Patent Application
20100011946
The invention relates to an apparatus for keeping linked ammunitions deposited in a box or magazine with bays separated by divider walls from flowing from one bay to another to reduce or avoid the risk of possible entangling or jamming of the ammunition.
Ammunition boxes are used to store large quantities of ammunition to supply machine guns and other firearms with ammunition. The ammunition is usually individual bullets that are joined together with links forming a continuous belt of ammunition and then folded into ammunition boxes from where the linked ammunition is fed to the weapon.
A conventional ammunition box is most often box-shaped where the width is narrow compared to the length and height. The ammunition box may also be divided into several smaller chambers or bays by divider walls, the divider walls herein referred to as partitions or baffles, where each chamber stores a certain amount of the total linked ammunition. The width of the ammunition box or chambers is wide enough to receive the width of the linked ammunition. In this patent application it is referred to ammunition boxes with divider walls, baffles or partitions, and chambers or bays.
When pulling linked ammunition out of a horizontally leveled and/or stationary ammunition box during firing the conventional ammunition boxes usually work as intended. But once the ammunition box is tilted or exposed to vibration, which are two common scenarios when mounted on a moving vehicle, unless a means for retaining the ammunition in the box where it was placed on filling of the box, the linked ammunition starts to move from one chamber to another within the ammunition box causing interlocking and jamming of ammunition and subsequent loss of weapons fire. The reason for the interlocking and jamming is the non-symmetric design of the bullets. The bullets have a pointed projectile end and a wider powder cartridge base. When the linked ammunition starts to move from one chamber to another within the ammunition box the pointed projectile end has a tendency to get entangled between the bullets in the linked ammunition belt that is being fed to the weapon or fall down on top of the other ammunition already in the chamber in such a way that it causes interlocking and jamming.
This problem is especially apparent when the ammunition box is tilted causing a negative or positive pitch. During pitch the linked ammunition has a tendency to fall towards the lowest point in the ammunition box due to gravity, thereby falling from one chamber to another which can cause the already mentioned interlocking and ammunition jamming. Another problem is the siphon effect that will occur when one chamber is emptied during firing and the level of linked ammunition gets below the neighboring chamber's level. When this occurs the linked ammunition will start to move from one chamber to the next due to the siphon effect which causes interlocking and ammunition jamming, unless a means for retaining the ammunition in the box in such a way as to preventing the siphon effect to occur. The siphon effect problem is also present on horizontally leveled and/or stationary ammunition boxes.
The main goal of the invention has been to stop the undesired effect of linked ammunition moving from one chamber to another within the ammunition box and keep it in place like it was originally loaded into an ammunition box which does not include a means for retaining the ammunition in the box to prevent it from moving from one chamber to another.
European patent EP0430565B1 discloses a magazine for storing a belt of ammunition, the magazine comprising a box like container having a plurality of spaced partitions to subdivide the interior of the container into bays, each partition having an upper edge, and an anti-siphon member supported on the upper edge of each of the spaced partitions. Each anti-siphon member is supported on said upper edge of its respective partition for limited pivotal movement. Each member has an integral projecting finger movable between retracted and extended positions relative to the peripheral surface of rollers mounted in positions above the edges. Upon withdrawal of an ammunition belt loaded in the container with multiply folded serpentine portions thereof deposited in each bay and with interconnecting loop portions thereof draped over the rollers from one bay to an adjacent bay, the fingers assume the retracted positions to permit movement of the belt out of the bays directly to an exit port of the container and assume the extended positions engaging the interconnecting loop portions of the ammunition belt to prevent syphoning movements thereof into the bays as the serpentine belt portions are being withdrawn therefrom to the exit port.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,561 discloses in an ammunition box having partitions forming a series of open compartments wherein a cartridge belt may be stored by looping the belt into the compartments over the partitions, a pawl connected to an upper end of the partition for preventing retrograde movement of the belt with respect to the compartment. The pawl is pivotally connected to the partition so as to allow limited pivotal movement of the pawl from a rearwardly projected position to a generally in-line position with respect to the partition wall for allowing the belt to pass thereover, towards an outlet.
Other ammunition boxes or magazines with partitions or means for controlling the position or deployment of ammunition are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,638, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,191, U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,746, U.S. Pat. No. 3,461,774, U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,615, U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,376, U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,258 U.S. Pat. No. 2,452,545, U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,180, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,609 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,131.
By designing ammunition boxes with divider walls and baffles, thereby dividing the ammunition box into several smaller chambers or bays, and then placing a simpler and more robust ammunition retainer device on top of each baffle, the present invention provides a further solution to the problems related to linked ammunition moving from one chamber to another within the ammunition box, thereby reducing ammunition jamming often caused by tilt and vibration of the ammunition box. The siphon effect problem has also been solved.
