Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6443044
-
Patent Number
6,443,044
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, June 27, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 3, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 089 11
- 089 12
- 089 1305
- 089 9
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A feeder/delinker for a gatling gun is disclosed. The feeder/delinker comprises a housing having a drive gear rotationally coupled to a ring of gatling gun barrels extending therethrough, A push rod guide with a plurality of push rods slidably received therein is mounted within the housing. The push rods correspond to and are oriented parallel to the gatling gun barrels. The push rod guide is rotationally coupled to the drive gear and a shaft which extends through the push rod guide. The plurality of push rods slide forwardly and backwardly within the push rod guide. A drive subassembly is mounted forwardly of the push rod guide and defines a plurality of cartridge receiving channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods. A stripper subassembly is mounted forwardly of the drive subassembly on the shaft and defines a plurality of stripper channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods. Each of the plurality of stripper channels is adapted to receive and prevent longitudinal movement of a cartridge link. An exhaust port is provided for expelling cartridge links. A linked cartridge from a belt of cartridges is positioned in one of the drive subassembly channels and the corresponding stripper subassembly channel is urged longitudinally forwardly by the corresponding push rod. The stripper subassembly retains the cartridge link thereby stripping the cartridge from the link, the links being expelled via the exhaust port. A feeder sprocket receives cartridges from the stripper subassembly while an end plate having two parallel guide walls adapted to engage the shoulder of a cartridge guides the cartridge in the feeder sprocket to the gatling gun. A pair of the hatch doors is mounted on the housing and allows the user access to the interior of the housing.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to feeder/delinkers for weapons, and, more particularly, to feeder/delinkers used in conjunction with gatling guns.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The gatling gun, a forerunner of the contemporary machine gun, was introduced by Richard J. Gatling in 1862. This weapon incorporates a ring of barrels that fire sequentially as the ring of barrels is rotated. In early versions, the barrels were rotated by means of a hand crank; more recent versions incorporate a drive motor. The U.S. Army used the gatling gun in the battle of Santiago, Chile in 1898. Other nations used it in colonial wars in Africa and Asia until the beginning decades of the 20
th
Century; it was also used by the United States in the Vietnam conflict.
To feed a gatling gun, a feeder/delinker mechanism takes belted ammunition, strips (delinks) the individual cartridges from the belts and then feeds the delinked ammunition to the gatling gun. While the gatling gun is still in service, the gun was last manufactured by the firearms division of the General Electric Company about twenty years ago. Thus, there is a continuing need for spare and replacement components and improved feeders.
The demand for replacement parts is concentrated on the feeder/delinker unit which has become a weak point in the overall system. One persistent problem has been the tendency of the feeder/delinker unit to jam due to misalignment of the cartridges as they are fed into the delinker. Another problem relates to breakage and consequent jamming due to the fragility of the various sprockets incorporated into the feeder/delinker. Yet another deficiency in the prior art design is the difficulty and time required for clearing the jammed conditions once they occur, this being due to the lack of access to the interior of the feeder/delinker. Because of this lack of access, the jamming can only be cleared by first removing the feeder/delinker from the gun and disassembling the unit—a time consuming procedure.
Another problem is the requirement to rotate the barrels in order to load linked ammunition into the feeder. Rotating the barrels can cause the gun to fire unintentionally. Rotating the barrels is also awkward when the barrels are hot. Lastly, rotating the barrels requires the helicopter gunner to lean out into a one hundred mile per hour slipstream.
Still another problem with the current design feeder/delinker is that in case of a severe jam it is necessary to force the rotation of the internal sprockets by using a straight bladed screw driver as a lever on the gear teeth. The new design provides two radius edged surfaces to prevent damage to the cast housing and to allow easier access to the gear teeth.
The prior art feeder/delinker was also functionally deficient in terms of its operation with sabot light armor piercing (SLAP) ammunition. With this type of ammunition, the prior art mechanism did not reliably chamber the cartridge as they were “handed” off from the feeder/delinker into the gun. During this part of the operation, control of the fore and aft positions of the cartridge was not adequate to assure trouble-free operation.
The prior art feeder/delinker is also deficient in that an ammunition jam could bend the pin that secured the drive gear to the main driven component thereby setting the entire unit out of time and rendering is inoperable.
The present invention addresses the problems of the prior art feeder/delinker and offers improvements essential to their correction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention claimed a number of improvements are made in the feeeder/delinker unit over the version most recently produced by the General Electric Company.
It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a means for improving the degree of alignment achieved within the feeder/delinker.
