Multi-barrel split-breach rapid fire gun
10845141 ยท 2020-11-24
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F41A19/21
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A9/79
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A21/06
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A9/34
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A13/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A9/36
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F41A9/36
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A19/21
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A21/06
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F41A9/34
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
The multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun is a light-weight, electrically-driven rapid fire gun, radially loaded and fired, using only rotating parts. This eliminates inertia problems compared to a breech-loaded gun that requires a bolt to chamber a cartridge. The firing mechanism allows the cartridge to be enclosed in a split-breech for 50% one rotation of the barrel hub. The gun incorporates an independent firing pin for each barrel to allow for high firing rates. The gun is fed by a thin polyimide cartridge belt fan-folded in a detachable wet-magazine.
Claims
1. A multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun comprising: (a) a housing with a handle and trigger positioned thereon, the trigger operatively connected to a motor drive assembly; (b) a motor drive assembly arranged within the housing having a rotation member that rotates when the trigger is actuated; (c) a chain drive assembly that is operatively connected to the rotation member of the motor drive assembly, the chain drive assembly comprising an endless belt having a plurality of connected, individual links, with each individual link having a half breech or chamber formed thereon and in which the endless belt is configured to rotate within the gun when the trigger is actuated; (d) a firing assembly that is adjacent to and operatively connected to the chain drive assembly and motor drive assembly, the firing assembly comprising: (i) a plurality of rotatable barrels arranged on the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun that are spaced apart from the trigger; (ii) a rotatable barrel hub with a plurality of cartridge half breeches or chambers formed thereon, the rotatable barrel hub synchronously rotates with the individual links of the endless belt such that each cartridge half breech or chamber formed on the rotatable barrel hub is configured to align with a corresponding half breech or chamber formed on each individual link of the endless belt to form a complete cartridge breech or chamber that is configured to temporarily house a cartridge therein before firing the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels; and (iii) a cartridge inlet configured to align with a cartridge magazine and a spent cartridge outlet arranged opposite to the cartridge inlet; and (e) optionally a cartridge magazine configured to releasably and securely mate to the housing and align with the cartridge inlet such that cartridges are fed from the magazine through the cartridge inlet into the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed by the aligned half breeches or chambers and rotate through the firing assembly such that spent cartridges exit the cartridge outlet such that the spent cartridges remain linked to one another after exiting the cartridge outlet.
2. The multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun of claim 1, wherein the cartridge magazine is present.
3. The multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun of claim 2, wherein the cartridge magazine houses a plurality of connected cartridges with each cartridge connected to another cartridge by a flexible polymeric belt and includes a lubricating solution that partially coats the plurality of connected cartridges therein.
4. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 3, wherein the lubricating solution is configured to cool and lubricate the firing assembly when firing cartridges from the gun and comprises a mixture of water, an unsaturated polyol, and silicone.
5. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 4, wherein the firing assembly further comprises a plurality of biased rotatable firing pins, with at least one firing pin of the plurality of biased rotatable firing pins configured to axially align with the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed within the gun while in use and to move in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
6. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 5, wherein the rotation member of motor drive assembly comprises a plurality of sprockets that are operatively connected to a drive motor, the plurality of sprockets are arranged to contact an inner surface of the endless belt and rotate the endless belt within the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun.
7. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 6, wherein the half breech or chamber of each link is formed on an outer surface of the endless belt opposite the inner surface of the endless belt.
8. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 7, further comprising a firing pin cam that houses the plurality of firing pins therein, an inner surface of the firing pin cam arranged as partially concentric rings having raised and recess portions in which when each rotatable firing pin rotates immediately from the raised to recess portion of the firing pin cam the firing pin moves radially outward aligning with a biasing cavity that biases the firing pin in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
9. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 8, wherein the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun is an automatic or semi-automatic firearm.
10. The multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun of claim 9, wherein the multi-barrel split breech rapid fire gun is a semi-automatic firearm.
