SUPPORT FOR LAUNCHING ARTILLERY SHELL FIREWORKS

Abstract

A fireworks artillery launch system comprised of individual support housing units that are capable of being quickly connected together to permit a sequential array of artillery launchers. Each individual support housing unit comprises a base member for supporting a plurality of silo cavities for receiving mortar tubes. A platform support member for the housing unit has a configuration to enable a male/female connection between adjacently placed support housing units to permit an assembly of a series of support housing units. The male/female connection configuration enables a quick and simple connection together of multiple units to permit connection of additional base units in either a parallel arrangement or a serial arrangement to create an enhanced artillery shell launch system.

Claims

1. A support housing for supporting a plurality of fireworks artillery shells for firing, the support housing comprising a base member and a platform support member, the base member adapted to receive a plurality of shells, the platform support member comprising a planar member for support on a surface during firing of the shells, a perimeter edge of the platform support member defining a first portion comprising a male configuration, and a second portion defining a female configuration, the male and female configurations having complementary dimensions whereby the female configuration is adapted to receive the male configuration, whereby a first base member may be adjacently connected to a second base member by aligning at least one of the male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the first planar member with at least one of the corresponding male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the second planar member.

2. The support housing of claim 1 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape.

3. The support housing of claim 2 in which the perimeter edge defines a series of alternating male and female configurations.

4. The support housing of claim 1 in which the male and female configurations are placed along positions on all sides forming the perimeter edge of the platform support member whereby a connection between the first and second base members may be made along any of their respective sides.

5. The support housing of claim 4 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape, and the perimeter edge defines a series of alternating male and female configurations.

6. The support housing of claim 1 in which the platform support member provides at least one anchoring aperture.

7. A system for connecting together a series of fireworks artillery shells for firing, the system comprising a support housing for supporting the fireworks artillery shells, the support housing comprising a plurality of base members and platform support members, each base member adapted to receive a plurality of shells, each platform support member comprising a planar member for support on a surface during firing of the shells, a perimeter edge of each platform support member defining a first portion comprising a male configuration, and a second portion defining a female configuration, the male and female configurations having complementary dimensions whereby the female configuration is adapted to receive the male configuration, whereby a first platform support member may be adjacently connected to a second platform support member along their respective perimeter edges by aligning at least one of the male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the first platform support with at least one of the corresponding male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the second platform support member.

8. The system of claim 7 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape.

9. The system of claim 8 in which the perimeter edge defines a series of alternating male and female configurations.

10. The system of claim 7 in which the male and female configurations are placed along positions on all sides forming the perimeter edge of the platform support member whereby a connection between the first and second support housings may be made along any of their respective sides.

11. The system of claim 10 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape, and the male and female configurations are placed along positions on all sides forming the perimeter edge of the platform support member whereby a connection between the first and second support housings may be made along any of their respective sides.

12. The system of claim 7 in which the platform support member provides at least one anchoring aperture.

13. A system for connecting together a series of fireworks artillery shells for firing, the system comprising a support housing for supporting the fireworks artillery shells, the support housing comprising a plurality of base members, each base member adapted to receive a plurality of shells, a perimeter edge of each base member having a coupling member, whereby base members may be adjacently connected to each other along their respective perimeter edges by connecting together their respective coupling members.

14. The system of claim 13 in which the respective coupling members are releasably connected to each other.

15. The system of claim 14 in which the perimeter edge of each base member defines a first portion comprising a male configuration, and a second portion defines a female configuration, the male and female configurations having complementary dimensions whereby the female configuration is adapted to receive the male configuration, whereby a first base member may be adjacently connected to a second base member along their respective perimeter edges by aligning at least one of the male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the first base member with at least one of the corresponding male and female configurations along the perimeter edge of the second base member.

16. The system of claim 15 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape.

17. The system of claim 15 in which the perimeter edge defines a series of alternating male and female configurations.

18. The system of claim 15 in which the male and female configurations are placed along positions on all sides forming the perimeter edge of each base member whereby a connection between the first and second base members may be made along any of their respective sides.

19. The system of claim 18 in which the male and the female configurations define a reciprocal dovetail shape, and the perimeter edge defines a series of alternating male and female configurations.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0012] The present invention is described herein with reference to the following drawing figures, with greater emphasis being placed on clarity rather than scale.

[0013] The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single base unit of the artillery shell launcher system.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a base unit of the launcher system.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of two base units prior to being joined together.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of two base units joined together.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of multiple units joined together in both a serial and parallel arrangement.

[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing two units in preparation for joining together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] With reference to the drawings figures, a support for launching artillery shell fireworks is herein described, shown, and otherwise disclosed in accordance with various embodiments, including a preferred embodiment, of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a support housing 10 for the artillery shell launcher comprising a frame structure for supporting reloadable artillery shells. The support housing comprises a base member 12 and platform support member 14. Base member 12 comprises a vertically extending central portion in which a plurality of silo cavities 16 are disposed for receiving the artillery shells 18 to be launched. Base member 12 shows six individual silos 16 where each would receive an artillery shell 18 to support six shells per base unit. However, the launcher can be configured to have varying numbers of silos and can alternatively comprise a single silo cavity.

[0022] Platform support member 14 has laterally extending edges 20 and 22 to provide stability to the base member 12 as it is supported on a surface such as the ground. A plurality of holes 24 are provided in laterally extending edges 20 and 22 to receive stakes for securing support housing 10 to the ground. Support housing 10 may be constructed from plastic and may be formed by molding from a single piece. Support housing 10 may also be constructed of separate pieces such that the silos may be assembled with base member 12 when preparing for launching.

[0023] Each support housing unit 10 is configured for adjacent connection with additional support housing units. The perimeter side edges of platform support member 14 are configured with a coupling structure whereby multiple support housing units may be adjacently joined together. A male configuration 26 is provided in at least one portion of the perimeter edge of laterally extending edges 20 and 22 of platform support member 14. Similarly, a female configuration 28 is provided in at least one portion of the perimeter edge of laterally extending edges 20 and 22 of platform support member 14. The male and female configurations having complementary dimensions whereby the female configuration is adapted to receive the male configuration. By bringing the male configuration 26 along the edge of a platform support member of a first support housing unit 30 into alignment with the female configuration 28 along the edge of a platform support member of a second support housing unit 32, the two support housing units can be joined together.

[0024] Preferably, the coupling structure comprises a male/female configuration defining a dovetail shape. In this configuration, the dimensions of the male and female portions are complementary such that the male portion interlocks with the female portion. The dovetail shape permits ease of connection by simply raising one support housing unit above a second support housing unit at the point of connection as shown in FIG. 6 such that the male configuration 26 can be dropped into female configuration 28 to effect the connection. The perimeter edges of platform support member 14 can be configured to have a single male/female dovetail configuration per edge, or the entire edge can be configured with a series of alternating male and female configurations.

[0025] The male/female dovetail connection configuration can be built into all four side edges of platform support member 14 so that an artillery shell launch system can be constructed where the mortar silos are arranged in parallel fashion or in serial alignment such as shown in FIG. 5. The dovetail configuration permits both a quick connection and quick disassembly so different arrangements of deployment of artillery shells can be created on the fly during a fireworks show as desired.

[0026] Although the invention has been disclosed with reference to various particular embodiments, it is understood that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.