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US 8,151,683 B2Granted
Link chute ejection adapter
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsGlen Dick, James Buechler, Michael Holzmeyer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A link chute ejection adapter for conveying spent links of an ammunition belt from the receiver chamber of a machine gun to a link chute.
Claims17
A link chute ejection adapter for a weapon discharging rounds from an ammunition belt, the link chute ejection adapter comprising:
- a base having an upper surface, a lower surface, a proximal end, and a distal end;
- a cover positioned above the base;
- a first side wall rigidly coupled to the base and the cover, the first side wall including a proximal end configured to be removably received within a receiver chamber of the weapon;
- a second side wall positioned in spaced relation to the first side wall and rigidly coupled to the base and the cover, the second side wall including a proximal end configured to be removably received within the receiver chamber of the weapon;
- an ejection chamber defined by the base, the cover, the first side wall, and the second side wall, the ejection chamber extending in an axial direction generally along a longitudinal axis from a proximal end to a distal end, the proximal end coupled to the receiver chamber of the weapon and the distal end configured to be coupled to an ejection chute;
- a casing stop supported by the proximal end of the first side wall for locating a casing of the ammunition belt;
- and
- a bullet stop supported by the proximal end of the second side wall for locating a bullet of the ammunition belt, the bullet stop including a finger extending axially outwardly away from the ejection chamber and transversely outwardly away from an outer surface of the second side wall.
5 more elements
A link chute ejection adapter for a weapon configured to discharge rounds of ammunition from an ammunition belt in which the rounds of ammunition are connected by links, the link chute ejection adapter comprising:
- a base including a proximal end and a distal end, the base further including a tongue supported at the proximal end for mating with a floor of a receiver chamber of the weapon, and a mounting boss extending downwardly from the tongue and having an opening configured to receive a pin for securing the link chute ejection adapter to the weapon;
- a cover positioned above the base;
- a first side wall coupled to the base and the cover, the first side wall including a proximal end configured to be removably received within a receiver chamber of the weapon;
- a second side wall positioned in spaced relation to the first side wall and coupled to the base and the cover, the second side wall including a proximal end configured to be removably received within the receiver chamber of the weapon;
- a link chute coupler supported at the distal end of the base and configured to couple a link chute to the link chute ejection adapter;
- a casing stop supported by the proximal end of the first side wall for locating a casing of the round;
- and
- a bullet stop supported by the proximal end of the second side wall for locating a bullet of the round, the bullet stop including a finger extending axially outwardly away from the receiver chamber of the weapon and transversely outwardly away from an outer surface of the second side wall.
5 more elements
A weapon system comprising:
- an ammunition belt including a plurality of rounds interconnected by a plurality of links, wherein each of the plurality of rounds includes a bullet and a casing;
- a weapon including a receiver for receiving a round of the ammunition belt, the receiver having a receiver floor, a movable lid, and a feed slide assembly for pulling the ammunition belt across the receiver floor;
- a link chute ejection adapter including a base, a cover, a first side wall having a proximal end and a distal end, a second side wall having a proximal end and a distal end, and a chute coupler supported proximate the distal end of the first side wall and the second side wall;
- wherein the base includes a mounting boss for coupling the link chute ejection adapter to the weapon, and a tongue having an upper surface and abutting a side edge of the receiver floor such that the upper surface is substantially flush with the receiver floor;
- a link chute coupled to the chute coupler of the link chute ejection adapter;
- a casing stop supported by the proximal end of the first side wall for locating a casing of the round;
- and
- a bullet stop supported by the proximal end of the second side wall for locating a bullet of the round.
5 more elements
A method of ejecting spent links from a weapon system, the method including the steps of:
- aligning a link ejection chute adapter to a receiver of a weapon such that a tongue at the proximal end of the link chute ejection adapter is substantially flush with a receiving floor of the receiver;
- coupling the link chute ejection adapter to the receiver;
- coupling a link chute to a distal end of the link ejection chute adapter;
- drawing an ammunition belt into a receiver chamber of the weapon, the ammunition belt including rounds of ammunition connected by links, each of the rounds including a bullet and a casing;
- locating a casing of the ammunition when the round is drawn into the receiver chamber of the weapon by a casing stop member supported at a proximal end of a first side wall of the link ejection chute adapter;
- locating a bullet of the ammunition when the round is drawn into the receiver chamber of the weapon by a bullet stop member supported at the proximal end of a second side wall of the link ejection chute adapter;
- expelling the bullet from the casing, wherein the bullet is expelled from the casing by activation of a firing mechanism of the weapon;
- ejecting the casing from the receiver chamber, wherein the casing is ejected downwardly from the weapon following the expelling of the bullet from the casing;
- ejecting the link from the receiver chamber, wherein the link is ejected laterally from the receiver chamber;
- and
- guiding the link into the link ejection chute adapter.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.