Patent Application
20200158453
The present invention relates generally to the field of machine guns, and more particularly, to rapid fire rotating multi-barrel machine guns and the cartridge loading and ejection mechanisms in these guns.
Rapid fire multi-barrel guns have been used in military conflicts since the invention of the Gatling gun in the mid-19th century. These guns have the advantage of covering large areas of land and/or air with a high density of projectiles in a very short time period. Applications of this type of weapon are from flushing combatants out of thick jungles to launching a wall of projectiles to protect from high-speed missile attacks. Most modern rapid fire guns are heavy and require a large power source to operate. Some have been miniaturized for transport by one solider but are still very heavy and awkward to handle.
The current designs suffer from the need to use a delinker, inertia problems with the bolt action, and cam dwell problems in the firing position. This limits consistent fire rates to approximately 4000 rounds per minute, an inherent problem with axial breech-loaded rapid fire weapons.
The invention described herein is a radial loaded split-breech rapid fire gun. Split-breech designs have been tried previously for rapid firing guns such as the Fokker-Leimberger design at the close of WWII. This design and others like it use a nutcracker-type mechanism where the cartridge is chambered with a split-breech system by two rotating synchronized wheels with a plurality of chamber slots. The obvious problem with the mechanism is that the chamber is, in effect, closed for a very small-time window. This limits the speed that the wheels can turn due to deflagration and firing pin timing. In the case of the Fokker-Leimberger design, cartridge casings were split due to the low chambering time and cartridge ignition timing.
Thus, disclosed is a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun that incorporates a multi-barrel assembly having a barrel hub with a plurality of barrels attached. Each barrel location around the barrel hub includes a half-chamber feature, concentric with the barrel bore at the proximal end of each barrel. This is one side of the split-breech system. The other side is a continuous chain with half-chambers as a feature of each link. The chain runs concentric to the barrel hub and the half-chamber features of each link are coincident with the barrel hub chamber feature. The chain drive system is synchronized to the barrel hub by chain sprockets, gear-driven by a drive gear affixed to the barrel hub.
The barrel hub is rotated by an electrical motor and gear reduction. The barrel hub also includes a plurality of firing pins, one for each barrel, and a cam-driven system to spring load and release each firing pin at the correct firing time. A high-temperature polyimide belt connecting a plurality of cartridges is fan-folded in a wet-magazine. A portion of the unused space in the magazine is filled with water, propylene glycol and 1% silicone lubricant. This mixture is transferred by the cartridge belt to cool and lubricate the high-speed mechanism. This magazine snap fits into a receiver located at the bottom of the gun. A boss feature and a spring, as part of the magazine, positions the first cartridge on the belt to be captured when the magazine is inserted.
As the barrel hub rotates, this polymeric belt (e.g., polyimide belt) with a plurality of cartridges affixed at a proper spacing, are captured and the cartridges nested into the half-chamber features on the barrel hub. As the barrel hub continues to rotate, the cartridges are enclosed by the half-chamber feature on the chain links. At the point in the barrel hub revolution where both half-chambers are concentric and fully encase a cartridge, the relative firing pin is released and the bullet is fired through the barrel. The cartridge remains fully chambered for 180 degrees of the barrel hub rotation. The cam that controls firing pin release time can be independently adjusted to control ignition timing within this 180-degree arc. With long chamber times, speed can be increased as the firing mechanism timing becomes less critical.
The internal pressure of the cartridge is contained within the half-chamber chain link and half-chamber feature in the barrel hub. A pressure fence, as part of the main frame enclosure, concentric to the barrel hub and within the firing positions, and in close proximity to the chain link top surface, limits any blow-out travel of the link as a result of internal chamber pressure. The interface between the half-chambered link and the half-chambered hub is sealed by means of the high-temperature polyimide belt that also connects each cartridge to the adjacent cartridge.
As the empty cartridges are rotated around the barrel hub, the chain link half-chamber separates from the barrel hub and is taken up by the chain sprocket on the exit side. A slot in the barrel hub and a pawl, part of the receiver assembly, strips the empty cartridges and belt off the barrel hub to be routed through an aperture in the front housing and out of the gun.
