US3230829A - Drawn gun carriages - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 25, 1966 o. MELLIGER DRAWN GUN CARRIAGES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1964 Jan. 25, 1966 o. MELLIGER 3,230,829

DRAWN GUN CARRIAGES Filed March 2, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a P u Q L I\ 94 a J L- Jan. 25, 1966 o. MELLIGER 3,230,829

DRAWN GUN CARRIAGES Filed March 2, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 my. a

Jan. 25, 1966 o. MELLIGER DRAWN GUN GARRIAGES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed March 2, 1964 United States Patent "ice 3,230,829 DRAWN GUN QARRIAGES Oscar Melliger, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor t0 Vcrwaltungsgesellschaft der Werltzeugmaschinenfabriir Gerlikon Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 348,474 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Mar. 5, 1963, 2,779/63 Claims. (Cl. 89-40) The invention relates to a drawn gun carriage with a trail and an outrigger mounted thereon pivotally about a pivot axis parallel to the wheel axis, on which outrigger the hames eye is arranged, and to a method for the operation of such a gun carriage, which is disengaged from the chassis for shooting on certain targets.

In a known gun carriage the outrigger with the hames eye can be swung with respect to the trail, on which it is pivotally attached, in such a manner that the hames eye assumes any desired level within a limited range and under certain assumptions even lies horizontal. Accord ingly the hames eye can then be introduced into the narrow mouths of the coupling members of various traction vehicles.

In this procedure however an additional turning of the gun carriage about the wheel axis of the chassis is required, whereby the same assumes unfavorable inclinations with respect to the soil, so that the ground clearance and accordingly the capability of cross countryrunning of the vehicle is diminished.

The invention has the primary object of obviating this disadvantage. It is another object of the invention to allow guns with very long barrels such as anti-aircraft guns to be towed with the gun barrel raised at a large azimuth angle, so that vehicles following the gun carriage or persons cannot run against the barrel and particularly against its muzzle.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a drawn gun carriage and a method for its operation allowing to leave the gun carriage, which for firing on certain targets such as aerial targets has to be dismounted from the chassis, on said chassis when firing on other targets such as terrestrial targets.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent later from this specification and the accompanying drawings, I provide a drawn gun carriage comprising in combination: a chassis having wheels journalled about a first axis, a trail, an outrigger mounted on said trail pivotally about a second axis parallel to said first axis, a hames eye mounted on said outrigger pivotally about a third axis parallel to said second axis, and a fixing device detachable in itself and capable of fixing said outrigger and hames eye at will in a desired position relative to said trail and releasing the same, respectively. Preferably said fixing device comprises a parallelholding device automatically keeping said harnes eye parallel to itself regardless of the position of the said outrigger, and more particularly a parallel-holding device forming with said outrigger a parallelogram guide. Moreover said fixing device preferably comprises a coupling fixedly connected on the one hand with said trail and on the other hand with said outrigger.

These and other features of my said invention will be clearly understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a gun carriage in side elevation,

FIG. 2 shows a gun carriage in plan view,

FIG. 3 shows the outrigger with the fixing device in the supporting position, partly in end elevation and partly in section on the line III-III of FIG. 1, on a larger scale than FIGS. 1 and 2,

Patented Jan. 25, 1968 FIG. 4 is a scrap view in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 3, on a larger scale still,

FIG. 5 is a section on the line VV of FIG. 3 on the scale of MG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a part-development of the serration of FIG. 5 as seen from outside, on a larger scale yet.

In the FIGS. 1 and 2 an anti-aircraft and ground combat gun is illustrated in a position ready for being towed, whose gun carriage when shooting on air targets is uncoupled from the chassis which is formed by a transverse beam 1- and the two wheels 2 having an axis In. The undercarriage 3, constructed as a tripod having legs 3a, 3b, is mounted detachably on said chassis, and is anchored by two bolts 4 connected with the transverse beam 1 and engaging into the said legs 3a. The upper carriage 5 is mounted on the undercarriage 3 by means of a pivot 6, and carries the cradle 7 with the weapon 8. The cradle 7 is braced by the aid of stays 9 on the transverse beam 1 in such a position, that the long barrel 8a, which in the drawing is shown rather shortened, extends rearward and upward. In the leg 3b of the undercarriage 3, which is constructed as a trail pointing forward in the direction of towing, an outrigger Iii is attached pivotally about a pivot axis 19a.

