US2820400A

US2820400A - Cartridge link and feedwheel for a revolver-type gun

Info

Publication number: US2820400A
Application number: US408051A
Authority: US
Inventors: John F O'brien
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-02-03
Filing date: 1954-02-03
Publication date: 1958-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 1975-01-21

Description

J. F. O'BRIEN 2,820,400

CARTRIDGE LINK AND FEEDWHEEL FOR A REVOLVER-TYPE GUN Jan. 21, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1954 R mm a 5 .Aiv. wm 8 mm Jan. 21, 1958 J. F. O'BRIEN 2,820,400

CARTRIDGE LINK AND FEEDWHEEL FOR A REVOLVER-TYPE GUN Filed Feb. 3, 1954 s sheets-sheet;

" imliiiliiii m INVENTOR.

Jnhn 1T O'Brien Jan. 21, 1958 J. F. O'BRIEN 2,820,400 I CARTRIDGE LINK AND FEEDWHEEL FOR A REVOLVER-TYPE GUN Filed Feb. 5, 1954 :5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I06 1 'IE| E| |o| I08 I03 104 96 62 I02 6455 '76\ I05 6 f r 2a 95 o 94 4o 2 44 V 36 46 IN V EN TOR.

Wow

z'TURNEYS.

Unied St t s Patefi CARTRIDGE. LINK. AND FEEDWHE'EL FOR A- REVGLVER-TYPE GUN".

John F. OBrien, Springfield, Mass., assignor to. the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Army Application February 3, 1954, Serial No. 408,051-

(Granted under Title 35, S. Code (1952),.sec. 266) 6 Claims.

The; invention described; herein. may. be manufactured and used. by. or for: the Government: for. governmental purposeswithout; the'payment of; any. royalty thereon.

My in ention relfates to arrevolver-type :automatic weap on and morepparticularlyfio a cartridge feeding device anda cartridge belt link corresponding, thereto;

Such a weapon includes a rotatable. cartridge drumwith five or. six chambers havingadrum firing stationaligned with the. barrel. The weaponmaybe. fed from either-di-- rection, but a six chamber weapon with a righthand feed having a six oclook drumfiringstation' will bedescribed.

In the present weapon, the-cartridgeszare held'in: the links of a; disintegrating'belt. eachincluding an axially opposed. pair. of. flaring projections. andtheweapon includes a guide. for engaging the; projections to direct the. belt.v

The guide iscurved. around a .feedwheel provided with i a pair of sprockets splined to the cartridge drum for synchronous rotation therewith. and: the cartridges. are

slidably propelle over the outside: surface: of-the guide y teeth on the sprockets tothe pair-ofjdrum' chamber. stations preceding, the six oclock, station where the car'- tridges are ram-loaded intottherdrum intwo stages.

Such a method of directing the cartridges of a beltto. the ramming positionsis. expensive due to. the -.accuratezfit required of i the guide. and. the link projections: andtheaccurate spacing: required between the center of the=guidefi A further object of my inventionis to proyidefor such.

a weapona cartridge link. and av cooperating'feeding device having a frictional resistance. independent of the rota.- tional speed of the weapon drum.

A still further object, of. my invention is to providea double-ramming stage, automatic weapon with a stopzfor' positively locating the cartridgesthereof between ram:- ming stages.

Other aims and objectsof my,invention wilhbe-evident.

from the. following description.

The cartridges for the. weapon of. my invention. areheld.

in the connected links of a cartridgev belt by forward and. rearward pairs of grips and the weapon provided, with guides fordirecting the belt through the feedway of the weapon to a-feedwheel secured-to-the'cartridgedrum for" rotation according to cycles of 'an actuatorofthe weapon.

The: feedwheel includes-a pai'rof spaced' 'sprocketsjhaw ingparallcl teethv torrpmjecting: betwcenthe links and undercut to receive corresponding spaced pairs of parallel to secure the belt to the wheel. Rotation of the feedwheel pulls the belt into the weapon and a belt cam engages the links asthcy arrive at the feedwheel to direct the tabs into the sprocket undercuts. As the feedwheel rotates during one actuator cycle, a link is conducted by the feedwheel to a first ram station and a ram arm on the actuator of. the weapon advances the cartridge therein to a halframmed position with the butt end thereof held by the forward'grips and with the projectile of the cartridge entended into-the corresponding drum chamber. The forward movement of the cartridge is determined by a springbiased stop for. engaging the rim of the cartridge. During. the succeeding cycle of the actuator, the cartridge is supported between the feedwheel and the drum while being carried to the full-ram position wherein ramming of the cartridge into the drum is completed. In the next actuator cycle the cartridge is rotated to the firing station and discharged.

