US1915191A - Sight for antiaircraft machine guns - Google Patents

Description

June 20, 1933. Y. P. G. L PRIEUR Er AL 1,915,191

vSIGHT FOR ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINE GUNS Filed oct. 22. 19:50 .s sheets-sheet 1 June 20, 1933. Y. P. G. LE PRIEUR Er AL 1,915,191

SIGHT FOR ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINE GUNS Filed Oct. 22,1930 6 Sheets-Sheet f2 June 20, 1933.

Y. P. G. LE PRIEUR ET AL SIGHT FOR ANTIAIRGRAFT MACHINE GUNS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 001;. 22, 1930 June-20, 1933- Y. P. G. LE PRIEUR x-:T AL 1,915,191 I SIGHT FOR ANTIAVIRCRAFT MACHINE GUNS Filed Oct. 22, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 oo l ,www

June 20, 1933. Y.4 P G. LE PRIEUR Er AL L 1,915,191

I y SIGHT FOR ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINE' GUNS I -Fi1ed Oct. 22, 193K) 6 Shee'ts-Sheet 5 b 1 la 596- be used Patented June zo, 1933 lxz'vns rAUn'GAsroN'LE Pirnun ANDnUGUsrE LoUIs arconDEL, or raars, 'manca AssIGNons ro LA rm'zcrsr'orr nonanmv, or

frame, ramon, n conron-arronor smn'r Fon mmmcnm Macallan Guns i l i l i App'lication led October 22,`1930, Serial No. 490,504, and 'in France March 13.11930, n

We will first recall the principles according to which are made most lines of sight-for guns adapted to fire against` aerial movable targets. f

the sight glass or similar instrument is directed towards the target, the gunbarrel v comes automatically into the positlon required for firing' correctly against this tar et.

To this end thesight glass is set w1th re er- 'ence' to the gun, after the two followlng corrections have been taken intoaccount:

(a) The correction due to the varlable d ef- -ormationy of the trajectory with the varying angles of sight of the target (sight correc- -tion' (6)), The correction required bythe displacement of the target during the time of A flightV of the projectile (displacement correction Y The sight-correction (Figure l) is based on the well-known rinciple ofthe vertical sight. Supposing all) is a gun barrel directed for firing on'a target disposed in its horizontal plane (angle of sight zero), the line of. si ht passes through a foresight b at the end cfg the gun and through a point 'c at the end of the vertical back-sight a0. If it is desired to' flreon a `target at the same distance afs thefirst one but-the angle of sight of which is s, an easy calculation based. on experience shows it is suicient to make the gun rotate round a until its endL is brought to b', the back-sight ac remaining unaltered' provided it continues being vertical.. x v

'As concerns the corrections of displacement', supposing E (Figure 2) is the actual position of the aircraft, 0 the end of the gun) which is to lire against it, 'the future 'poslition of hev aircraft after a time T equal to the time of flight of the projectile corresponding to-,a'range D equal to OE. If we draw a sinall triangle o ef corresponding to OEF at 45 a reduced scale, the following formula may VV0E -oe which means that, if Vis the real speed 'of These lines of sight must besuch that, when lanarm ef, the arm fo carrying the sight-glass l the gun O such that Oe= 1.

being formed. The-said devicehas for its4l the 'aircraft (including consequentlythe wind correction) and oe is ygiven a constant value,

say 1, the'following'formula is true;

' irri/l' l ",'TOE'Dn' 1A corrector making useof this formula W1ll comprise'a vertical bacl/Ifsight bie and K belng connected with a stationary polnt of Such a corrector has' been described, in the prior patent to. Yves Le Prieur, No. 1,651,093, of November 29, 1927.

In'this corrector,'the arm parallel to the sight glass is articulated on the one hand at t la point of the fire-armand on the other hand tothe end of a vert-ical rod which is displaced in height so as'to materialize the vecgo tor e f and Whichis displaced laterally to the movable target for a length equal to y v5 For this purpose, thevertical rod is mounted in a carriage sliding horizontally in .a

5 cylindrical box with vertical shaft, this box which l,cis adapted to be raised or lowered in a cylindrical .easing 'with' vertical shaft so is articulated'to the fire-arm andadapted to rotate .in the said casing. rThe elevation is given bya vertical displacement of the box in the casing; The plane passing through the axis vof the box is directed and also the vertical rod parallel vto the speed of the aircraft by a suitable rotation of the box Ain the casing, the said rotation being controlled by means of Aan arrow which is directed parallel to the aircraft. An auxiliary device outside the cylindrical casing allows of the product i A VT object to displace .a v'suitable rack for the length corresponding to the said product and -r the said rack laterally'displaces the carriage 100 bearing the vertical xrod for a` length equal through thev'medium bf two screw sleeves and a toothed vpinion and a rack.

