US3768362A - Gun construction for sealing between a gun barrel and a cartridge holder - Google Patents

Gun construction for sealing between a gun barrel and a cartridge holder Download PDF

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Publication number
US3768362A
US3768362A US00274890A US3768362DA US3768362A US 3768362 A US3768362 A US 3768362A US 00274890 A US00274890 A US 00274890A US 3768362D A US3768362D A US 3768362DA US 3768362 A US3768362 A US 3768362A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
sealing
cartridge
bore
gun barrel
groove
Prior art date
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
US00274890A
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English (en)
Inventor
O Grimm
L Vorgrimler
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.)
KUKA AG
Original Assignee
Industrie Werke Karlsruhe Ausburg AG
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Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from DE19712142763 external-priority patent/DE2142763C3/de
Application filed by Industrie Werke Karlsruhe Ausburg AG filed Critical Industrie Werke Karlsruhe Ausburg AG
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Publication of US3768362A publication Critical patent/US3768362A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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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
    • F41A3/00—Breech mechanisms, e.g. locks
    • F41A3/64—Mounting of breech-blocks; Accessories for breech-blocks or breech-block mountings
    • F41A3/74—Obturating or packing devices for gas leak prevention in breech mechanisms
    • F41A3/76—Obturating or packing devices for gas leak prevention in breech mechanisms specially adapted for sealing the gap between the forward end of the cartridge chamber and the rearward end of the barrel, e.g. sealing devices for revolvers or revolver-type guns

