US3259018A - Automatic traversing machine gun unit - Google Patents

Description

y 5, 1965 G. o. NOVILLE ET AL 3,259,018

AUTOMATIC TRAVERSING MACHINE GUN UNIT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1956 M m m w.

Gennge IlNuvilla BY Samuel Lfiula.

y 1965 G. o. NOVlLLE ET AL 3,259,018

AUTOMATIC TRAVERSING MACHINE GUN UNIT Filed Nov. 9, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JG I \j INVENTORS, EEnRge llNuville Samuel L- 5 01a.

y 5, 1956 G. o. NOVILLE ET AL 3,259,018

AUTOMATIC TRAVERSING MACHINE GUN UNIT Filed Nov. 9, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 6 IIIJIJIA A VAiIZ -I nu w INVENTOR5, GEuRgE UNnviUe BY SETHLLEI L- 5 Ella.

Mam, augfixmoajw United States Patent 3,259,018 AUTOMATIC TRAVERSING MAC GUN UNIT George 0. Noville, Woodland Hills, and Samuel L. 80121, Los Angeles, Calif, assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Nov. 9, 1956, Sen. No. 621,489 4 Claims. (CI. 89-41) The invention relates to remote controlled automatic traversing machine guns, particularly machine guns of the type which are traversed by the recoil of the gun.

It is often desired to increase the fire power of armored vehicles during combat for special purposes, and the present invention pertains to an auxiliary machine gun unit which may be attached to such a vehicle or may also be used in a fixed position, such as a pillbox, if it is desired to cover a specific area for a limited time.

It is an object of the invention to design an auxiliary machine gun unit which is self-contained, may be mounted anywhere and is fired by remote control.

Another object of the invention is to design an auxiliary machine gun unit which may be charged and fired by remote control and will automatically traverse the gun through a predetermined angle of fire.

A further object of the invention is to design a machine gun traversing mechanism which is operated automatically by the recoil of the gun and may be adjusted to vary the sweep of the gun.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent when viewed in regard to the accompanying specification and drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a machine guns mounted on a tank.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gun supporting base and cradle of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section elevational view of the traversing mechanism taken along the line 33 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section elevational view of the invention taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of part of the traversing mechanism taken onthe line 66 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-section elevation of traversing mechanism of the invention taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit used with the invention.

The machine gun unit of the invention may be effectively utilized when mounted on the fenders of an armored vehicle, such as a tank 10 as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1 a pair of gun units 12 are fastened to the fenders of tank 10 and are directed to cover the area in front of the vehicle. During firing, the guns are automatically traversed and will sweep the shaded areas. It is thus apparent how the units 12 are employed to increase the fire power of armored combat vehicles.

The gun unit 12 is mounted within a rectangular boxlike housing 14 provided with a hinged cover (not shown). The housing 14 is provided with adjustable fastening means 18 whereby housing 14 may be secured to the supporting vehicle, such that either end may be raised or lowered to initially obtain the proper elevation of the gun.

All the necessary mechanism for operating a machine gun by remote control are located within housing 14 and consist, in part, of an ammunition locker 20 located in one side of the housing 14 and defined by partition 22. A pair of rollers 24 are journaled in one end of locker 20 and serve to guide the ammunition as it is fed into guide chute 26.

The machine gun 28 is supported within housing 14, upon cradle 30, such that the barrel will project through a hole 32 formed in the end thereof. Machine gun 28 pair of auxiliary 3,259,018 Patented July 5, 1966 is of the standard type and need not be modified for use with the unit. A pneumatic charger (not shown) is affixed to the side of gun 28 and functions to bolt the gun 28 when actuated by compressed air. The charger may be of any commercial type, and as it forms no part of the invention, is not shown in detail.

The compressed air source for the charger consists of a cylinder 36 attached to an inner wall of housing 14 in which air may be stored under very high pressure. A conduit 38 connects the cylinder 36 to a solenoid operated valve 40, and conduit 42 conducts the compressed air to the charger onto which the end of conduit 42 may be aflixed.

