The invention relates to an arrangement for supporting a shell into the barrel of a breech-loading weapon, the arrangement comprising a support member to be fastened to a shell tail, the support member comprising a support element provided with a rim flange and means for fastening the support element to the shell tail, and a firing member in the support element for firing the actual primer of the shell for firing the shell.
The invention further relates to a support member to be fastened to a shell tail for supporting a shell into the barrel of a breech-loading weapon, comprising a support element provided with a rim flange and means for fastening the support element to the shell tail, and a firing member in the support element for firing the actual primer of the shell for firing the shell.
Mortars are nowadays mounted on movable bases, allowing them to be moved from one place to another and, on the other hand, allowing them to be rapidly moved from the emplacement. A problem in such solutions is the ability of said base, i.e. vehicle, to defend itself against possible attacks, and the use thereof for destroying close-range targets on the ground. A moving base provided with a heavy shell mortar is normally unable to carry heavy defensive facilities in addition to the shell mortar, instead, it is at most provided with a heavy machine gun or corresponding lighter armature. In such a situation, the vehicle needs to be able to use the mortar for also firing horizontally or below it, for which normal shells and shell mortars are not suited. A shell inside a normal mortar having a smooth barrel is able to move when the shell mortar is oriented in the horizontal direction or below it in the barrel in such a manner that it either falls from the barrel or moves to such an extent that the shell does not go off. This problem is solved in the solution of US publication 5 503 080, disclosing a support member/control piece to be fastened to the tail of a conventional shell by means of a friction-based clip bond. However, such a friction-based bond is not as such very dependable and the tolerances of both the manufacture of the shell and the manufacture of the control piece cause variations in the fastening force and the stability.
WO application FI 98/00064 presents a solution, wherein a control piece is fastened to the tail of a conventional shell by means of a mechanical locking, wherein the locking piece breaks in connection with firing. In this solution, the fastening piece between the shell and the control piece has to be replaced with a new one after the shell has been fired.
An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement and a support member allowing a shell of a shell mortar to be securely and reliably kept in the right position in the barrel of a breech-loading shell mortar and enabling its reliable and secure operation in all situations. Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement and a support member wherein the support member may be used a plurality of times without having to replace the parts thereof.
The arrangement of the invention is characterized in that the means for fastening the support element to the shell tail comprise a sleeve-like fastening element having grooves for the tail fins of the shell and, between the grooves, jaws settling onto the shell tail tube, the outer surfaces of the jaws being outwardly bevelled at least up to the ends of the jaws, that the fastening element and the support element are provided with matching threads in such a manner that rotating them relative to one another changes their axial position relative to one another, a sleeve-like clamping element placed around the fastening element and comprising grooves for the tail fins of the shell and able to move in the axial direction thereof relative to the fastening element, whereby rotating the support element relative to the fastening element in such a manner that the support element shifts towards the fastening element, at the same time pushing the clamping element in the same direction in such a manner that the clamping element is pushed along the outwardly bevelled surfaces of the jaws of the clamping element and presses the jaws of the fastening element to the shell tail.
The support member of the invention is characterized in that the means for fastening the support element to the shell tail comprise a sleeve-like fastening element having grooves for the tail fins of the shell and, between the grooves, jaws settling onto the shell tail tube, the outer surfaces of the jaws being outwardly bevelled at least up to the ends of the jaws, that the fastening element and the support element are provided with matching threads in such a manner that rotating them relative to one another changes their axial position relative to one another, a sleeve-like clamping element placed around the fastening element and comprising grooves for the tail fins of the shell and able to move in the axial direction thereof relative to the fastening element, whereby rotating the support element relative to the fastening element in such a manner that the support element shifts towards the fastening element, at the same time pushing the clamping element in the same direction in such a manner that the clamping element is pushed along the outwardly bevelled surfaces of the jaws of the clamping element and presses the jaws of the fastening element to the shell tail.
