EP0111240B1 - Safety device for an externally powered gun - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a safety device on a third-party gun, with a weapon barrel and an inevitably moving back and forth breech which can be locked in its foremost position.

In particular, the invention relates to a safety device on a multi-barrel gun that is mounted on a cradle that can move backwards, that moves from a front position to a rear position through the recoil and that has a weapon housing with a rotor rotating therein, on which a tube bundle is arranged is, with a lock for each gun barrel, which can be locked with the gun barrel before firing a shot.

A device of this type is known (see DE-A 1 809699) for interrupting the series fire of an automatic rapid-fire weapon of the Gatling type in the event that a cartridge or a cartridge case has not been pulled out of the cartridge chamber of the weapon barrel. In this known device, means are present which prevent bullets from being fed to the cartridge chamber of the weapon barrel if there is still a cartridge which has not been pulled out after rotation of the weapon barrel bundle. These means contain a scanning element which prevents the advance of the closure when the cartridge that is not pulled out is touched. For this purpose there is a switch which prevents the closure from being advanced in a first position and enables the closure to be advanced in a second position, the crossover being coupled to the scanning device.

This known device has the disadvantage that premature unlocking of the breech cannot be prevented when a cartridge is delayed. There is therefore a risk that, in the event of a delay in ignition, the propellant charge of the cartridge is ignited after the lock has been unlocked. If a cartridge is still ignited after the breech has been unlocked, this can result in the destruction of essential parts of the weapon. The operator of the weapon is also at risk.

The object that is to be achieved with the present invention is to provide a safety device that reliably prevents the propellant charge of a cartridge from being ignited after the lock has been unlocked in the event of an ignition delay.

A multi-barrel gun like a "Gatling cannon" has a tube bundle that is attached to a rotor that rotates in a weapon housing around the central axis of the tube bundle. This rotor contains guide tracks arranged in the longitudinal direction of the weapon, for the closures assigned to the tubes of the bundle. The cartridges are first inserted into the gun barrels through the forward and reverse movement of the breeches on these guideways. After the cartridges have been fired, the empty cartridges are pulled out of the gun barrels and ejected while the rotor rotates about its axis. In order to move the breeches between their foremost locked position and the rear position in which the empty cartridge cases are ejected, a cam roller is provided on each breech which engages with an elliptical cam track on the weapon housing in which the rotor is mounted. There is also a cartridge conveying device for feeding cartridges from a magazine into the aforementioned weapon housing, in which they are gripped by the breeches. Due to the elliptical curved path, the shutter is inevitably moved back and forth.

According to the invention, to achieve the above-mentioned object, the safety device is characterized in that the breech has a breech block and a breech head which are coupled to one another and that a device for disengaging the breech block from the breech block locked with the weapon barrel is present, which responds to the delay in ignition of a cartridge .

This device can e.g. respond if there is no propellant gas pressure. In this case, there is a gas extraction channel in the weapon barrel for shifting a gas piston by the gas pressure from a working position to a rest position. The said device is then connected to this gas piston, which prevents unlocking of the closure if the gas piston remains in its working position in the event of an ignition delay.

This device can e.g. even in the absence of the weapon barrel recoil by the force generated by the propellant gases, the device responding either to the return or to the subsequent advance of the weapon relative to the stationary cradle.

In the first case, a cam plate is attached to the weapon housing and an inertial mass is slidably arranged on the breech, which can be moved from an active position into an ineffective position relative to the weapon by the recoil of the firearm in order to prevent unlocking of the breech, in the event of a delay in ignition the inertial mass remains in its active position.

In the second case, a cam plate is attached to the cradle which engages an actuator when the gun is in its forward position to prevent the breech from unlocking if the gun moves forward from its rearward position upon ignition delay emotional.

Finally, this device can also be used in the absence of gas pressure in the cartridge case speak to. In this case there is a recess in a chamber of the weapon barrel, which serves to receive the cartridge, into which the cartridge case is bulged out by the gas pressure. A stylus protrudes into this recess and can be moved from a working position to a rest position. An actuating device is connected to the stylus in order to prevent unlocking of the closure if the stylus remains in its working position in the event of an ignition delay.

To solve the above-mentioned problem, there is also a gas extraction channel in the weapon barrel, for moving a gas piston by the gas pressure from a working position into a rest position and an actuating device is connected to the gas piston to prevent unlocking of the breech if the gas piston is in its working position remains.

