GB593020A - Improvements in or relating to control apparatus for stabilising and adjusting a pivoted member such as a gun in its plane of elevation - Google Patents

Abstract

593,020. Fluid - - pressure servomotorcontrol systems. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL CO. June 18, 1943, No. 9888. Convention date, Feb. 10, 1942., [Class 135] [Also in Groups XX. XXI and XXXV] A gun or other member, pivotally mounted on a supporting structure, such as a tank or ship, has power-actuated mechanism to adjust its angular elevation and gyro mechanism remote from the member, mounted on the structure and controlling the power mechanism to correct the elevation against disturbances in the plane of elevation. A pilot member such as a hand wheel, adjusting the elevation may operate through the gyro mechanism and power mechanism. In order that gyroscopic means, stabilizing a member such as a gun against pitching movements of a supporting structure such as a tank, in which it is mounted, may not restrict elevation movements of the gun, the stabilizer 5 is located remote from the gun 1, but is connected to it by parallel-motion linkage. The stabilizer is mounted upon a support 9 which is carried by a worm-wheel 61 on an axis 58 in a bracket member secured to the turret wall 3 of the tank. The gun 1 is carried in a frame 65 secured to a drum 67 mounted on trunnions 7 and to the drum is also secured a worm segment 70 and a bracket 71 to which is articulated the piston-rod 81 of a hydraulic cylinder 83 which is pivoted to a bracket 85 secured to the tank turret. The bracket 71 has an extension to which a link 93 is pivoted at 92 and the lower end of this link is pivoted at 95 to the worm-wheel 61 so that these pivots and the axes 7, 58 of gun and stabilizer define a parallelogram, whereby gun and stabilizer are caused to have equal movements about their respective axes. The gun may be manually elevated by a hand wheel 103 when a worm 69 driven therefrom by' gearing 107, 109 is engaged with the worm segment 70, or it may be elevated through the stabilizer since the wheel 103 also drives through gearing 105, 99 and flexible drive 97, a worm 63 engaging the worm-wheel 61 and so rotates the axis 58 of the stabilizer 5. The worm 63 is carried by a bracket 64 pivoted on a member 59 and pressed into engagement with wheel 61 by a spring 72. The stabilizer and the electrohydraulic mechanism which it controls to cause elevation of the gun to be automatically stabilized against pitching movements of the tank are as described in Specification 590,682 including a switch actuated on recoil to produce a hydraulic force resisting recoil torque. Specification 590,683, [Group XX], also is referred to.