US2411114A

US2411114A - Gun mounting

Info

Publication number: US2411114A
Application number: US415028A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rice Edward Arthur Beckton; Abbot Newton; Rose Alfred German; Curtis Sidney
Original assignee: Rose Brothers Gainsborough Ltd
Current assignee: Rose Brothers Gainsborough Ltd
Priority date: 1940-10-24
Filing date: 1941-10-15
Publication date: 1946-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 1963-11-12

Description

Nov. 12, 1946.

E. A. B. RICE ET AL.

GUN MOUNTING Filed oct. l5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheer. l

Q LL

INVENTORZ E.A.B. RICE. AG. ROSE. 5.CURTIS ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 12, 1946. E. A. B. RICE ET A1.

GUN MOUNTING Filed Oct. 15, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 3 wv Q wm llll Nov. 12, 1946. E. A. B. RICE ET A1; 2,411,114

GUN MOUNTING Filed Oct. l5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIC-3.3.

INVENTQR;

E.A.B. RICE. A.G.Ros|:. s. CURTIS BY ATTORNEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGA.

INVENTORI E.A.B. RICE. A.G,F\OSE. S. CURTIS.

7 m ATTORNEYS E. A. B. RICE ET AL GUN MOUNTING Filed ost. 15, 1941 Nov. 12, 1946.

Patented Nov. l2, 1945 GUN MOUNTING Edward Arthur Beckton Rice, Newton Abbot, and Alfred German Rose and Sidney Curtis, Gainsborough, England; said Rose and said Curtis assignors to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a company of Great Britain l Application October 15, 1941, Serial No. 415,028 In Great Britain October 24, 1940 (Cl. Sil-37.5)

7 Claims.

This invention relates to gun mountings of the type in which the gun or gun assembly is mounted on a carriage arranged for movement along a track.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gun mounting of this type in which the gun carriage can be quickly moved from one position to another along the track Without distracting the attention of the operator from the target and without the need for much exertion on the part of the operator.

According to the present invention, there is provided a gun mounting of the type described wherein the carriage is arranged to be driven along the track by a, rotatable driving member mounted in the carriage and engaging the track, driving means being provided on the carriage for bringing labout rotation of the driving member, and wherein the starting and stopping of the driving means is controlled by a pair of controlling members one of which is adapted upon operation to cause the driving means to rotate in one direction and the other to cause the driving means to rotate in the opposite direction. Conveniently, the controlling members are adapted for attachment to the hand grip of the gun or gun assembly.

More specically, the gun mounting according to the invention enables a gun or guns to be swung in azimuth in opposite directions by the manual operation of control means on the gun or guns.

Conveniently, the motor is mounted on the carriage in such a manner that, in the' event of failure of the motor to drive the pinion for any reason, e. g. a discharged battery, the motor can be quickly disconnected from the pinion, leaving the carriage free to be moved along the track by hand. Thus, the motor may be carried on a bracket pivoted on the carriage and provided with a spring tending to cause the bracket to swing away from the carriage to disconnect the motor from the pinion, the bracket being normally locked in position against the action of the spring by a spring-loaded locking pin passing through the bracket into the carriage and re-` leased by pulling out the pin.

The invention is particularly useful in its application to gun mountngs for aircraft, armoured cars and the like, and, by way of example, such an application of the invention will now be described in greater detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a gun mounting laccording to the invention, shown in position in the fuselage of an aeroplane,

Figure 2 is a part sectional end elevation of the mounting, drawn to a larger scale than Figure 1, as viewed from the right of Figure 1, the carriage being deemed to fbe in a central position on the track,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the carriage, drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1 and 2, with the upper structure removed, f Y

Figure 4 is a part sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 3, with a portion of the upper structure removed, and

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the construction of the track.

Referring to the drawings, a track generally indicated by reference numeral II is mounted in the fuselage l2 of an aeroplane by means of supporting brackets I3, attached to a platform IllV in the fuselage, and a bracket I6 attached to a shield I'I which is itself mounted on the platform I4 by means of a bracket I8. The track II consists of a straight portion a, extending transversely of the fuselage I2, and two arcuate portions b merging into the straight portion a and extending towards the front of the aeroplane. The track II has a cross-section of channel shape and is disposed with the flanges I9 of the section horizontal and the Web-2| of the section on the insid e of the track.

Supported on rollers 22 arranged to run on the faces of the anges I9 is a gun carriage 23 attached to the top of which is a gun supporting pillar 24 which is formed at its upper extremity with a split bearing 26, 21 adapted to carry a gun assembly consisting of a pair of machine guns 28. The portion 26 of the

bearing

26, 21 is hinged on the pillar 24 at 29 for easy removal of the gun assembly, a quick-release pin 3l being provided for locking the two parts of the bearing together.

