US3733960A - Article handling system - Google Patents

Article handling system Download PDF

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Publication number
US3733960A
US3733960A US00201357A US3733960DA US3733960A US 3733960 A US3733960 A US 3733960A US 00201357 A US00201357 A US 00201357A US 3733960D A US3733960D A US 3733960DA US 3733960 A US3733960 A US 3733960A
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United States
Prior art keywords
projectiles
projectile
train
sensing
chamber
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Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00201357A
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English (en)
Inventor
E Ashley
F Jarvis
B Clark
G Kontis
P Spoor
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
General Electric Co
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General Electric Co
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Publication date
Application filed by General Electric Co filed Critical General Electric Co
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Publication of US3733960A publication Critical patent/US3733960A/en
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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F41—WEAPONS
    • F41A—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS AND ORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE
    • F41A9/00—Feeding or loading of ammunition; Magazines; Guiding means for the extracting of cartridges
    • F41A9/35—Feeding multibarrel guns
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F41—WEAPONS
    • F41A—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS AND ORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE
    • F41A17/00—Safety arrangements, e.g. safeties
    • F41A17/14—Double-loading prevention
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F41—WEAPONS
    • F41F—APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING PROJECTILES OR MISSILES FROM BARRELS, e.g. CANNONS; LAUNCHERS FOR ROCKETS OR TORPEDOES; HARPOON GUNS
    • F41F1/00—Launching apparatus for projecting projectiles or missiles from barrels, e.g. cannons; Harpoon guns
    • F41F1/08—Multibarrel guns, e.g. twin guns
    • F41F1/10—Revolving-cannon guns, i.e. multibarrel guns with the barrels and their respective breeches mounted on a rotor; Breech mechanisms therefor