11. A plurality of assemblies configured for a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the plurality of assemblies comprising: (a) a chain drive assembly that configure to be operatively connected to a rotation member of a motor drive assembly in a multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun, the chain drive assembly comprising an endless belt having a plurality of connected, individual links, with each individual link having a half breech or chamber formed thereon and in which the endless belt is configured to rotate within the gun when a trigger is actuated; and (b) a firing assembly configured to be adjacent to and operatively connected to the chain drive assembly, the firing assembly comprising: (i) a plurality of rotatable barrels to be arranged on the multi-barrel split-breech rapid fire gun; (ii) a rotatable barrel hub with a plurality of cartridge half breeches or chambers formed thereon, the rotatable barrel hub configured to synchronously rotate with the individual links of the endless belt such that each cartridge half breech or chamber formed on the rotatable barrel hub is configured to align with a corresponding half breech or chamber formed on each individual link of the endless belt to form a complete cartridge breech or chamber that is configured to temporarily house a cartridge therein before firing a cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels; and (iii) a cartridge inlet configured to align with a cartridge magazine and a spent cartridge outlet arranged opposite to the cartridge inlet.
12. The plurality of assemblies of claim 11, further comprising: (c) a cartridge magazine configured to releasably and securely align with the cartridge inlet such that cartridges are configured to be fed from the magazine through the cartridge inlet into the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed by the aligned half breeches or chambers and rotate through the firing assembly such that spent cartridges exit the cartridge outlet such that the spent cartridges remain linked to one another after exiting the cartridge outlet.
13. The plurality of assemblies of claim 12, wherein the cartridge magazine houses a plurality of connected cartridges with each cartridge connected to another cartridge by a flexible polymeric belt and includes a lubricating solution that partially coats the plurality of connected cartridges therein.
14. The plurality of assemblies of claim 13, wherein the lubricating solution is configured to cool and lubricate the firing assembly when firing cartridges from the gun and comprises a mixture of water, an unsaturated polyol, and silicone.
15. The plurality of assemblies of claim 14, wherein the firing assembly further comprises a plurality of biased rotatable firing pins, with at least one firing pin of the plurality of biased rotatable firing pins configured to axially align with the complete cartridge breech or chamber formed within the gun while in use and to move in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
16. The plurality of assemblies of claim 15, wherein the half breech or chamber of each link is formed on an outer surface of the endless belt opposite the inner surface of the endless belt, with the inner surface of the endless belt configured to directly contact a rotation member of a motor drive assembly.
17. The plurality of assemblies of claim 15, further comprising a firing pin cam that houses the plurality of firing pins therein, an inner surface of the firing pin cam arranged as partially concentric rings having raised and recess portions in which when each rotatable firing pin rotates immediately from the raised to recess portion of the firing pin cam the firing pin moves radially outward aligning with a biasing cavity that biases the firing pin in a linear direction from the handle towards one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels to fire the cartridge through one barrel of the plurality of rotatable barrels.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention are better understood when the following detailed description of the invention is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(35) The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the representative embodiments set forth herein. The exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention and enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make, use and practice the invention. Like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout the various drawings.
(36) The embodiment described depicts a mechanism that incorporates a small caliber rim fire cartridge. This invention is scalable to any size, rim fire or center fire, cartridge.
(37) Referring to
(38) Referring to
(39) Referring to
(40) Referring to
(41) Referring to
(42) The barrel hub is driven by motor 100 as part of motor drive assembly 8. In this embodiment, the motor drives a 2:1 ratio gear reduction comprised of a drive gear 104 secured to the motor shaft by means of drive gear set screws 111, driving the driven gear 107 attached to the drive chain gear 108 by means of a plurality of driven gear screws 109. The motor 100 is connected to the drive gear housing 101. The drive gear housing 101 is attached to the driven gear housing 106 by means of a plurality of drive gear housing screws 102. This attachment captures the drive gear 104 and a distal and proximal drive gear bushing 103. The motor drive assembly 8 is secured to the mainframe housing 80 by means of a plurality of driven gear housing screws 105. The drive chain gear 108 is attached to the barrel hub 13 by chamber chain gear set screw 110.
