US2481726A - Ammunition-belt feed mechanism for automatic firearms - Google Patents

Description

Sept. '13, 1949. I E. c. M. DIASISISFONSECK 2 AMMUNITION BELT FEED MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Oct. 9, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 13, 1949. E. c. M. D'ASSlS-FONSECA 2,481,726

AMMUNITION BELT FEED MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Oct. 9, 1945 r 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 AM MUNITION BELT FEED MECHANISM Sept. 13, 19.49. E C.M. DASSlS-FONSECA I FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 9, 1945 Sept. 13, 1949. E. c. M. D'ASSlS-FONSECA 2,481,726

AMMUNITION BELT FEED MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Oct. 9, 1945 e Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 13, 1949.

E. c; M. DASSlS-FONSECA 2,431,726 AMMUNITION BELT FEED MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 9, 1945 -|-o LT FEED M ATIG FIREAR C. MUNI NSECA ECHANISM E M. DASSIS AM TION BE FOR AUTOM Sept. 13, 1949.

6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 9, 1945 Patented Sept. 13, 1949 2,481,726 a f AMMIENITIOMBELT'FEEDMEGHANI ism roe 7 AUTOMATIC FIaEAIiris, 4 W

Y Evelyn Cecil M uschamp dAssis-Fonseca, Bristol,

England, assig'nor to The 'BristolrAcmnl met-'---- I Company Limited, Bristol; England; a

company British Application October 9, 1945; Seriai Nbr 2l-21 In Great Britain October 11, 184

This "invention concerns improvements in or relating to ammum-tion-belt feed-mechanisms for automatic firearms or the kind which separate the :roundsyofa-mmunition and the links connecting them together the ammunition-belt and feedsjthe separatedcartridges towards the firearm r The standard type of link connecting cartridges adaptedfor small calibre cannon com-. prises-1 two part-circular clips to receive adjacent-roundspf ithexbelt-and the present invention relates-- to (feed mechanism" of) the kind referred to which areyadapted toseparate the rounds in ammunltiombeltsincorporating links .of this type. In practice links. of'the' type referred to are'constructe-d so=that one-clip is constituted by a single armqinrthe' central plane of the belt and the other by two-arms spaced apart such a distance as; to receive (between-them the 'single' arm clip of; thenext-adjacentlinki Each cartridge in the ammunition-belt istherefdre engaged by a single-arm clip of .one link and a double-arm clip of another-link? v r Heretofore feed-mechanismsxof the kind referred tOyhfirVB. comprised a scroll cam past which the ammunition- 'belt is fedso that the noses of the projectiles engage theeam-'-surface. The cam forces-each cartridge'outof itspair .of engaging clips :by displacing-the cartridge relatively to the links-in-the direction of the long axis of the cartridge.=* For satisfactory operation of this mechanism a cam of considerable length must be provided. --As-.a consequence itisa characteristic of suchIfeed-mechanismsthat-they have considerable bulk. Furthermore: with ammunitionbelts having armour+piercing projectiles the cam surface is rapidly spoiled.-*=* V It is an objectof the present invention toprovide a feed-mechanism-ofthe kind set forth which possesses small bull; and'is free from the disadvantage associated with known feed-mechanism whennzsing 'belts incorporating armourpiercing projectiles.

- For convenience throughout the specification the terms leading clip of a; link and leading extremity of aclip'are tobe'understood as referring to the clip oi-a link-, or the extremity of the clip,which first passes intothe feed-mecha nism whilst the'clip Of a link, orthe extremity of a clip, which follows on into -the feed-mechanism will be respectively --referred teas-the trailing clip and-trailing extremity.-'

-Accordnrgwtoizthe:- present? invention' 'a feedmechanismofitheikindsefiforth 'whichis'adapted for"separating l'inks ofitlie type referred tois 9Claims. (01. 89-33;} .7

characterised hat theleading clip of each link which connectsapair of.=.cartri-d,ges together is first separated-l by said qmechanism; andthereafter the trailingr-clip f hwid link is separated by'said mechanismiaoth said clips being removed from :their: associated cartridges in a direction laterallyofrthezoartzidgesi i. r.

