US2101145A - Adjustable gunner's seat - Google Patents

Description

Dec.7,1937. J. G. LEE 2,101,145

ADJUSTABLE GUNNERS SEAT Filed Nov. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l hb/IHZZLEE m i w 4 TTOHNEV Dec. 7, 1937. J 3 LEE ADJUSTABLE GUNNERS SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10

INVENTOI? $1212 [7. Z BE ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 7 193? ADJUSTABLE GUNNERS SEAT John G.

Lee, Avon, Coma, assignor, by mes ma assignments, to United Aircraft fio 'l ration, a corporation of Delaware.

Application November 10, 1933, Serial No. 697,423

19 Claims.

This invention relates to gun mounts and more particularly to an adjustable machine gun mount .for aircraft.

In military airplanes having a rear gunners cockpit, it has been customary to so mo'unt the machine gun operated by the rear gunnerthat he has been exposed to the wind stream passing the airplane, when aiming and operating the gun. In some forms of gun mounts hewas exposed to this wind stream in practically all positions of the gun, while in others he was exposed when the gun was aimed transversely of the airplane.

An object of this invention is to provide a gun mount in which the gun may be sighted throughout a wide range of angles without exposing the gunner to the wind stream. Another object of this invention is ,to combine a gun mount with a gunners seat so that the gun may be readily aimed over a wide range.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gun mount that may be readily moved to and from any desired position in the gunners cockpit.

Further and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claims and from the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate what is now considered the preferred embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an airplane showing one position of the gun in relation to the gunners cockpit.

Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional view taken on'line 2-2 of Fig. 3, showing the guide for the gun supporting post. i

Fig. 3 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the guide.

Fig. 5 is an end view looking at the front of the gunners seat.

Fig. 6 is a detailed side view of the swivel lock-' ing mechanism.

Fig. '7 is a side view of the gunners seat.- Fig. 8 is a detail of the gun counter-balancing mechanism.

The drawings illustrate my invention as embodied in an airplane having afuselage l0, planes I2 and I4, landing gear l6; power plant l8, and cockpit cover 28.

In the particular embodiment shown, this cockpit cover forms a closure for the pilots cockpit and in combination with pivotally mounted slides, not shown, forms a closure for the gunners cockpit. These slides may, however, be swung on their pivots to uncover the rear portion of the gunners cockpit, thus leaving that portion open as shown in Fi 1.

There is provided for use by the gunner, a. machine gun 22 mounted on an arm 24 detachably secured to the upper portion of post 26, pivotally mounted on a gunners seat 28; The gunners seat is pivotally mounted in a U-shaped support 38 which, in turn, is swiveled into a member 32 rigidly supported from the airplane structural members 33. b

The member 32 is formed with an enlarged head 34 whichis provided with a series of holes adapted to receive a positioning and locking pin 36. The locking pin 36 is slidably mounted in a pair of brackets 38 rigidly attached to the U-shaped member 30. When the pin 36 is in one of the 1 holes in the enlarged head 34, the U-shaped member 80 is held in a fixed -position relative to the airplane and its structural members 33.- When the pin 36 is withdrawn from the holes in member 34. the U-shaped member 30 is free to swivel about the axis of the member 32.

Pin 36 is urged towards the member 34 by a spring 40 and may be withdrawn against the action of that spring by pressing on the'knob 42 of the rod 44 which is suitably connected, by means or a bell crank and a link, to the pin 36.

The knob 42 is provided with a sleeve 44 having abayonet slot 46 co-acting with a pin 48 whereby the knob 42 may be retained in its depressed position and the pin 36 maintained but of contact with the member 34 so that the U-shaped member 30 may be freely swiveled.