A rechargeable battery is magnetically and electrically attached to the gun to provide power to the drive motor.
In certain aspects, disclosed is a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun comprising (a) a housing with a handle and trigger positioned thereon, the trigger operatively connected to a motor drive assembly; (b) a motor drive assembly arranged within the housing having a rotation member that rotates when the trigger is actuated; (c) a chain drive assembly that is operatively connected to the rotation member of the motor drive assembly, the chain drive assembly comprising an endless belt having a plurality of connected, individual links, with each individual link having a half breech or chamber formed thereon and in which the endless belt is configured to rotate within the gun when the trigger is actuated; (d) a firing assembly that is adjacent to and operatively connected to the chain drive assembly and motor drive assembly, the firing assembly comprising: (i) a plurality of rotatable barrels arranged on the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun that are spaced apart from the trigger; (ii) a rotatable barrel hub with a plurality of cartridge half breeches or chambers formed thereon, the rotatable barrel hub synchronously rotates with the individual links of the endless belt such that each cartridge half breech or chamber formed on the rotatable barrel hub is configured to align with a corresponding half breech or chamber formed on each individual link of the endless belt to form a complete cartridge breech or chamber that is configured to temporarily house a cartridge therein before firing the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels; and (iii) a cartridge inlet configured to align with a cartridge magazine and a spent cartridge outlet arranged opposite to the cartridge inlet; and (e) optionally a cartridge magazine configured to releasably and securely mate to the housing and align with the cartridge inlet such that cartridges are fed from the magazine through the cartridge inlet into the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed by the aligned half breeches or chambers and rotate through the firing assembly such that spent cartridges exit the cartridge outlet such that the spent cartridges remain linked to one another after exiting the cartridge outlet.
In certain aspects, the cartridge magazine is present in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun.
In certain aspects in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the cartridge magazine houses a plurality of connected cartridges with each cartridge connected to another cartridge by a flexible polymeric belt and includes a lubricating solution that partially coats the plurality of connected cartridges therein.
In certain aspects in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the lubricating solution is configured to cool and lubricate the firing assembly when firing cartridges from the gun and comprises a mixture of water, an unsaturated polyol, and silicone.
In certain aspects in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the firing assembly further comprises a plurality of biased rotatable firing pins, with at least one firing pin of the plurality of biased rotatable firing pins configured to axially align with the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed within the gun while in use and to move in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
In certain aspects in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the rotation member of motor drive assembly comprises a plurality of sprockets that are operatively connected to a drive motor, the plurality of sprockets are arranged to contact an inner surface of the endless belt and rotate the endless belt within the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun.
In certain aspects in the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the half breech or chamber of each link is formed on an outer surface of the endless belt opposite the inner surface of the endless belt.
In certain aspects, the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun further comprises a firing pin cam that houses the plurality of firing pins therein, an inner surface of the firing pin cam arranged as partially concentric rings having raised and recess portions in which when each rotatable firing pin rotates immediately from the raised to recess portion of the firing pin cam the firing pin moves radially outward aligning with a biasing cavity that biases the firing pin in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
In certain aspects, the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun is an automatic or semi-automatic firearm.
In certain aspects, the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun is a semi-automatic firearm.
In certain aspects, also disclosed is a plurality of assemblies configured for a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the plurality of assemblies comprising: (a) a chain drive assembly that configure to be operatively connected to a rotation member of a motor drive assembly in a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the chain drive assembly comprising an endless belt having a plurality of connected, individual links, with each individual link having a half breech or chamber formed thereon and in which the endless belt is configured to rotate within the gun when a trigger is actuated; (b) a firing assembly configured to be adjacent to and operatively connected to the chain drive assembly, the firing assembly comprising: (i) a plurality of rotatable barrels to be arranged on the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun; (ii) a rotatable barrel hub with a plurality of cartridge half breeches or chambers formed thereon, the rotatable barrel hub configured to synchronously rotate with the individual links of the endless belt such that each cartridge half breech or chamber formed on the rotatable barrel hub is configured to align with a corresponding half breech or chamber formed on each individual link of the endless belt to form a complete cartridge breech or chamber that is configured to temporarily house a cartridge therein before firing a cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels; and (iii) a cartridge inlet configured to align with a cartridge magazine and a spent cartridge outlet arranged opposite to the cartridge inlet.