• Fig.1 eine perspektivische Darstellung einer mehrläufigen Feuerwaffe nach der Art eines Gatling-Geschützes,
• Fig. 2 eine perspektivische Darstellung des Rotors, der in Fig. 1 gezeigten Waffe mit einem Schnitt durch das Waffengehäuse.
• Fig. eine perspektivische Darstellung eines der Verschlüsse der in Fig. 1 dargestellten Waffe, in gekuppelter Stellung,
• Fig.4 eine perspektivische Darstellung des in Fig. 3 gezeigten Verschlusses in entkuppelter Stellung,
• Fig.5 einen radialen Schnitt durch einen Teil des in Fig. 2 gezeigten Rotors, mit einem Verschluss in verriegelter Stellung,
• Fig. 6 einen Schnitt nach Linie VI-VI in Fig. 5,
• Fig. 7 eine Ansicht in Richtung des Pfeiles X in Fig. 6,
• Fig. eine Ansicht des in Fig. dargestellten Verschlusses von oben,
• Fig. 9 einen Schnitt nach Linie IX-IX in Fig. 8,
• Fig. 10 einen Längsschnitt durch den in Fig. 8 dargestellten vorderen Teil des Verschlusses,
• Fig. 11 den ähnlichen Schnitt wie Fig. 10 in anderer Stellung einzelner Teile des Verschlusskopfes, bei fehlender Patrone,
• Fig. 12 denselben Schnitt wie Fig.8 des Verschlusskopfes in entkuppelter Stellung,
• Fig. 13 denselben Schnitt wie Fig. 9 in anderer Stellung einzelner Teile des Verschlusskopfes bei Zündverzögerung,
• Fig. 14 denselben Schnitt wie Fig. 9 in anderer Stellung einzelner Teile des Verschlusskopfes bei Zündverzögerung,
• Fig. 15 einen Querschnitt durch die Waffe gemäss Fig. 1 zur schematischen Darstellung der Patronenzufuhr und des Hülsenauswurfes,
• Fig. 16 einen radialen Schnitt, gemäss einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel, durch einen Teil einer Feuerwaffe mit dem hinteren Ende eines Waffenrohres und einem Verschluss,
• Fig. 17 einen Querschnitt nach Linie XVII-XVII in Fig. 16.
• Fig. 18 einen radialen Schnitt, gemäss einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel, durch einen Teil einer Feuerwaffe mit dem hinteren Ende des Waffenrohres und dem Verschluss,
• Fig. 19 einen radialen Schnitt, gemäss einem dritten Ausführungsbeispiel, durch einen Teil einer Feuerwaffe mit dem hinteren Ende des Waffenrohres und dem Verschluss,
• Fig. 20 einen Querschnitt gemäss Linie XX-XX in Fig. 19,
• Fig. 21 einen Querschnitt gemäss Linie XXI-XXI in Fig. 18,
• Fig. 22 einen Längsschnitt durch die in Fig. 16 dargestellte Feuerwaffe mit einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel der Sicherheitsvorrichtung,
• Fig. 23 einen ähnlichen Längsschnitt wie Fig. 16 mit einem dritten Ausführungsbeispiel der Sicherheitsvorrichtung,
• Fig.24 und 25 einen Querschnitt durch Einzelheiten der in Fig. 17 dargestellten Waffe,
• Fig. 26 eine Abwicklung der in Fig. 16 dargestellten Steuerkurve.

Various exemplary embodiments of the safety device according to the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing, with FIGS. 1-5 representing a first exemplary embodiment of the safety device. It shows:

• 1 is a perspective view of a multi-barrel firearm in the manner of a Gatling gun,
• Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rotor of the weapon shown in Fig. 1 with a section through the weapon housing.
• 1 is a perspective view of one of the breeches of the weapon shown in FIG. 1, in the coupled position,
• 4 shows a perspective view of the closure shown in FIG. 3 in the uncoupled position,
• 5 shows a radial section through part of the rotor shown in FIG. 2, with a closure in the locked position,
• 6 shows a section along line VI-VI in FIG. 5,
• 7 is a view in the direction of arrow X in Fig. 6,
• 1 is a top view of the closure shown in FIG.
• 9 shows a section along line IX-IX in FIG. 8,
• 10 shows a longitudinal section through the front part of the closure shown in FIG. 8,
• 11 shows the section similar to FIG. 10 in a different position of individual parts of the breech head when the cartridge is missing,
• 12 shows the same section as FIG. 8 of the closure head in the uncoupled position,
• 13 shows the same section as FIG. 9 in a different position of individual parts of the closure head with ignition delay,
• 14 shows the same section as FIG. 9 in a different position of individual parts of the closure head with ignition delay,
• 15 shows a cross section through the weapon according to FIG. 1 for the schematic representation of the cartridge feed and the sleeve ejection,
• 16 shows a radial section, according to a first exemplary embodiment, through part of a firearm with the rear end of a weapon barrel and a breech,
• 17 shows a cross section along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 16.
• 18 shows a radial section, according to a second exemplary embodiment, through part of a firearm with the rear end of the weapon barrel and the breech,
• 19 is a radial section, according to a third embodiment, through part of a firearm with the rear end of the weapon barrel and the breech,
• 20 shows a cross section along line XX-XX in FIG. 19,
• 21 shows a cross section along line XXI-XXI in FIG. 18,
• 22 shows a longitudinal section through the firearm shown in FIG. 16 with a second exemplary embodiment of the security device,
• 23 shows a longitudinal section similar to FIG. 16 with a third exemplary embodiment of the safety device,
• 24 and 25 a cross section through details of the weapon shown in FIG. 17,
• FIG. 26 shows a development of the control curve shown in FIG. 16.