It is preferred that clips of adjacent links. which-engage acommomoartridge hesuccessively removed in :$flidf:- 1Ei5ei a1'"fdii'-ec$i0n;' the trailing clip associated with saideaztridge being removed and thereafter the: leading clip associatedther With. ihia'j" According to anotherraspect"-.ofthepresent in,- vention'ia =Ieedemechanism of'the-kindset forth, whichis?adaptedifnr'separating links of the type. referred: to, characterised that the leadin and trailingclipsaofieaohdinkare removed from their cartridge in a aklirectioniaterally thereof, the leading ciipmreachcl-ink being removed by means which engagessaid clip-atdts leading ex tremity3-.andrtheetrailing clip 'of the link being removed; by: means'-: which engages said "clip, at itsie'adingandtnaillr'agiextremities;

Preferablyethe imeansrmferredto comprises .a pair of-1 sprockets which are 'adaptedr to engage the cartridges ofi thezermmimition belt andfeed it 'along' a- -guiiieway v-towardsa-the firearm each cartridge ,in'r'passing aiong rsaid guidewa'y being engaged -on ftheione side-hya-toothiof the one sprocket-;and:on-;the other-side bya tooth of the other sprocketzso that said-teethengage the extremities of itherleadlng andrtrailingiclips asso; ciatedwith geaclr cartridge and successively re move -them;in---a dinectionlaterally of the car: tridge. r. ;i'; H ;A specific embodiment of the-"pres'ent invention will now i be described,-- by' way'nf" example; with reference {11170113313118 waccompanying drawings,

whereof: c ,3: v

Figure. isxa perspective viewqof amart of an ammunitioneb'eltvthewounds or-which are connected together -by links' ofithe type. referred. to above; I, 54,? l? ;\r.\4:: r i r.

. Figure 2 is mediagramma-tie perspective view of a machine-gun installation incorporating a feed-mechanism: of-zthgr rrelterred" to;

clearly to show" the means for tiring the mech- Figure 7 is a section on the line of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8.-8 of Figure 6;

Figures 9 and 10 are views showing in detail a part of the feed-mechanism,

Figures 11-15 are diagrammatic views of the feed-mechanism showing the-operation of separating the links from the rounds of ammunition, and

Figure 16 is a circuit diagramillustrating the firing and ammunition feeding circuits and showing in detail a form of spring ammunition belt driving motor. 1

Referring first to Figural: the ammunition belt is generally indicated by the reference numeral 20 and comprises a plurality of rounds of ammunition 2| which are connected together by the links 22. A belt of ammunition is adapted to be fed towards the gun in the direction of the arrow 23. Each link comprises a pair of clips one of which (24) has two spaced arms and the other of which (25) has a single arm disposed centrally between the spaced arms. As is clear from Figure 1, the double-arm clip 24 surrounds the shell of the round of ammunition and connects it with the next adjacent shell by the single-arm clip 25 which overlaps the next succeeding double-arm clip engaging said adjacent shell.

For the'sake of convenience the term leading clip of a link'is to be understood as referring to the clip 24 since it is clear from Figure 1 that this link is disposed in 'frontof the link 25 during the passage of the belt of ammunition to the gun. The term leading-extremity of a clip is to be understood as referring to the edges 26 of clip 24 or the junction-piece 21 of the two clips, this being also one edge of'the clip 25. It will be appreciated that in thepassage of the ammunition belt to the gun the edges 26 and 2'! will be those parts of the corresponding clips 24, 25 which first pass into the feed-mechanism and the gun.

Similarly, the clip 25 will be referred to for convenience as the trailing clip of a link whilst the junction-piece 21 of clip 24 will be referred to as the trailing extremity" of said clip and the end 29 of clip 25 will be referred to as the trailing extremity" of the trailing clip.

As shown in Figure '2,.a machine-gun 3|] has associated with it an ammunition box 3| and a power-driven mechanism 32 disposed between the ammunition box and th machine-gun, said power-driven mechanism being adapted to deliver the ammunition belt 20 from the ammunition box and deliver it towards the machine-gun. The belt of ammunition passes from the powerdriven mechanism 32 to a feed-mechanism 33 constructed in accordance with the present invention and mounted upon the gun 30. The feedmechanism is provided with a-mouth 34 to receive the ammunition-belt from the power-driven mechanism 32 (see also Figure 3) and with a downwardly-extending chute 35 through which the separated rounds of ammunition are passed to the feed port of the gun. The separated links are expelled from the feed mechanism 33 through a channel 36.

In use, the ammunition-belt 20 is fed towards the feed-mechanism 33 by the power-driven mechanism 32 and in passing through mechanism 33 the belt 20 is disintegrated. The separated rounds are fed through the chute 35 towards the gun whilst'the separated links are ejected along the channel 36 into a suitable receptacle.

