US2523959A

US2523959A - Gun-controlling mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2523959A
Application number: US622513A
Authority: US
Inventors: Landstad Halvor Folkestad
Original assignee: Morris Motors Ltd
Current assignee: Morris Motors Ltd
Priority date: 1944-09-01
Filing date: 1945-10-16
Publication date: 1950-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1967-09-26

Description

Sept. 26, 1950 H. F. LANDSTAD" 2,523,959

GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 16, 1945 6 Sheets Sheet 1 in z) el -2:01P

FLQIZCZSW I P 6, 1950 H. F. LANDSTAD $523,959

GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Sept. 26, 1950 H. F. LANDSTAD GUN- CONTROLLING MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 16, 1945 Sept. 26, 1950 H. F. LANDSTAD 2,523,959

GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 16, 1945 e Sheets-Sheet 4 u ,5 t Q j. j v

5 I g i 'l I l I i1: 1s b 0 1 19 a Fig.4 1122118171111 ZZTLmdstQd Sept. 26, 1950 H. F. LAN DS'i'Al D I 7 2,523,959. GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM I Filed Oct. 16, 1945 v 6 S he 5 Sept.'26, 1950 H. F. LANDSTAD 2,523,959

GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 16, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet e Patented Sept. 26, 1950 GUN-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Halvor Folkestad Landstad, Cowley, Oxford, Eng-.- land, assignor to Morris Motors, Limited, Cowley, Oxford, England Application October 16, 1945, Serial No. 622,513

In Great Britain September. 1, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires September 1, 1964 This invention has for its object to provide improved gyrostatic mechanism for automatically compensating the effects of pitching and rolling on the setting of guns (and if desired of the sights also), search lights, listening posts or similar directionally-adjustable apparatus used on ships, military tanks or the like.

In the accompanying sheets of explanatory drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan, Figure 2, a side elevation and Figure 3 an end elevation of a gun controlling apparatus embodying the invention, all the parts being shown in the position they would occupy when the apparatus is at rest and mounted on a horizontal base. is coincident with the axis of the upper and Figure 4 is an end view showing the relative middle arm when the mechanismis at rest (see positions of the parts when the gun is elevated Figure 1), and the fourth arm h' is attached and its mounting is tilted through anangle to the memberd by pivots h on a vertical pivot corresponding to and representing an effect o'f= axis (see Figure 2)'.' These arms are'intended: rolling motion. 1 to be movable relatively to each other andalso Figures 5 and 6 illustrate to a larger scale certain parts of the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 7 is a cross section on the li'neIT-J of Figure 6.

Figure 8 illustrates diagrammatically a combined gyrostat fly wheel and electric motor.

Figure 9 illustrates diagrammatically a device for imparting rotary movements to the gun sightf in response to rolling of'th'e gun mounting.

In carrying the invention into efiect as shown, I employ a main bracket or support a adapted to be secured to or form part of the gun mounting. On this bracket there is pivotally supported by coaxial trunnions b a member b having its pivot axis horizontal and at right angles to the vertical plane containing the axis of the gun barrel. This member carries in a depending bracket b a controlling gyrostat 0 adapted to hold the said member stationary in space when the gun-is subiect to pitching movements, that is to say, to. provent the said member from moving about its pivot axis when the bracket (1, follows pitching movements of the gun.

On the said member b there is pivotally supported by coaxial pins d another member d also carrying in a frame-like housing d a controlling gyrostat 0 The pivot axis of this second member is horizontal and in or parallel with the vertical plane containing the axis of the gun barrel, this member being held stationary in space by its gyrostat when the gun" is subjected to rolling movements, that is to say, being prevented by its gyrostat from moving about its pivot axis when the member I) follows rolling movements of the gun.

3 Claims. (Cl. 745.22)

the member b, the flangebeing held in con On the said member at are pivotally mounted three adjacent and associated radial arms 6, ffg.

The arms e and f (herein referred to as the upper and middle arms) are respectively connected to.

the member d by coaxial pivots e f (Figure 1) and have a common horizontal pivot axis which porting member b. The third arm g" (herein referred to as the lower arm) has'a unive'rsalpivotal connection with the member d,*this be ing efiected,in the example shown, by the use of a fourth arm h. The arm g is attached to the arm h by pivots g on a horizontal axis which jointly as hereinafter described. a 7

At the forward end of the first gyrostat s'up-' porting member b is arranged a segmental member'z' which is slidably' supported by'the; said member and is inovablef relatively thereto an- With these rollers a pair of thii'd rollr s which are carried by arms'n pivoted on the me'mber b and held in cont'act'with the "front of the flange by sprihgsb. In Figure 2 only one roller m, arm n' and spring-o is shown their counterparts being situated at the opposite side of the;

member 19. The'front face of this segmental" member z' is provided with a toothed rack '19 engaged by a pinion-q (Figure 6) whereby the;- said member can be raised or lowered, the teeth" of the. gun barrel, the spindle being so located that the point of intersection of the pitchcircle of the pinion and the pitch line of the-rack1 coincides with the pivot axis of the second g'yro stat supporting member d (see Figures" and 5);,