- This device has several drawbacks including the necessity for an auxiliary device for effecting the product Y D v f Y Moreover, the sight D mustrbe provided twice, once for producing the elevation for the first drum and oncev for forming the product The apparatuswhich constitutes the subject matter of the present inventionhas for its-object'to dispense with the auxlll'ary device and to necessltateonly one operation for introducing the value D in the apparatus.. It comprises chieiy an. internally and externally threaded ring which supportsthe cylindrical boxand is adapted to be raised and lowered in the casing without being able .to rotate; a cylindrical rack engages extern'ally with the threaded ring-and internalwith the pinion which controls the radial displacement of thecarriage. The said rack rotates integrally with speed abacus but is not able to effect vertical displacements relatively to the said sleeve. The speed abacus is controlled by any suitable means such as endless screw and helicoidal teeth. An internally threaded crown meshing with the threaded ring which supports the cylindrical box allows ofgiving the elevation. It controls at thesame time the Verticaldisplaceway of example inFigures 3 to y10.

ment in cooperation with the` rear sight of a front index which displaces the speed curves. When the rear sight is set,'the vspeed through the vaxis'of the sight-controlshaft about on the line 3-3 of Eig. 5. f

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionalverticalview through the axis of the vs eed-control shaft, about on the line 4-4 o Fig. '5. f

Figure 5 is a transverse cross-section of the apparatus about on line 5-5 of Fig'. 3.

Figure 6 is a perspective View thereof.

Figures 7 t-o 9 show the simplified form of execution for firing on short and on ylong ranges.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional vertical'view vpassing through the axis of the cylindrical.

box.

Figure 8 is a simplified transversal crossl section showing the control of'the carriage. Figure 9 is a view from above.

Figure 10 shows a form of speed abacus developed in a horizontal plane.

Referring first to Figures 3 to 6, We have shown merely the part of the corrector which serves to set in vplace the universal joint connected with the arm fo carrying the sight device of the corrector and corresponding to the oint f of Figure 2.

T is part of the corrector comprises a Acasing 1 inside which may rise, fall and 17otate the cylindrical box 2. In this cylindrical box, the carriage 3 may move radially; this carriage shows a toothwork meshing with the'pinion 4 (Figure 3). Another carriage 5, sliding with reference to the carriage 3, is provided with a vertical sleeve 6 containing therod 7 carrying the universal joint corresponding to pointf. The direction-arrow is shown at 10. The rotary motion of the cylindrical box in its casing is obtained by acting `on this arrow 10; when the tip lof the arrow is raised or lowered according to the raising o r falling motion of the aircraft,

it causes the carriages to move one with reference to the other through the agency of a,

mechanism which is disclosed in Patent 1,651,093 before mentioned.

The pinion 4 meshes with -a circular rack l 8 whereby only the vertical movements yof the rack produce a rotation of the pinion 4, the

rotary movements having no action'. Outwardly the circular rack is provided with a thread meshing with the inner'thread of a ring 9 provided with an inner and an outer thread. .This ring, which. forms the chief part of the present arrangement, carries the Acylindrical box 2 in a manner such as will allowits rotation. But the ring itself is only adapted to rise and fall in the casing, without rotating with reference to this casmg. The outer thread of the ring 9 meshes with the inner thread of a sun-wheel 11 mounted in a manner y'such as to be adapted to 4rotate in the casing 1 but without rising or falling.

The rotation of the sun-wheel 11 is controlled bythe pinion ,12 (Figure`f-4) keyed to the` stub-shaftl 13 the rotation lof which is obtained through the range knob 14 (Figures 5 and 6). The vertical displacements of the rin are given out outwardly by the pointer 16 Figure 6). l

The circular rack 8 is connected in rotation with'the abacus-cylinder 1 5 by means 'of A "f 1,915,191l

visible through the apertures -18 provided inthe casing. To this nd (Figure 3) it meshes with a pinion 19 keyed to the stub sha-ft 21 whichis caused to rotate throughsuitable intermediarygear wheels by the speed-control '10 knob 22 (Figures 5 and 6).

I lhas been indicated in kilometers on each With regard to the speed abacus, the speed vcurve to which speed this curve corresponds. Each` of these curves is traced through a point. Lengths proportional to the values' of Lengths proportional to the'value ctv-abiti).- for D-=2400 and Y=30 Isiggghts corresponding to dierent ranges D are provided as ordinates, a range-graduation being provided at the ordinate axis.

' (t+e)V 7- al'e plO- 'vided as absciss (ebeing 'a supplementary correction for taking i'nto consideration the lo'st time in manoeuvering). In order to fix and V= 30 kilometers per hour, the operation AprovidingI the sight will bring the index 16 in coincidence with the line'2400. The rotation ofthe abacus will bring the point M in M1 to the end of the index 16. The angle of rotation will be proportional to MM1, hence kilometers. f Y, l

The working of the apparatus isas follows: `W'e begin by setting down the range through rotationv 'of the sight knob 14. The shaft 13` (Figure 4) and the sun-wheel 11 are thus rotated. The rotation of this sunwheel has for its object," as the ring 9 cannot rotate in the casing, to make this ring rise -or fall.r It

raises or lowers the whole of the box 2 with rall its contents and in particular the ra'ck 8 scale provided on the ledgeof-the aperture 18 and this displacement is stopped/when the de.-:

' sired range is ,reachedor the scale.