The feed-mechanism 33 is driven ..(as will be hereinafter described in detail) by the recoil of the gun 30 through the intermediary of a spring 3! (Figure 6). The spring 31 is normally preloaded so that the mechanism continues to operate to draw the ammunition-belt into the feed mechanism and pass the separated rounds towards the gun. This, howevenisprevented until the gun fires and the gun port is opened to permit a separated round to pass from the feed-mechanism into the gun. The purpose of thus preloading the spring 31 is to ensure that immediately upon the gun being fired a separated round will be supplied to thegun since it is well known that there is a certain lapse of time from the firing of the gun to the feeding of the belt through mechanism 33. The provision of spring 31 therefore ensures that there is no appreciable time lag between the gun being fired and the rounds being replaced.

In order to maintain the spring 31 in tension it is automatically wound by the recoil of the gun 38, for which purpose the spring is secured at one end to an attachment 38 having a shaft-extension 39 which carries a pinion 40 the latter being in mesh with a gear 4| which is associated with a rack 42 (see Figures 5 and 6) As is clear from Figure 5, the rack 42 is urged by a spring 43 to its lower position but is capable of being raised against the spring action by means of a cam surface (not shown) carried by the gun and engageable with a roller 44 carried by the rack 42. The arrangement is that upon the gun 3i] recoiling the cam surface engages the roller 44 to raise the rack 42 against the action of spring 43 therebyrotating gear 4|, pinion 40,

' the attachment 38 and the spring 31.

It is to be appreciated from what has been said that immediately upon the gun being fired the spring 31 partly uncoils to draw the ammunition-belt into the feed-mechanism and deliver a separated round to the gun and that upon the gun recoiling the spring is rewound to its initial tension.

The spring 31 may be initially wound (when the feed mechanism is incorporated in the gun installation) by means of a spanner or handwheel applied to the end 45 of the spring-driving shaft 39. During this operation it is necessary to ensure that the spring does not unwind and to this end the shaft 39 is provided with a ratchetwheel 46 which is engaged by a pawl 41 (see Figure 8). The pawl 41 is carried within the casing of the feed mechanism and is urged by a spring 48 into engagement with the ratchet 46. With the arrangement described when a handle is applied to the end 45 of the shaft 39 and rotated the initialtension will be applied to the spring 31. During this operation the ratchet 46 moves idly past the pawl 41. The tension of the spring 37 is applied through the shaft 39 to the ratchet 46 in the opposite direction and the ratchet being engaged by the pawl 41 is prevented from turning so that the initial tension is maintained in the spring.

It is considered desirable to ensure that the spring 31 be incapable of being wound beyond a.

predetermined number of turns and accordingly one end of the spring is secured to the attachment 38 as mentioned above whilst the other end is secured to a composite tube comprising a number of cylindrical members 5|] the abutting faces of which are formed as the teeth 5| of a dog clutch. The members 50 are assembled endto-end so that the teeth 5| of adjacent members are spaced angularly from one another and the arrangement is that upon winding the spring 31,

inembers Bil relativelyrotate" a' predetermined clutches abut thereby preventing the s'prirrg'from sociated with the guideway, 5 l are a pair of spaced" rai'ls"'t'a6 carriedjf by the g 55 f the feedmechanism; the arran tit,liein'gthait'the rails B"extendin'thefdiregtion 'dfinovement of the rounds of" ammunitioii'jt hiiotigh the feed-mechanis'm"'(th'at is, as the p on misses along the .guid'e ay -54--it-n s aer1gnt angles n; the, rails 56") "The cartri'dg'e pasesfai'e adapted "to engage with therelils SBthe'spaIcing 'Whl'Ch is such that the links rz'traver betwe the pair of rails (Figure l'). 1

The belt fjeert'ro ller ii 1; mp ses three spaced sprockets 51; EBISQwVhich-are carried upon a shaft G'O'e'Xten ding "acros's th fee'il niechanism and sup ported in the end cover plates 6| thereof by bearings B2: 'Thef shattflifi isprgvidedjatj one end with a gear '63 the .puitpos'joff which will be hereinafter'describedi As theficartri'dgejcas tra scend-s: am

niun'iti'o'n' enters j'the mechanism by the out -24 m trave s broughtinto engage em with he sprockets 51,

58,; 5B 'of the he1t-ffeefiiroller5'2,the am'imunition I me han smby aid fullygdescribeq hereinafter.