The invention provides an ammunition retainer apparatus for reducing the risk of jamming or wedging of ammunition in an ammunition box or magazine having spaced partitions to subdivide its interior into a plurality of bays, the features of which are recited in the accompanying patent claims 1.
Further advantageous features of the ammunition retainer apparatus of the invention are recited in the accompanying patent claims 2 through 9.
The invention provides an ammunition box or magazine comprising the ammunition retainer, the features of which ammunition box or magazine are recited in the accompanying patent claim 10.
The invention provides a loaded ammunition box or magazine comprising the ammunition retainer, the features of which loaded ammunition box or magazine are recited in the accompanying patent claim 11.
Further advantageous features of the loaded ammunition box or magazine comprising the ammunition retainer are recited in the accompanying patent claims 12 through 15.
The invention will now be explained in detail, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein
In
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, tabs 12a, 12b, 14a, and 14b are curved or shaped in conformity with a curvature of a circular cross section of the part of the cartridges of the belt of linked ammunition 6 that the tabs are to provide a rest for. The curved shape, however, could be replaced by other shapes, provided that the shape allows the belt of linked ammunition to be pulled off the upper edge 1 of the baffle 3 of the ammunition box or magazine container, as illustrated schematically in
Advantageously, the part of the elongated body of the retainer bracket keeping the first pair of tabs on one side of the spaced from the second pair of tabs, would generally be shaped as a half-pipe, and the tabs extending from the body of the retainer bracket 10 such that the end of the tabs are at a distance of approximately between one half and two thirds of the diameter of the cartridge away from the body. Accordingly, in an embodiment of the invention designed to be employed in an ammunition box or magazine container with baffles adapted for 7.62 mm (0.30 cal) linked ammunition using clips 5 that link the cartridges with spacings of about 3 mm, the diameter of the half-pipe body should be about 18 mm, the first pair of tabs should have a separation from the other pair of tabs of about 38 mm measured on the circumference of the body, the tabs should protrude on respective radii of the half pipe shape to a distance of about 5 mm, the tabs of each pair of tabs should have a separation of about 28 mm, and the tabs should have a cross section of about 2 mm by 6 mm. For other types of linked ammunition, such as for example for 5.56 mm (0.22 cal) linked ammunition, the dimensions of the retainer bracket are scaled accordingly.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tabs are located on the circumference of the body, and also shaped and dimensioned such that when the belt of linked ammunition is placed onto of, and partly folded around the retainer bracket, a group of three cartridges are accommodated above and between the first and second pairs of tabs, while the tabs are brought into close contact with the next cartridges on either side of the group. The close contact will insure an improved stability of the linked ammunition. In the aforementioned close contact arrangement, one could take advantage of the resilience of the clips 5, to obtain a “soft” locking of the cartridges to the protruding tabs of the retainer bracket of the invention. The illustration of
To optimize the performance of the retainer bracket 10 of the invention, filling of an ammunition box or magazine container 2 employing the retainer brackets 10 of the invention at the upper edges of partitions 3 should be as illustrated in
The apparatus of invention can be seen as employed in the exemplary ammunition boxes depicted in
The ammunition retainer of the invention stops the linked ammunition from moving from one chamber to another when the ammunition box is exposed to tilt and/or vibration, and also eliminates the siphon effect. This is done by actually locking the linked ammunition belt in place at the top of each baffle with the ammunition retainer of the invention, and still be able to freely pull the linked ammunition out of the ammunition box, as the ammunition retainer of the invention is not hampering the ammunition feeding or flow. The typical ammunition boxes depicted in
There are two significant aspects to consider in respect embodiments of the present invention, although also in respect of the general inventive concept of the present invention. These aspects have to some extent been indicated in the disclosure above, and will now be further elucidated by the following discussion.
A first aspect to be discussed herein, is that the invention is ammunition is linked. The linking member, herein also referred to as the clip 5, that keeps the individual cartridges joined together is designed in such a manner that the cartridges have a little gap between them, as can be seem from the illustrations of
In respect of the first aspect, when the ammunition belt is folded over a baffle provided with the ammunition retainer of the invention, it gets locked in place at the top of the baffle. This is accomplished by the design of the inventive ammunition retainer apparatus proposed herein, where four tabs, two on each side, are located such that each of two on the same side will come into place between two adjacent cartridges in the linked ammunition belt. In respect of this first aspect, reference is made to
In respect of the second aspect, to optimize the exploitation of the advantageous effect of employing the ammunition retainer apparatus of the invention in an ammunition box or magazine with internal baffles, the ammunition box should be loaded or filled in a certain way. With regard to this second aspect, particular reference is made to
As discussed herein, for optimization of the performance of the ammunition retainer apparatus of the invention, attention should be paid to obtain the best interaction between the ammunition retainer and dimensional characteristics of the belt of linked cartridges, to ensure good “locking” of the belt as it is in place over the ammunition retainer, while balancing the retention force applied to the belt by the ammunition retainer of the invention to the force provided by the weapon or its associated ammunition drive means for pulling the ammunition from the ammunition box or magazine. In particular, the angle at which tabs protrude from the body, the length, width and thickness of the tabs, as well as the shapes of tabs are parameters that may be varied in the optimization of the ammunition retainer of the invention for different types of linked ammunition, different designs of ammunition boxes or magazines, and different types of weapons.
