US3653289A

US3653289A - Cartridge belt feed systems for automatic weapons

Info

Publication number: US3653289A
Application number: US882155A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bernard Maillard
Original assignee: Brevets Aero Mecaniques SA
Current assignee: Brevets Aero Mecaniques SA
Priority date: 1969-07-14
Filing date: 1969-12-04
Publication date: 1972-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-04-04
Also published as: CH518516A; FR2051717A1; DE2030476A1; LU59100A1; DE2030476B2; GB1309458A; FR2051717B1

Abstract

A cartridge belt feed system for automatic weapons has an ammunition bearer which feeds a cartridge belt into the weapon. The belt grips each cartridge by a link with front and rear claws, having inwardly bent tips forming flat inclined tabs lying within the apparent cross-section of the claw. The links react against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture of the ammunition bearer base-plate, through the outer lateral walls of the tabs. The inclinations of the contact and reaction surfaces of the tabs and lips are such that they co-operate reversibly and permit subsequent extraction of the cartridge in conjunction with a radial distension of the claws. The reaction surfaces may be bevels at the respective claw levels. The front bevels extend higher than the rear ones, to incline the cartridge forwards on insertion.

Description

Uite Sates atent aillard 1 Apr. 4, 1972 [541 CARTRIDGE BELT FEED SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATIC WEAPONS 21 Appl. No.: 882,155

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 14, 1969 Switzerland ..59l00/69 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,388,943 11/1945 Alter ..89/35 A Maillard ..89/33 CA Lochhead ..89/33 C Primary Examiner-Samuel W. Engle Assistant Examiner-Stephen C. Bentley Attorney-Larson, Taylor & Hinds [5 7] ABSTRACT A cartridge belt feed system for automatic weapons has an ammunition bearer which feeds a cartridge belt into the weapon. The belt grips each cartridge by a link with front and rear claws, having inwardly bent tips forming flat inclined tabs lying within the apparent'cross-section of the claw. The'links react against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture of the ammunition bearer base-plate, through the outer lateral walls of the tabs. The inclinations of the contact and reaction surfaces of the tabs and lips are such that they co-operate reversibly and permit subsequent extraction of the cartridge in conjunction with a radial distension of the claws. The reaction surfaces may be bevels at the respective claw levels. The front bevels extend higher than the rear ones, to incline the cartridge forwards on insertion.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEEBAPR 41912 3,653,289

SHEET 2 [1F 2 CARTRIDGE BELT FEED SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATIC WEAPONS This invention relates to ammunition feed systems for automatic weapons, of the kind in which the cartridges to be supplied to the weapon are interconnected by links each of which clamps a cartridge and is hingedly connected to the two adjacent links, the plurality of cartridges interlinked thus forming a flexible belt which is conveyed to the weapon by drive means (hereinafter referred to as the ammunition bearer) which, together with said links, will herein be regarded as the essential component parts of the feed system.

The invention relates more particularly though not exclusively to feed systems of this kind intended for automatic weapons having a caliber lying between 20 millimeters and 50 millim ters.

Already known are so-called direct feed type feed systems of this kind, in which the ammunition bearer includes a base-plate embodying a longitudinal insertion aperture upon the lateral lips of which the link clamping the first cartridge to be fed into the weapon reacts through the medium of front and rear claws, the cartridge then occupying a so-called insertion position in which it is engaged from the rear by the guns sliding bolt, as the same moves back into its shut position, so as to be extracted from its link by being thrust forward until it occupies its firing position in the breech prior to being struck by the firing-pin.

However, in the direct feed type systems resorted to heretofore, the link surrounding the cartridge in its insertion position usually reacts against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture through the end-sections of the front and rear claws on the link, these end-sections being splayed outwards slightly in relation to the apparent circular transverse contour of the link, whereby to form bearing tabs.

A result of this arrangement was that the tips of the front and rear claws of the link, having been splayed outwardly thus, were not in contact with the cartridge in its insertion position and in no way helped to restrain the latter, which was consequently gripped by the claw in question over a circumferential arc of smaller angular aperture than the circumferential arc corresponding to the total cross-section of the claw, i.e. to the cross-section encompassing the tab-shaped tips of the claw in question.

Because the are over which the cartridge is clamped by the link claws governs the degree of restraint exerted by said link, it became necessary, in the case of links having claws which gripped through the end-sections of tabs splayed away from the base circumference of the claw, and in order to ensure a predetermined clamping arc, to extend the tips of the claws by a length approximately equal to that of the bearing tabs requiring to be formed on said tips.