A link cam directs the links from the teeth into a discharge chute following the full-ram position.

For a more complete understanding of my invention, reference is made to the following description and the accompanying drawing of one embodiment of my invention in which:

Fig. l is a partly sectioned elevational View of the feeding mechanism of an automatic weapon;

Fig. 2 is a View along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged View along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view along line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig; 5 is a View along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6. is an enlarged perspective view of the feed mechanism with a cartridge in half-ram position;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the cartridge stop of the mechanism;

Fig; 8 is a view of a cartridge belt stored in an ammunitionbox; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the link.

According to the drawing, a recoil unit 12 of an automatic weapon slidably disposed on a receiver 14, is provided with a barrel 18. A drum 20 includes a shaft 22 rotatably disposed in forward and

rearward bearings

24 and 26 ofrecoil unit 14. Bearing 24 limits forward movement of drum shaft 22.

Drum 20 includes s'x chambers 28 with the six oclocl: drum station of the chambers aligned with barrel 1 for firing theweapon. The drum is rotated by an actuator 39 disposed for reciprocal operation with respect to recoil unit 12 responsive to the discharge of firing station cartridges to serially advance chambers 28 to the firing. statwo.

A feeder 32 is mounted on receiver 14 to supply cartridges 34 to drum 20'. Cartridges 34 are shown in Fig. 1 in the fecdway 35 of feeder 32, in half-ram position andyin full-ram position in drum 2%}. Cartridge 34 includes a case36 and a projectile. 38.

Feeder 32includes a feedwheel 40 having a hub 42 conmeeting a pair of sprockets 44 and including a shaft 46. Sprockets 44 include parallel teeth 48. Feedwheel shaft 46 has a diameter smaller than that of drum shaft 22 and is splined thereto at 49. A locking device 50, including joined parallel washer and horseshoe-shaped portions 52 and 54 respectively, is disposed with the latter portion extending into a corresponding slot in bearing 26 and with washer portion 52 encircling feedwheel shaft 46 to limit rearward movement of drum shaft 22.

Cartridge 34is tapered and is resiliently secured. in a link, 56 having a body 58. Case 36 of the. cartridge is held in theiilink-hy pairs of forwardand rearward grips 60'and-62 respectively formed on the opposing edges of. the'body? Depressions M'formed'in rearward grips 62 gagement with loop 76 when cartridge 34 is secured by

grips

60 and 62.

A stop 32 is pressed into tongue 74 and hook 78 is bent to limit the respective annular movement of link body 58 and tongue 74 to substantially 50 degrees and allow cartridge belt 80 to fold into an ammunition box 81 in successively engaged flat layers, as shown in Fig. 8.

Feedway 35 includes a floor 84 and forward and rearward belt guides $6 and 88 for restraint of cartridge belt 80. Forward guide 86 is formed into a trough and the ogive portions of projectiles 38 are restrained therein to move along the trough by a shelf 90 of rearward guide 88 for engaging the faces 92 of cartridge cases 36. Shelf 90 also limits upward movement of lugs 68 to retain cartridge belt within the feedway.

Teeth 48 are provided with adjacent surfaces for engaging links 56 and the teeth include undercuts 93. Spaced forward and rearward pairs of

tabs

94 and 95 oppositely extend from link body 58 for respectively projecting into the undercuts 93 of corresponding pairs of teeth 48 on the forward and rearward sprockets 44 to secure link 56 to feedwheel 40. Hook 78 is substantially narrower than the opening in loop 76 and a cam 96 is mounted on rearward guide 83 to engage lugs 68 and urge the tabs into undercuts 93.

A curved rammer 98 is provided for loading cartridges 34 into drum during forward strokes of actuator 30. As feedwheel 40 rotates with drum 20, cartridge belt 80 is pulled through feedway and link 56 is carried to the first loading station where an arm 100 of rammer 98 halframs cartridge 34 into the corresponding chamber 28 of drum 20 with case 36 secured by forward grips 60. The half-ram position is shown in Fig. 6. A curved plate 101 is secured to rammer 98 and extends forwardly therefrom.

A stop 102 is mounted on a fiat spring 103 secured to recoil unit 14 for bias to a normal position extending into extraction groove 66. A surface 104 of stop 102 is adapted for engagement with rim 105 to limit the forward movement of a half-rammed cartridge 34. Stop 102 projects through a window 106 in plate 101 and is restrained from contact with case 36 except when ex traction groove 66 is in position to receive the stop by a follower 108 formed on the free end of spring 103 for engagement with plate 101.

