US3461774A - Ammunition holder having compartments to receive a cartridge belt - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 19, 1969 F MAURER ETAL 3,461,774

AMMUNITION HOLDER HAVING COMPARTMENTS. TO

RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1968 IIIITIIII/IIIIIIAJ/I/I III! III 4 Ill/Jl/lh/l/IIIAJ b W WWW M m ,m 1 Z Jm W I F MM w Aug. 19, 1969 F. MAURER ETAL 394315174 AMMUNITION HOLDER HAVING COMPARTMENTS T0 RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT Filed June 13, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FRFIZ MALWER Mu HIWQPETE NWH:

lmleuraes United States Patent 3,461,774 AMMUNITION HOLDER HAVING COMFART- MENTS TO RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT Fritz Maurer, Gontenschwil, and Hanspeter Novet, Uster, Switzerland, assignors to Werkzeugmaschinenfabnk Oerlikon Buhrle & C0., Zurich, Switzerland Filed June 13, 1968, Ser. No. 737,788 Claims priority, application Switzerland, June 16, 1967, 8,603/ 67 Int. Cl. F41c 25/02 U.S. C]. 89-34 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ammunition container having compartments which are emptied in succession on withdrawal of the ammunition contained in a carriage belt, the latter being guided over the previously emptied compartments. For this guiding a flap is provided which in turn is articulated on a swivellablepart of the wall disposed between two compartments. This flap covers the previously emptied compartment and prevents the cartridge belt from passing into said previously emptied compartment as it is withdrawn.

The invention relates to an ammunition holder having a plurality of compartments to receive a cartridge belt in loop form, which cartridge belt, during extraction, is guided over a compartment which has already been emptied by means of a flap which is articulated to one' wall of the compartment and covers the empty compartment at least partially, said flap forming a supporting surface for the cartridge belt to be extracted.

An ammunition holder of this kind is known wherein the cartridge belt is arranged in a plurality of loops in each compartment. In this case there is a danger of the cartridge belt being displaced and reliable conveying of the cartridge belt is no longer assured. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which renders it possible to make the compartment so small that only a single loop of the cartridge belt can be accommodated in order to prevent displacement of the cartridge belt. This is achieved in that said wall of the compartment comprises a plate which is pivotally secured in the holder, said flap being articulated to said plate.

With the above and other objects in view which will become apparent from the detailed description below, a preferred embodiment of the ammunition holder is shown in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a vertical section through an ammunition holder, the guiding and stacking of a cartridge belt in the holder being illustrated diagrammatically;

FIGURE 2 shows a partition in the ammunition holder illustrated in FIGURE 1, partially in elevation and partially in section on the line IllI in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 3 shows a view in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 2 with a plurality of flaps in different positions during the filling of the holder.

According to FIGURES 1 and 2, the ammunition holder comprises a front wall 1, a rear wall 2, a cover 3 and a bottom 4. Apertures are formed in the front wall 1 and are closed by removable doors 6 to which there are secured handles 7 which facilitate the removal and fitting of the doors. Compartments are formed by partitions 8 disposed perpendicularly with respect to the front and rear walls 1 and 2. These partitions 8 are secured to the walls 1 and 2 and do not extend as far as the cover 3. As can be seen from FIGURE 1, these compartments are all equal in size with the exception of the last compartment which is narrower.

As shown in FIGURE 2, two plates 10, to each of which there is welded a strap 11 or 12, are secured to the fronts of each of the partitions 8. Welded to the strap 11 is a first sleeve 13, the axis of which is directed parallel to the plane of the partition 8. A second sleeve 14, which is disposed coaxially with the first sleeve 13 and has a flange 15, is mounted for rotation in the strap 12. A further strap 16 is welded to the sleeve 14. Secured to this strap 16 is a pin 17 which is disposed parallel to the axis of the sleeve 14.