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT A gun construction comprises a gun barrel having a projectile bore which is adapted to be aligned with a cartridge holder which may be a rotatable type and which includes an end face which abuts against the inner end face of the barrel.
  • the cartridge holder is provided with an annular groove concentrically arranged around the cartridge receiving bore which carries sealing means, such as a sealing ring, which is ueged against the end face of the gun barrel by highpressure gases which are generated upon ignition of the cartridge and which are communicated to the groove surrounding the cartridge receiving bore through a passage connected to the cartridge receiving bore and the groove.
  • the present invention is particularly applicable to guns having rotatable cartridge holders with individual cartridge receiving bores which may be rotated into alignment with the gun barrel bore, and especially weapons of high ballistic power with correspondingly designed ammunition.
  • Automatic rapid fire guns with revolving cartridge holder drums have been known for a long time, for example, some types have been employed as an airplane weapon.
  • One known weapon of this type has a cadence of 1,200 rounds per minute and a velocity of 1,000 rn/sec.
  • An advanced model of the known construction has about 1,200 rounds per minute and 535 m/sec. characteristic with a caliber of 30 mm.
  • the characteristic features of these rapid-fire guns is substantially the construction of their revolving cartridge-receiving drums.
  • Such drums are usually provided with a plurality of cartridge-receiving bores or chambers which are distributed around the circumference and which are rotated successively into alignment with the projectile bore of the gun barrel.
  • the movement of the drum is effected by a slide valve which acts on the drum by means of cam guides acting through rollers, etc.
  • a cartridge conveyorstar from which the cartridges are moved in steps into the cartridge chambers of the drums is arranged coaxially to the drum and connected with it by a coupling.
  • the gas-tight sealing of the separating gap which exists between the cartridge holder drum and rifle barrel is difficult to effect and maintain.
  • the known means for sealing the separating gap are generally in the form of bushes, which are pressed by the pressure of the cartridge surface against the rear surface of the gun barrel, to seal the gap between the drum and the barrel, but they have various disadvantages which impair the efficiency of the gun which is so equipped.
  • the sealing means are arranged directly in the gas current and hence in the zone of maximum heating when the projectile leaves the cartridge chamber so that they are necessarily exposed to equally extensive heating by the powder gases. This reduces their life expectancy very greatly.
  • the sealing means of the known design are relatively heavy so that they hammer with great energy against the muzzle during the firing and stress the muzzle greatly.
  • a further disadvantage is that the surface admitted by the powder gases is relatively large so that an equally great counterforce is transmitted to the drum and to the drum housing. As a result, it is necessary to make the drum housing particularly heavy.
  • a further disadvantage is that the sealing means must be locked in the drum by pricking or calking. This is not only cumbersome, ,but it reduces the actually usable sealing area due to the chamfer or bevel required on the sealing ring.
  • a structurally and functionally simple and safe sealing system for a weapon which ensures its long life and which can be easily taken apart and used without special tools or assembly devices and be reassembled again.
  • the end face of the cartridge holder or cartridge drum which faces the gun barrel is provided with an annular groove arranged concentrically with the projectile receiving bore or guide.
  • a high-temperature elastic sealing means in the form of a ring is placed in the annular groove and the groove is connected with the cartridge receiving bore of the holder through a plurality of bores which are distributed over the circumference of the drum.
  • the high pressure powder gases which are produced during firing therefore, act through the connecting passages on the sealing ring in a direction to urge the ring outwardly into sealing engagement with the gun barrel to seal the area around the cartridge-receiving bore and the gun barrel bore.
  • the ring is constructed so that the highpressure gases generated by the firing of the projectile seal the side of the ring with respect to the wall of the groove on its one side and supported with regard to the groove on the opposite side.
  • the sealing means for the gun is an essential feature of the invention and it comprises a sealing ring with a relatively narrow ring surface which is preferably made of a hard metal with a relatively great expansion characteristic of about 7
  • the ring is provided with noses (if projections at its inner end which engage int 0 extensions of the groove and the thickness of the noses is less than the sum of the radial clearance of the outside and inside of the sealing ring itself. The engagement of the noses in the groove ensures that the the natural elasticity of the ring ensures its fixation in position.
  • a further feature of the invention is the construction of communicating bores which connect the inner end of sealing grooves with the cartridge receiving bores of a cartridge holder and which are distributed over the circumference of a cartridge drum and extend obliquely to the bore axis of the projectile guide bores of the cartridge holder and of the gun barrel bore and which open into the cartridge-receiving chamber of the gun holder substantially at the level of the projectile guide.
  • an object of the invention to provide an improved weapon construction which includes a gun barrel having a projectile bore which is alignable with a cartridge receiving bore of a cartridge and wherein the cartridge receiving bore on the side facing the gun barrel which receives sealing means which bears against the end face of the barrel and which is urged against the end face by the action of the highpressure gases which are generated upon ignition of the cartridge and which communicate with the sealing groove through passages defined in the holder which connect to the cartridge receiving bores of the holder.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a device for sealing a cartridge holder to a gun barrel, and particularly, a cartridge holder which is mounted for revolution in respect to the gun barrel in order to successively present one or more cartridge bores into the alignment with the barrel and which includes means for effecting the sealing under the action of the highpressure gases which are generated during ignition.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a gun construction which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.
  • FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a gun constructed in accordance with the invention
  • FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial section view of a portion of the gun shown in FIG. 1 at the location designated by 6A,;
  • FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of an enlarged sectional view of the location designated 8" in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is an enlarged end elevational view of the ring shown in FIG. 1.
  • the invention embodied therein, comprises a weapon or gun which includes a cartridge holder in the form of a revolving drum 1, which is mounted for rotation about an axle 2 which is journalled in the gun housing 3.