belt being drawn nto t sprockets as will The sprocket :58 'o oll erf 52 is disposed st "that'it lies"'bt g f' and so that it will engage'each c rtridg'e along the he guideway 54 it is' ass gnsgenerally 'ber 54 along which centre line of the gannnunition here, sin e ltjisr along this 'centreflint;' that the sing'le arm clips 25 of the*lmksTzzare-fin, jc' f0llowsjthat sprocket 5'8 is'in ajpos'iti'onto "engage the. single armclip ofe'achconnecting link asthe 'ammunition belt passes il'ltojthe feedrneichanism. The

lateral sprodketSTljF-i'dof gthdlbelt-feed roller :52,

are adapted to support"th' upperfand "lower port'ionsof'the cartridge 'casesrespec vely and. maintain theinincontact with thegiiails '56 The cartridge-"feed "roller 1531compr1ses a 1 pair of spaced"membersgenerttlly indicated by the, .f ei ite 11.10011. :jth f eedemecha ings 65 jformed in.

reference'jnumeral. 54' which a shaft 65 that extend s nism and is supported, in the end coverjplates' 'B'IQf he asing', the shaft ss bemg also providedjwith a e rywheei .61 whose function will be' describedj later. ilfhe members- 64 are adapted "to engage'ech cartridge. as it passes" t ro the "reea mehamsm to .assist'.

in stripping theflii'iks IZZ'Zffr m the ammunitionbelt and" subsjefqueritlyF to fieed fthe, :sepanated rounds oi ammunition towards. the ammunition chute" signs to theQguIi-hmech {Each mechanism along thelineof extension of an arm ience as the feed sprockets.

6 of the double arm clip 24 'of the *conne'dting lhiks 22." Each feed member -64--comprises arpaira of sprockets 68, -69 (Figures lg 6 and-"llwhichare disposed side by side and are of 2 1m ar constmw tion. The-sprockets ifl are on ectd tog'ether by a tubular member l-ll wh ich is 'securedtothe shaft 65 by means ofaipinill. As-a consequencethe sprockets 69 7 are rigidly flattadhed to said r shaft. The sprockets 68 are mountedu-pomthe shaft as so as to be capable of rotational-move ment relative thereto (that is sprockets ii8= are== capable of angular adiustment i elative ito spr ocket 69) To limit'the extent ofth isangular ad justment each sprocket 68 1s provided-with a stop pin 12 which extends frcin the -tace-ofits associated sprocket fifl and entersa groove-i3 in the associated-sprocket 69'. The-length 0f the groove 13 is such-as'to-perinit"ailimited relative movement between'the adjacent 'sprockets' 68, 65 in the spring urged direction. Each sprocket-$8 is associated with a torsion spr'ing '1twh'ich 'scarried upon-the shaft and erigages 'the stop pin'TZ, the arrangementbeir ig that eaichtcrsiiunspring urges itsas'sociated' sprocket Ell to assume a displaced position relative' te the sprocket 69. This'd'isplacedposition-is shown in F-igu-re 7 from which it will berm-ted.that aflthoughtheassociated sprockets 68, 69 are of 's imiiarcon-- struction in their displaced positionthe' teeth ofe the sprockets are offset *from' one another, withf this arrangement the heating sp rock'ets -68 will first engage the rounds of ammunition as 'tl'iey pass from the belt-feed roller 52 to 'the cartridgefeed roller 53. nurthermo repeeeause thdfloatting; sprockets'fis are urged by springs Ht rotate-in a clockwise direction as' viewed in Ig 'ure-T the teeth of the sprocket which engagetherounds of ammunition of the ammunition-belt will be urged towards said belt so thattl-iey are-incapable of taking part in feeding the separatedrounds of ammunition towards the gun. This operationis performed by the others'prockets. of the feed; members 52, 53 and accordingly said other'sprockets will be referred to hereinafter for convene During the operation of the feedrnecha nism the sprockets of the'belt and cartr idge- feed rol lers 52, 53 respectively serve the .dual function of feeding the ammunitionebelt and "separated rounds through the mechanism and of stripping the links from therounds of ammunition; For the purpose of feeding the rounds through the feed-mechanism to the gun it is hecessaryitliat the rollers 52, .53 be rotatably'driven. With this, end in View gear wheel '53 of theflbelt-feed roller 52'meshes withan idler gear 15 which .is driven by gear 16 carried upon the output end of (the. shaft 39. The gear wheel tel-e150 meshes with an idler gear T! (Figure 31) 'wh ich'ltransmits drive:

' ammunition belt 20 into the feed mechanismsand the cartridge-feed roller .53'isrurged also hy s pning 31 to press separated rounds of ammuhition to wards the gun Whenthe-latter is t iii-be medth i h emm nepew es. filled with separated'rounds of ammunition and" The operation of the mechanismL-i-s'as follows;

accuses therefore that the latter extend from the ;car'- tridge-feed roller 53 to the chute 35 and that the ammunition-belt extends into the feed-mechanism along the guideway 54 and over the belt feed roller 52. Thefirst round of ammunition of the belt will be presumed to be lying ina trough between the teeth of the sprockets 51. 58 and 59 of the belt feed roller 52. (Actually some of the rounds between this one and the port of thegun will have links at progressively difierent stages of removal.)