1, a Gatling cannon has a tube bundle 10 with six weapon tubes 11, which are fastened with their rear end in a rotor 12. The tube bundle 10 is rotatably supported at the front in a carrier 13. The rotor 12 is also rotatably mounted in a weapon housing 14. A ring gear 15 fastened to the rotor 12 is in engagement with a gear 16. Five gears 17-21 of this gear 16 are visible in FIG. With an electric motor, not shown, the rotor 12 is driven with a tube bundle 10 via this gear 16. The weapon housing 14 is attached to a return device 22, which essentially consists of two plate spring assemblies 23 and 24. For the supply of the cartridges 25, an ammunition supply housing 26 is fastened to the weapon housing 14, to which the cartridges 25 are fed on an endless conveyor belt 27 in the direction of arrow A, the empty conveyor belt 27 moves in the direction of arrow B to an ammunition container (not shown). The empty cartridge cases 28 are ejected from the housing 26 in the direction of arrow C.

2, the rotor 12 rotatably mounted in the weapon housing 14 has guide rails 29. A closure 30 is slidably mounted between two guide rails 29. A cam roller 31 is attached to each closure 30 and engages in a closure control curve 32. This breech control curve 32 is located in the weapon housing 14 and has the effect that the breech 30 is pushed back and forth once when the rotor 12 is rotated fully in the weapon housing 14. In a known manner, a cartridge 25 is inserted into the weapon barrel 11 when the breech 30 is advanced and when it is returned slide the breech 30, the empty cartridge case 28 is pulled out of the gun barrel 11 and ejected. In the foremost position of the breech 30, it is locked before the shot is fired. As soon as the shot is fired, the breech 30 is unlocked again. Since, as mentioned, the rotor 12 is driven by an electric motor, the closure 30 is advanced, locked, unlocked and withdrawn.

However, if the cartridge 25 does not fire in time, i.e. in the event of an ignition delay, it could happen that the breech 30 is unlocked again before the shot has been fired.

According to the invention, a device is present which prevents the closure 30 from being unlocked prematurely in the event of an ignition delay. This device is described below.

According to FIG. 1, the closure 30 has a closure carrier 33 and a closure head 34 which, as can be seen in FIG. 4, can be separated from one another. However, this separation of the closure head 34 and the closure carrier 33 takes place only in the case of the ignition delay mentioned above.

The locking head 34 has ten locking cams 35, which, however, are only partially visible in FIG. 3. By turning the locking head 34, these locking cams 35 are placed in the rotor 12. A locking body 62 is slidably mounted in the closure head 34. This locking body 62 has steep, helical ribs. As soon as the closure head 34 has reached its foremost position when the closure 30 is advanced, the locking body 62 shifts from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. Since the locking body 62 is secured against rotation thanks to its attachment in a locking head holder 64, the locking head 34 is rotated by the helical ribs 63 during this displacement and thereby locked in the rotor 12 in a bayonet-like manner. This locking can also be seen in FIG. 6.