According to FIG. 3 two eyes 11a and the bearing bush 13 are provided on the brackets 11 (FIG. 2), which are fixedly connected with this leg 3b. On this bearing bush 13 and these eyes 11a there is mounted a fixing device detachable per se, which will be described later in more detail and which retains the outrigger 10 and the hames eye 36 in the desired position or releases the same at will. The ends of the bearing bush 13 are enlarged flange-like, the outer end faces of these flanges 14 being provided, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, over their whole circumference with a radially directed serration 15. In the bore of the bush 13 two bearing bushings 16 are inserted, which abut with their flanged ends 17 the shoulders 18 of the bore, and serve for journalling the bolt 19 having the axis 19a and carrying the collar 1%, which upon axial movements of the bolt 19 abuts the inner end faces of the bushings 16. Moreover two sleeves 20 are pushed over the bolt 19, on each of which sleeves one of the two arms 21 and 22 of the outrigger 10 (FIG. 1) is mounted, the flanges of the sleeves 2t abutting the bottoms of the bores 21b, 22b machined in the arm bearings 21a and 22a. The inner end faces of the arm bearings 21a and 22a have serrations 15a complementary to those on the outer end faces of the flanges 14 and designed for engaging into the serrations 15 thereof, with which they form a coupling, which may be opened and closed by means of a lever 27 as will be described hereinafter.

Between the bushings 16 and the sleeves 2t compression springs 23 and 24 are coiled about the bolt 19. A packet 26 composed of disc springs is held clamped be tween the bottom of the bore 220 and a nut 25 screwed on one end of the bolt 19. On the other end of the bolt 19, which is enlarged to form a head, the lever 27 is pivotally attached, which is directed parallel to the arm 21 and whose forked head 27a reaches over the bolt end 19c, on which it is pivotally mounted by means of a pin 28. The head 27:: of the lever 27, whose two flats 27b and 27c have diflerent distances from the axis 28a of the pivot pin 2%, is forced, by the tensile force applied by the spring 26 to the bolt 19, against the pressure disc 29, which is pushed over the same and abuts the bottom of the recess 21d therein.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hames eye bracket 30 is attached to the two arms 21, 22 pivot-ally about a third axis 34a which is parallel to the pivot axis 19a. This bracket 30 consists substantially of the two bearing bodies 36a, 3912 which interengage T-shape into one another and on each of which one of the two brackets 31 is attached, which carries an axle bearing 32 each. In the two co-axial bores 33 of the bearing body a directed parallel to the pivot axis 19a the axle bolts 34 are mounted co-axially with the said third axis 34a, the outward ends of which are formed as ball joints 34b and are universally movable in the sockets of the arm bearings 21c and 22a (illustrated in FIG. 3 only as regards the arm bearing 22a). The hames eye 36 is mounted on the bracket 30 slidably and resiliently in a manner not shown in detail, its axis intersecting said third axis.

A further component of the fixing device is constituted by the parallel holding device to be described hereinafter, which holds the hames eye parallel to itself automatically and independently of the position of the outrigger, and which forms together with the outrigger a parallelogram guide. In axle bearings 32 a pin 37 is mounted in such a manner, that its axis 37a lies parallel to the pivot axis 19a. Of the two ends of the tubular link 38 one is journalled on this pin 37, and the other on a pin 12, which in turn is inserted in the two eyes 11a of the brackets 11. The distance of the axis 12a of this pin 12 from the parallelaxis 37a is equal to the distance of the axis 19a from the axis 34a, and likewise the distances between the axis 12a and the axis 19a on the one hand and between the two axes 37a and 14a on the other hand are equal, the connecting lines of these pairs of axes lying parallel to one another, so that the connecting lines of all four axes 19a, 12a, 37a and 34a form a parallelogram.