Another object of this invention is to modify the design of the internal components of the feeder/delinker as needed to substantially eliminate the breakage due to fragile parts.
A further object of this invention is to modify the design of the end plate as needed to assure reliable, trouble-free operation of the feeder/delinker with SLAP ammunition.
A still further object of this invention is provide convenient access to the interior of the feeder/delinker via a hatch so that any jammed condition may be corrected without removing the feeder/delinker from the gatling gun.
Another object of this invention is to provide a means to hold the ammunition in the proper location while closing the loading cover. This is accomplished by use of a split hatch design.
A still further object of this invention is to make alignment of the linked ammunition more consistent as it is pulled into the feeder/delinker. This is accomplished through the addition of a second sprocket to the rear of the links.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a means for attaching various link exhaust chutes.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of the specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention may be readily described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a feeder/delinker of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view showing the feeder/delinker of the present invention mounted on a gatling gun;
FIG. 3
is a functional illustration of the feeder/delinker drive mechanism employed in both the prior art as well as the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of the interior rotatable assembly of the prior art feeder/delinker;
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of the interior rotatable assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of the feeder/delinker of the present invention showing a two door hatch in the process of being closed;
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of the rotatable assembly of the prior art feeder/delinker partially disassembled for the identification of fragile parts responsible for breakage during operation;
FIG. 8
is a corresponding perspective view of the rotatable assembly of the present invention illustrating measures taken to reduce breakage;
FIG. 9
is a perspective view of the feeder/delinker of the present invention with the hatch open and with an ammunition chute attached for delivery of a strip of cartridges to the feeder/delinker;
FIG. 10
is a perspective view showing the end plate of delivery guide of the prior art feeder/delinker;
FIG. 11
is a perspective view of the improved end plate or delivery guide of the present invention;
FIG. 12
is a perspective view showing the link exhaust port of the prior art feeder/delinker;
FIG. 13
shows the link exhaust port pad of the present invention; and
FIG. 14
shows collection chutes suitable for use with the link exhaust port pad of FIG.
13
.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring more particularly to the drawings by characters of reference,
FIG. 1
discloses an improved feeder/delinker
10
of the invention comprising a drive stage
11
, a delinker stage
12
and a delivery stage
13
. Other features of feeder/delinker
10
which are visible in
FIG. 1
include the external contours of a ramped or spiraled push-rod drive channel
14
, first and second hatch doors
15
A and
15
B, respectively, forward mounting hooks
16
and rearward mounting hole
17
, hooks
16
and hole
17
being provided for use in mounting feeder/delinker
10
to a gatling gun
18
as shown in FIG.
2
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, when feeder/delinker
10
is mounted to gatling gun
18
, feeder/delinker
10
becomes an essential component of gun
18
. Other elements of gatling gun
18
include a rotatable ring
20
of barrels
19
, a drive motor
21
and an electrical connector
22
.
In the operation of gatling gun
18
, drive motor
21
causes ring
20
of barrels
19
to rotate as indicated by an arrow
23
. Responding to the rotation of ring
20
of barrels
19
, gatling gun
18
fires each barrel
19
sequentially in rapid succession. At the same time, feeder/delinker
10
receives a continuous string of linked ammunition which it delinks and feeds to gatling gun
18
.
A drive mechanism
24
of gatling gun
18
as shown in
FIG. 3
comprises a set of push rods
25
, one push rod
25
corresponding to each barrel
19
of gatling gun
18
and a push rod guide
26
. In the illustrated embodiment, ring
20
comprises six (6) barrels
19
and, thus, includes six push rods
25
.
Push rod guide
26
comprises a cylindrical body having an axis in parallel alignment with the axis of ring
20
. Rods
25
move longitudinally inside longitudinal grooves
27
which are uniformly distributed about the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical body, each rod
25
being aligned with corresponding barrel
19
.
Each rod
25
has a drive wheel
28
secured to its rearward end by means of an axle
29
that extends outwardly from the outer face of the rod. Wheels
28
are confined within spiral grooved push rod channel
14
represented, in
FIG. 3
, by the broken lines
14
′. Spiral grooved channel
14
is incorporated drive stage
11
. As push rod guide
26
rotates about its axis by means of drive motor
21
, push rods
25
are constrained by wheels
28
to follow the path of channel
14
, thereby moving forward and backward with each rotation of push rod guide
26
. As push rods
25
move forewardly, push rods
25
engage the rear of a cartridge
31
and push cartridge
31
forwardly as indicated by arrows
32
. As each cartridge
31
is driven forwardly, that cartridge
31
is freed, or delinked, from the linkage and then handed off to the gatling gun
18
.