It should be noted, that although the invention has been disclosed herein by way of examples, of which some have proven to be highly advantageous for the specific types of ammunition used to illustrate the invention, the tabs on one side of the elongated body may be shaped differently form the tabs on the other side of the body. Different shaping of the various tabs may be find to be advantageous depending on the way or pattern in which the belt of linked ammunition is loaded in the ammunition box or magazine. As an example, when considering the loading pattern illustrated in
In the illustrations and pictures ammunition with a 7.62 mm (0.30 cal) caliber has been used for illustration purpose, but the Ammunition Retainer can be adapted to most ammunition calibers, link types and ammunition boxes where found suitable.
The ammunition retainer of the invention could be provided as a plurality of member, to be assembled to form the ammunition retainer disclosed herein. However, in an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the ammunition retainer of the invention is produced as a single, unitary member, in that it may be cost effectively stamped from a sheet of metal, and even shaped during the stamping operation, or cast or molded in a single piece, thus requiring no further machining or other operation for it to be ready to be applied to or mounted on the ammunition box or magazine or to other element forming part of the ammunition box or magazine. The inventive ammunition retainer disclosed herein by way of example in the form of a separate bracket unit 10 to be mounted on the ammunition box or magazine or a part of an ammunition box or magazine is considered an advantageous embodiment in particular for applications for retrofitting existing designs of ammunition boxes or magazines, although the ammunition retainer of the invention is capable of being provided as an integral part of the ammunition box or magazine, or as an integral part of a baffle or other means of the ammunition box or magazine, such as means for providing the chambers or bays into which the linked ammunition could be loaded for loading of the ammunition container. In an embodiment of the ammunition retainer of the invention, in case the ammunition retainer is adapted for retaining a plurality of cartridges between the first and second pairs of tabs, additional tabs are provided, such as for example a third set of tabs protruding from the body and located at a position along the circumference of the body between the first and second pairs of tabs. Conversely, in case the ammunition retainer is adapted for retaining one cartridge between the first and second pairs of tabs, further tabs may be arranged to at least one side of the first or second pairs of tabs. In yet a further advantageous embodiment of the ammunition retainer apparatus of the invention, the tabs of a pair of tabs are positioned along the longitudinal direction of the elongated body so as to maintain cartridges “locked” in place by the ammunition retainer with the percussion cap proximal to a first side wall of the linked ammunition container, while maintaining a space between the pointed bullet end of the ammunition and a second side wall of the ammunition container located opposite to the first side wall of the ammunition container. Maintaining the “locked” ammunition in place by positioning the tabs as indicated herein, is effectively achieved by positioning the tabs as illustrated in
It should be noted that in an embodiment wherein the elongated body is shortened while the positions of the tabs are maintained, also the central tabs 12a, 12b could be termed “end tabs” 12a, 12b, as being located at a different end of the body, opposite to the end at which the end tabs 14a, 14b are located.
The tabs of the ammunition retainer of the invention may be provided resilience as suitable for maintaining the linked ammunition “locked” in position at the ammunition retainer, such as for example by use of a material having inherent resilient properties for the tab itself, or by attaching the tab to the body of the ammunition retainer by a section of resilient material. Optionally, one or more tabs may be shaped to provide resilience for advantageously locking the belt to the tab by way of the gap between adjacent ones of two cartridges of the belt of linked ammunition cartridges, such as for example by making the tab longer than shown in the accompanying drawings and then folding back an outer part of the tab to a shape and dimension that will allow it to be fit by some force into the gap between adjacent cartridges and in that position exerting by spring action of the folded back portion counteracting forces on both cartridges to increase friction for holding the cartridges “locked” to the tab, also in case of a belt of linked ammunition cartridges with considerable variations of dimensions of the gaps between cartridges.
The invention disclosed herein may be performed in a first method of providing an ammunition box or magazine with the functionality of the ammunition retainer disclosed above, in a second method of loading an ammunition box or magazine having the ammunition retainer disclosed above with a belt of linked ammunition starting from the bottom of a first bay via and over the ammunition retainer apparatus and on to a next bay adjacent to the first bay including loading the first and bays with linked ammunition in a serpentine like pattern and on to an exit of the box or magazine, or in a third method for unloading linked ammunition from a loaded magazine wherein ammunition is obtained by pulling linked ammunition from the loaded box or magazine via a path corresponding to the one taught by the illustrating arrow and its associated line in