On the other hand, this oversizing of the link claws resulted in the cartridge being in a more raised firing position, which in turn complicated the problem of having the cartridge engaged by the sliding bolt of the gun.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved cartridge feed system of this kind which is free from the above-mentioned drawback of feed systems employing clawed links which react against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture through the edges of outwardly splayed end tabs.

The ammunition feed system according to this invention includes an ammunition bearer which is devised so as to successively fetch the cartridges, interconnected by links having front and rear claws, into an insertion position wherein the link clamping the associated cartridge reacts, through said front and rear claws, against the lateral lips of an insertion aperture formed in the base-plate of said ammunition bearer, the said system being characterized in that the cartridge interconnecting links and the lateral lips of said insertion aperture are so devised that,

firstly, each link comprises a front claw'and a rear claw which are bent inwardly to form inclined flat tabs contained within the apparent cross-sectional contour of each claw,

and, secondly, the link clamping a cartridge in its insertion position reacts against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture through the medium of the outer lateral wall of the inwardly inclined tab formed at the end of each of its claws, the inclination of the contact and reaction surfaces of said tabs and said lips being such that said surfaces co-operate reversibly and permit subsequent extraction of the cartridge by a radial expansion of the link claws clamping said cartridge.

The present invention further includes in its scope those ammunition feed systems of the kind hereinbefore disclosed as embody the above-disclosed features, and such special components and tools, and more particularly the ammunition bearers, special links and machine for shaping such links as are required for obtaining such systems.

The description which follows with reference to the accompanying non-limitative. exemplary drawings will give a clear understanding of how the invention can be carried into practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows in sectional side elevation a cartridge belt type ammunition feed system according to the invention, with a cartridge illustrated in dot-dash lines in its insertion position;

FIG. 2 is an underneath view of a component link of said cartridge belt, said link being devised in accordance with this invention; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views on an enlarged scale taken through the lines Ill-III and IV-IV respectively of FIG. 1.

The ammunition feed system for a small-caliber automatic weapon shown in FIG. 1 is a direct feed system comprising basically an ammunition bearer l capable of feeding into the weapon a cartridge belt of which each cartridge 2 is clamped by a link 3 formed with front and rear claws 3a and 3b, respectively, for clamping the cartridge 2, said link further including, between said claws and extending in diametrically opposed transverse directions, an arch 3c and a hook 311 (shown clearly in FIG. 2) for uniting that particular link with the adjacent links whereby to form the cartridge belt.

The base-plate of ammunition bearer 1 is formed with a longitudinal insertion aperture la located vertically above the guns feed channel, said ammunition bearer including means (well known per se) for holding temporarily motionless, in a position of slight forward inclination, that cartridge 2 which is in a position of insertion and which has its associated link 3 reacting against the lateral lips of insertion aperture la (in a manner to be explained in greater detail hereinbelow) through the medium of its front and rear claws 3a and 3b.

This cartridge 2, which is thus provisionally restrained in an insertion position through reaction of the front and rear claws 3a and 3b of its link 3 against the lateral lips of insertion aperture 10 formed in the base-plate of ammunition bearer 1, is engaged from its rear by the gun's sliding bolt 4 in the course of the forward return motion thereof, whereby to be extracted from its link 3 and to be pushed forward into its firing position in the breech prior to being struck by the firing-pin.

In the sectional views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the hatched area S is the area over which the guns sliding bolt 4 engages the base 2a of cartridge 2 from the rear.

In accordance with the principal teaching of this invention, as clearly illustrated by FIGS. 2 to 4, the feed system devised overall as hereinbefore specified is furthermore so contrived, notably in respect of the configuration of the claws 3a and 3b of links 3 and that of the insertion aperture 1a of ammunition bearer 3, that,

firstly, the tips e of the front and rear claws 3a and 3b of each link be turned inwardly whereby to form inclined flat tabs contained within the apparent cross-contour of the respective claws, and

secondly, the link clamping a cartridge in its insertion position (as in the case of cartridge 2 shown in FIG. 1) react against the lips of insertion aperture In via the outer lateral walls e of the inwardly bent tabs formed on the tips e of the front and rear claws 3a and 3b of said link, the co-operating surfaces e and s, of each claw end and of the lateral lip of insertion aperture la, respectively, being so inclined that they permit, by a reversibility effect, extraction of the cartridge 2 from the claws 3a and 3b of link 3, such extraction being accompanied by a radial expansion of said claws.

Thus, the claws 3a and 31) offer in respect of cartridge 2 a maximum clamping angle A in conjunction with a likewise maximum engagement area S.

In other words, all other things being equal from the standpoint of effectiveness of the cartridge clamping by the link, the present invention provides improved engagement of the cartridge by the sliding bolt of the weapon.

Further, the reaction of the claw thrust planes are directed inwardly and hence contribute towards effective clamping of the cartridge.

