Portable Ammunition Linking Machine Guideway System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for attaching medium- or large-caliber ammunitions to form linked chains are inefficient and often require manual force or unorthodox tools, leading to inaccurate alignment and potential apparatus blockages, especially in confined environments like armored vehicle turrets.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a guideway system and a moving mechanism using interconnected shafts and gripping wheels to automatically and synchronously introduce and clip cartridges into links, allowing for efficient and reproducible assembly of ammunition strips with minimal manual force, adaptable to various calibers and capable of manual or electric operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual methods (hammer or mallet) are used to attach ammunitions to links, then the operation can be performed without specialized equipment, but the alignment is approximate and variable, risking apparatus blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a guiding device as an intermediary component between the manual operation and the ammunition-link assembly. This guiding device provides precise alignment and positioning, ensuring that cartridges are correctly oriented before being attached to links, thereby eliminating the alignment variability inherent in direct manual methods while maintaining equipment simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the uncontrolled mechanical impact of hammering with a controlled mechanical guiding system. The guiding device uses mechanical constraints and alignment features to ensure precise positioning, substituting the random mechanical force of manual hammering with a deterministic mechanical guidance system
2Device complexity
If large-caliber ammunitions are handled manually, then no specialized machinery is needed, but excessive force is required and handling becomes impossible in confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding device acts as a mechanical intermediary that facilitates the handling of heavy large-caliber ammunitions. It provides support, alignment, and controlled movement, making it possible to handle these heavy components even in confined spaces where manual manipulation would be difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 2:
The device separates the handling function into distinct components: the guiding device handles positioning and alignment, while the attachment mechanism handles the connection. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, making the overall system easier to operate despite the size and weight of the ammunitions
3Manufacturing precision
If automated linking machines are used for medium- or large-caliber ammunitions, then assembly precision is improved, but the machines become large, complex and nonportable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential guiding and alignment function from complex automated linking machines and implements it as a standalone, simplified guiding device. This extraction maintains the precision benefits of automated systems while eliminating the complexity and size, resulting in a portable device that can be used with medium- and large-caliber ammunitions
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding device is designed to be self-contained and portable, requiring no external infrastructure or complex support systems. It performs its guiding and alignment functions autonomously, making precision assembly possible without the need for large, complex automated machines
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick and accurate assembly of ammunition strips with reduced manual effort, achieving a strip of 15 cartridges in under 5 minutes with minimal mechanical force, suitable for integration into confined spaces like armored vehicle turrets, and adaptable to different calibers.
Implementation Method 1
a first guideway (31) intended for the successive introduction of links (10) detached from one another and guiding said links under the effect of gravity; a second guideway (32) intended for the successive introduction of cartridges (20) and guiding said cartridges under the effect of gravity
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for attaching ammunitions intended to form a chain or strip with links of ammunitions or cartridges, including an ogive, a cartridge casing, and a cup that are essentially cylindrical, attached by links articulated to one another, each link having a first part attached to a second part, the first and second parts being offset relative to one another, the second part including a central loop or handle relative to a height of the link, defining an approximately semi-cylindrical opening, sized to be adjusted on the cartridge casing of a cartridge of given caliber, the first part including two central loops or handles but located, heightwise, respectively on either side of the central loop, the machine including: a first guideway for successively introducing the links detached from one another and guiding the links under an effect of gravity; a second guideway for successively introducing and guiding the cartridges.