Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
6~1'
The present invention relates to a tank turret that houses a
vertically pivo~ing weapon, e.g.1 a tank gun9 and having an auxiliary
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gunnery- ca~ e.g., a sight or a gun position indicator such as a
resolver, which is installed so as to be able to pivot and moves in
conjunction with the weapon and a linkage system having attachment points
on the weapon and on the auxiliary gunnery instrument.
In a known tank turret of this kind, the linkage system is
configured as a double linkage rod, i.e., as two rods that are connected
through a joint. One free end of the double linkage rod is articulated
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at a distance from the gun support in the turret, the so-called ~Pa4~-
support, at the mantlet or the gun shield. The other free end of the double
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linkage rod is connected rigidly to thelg~mnery instrument, in this case the
gun position indicator in the form of a resolver.- In the event that the
gun is moved in the vertical plane, the auxiliary gunnery instrument in its
fixed position in the turret will be moved through the same angle by the
double linkage rod.
However, such a double linkage rod can lead to errors in transmission
of the angle in the event that there is play in the gun and auxiliary gunnery
instrument bearings. Such errors can also be caused by large variations in
temperature, for example when the metal turret is exposed by strong sunlight.
Since both the weapon and tha auxiliary gunnery instrument are installed in
the turret, their relative positions can change as a result of expansion of
the different parts of the turret. As a rule, the double linkage rod does not
expand equally, so that even if the weapon is in the basic position the
auxiliary gunnery instrument will be displaced by an incorrect angle that
corresponds to the difference in the lengths. Varying reactions to vibration
in the turret and the double linkage rod will also lead to dynamic transmission
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errors. In additionJ after installation the double linkage rod must be
adjusted to the basic clearance between the weapon and the auxiliary gunner
instrument, and this entails costly calibration of the weapon. Articulation
of the double linkage rod on the mantlet requires milling and free cutting
operations on the articulation point to ensure unrestricted mutual movement
of the weapon and the double linkage rod. In most instances this leads to a
- weakening of the mantlet armour.
In another known armoured vehicle turret~ the resolver is flange-
mounted directly on the mantlet in order to avoid errors in angle transmission.
Although this leads to transmission errors that are caused by the linkage
system, bearing play will cause such errors as beiore, and thqse can become
quite considerable in extended turret service life.
~bove all else, however, access to the resolver is very poor so that
the weapon itself has to be dismounted in order that routine maintenance work
or the like can be carried out. In the event that a sighting device is
coupled there is no possibility of resorting to such a solution~ since design
options are greatly restricted because of the prescribed spatial arrangement
of the sight.
The present invention aims to provide a tank turret of the type
described above, which ensures reliable direct transmission of the angular
position of the weapon to an auxiliary gunnery instrument arranged in the
turret apart from the weapon mounting, that will retain its reliability even
if there is play in the weapon and/or auxiliary gunnery instrument bearings
as in the event of temperature variations.
The invention provides a tank turret that houses a vertically
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pivoting w~apon, an auxiliary gunnery weapon installed so as to be able to
pivot and move in conjunction with the weapon~ and a linkage system having
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attachment points on the weapon and on the awxiliary gunnery instrument, said
linkage system comprising a linkage parallelogram made up of two longitudinal
rods and two cross struts and a sliding bearing formed by two bearing elements
that can move relative to each other, at least said longitudinal rods are
configured identically, one of said two bearing elements being secured in a
fixed pivot bearing, having a pivot axis that is transverse to the direction
of displacement of the other bearing element, through at least one pivot
bearing trunnion the other bearing element being rigidly secured on one said
cross strut, said trunnion that is connected to said one bearing element~
and the other cross strut that is furthest from the sliding bearing forming
the attachment points for the linkage system to which the weapon and the
auxiliary gunnery instrument are rigidly attached~
The linkage system of the invention entails the advantage that
translational movements of the weapon in the horizontal or vertical
direction resulting from ree play in the bearings, lead only to a shifting of
the linkage parallelogram and/or rods in the guide sleeves of the sliding
bearings but do not cause any rotary movement of the guide sleeve in the
~trunnion) bearings. Only vertical slewing movement of the gun and its
associated mantlet produces pivoting of the guide sleeve and thereby an
exact angular slewing of the auxiliary gunnery instrument.