Mounted for displacement and rotation on the sleeve 14 is a third sleeve 18 which has a flange 19 which comprises a groove 20. The pin 17 projects into this groove 20. Mounted in the interior of the sleeves 14 and 18 is a spring 21 which bears on the one hand against a shoulder 22 on the bore in the sleeve 14 and on the other hand against a shoulder on the bore in the sleeve 18. This spring 21 tends to urge the two sleeves 14 and 18 apart. On the pin 17 there is a pin 23 against which the flange 19 bears under the action of the spring 21. The width of the groove 20 cut in the sleeve flange 19 is greater than the diameter of the pin 17.

The sleeve 14 is secured against axial displacement in the strap 12 on the one hand by the strap 16 secured to the sleeve and on the other hand by a nut 24 screwed on to the sleeve 14.

The sleeves 13 and 14 are splined internally. The two ends of a torsion bar 25, which are likewise splined, project into the sleeves 13 and 14 so that the bar 25 is held against rotation in the sleeves 13, 14. The torsion bar 25 is secured against axial displacement in the sleeve 14 by a pin 26. In the strap 16 there is a groove 29, one face of which bears, under the action of the initially tensioned torsion bar 25, against the back of the plate 10, so that the torsion bar 25 tends to pivot the strap 16 in counterclockwise direction in accordance with FIGURE 3.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the sleeve 18 comprises a square bore 28 at its left-hand end. As shown in FIGURE 3, the flange 19 of the sleeve 18 is substantially rectangular, and the lower narrow side of the flange 19 does not extend down as far as the end face 30 of the plate 10. Furthermore, the flange 19 comprises an extension 29 which projects downwards beyond said end face 30 of the plate 10 and forms a stop in relation to the plate 10.

At its front face, this extension 29 comprises a recess 31. A face 32 of this recess is directed radially with respect to the axis of the sleeve and is inclined in relation to the back of the plate 10 in the position shown. When the sleeve 18 is in the position shown in FIGURE 2, the flange 19 is in front of a groove 33 which is provided in the end face 30 of the plate 10. This groove 33 is wider than the thickness of the sleeve flange 19.

As shown in FIGURE 2, two lobes 35 project laterally from a plate 34 and are welded to the two straps 16 and 36. In its initial position, the plate 34 is in the same plane as the partition 8. The strap 36 is mounted for pivoting on the sleeve 13. A guide plate 37 is secured to the rear of the plate 34. The lower portion of this guide plate 37 is inclined at an acute angle in relation to the plate 34 and merges into an upper portion which is arched and extends forwards over the end face of the plate 34 as far as the flap described below.

As FIGURE 2 shows, secured to the front of the plate 34 are two supports 38 in which there is mounted a spindle 39 which extends parallel thereto and the ends of which project laterally beyond the plate. A plane flap 40 which is directed perpendicular to the plate 34 in the initial position, is connected to two hub members 41 mounted for rotation on the ends of the shaft 39. Secured to the side of the flap 40 directed towards the inner wall 1 of the holder is a guide member 42 which is likewise pivotally mounted on the shaft 39 and of which the plane face 58 facing the outer wall 2 of the holder is perpendicular to 3 the flap 40 and parallel to the wall 1. As shown in FIG- URE 3, the rear boundary face 43 of the hub portion of the guide member 42 is inclined upwards from the front towards the rear seen in the outgoing direction of the belt.

Mounted on a spindle 45 which is secured to the flap 40 and projects outwards therefrom and which is directed parallel to its spindle 39 is a lever 46 which is situated in front of the spindle 39 but somewhat higher and which comprises a bore 47, the axis of which is directed perpendicular to the axis of its hub 48 and lies in the same plane as this. The bore 47 serves to guide one end of a rod 49, the other end of which is held in a hub 58 which is pivotable on the sleeve 13 rigidly connected to the strap 11. Under the action of a spring 51 which is wound round the bar 49 and bears on the one hand against the hub 50 and on the other hand against the lever 46, the flap 40 is urged towards the face 43 of the guide member 42 of the adjacent, front flap 40, which face acts as a stop, and is thus held in a position perpendicular to the plate 34.

