A mechanism for loading suspended loops of linked ammunition onto rails of an ammunition magazine includes a guideway and a carriage. The guideway has cam surfaces and cam slots each extending vertically from a lower portion of the guideway and curving near an upper portion of the guideway toward the rails at a loading end of the magazine. The carriage includes a support block slidably received by the guideway and a tandem bucket mounted on the support block by a linkage. The tandem bucket includes inner and outer followers engaging the cam surfaces and cam slots. The tandem bucket is horizontal and may be loaded with two adjacent rounds of a belt of linked ammunition when the carriage is at a lowered position. The carriage may then be raised manually, wherein the tandem bucket is articulated by camming engagement of the followers to a vertical orientation to deposit one of the two rounds onto the magazine rails with the other round and trailing rounds suspended therefrom.

A mechanism for loading suspended loops of linked ammunition onto rails of an ammunition magazine includes a guideway and a carriage. The guideway has cam surfaces and cam slots each extending vertically from a lower portion of the guideway and curving near an upper portion of the guideway toward the rails at a loading end of the magazine. The carriage includes a support block slidably received by the guideway and a tandem bucket mounted on the support block by a linkage. The tandem bucket includes inner and outer followers engaging the cam surfaces and cam slots. The tandem bucket is horizontal and may be loaded with two adjacent rounds of a belt of linked ammunition when the carriage is at a lowered position. The carriage may then be raised manually, wherein the tandem bucket is articulated by camming engagement of the followers to a vertical orientation to deposit one of the two rounds onto the magazine rails with the other round and trailing rounds suspended therefrom.

Ammunition storage and feeding system for light weapons that facilitates a continuous loading of the weapon, thereby relieving the user from multiple magazine replacements, and reducing potential weapon stoppages, thus providing more reliable and significantly uninterruptable use of the weapon with respect to operating the weapon with conventional magazines. According to an embodiment of the invention, the system is configured to automatically receive interlinked cartridges from a carrying device (e.g., a backpack or other convenient device harnessed to the user's body) through a flexible or semi-flexible leading means, to successively extract the cartridges from the linking arrangement and to successively feed each extracted cartridge into a dedicated magazine in a First In First Out (FIFO) manner.

Ammunition storage and feeding system for light weapons that facilitates a continuous loading of the weapon, thereby relieving the user from multiple magazine replacements, and reducing potential weapon stoppages, thus providing more reliable and significantly uninterruptable use of the weapon with respect to operating the weapon with conventional magazines. According to an embodiment of the invention, the system is configured to automatically receive interlinked cartridges from a carrying device (e.g., a backpack or other convenient device harnessed to the user's body) through a flexible or semi-flexible leading means, to successively extract the cartridges from the linking arrangement and to successively feed each extracted cartridge into a dedicated magazine in a First In First Out (FIFO) manner.

A mechanism for loading suspended loops of linked ammunition onto rails of an ammunition magazine includes a guideway and a carriage. The guideway has cam surfaces and cam slots each extending vertically from a lower portion of the guideway and curving near an upper portion of the guideway toward the rails at a loading end of the magazine. The carriage includes a support block slidably received by the guideway and a tandem bucket mounted on the support block by a linkage. The tandem bucket includes inner and outer followers engaging the cam surfaces and cam slots. The tandem bucket is horizontal and may be loaded with two adjacent rounds of a belt of linked ammunition when the carriage is at a lowered position. The carriage may then be raised manually, wherein the tandem bucket is articulated by camming engagement of the followers to a vertical orientation to deposit one of the two rounds onto the magazine rails with the other round and trailing rounds suspended therefrom.

A mechanism for loading suspended loops of linked ammunition onto rails of an ammunition magazine includes a guideway and a carriage. The guideway has cam surfaces and cam slots each extending vertically from a lower portion of the guideway and curving near an upper portion of the guideway toward the rails at a loading end of the magazine. The carriage includes a support block slidably received by the guideway and a tandem bucket mounted on the support block by a linkage. The tandem bucket includes inner and outer followers engaging the cam surfaces and cam slots. The tandem bucket is horizontal and may be loaded with two adjacent rounds of a belt of linked ammunition when the carriage is at a lowered position. The carriage may then be raised manually, wherein the tandem bucket is articulated by camming engagement of the followers to a vertical orientation to deposit one of the two rounds onto the magazine rails with the other round and trailing rounds suspended therefrom.

Ammunition storage and feeding system for light weapons that facilitates a continuous loading of the weapon, thereby relieving the user from multiple magazine replacements, and reducing potential weapon stoppages, thus providing more reliable and significantly uninterruptable use of the weapon with respect to operating the weapon with conventional magazines. According to an embodiment of the invention, the system is configured to automatically receive interlinked cartridges from a carrying device (e.g., a backpack or other convenient device harnessed to the user's body) through a flexible or semi-flexible leading means, to successively extract the cartridges from the linking arrangement and to successively feed each extracted cartridge into a dedicated magazine in a First In First Out (FIFO) manner.

Ammunition storage and feeding system for light weapons that facilitates a continuous loading of the weapon, thereby relieving the user from multiple magazine replacements, and reducing potential weapon stoppages, thus providing more reliable and significantly uninterruptable use of the weapon with respect to operating the weapon with conventional magazines. According to an embodiment of the invention, the system is configured to automatically receive interlinked cartridges from a carrying device (e.g., a backpack or other convenient device harnessed to the user's body) through a flexible or semi-flexible leading means, to successively extract the cartridges from the linking arrangement and to successively feed each extracted cartridge into a dedicated magazine in a First In First Out (FIFO) manner.

Ammunition containers are reloadable from within an armored vehicle to supply a remote weapon system mounted externally on the vehicle. The ammunition containers are designed to be fixedly mounted within an internal compartment of a weapon turret. In a first embodiment, at least one guide wall defines a spiral guide path for an ammunition belt, and a rotatable sprocket enables the belt to be loaded into the guide path. In a second embodiment, an ammunition clamp holds a round of ammunition, and the clamp is rotatable to wind the ammunition belt about the clamp's axis of rotation. A third embodiment has a guide sprocket and an adjacent peg to facilitate reloading an ammunition belt in horizontal layers. A fourth embodiment includes a pair of spaced support rails for hanging an ammunition belt in vertical columns, wherein rear ends of the rails may be located outside the container for easier loading.

Ammunition containers are reloadable from within an armored vehicle to supply a remote weapon system mounted externally on the vehicle. The ammunition containers are designed to be fixedly mounted within an internal compartment of a weapon turret. In a first embodiment, at least one guide wall defines a spiral guide path for an ammunition belt, and a rotatable sprocket enables the belt to be loaded into the guide path. In a second embodiment, an ammunition clamp holds a round of ammunition, and the clamp is rotatable to wind the ammunition belt about the clamp's axis of rotation. A third embodiment has a guide sprocket and an adjacent peg to facilitate reloading an ammunition belt in horizontal layers. A fourth embodiment includes a pair of spaced support rails for hanging an ammunition belt in vertical columns, wherein rear ends of the rails may be located outside the container for easier loading.