Changes in temperature do not lead to any transmission errors. The
longitudinal rods of the linkage parallelogram, which are located inside the
turret are not exposed to such high temperatures as the outside of the
turret itsel~. Any temperature changes cause equal changes in the lengths
of the two longitudinal rods because of the identical configuration of these
rods, and will thus lead only to a shifting of the rod in the guide sleeve.
Since both of the longitudinal rods are configured in an identical manner they
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both display the same behaviour when subjected to vibration. equal
vibrations on both longitudinal rods cause only oscillation of the rod in
the guide sleeve and have no e~fect on the auxiliary gunnery instrument, so
that it is even possible to eliminate dynamic transmission errors. The
linkage parallelogram can be calibrated or zeroed outside the turret, and
this effectively eliminates the need to carry out time-consuming adjustment
procedures inside the turret.
Preferably it is the cross strut farthest from the sliding bearing
that is connec~ed to the weapon. Because of this, only one pivot bearing
fixed in the turret is needed for the auxiliary gunnery instrument and the
sliding bearing. Preferably the cross strut away from the sliding bearing
is located on the back of the mantlet so that the linkage system can be
installed and arranged in the most favourable position according to the
possible spatial installation conditions. There is absolutely no need to
make modifications on the mantlet, which always leads to a weakening of the
armour.
One cross strut can be constituted by the mantlet itself. Even
though this makes it possible to eliminate the cross rod that is remote from
the sliding bearing, it entails the disadvantage that the linkage parallelogram
can no longer be zeroed outside the turret.
It is possible to compensate for low order vibration in the linkage
pa~allelogram by an intermediate cross strut that is supported flexible
between the longitudinal rods.
The invention ~ill be described in greater detail below, on the
basis of an exemplary embodiment tha~ is illustrated in the drawings appended
hereto. These drawings provide schematic representations of the following:
Figure 1, a longitudinal part cross-section of a tank turret;
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~ igure 2, a perspective view of the gun, linkage system and
auxiliary gunneryinstrument of Figure l; and
Figure 3~ a perspective drawing of a cross shaft o the linkage
system shown in Figure 2, according to a further embodiment.
The front section 10 of the tank turret shown in Figure 1 incorporates
a weapon 11 that can ~e elevated and depressed and is represented in this
illustration by a tank gun. The part 12 in the tùrret which is required for
this is covered by a gun mantlet 13 ~also called a gun shield). The mantlet 13
surrounds the actual gun barrel 14 and is rigidly connected to it. On both
sides, transverse to the axis of the bore 15 the mantlet 13 has trunnions 16,
supported in bearing shells 17 of a main trunnion bearing 18~
Within the turret an auxiliary gunnery instrument is mounted and
this too can pivot in a vertical diroction. In this particular instance,
this auxiliary gunnery instrument is a gun position indicator configured as
a resolver; this replicates the movements of the gun and displays the elevated
position of the gun 11 in the form of electrical values. The gun position
indicator 19 is connected to the gun 11 through a linkage system 20 in such
a manner that an angle of elevation/depression of the gun 11 in the vertical
direction will cause the gun position indicator 19 to move through an identical
vertical angle.
The linkage system 20 consists of a linkage parallelogram 21 and
a sliding bearing 22. The linkage parallelogram 21 consists of two
longitudinal rods 23 and 24 and two cross braces 25 and 26, being connected
through joints 27 that preferably move freely about three axes. At least the
two longitudinal rods 23 and 24 are configured in identical fashion, i.e.,
of materials of the same kind, of equal material strength, and the same length.
The sliding bearing 22 has a guide sleeve 28 and a sliding rod 29 that moves
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within this. The rod 29 is secured rigidly to cross brace 25. The guide
sleeve 28 of the sliding bearing 22 is housed in a pivot bearing 30 that is
fixed in the turret. In this regard the bearing axis 31 of the pivot bearing
is oriented at right angles to the direction of movement of the sliding rod 29.
Two trunnions 32 and 33 protrude transversely from the guide sleeve 28, and
these form the pivot bearing 30 with the bearing shells 44. The trunnion 33
extends beyond the bearing shell 34, and at one end bears the gun position
indicator 19 that is connected rigidly to it and thus replicates the same
slewing movements as the guide sleeve 28. The other cross brace 26 that is
furthest from the sliding bearing is secured rigidly to the back 35 of the
mantlet 13. The cross brace 26 and the trunnion 34 of the pivot bearing 30
thus form the points of attachment for the linkage system to the gun 11, on
the one hand, and to the gun position indicator on the other. The cross brace
26 can be attached anywhere on the rear 35 of the mantlet 13, with the result
that space constraints relevant to the installation of the gun position
indicator 19 and the linkage system 20 can be readily met.