An ejection chute 44 is positioned below gun 28 to receive the empty cartridges and terminates in a slot, not shown, formed in the side of housing 14. A clip chute 46 also opens into the above mentioned slot to carry away the clips used to link the ammunition. Thus, the used cartridges and clips are conducted to the outside of housing 14 and will not interfere with the operation of the unit.

A solenoid operated trigger actuator 48 is attached to cradle 30, such that energizing actuator 48 will trip the trigger of gun 28 regulating the firing thereof. A switch 50 is positioned adjacent rollers 24 for actuation by the individual rounds of ammunition during firing, for a purpose later described. Valve 40, actuator 48 and switch 50 are each connected to suitable wiring and converge to a multi-terminal plug 52.

The gun supporting and traverse mechanism is best shown in FIG. 3, wherein it Will be observed that cradle 30 is provided with brackets 54 and 56 in which holes are bored to receive the gun mounting pins. Cradle 30 is slidingly supported upon a base 58 and the gun supporting brackets 54 and 56 are interconnected by rods 60. Brackets 62 and 64 are fixed to base 58 on both sides of cradle 30 and are provided with spring guides 66, which are aligned with spring guides 68 of cradle 30, Where by two sets of springs 70 and 72 may be interposed between the base bracket 62, 64 and cradle 30 to absorb the recoil and return of the gun during firing. Thus, springs 70 will be compressed as the gun 28 recoils, and springs 72 will cushion cradle 30 during the return stroke.

Base 58 is pivotally fixed to the bottom of housing 14 and moves about pivot 74. Several rollers 76 are also carried by base 58 to support the base off of the housing floor and permit easy pivoting action.

The rear portion 78 of base 58 supports the gun traversing mechanism. The traversing structure includes an annular bearing support 80 fixed to portion 78 and arising therefrom. A bearing 82 is located Within support 80.

and is adapted to journal shaft 84 therein. A cap 86 is positioned on the upper half of shaft 84 and is provided with extending handles 88, note FIG. 2. A worm wheel 90 is rotatably supported on shaft 84 and is located between bearing 82 and cap 86. A shaft 92 extends through shaft 84 and cap 86 and is provided with a nut 94 at the upper end whereby shaft 92 may be drawn upwardly, for a purpose later described. A clutch dog 96 is supported by means of shaft 98 and handle 100 within cap 86 and is biased downwardly under the influence of spring 102 into a notch formed in worm wheel 90 and serves to clutch worm wheel 90 to the shaft 84.

A shaft 104 is also rotatably supported on base portion 78, the axis of which extends in a direction perpendicular to the axis of shaft 84. Shaft 104 is journaled in bearing brackets 106 and 108 and is provided with a D ring 110 at one end. A section of shaft 104 is formed with teeth so as to constitute a ratchet 112 and is encompassed by a U shaped rocker 114. Ratchet 112 extends through a bore 116 formed within the legs of rocker 114 permitting oscillation of rocket 114 about the ratchet 112. A pawl 118 is pivotally mounted on the rocker 114 and is constantly biased in engagement with the rachet 112 by a spring 120.

An extension 122, projecting from the bearing bracket 106, supports a leaf spring 124 which engages racket 112 insuring unidirectional rotation.

The rocker 114 is oscillated by a link 126 (FIGS), one end of which connects to the pin 128 carried by the rocker 114. The other end of link 126 is pinned at 130 to an extension 132 which is attached to the cradle 30. A worm 133 is keyed to shaft 104 and engages worm wheel 90, such that rotation of shaft 104 will also cause worm 'wheel 90 to rotate.