The mode of operation of the device described is as follows:

When the holder is empty, all the flaps 40 are in the position which is assumed by that flap which is associated with the wall designated by the letter C in FIGURE 3. In this position, the flaps 48 of successive compartments form a substantially coherent and smooth surface over which the belt 57 can slide with the lugs 54 projecting to the fore and to the rear from its belt members and lying in one plane (FIGURE 2). Furthermore, the faces 58 of the guide members 42 form a substantially continuous guide surface, perpendicular to the flaps, for the front lugs 54 of the belt members 53.

If the holder is accommodated in a tank, for example, and is not accessible from above, the doors are removed from the wall 1 before the holder is filled. Then, at that holder wall 8 which bounds the rear compartment and which is designated by H in FIGURE 1, the plate 34 is brought into a position, in the manner described below, such as is assumed by the plate 34 of the wall 8 designated by the letter B in FIGURE 3. By means of a spanner indicated in chain line in FIGURE 2 and designated 59, which is inserted in the square bore 28 in the sleeve 18, the sleeve 18 is displaced against the pressure of the spring 21 until the shoulder 63 strikes against the end face of the sleeve 14, that is to say so far that the center of the flange 19 lies above the middle of the groove 33 in the plate 10. Then the sleeve 18 is first turned in clockwise direction (as seen in FIGURE 3) until the left-hand flank of the groove 20 in its flange 19 touches the pin 17. During further rotation, the pin 17, and hence also the strap 16 and the plate 34 connected thereto, is pivoted about the axis, forming the pivot axis, of the rod acting as a torsion spring, and this is thus tensioned. During this rotation, the extension 29 on the flange 19 moves through the groove 33. The end position of the plate 34 is reached when the right-hand flank of the strap groove 27 strikes against the plate 10 and the face 32 bounding the recess 31 in the sleeve flange 19 lies in the same plane as the rear of the plate 10. After a slight movement of the sleeve 18 directed away from the wall 8, its face 32 lies behind the portion 60, bordering on the groove 33, of the plate 10 against which it bears when no further force counteracting the tension of the bar 25 acts on the sleeve 18.

During the pivoting of the plate 34, the inclined face 52 of the guide member 42 of the flap 49 which is also pivoting is displaced downwards along the inclined face 43 of the guide member 42 which is connected to the adjacent, front plate 34. Furthermore, the front plate 34 enters an incision in the flap 40.

The belt is pulled, by an operator reaching through the door openings in the holder, into the inside and past a guide roller 61 which is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the belt inlet and outlet 62 cut out of the cover 3. It is pulled towards the rear over the flaps and over the inclined plate 34 of the wall l-l (FIGURE 1) into the rearmost compartment adapted to receive the end of the belt.

The resistances to movement acting on the belt are reduced by the inclined position of the plate 34 in that the angle at which the belt engages round the face of the plate 34 becomes smaller.

After this rearmost compartment has been filled, the sleeve 18 (FIGURE 2) is again displaced by the pressure exerted thereon until it strikes with its shoulder 63 against the sleeve 14. As a result, the buttressing of the locking face 32 ceases so that the plate 34 is returned under the action of the torsion bar 25 into the position of rest in which it is directed in the same manner as the wall 8. During this return of the plate 34, the sleeve 18 is also displaced by the pin 17. When the plate 34 has reached the end position, however, the sleeve 18 has only covered a portion of its travel into the initial position. The complete turning back is effected by means of the spanner 59, whereupon the sleeve 18 is urged into the initial position as shown in FIGURE 2 by the spring 21.