  • the gun barrel 4 is supported within the housing 3, for example, by means of a bayonet joint.
  • the drum 1 has a plurality of cartridge-receiving bores or cartridge chambers, for receiving a cartridge 5, and they may be successively aligned with the bore 4' of the gun barrel 4.
  • the cartridge 5 is fired or detonated, its projectile 5a is propelled forwardly to the bore 4 of the barrel 4.
  • a sealing arrangement for sealing the cartridge holder 1 with the gun barrel 4, and for this purpose, sealing means in the form of a sealing ring 6 is carried in a groove lb of the drum which is an annular groove which extends around each of the cartridge-receiving bores 1i.
  • the drum 1 contains an obliquely extending passage la which is disposed at an angle to the axis of the cartridge receiving bore 1i and which forms a communication between the cartridge receiving bore and the inner end of the groove lb.
  • the sealing ring 6 is driven forward by the high-pressure gases which are developed and which move through the passage to the rear end of the groove lb and bear against the sealing ring 6 to urge it against the end face 4b of the gun barrel inner end wall.
  • the ring 6 thus seals the separating gap 7, as shown in FIG. 3, between the gun barrel 4 and the end face of the drum 1 against the powder gases.
  • the sealing ring 6 has only a relatively narrow bearing surface 6a and this need not be any larger than necessary for its function as a sealing element. Practical firing tests have shown that a narrow ring surface is completely sufficient even with a high cadence, since the surface pressure is relatively high, and a narrow ring can naturally adapt itself better to the unevenness of the opposite surface 4b than a heavy and correspondingly rigid sealing bush. A low weight sealing ring can also be accelerated much faster during the buildup of the gas pressures in the cartridge chambers.
  • the sealing ring 6 is admitted by partial gas currents of the high pressure powder gases which are separated from the total gas current and flow through the communicating passages 1a.
  • the partial currents reach the individual grooves 1b through individual, or several, small bores 1a which are distributed over the circumference of the drum 1.
  • the gases press the sealing ring 6 with its bearing surface 6a against the end wall 4b of the barrel 4.
  • the counterforce acting on the rear side of the annular groove 1b, which must be absorbed by the gun housing 3, in addition to the bottom pressure of the cartridge 5, has only a relatively low value since this additional pressure which acts in the annular groove lb is lower because of the throttling effect of the communicating bores 1a than the gas pressures in the cartridge chamber itself.
  • the surface of the sealing ring 6 is very small and thus, the pressure times the area results only in a small additional force which loads the housing 3. This has the advantage that the housing can be made much lighter than those of conventional design.
  • the sealing ring 6 One function of the sealing ring 6 is to trap powder gases that try to issue radially into the separating gap 7 between the end wall 4b and the end face 1c of the drum. In addition, the ring also ensures that the gases do not issue between the sealing ring and the outer wall of the annular groove which contains it. In this sealing action, the elastic deformability of the material of the sealing ring is employed. As soon as the projectile 5a passes through the space during the firing, the powder gases have an expanding effect to close the outer annular gap id and the inner annular gap 1f which the ring 6 makes with its associated sealing groove lb. The elastic deformation of the drum 1 only sets in when the sealing 6 already bears tightly on the end wall 4b of the gun barrel 4.
  • the mounting of the sealing ring 6 can be effected very simply and rapidly. No security against rotation is required. This is because as shown in FIG. 4, several circumferentially distributed noses 6c are arranged on the inside end 6b of the sealing ring 6. These noses are shown with greatly increased radial dimensions in order to be apparent in the drawings. In the assembled state, they engage in the recess portions lg at the inner end of the sealing bores lb and they prevent the sealing ring from falling out in the assembled state.
  • the sealing ring 6 assumes at first a polygon form when inserted into the annular groove lg due to its elastic deformability.
  • the sealing ring 6 snaps back into its original circular form in which it remains.
  • a material for the sealing ring 6 is a hard metal with great extensibility.
  • An example is a metal known under the tradenames STELLITE or ALACRITE, particularly since hard metals of this type also have the positive and even desired property of high temperature strength.
  • the sealing system according to the invention has a particularly favorable effect on the firing precision of the gun since the guidance of the projectile 5a from the cartridge chamber to the gun barrel 4 need not be interrupted. It can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3 that the projectile 5a has to bridge over the gap 7 between the drum 1 and the end wall 4b of the barrel 4 on its way into the barrel and this is unavoidable in any revolving gun due to its design. This gap is only a fraction of a millimeter even in large caliber revolving guns.
  • the projectile guide 1e of the drum 1 is provided with guide bars or grooves in the cartridge bore 1i, into which the rotating band of the projectile 5a can cut, a good guidance of the projectile from the cartridge chamber into the barrel is achieved. In the known constructions, the tendencies of the projectile to cant or slant is increased because of the ring slot which interrupts the guidance of the projectile but this is not so with the inventive construction.
  • a weapon construction comprising a gun barrel having a projectile bore and terminating in an inner end face surrounding the bore, a cartridge holder having a cartridge receiving bore with a projectile guide bore portion alignable with the gun barrel projectile bore, said cartridge holder having an end wall engageable against the end wall of the gun barrel and having an annular sealing groove spaced outwardly from the projectile guide bore portion of said cartridge holder, elastic sealing means in the sealing groove, and at least one high-pressure powder gas passage communicating said cartridge receiving bore with the interior of said sealing groove at a location to urge the sealing means to engage against the gun barrel end wall and to seal the area around the cartridge receiving bore and the gun barrel projectile bore.
  • a weapon construction including a gun housing supporting the gun barrel, said cartridge holder being rotatably mounted in said gun barrel and having a plurality of cartridge receiving bores distributed around its circumference which are selectively alignable with the gun barrel projectile bore, said sealing means comprising a sealing ring having a relatively narrow ring surface.
  • sealing groove includes an interior recess
  • said sealing means comprising a ring having a nose engaged in the recess of the sealing groove and fixing the sealing ring in the cartridge holder.
  • sealing means comprises a sealing ring having an inner clearance with the wall of the groove and an outer clearance with the wall of the groove, said groove having an interior relieved portion at its inner end, said ring having a nose extending into the relieved

