Cased Telescoped Weapon Feeding via Translating Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional firearm ammunition cartridges are heavy due to metal casings, limiting the number of rounds that can be carried, whereas cased telescoped ammunition encases propellant and projectile in a polymer shell, reducing weight but requiring innovative feeding mechanisms to efficiently load and eject rounds.
Innovation Solution
A weapon system with a chamber member and carrier assembly that translates between firing and ejection/loading positions, using a linkage to move the chamber member from firing to ejection/loading and back, allowing for efficient loading and unloading of cased telescoped rounds, and a disconnecting rammer to push new rounds into the chamber during counter-recoil.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional metal case cartridges are used, then structural strength and reliability are improved, but ammunition weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the cartridge case from metal to polymer, and changes the structural parameter from traditional separate case design to cased telescoped configuration where propellant and projectile are encased within the polymer shell. This material and structural substitution reduces ammunition weight while maintaining sufficient structural reliability for the intended application
2Weight of moving object
If cased telescoped ammunition with polymer shells is used, then ammunition weight is reduced, but feeding mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic chamber member that translates between firing and ejection/loading positions, and a carrier assembly that moves between battery and recoil positions. These dynamic components enable automatic feeding and ejection of cased telescoped ammunition through coordinated motion, managing the complexity through mechanical dynamics rather than static structures
Solution Approach 2:
The feeding mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: a chamber member for holding and positioning cartridges, a carrier assembly for feeding and ejecting, and a disconnecting rammer for loading. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, simplifying the overall system architecture despite the increased complexity compared to traditional systems
3Productivity
If a chamber member translates between firing and ejection positions, then loading and ejection efficiency are improved, but mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of chamber translation, cartridge ejection, and loading preparation into a single integrated chamber member that performs multiple operations during its translation cycle. The carrier assembly similarly combines feeding, ejecting, and ramming functions, reducing the number of separate mechanisms needed and improving loading efficiency while managing complexity through functional integration
Data Source
AI summary
A weapon is capable of firing cased telescoped (CT) ammunition rounds. The weapon includes a barrel, a chamber member that defines a chamber configured to hold a CT round for firing from the weapon, a non-rotating carrier body, and linkage. The linkage is constructed and arranged to move the chamber member (i) from a firing position in which the chamber member is aligned with the barrel for firing the CT round to an ejection/loading position in which the chamber member is not aligned with the barrel for ejecting a spent CT round and receiving a next CT round in response to the non-rotating carrier body moving away from the barrel, and (ii) from the ejection/loading position to the firing position in response to the non-rotating carrier body moving toward the barrel.