Portable Ammunition Belt Feed System with Divider and Flexible Container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ammunition carrying systems are bulky, heavy, and have limited capacity, leading to inefficiencies in carrying and rapid deployment of ammunition, particularly in mobile settings, and often result in jams and misfeeds due to their rigid and heavy construction.
Innovation Solution
A portable, ergonomic belt feed system using a flexible, semi-rigid carrier and feed structure made from lightweight materials, such as thermoplastic, with a divider to reduce jams and misfeeds, and a flexible outer container coupled to a backpack for improved weight distribution and high-capacity ammunition carriage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional ammunition cans and backpack systems are used, then ammunition capacity is limited and weight is high, but these systems provide basic ammunition carrying functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple ammunition cans into a single integrated backpack system, merging what would traditionally be separate containers into one unified structure. This allows carrying hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a single pack rather than multiple separate cans, significantly increasing capacity while reducing total weight through shared structural components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible, lightweight materials for the backpack construction, including flexible outer containers and thin-walled structural elements. These materials provide the necessary durability and containment while minimizing weight, allowing the system to hold large quantities of ammunition without the heavy protection traditional rigid cans provide.
2Reliability
If multiple separate ammunition cans are used, then each can requires its own feed adapter and feed system, but this increases weight and bulkiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal feed system that can service multiple ammunition containers within the backpack through a single feed adapter interface. This multi-functional design allows one feed mechanism to handle ammunition from various cans, eliminating the need for separate feed adapters for each can and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the ammunition storage into multiple separate cans or compartments within the backpack, each can being independently manageable. This segmentation allows flexible configuration and access to different ammunition types while using a single integrated feed system that can service any of the segmented containers as needed.
3Quantity of substance
If heavy backpack systems are used to carry ammunition, then ammunition capacity increases, but this burdens the operator's hips and reduces mobility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs ergonomic backpack design with weight distribution features including padded shoulder straps, waist belts, and frame structures that counterbalance the weight of ammunition. This anti-weight approach distributes the load across multiple body contact points rather than concentrating it on the hips, reducing strain and improving operator mobility despite carrying heavy ammunition loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of flexible, lightweight materials in the backpack construction reduces the structural weight that adds to the overall burden. The flexible outer container and thin-walled design minimize the weight of the carrying system itself, allowing more of the weight budget to be allocated to ammunition capacity while keeping the operator's burden manageable.
4Strength
If rigid metal ammunition cans are used, then structural strength is high, but the system is bulky and time-consuming to reload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional rigid metal ammunition cans with flexible, lightweight container designs that maintain sufficient structural strength through material selection and structural design. These flexible containers are lighter and can be more quickly manipulated during reloading operations, reducing the time penalty associated with heavy, rigid can systems while maintaining adequate protection for the ammunition.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable item carrier and belt feed system is provided along with related methods. One illustrative embodiment includes a carrier and feed structure comprising a semi-rigid material with a divider support extending perpendicularly from a center floor section of the carrier. A belt of items is folded over the divider to reduce jams or misfeeds as the belt of items is pulled through a feed chute near an upper side section of the carrier and feed structure at a predetermined range of feed angles to the divider support. A latch disposed on a lid of the feed structure is configured for quick and easy access to the belt of items. A flexible outer container encloses the carrier and feed structure and can be coupled to a harness section configured to couple with a mobile structure. Additional embodiments include variants suitable for field manufacturing as well as portable manufacturing systems and methods.