To illustrate the differences between the prior art and the present invention, compare the prior art rotatable assembly
33
shown in FIG.
4
and partially dissembled in FIG.
7
and the rotatable assembly
34
of the present invention shown in FIG.
5
and partially dissembled in FIG.
8
. These differences are important contributors to trouble-free operation of the feeder/delinker. As shown in
FIGS. 4 and 7
, prior art rotatable assembly
33
comprises a forward delinker subassembly
35
and a rearward drive subassembly
36
. As shown in
FIGS. 5 and 8
, present invention rotatable assembly
34
comprises a corresponding forward delinker subassembly
37
and a rearward drive subassembly
38
.
In each subassembly
35
-
38
, the design as well as the location of each of the individual wheels and sprockets is critical in terms of maintaining the high degree of alignment for the cartridges that is essential for assuring reliable, fault-free operation.
In addition to the smaller wheels and sprockets of the delinker and drive subassemblies
35
-
38
, each of the assemblies
33
and
34
incorporate a feeder sprocket
39
employed in handing off cartridges
31
to gatling gun
18
and a drive gear
41
which couples rotatable assemblies
33
and
34
to drive motor
21
. The drive and delinker subassemblies
35
-
38
are secured to a common shaft
42
. The insertion of drive rod
25
with its drive wheel
28
into the drive rod guide
26
is shown with each of the
FIGS. 4 and 5
to clarify the orientation of drive rod
25
relative to guide
26
.
Prior art rotatable assembly
33
has a number of deficiencies that produce operating failures. The various wheels and sprockets have sharp corners
43
that end to break off producing debris that finds its way between operating parts and thereby causes misalignment and jamming. One wheel or sprocket
44
is especially fragile and susceptible to fracture, in part because of its relatively unprotected location.
There is also an alignment problem immediately ahead of the push rod guide
26
, this problem being caused by inadequate support of the rearward end of cartridges
31
as they enter feeder/delinker
10
.
Still another problem relates to the means by which drive gear
41
is secured to push rod guide
26
. In prior art assembly
33
, gear
41
is secured to push rod guide
26
by a single pin that passes through hole
45
in gear
41
and through hole
46
in guide
26
. That pin is easily bent, throwing the entire assembly
33
out of time.
The present invention corrects these defects in a number of ways. Sharp corners
43
of the prior art are replaced by rounded edges
47
. Fragile wheel or sprocket
44
of the prior art is moved from drive subassembly
36
to the delinker subassembly
37
wherein it abuts the rearward wheel or sprocket
48
thereof Robust wheel or sprocket
48
shields fragile wheel
44
protecting it from abnormal contacts with other parts or cartridges
31
.
The alignment problem is corrected in the present invention by providing a second sprocket
49
immediately adjacent to the forward edge of push rod guide
26
where it pulls cartridges
31
evenly from both in front and at the rear of each link. In addition, the present invention attaches gear
41
and push rod guide
26
together using splines
51
thereby eliminating the problem of pin breakage.
To provide access to the interior of feeder/delinker
10
absent in the prior art, as shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
6
and
9
, the present invention employs two doors
15
A and
15
B, mounted side-by-side on the side of feeder/delinker
10
. In
FIGS. 1 and 2
, both doors
15
are closed; in
FIG. 6
, door
15
A is being closed while door
15
B is still open; in
FIG. 9
, both doors
15
are open.
The doors are driven by coil springs
30
to the open position and close against springs
30
. Door
15
B has a snap latch
52
that holds it closed against the action of spring
30
. Door
15
B further includes a holding pin
53
that engages a groove
55
in door
15
A holding door
15
A closed once door
15
B is closed via snap latch
52
.
Access doors
15
A and
15
B facilitate the loading of a strip
40
of ammunition as shown in FIG.
6
. The end of strip
40
is inserted through a flexible chute
54
and then positioned in cradle like slots of the interior rotatable assembly
34
. Door
15
A is then closed, the operator using his or her left hand to close door
15
A while holding strip
40
in place with her or his right hand. In this position, door
15
A holds strip
40
in place while door
15
B is being closed with the right hand of the operator. In addition to the easy access for clearing jams, the use of access doors
15
has greatly simplified the process of the prior art which often required manual rotation of the ring
20
to properly feed strip
40
therethrough.