(43) Referring to
(44) The wet-magazine assembly 6 is comprised of the magazine lid 170 and the magazine housing 171. The cartridge belt 172 is constructed with a high-temperature polyimide belt 174 that retains the cartridges 173 at a specific spacing to match the hub half-chamber 14 features in the barrel hub 13. The cartridge belt 172 is fan-folded in the magazine housing 171. A loader boss 175, an integral part of the magazine lid 170, and dampener spring 176 also part of the magazine lid 170, positions the first cartridge on cartridge belt 172 directly above and touching the top surface of loader boss 175. This positions the first cartridge 173 to be captured by the half-chamber chain 60 as the barrel hub 13 rotates. The dampener spring 176 also suppresses the inertia of the cartridge belt 172 in high-speed operation. A portion of the unused space in the wet-magazine 6 is filled with a solution 167 of water, propylene glycol and 1% silicone lubricant. This solution 167 is transferred by the cartridge belt 172 cools, lubricates, and prevents corrosion of the firing mechanism and proximal ends of the barrels 11.
(45) Referring to
(46) The firing pin cam 19 is held in a static non-rotating position by the safety actuator 90 and the eccentric safety shaft 89. The eccentric safety shaft 89 is secured to the safety actuator 90 by eccentric shaft set screw 92. The safety actuator 90 is retained in the safety actuator aperture 91 by spring clip 93 in the mainframe housing 80 as part of mainframe assembly 7. Safety actuator 90 is limited in rotation and stopped at fire and safety positions by safety stop pin 88 in mainframe housing 80. The safety actuator 90 is placed, by the user, in either the fire position or the safety position. In the fire position, the eccentric safety shaft 89 is located and constrained by the cam retainer well 31 on firing pin cam 19 fixing the cam relative to the mainframe. As the barrel hub 13 is rotated along with the firing pins 17, a cam follower 32 on firing pin 17 contacts and follows the cam ramp 20 on firing pin cam 19. As the barrel hub 13 rotates inside of the firing pin cam 19, pressure is increased by loading the firing pin springs 18. This pressure is translated through the thrust bearing 27 to cam stop 36 on barrel hub 13. As each firing pin 17 climbs the cam ramp 20, bias is increased on each firing pin spring 18 in turn. As the barrel hub 13 continues to rotate, the lead firing pin cam follower 32 reaches the sear face 21 on cam ramp 20. This is the firing position 37 defined by the point in the barrel hub 13 revolution where the half-chamber chain link 66 and hub half-chamber 14 are concentric and fully encase a cartridge. This firing position 37 is synchronized by the chain shaft gears 84 meshing with drive chain gear 108 as describe earlier. This position of the sear face 21 on cam ramp 20 allows the firing pin 17 and striker 24, by means of the cam loaded bias of the firing pin spring 18, to travel rapidly through the striker aperture 34 in barrel hub 13. The striker 24 then hits the cartridge primer with enough inertia to set off the primer and fire the bullet. All the firing pins follow this action in turn. In this embodiment, six bullets are fired per revolution of the barrel hub.
(47) As the empty cartridges 169 are rotated around the barrel hub 13, the half-chamber chain link 66 separates from the barrel hub 13 and is taken up by the ejection drive sprocket 67 on the exit side. Ejector slot 15 in the barrel hub 13 and ejection pawl 161, part of the receiver assembly 5, strips the empty cartridges and cartridge belt 172 off the barrel hub 13 to be routed through the exit aperture 55 in the front housing 50 and out of the gun.
(48) In the safety position of the safety actuator 90, the eccentric safety shaft 89 pushes against the retainer well 31 on firing pin cam 19 to slide the firing pin cam 19 back away from the normal firing position where the striker 24 cannot contact the cartridge.
(49) When the bullet is fired, maximum pressure caused by the propellant is exerted on the split-breech half-chamber chain link 66 and hub half-chamber 14 on barrel hub 13. The half-chamber chain link 66 will tend to blow outward, away from the barrel hub 13. A pressure fence 74 is attached to the mainframe housing 80, and held concentric to the barrel hub 13 by means of a plurality of retaining screws 76. Contact of the link pressure face 64 on half-chamber chain link 66 and the stop surface 75 on the pressure fence 74 constrains this movement.
