Ammunition Feed Grip Rotation for Turret Elevation Changes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic weapons face challenges in efficiently feeding ammunition due to space constraints, particularly in systems associated with turrets, necessitating a space-efficient and reliable feeding solution.
Innovation Solution
An ammunition feeding device with rotatably adaptable grip members that adjust based on the weapon's elevation, ensuring consistent ammunition delivery regardless of elevation angles, utilizing a feeding axis orthogonal to the elevation axis and incorporating resilient mechanisms for controlled rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional ammunition feeding device is used in a turret-mounted weapon system, then the weapon can be elevated for engagement, but the ammunition feeding becomes complicated and space-consuming due to the need to accommodate elevation movements
Solution Approach 1:
The ammunition grip member is made rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the feeding axis, allowing it to dynamically adjust its orientation in response to weapon elevation changes. This dynamic adaptation eliminates the need for complex interlocking mechanisms between the elevation device and feeding device, resolving the contradiction between elevation capability and feeding arrangement complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The feeding device is separated into independent functional components: the feeding device rotatably mounted about the feeding axis, and the ammunition grip member rotatably mounted about a separate axis orthogonal to the feeding axis. This segmentation allows each component to operate independently, simplifying the overall ammunition feeding arrangement while maintaining adaptability to elevation movements
2Adaptability or versatility
If the ammunition grip member is fixed in position, then the structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate weapon elevation movements and fails to deliver ammunition correctly
Solution Approach 1:
The ammunition grip member is designed with rotational freedom about an axis orthogonal to the feeding axis, enabling it to passively adapt its position according to weapon elevation angles. This simple dynamic mechanism provides elevation adaptation without requiring complex active control systems or multiple interconnected components
3Reliability
If the feeding device is made highly adaptable to all elevation angles, then ammunition feeding works at all positions, but the device becomes more complex and larger
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable ammunition grip member passively adapts to any weapon elevation angle through its rotational freedom, ensuring reliable ammunition delivery without requiring the feeding device itself to be large or complex. The solution achieves universal adaptability through a compact rotational mechanism rather than through size or complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The ammunition grip member rotation mechanism is integrated into the existing feeding device structure, combining the functions of ammunition holding, positioning, and elevation adaptation into a single compact assembly. This merging eliminates the need for separate adjustment mechanisms, reducing overall device volume while maintaining feeding reliability across all elevation angles
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an arrangement for feeding ammunition to a weapon mounted to an elevation device for elevation about an elevation axis, the arrangement comprising an ammunition feeding device arranged between an ammunition channel, from which ammunition is guided, and said weapon, said feeding device being rotatably arranged about a feeding axis, said feeding device having at least one ammunition grip member configured to rotate about said feeding axis between an ammunition collection location at said ammunition channel and an ammunition release location at said weapon, wherein said arrangement is configured such that said at least one ammunition grip member is configured to be rotatably adaptable relative to said feeding axis based on the elevation of said weapon so as to facilitate feeding the ammunition to the weapon in connection to the ammunition release location independent of elevation of said weapon.