5, the weapon barrel 11 fastened in the rotor 12 has a loading chamber 36 for receiving a cartridge. At the front end of this chamber 36, near the mouth of a cartridge case 28, there is a gas extraction opening 37. This gas removal opening 37 is connected to a gas channel 39 via a deflection nozzle 38. The gas channel 39 opens into a gas chamber 40 in which a piston 41 is slidably mounted. In this piston 41 there is a spring 42 which is supported on the bottom of the gas chamber 40 and tends to push the piston 41 forward, i.e. to move to the left in Fig. The piston 41 has a cam 43 which serves to actuate a lever 44. However, as soon as the gas pressure pushes the piston 41 backwards against the force of the spring 42, i.e. 5 is moved to the right, this cam 43 comes out of engagement with the lever 44. This two-armed lever 44 is pivotally mounted about an axis 45 in the weapon housing 14 and is supported with its one arm 46 on the cam 43 of the piston 41 and with its other arm 47 on a second two-armed lever 48. This second two-armed lever 48 (see also FIG. 7) is pivotally mounted about an axis 49 in the weapon housing 14 and is supported with its one arm 50 on the arm 47 of the first two-armed arm Lever 44 and with its second arm 51 on a third two-armed lever 52. This third two-armed lever 52 is mounted about an axis 53 in the weapon housing 14 and is supported with its one arm 54 on the arm 51 of the second two-armed lever 48 from time to time his other arm 55 on an actuating lever 56 which is rotatably mounted about an axis 57 in the locking head 34. With this actuating lever 56, the closure head 34 can be separated from the closure carrier 33, as described below.

According to FIG. 1, a first spring 58 is arranged in the weapon housing 14, which is supported on the arm 50 of the second lever 48 via a sleeve 59. Furthermore, a second spring 60 is arranged in the weapon housing 14, which is supported on the arm 51 of the second lever 48 via a sleeve 61 and via the arm 54 of the third lever. These two springs 58 and 60 have the tendency according to FIG. 7 to pivot the second lever 48 counterclockwise and according to FIG. The first lever 44 also counterclockwise, but to pivot the third lever 52 clockwise.

5, an ignition pin 65 is slidably mounted in the closure carrier 33. A spring 66, which is supported on the one hand at the rear end of the firing pin and on the other hand on the closure carrier 33, tends to push the firing pin against the bottom of the cartridge case 28. At the rear end of the firing pin 65 a driver 67 is also attached, which cooperates with a cam, not shown, to release the firing pin 65 at the desired moment for piercing the cartridge 25.

According to FIGS. 8 and 9, the locking head 34 and the locking head holder 64 are coupled to the locking carrier 34 by two bolts 68 and 69. Bolts 70 are fastened to these bolts 68 and 69 and are rotatably mounted in the locking head holder 64. These two latches 68 and 69 are held in the holding position shown by a support bracket 71, which is shown in cross section in FIG. 9. On this bracket 71 two bolts 72 and 73 are attached (Fig. 8), which are also rotatably mounted in the locking head holder 64. This support bracket 71 is held in the holding position shown by two levers 74 and 75, which are rotatable about bolts 76. The two levers 74 and 75 have on one arm 77 a cam 78 which engages in a groove 79 of the support bracket 71. On the other arm 80 of the two levers 74 and 75, a spring 81 is supported with its two ends via sleeves 108 from. This spring 81 endeavors to press the cams 78 of the two levers 74 and 75 into the grooves 79 of the bracket 71 and thereby to hold the bracket 71 in its holding position. The previously mentioned actuating lever 56 (FIG. 5), which is pivotably mounted about the bolt 57, serves to actuate the support bracket 71. 10, with its first arm 82 cooperates with the arm 55 of the lever 52, see also FIGS. 5 and 6. Furthermore, the actuating lever 56 has a second arm 83 which is connected to a stop 84 of the bracket 71 cooperates, and a third arm 85, which is pressed by a spring 86 against a carriage 87. A feeler pin 88 is fastened to the carriage 87 and is pushed by the spring 86 mentioned above the arm 85 against the bottom of the cartridge case 28 (FIG. 5). The second arm 83 of the actuating lever 56 only engages with the stop 84 of the bracket 71 if two conditions are met. On the one hand, the closure head holder 64 must be in its foremost position according to FIG. 5, ie on the far left, and on the other hand a cartridge 25 must be present. 11, the carriage 87 with the actuating lever 56 pivotably mounted thereon is advanced by the spring 86, ie to the left according to FIG. 11, as a result of which the arm 83 is out of engagement with the stop 84 of the bracket 71.

According to FIG. 10, a pawl 89 is fastened on the closure head holder 64 so that it can rotate about an axis 90. This two-armed pawl 89 cooperates with a control cam 91 which is attached to the guide rail 29 of the rotor 12. The pawl 89 rests with one arm 92 on a stop 93 of the locking head 34 and prevents the locking body 62 attached to the locking head holder 64 from being pushed fully into the locking head 34 before the locking head 34 has reached its foremost position. As soon as the other arm 94 of the pawl 89 abuts the control cam 91, the pawl 89 is pivoted counterclockwise until the first arm 92 of the pawl 89 has disengaged from the stop 93. When the locking head holder 64 is pulled back, the first arm 92 abuts the control cam 91, as a result of which the pawl 89 moves clockwise into its starting position according to FIG. 10.