(50) In normal operation, as the barrel hub 13 rotates, the high-temperature polyimide belt 174 on the cartridge belt 172 becomes trapped between the half-chamber chain link 66 and the barrel hub 13. A belt relief 16 in barrel hub 13 allows for the thickness on the high-temperature polyimide belt 174.
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(53) Positive magnet 122 and negative magnet 135 are electrically isolated from the metal motor housing 120 by means of a plastic shoulder washer 123 and a plastic washer 124. The magnets are connected to the motor 100 by motor terminal screw 121, motor ring terminal 125 and nut 126.
(54) Referring to
PARTS LIST
(55) 1 firing assembly 2 handguard-grip assembly 3 front housing assembly 4 chain drive assembly 5 receiver assembly 6 wet-magazine assembly 7 mainframe assembly 8 motor drive assembly 9 rear housing and trigger guard assembly 10 battery assembly 11 barrel 12 barrel support 13 barrel hub 14 hub half-chamber 15 ejector slot 16 belt relief 17 firing pin 18 firing pin spring 19 firing pin cam 20 cam ramp 21 sear face 22 hub rear shaft 23 spring retainer plate 24 striker 25 barrel support set screw 26 firing pin slot 27 thrust bearing 28 spring retainer screw 29 barrel interface threads 30 hub front shaft 31 cam retainer well 32 cam follower 33 spring cavity 34 striker aperture 35 rifle bore 36 cam stop 37 firing position 38 not used 39 not used 40 not used 41 handguard 42 cooling aperture 43 handguard screws 44 front grip 45 grip retainer 46 grip retainer screw 47 grip alignment pin 48 screw aperture 49 not used 50 front housing 51 front shaft bearing 52 front barrel hub bearing 53 front housing screw boss 54 cooling aperture 55 exit aperture 56 not used 57 not used 58 not used 59 not used 60 half-chamber chain 61 chain link pin 62 pin aperture 63 chain half-chamber 64 link pressure face 65 not used 66 half-chamber chain link 67 ejection drive sprocket 68 drive sprocket set screw 69 drive sprocket aperture 70 sprocket cradle 71 chain idler shaft 72 idler shaft bushing 73 idler sprocket 74 pressure fence 75 stop surface 76 retaining screws 77 input drive sprocket 78 not used 79 not used 80 mainframe housing 81 front housing screw 82 chain drive shaft 83 rear chain shaft bearing 84 chain shaft gear 85 shaft gear set screw 86 mid-shaft bearing 87 rear barrel hub bearing 88 safety stop pin 89 eccentric safety shaft 90 safety actuator 91 safety actuator aperture 92 eccentric shaft set screw 93 spring clip 94 not used 95 not used 96 not used 97 not used 98 not used 99 not used 100 motor 101 drive gear housing 102 drive gear housing screw 103 drive gear bushings 104 drive gear 105 driven gear housing screw 106 driven gear housing 107 driven gear 108 drive chain gear 109 driven gear screw 110 chamber chain gear set screw 111 drive gear set screw 112 not used 113 not used 114 not used 115 not used 116 not used 117 not used 118 not used 119 not used 120 motor housing 121 motor terminal screw 122 positive magnet 123 shoulder washer 124 plastic washer 125 motor ring terminal 126 nut 127 motor housing screw 128 left trigger grip 129 right trigger grip 130 trigger grip retainer 131 trigger grip retainer screw 132 power switch 133 trigger lever 134 rear handle 135 negative magnet 136 not used 137 not used 138 not used 139 not used 140 battery housing 141 battery housing cover 142 cover screw 143 switch 144 battery 145 contact stand-off 146 ring terminal 147 terminal screw 148 positive magnetic contact 149 magnet screw 150 negative magnetic contact 151 battery assembly aperture 152 not used 153 not used 154 not used 155 not used 156 not used 157 not used 158 not used 159 not used 160 receiver body 161 ejection pawl 162 magazine release 163 magazine release actuator 164 magazine retainer pawl 165 magazine release spring 166 receiver screw 167 solution 168 not used 169 empty cartridge 170 magazine lid 171 magazine housing 172 cartridge belt 173 cartridge 174 high-temperature polyimide belt 175 loader boss 176 dampener spring 177 magazine retainer aperture