The'sequence of events in stripping the link which connectsthe first andsecond rounds of ammunition-belt will now be described, it being assumed that the gun fires two rounds during this operation. When the round in the breech is fired the next separated round of ammunition is pressed towards the gun by the cartridge-feed roller 53. This is ensured by the spring mechanism 31 whichrotates the cartridge-feed roller and beltfeed roller shafts 65, 60 respectively. Consequent upon the firing of the round the recoil operated gear-and-rack device 4|, 42 is brought into operation to maintain the loading of the spring mechanism.

The rotation of the belt-feed roller 52 by the spring 31 will result in the ammunition-belt being drawn into the feed-mechanism and at the same time will move the first round of the belt towards the cartridge-feed roller53 (Figure 11). When this movement has proceeded to a certain extent the leading extremities 2B of the doublearm clip 24 which embraces the first round is engaged by the floating sprockets 68 (Figure 12). The peripheral edge of a tooth of each floating sprocket engages one arm of the double-arm clip. Thereafter, as said movement continues the floating sprockets 68 push the double-arm clip 24 laterally away from the round which it embraces (Figure 13) the round being prevented from partaking of the movement by the guide rails 56. In removing the double-arm clip as described the link is rotated around the second cartridge since the single-arm clip of the link embraces this round (Figure 13). The separated double-armclip is maintained with its leading and trailing extremities in juxtaposition to the first round by the casing 55 of the feed mechanism 3 When the double-arm clip is thus disengaged from the round of ammunition the latter lies between a pair of teeth of the cartridge-feed roller. 53. As the movements of rotation of the belt and cartridge- feed rollers 52, 53 proceeds the. round of ammunition from which the double arm clip has been removed is fed towards the ammunition chute 35. At the same time a tooth of the centrally disposed sprocket 58 of the beltfeed roller 52 is brought into engagement with the trailing edge 29 of the single-arm clip of the link (Figure 13). Thereafter the peripheral edge of said tooth pushes the single-arm clip 25' laterally away from the round. of ammunition which it embraces. As this lateral displacement is taking place, a tooth of each of the feed sprockets 69 is brought into engagement with the leading edge 2'! of said single-arm clip 25 (Figure 14). Thereafter, the single-arm clip is laterally removed from the cartridge which it embraces by the continued and conjoint action of the teeth of the feed sprockets 69 of the beltfeed roller 52. It is to be understood that the round of ammunition is prevented from lateral movement during the separation of the singlearm clip by the rails 56 under which the round. passes. The link connecting the two rounds of single-arm clip has been removed (Figure 15) is connected with the succeeding round of ammunition by another link so that whilst the separation of the link as described above is taking place the ammunition belt is being simultaneously drawn 'into the feed-mechanism. Immediately followdescribed above.

The stripping and feed operations will continue whilst the gun is being fired and the gearand-rack device 41, 42 continues to maintain the loading of the spring 31 whilst firing is taking place. When the gun stops firing at the end of a burst of fire leaving 'morethan one round of ammunition unexpended and is stationary after recoil following firing of the last round of the burst the rack device will have driven the spring mechanism so that the spring 3'! is fully loaded. When spring 31 is thus loaded the ammunition chute from the cartridge-feed roller 53 to the port of the gun will be re-filled with separated rounds.

The provision of the floating sprockets 68 is made necessary because when the teeth of the feed sprockets 59 are on the side of the cartridge case which is engaged by the leading extremities 2B of the double-arm clip said teeth are moving away from the cartridge case; Accordingly, it is impossible for the teeth of the feed sprockets 59 to engage with and remove the double-arm clips from the rounds. Thefioating sprockets 68, however, can be maintained by their associated torsion springs M in engagement with the cartridge case until such time as the double-arm clip 24 has been removed.

In an alternative construction each feed sprocket 59 is formed with double teeth, one such tooth portion being movable relative to the other and spring urged to assume the displaced position. With such a construction the floating sprockets 68 are dispensed with.