The gun carriage 23 embraces the track I I and is guided on the track by a pair of rollers 32 and tWo pairs of rollers 33. The rollers 32 are arranged to bear against the face of the web 2| of the track II (see particularly Figure 4), one towards the top of the track and the other towards the bottom, and are freely mountedon a vertical shaft 34 rotatably supported in bearings 36 housed in the upper and -loWer wallsofthe carriage. The rollers 33 are varranged to bear against the vertical faces of the flanges I9 of the track I I, the upper pair being freely mounted on studs 31 attached to the upper wall of the carriage 23 at positions one on each side of the i axis of the rollers 32 (considered in the direction of travel of the carriage), while the lower pair are freely mounted on studs 38 attached to the lower wall of the carriage at positions coaxial with the studs 31.

The face of the web 2l of the track II and the vertical faces of the flanges I9 of the track thus act as guiding surfaces for the carriage 23 and the width of the track Ii, i. e. the distance between the face of the web 2i and the vertical faces of the flanges i3, is such as -to provide just sufficient clearance between Vthe ytrack II andthe

rollers

32 and 33 for easy running. -It will be understood that the width of the track ii is greater on the arcuate portions b than on the straight portion a because of the ytriangular disposition of the

rollers

32 and 33 as viewed in plan.

At the junctions of the straight portion a and the arcuate portions b of 'the track II, the face of the web 2| is provided with a cam surface 39, the purpose of which is -to ensure that Vthe `rollers v32 and 33 continue simultaneously to bear on the track II during the passage of the carriage .23 from the straight portion a to the arcuate portions b and vice versa.

The construction of the track -II is shown in Figure and since the arcuate portions Vb merge into the ends of the straight portion a in-an identical manner, it will be sufficient -to 'describe the merging of one of 'the arcuate portions vbintlofthe straight portion a.

The outer surface of the arcuate portion b of the track II, i. e., the path followed 'by the Vertical faces of the flanges I9, follows an ,arc struck from a'point o until itfmeets the-outer surface of the straight portion a at av point in a line o o, 'theline o o being disposed-normal to the straight portion a of the track and passing through the'point o. lThe straightportion a'o'f the track thencontinues as a tangent to the -outer surface of the arcuate portion b. vThe yinner sur- :ing cam surface `39 yuntil it meets the inner .sur-

face of the straight portion'a at a point "in a line d-d running parallel with the line o o. The inner surface of the straight portionva then continues on a path parallel to that followedfby the outer face of the straight portion a.

It will .thus be seen that the compensating cam surface 39 extends on each side of theline .o-o. The length of the cam surface '39 and its disposition in relation to the line o-o depends :on the relative dispositions of the roller 32 and the rollers 33. Thus, assuming'the carriagel 23 to be moving from left to right, it will be seen from the two positions of the carriage 23 shown in `Figure 5, that the cam surface 39 extends to theleft of line o-oby an amount such that when the centre of the forward roller 33 lies on the line o-o, and lthe roller is thus at the junction of the straight and arcuate portions of the track I'I, the centre of the roller 32 lies on the line d-d and is thus about to come under the influence of the cam surface 39; The carriage 23 is shown in this position by full lines. The full lengthof the cam 'surface 39 is such that when the centre vof the rearward roller 33 lies on the line-o-o, and the '2l of the `track II.

carriage 23 is shown in this position by chaindotted lines. The profile of the cam surface 39 is such that the rollers 33 and the roller 32 continue simultaneously to bear on the track I I during the passage of the carriage 23 from the straight portion a to the arcuate portion b and Vice versa.

With this construction, the rollers 33 and the roller 32 are disposed so as to provide rigid support for the carriage at any position on the track while, at the same time, the carriage can be freely moved along the track.

Secured to the central grooved portion of the shaft 34 is a pinion 4I arranged to mesh with a rack 42 secured to the central portion of the web The portions of the rack corresponding t0 the straight portion a and the arcuate portions b of the track i I each have teeth of a standard form except on the portions corresponding to the cam surfaces 39 where, it will be understood, `the teeth have to be slightly modified in shape so as to allow smooth operation between the rack 42 and the pinion 4i .duringthe passage of the carriage from the arcuate portions b to the straight portion a and Vice Versa.