The remaining traversing structure consists of a pair of parallel angle plates 134 which are fixed to the bottom of housing 14 beneath base portion 78, note FIGS. 2, 6 and 7. Plates 134 are adapted to receive a rotatable lipped roller 136 between them which is pivotally carried by rectangular arm 138. The plates 134 therefore act as a guide track for the rollers 136. The arm 138 is also provided with a stepped slot 140 which extends through a substantial length of the arm, note FIG. 6. The wide portion of slot 140 provides space for shoe 142, which is an integral part of shaft 92, so that as shaft 92 is drawn upward, as previously mentioned, shoe 142 draws arm 138 into frictional engagement with shaft 84. Thus, as shaft 84 is rotated, the arm 138 and roller 136 will also be rotated about the axis of shaft 84 so that arm 138 functions as a crank member.

The control circuit for operating the machine gun unit by remote control is shown in FIG. 8. The source of electric current required will normally be from the power system of the vehicle, upon which the unit is mounted and is introduced into the control box, via conductors 144. A main power switch 146 must be closed to permit the operation of the various circuits which include the means for operating the gun charger, wherein the push button switch 148 will energize the solenoid of valve 40. The trigger actuator 48 is operated by the firing switch 150, however, an arming switch 152 is included in the actuator circuit as a safety feature. An indicator light 154 is connected to the switch 50, the purpose of which is described later.

The control switches are mounted on a control box which is located within the vehicle and is connected to the gun unit 12 through suitable cable to the plug 52. If it is desired to use a pair of units 12, the switches may be located in a single control box utilizing a common firing switch for both units, thereby coordinating the fire.

The operation of the machine gun unit 12 is as follows:

When the housing 14 has been fixed in the proper position by the fastening means 18, the locker 20 may be filled with linked ammunition which is fed over rollers 24 into chute 26 and into the gun 28. The cover is locked in place and the unit is ready for operation. When it is desired to fire the weapon, the main switch 146 is closed, energizing the main circuit of the control box. Push button 148 is then depressed causing valve 40 to be opened. This operation permits compressed air from cylinder 36 to actuate the pneumatic charger, thereby bolting the gun 28 and inserting a round into the firing chamber.

Before the gun 28 may be fired, the arming switch 152 must be closed, thereupon the closing of push button 150 will energize the trigger actuator 48 firing the weapon. The switch 50 is positioned, such that each round of ammunition that passes over rollers 24 will close switch 50 momentarily, thus, the light 154 will flicker at the rate the gun is being fired indicating to the gunner that ammunition is being fed into gun 28. Should the gun 28 jam, the light 154 will indicate stoppage, and the gunner may press switch 148 to bolt the gun which will remedy most malfunctions.

As the ammunition is fired, the empty cartridge cases will be ejected into chute 44 and the clips will fall into 4 chute 46, thereby conducting the cases and clips out of housing 14.

As the gun is firing, the recoil forces will move cradle 30 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, compressing springs 70 which return the cradle 30 to the neutral position, thus, the extension rod 132, which is fixed to the cradle, will be longitudinally translated back and forth. The motion of extension 132 will cause rocker 114 to oscillate about ratchet 112 through the connection of link 126. During each cycle of oscillation, the pawl 118 will engage the teeth of rachet 112 to rotate shaft 104, the intermittent rotation of shaft 104 is transmitted to shaft 84 through worm 133, worm wheel and clutch dog 96, thereby causing the shaft 84 to be rotatably indexed. As shaft 84 rotates, the shaft 92, shoe 142 and arm 138 will rotate about the axis of shaft 84 thereby tending to rotate roller 136, however, rotational movement of roller 136 is prohibited by the plates 134, thereby causing the base 58 to be oscillated about the pivot 74. Thus, as shaft 84 rotates, the roller 136 'will be translated between plates 134, while base 58 and cradle 30 will oscillate upon supporting rollers 76 which will cause the gun 26 to traverse a given area in front of the vehicle.

The angle through which gun 28 is traversed may be varied by unloosening nut 94 and sliding shoe 142 within slot 140, changing the amount of eccentricity between the axes of roller 136 and shaft 84, and then retightening nut 94.