The-upper end of the segmental member 'z' is which extends beyond both sides-of this arm";

The pin of the lower arm passes through the slot t of the cross piece t and thereby interconnects the lower and middle arms. Also the cross piece is formed with an upward extension t which is formed with a guide slot t which receives the forward end of the upper arm e. At the outer end of the upper arm e is pivotally attached another segmental member u. in the form of a toothed rack which extends along the outer face of the first mentioned segmental member z, and which is also engaged by the pinion q on the spindle r the teeth of this rack being shown in Figures 3, 4, and '7, and being indicated by u A spacing collar w carried on the pinion q lies between the segmental arms and serves to keep the arms apart.

The above described arrangement of arms and associated parts is such that the three arms e, f, g can be raised or lowered together by the pinion q concurrently with the normal elevating movements of the gun barrel.

The pinion q also serves as a fixed fulcrum piece about which the segmental member 2 can tilt laterally in response to rolling movements of the gun mounting.

When the gun barrel is in its rest position the arms 6, f, g occupy the positions shown in Figures 2, 3 and 6. In this condition the pin 3 i coaxial with the pinion q, and if rolling of the gun mounting occurs, the consequential lateral tilting movement of the segmental member 2' about the fulcrum formed by the pinion has a negligible effect on the relative positions of the arms e, f, q. As, however, the rolling movement of the gun mounting merely causes the gun barrel to turn about its longitudinal axis, it is unnecessary to compensate the effect of the rolling movement. If, on the other hand, the gun barrel is elevated from its rest position, the movement imparted to the arms e, f, g by the pinion q causes the pin 8 to be raised out of coaxial relationship with the pinion, and if in this condition rolling of the gun mounting occurs, the consequential lateral tilting movement of the segmental member i about the pinion causes the lower arm .g to move about both of its axes through arcs depending on the elevation of the gun barrel, and by reason of the interaction-of the pin s and the slot in the cross piece t the middle arm 7 is simultaneously moved about its horizontal pivot axis in a vertical plane away from the upper arm e. Meanwhile the upper arm remains stationary due to the engagement of the pinion q with the toothed rack 11,, and is only moved when the gunner changes the elevation of the gun. The relative movements of the arms are such that they can be utilised to cause training and elevating movements to be given to the gun for compensating the effects of rolling.

In one known form of gun setting mechanism, electric motors are employed for training and elevating the gun. These motors are controlled by the gunner through a universally movable lever, or joy-stick, which acts on appropriate intermediate mechanism. To enable the present invention to be applied to such a gun actuating mechanism, I employ an additional pair of motors together with a known form of electrical controller which can cause the additional motors to impart independent movements to the gun, and I arrange for the controller to be responsive to relative movements of the parts of the gyrostat mechanism above described. To compensate the efiects of pitching on the gun setting, I utilise the relatively angular movements of the .4 bracket and the gyrostat member b for actuating the part of the controller associated with the elevating motor of the gun. To compensate the effect of rolling, it is required to impart both training and elevating compensatory movements to the gun. To obtain the required compensatory training movements I utilise the relative angular movements between the fourth arm h and the gyrostat supporting member d on which it is mounted, for actuating the part of the controller associated with the training of the gun, and at the same time the relative movements of the upper and middle arms 6, f are utilised for actuating the part of the controller associated with the elevating of the gun.

The aforesaid relative movements may be used in a variety of ways for actuating the controller. For example, rack and pinion mechanisms may be provided at appropriate positions, and these are illustrated in a diagrammatic manner in some of the accompanying drawings. Thus to compensate the efiect of pitching I arrange a rack and pinion mechanism between the bracket a and the part of the member b which carries the gyrostat c, as shown in Figure 2, a curved rack 2 on the said part of the member b being engaged by a pinion 3 on the adjacent part of the bracket. Rotary motion of the pinion is caused to actuate any convenient electrical contact device associated with the controller, the said device being mounted on the bracket 0. in direct connection with the pinion, or being mounted in any other convenient position and connected to the pinion by a flexible shaft. As the contact device is of known form and is not a part of the invention, it has not been thought necessary to illustrate it, it-being sufficient to indicate only a device (e. g. a rack and pinion) whereby the relative movements between a and b can be utilised. In

like manner, themembers 6 and ;f may be interconnected by a rack 4 and pinion 5 (Figure 2). To interconnect the part It and member 01 I form on the outer end of the-part h (which is supported by a roller 6 on the member d, Figure 2) a rack I which engages a'pinion 8 on the member (2.

The rotary. fly wheel parts of the gyrostats.

may be driven in any convenient'manner, such as by a compressed air turbine or electric motor.

An example of a combined fly-wheel and electric motor is illustrated diagrammatically at Figure 8. The fly wheel is represented by 9 and within it is arranged a motor field system I0. Within the field system is arranged arelatively stationary armature H which is carried on an adjacent part of the gyrostat.