In certain aspects, the plurality of assemblies further comprises: (c) a cartridge magazine configured to releasably and securely align with the cartridge inlet such that cartridges are configured to be fed from the magazine through the cartridge inlet into the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed by the aligned half breeches or chambers and rotate through the firing assembly such that spent cartridges exit the cartridge outlet such that the spent cartridges remain linked to one another after exiting the cartridge outlet.
In certain aspects in the plurality of assemblies, the cartridge magazine houses a plurality of connected cartridges with each cartridge connected to another cartridge by a flexible polymeric belt and includes a lubricating solution that partially coats the plurality of connected cartridges therein.
In certain aspects in the plurality of assemblies, the lubricating solution is configured to cool and lubricate the firing assembly when firing cartridges from the gun and comprises a mixture of water, an unsaturated polyol, and silicone.
In certain aspects in the plurality of assemblies, the firing assembly further comprises a plurality of biased rotatable firing pins, with at least one firing pin of the plurality of biased rotatable firing pins configured to axially align with the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed within the gun while in use and to move in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
In certain aspects in the plurality of assemblies, the half breech or chamber of each link is formed on an outer surface of the endless belt opposite the inner surface of the endless belt, with the inner surface of the endless belt configured to directly contact a rotation member of a motor drive assembly.
In certain aspects, the plurality of assemblies further comprises a firing pin cam that houses the plurality of firing pins therein, an inner surface of the firing pin cam arranged as partially concentric rings having raised and recess portions in which when each rotatable firing pin rotates immediately from the raised to recess portion of the firing pin cam, the firing pin moves radially outward aligning with a biasing cavity that biases the firing pin in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
Embodiments of the invention can include one or more or any combination of the above features and configurations.
Additional features, aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the invention as described herein. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present various embodiments of the invention, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention are better understood when the following detailed description of the invention is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the representative embodiments set forth herein. The exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention and enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make, use and practice the invention. Like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout the various drawings.
The embodiment described depicts a mechanism that incorporates a small caliber rim fire cartridge. This invention is scalable to any size, rim fire or center fire, cartridge.
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The barrel hub is driven by motor 100 as part of motor drive assembly 8. In this embodiment, the motor drives a 2:1 ratio gear reduction comprised of a drive gear 104 secured to the motor shaft by means of drive gear set screws 111, driving the driven gear 107 attached to the drive chain gear 108 by means of a plurality of driven gear screws 109. The motor 100 is connected to the drive gear housing 101. The drive gear housing 101 is attached to the driven gear housing 106 by means of a plurality of drive gear housing screws 102. This attachment captures the drive gear 104 and a distal and proximal drive gear bushing 103. The motor drive assembly 8 is secured to the mainframe housing 80 by means of a plurality of driven gear housing screws 105. The drive chain gear 108 is attached to the barrel hub 13 by chamber chain gear set screw 110.
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The wet-magazine assembly 6 is comprised of the magazine lid 170 and the magazine housing 171. The cartridge belt 172 is constructed with a high-temperature polyimide belt 174 that retains the cartridges 173 at a specific spacing to match the hub half-chamber 14 features in the barrel hub 13. The cartridge belt 172 is fan-folded in the magazine housing 171. A loader boss 175, an integral part of the magazine lid 170, and dampener spring 176 also part of the magazine lid 170, positions the first cartridge on cartridge belt 172 directly above and touching the top surface of loader boss 175. This positions the first cartridge 173 to be captured by the half-chamber chain 60 as the barrel hub 13 rotates. The dampener spring 176 also suppresses the inertia of the cartridge belt 172 in high-speed operation. A portion of the unused space in the wet-magazine 6 is filled with a solution 167 of water, propylene glycol and 1% silicone lubricant. This solution 167 is transferred by the cartridge belt 172 cools, lubricates, and prevents corrosion of the firing mechanism and proximal ends of the barrels 11.