The "seat 28 is pivotally suspended from the upper portion of the arms of the U-shaped member 30 by means of the pivots 50 so that the seat may swing with a front and back motion between the arms of the U-shaped member. An arcuate bar, 52 is rigidly secured to the central lower portion or the U-shaped member 30 in such a manner that the center of its arc falls on a line connecting the two pivots 50. Plates 54 are secured to a central frame member of the seat 28 and are positioned on the two sides of the arcuate member 52. Rolls 56 are mounted in these plates and bear on the arcuate member 52 to assist in guiding the seq-t inits swinging movements.

series of holes, provided in the upper surface of the member 82, may receive a pin, mounted between the plates "and actuated by a .cam roller 58. This cam roller is actuated by a cam 60 secured to a lever 62. This lever is spring pressed in one direction by a spring 64 and may be actuated in the other direction by a lever 66 and a cable 68. Pushing down on the lever 86 will pull the cable 88 and cause the cam 50 to lift the roller 58 and thus remove the attached pin from a hole in the member 52. When the pin is thus removed the seat may be turned about its pivot 50 and The ends of an arcuate guide 16 are secured to the frame work of the seat 28 adjacent the pivots 58 and the arcuate member 16 is so placed that the line 13-43 passes through the center of its arc and at right angles to the plane thereof. A built-up member 18 rigidly secured to post 26 surrounds member 16 and serves to guide the upper end of the post 26 as it'turns on pivot 12. A roll 88 is journaled in the member 18 and rolls on the top of member 16. Rolls 82 roll on the front of member 16 and a spring-pressed roll 84 rolls on the bottom thereof. The inner portion of member 16 is provided with a series of holes adapted to receive a pin 86. This pin vis spring-pressed in one direction by a spring 88 and may be retracted against the tension thereof by means of a handle 98 connected to the pin 86 by.a pin and slot connection. When the pin 86 is removed from the holes in the member 16, the post 26 may be swung from side to side about its pivot 12. By allowingthe pin 86 to enter a selected hole in the member 16, the post 26 may be locked in any desired position.

When the machine gun is mounted on the arm 24 and the post 26 is swung to one of its extreme side positions, the gunner must lift the weight of the gun together with guiding means attached to the post against the attraction of gravity in order to bring the gun into its more elevated central position. The effort required to move the gunv obviously becomes greater as the axis 13-13 becomes nearer horizontal, which occurs when the seat is tipped backward about its pivots 58.- Also, when the seat is tipped back, as it is'when firing at an object above the airplane,'some difliculty is experienced in again and quickly bringing the seat to an-upright position. In my invention,

- 7 means have been provided for overcoming these ditliculties so that the gun may be readily moved from side to side and the seat readily brought forward from a reclined position.

In the embodiment shown, this means takes the form of a shock absorber cord 92, one end of which is fastened to the U-shaped member 68 at 94 and the other end of which is fastened to the seat 26 at 96. The cord is led over guide pulleys 91, 91, between guide pulleys 98 and over a pulley I88. Pulley I88 is attached to an arm I82 pivotally secured at I84 to the arm 26 so that upon movement of the post 26vabout the pivot 12, lateral movement is imparted'to the arm I02. As will be obvious from the drawings, this lateral movement increases the length of the shock absorber cord 92 and thus creates a force tending to bring the post 26 back to its central position. As the seat 28 is reclined, the end of the shock absorber cord 92 and the pulley I88 is moved away from the pulley. 91 and the shock absorber cord consequently stretched, thus, creating a force tending to bring the seat back to its upright position. It will be noted that as the tension in the shock absorber cord is increased as the seat is reclined, the force exerted by this when the pin is in place in one of the holes in.

26 and its attached gun back to its elevated central position is correspondingly greater. It will,

therefore, be seen that I have provided means for counterbalancing the weight of the gun, which means is adapted to exert an increasingly greater force as the effective weight of the gun, resisting movement about the pivot 12, becomes greater, and that I have also provided means to assist in bringing the seat to an upright position, which means are effective in all positions of the gun.

The arm 24 and the post 26 are so proportioned that the sights on the gun 22 will be in line with the gunners eye, when the gunner is comfortably seated and the gun is in a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1.

The gun may then be moved to the limit of its transverse movement along the guide 16, and the gunner may keep the sights in line with his eyes by simply turning his head. The gun may be directed'upward by simply reclining the seat during which movement the sights may be kept in line with the gunners eye without any movement of the gunners head. It will thus be seen that I have provided means whereby a gun may be sighted and operated over a wide angle without requiring lateral movement of the gunners head.