As discussed previously, the prior art devices did not handle SLAP rounds because of inadequate control by an end plate
56
, shown in
FIG. 10
, as cartridges
31
spiral outwardly for hand off to gatling gun
18
. With end plate
56
engaging a tip
64
(see
FIG. 3
) of cartridges
31
, tip
64
rode along the ramped spiral surface
57
of end plate
56
. With tip control, the path of each tip
64
was not adequately or sufficiently defined, especially with the vibration of a operating gatling gun
18
.
In the improved end plate
58
of the present invention shown in
FIG. 11
, cartridge
31
is positioned off a shoulder
65
(see
FIG. 3
) with shoulder
65
being confined between two spiral walls
59
. The double sided control enables feeder/delinker
10
to operate reliably even with SLAP rounds or blanks.
Still another improvement over the prior art is provided by link exhaust port
60
shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
. In the prior art feeder/delinker
10
′ shown in
FIG. 12
, the links fell in an uncontrolled and unconfined manner from a rectangular opening
61
positioned just below the entry port for ammunition strip
40
. In the improved feeder/delinker
10
shown in
FIG. 13
, a link exhaust port pad
62
is provided. Pad
62
allows the attachment of a collection chute
60
A,
60
B and
60
C shown in
FIG. 14
for exhaust links to divert same as desired.
It will be apparent that a significantly improved feeder/delinker
10
for a gatling gun
18
is provided in accordance with the stated objects of the present invention, and while but a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A feeder and delinker in combination with a gatling gun, the gatling gun comprising a plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in a ring, the feeder and delinker comprising:a housing, a drive gear rotationally coupled to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the drive gear extending through the housing; a push rod guide and a plurality of push rods corresponding to and oriented parallel to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the plurality of push rods being slidably received within a corresponding plurality of longitudinal grooves within the push rod guide, the push rod guide being rotationally coupled to the drive gear, a shaft extending through the push rod guide, the shaft being rotationally coupled to the push rod guide, the push rod guide, the plurality of push rods and the shaft being mounted within the housing; means for sliding each of the plurality of push rods forwardly and backwardly, the sliding means being rotationally coupled to the drive gear; a drive subassembly defining a plurality of channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of channels adapted to receive a cartridge; the drive subassembly being mounted forwardly of the push rod guide; a stripper subassembly defining a plurality of stripper channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of stripper channels adapted to receive and prevent longitudinal movement of a cartridge link, the stripper subassembly being mounted forwardly of the drive subassembly on the shaft and rotationally coupled with the shaft; an exhaust port for expelling links therefrom; whereby a linked cartridge positioned in one of the drive subassembly channels and the corresponding stripper subassembly channel is urged longitudinally forwardly by the corresponding push rod, the push rod being moved longitudinally by the sliding means, the stripper subassembly retaining the cartridge link thereby stripping the cartridge from the link, the link being expelled from the exhaust port; a feeder sprocket adapted to receive cartridges from the stripper subassembly after the cartridges have been stripped of cartridge links; an end plate adapted to guide cartridges in the feeder sprocket from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun; a pair of the hatch doors mounted on the housing, the pair of hatch doors being positioned proximate to the drive subassembly and the stripper subassembly, the pair of doors adapted to allow access to the interior of the housing, the pair of hatch doors being separably closable, whereby the pair of hatch doors permits loading of linked cartridges and clearing of jams when open, and, when one of the pair of hatch doors is closed, the closed one of the pair of hatch doors temporarily securing the linked cartridges in the drive and stripper subassemblies until the second door is closed.
- 2. The feeder and delinker of claim 1 further wherein the end plate has two parallel guide walls adapted to engage the shoulder of a cartridge to guide the cartridge from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun.
- 3. The feeder and delinker of claim 1 wherein the drive subassembly and the stripper subassembly are provided with rounded edges.
- 4. The feeder and delinker of claim 1 further comprising a sprocket mounted between the drive subassembly and the push rod guide, the sprocket adapted to provide further alignment of the cartridges.
- 5. The feeder and delinker of claim 1 further comprising an exhaust port pad having means for attaching a plurality of exhaust chutes thereto.