Before the second compartment from the rear can be filled, the plate 34 of the wall designated by J in FIGURE 1 is inclined in the manner described above. Then the flap 40 covering the compartment is pivoted about the pin 45 against the pressure of the spring 51 acting thereon on a lever arm which becomes even smaller as the rotation increases, until its front edge strikes against the plate 34 in which position a slight opening movement originating from the force of the spring 51 still acts thereon. The belt 57 is now drawn into the compartment over the flap 40 of the empty compartments situated in front of this compartment. During the course of this, as FIGURE 3 shows, the belt forms a loop which is pulled downwards first along the flap 40 and the guide plate 37 substantially parallel therewith and then further down along the two walls 8 bounding the compartment. The belt 57 bears with the central faces 55 of the belt member 53 which were in the same plane as the lugs 54 against the guide plate 37 when it slides along this.

After the compartment has been filled (FIGURE 6) the plate 34 of the wall is restored into the position of rest in the manner described above.

As FIGURE 1 further shows, the spacing between two walls 8 bounding a compartment corresponds substantially to the width of the belt loop measured over the belt members and determined by the size of the belt members 53 and the diameter of the cartridges 56 held therein. The width of the inlet of a filled compartment is less than the width of the belt loop as a result of the flap 40 projecting therein and of the guide plate 37 projecting from the plate 34 of the opposite wall 8, but is so large that there is room for the two strands of the belt extending away from the loop. The remaining compartments are progressively filled in succession from the rear towards the front in the same manner as this second compartment from the rear.

When the weapon which is fed by the belt is fired, the holder is emptied in reverse sequence to the filling, that is to say first the compartment situated closest to the holder opening 62 and then the other compartment progressively from the front towards the rear. As soon as a compartment is emptied, the flap 40 articulated to its rear wall is restored, under the action of the spring 51, to the position of rest in which, with the flap 40 of the compartments previously emptied, it forms the slideway for the belt 57 running towards the holder opening 62. During the emptying of a compartment, when the loop of the belt 57 reaches the region of the plate 34 of the walls, the necessary size of outlet corresponding to its width is provided by the fact that it urges the plate 34 into an inclined position as shown in FIGURE 3 out of which this is restored to the position of rest by the torsion bar 25 after the belt has been withdrawn completely from the compartment.

We claim:

1. An ammunition container comprising two com partments for receiving a cartridge belt in loop form so that first one and then the other of said compartments can be emptied, a wall between said two compartments, a swivellably fastened plate on said wall forming a part of said wall, a flap swivellably articulated on said plate for partly covering the compartment adapted to be emptied first after it has been emptied, said flap forming a guide for the cartridge belt over the emptied compartment in the withdrawal of the cartridge belt from the compartment which has not yet been emptied.

2. An ammunition container according to claim 1, having a plurality of flaps on each of which there is provided a stop and a spring, said Spring tending to press its associated flap against the stop on a neighboring flap.

3. An ammunition contained according to claim 2 wherein a torque applied by the spring to the flap is at its maximum when the flap strikes against the stop of a neighboring flap.

4. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein a guide plate forms a transition from said wall to the flap.

5. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein a torsion spring is fastened at one end of said wall and at the other end on said plate to swivel said plate into the plane of said wall.

6. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein with said swivellable plate has a first and second end position with a swivelling range between said two end positions. and two stops are provided for limiting said swivelling range in said two end positions.

7. An ammunition container according to claim 6 wherein a torsional spring is fastened at one end on said wall and at the other end on said plate tending to swivel said plate in the first end position in which said plate is situated in the same plane as said wall and a locking device is provided by which said plate can be locked in the second end position against the force of said torsion spring.

8. An ammunition container according to claim 7 comprising an axially slidable sleeve having a groove, a bolt on said plate projecting into said groove, a first projection on said sleeve, a second projection on said wall, said first projection being brought into engagement with said second projection by sliding said sleeve to secure said plate in said second end position against the force of said torsion spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,459,934 1/ 1949 Haberlin BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner S'l'lf'f'PI-[EN (I. BIFNVIEY, Assistant Examiner

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