Definitions

  • a battery gun has a stationary housing; a plurality of barrels disposed in an annular row and stationary with respect to said housing; each of said barrels having a respective chamber; feeding means for receiving a continuous and regular train of projectiles from a supply; intermediate means for receiving the train from said feeding means; and distributor means for receiving the train from said intermediate means for providing projectiles to said chambers; said intermediate means including means for sensing the presence of misfired projectiles in said chambers and for providing lacunae in the train of projectiles corresponding to such misfires, whereby no projectiles are provided to said distributor means for provision to chambers containing misfired projectiles.
  • a feature of this invention is the provision of a battery gun comprising a stationary housing; a plurality of barrels disposed in an annular row and stationary with respect to said housing; each of said barrels having a respective chamber; feeding means for receiving a continuous and regular train of projectiles from a supply; intermediate means for receiving the train from said feeding means; and distributor means for receiving the train from said intermediate means for providing projectiles to said chambers; said intermediate means including means for sensing the presence of misfired projectiles in said chambers and for providing lacunae in the train of projectiles corresponding to such misfires, whereby no projectiles are provided to said distributor means for provision to chambers containing misfired projectiles.
  • FIG. 1 is a rudimentary perspective view of a fourbarrel gun system embodying this invention
  • FIG. 2 is a rudimentary schematic showing the principle of the inventive system for feeding the gun system and sensing misfires;
  • FIG. 3 is a rudimentary schematic showing the power train of the system of FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a rudimentary schematic of a first embodi' ment of the invention showing a latching device for sensing misfires and interrupting feeding;
  • FIG. 5 is a rudimentary schematic of a second embodiment of the invention showing first escapement device for sensing misfires and interrupting feeding;
  • FIG. 6 is a rudimentary schematic of a third embodiment of the invention showing the power train of a second escapement device for sensing misfires and interrupting feeding;
  • FIG. 7 is an end view of the power train of FIG. 6.
  • a liquid propellant gun system having four stationary barrels 10 and chambers, and a rotating feed ring 14 is shown in FIG. 1.
  • the ring 14 has a plurality of partitions 16 forming a plurality of projectile receiving compartments 18.
  • Four push arms 20 are cam controlled to sequentially push a selected projectile from its respective compartment through a transport mechanism into alignment with a respective chamber, as shown in Ser. No. 76,077, supra.
  • the ring is supplied from a feeder which is in turn fed either from a conveyor or directly from a linkless feed drum exit unit.
  • Gun, feed ring, and feed system are geared together for positive control of all projectiles fed to the gun.
  • the feeder places projectiles into the feed ring compartments, and these projectiles are removed, chambered and fired at the appropriate station.
  • the feed ring compartments return to the feed position empty.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the feed arrangement.
  • Feed ring 14 rotates continuously.
  • the feeder assembly consisting of a handoff sprocket 22 and a feed sprocket 24, supplies a continuous flow of projectiles to the ring.
  • projectile P-l is shown in the feed ring at the position for transfer to the last firing chamber 12, having almost completed a circuit of the feed ring. This is as far in the ring as a projectile should normally remain. Any projectile which passes this position, still in the ring, must have by-passed a misfired barrel somewhere in the circuit and will remain in the ring as long as the misfired station remains uncleared.
  • a single sensing mechanism serves to adjust both the feeder and the feed system to intermittent gun feed requirements, and positive control of the projectiles is maintained at all times.
  • the system operates by sensing a projectile in the feed ring after it has passed the last firing position.
  • the sensing zone 26 in FIG. 2 shows the approximate position in which sensing takes place.
  • an adjustment is made in the drive train between the hand-off sprocket 22 and the feed sprocket 24 which permits the hand-off sprocket to continue rotating while the feed sprocket stops and drops back at least one pitch space.
  • the feed sprocket must rotate sufficiently far to release the projectile ahead of P-2, since that projectile is already under the control of the hand-off sprocket. Immediately thereafter, the feed sprocket can be made to pause and to avoid feeding P-2 into the next space in the hand-off sprocket. Double feed will thus be avoided. If a single misfired round has appeared in P-l position, the feed sprocket and hand-off sprocket should then be reengaged in proper timing relationship and the feeding action continued.
  • FIG. 3 shows a mechanism through which the described action is achieved. All power for the feed system is taken from a primary drive shaft 28. Timing chains 19 and 20 (or gears) transfer power to the handoff sprocket 22 and to the input gear 32 of a differential gear set 34 which drives the feed sprocket 24. Gearing is provided to match sprocket speeds to main cam speed. Planetary reductions are shown in the diagram. Under conditions of normal firing, the spider assembly 36 of the differential is held in locked position by a pivoted, spring loaded, sensing linkage 38, and the differential acts as fixed gear train in transmitting torque to the feed sprocket and on to the feed magazine.
  • the sensing linkage 38 When a misfire has occurred, and a projectile enters the sensing zone 26, in FIG. 2, the sensing linkage 38 is moved to release the differential spider assembly. Drive motion at the differential input will now divide between output 40 and the spider assembly 36 in proportion to the respective resisting torques on each. Since the output sees" drive torque, and the spider is essentially free, the spider will rotate in preference to the output. Thus, the action of the sensing linkage in releasing the spider assembly is simply to introduce a pause in the drive motion to the feed sprocket and the feed magazine, while the main gun and hand-off sprocket motions continue uninterrupted.
  • FIG. 4 shows how timing relationship can be preserved. Stop lugs 42 are located in the periphery of the spider assembly in positions which assure proper timing relationship. For the gear ratios shown in FIG. 3, for example, a 180 rotation of the spider assembly will correspond to one pitch of the feed sprocket.
  • FIG. shows an alternative scheme for maintaining a more positive control over the indexing of the spider assembly than is provided by the system of FIG. 4.
  • a small escapement wheel 44 normally locked by a spring loaded detent 45, is rotated by the unfired projectile P-l moving through the sensing zone.
  • the escapement drives the spider through a controlled angle, which is made equivalent to one round pitch on the feed sprocket 24.
  • the unfired projectile moving through the sensing zone initiates and fully controls the motion of the spider.
  • Proper shaping of the escapement wheel profile makes it possible to control the drive reengagement torque characteristic.
  • FIGS. 6 and 7 A third embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