``rotation of this knob causes the'rotation ofthe shaft 21 (Figure v3) and through'the agency of the pinion 19 the rotation of the abacusf We act then on'the speed knob 22. The

cylinder 15. But this rotation of the abacusv cylinder 15,causes the rack 8 to rotate. vThe latter, as the ring 9 cannot rotate, rises or falls 'as it rotates with reference to this ring. c This rise and fallrauses arotation of the'pinion 4 and a radial displacement of the carriage 3 and of the rod 7.v The action on the knob 22 is continued until the desired speed abacus 17 comes into coincidence with the pointer 16. Obviously the rotation reguired for'this coincidence dependson the position of the index 16 with reference to its scale and consequently on the range.

It is thus apparent that the range has'an aetion on the radial displacement of the carr1 ures 7 t 9 is intended for firing with a certain "number of typical speeds and over two kinds of ranges only, short ranges and long ranges.

Inthls apparatus, a casing 31 is also proage. y

The simpliied form of execution of Fig- `vided wherein may move vertically the cylindrical box 32 inside which moves radially .thecarriage 33 provided with a toothwork meshing withthe pinion 34. 1 Another carriage 35 slides with reference to the carriagev 33;I it is provided with a vertical sleeve 36 containing the rod 37. The directingjarrow the ideas, let us suppose that D=240O meters cally inside thecasing 31; this sun-wheel is outwardly provided with notches 42 adapted to be engaged by a tooth 43 (Figures 7 and 9) forming-part of a handle 44 urged forward by' a spring 45 so-asto make the tooth 43 engage a notch 42. l3nt this engagement can be provided only if the tooth 43 is in front of one of the notches 42 corresponding to a given speed ,except in such cases, thetooth 43 ,l

moves round the sun-wheel 41. The springurged handle 44 is mounted on anaxis 46.

integral with an inwardly threaded sun-wheel 47, the thread of which meshes with the outerv thread 48 of the circular rack, the part foriningthe rack being to the inside and meshing with the pinion 34 for displacing the carriage. Thi), rack 48 is adapted to move only vertical y.-

The apparatus is4 made use of in the lfollowing manner :l supposing` the handle 44 is in the notch 42 tothe extreme right, it is ,pulled so as to disengage the tooth 43. The handle is then turned towards the left so as to bring it in front of the notch 42 corresponding-tothe speed of the target (proper or eii'ective speed. according to/ the firing method used); By'actingthus, the sun-wheel 47 is and the' tooth 43 engages the desired'notch 42. The` handle is now rotated to the end of its path towards the right or the lettta'ccord-l ing as to whether it is desired to fire over short bis ` fall without rotating inside the casing, a

' the box adapted to -.be .displace meshin wheel.

or long ranges. Under these circumstances,v the handle 44 drives simultaneously the sun- .wheel 47 and the sun-wheel 41. yWe provide thus, through the sun-.wheel 47, a complemental-y lrise or lowering of the rack 48 which introduces the distance in the eccentri'city, and through the sun-wheel 41 a rise orlowei-, ing of the ring 38 and consequently of the cylindrical box 32, which provides the sight.

What we Ic`lairrrisz 1. A corrector for the 'craft guns comprisingv al constantly vertical casing secured to the gun, an inwardly and outwardly threaded ring` adaptedto rise and fall without rotating inside the casing, a cylindrical box carried by ther'ing inside saidcasing, means for displacingsaid -box vertically in the casing inaccordance with the range of the target, a carriage carried by cording to the speed and range of the target along 'a radiusof the box parallel to the project-ion'of the pathof the-aircraft, a rod carried. by the carriage and pivotally connected with a stationary point ofthe gun, sighting .means carried by said rod, a pinion controlling the radial displacement ofA the carriage, arack meshing with thepinion and provided with an outer'thread engaging theinner thread of the ring, a cylinder provided With speed curves adapted -to rotate with the rack without moving vertically withv it, .a speed control lpnobcontrolling the rotation of the cylinder, an inwardly threaded sun-wheel mounted inside', the casing and with the outer thread of the ring tiring of anti-air-v u therein ac.

and a sight control knob controlling the sun` 2. A corrector forthe tiring of anti-aircraft guns comprising a constantly 'vertical casing secured to the gun, an inwardly and'` outwardly threaded ring adapted to rise and' cylindrieal'box carried by thering inside. said casing, means for displacin said boxl vertically in the casing in accor ance with the` range of the target, a carriage. .carried by the box adaptedto be displaced therein' according to the speedand range of the target along'a radius of the bo'x parallel to the projection of the path of the aircrafta, rod carriedby'the carriage and lpivotally connected witha stationary point 'of the gun,

' sighting means carried by said rod, a;pin'

ion controlling the radial displacement of the carriage, a rack meshing with the pin ion and-provided withan outer thread engaging the 'inner thread'of the ring, a cyl- -inder provided with speed curves adapted to rotate with the'V rack wit-hout moving vertically with it,l the casingbeing provided with -Van aperture allowing the speed curves to be Y Y seen. and carrying along one edge a scale of ranges, a pointer carried by the 100x-cooperating with the scale on' the casing, a speed

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