7. A gun as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the loading plate can be moved to a third position, in which the bullets can be moved into the barrel and the fuel valve and ignition circuit are operational.
8. 8. A gun as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the plate is spring-loaded to remain in the first position to allow the gun to be fired.