  • Feed system power is applied to a shaft 310 to which are fixed a timing sprocket 312, two hand-off sprockets 314, 316, a forward stop-disk 318 and an aft stop-disk 320.
  • Power is delivered out to the feed magazine by a shaft 322 to which are fixed two feed sprockets 324, 326, a forward stop-disk 328, an aft stop-disk 330 and the output bevel gear 332 of a differential gear set 334.
  • a spur gear 336 is journalled on the shaft 322 and is fixed to the spider 338 of the differential.
  • the input bevel gear 340 of the differential is fixed to a shaft 342 to which is fixed a timing sprocket 344.
  • Two idler gears 346, 348 are respectively journalled to the spider and meshed with the input and output gears of the differential.
  • a geneva drive wheel 350 is fixed to a shaft 352 to which is fixed a spur gear 354 which is meshed with the gear 336.
  • a geneva drive wheel assembly 356 is fixed to a shaft 358 to which is also fixed a timing sprocket 360.
  • a time chain 362 is meshed with the timing sprockets 312, 344 and 360.
  • the geneva drive wheel assembly 356 includes a central hub 364 having four slots 366 therein. Each slot is at an angle (e.g., 45) to the longitudinal axis and includes an inner rounded-dovetail cross-section portion 368 and an outer rectangular cross-section portion 370. Four sliding sectors 372 are respectively disposed in the slots 366. Each sector includes a roundeddovetail cross-section portion 374 riding in the slot portion 368 and a body portion 376 riding in the slot portion 370. A ledge portion 378 extends centrifugally from the body portion 376 and carries a pin 380 and a head 382.
  • Each sector is biased outwardly-upwardly by a rod 384 riding against a compression spring 386, both captured in a blind bore 388 in the sector.
  • the four sectors are captured to the hub by a disk 390 fixed to the hub by a plurality of bolts 392.
  • the projectile loaded therein remains therein and the respective next projectile for that chamber is blocked from transfer from the feed ring into that chamber.
  • the blocked projectile indicated as projectile A in FIG. 7, rides against a sector 372 on the rotating geneva drive wheel assembly and forces it centripetally.
  • the sector rides centripetally-downwardly in its slot 366 against the bias of its spring 386, so that its pin 380 is brought initially to the same longitudinal level as the geneva driven wheel, and then as the geneva drive wheel assembly continues to rotate, the pin rides into a slot of the geneva driven wheel, drives it around an increment, and rides out.
  • the geneva driven wheel rotates one increment (e.g., 90) via the gears 354 and 336, it rotates the spider one increment (e.g., 45), thereby turning the differential input gear 340 and the differential output gear 332 in opposite directions relative to one another, which causes the feed sprockets 324 and 326 to slow down, stop, back up, stop, and finally move forward to their original position and speed.
  • the hand off sprockets 314 and 316 and the feed ring 402 have continued to turn one pitch, so the feed sprockets and magazine have lost one pitch with respect to the feed ring.
  • projectile E in the feed sprockets will be retained therein for an extra pitch, and no projectile will be handed to the compartment which already contains projectile A.
  • a gun comprising a plurality of barrels disposed in an annular row;
  • each of said barrels having a respective chamber; feeding means for receiving a continuous and regular train of projectiles from a supply;
  • distributor means for receiving the train from said intermediate means for providing a projectile to said chambers
  • said intermediate means including means for sensing the presence misfired projectiles in said chambers and for providing lacunae in the train corresponding to such misfires, whereby no projectiles are provided to said distributor means for provision to chambers containing misfired projectiles.
  • a gun comprising:
  • projectile distribution means including:
  • annular conveyor rotating about said annular row of barrels and passing a feeding station for receiving a continuous series of projectiles from said feeding station, means for sequentially transporting each of the projectiles from said annular conveyor to a respective one of said chambers, each chamber in progressive sequence receiving one such projectile, for locking such projectile in such respective chamber and for thereafter discharging such projectile from said chamber;
  • a gun including:
  • feeding means for receiving a continuous and regular train of projectiles from a supply
  • distributor means for receiving the train of projectiles from said feeding means, for providing projectiles to each of said chambers, for locking each projectile in said chamber, and for discharging each projectile from said chamber;
  • said distributor means includes:
  • a distributor ring having a plurality of compartments disposed in an annular row, each compartment for receiving a respective projectile from said feeding means;
  • intermediate means for transferring a projectile from a compartment to a respective unoccupied chamber and for not transferring from such compartment if the respective chamber is preoccupied;
  • sensing means sensing the presence of an undischarged projectile by sensing the presence of an untransferred projectile in such compartment.
  • said sensing means is coupled to said feeding means for interrupting the passage of projectiles from said feeding means to said distributor means.
  • said feeding means includes:
  • said sensing means is coupled to said differential gear system for actuating said differential gear system to decouple said feed sprocket from said power source when said sensing means senses the presence of an untransferred projectile.
  • said differential gear system includes:
  • said spider is locked by a geneva wheel system.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)
  • Feeding Of Articles To Conveyors (AREA)
  • Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
US00201357A 1971-11-23 1971-11-23 Article handling system Expired - Lifetime US3733960A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US20135771A 1971-11-23 1971-11-23

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US3733960A true US3733960A (en) 1973-05-22

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US00201357A Expired - Lifetime US3733960A (en) 1971-11-23 1971-11-23 Article handling system

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US (1) US3733960A (de)
JP (1) JPS5818600B2 (de)
DE (1) DE2256971C2 (de)
GB (1) GB1368170A (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4481859A (en) * 1983-03-09 1984-11-13 General Electric Company Gatling gun control system
US10823518B1 (en) * 2020-01-13 2020-11-03 Tippmann Industrial Products, Inc. Gatling gun with magazine feed mechanism

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2014033878A1 (ja) 2012-08-30 2014-03-06 三菱重工業株式会社 遠心圧縮機

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3431817A (en) * 1968-01-02 1969-03-11 Gen Electric Anti-double feed device

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4481859A (en) * 1983-03-09 1984-11-13 General Electric Company Gatling gun control system
US10823518B1 (en) * 2020-01-13 2020-11-03 Tippmann Industrial Products, Inc. Gatling gun with magazine feed mechanism

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2256971A1 (de) 1973-05-30
GB1368170A (en) 1974-09-25
DE2256971C2 (de) 1983-01-13
JPS4859700A (de) 1973-08-21
JPS5818600B2 (ja) 1983-04-13

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