Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
"LARGE CA?~CITY MOBILE STORE FOR BELT-FED ~UNITION~ SUITABLE
FOR ~ ONS OF HIGH FIRING R~TE. 1l
_ _ . _ _ _ _ . . _
Normally, carriage-mo~nted weapons of high firing rate
which are ed by ammuniti~n connected together by means of
links which form the belt2 require a store of ammunition
ready for firing which is of convenient capacity, i.e.
suitable for enabling the high firing rate to be sustained
for a time sufficient to obtain destruction of the target.
Moreover, it is apparent that the ammunition must be conveyed
continuously from the store to the weapon, synchronously with
the weapon firing rate.
With regard to the capacity of the ammunition store, it
is apparent that the more valid the weapon system th~ greater
the number of firing operations that can be carried out
without any manual loading being required.
The conveying of the ammunition from the store to the
weapon requires a source of energy which is external to that
produced by the weapon~ and is greater the larger the quantity
of ammunition to be moved during a time corresponding to the
firing rate of the weapon. Considerable acceleration,
braking, inertia and other problems result from this.
The object of the present invention i5 therefore to
obviate the drawbacks of the known art by providing an
ammunition store which has a high capacity, but in which the
withdrawal operation involves the movement of only a small
quantity of ammunition~ so that the power required for convey~
ing the belt to the weapor. is minimal, both with regard to the
acceleration and to the related inertia phenomena9 which are
particularly important when firing in short bursts.
This is attained according to the invention by providing
a store for ammunition in belt form comprising a container
divided internally into vertica:L sectors having a width not
less than the minimum outer dimension which one belt lo~p can
possess~ the belt being disposed in the form of loops in each
of said sectors and straddling each dividing wall to extend
into the loop contained in the next sector~ the container
being supported in a mobile manner so as to move the mouth of
each sector in succession i to a position corresponding with
a withdrawal path for the belt for its feeding to the weapont
drive means also being provided for moving the container
synchronously with the withdrawal of the belt from each
sector.
The main characteristics and advantages of an ammunition
store according to the invention wi l be more apparent from
the description of embodiments given hereinafter by way of
example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figures 1 and 2 are general partly sectional diagrammatic
elevation and plan views of a weapon carriage comprising sn
ammunition store according to the invention;
Figures ~ and 4 are vertical and plan sectional views of
a store which is operationally equivalent to that shown in
Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 5 shows a further ammunition storage scheme.
With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2~ the
ammunition store accordin.l to the invention is formed from a
cylindrical container of annular cross section indicated
overall by 10.
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The annular chamber formed in the container is divided
into sectors 11 by walls 12.
The entire container 10 is supp~rted by a rotating
support 13 of any known type. ~he reference numeral 14
diagrammatically indicates a motor able to rotate the support,
and thus the contsiner, about their axes.
In the container 10 -there is disposed a belt of
ammunition indicated by 15, which forms a loop in each sector
11, then straddling the diriding walls 12~ to thus assume a
type of festoon arrangement.
The belt is withdrawn vertically from the corresponding
sector along the vertical through one zone of the container,
and is fed to a weapon illustrated partly and dia~ ammatically
by 16.
The guide de~ices for the belt between the container
outlet and the weapon are not described in detail herein9 as
their configuration is not essential for attaining the object
of the invention, and thus any of the kno~ forms of the art
can be chosen for them.
It is apparent from Figures 1 and 2 that the belt is
withdrawn substantially along the vertical through the sector
containing the belt loop concerned, so that the members for
feeding the belt to the weapon nPed only lift a belt height
which at its maximum is equal to the height of the container
plus the distance between the weapon and the top of the
container. The same length of belt must be accelerated at
the beginning of a series of firing bursts.
~ he successive sectors must be fed into the position for
withdrawal of the belt in a manner which is synchronous with
the withdrawal its~lf. In short~ the container must make ~n
angular movement equal to the angular distance between two
adjacent sectors when the number of shots which have been
fired is equal to the number contained in a belt loop contain-
ed in one sector.
This synchronisation is easily attained by taking a shot
counting signal from the weapon and feeding it along a line
17 to the motor 14 in order to control the feed of the
container so that it is proportional to the number of shots,
2S heretofore stated.
Alternatively, the line 17 can obtain the shot counting
signal from a device sens-t~ve to the length of belt fed to
the weapon, and in2icated diagra~matically by 18 in Fig~ 2r
This device can coincide with a motor-driven feeder for
feeding the belt to the weapon, if the characteristics of the
weapon concerned include this.
Because of its characteristicsg the ammunition container
does not need to be movea in a manner which is rigidly
synchronous with the withdrawal, and a slight deviation from
vertical alignment between the sector being emptied and the
members for feeding the belt to the weapon is allowable. It
follows that the container can be moved either with stepwise
or continuous movement, as is most suitable.
Even a slight time lag between the emptying and the
movement of the contahner is allowable.
Figures 1 and 2 show a particularly advantageous
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embodiment of an ammunition container according to the
in~ention~ for which the annular form is extremely rational.
Inter alia~ this form is suitable for serving two or
more paired and/or superposed weapons, each of which with-
draws from the container in diametrically opposite sectors.
~Iowever, other forms are possible.
Figures 3 and 4 show a rectilinear container 20 whichcan be considered conceptually as the development of the
annular container shown in Figure 2.
In this case, the container 20 is obviously mounted on
a support for its rectilinear sliding, indicated by way of
example by 21~ and a motor 22 drives it in this movement on
command.
The container is divided by dividing walls 23 into
sectors 24, and the motor acts in the sense of moving the
container in such a manner as to maintain the sector being
emptied vertically below the withdrawal path indicated
partly by 25.
The container can extend in the form of two rows o~
sectors 24 and 24' as shown in plan view in Figure 5, if the
belt has a transverse deformability such as to enable a loop
of oblique arrangement to be formed in the end sector~ so as
to pass from the last secto~ of one series to the adjacent
sector, before passing to the other series.
Further embodiments can be conceived by the expert of
the art, all lying within the scope of the inventive idea.