In operating this device, the gunnertakes his place in the seat 28, usually sitting on his parachute with his legs on either side of the post 26 and facing to the rear of the airplane. One hand is placed on the post 26 with the fingers grasping the lever 98 and the lower side of the hand resting on the lever 66. It will be observed that a lever 66 is provided on each side of post 26 so that either hand may be used. The other hand is placed upon the gun 22. If it is desired to move the gun from side to side, the lever 98 may be drawn towards the post 26, thus unlocking the post from the guide 16. The gunner may then readily move the post. with its attached gun, laterally. If it is desired to elevate the gun to fire at an object over head, the hand grasping tthe post 26 is tipped or moved downward,

and within the shelter of the cockpit cover 28.

If it is desired to fire in a direction forward of that permitted by the extreme lateral movement of the gun on its guide 16, the knob 42 may be depressed, thus unlocking the U-shaped member 38 so that it may be swiveled in the member 32, thus turning the gun about a substantially vertical axis. This movement will, of course, tend to bring the gunners head out into the wind stream beyond the protection of the cockpit cover 28 and the degree of movement which may be accomplished through swiveling of the seat support without exposure of the gunner to the wind stream will, of course, be dependent almost entirely upon the size of the gunners cockpit.

At times, when it is not desired to use the gun, it may be detached from the post 26 at the detachable connection between the arm 24 and the post 26 and stowed in any convenient position in or adjacent the gunners cockpit.

It 'will, of course, be observed that the means herein described are adaptable to a variety of other uses. They may, for instance, be used to support motion picture cameras or other devices which it may be desired to train upon moving objects. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein described, but may be used in other ways, and various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the followl0 ing claims.

What I claim is: 1. A combined gun support and gunner's seat, comprising a swivel support, a seat, means to pivotally suspend said seat from said support, a gun standard, means to pivotally'mount said standard on said seat, and means carried by said seat for limiting the movements of said gun standard to a predetermined path with respect to the seat. 2. In combination, a swivel support, a seat piv '20 otally suspended from said support, a pivotally mounted gun carried by said seat and means to guide the gun in its movements about the pivotal axis of its mounting said axis passing through the space occupied by the gunners head when the gimner is seated in said seat.

3. In combination, a swivel support, a gunner's seat suspended from said support, a pivotally mounted gun associated with said seat and means to adjust the gun from side to side relative to said 0 seatupon the axis of the pivotal mounting of the gun, said aids being fixed with respect to said seat and passing through the head of the seated.

gunner.

4. In an airplane, a-support mounted to swin 35 on a substantially vertical axis, a seat suspended from said support to swing about a substantially horizontal axis, a gun supporting post mounted on said seat and means to guide said post in a lateral path transversely across the front of. said 0 seat.

5. In an airplane, a support mounted to swing on a substantially vertical axis, a seat suspended from said support to swing about a substantially.

,horizontal axis, a gun support mounted on said 45 seat and means to guide said support in a lateral path transversely'of said seat. 6. Means for adjustably supporting fire arms and the like, comprising a seat having'two degrees of freedom, a support for the fire arms or "50 the like pivotally mounted on said seat, and

means permitting adjustment of the support about its pivotal mounting in all positions of the seatthe pivotal axis of the support mounting passing substantially through the normal position.

55 of the operators head.

otally suspended gunners seat, means. tendingto" keep'the seat in an upright position, said means 7. An adjustable gun mount, comprising a pivapplying increasing force as the seat is inclined,

6 a gun support mounted on said seat and adapted to swing man are about an axis inclined to the vertical said are forming the upper portion of a circle lying in a plane normal to said axis, the inclination of said axis increasing as the seat is inclined, and means tending to keep the gun at the. high point of the arc, said means applying increasing force as the gun is moved from the high point, of its arc. and as the seat is inclined.