- 6. A feeder and delinker in combination with a gatling gun, the gatling gun comprising a plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in a ring, the feeder and delinker comprising:a housing, a drive gear rotationally coupled to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the drive gear extending through the housing; a push rod guide and a plurality of push rods corresponding to and oriented parallel to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the plurality of push rods being slidably received within a corresponding plurality of longitudinal grooves within the push rod guide, the push rod guide being rotationally coupled to the drive gear by a plurality of splines, a shaft extending through the push rod guide, the shaft being rotationally coupled to the push rod guide, the push rod guide, the plurality of push rods and the shaft being mounted within the housing; means for sliding each of the plurality of push rods forwardly and backwardly, the sliding means being rotationally coupled to the drive gear; drive subassembly defining a plurality of channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of channels adapted to receive a cartridge; the drive subassembly being mounted forwardly of the push rod guide; a stripper subassembly defining a plurality of stripper channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of stripper channels adapted to receive and prevent longitudinal movement of a cartridge link, the stripper subassembly being mounted forwardly of the drive subassembly on the shaft and rotationally coupled with the shaft; an exhaust port for expelling cartridge links; whereby a linked cartridge positioned in one of the drive subassembly channels and the corresponding stripper subassembly channel is urged longitudinally forwardly by the corresponding push rod, the push rod being moved longitudinally by the sliding means, the stripper subassembly retaining the cartridge link thereby stripping the cartridge from the link, the links being expelled via the exhaust port; a feeder sprocket adapted to receive cartridges from the stripper subassembly after the cartridges have been stripped of cartridge links; and an end plate adapted to guide cartridges in the feeder sprocket from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun, the end plate having two parallel guide walls adapted to engage the shoulder of a cartridge to guide the cartridge from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun.
- 7. The feeder and delinker of claim 6 wherein the drive subassembly and the stripper subassembly are provided with rounded edges.
- 8. The feeder and delinker of claim 6 further comprising a sprocket mounted between the drive subassembly and the push rod guide, the sprocket adapted to provide further alignment of the cartridges.
- 9. The feeder and delinker of claim 6 further comprising an exhaust port pad having means for attaching a plurality of exhaust chutes thereto.
- 10. A feeder and delinker in combination with a gatling gun, the gatling gun comprising a plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in a ring, the feeder and delinker comprising:a housing, a drive gear rotationally coupled to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the drive gear extending through the housing; a push rod guide and a plurality of push rods corresponding to and oriented parallel to the plurality of gun barrels rotatably mounted in the ring, the plurality of push rods being slidably received within a corresponding plurality of longitudinal grooves within the push rod guide, the push rod guide being rotationally coupled to the drive gear by seven splines, a shaft extending through the push rod guide, the shaft being rotationally coupled to the push rod guide, the push rod guide, the plurality of push rods and the shaft being mounted within the housing; means for sliding each of the plurality of push rods forwardly and backwardly, the sliding means being rotationally coupled to the drive gear; a drive subassembly defining a plurality of channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of channels adapted to receive a cartridge; the drive subassembly being mounted forwardly of the push rod guide; a stripper subassembly defining a plurality of stripper channels corresponding to and aligned with the plurality of push rods, each of the plurality of stripper channels adapted to receive and prevent longitudinal movement of a cartridge link, the stripper subassembly being mounted forwardly of the drive subassembly on the shaft and rotationally coupled with the shaft; an exhaust port for expelling cartridge links, the exhaust port having an exhaust port pad adapted to mount a plurality of exhaust chutes thereon; whereby a linked cartridge positioned in one of the drive subassembly channels and the corresponding stripper subassembly channel is urged longitudinally forwardly by the corresponding push rod, the push rod being moved longitudinally by the sliding means, the stripper subassembly retaining the cartridge link thereby stripping the cartridge from the link, the links being expelled via the exhaust port; a feeder sprocket adapted to receive cartridges from the stripper subassembly after the cartridges have been stripped of cartridge links; an end plate adapted to guide cartridges in the feeder sprocket from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun, the end plate having two parallel guide walls adapted to engage the shoulder of a cartridge to guide the cartridge from the stripper subassembly to the gatling gun; and a pair of the hatch doors mounted on the housing, the pair of hatch doors being positioned proximate to the drive subassembly and the stripper subassembly, the pair of doors adapted to allow access to the interior of the housing, the pair of hatch doors being separably closable, whereby the pair of hatch doors permits loading of linked cartridges and clearing of jams when open, and, when one of the pair of hatch doors is closed, the closed one of the pair of hatch doors securing the linked cartridges in the drive and stripper subassemblies.
- 11. The feeder and delinker of claim 10 wherein the drive subassembly and the stripper subassembly are provided with rounded edges.
- 12. The feeder and delinker of claim 10 further comprising a sprocket mounted between the drive subassembly and the push rod guide, the sprocket adapted to provide further alignment of the cartridges.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3380343 |
Chiabrandy et al. |
Apr 1968 |
A |
3766821 |
Cozzy et al. |
Oct 1973 |
A |
3868884 |
Rose et al. |
Mar 1975 |
A |
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
13504 |
Jul 1892 |
GB |