A cross brace 36 is provided in order to avoid low order vibrations
in the case of relatively long longitudinal rods 23 and 24 and this is
mounted flexibly at the centre of the longitudinal rods 23 and 24.
If the weapon 11 is now moved vertically through ~he angle ~
~Figure 1~, which is to say in the plane of the drawing of Figure 1, then
this vertical movement will be transmitted through the linkage parallelogram
21, that will move in a corresponding manner, and through the guide sleeve
28 of the sliding bearing 22 which will be moved in its pivot bearing 30
through the identical angle ~Figure 1). Because the gun position indicator 19
is rigidly connected through the trunnion 33 with the guide sleeve 28, this
will bring about an equal vertical displacement of the gun position indicator
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19 through the angle ~. Thus a corresponding electrical value can be taken
from the electrical output of the gun position indicator 19 or resolver.
Vertical and hori~ontal movements of the weapon 11 in its pivot
bearings 18 ~bearing play~ will displace the linkage parallelogram 21 and
shift the sliding rod 29 in the guide sleeve 28, but will cause no rotation
of the guide sleeve 28 in its pivot bearing 30. Chang0s in the lengths of
the two longitudinal rods 23, 24 as a result of temperature effects are
equally large because of the identical configuration of the longitudinal rods
23, 24,a~d thus only shift the sliding rod 29 in the guide sleeve 28, to
the exclusion of any sort of rotational movement of the guide sleeve 28.
The invention is not restricted to the embodiment described above.
Thus, a sighting device ~hat is moved by the weapon 11 can take the place of
the gun position indicator l9. Neither the layout nor the method of operation
change as a result of this.
It is possible to eliminate the cross strut 26 that is furthest
from the sliding bearing and assign its function to the mantlet 13. In
this c3se the longitudinal rods 23 and 24 must be articulated onto the back 35
of the man~let, separated from each other by a specific interval that
corresponds to the length o~ the cross strut 25.
Furthermore, it is also possible to reverse the linkage system 20
in such a manner that the attachment points for the linkage system on the
weapon 11 and the gun position indicator 19 are exchanged with each other,
such that the cross strut 26 is connected to the gun position indicator 19
and the trunnion 33 is connected to the weapon 11, to a trunnion 16.
In the same way, the guide sleeve 28 and the slide rod 29 can be
reversed in the way they are attached to the cross strut 25 and the pivot
bearing 30. In this case the guide sleeve 29 is connected rigidly to the
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cross strut 25, whereas the slide rod 29 is held in the pivot bearing 20
through the trunnions 32, 33 in such a manner as to permit it to pivot.
This provides a better connection of the cross strut 25 and the sliding
bearing 22, although greater moving masses result and this entails an
increasecl risk of vibration.
A particularly effective configuration of the cross strut 25, 26
as a so-called cross spring element 37 is illustrated in Figure 3. These
cross spring elements are intended to even out those slight changes in the
attachment points of the linkage system 20 on the weapon 11 or the axis of
the fixed pivot bearing 22 as may be necessitated by diferences in the
tolerances involved, so that post-installation adjustment of the linkage
system 20 in the turret becomes unnecessary. It is most expedient if the
linkage system is so configured that the plane spanned by the longitudinal
rods 23, 24 as well as a plane that extends through the plane of the direction
of displacement of the sliding bearing 22 and one passing through the plane
of the axis of the bore 15 are for the most part parallel.
The joint connectors of the linkage parallelogram 21 between the
longitudinal rods 23, 24 and the cross strut 25, 26 are configured as cross
struts 27 with one degree of freedom when this cross spring element 37 is used
as the cross struts 25, 26, as they are represented by one pivot bearing 30.
Each cross spring element 37 has two prismatic installation blocks 38, 39
which, when the surface diagonals 40, 41 (shown by broken lines in Figure 3)
are aligned, abut on each other on a long edge 42, 43. The two installation
blocks 38, 39 are secured to each other by crossed spring bands 44~ 45, and
46 that are under tension. The ends of the longitudinal rods 23, 24 are
articulated on one installation block 38 with their pivot axes 47, 48
transverse to the long edge 42, whereas in the case of the cross strut 26 the
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weapon, and in the case o~ the cross strut 26 the sliding rod 29 o~ the
sliding bearing 22 is secured rigidly to the other installation block 39.