It should be noted that the inclined thrust surfaces s, formed on the lateral lips ofinsertion aperture In for receiving the claws 3a and 3b of the links 3 should preferably be restricted, as shown in FIG. 1, to the respective levels of the claws, said thrust surfaces s being accordingly formed by local bevels on the said lateral lips, at the levels in question, the bevels s, associated to the front claw 30 being made efiective over a greater height than those associated to the rear claw 3b whereby to obtain the required forwardly inclined insertion position of the cartridge 2.

Regardless of the embodiment adopted, the ammunition feed system according to this invention ofiers obvious advantages which stem from the configurations of the links and the co-operating reaction surfaces of the insertion aperture in the ammunition bearer.

It goes without saying that changes could be made in the above-described embodiments of the feed system without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An improvement to a cartridge belt feed system for automatic weapons, comprising an ammunition bearer adapted to successively convey cartridges interconnected by links having front and rear claws into an insertion position wherein the link clamping a given cartridge reacts, through said front and rear claws, against the lateral lips of an insertion aperture formed in the base-plate of said ammunition bearer, said improvement residing in the fact that the cartridge interconnecting links and the lateral lips of said insertion aperture are so devised respectively that,

firstly, each link comprises a body having a front pair of claws, inwardly bent tips on said claws whereby to form flat inclined tabs lying within the apparent cross-contour of the claw in question, flat laterally outer surfaces being provided on said tabs, and

secondly, each said link when clamping a cartridge in its insertion position reacts against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture through the laterally outer walls of the inwardly inclined tabs, the length of the body of said claw above said lips being less than the height of said body above the points at which said tabs grip a cartridge, the inclinations of the contact and reaction surfaces of said tabs and of said lips being such that they co-operate reversibly and permit subsequent extraction of the cartridge in conjunction with a radial distension of the link claws clamping said cartridge.

2. A cartridge belt feed system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inclined thrust surfaces formed on said lateral lips of said insertion aperture are restricted to the respective levels of said claws, said reaction surfaces being accordingly fonned by local bevels provided on said lateral lips at said levels, those bevels which are associated to said front claw being operative over a greater height than those associated with said rear claw whereby to obtain the required forwardly inclined cartridge insertion position.

UNITED STATES PA ENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE COECTWN Patent 3 ,653,289 Dated April 4 1972 lnventofls) Bernard Maillard It'is certified that error'appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading under "FOREIGN APPLICATION PRIORITY DATA" please delete "Switzerland" and substitute therefor Luxembourg-.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of September 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETQHER,JRQ ROBERT GOT'ISCHALK Attesting Officer v Commissioner of Patents FORM pomso (10459) USCOMM-DC 60376-1 69 U45. GOVERNMENT PRINTlNG OFFICE 1 I959 035G'3J4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 3,653,289 Dated April 4 1972 Inventor) Bernard Maillard It is certified that error" appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, under "FOREIGN APPLICATION PRIORITY DATA" please delete "Switzerland" and substitute therefor Luxembourg.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of September 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARRMJLETCHERJR. ROBERT GOT'I'SCHALK Attesting Officer- Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 6O376-P69 us, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1955 0-368-334 FORM PO-105O (10-69)

Claims

1. An improvement to a cartridge belt feed system for automatic weapons, comprising an ammunition bearer adapted to successively convey cartridges interconnected by links having front and rear claws into an insertion position wherein the link clamping a given cartridge reacts, through said front and rear claws, against the lAteral lips of an insertion aperture formed in the base-plate of said ammunition bearer, said improvement residing in the fact that the cartridge interconnecting links and the lateral lips of said insertion aperture are so devised respectively that, firstly, each link comprises a body having a front pair of claws, inwardly bent tips on said claws whereby to form flat inclined tabs lying within the apparent cross-contour of the claw in question, flat laterally outer surfaces being provided on said tabs, and secondly, each said link when clamping a cartridge in its insertion position reacts against the lateral lips of the insertion aperture through the laterally outer walls of the inwardly inclined tabs, the length of the body of said claw above said lips being less than the height of said body above the points at which said tabs grip a cartridge, the inclinations of the contact and reaction surfaces of said tabs and of said lips being such that they co-operate reversibly and permit subsequent extraction of the cartridge in conjunction with a radial distension of the link claws clamping said cartridge.

2. A cartridge belt feed system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inclined thrust surfaces formed on said lateral lips of said insertion aperture are restricted to the respective levels of said claws, said reaction surfaces being accordingly formed by local bevels provided on said lateral lips at said levels, those bevels which are associated to said front claw being operative over a greater height than those associated with said rear claw whereby to obtain the required forwardly inclined cartridge insertion position.