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The firing pin cam 19 is held in a static non-rotating position by the safety actuator 90 and the eccentric safety shaft 89. The eccentric safety shaft 89 is secured to the safety actuator 90 by eccentric shaft set screw 92. The safety actuator 90 is retained in the safety actuator aperture 91 by spring clip 93 in the mainframe housing 80 as part of mainframe assembly 7. Safety actuator 90 is limited in rotation and stopped at fire and safety positions by safety stop pin 88 in mainframe housing 80. The safety actuator 90 is placed, by the user, in either the fire position or the safety position. In the fire position, the eccentric safety shaft 89 is located and constrained by the cam retainer well 31 on firing pin cam 19 fixing the cam relative to the mainframe. As the barrel hub 13 is rotated along with the firing pins 17, a cam follower 32 on firing pin 17 contacts and follows the cam ramp 20 on firing pin cam 19. As the barrel hub 13 rotates inside of the firing pin cam 19, pressure is increased by loading the firing pin springs 18. This pressure is translated through the thrust bearing 27 to cam stop 36 on barrel hub 13. As each firing pin 17 climbs the cam ramp 20, bias is increased on each firing pin spring 18 in turn. As the barrel hub 13 continues to rotate, the lead firing pin cam follower 32 reaches the sear face 21 on cam ramp 20. This is the firing position 37 defined by the point in the barrel hub 13 revolution where the half-chamber chain link 66 and hub half-chamber 14 are concentric and fully encase a cartridge. This firing position 37 is synchronized by the chain shaft gears 84 meshing with drive chain gear 108 as describe earlier. This position of the sear face 21 on cam ramp 20 allows the firing pin 17 and striker 24, by means of the cam loaded bias of the firing pin spring 18, to travel rapidly through the striker aperture 34 in barrel hub 13. The striker 24 then hits the cartridge primer with enough inertia to set off the primer and fire the bullet. All the firing pins follow this action in turn. In this embodiment, six bullets are fired per revolution of the barrel hub.
As the empty cartridges 169 are rotated around the barrel hub 13, the half-chamber chain link 66 separates from the barrel hub 13 and is taken up by the ejection drive sprocket 67 on the exit side. Ejector slot 15 in the barrel hub 13 and ejection pawl 161, part of the receiver assembly 5, strips the empty cartridges and cartridge belt 172 off the barrel hub 13 to be routed through the exit aperture 55 in the front housing 50 and out of the gun.
In the safety position of the safety actuator 90, the eccentric safety shaft 89 pushes against the retainer well 31 on firing pin cam 19 to slide the firing pin cam 19 back away from the normal firing position where the striker 24 cannot contact the cartridge.
When the bullet is fired, maximum pressure caused by the propellant is exerted on the split-breech half-chamber chain link 66 and hub half-chamber 14 on barrel hub 13. The half-chamber chain link 66 will tend to blow outward, away from the barrel hub 13. A pressure fence 74 is attached to the mainframe housing 80, and held concentric to the barrel hub 13 by means of a plurality of retaining screws 76. Contact of the link pressure face 64 on half-chamber chain link 66 and the stop surface 75 on the pressure fence 74 constrains this movement.
In normal operation, as the barrel hub 13 rotates, the high-temperature polyimide belt 174 on the cartridge belt 172 becomes trapped between the half-chamber chain link 66 and the barrel hub 13. A belt relief 16 in barrel hub 13 allows for the thickness on the high-temperature polyimide belt 174.
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Positive magnet 122 and negative magnet 135 are electrically isolated from the metal motor housing 120 by means of a plastic shoulder washer 123 and a plastic washer 124. The magnets are connected to the motor 100 by motor terminal screw 121, motor ring terminal 125 and nut 126.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62770238 | Nov 2018 | US |