The shaft 34 protrudes through the bottom wall of the carriage 23 and has secured to its protruding grooved end a driving ange 43 which is arranged t0 be driven by an annular wormwheel 44 through a pair of flanged gripper members 45 in a manner which will'be described later. The wormwheel 44 is arranged to'be driven by a'worm 46 secured to a shaft 4-1 supported in bearings 43 carried by a bracket 49 pivotally attached at 50 to a'bracket `5I secured to the carriage 23. Stops 52, having inclined abutment surfaces, are formed on Ythe bracket Y49 Vto prevent excessive -pivotal movement thereof, the vabutment surfaces normally being clearof the carriage 23 byl an amount sufficient to allow adequate pivotal movement of the bracket 49. The worm 46 is driven from an electric motor 53, 'attached to the bracket -4'9 through

gears

54, 55 and155,-the-gear-54 being secured tothe armatureshaft '51 of the motor 53,-the gear 55'being freely mounted on ay studi-58 carried by the bracket49 and the gear 56 being secured to the worm shaft 41.

TheV annular wormwheel v44fis formed with an Vinterna-1l surface which tapers from v`a rmaximum is secured to the driving ange 43 vby a series `of driving bolts-62 the heads of which pass through the lower-gripper .member 45. The `pressure exerted by the springs' 59 is adjustable by means of nuts 63 for the purpose of varying vthe gripping pressure between the gripper members -45 `and the wormwheel 44. Y

With the above construction,it will beseen that the wormwheel 44 andthe gripper members 45 constitute a slipping clutch mechanism which will prevent damage to the apparatus in the event that the motor 53 iskept running longA enoughto cause the carriage v23 to strike the Y supporting `brackets I3 at the ends of thetrack I-I ,the worm- Wheel 44, in such an event, merely slipping round `the gripper members 45 against the action ofthe springs 59.

A Asmentioned above, therbracket '49 is pivoted at 50 and carries the motor 53 withits gear 54, the intermediate gear 55, and the worni 46 with' its gear .56. It will be seen, therefore, that when the-bracket 48 is swung awayfroni the carriage 23 `the worm- 46 is caused to 'disengag'efrom the wormwheel 44 and thusdisconnect the -drivefrorn the motor-53 to the pinion 4I.- A leaf spring 66is attached to the carriage 23 and is caused'to exert aspring pressure against the bracket 49 whenit is inthe operative position, as shown in Figure 4, so lthatfthe bracket 49 is continuously urgedto swing outwardly. i

In order to'lock the bracket 49 in its operative position against the action of the spring 66,

there is provided a plunger 61 which ishoused in a bearing 68 attached to a lug 69 extending from the bracket 49 and lying adjacent an end of the vertical wall of the carriage. The plungerv 61 passes through the lug 46i into a recess 1I in the carriage and the bearing 68 is formed with a recess 12 for the accommodation of a spring 13 disposed around the shank 14 ofthe plunger 61 and bearing at one end against the plunger G1 and at the other end against the base of thel recess` 12. The shank 14 protrudes through the bearing 68 and has secured to itsend by means of a pin 16 a. knob 11 in which isgsecured a pin 18 to facilitate handling.VA o

In order to counteract any twisting moment in the carriage 23 arising from the disposition of the motor 53 and its associated gearing in relation to the track I I, there is secured to the lower wall of the carriage 23 an arm 19, suitably recessed for the accommodation of the wormwheel 44 and its associated parts, provided at its extremity remote from the carriage .23 with a roller 8l freely mounted on a stud 82 secure-d to the arm 19, the roller BI being arranged to bear against an auxiliary track 83 secured to the platform I4 by means of bolts 84.

The motor 53 is of the reversible type and is connected to an electric battery (not shown) through a pair of contactor starters (not shown) and a pair of thumb switches 86 and S1 attached one to the hand grip of each of the pair of machine guns .28, the electrical connections being such that the switch 85 causes the motor 53 to rotate in the direction necessary to drive the carriage 23 from right to left (as viewed in Figure 1) and the switch 81 causes the motor to rotate in the opposite direction to drive the carriage from left to right.

It will be seen that, to move the carriage 23 from one position to another on the track I I, it is only necessary for the operator to depress one or the other of the switches 86 or 81, depending on the 'direction in which it is desired to move the carriage, whereupon the motor 53 is caused to rotate in the appropriate direction and drives the pinion 4I through the

gears

54, 55 and 56, the worm 46 and the wormwheel 44, the pinion 4I, in turn, rolling along the rack 42 to drive the carriage 23 along the'track Il.

