Alternative ammunition belt feeder for an automatic machine cannon

US4562768A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Rheinmetall GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Udo Weinfurth · Düsseldorf, DE
• Helmut Fischer · Calw, DE
• Walter Sauerwald · Dortmund, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 9, 1984
• Grant date: Jan 7, 1986
• Expiry date: Mar 9, 2004

Classification

• Technology area (CPC F): Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
• CPC primary: F41A9/60
• WIPO field: Other special machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

An empty belt clip and empty cartridge casing discharge arrangement for use with a machine cannon which can, for example, be mounted in the gun turret of an armored vehicle. The arrangement includes a cradle and built-in gun barrel which is pivotally mounted in a gun mount about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gun barrel for control purposes. An alternate ammunition belt feeder is also pivotally mounted in the gun mount about a second axis which is also parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gun barrel and is adapted to assume an upper or lower operative position or a middle SAFETY position. The alternate ammunition belt feeder has an upper and lower outlet for empty belt clips. An upper and lower discharge duct are mounted in the arrangement so that their respective inlets confront the upper and lower outlets of the alternate ammunition belt feeder. A middle duct serves to receive the empty cartridge casings from the cradle. Means are respectively mounted in the inlet regions of the upper and lower discharge ducts to be actuated by the empty belt clips which are being discharged in dependence to the positional shift of the alternate ammunition belt feed…