8. In combination,' a gun standard, a gun mounted thereon, means to guide said gun in an arcuate path about a horizontal axis and means" to guide said gun in an arcuate 'path aboutan I axis inclined to the vertical and biasing means tending to elevate the gun about the inclined axis a um and depress the gun about the horizontal axis.

support rotatably mounted on said seat, said rotatable mounting adapted to guide said support.

in an arc about an axis inclined to the vertical when the seat is in an upright position, said arc forming the upper portion of a circle lying in a plane normal to said axis, the inclination of said axis increasing as the seat is backwardly inclined, said means tending to keep the gun at the high point of said are and applying increasing force as the gun is moved from the high point of said are and as the seat is backwardly inclined. x

10. In a. gimners seat in an airplane cockpit, a bearing supported at thabottbm of said cockpit, a U shaped support carried by said bearing ,to pivot about a normally vertical axis, spaced bearings carried by said U shaped support, a seat carried by said spaced bearings to swing about a normally horizontal axis,- apivot carried by said seat, a post secured at one end to said pivot, a guide rail carried by said seat above said pivot to limit the movements of the upper end of said post to an are centered on an axis extending from said pivot through the space occupied'by the head of a gunner occupying said seat, and a bracket adapted to pivotally support a gun mounted on the upper end of said post.

11. In a gunners seat in an airplane,a bearing having a normally vertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a U frame carried by said bearing for complete freedom of rotational movement about a normally vertical axis, a seat supported by said U frame for swinging movements about a normally horizontal axis, and a gun post pivotally supported on said seat for rotational movement about both said normally vertical and said normally horizontal axes and for independent movement transversely of the front of said seat. I

12. In a gunner's seat in an airplane, a bearing having a normally vertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a U frame carried by said bearing for rotation about a normally vertical axis, a seat supported by said U frame for swinging-movements about a normally horizontal axis, a gun post pivotally supported on said seatsfor rotational movement about both said normally vertical, and said normally horizontal axes andfor independent movement transversely of the front oiflsaid seat, and a yieldable' tension member resiliently resisting swinging movements of said seat toward a rearwardly inclined position.

-13-. In a gunners seat in an airplane, a bear ing having a-normallyvertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a.U frame carried by said bearing for rotation about a normally vertical axis, a seat supported .by said U frame for swinging movements about a normally horizontal axis, a gun post pivotally supported on said seat for rotational movement about said normally vertical axisandswinging movement about'said normally horizontal axis-and for independent movement transversely ofvthe front of said seat, and a. resilient tension member exerting force increasing with the degree ofinclinationopposed to swinging movements of said seat toward a rearwardly inclined position.

14. In, a gunners seat in an airplane, a bearing fixed to the structure of said airplane, a U frame carried by said bearing for rotation about a normally vertical axis, a seat supported by said of said seat, and a resilient tension member secured at one end to'said seat and at the opposite end to said seat support and connected intermediate its length to said post, and means for stretching said tension member as said seat is inclined rearwardly to create a force increasing as the degree of rearward inclination of said seat to urge said seat to its erect position and said post to a centered position with respect to the front of said seat.

15. In a gunners seat in an airplane, a U frame having side members and a cross member pivotally supported on said airplane structure for rotation about a normally vertical axis, a

seat swingably mounted on said side members, a support for machine guns and the like pivotally mounted on said seat for swingable and rotatable movements therewith and for independent movement laterally of said seat, and a guide rail carried by said seat for guiding the movements of said support relative to said seat.

16. A combined gun mount and gunners seat comprising, a pivotally mounted support, means pivotally suspending said seat from said support, and means adjustably supporting said gun upon said seat including a gun post, a pivotal connection between said seat and said post, and means spaced from said pivotal connection and rigid with said seat for guiding and supporting said post.

17. An adjustable mount as set forth in claim 16 in which the axis of the pivot passes through the normal position of the seated operator's head.

18. An adjustable mount,as set forth in claim 16, in which the operators seat has two degrees of freedom.

19. A combined gun mount and gunners seat as set forth in claim 16, in which the means for guiding and supporting the post comprises an arcuate guide adjacent to the upper end of the post.

JOHN G. LEE.

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