The adjustment of shoe 142 within slot 140 is facilitated by clutch dog 96, which may be disengaged from the notch of worm wheel 90, by raising handle 100, permitting the shaft 84 to be manually roated by handles 88.

If it is desired to check the angular oscillation of base 58, the shaft 104 may be manually rotated by turning D ring in the direction permitted by spring 124.

The use of a worm gearing arrangement with a rachet prevents the base 58 from being displaced by violent side lurches of the vehicle and prevents play in the traversing mechanism.

It will thus be understood that the invention may be utilized to increase the fire power of any combat vehicle without exposing the gunner and will automatically traverse a given area for effective coverage.

Various modifications of the illustrated embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is desired the invention be limited only by the scope of the appending claims.

We claim:

1. A traversing mechanism for a machine gun comprising a pivotally supported base, a cradle slidingly carried by said base, a machine gun in said cradle so that recoil of said gun will reciprocate said cradle, a shaft rotatably journaled in said base, a crank member adjustably attached to said shaft so that rotation of said shaft rotates said crank member, a roller pivotally mounted in said crank member in eccentric relation to said shaft, fixed guide members engaging said roller and preventing rotational movement of said roller, and means connecting said cradle to said shaft whereby reciprocation of said cradle rotates said shaft and crank member thereby oscillating said base.

2. A traversing mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprises a pawl, means connecting said pawl to said cradle, a second shaft journaled in said base, a ratchet on said second shaft in driving engagement with said pawl so that movement of said pawl rotates said second shaft, a worm wheel on said first shaft, a worm on said second shaft meshing with said worm wheel so that rotation of said second shaft rotates said first shaft thereby oscillating said base.

3. A traversing mechanism as defined in claim 2 Wherin said means connecting said pawl to said cradle comprises a rocker arm pivotally mounted about said second shaft, a link pivotally connected to said rocker arm and said cradle so that reciprocation of said cradle rocks said arm thereby rotating said second shaft and oscillating said base.

4. A traversing mechanism for a machine gun as defined in claim 1 and further comprising a rod movably attached in said shaft, a shoe on said rod, and in which said crank member comprises an arm having a slot; said shoe being slidable in said slot, and means to fix said shoe in a fixed position in said slot so that the eccentricity of said roller and said shaft can be varied thereby changing the oscillation of said base.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,413,936 4/1922 Rauchfuss et al. 8941 2,409,623 10/1946 Grant 89-1 6 2,415,967 2/1947 Pontius 89127 X 2,429,713 10/ 1947 Frease 89-41 X 2,454,806 11/1948 Kemmer et a1 89-37.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 298,920 2/ 1920 Germany.

147,494 11/ 1921 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL BOYD, Examiner.

W. F. COLLINS, F. C. MATTERN, JR.,

Assistant Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A TRAVERSING MECHANISM FOR A MACHINE GUN COMPRISING A PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED BASE, A CRADLE SLIDINGLY CARRIED BY SAID BASE, A MACHINE GUN IN SAID CRADLE SO THAT RECOIL OF SAID GUN WILL RECIPROCATE SAID CRADLE, A SHAFT ROTATABLY JOURNALED IN SAID BASE, A CRANK MEMBER ADJUSTABLY ATTACHED TO SAID SHAFT SO THAT ROTATION OF SAID SHAFT ROTATES SAID CRANK MEMBER, A ROLLER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID CRANK MEMBER IN ECCENTRIC RELATION TO SAID SHAFT, FIXED GUIDE MEMEBRS ENGAGING SAID ROLER AND PREVENTING ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ROLLER, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID CRADLE TO SAID SHAFT WHEREBY RECIPROCATION OF SAID CRADLE ROTATES SAID SHAFT AND CRANK MEMBER THEREBY OSCILLATING SAID BASE.

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