Shell feeding apparatus for guns

Shell feeding apparatus for feeding shells a distance, D, from a shell pickup position to a breech loading position, said shell ramming apparatus comprising:

• (a) a pressurized fluid actuator having a U-shaped cylinder portion forming laterally spaced apart first and second legs having respective first and second cylinder bores and further having first and second pistons disposed in respective ones of said bores, said pistons being movable a linear distance, d, relative to said cylinder portion, said distance, d, being substantially less than said shell ramming distance, D;
• (b) pressurized fluid means for actuating said actuator;
• (c) a shell ramming member;
• (d) motion multiplying means connected to said pistons for causing, in response to said pressurized fluid means causing said pistons to move said distance, d, the shell ramming member to move said shell ramming distance, D,
• said motion multiplying means including a T-shaped member having a transverse portion and an elongate depending leg portion and means for connecting end regions of said T-shaped member transverse portion to said actuator pistons so as to cause said T-shaped member leg portion to be disposed between said actuator cylinder first and second legs at least when said actuator second portion is in the retracted position;
• said motion multiplying means further including means for movably connecting said shell rammer member to said T-shaped member, said motion multiplying means further comprises a first pair of drive sprockets rotatably mounted in mutually spaced apart relationship on one side of said T-shaped member, a second pair of drive sprockets rotatably mounted in mutually spaced apart relationship on the other side of said T-shaped member, said first and second pair of drive sprockets being symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of said T-shaped member, said motion multiplying means still further comprising a first drive chain entrained over the first pair of drive sprockets and a second drive chain entrained over the second pair of drive sprockets, said first and second drive chains being in mutually parallel planes, said two drive chains being connected at a point to said actuator first portion and said shell ramming member being connected to said two chains so as to be positioned in a shell-engaging position at the ramming position alongside the ramming means when said actuator second portion is in said retracted position and at the breech loading position when said actuator second portion is in the extended position;
• and
• (e) an annular shell magazine disposed around said actuator and motion multiplying means, said magazine being configured to hold a plurality of shells and including means for sequentially moving shells held in the magazine into said shell ramming position for ramming by the apparatus into the breech loading apparatus.

Shell feeding apparatus for supplying shells to an open cannon breech, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) a linear actuator having first and second portions, said second portion being movable relative to the first portion a distance, d, between a retracted position and an extended position;
• said first portion being generally U-shaped and having elongate first and second, transversely spaced apart legs;
• (b) actuation means for causing the actuator second portion to move said distance, d, at a linear velocity, v;
• (c) motion multiplier means comprising an elongate mounting member, a pair of sprockets rotatably mounted to said member in a coplanar, mutually spaced-apart relationship, an endless loop drive chain entrained over said sprockets, and a shell ramming member connected to said drive chain;
• (d) means for mounting said motion multiplier to said actuator second portion with a line interconnecting rotational axes of said sprockets parallel to the direction of travel of said second portion;
• said mounting means mounting said mounting member to the actuator second portion so as to cause, when the second portion is in the retracted position, major portions of said mounting member to be disposed between the legs of the first actuator portion;
• and
• (e) means for connecting said drive chain to said actuator first portion so as to cause, in response to said actuating means moving said actuator second portion said distance, d, at said velocity, v, said shell ramming member to move a distance, D, from a shell pickup position to a shell loading position at a velocity, V, said distance D and said velocity, V, being substantially greater than said distance, d, and said velocity, v,
• (f) a generally cylindrical shell magazine disposed around said actuator, said magazine being configured to hold a plurality of shells;
• and,
• (g) means for rotatably moving said magazine so as to sequentially index shells held therein into a ramming position alongside the ramming means enabling ramming engagement with the shells by said shell ramming member when the actuator second member is in the retracted position and the ramming member is in the shell pickup position.

Shell ramming apparatus for rapidly moving ammunition towards a gun, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) an actuator having first and second portions, the second portion being linearly movable, relative to the first portion, a distance, d, between retracted and extended positions;
• said actuator first portion comprising a cylinder having means defining laterally spaced apart, parallel first and second bores, said actuator second portion comprising first and second pistons disposed, respectively, in said first and second bores, said pistons each having a piston rod which extends beyond an open end of said bores, said actuator including means interconnecting said extending ends of the piston rods and means for delivering pressurized fluid to said first and second bores;
• (b) actuating means for causing the actuator second portion to move between the retracted and extended positions at a linear velocity, v;
• (c) a shell ramming member;
• (d) motion multiplying means mounted to the piston rod interconnecting means, said shell ramming member being connected to the motion multiplying means,
• said motion multiplying means being configured for causing, in conjunction with the actuating means moving the actuator second portion from the retracted to the extended positions, movement of the shell ramming member a linear shell ramming distance, D, at a shell ramming velocity, V, said shell ramming distance, D, and velocity, V, being substantially greater than the respective actuating distance, d, and velocity, v;
• (e) a generally cylindrical shell magazine disposed around said actuator, said magazine being configured to hold a plurality of shells;
• and
• (f) means for rotatably moving said magazine so as to sequentially index shells held therein into a ramming position alongside the ramming means enabling ramming engagement with the shells by said shell ramming member when the actuator second member is in the retracted position and the ramming member is in the shell pickup position.

Shell feeding apparatus for a rapid-fire gun, said gun including a chamber for receiving said shells sequentially, said shell feeding apparatus comprising:

• (a) a generally cylindrical and rotatable shell magazine for storing a plurality of shells in a generally parallel annular array;
• (b) shell ramming means nested in said shell magazine for extending therefrom to sequentially ram said shells directly from their storage position in said magazine into the chamber of said gun as said shell magazine is rotated;
• (c) said ramming means being disposed coaxially within said cylindrical shell magazine and forming the spindle upon which the shell magazine rotates;
• (d) means for rotating and indexing the shell magazine with respect to the ramming means;
• and
• (e) means for driving the ramming means.