A gun of the kind to which the above described invention is applicable, is usually fitted with a fore-sight in the field of which are arranged radial and circular lines, which may be lines on a graticule, or wires mounted in an open ring, this latter being commonly termed a cart-wheel sight. For convenience of the gun layer when using the sight it is desirable that angular movements about its axis should be given to the sight corresponding to the rolling motion of the gun mounting. To enable'this requirement toibe met I employ a rotary sight of the kind above mentioned. This is indicated diagrammatically at Figure 9 by the numeral I2. The sight may be carried on a bracket l3 mounted on the gun (which is indicated by the part M in the diagram). On the bracket is mounted a smallelectric motor I5 which rotates a worm I6 engaging a toothed segment I! on the sight. The. motor is controlled by similar controlling means to that associated with the elevating and training motors of the gun, and the controller is itself actuated by mechanism dependent on relative movements of the members b, at so that angular motion of the sight l2 accompanies rolling of the gun mounting. One method of actuating the controller is similar to those already described and consists of a rack I8 on the member 01 engaging a, pinion l9 on the member b as represented diagrammatically in Figure 4, the rotary motion of the pinion as a consequence of rolling serving to actuate the controller and so cause an angular motion corresponding to the amount of rolling to be imparted to the sight.

By this invention I am able to effect the desired compensatory movement of the gun setting (and also of the sight if desired) in a very simple and satisfactory manner. The invention is not, however, restricted to the examples described, as subordinate details may be modified to suit difierent requirements and different forms of gun actuating mechanisms.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Means for automatically compensating the effects of pitching and rolling on the setting of directionally-adjustable apparatus, comprising in combination a main support capable of pitching and rolling movements, a member pivotally mounted on said support, a gyrostat mounted on said member to prevent movement thereof about its pivot axis in response to pitching of said support, a second member pivotally mounted on the first member with its pivot axis at right angles to that of said first member, a second gyrostat mounted on said second member to prevent movement thereof about its pivot axis in response to rolling of said support, a system of three arms pivotally carried by said second member and jointly movable in a vertical plane, means for imparting lateral movement to one of said arm nd vertical movement to another of said arms in response to rolling of said support, means responsive to relative movement of said suppdrt and first member for initiating motion to compensate the effect of pitching of said support, and means responsive to movements of said arms for initiating the motion to compensate the effect of rolling of said support.

2. Means for automatically compensating the effects of pitching and rolling on the setting of directionally-adjustable apparatus, comprising in combination a main support capable of pitching and rolling movements, 2, member pivotally mounted on said support, a gyrostat mounted on said member to prevent movement thereof'about its pivot axis in response to pitching of said support, a second member pivotally mounted on the first member with its pivot axis at right angles to that of said first member, a second gyrostat mounted on said second member to prevent movement thereof about its pivot axis in response to rolling of said support, three arms pivotally carried by said second member and arranged one above the other, the upper and middle arms vbeing movable in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis at one end of said arms, and the lower arm consisting of a pair of parts one of which is movable about a horizontal axis coincident with thatof the other arms, and'the other. of which parts is movable about a vertical axis, a horizontally slotted cross piece on they outer end of the middle arm, a pair of adjacent racksrespectively. carried by a said first member and upper arm, a pin passing through the slotted cross piece and connecting the lower arm to the rack car? ried by said first member, a pinion carried by said I first member and engaging said racks, means for rotating said pinion, means responsive to relative movement between said first member and main support for initiating motion to compensate the efiect of pitching of said supportyandv means responsive to movements of said arms for initiating motion to compensate the effect of rolling of said support.

3. Means for automatically compensating the effects of pitching and rolling on the setting of directionally adjustable apparatus, comprising in combination a main support capableof pitching V and rolling movements, .a member pivotally mounted on said support, a gyrostat mountedon;

said member to prevent movement thereof about its pivot axis in response to pitching/or said sup-' port, a second member pivotally mounted on the first member with its pivot axis at rightangles to that of said first member, asecond gyrostat mounted-bu said second member to prevent movement thereof about its pivot axis in response to rolling of'said support, three armspiv'otally carried by said second member and arranged one above'the other, the upper andmiddle arms beingmovable in a vertical plane about ahori zontal axis'at one end of said arms, and the lower arm consisting of two parts oneof which is movable about'a horizontal axis coincidentwith that of the other arms, and the other of which I 2 parts is movable about a vertical axis, a horizontally slotted cross piece on the outer end of the middle arm, a pair-of adjacentracks respectively carried by said first member and upper arm, a

pin passing through said slotted cross piece and connecting the lower arm to the rack carried by said first member,a pinion carried by said-first member and engagingsaid racks, means forrotating said pinion, and. rack andpinio'nmechanisms respectively responsiveto relative move f. ments between said firstmember and main sup-f port, andsaid' upper and middle arms, for ini-- tiating motions to compensate the effects of pitching and rolling of saidsupport.

HALVOR FOLKESTAD LANDSTAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are file of this patent? g a. -UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 of record inthe Great Britain Feb. 9, 192a