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Portable Nailing Machines And Staplers (AREA)
  • Mechanical Pencils And Projecting And Retracting Systems Therefor, And Multi-System Writing Instruments (AREA)
US00274890A 1971-08-26 1972-07-25 Gun construction for sealing between a gun barrel and a cartridge holder Expired - Lifetime US3768362A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19712142763 DE2142763C3 (de) 1971-08-26 Vorrichtung zum gasdichten Abschließen einer Trennfuge

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US3768362A true US3768362A (en) 1973-10-30

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US00274890A Expired - Lifetime US3768362A (en) 1971-08-26 1972-07-25 Gun construction for sealing between a gun barrel and a cartridge holder

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US (1) US3768362A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPS5146360B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA959688A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH543722A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2144422A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1341950A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IT (1) IT962743B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
SE (1) SE396812B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3889572A (en) * 1972-09-23 1975-06-17 Karlsruhe Augsburg Iweka Firearm construction
US3968726A (en) * 1971-08-26 1976-07-13 Industriewerke Karlsruhe-Augsburg Aktiengesellschaft Cartridge receiving drum construction for gas-tight closure between the drum and the adjacent gun barrel
DE3424215A1 (de) * 1984-06-30 1986-01-23 Diehl Gmbh & Co Schwenkpatronenlager fuer steilfeuerwaffen
US4624612A (en) * 1983-04-08 1986-11-25 Sameca, S.A. Guide-bar device for multi-spindle lathe
US4793084A (en) * 1986-07-04 1988-12-27 Matra Manurhin Defense Cylinder firearm, and an associated improved cylinder
US6330761B1 (en) * 2000-05-18 2001-12-18 Smith & Wesson Corp. Blast shield apparatus and method of assembly for a revolver
US6363829B1 (en) * 1999-05-18 2002-04-02 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Drum seal for primer feed mechanism
US9423196B2 (en) * 2013-12-30 2016-08-23 Daniel Kunau Gap seal for projectile launching device
US11835316B1 (en) * 2023-03-24 2023-12-05 David L. Sipos Revolver-type firearm with a barrel-cylinder gap seal

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1046814B (it) * 1973-09-22 1980-07-31 Karlsruhe Augsburg Iweka Dispositivo per la chiusura a tenuta di gas di una superficie di separazione
DE3321233C2 (de) * 1983-06-11 1986-01-30 Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Gmbh, 7238 Oberndorf Gasdichter Verschluß zwischen Adaptionspatrone und Einsteckrohr
DE19639429C2 (de) * 1996-09-25 2000-10-26 Heckler & Koch Gmbh Büchse
FR2761764B1 (fr) * 1997-04-02 1999-05-14 Stephane Yves Didier Bague d'etancheite montee sur un revolver
GB2425162B (en) * 2005-04-12 2007-04-11 Simon Trendall An improvement to high pressure hydraulic breech mechanisms

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2981023A (en) * 1959-06-22 1961-04-25 Gen Motors Corp Sealing of revolver firing chamber

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2981023A (en) * 1959-06-22 1961-04-25 Gen Motors Corp Sealing of revolver firing chamber

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3968726A (en) * 1971-08-26 1976-07-13 Industriewerke Karlsruhe-Augsburg Aktiengesellschaft Cartridge receiving drum construction for gas-tight closure between the drum and the adjacent gun barrel
US3889572A (en) * 1972-09-23 1975-06-17 Karlsruhe Augsburg Iweka Firearm construction
US4624612A (en) * 1983-04-08 1986-11-25 Sameca, S.A. Guide-bar device for multi-spindle lathe
DE3424215A1 (de) * 1984-06-30 1986-01-23 Diehl Gmbh & Co Schwenkpatronenlager fuer steilfeuerwaffen
US4660458A (en) * 1984-06-30 1987-04-28 Diehl Gmbh & Co. Pivoting projectile loading chamber for high angle-firing weapons
US4793084A (en) * 1986-07-04 1988-12-27 Matra Manurhin Defense Cylinder firearm, and an associated improved cylinder
US6363829B1 (en) * 1999-05-18 2002-04-02 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Drum seal for primer feed mechanism
US6330761B1 (en) * 2000-05-18 2001-12-18 Smith & Wesson Corp. Blast shield apparatus and method of assembly for a revolver
US9423196B2 (en) * 2013-12-30 2016-08-23 Daniel Kunau Gap seal for projectile launching device
US11835316B1 (en) * 2023-03-24 2023-12-05 David L. Sipos Revolver-type firearm with a barrel-cylinder gap seal

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2144422A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-02-09
JPS5146360B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1976-12-08
DE2142763B2 (de) 1976-05-26
CA959688A (en) 1974-12-24
GB1341950A (en) 1973-12-25
SE396812B (sv) 1977-10-03
CH543722A (de) 1973-10-31
DE2142763A1 (de) 1973-03-15
JPS4832400A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-04-28
IT962743B (it) 1973-12-31

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