An essential idea of the invention is to fasten the support member to the shell tail by pressing the jaws of the fastening element protruding between the shell tail and provided in the support member against the shell tail in such a manner that they are compressed thereto with a sufficient force. A further essential idea of the invention is to compress the jaws of the fastening element against the shell tail by compressing the jaws with a clamping element outside of the fastening element, at least the fastening element, preferably both, comprising bevelled, preferably conical surfaces in such a manner that when the fastening member is pulled to the inside of the clamping element, the inner surfaces of the clamping element press the jaw of the fastening element at a corresponding point against the shank of the shell tail and preferably finally partly inside the shank. A still further essential idea of the invention is to connect the fastening element to a fastening part in the middle of the support element provided with a flange with mutually matching threads provided in both and to perform said tightening by rotating the flanged support element around the longitudinal axis of the shell. An advantage of the invention is that irrespective of the manufacturing tolerances, the support member can be fastened to the shell tail always using the same force, since the rotational force of the support element can be arranged to be of the same magnitude every time. Furthermore, the locking can be made sufficiently reliable, and the support member is easy to take into use again simply by rotating the fastening element relative to the support element in an opposite direction, until it can again be pushed onto the tail of a new shell. A further advantage of the invention is that such a support member can be reused several times without having to replace or add any components thereto.
The invention will be described in more detail in the attached drawings, wherein
In all figures, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts for the sake of clarity.
The fastening element 6 comprises separate jaws 6a to be described later in
At its simplest, the clamping element 7 is a separate sleeve placed outside the fastening element 6 around it. The clamping element 7 comprises, in a corresponding manner, a preferably conical inner surface bevelled towards the shell 2 and in contact with the outer surface of the jaws 6a. At the start of the mounting of the support member 5, the mutual position of the clamping element 7 and the fastening element 6 is such that the jaws 6a of the clamping element 6 are sufficiently far from one another in the radial direction to fit the shell tail tube between the jaws. In the manner shown in
The support element 8 has a flange 8a that serves to keep the shell in the mortar barrel in position by means of the groove therein even when the mortar barrel is oriented obliquely downwards. Furthermore, it may comprise a short control edge 8b, inside which the shell tail 4 settles. Furthermore, the middle of the support element 8 is provided with a tightening part 8c, threads 8d being provided on the outer surface thereof. The threads 8d, in turn, match the inner threads 6e of the fastening element 6 in such a manner that by rotating the fastening element 6 and the support element 8 relative to one another, their position in the direction of their mutual axis changes depending on the rotational direction in one direction or another.
In the situation shown in
Since the position of the support element 8 relative to the fastening element 6 is precisely defined in accordance with
As the figure shows, the fastening element 6 is provided jaws 6a at a distance from each other, and tips 6b shown therein. Between the jaws 6a are shown grooves, into which the shell tail fins may settle. Furthermore, an annular integral part 6d is shown, to which the jaws 6a are attached. Correspondingly, an integral annular part 7b and grooves are shown in the clamping element 7, between which grooves the parts of the clamping element settle against the outer surface of the jaws 6a of the fastening element for compression thereof towards the shell tail.
In the longitudinal direction of the barrel, the support element 8 may be shorter or longer. Similarly, the lengths of the clamping element 7 and the fastening element 6 may vary, as long as the position of the tips or projections of the fastening element relative to the shell tail is such that when the shell is detached, its tail is not damaged. Restricting the position of the support element 8 in such a manner that as a result thereof, the compression distance in the radial direction of the jaws of the fastening element is always substantially the same, may naturally be replaced with some other manner, such as by using a given type of constant moment when rotating the support element 8 during the fastening or in some other suitable manner. However, it is essential that all parts of the support member 5 are manufactured from a material that endures the forces generated from the firing of the shell without breaking during more than one firing. The tips 6b of the jaws of the fastening member may be provided with projections, rifles, or other corresponding solutions improving the holding power, whereby for instance a coarse toothing on the surface on the side of the tail tube of the tips 6b increases the holding power and, thus, the detachment force required. Similarly, for making the clamping force constant, it is clear that the shape of the jaws 6a should be either relatively slowly evenly widening or of the same size at least along the distance the jaw tip sinks in the shell tail during the fastening.
It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology advances, the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in a variety of ways. Consequently, the invention and its embodiments are not restricted to the above examples, but may vary within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20085082 | Jan 2008 | FI | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FI09/50073 | 1/30/2009 | WO | 00 | 7/29/2010 |