It will be noted that in Figures 5 and 7 there is shown a plate 13 which is pivotally mounted at 79 and urged by spring 80 towards the cartridge-feed roller 53. The plate 18 is associated with the channel 36 and its purpose is to ensure that the separated links do not pass towards the gun but are forced into said channel. It assumes the position shown in Figures 5 and 7 due to the fact that rounds of ammunition are not present in the feed-mechanism. The plate 18 is held in the position shown in Figures 5 and '7 by a stop H30 and the tip of the plate will be engaged by each round as it is carried towards the gun. The point of contact of the tip of the plate 18 with each round is some distance above the centre of the round so that the round, in travelling towards the gun, will displace plate 13 outwardly against spring 80. The plate 18 will be held firmly against each round by its spring and will therefore ensure that the separated links are deflected into channel 36. Being spring pressed 11 the leading-clip elements and means to connect the leadingand trailing clips together, a storage for the belted ammunition located at a distance from the firearm and a chute to convey the belt of ammunition from thestorage to the firearm, a

feed mechanism comprising a casing, a channel member for directing the belt of ammunition into the casing, a delivery chute for conveying separated rounds of ammunition from the casing to the gun, a belt-feed roller for drawing the belt through the channel into the casing, a cartridgefeed roller for deliveringthe separated rounds through the delivery chute, mechanism for driving the belt-feed and cartridge-feed rollers in synchronism, a guideway within the casing to hold the rounds of ammunition going through the casing against movement in a lateral and in the endwise directions of the cartridges, means for disconnecting the leading clips of the ammunition links from the cartridges, and separate means for disconnecting the trailing clips of said links from the cartridges, both said clips being disconnected solely by movements radially from the longitudinal axes of the cartridges.

4. For an installation comprising an automatic firearm which is fed with belted ammunition the cartridges of which are connected together by links each comprising a leading clip having a pair of spaced-apart part-cylindrical co-axial elements and a trailing clip having a single partcylindrical element at one side of and between the leading-clip elements and means to connect the leading and trailing clips together, a storage for the belted ammunition located at a distance from the firearm and a chute to convey the belt of ammunition from the storage to the firearm, a feed mechanism comprising a casing, a channel member for directing the belt oiammunition into the casing, a delivery chute'for conveying separated rounds of ammunition from the casing to the gun, a belt-feed roller for drawing the belt through the channel into the casing, a cartridgefeed roller for delivering the separated rounds through the delivery chute, mechanism for driving the belt-feed and cartridge-feed rollers iii synchronism, a guideway within the casing to holdthe rounds of ammunition going through the casing against movement in a lateral and in the endwise directions of the cartridges, means to engage the leading extremity of the leading clips of the ammunition links and disconnect said clips from the cartridges solely by movement of the clips in the lateral directionof the cartridges,

ing extremities of the trailing clips of said links and disconnect said clips from the cartridges also by movement solely laterally of the cartridges.

5. A feed mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the belt-feed and cartridge-feed rollers each comprises a shaft and at least a pair of sprockets mounted thereon in spaced relationship, said sprockets engaging the cartridges to pass them through the casing and constituting the link-disconnecting means for which purpose the teeth of the sprockets engage the clips of the links.

6. A feed mechanism as claimed in claim 5 in which a link-engaging sprocket of the cartridgefeed roller comprises a pair of sprocket gearwheels co-axially mounted side-by-side and a spring angularly displacing one wheel relatively to the other wheel.

7. A feed mechanism as claimed in claim 6 in which the mechanism for driving the belt-feed and cartridge-feed rollers comprises gearing conneoting the rollers together, a spring mechanism to drive the gearing, and apparatus, operated by the firearm, to maintain the loading of said spring mechanism. 7

8. A feed mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said loading apparatus comprises an electric motor, a clutch, a connection from the clutch to the spring mechanism, andswitch means which is closed when the firearm is fired.

9. A feed mechanism according to claim 8 wherein a clutch is provided to limit the maximum loading which may be applied to the spring a separate means to engage the leading and trail;

mechanism, said clutch normally connecting the spring mechanism with the driving mechanism for the belt-feed and cartridge-feed rollers.

EVELYN CECIL MUSCHAMP DASSIS-FONSECA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,377,828 Trotter et a1 June 5, 1945 2,383,830 Trotter et al Aug. 28, 1945 2,390,401 Trotter Dec. 4, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 555,267 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1943

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