Cartridge 34 is carried to the second loading station supported by link 56 and drum 20 during the next cycle of actuator 30 for completion of the ramming of cartridge 34 into drum 20.

During the succeeding cycle of actuator 30 the cartridge in drum 20 is rotated to the firing station, and the emptied cartridge link 56 is carried from the second loading station. As feedwheel rotates, link cam 116 on recoil unit 12 displaces link 56 for disengagement of the tabs 96 thereof from undercuts 93 and momentum carries links 56 through a discharge chute 118. Upon disengagement of the tabs from undercuts 93, links 56 are free to fall out of connection and disintegrate cartridge belt 80.

In the structure described above, cartridge belt 80 is free of sliding contact with a curved guide surface and therefore the friction of the belt is independent of the rotational speed of the drum since links 56 are secured for rotation to feedwheel 40. 4

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

I claim:

1. A feeding device for operation with an ammunition belt including links for gripping cartridges having spaced pairs of oppositely projecting tabs, comprising a rotatable feedwheel for conveyance of the links to stations thereof provided with identical parallel sprockets having aligned undercut teeth for simultaneous engagement of corresponding adjacent pairs thereof with the links and the tabs for securing the links to said feedwheel and means for guiding the links into and out of said engagement, before and after said conveyance, respectively.

2. A feeding device for an ammunition belt including links for carrying cartridges having bodies with parallel pairs of tabs oppositely projecting therefrom, said feeding device comprising a feedwheel rotatably disposed for conveyance of the links to cartridge removal stations thereof and provided with parallel sprockets having aligned undercut teeth for simultaneous engagement with the bodies and the tabs to secure the links to the feedwheel and means for camming the belt to guide the tabs respectively into and out of said engagement before and after said conveyance.

3. In a disintegrating belt for supplying cartridges to a weapon having a feedway provided with a feedwheel including aligned sprockets with teeth having undercut surfaces and guides leading to the feedwheel, a link comprising a substantially semicylindrical body, for engagement with corresponding pairs of the sprocket teeth, said body having parallel pairs of projecting tabs for engagement with the undercut surfaces to secure said link to the feedwheel, and having surfaces for engagement with the guides to orient said link for said engagement.

4. A disintegrating cartridge belt for supplying cartridges to a weapon having a feedway including guides and a feedwheel with spaced sprockets provided with undercut teeth, said cartridge belt comprising a plurality of connected links each including a substantially semicylindrical body having an elemental strap formed and raised therefrom and a substantially semicylindrical tongue provided with opposing end detents and disposed for limited slidable movement between said body and said strap, said body having forward and rearward pairs of cartridge retainer grips with cartridge-extractor groove detents, parallel pairs of oppositely projecting tabs for securing said body in the feedwheel teeth, and surfaces for engagement with the guides for orientation of said link with the feedwheel and said links having loops and hooks oppositely projecting from the bodies and tongues thereof for connection of said plurality of links in said belt, the books of said links being constructed for cobeen described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope operation with the cartridges gripped therein to lock said link engagements.

5. In a weapon supplied with cartridges by a disintegrating belt provided with links having bodies with spaced pairs of tabs oppositely projecting therefrom, a rotatable feedwheel for conducting the links to ramming positions thereof and a feedway and a chute for directing the belt before and after said ramming positions, said feedwheel having teeth with adjacent surfaces for engagement with the bodies and undercut surfaces for engagement with the tabs to secure the links to said feedwheel, said feedway including guides for directing the links for said body engagement and a belt cam for directing the links for said tab engagement, and said chute including a link cam for disconnecting the tabs from the teeth to allow the belt to disintegrate in said chute.

6. In combination, a cartridge belt comprising a plurality of serially connected links for resiliently securing cartridges therein, and a feeding device comprising a feedwheel .for rotation ofsaid links to stations for ramming the cartridges therefrom including a pair of spaced aligned sprockets having teeth with undercuts and a pair of cams flanking said ramming stations, each of said links including a body for engagement with corresponding pairs of said teeth and tabs oppositely disposed on said body for projecting into the undercuts to secure said links to said feedwheel, said cams being disposed for guiding said links into and out of said engagement, and said links being constructed for mutual disengagement after said ramming to disintegrate said belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Elder July 5,

Simpson Aug. 11,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Oct. 15,

France June 17,

Great Britain Sept. 30,