The pivotal mounting of the bracket 49 allows the drive to the pinion 4I to be disconnected at will so that, should the necessity arise, the carriage 23 can be freed for movement along the track Il by hand operation. Thus, in the event of failure of the motor 53 to drive the pinion 4I for any reason, it is only necessary for the operator to withdraw the knob 11 against the action of the spring 13 until the plunger 61 is clear of the recess 1I in the carriage 23,'whereupon the bracket '49,* together with the moto'rf53 and its associated gearing," is caused to-swing'outwardly un'derthe action of the spring- 66.' to-disconne'ct the worm 46 from v'the'wormv'vheel-44. =The carriage`23 is then free to b'e moved along the track by hand(r When the mounting is beingusedin this manner, the carriage Y23 may be locked atany given position along the track I I by pushing the bracket 49 towards the carriage untilthe plunger 61 snaps back into locking position when the worm 46 by its engagement with the lwormwheel 44 effectively locks the carriage against movement along the track. A hand knob 83 is attached to the armature'shaft 51 of the motor at the opposite end to the gearf54 for the purpose of turning the armature shaft slightly in case the worm 46 does not properly engage the wormwheel 44 when the bracket 49 is sw ng back into operative position. 7 Y

We claim: n A

1. A gun mounting comprising atrack,`a` gun carriage movably supported on the track and arranged to carry a pair of guns, vmeans von said carriage for guiding it along the track, the track being formed with a rack extending along'v its length, a rotatable pinion mounted in said-carriage and arranged to engage the rack, a reversible electric motor mounted on said carriage in driving connection withfsaid pinion,` said vmctor being carried on a bracket pivotedon said carriage, spring means tending to cause said bracket to swing away from said carriage so as to disconnect said motor from said pinion, a, springloaded locking pin arranged to pass through said bracket into said carriage so as to lock said bracket in its operative position against the action of said spring means, and a pair of switches arranged to connect said motor with a source of electric power, e. g., a battery, in such a manner that one switch is capable of bringing about rotation of said motor in one direction and the other is capable of bringing about rotation of said motor in the opposite direction, said switches being adapted for attachment one to the hand grip of each of said guns.

2. A gun mounting comprising a, track of the kind in which portions having different paths merge into each other, said track being formed with two opposing carriage-guiding surfaces, a gun carriage movably supported on said track and arranged to engage said guiding surfaces at at least three points simultaneously, at least two of said points being on one of said surfaces and the remaining point or points being on the opposing surface, at least one of said surfaces being formed on at least one merging portion of the track with at least one compensating cam surface against which a surface-contacting point on said carriage bears, during passage of said carriage over said merging portion of said track, to cause said carriage to continue to bear on said track at said points.

3. A gun mounting comprising a track the path of which comprises a straight portion and a curved portion merging into each other, said track being formed with opposing outer and inner carriage-guiding surfaces, a gun carriage movably supported on said track and arranged to carry a pair of guns, guiding means on said carriage arranged to engage said surfaces at three points simultaneously for guiding said carriage along said track, two of 'said points being on said outer surface and the remaining point being on said inner surface, said inner surface being pro- ,videdon the mergingportion .of said track with acompensating cam surface againstwhichfone Vof the :carriage-,guiding ymeans is arranged to 'bear during passage of said carriage yover said Yper- .tionof said track to cause said carriage to'continue lto bear at -said Vthree points, a rack extending along the length of said "track, and a rotatable pinion Ymounted 'insaid carriage and arranged to engage said-rack. Y

.4. A gun mounting including -a ,-track, a gun carriage having guidedymovement fon Said track,

`driven means on said vcarriage contacting said track to cause `the movement ,of Athe -.carriag e, a bracket -connected with said carri-age for movement to an active position or aninactiveposition, and driving means on said bracket which cooperates with said driven means to drive the latter to move vthe carriage when thebracket is in the active position, said driving means being disengaged from said driven means when the bracket is in its inactive position. l

5. A gun mounting including a track, a gun carriage constructed and arranged to move` along said track, rollers on said .carriage rotatable on vertical axes respectively invrolling contact Vwith opposite sides respectively of said track, other rollers on said carriage rotatable on horizontal Aaxes respectively in rolling contact with upper surfaces of said track respectively, a driven shaft providing the axle for certainof said rollers, and means on the shaft which coacts with means on `cause said carriage to move along'the track, driving means mountedon said carriage and arranged to bring about rotation Aof said driving member, said driving means beingcarried on a-bracket pivoted `on said carriage, :spring means tending to cause said bracket to swing away fromthecarriage, so as to disconnect the driving .means from the driving member, means formaintaining said bracket in the driving position, Vmeans for releasing vsaid bracket so las Lto allow it to swing away from the carriage under the inuence .of `the spring, and a pair of controlling members fin yconnection-with said driving means, one of the controlling members being arranged upon voperation to cause the driving means to vrotate in one direction andthe other-to cause the driving means to rotate in the opposition direction.

7. A gun mounting according to claim 6, including a xed stop arranged to limit the extent of the pivotal movement of said bracket under the inuence of sai-d spring.

`EDWARD ARTHUR BECKTON RICE. rALFRED GERMAN ROSE.

SIDNEY CURTIS.