With the underside of the bracket 30 a support plate 39 is connected, whose serrated bottom face lies in a plane, which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hames eye 36 and which in the supporting position of the outrigger (FIG. 1) supports the gun carriage remaining on the chassis 1, 2 additionally on said chassis when firing on targets other than aerial targets.

The manner of operation of the device described follows from its construction:

In the normal engagement position indicated in FIG. 1 in full lines the outrigger 10 serves as a draw bar, which can be attached to a traction vehicle by means of the hames eye 36. In FIG. 1 the outrigger 10 formed by the arms 21 and 22 and the link 38 is also shown in dotted lines in the supporting position. This position is to be adjusted to for example, when the gun is used for engaging ground targets. In this case the gun carriage is left on the chassis, and the outrigger is brought into the support position and fixed in this position together with the hames eye, which has been brought into a position parallel to the position for engagement on the traction vehicle.

For making the transition of the outrigger 10 from one position into the other, the fixing device is firstly released by turning the lever 27 about the axis 28a from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3 into the position indicated in chain-dotted lines. The strongly preloaded spring 26 can accordingly expand and pull the bolt 19 to one another, and the outrigger 10 can be turned about the pivot axis 19a into the desired position; subsequently, by turning back the lever 27 the loading of the springs 26, 23 and 24 and the re-engagement of the serrations, and accordingly the locking of the outrigger 10 can be effected, whereby the fixing device is tightened again. By the link 38, which forms also the parallel-holding means of the parallelogram linkage comprising the outrigger 10, the hames eye 36 is guided into and retained in a position corresponding to that of the outrigger, so that its position always remains parallel to the engagement position illustrated in FIG. I. The hames eye 36 consequently remains always in the" same substantially horizontal position most favorable for the coupling of the gun to a traction vehicle, in all the various angular positions of the outrigger relative to the gun carriage.

The tensile forces introduced by the hames eye are transmitted, owing to the particular arrangement thereof, exclusively through the outrigger arms 21, 22, which makes it possible to build the link 38 comparatively light and weak.

While I have described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings what may be considered a typical and particularly useful embodiment of my said invention, I wish it to be understood, that I do not limit myself to the particular details and dimensions described and illustrated; for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letter Patent, is:

1. A drawn gun carriage comprising in combination: a chassis having wheels journalled about a first axis, a gun proper with a trail fixed dismountable to said chassis, an

. third axis and carrying said hames eye, said hames eye the right hand side in FIG. 3, until the collar 1% abuts formed by the ball joints 34b. Thereby the serrations provided on the flanges 14 of the bearing bushes 13 and on the arm bearings 21a and 22a are disengaged from bracket additionally supporting said gun proper on said chassis in the supporting position of said outrigger when firing with said gun proper mounted on said chassis.

3. A drawn guncarriage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing device comprises a parallel-holding device automatically holding said hames eye parallel to itself independently of the position of said outrigger.

4. A drawn gun carriage as claimed in claim 3, wherein said parallel-holding device together with said outrigger forms a parallelogram guide.

5. A drawn gun carriage as claimed in claim 4, wherein said fixing device, in addition to said parallel-holding device, comprises a coupling and a hand lever operatively connected with said coupling, said coupling having one part fixedly connected with said trail and another part fixedly connected with said outrigger.

No references cited.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

FRED c, MATTERN, 111., Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A DRAWN GUN CARRIAGE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A CHASSIS HAVING WHEELS JOURNALLED ABOUT A FIRST AXIS, A GUN PROPER WITH A TRIAL FIXED DISMOUNTABLE TO SAID CHASSIS, AN OUTRIGGER MOUNTED ON SAID TRAIL PIVOTALLY ABOUT A SECOND AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST AXIS, A HAMES EYE MOUNTED ON SAID OUTRIGGER PIVOTALLY ABOUT A THIRD AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID SECOND AXIS, AND A FIXING DEVICE DETACHABLE IN ITSELF AND CAPABLE OF FIXING SAID OUTRIGGER AND HAMES EYE AT WILL IN A DESIRED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID TRAIL AND RELEASING THE SAME, RESPECTIVELY.

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