Minigun with Improved Access Door
AssigneeProfense, LLC
InventorsThomas Rowe, Arthur O'Donnell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved door assembly for a delinking feeder of a minigun includes an access door mounted to a delinking feeder housing and movable between a closed position and an open position. The access door has an enclosed recess for receiving a tongue that is rotationally coupled to the access door and is movable between a retracted position and a deployed position. When the access door is in the open position, the tongue is in the deployed position and a tongue first contact surface can contact and secure a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder. When the access door is in the closed position, the tongue is in the retracted position and a tongue second contact surface can contact and guide a cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder.
Claims20
An improved door assembly for a delinking feeder of a minigun, the door assembly comprising:
- an access door mountable to a delinking feeder housing and movable between a closed position and an open position;
- wherein the access door includes an enclosed recess for receiving a tongue having a first contact surface for contacting and securing a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder when the access door is in the open position;
- wherein the tongue is rotationally coupled to the access door and is movable between a retracted position, wherein a portion of the tongue is disposed in the enclosed recess, and a deployed position, wherein the portion of the tongue is deployed from the access door;
- and
- wherein when the access door is in the open position, the tongue is in the deployed position and the tongue first contact surface can contact and secure a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder.
An improved delinking feeder for receiving a belt of linked cartridges, separating the cartridges from the belt, and feeding the separated cartridges to a minigun for firing, the delinking feeder comprising:
- a housing;
- a rotatable shaft coupled to a motor and adapted to hold a stripper sleeve and a feeder sprocket having a body including plurality of slots, wherein each of the plurality of feeder sprocket slots includes an inner end for receiving a cartridge and extends outwardly from the inner end to an open end at an outer edge of the feeder sprocket body;
- and
- an access door mounted to the housing and movable between a closed position and an open position;
- wherein the access door includes an enclosed recess for receiving a tongue having a first contact surface for contacting and securing a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder when the access door is in the open position.
A Gatling-type minigun comprising:
- a barrel assembly including a plurality of circumferentially mounted gun barrels;
- a motor adapted to rotate the barrel assembly;
- a delinking feeder for receiving a belt of linked cartridges, separating the linked cartridges from the belt, and feeding the separated cartridges to a firing mechanism, wherein the delinking feeder includes a rotatable shaft coupled to the motor and adapted to hold a stripper sleeve and a feeder sprocket;
- and
- an access door mounted to the housing and movable between a closed position and an open position;
- wherein the access door includes an enclosed recess for receiving a tongue having a first contact surface for contacting and securing a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder when the access door is in the open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.