14, the guide rails 29 have recesses 109, into which the arms 80 of the levers 74 can engage, as a result of which the locking head 34 is secured against any displacement.

15 and 15, the cartridges 25 are fed through a star wheel 95 into the weapon housing in front of the breeches 30, only the bores 25 and not the breeches 30 being shown in FIG. These cartridges 25 are pierced at point E by the firing pin. If an ignition delay occurs, the cartridge 25 is not withdrawn from the gun barrel 11 and, when the rotor 12 rotates, it reaches the point F. Here, the cartridge case 28 that has remained in the gun barrel 11 can be scanned by a stylus 96. This stylus 96 is slidably mounted in the rotor 12 and can be moved radially outward from the position shown. Two rods 97 and 98 of a knee joint are supported on the stylus 96. The other end 99 of the rod 97 of the knee joint is articulated on the housing 14 and the rod 98 of the knee joint is articulated on a switch 101 via a linkage 100. A cylinder 102 is articulated on this switch 101, in which a spring-loaded piston is articulated on the housing 26 via a piston rod 103, in such a way that pressure is exerted on the switch 101, so that when the knee joint 97, 98 bends out, the switch 101 turns around an axis 104 is pivoted. When the switch 101 is pivoted about the axis 104, the cartridges 25 fed in the arrow direction A through the star wheel 95 are no longer fed to the weapon housing 14, but instead go directly into an ejection channel 105 of the housing 26. The empty cartridge cases 28 are replaced by a second star wheel 106 promoted in the adjacent sleeve ejection channel 107.

• Gemäss Fig. 1, 2 und 15 werden die Patronen 25 in Richtung des Pfeiles A dem Gehäuse 26 der Munitionszufuhrvorrichtung zugeführt und werden durch das Sternrad 95 ins Waffengehäuse 14 gefördert. Im Waffengehäuse 14 wird je eine Patrone 25 von einem Verschluss 30 erfasst und in das entsprechende Waffenrohr geschoben. Der Rotor 12 dreht sich dabei gemäss Fig. 15 in Richtung des Pfeiles P. An der Stelle E ist der Verschluss 30 mit Hilfe der Verschlusssteuerkurve 32 Fig. und der Nockenrolle 31 in seine vorderste Stellung gelangt, in welcher die Patrone 25 durch den Zündstift 65 angestochen wird (siehe Fig. 5).

The described safety device works as follows:

• 1, 2 and 15, the cartridges 25 are fed in the direction of arrow A to the housing 26 of the ammunition supply device and are conveyed into the weapon housing 14 by the star wheel 95. In the weapon housing 14, a cartridge 25 is gripped by a breech 30 and pushed into the corresponding weapon barrel. 15 rotates in the direction of arrow P. At position E, the closure 30 has reached its foremost position with the aid of the closure control curve 32 and the cam roller 31, in which the cartridge 25 is moved by the ignition pin 65 is pierced (see Fig. 5).

If the propellant charge in the cartridge 25 is ignited in good time, propellant gas penetrates into the gas extraction opening 37 (FIG. 5) and passes through the gas channel 39 into the chamber 40, as a result of which the piston 41 counteracts the force of the spring 42 to the right in FIG. 5, ie is moved backwards. The cam 43 therefore disengages from the two-armed lever 44 and is not able to pivot this lever 44 clockwise (see FIG. 6). As soon as the breech block 33 moves back again, the breech head 34 is also pulled back and the cartridge case 28 is pulled out of the weapon barrel 11. 15, this empty cartridge case 28 is then ejected through the case ejection channel 107 with the aid of the star wheel 106.

However, if the propellant charge in the cartridge 25 is not ignited in time by the firing pin 65, then no propellant gas penetrates into the gas extraction opening 37, into the gas channel 39 and into the chamber 40. The piston 41 is therefore not counter to the force of the spring 42 to the right in FIG. 5, ie shifted backwards. The cam 43 remains in the path of the two-armed Lever 44. According to FIG. 6, when the rotor 12 rotates relative to the housing 14, the cam 43 abuts against the arm 46 of the lever 44, as a result of which the lever 44 is pivoted clockwise. During this pivoting, the arm 48 of the lever 44 pivots the lever 48 and thus the arm 52 of the lever 48 also pivots the lever 52 in the counterclockwise direction, as can be seen from FIGS. The arm 55 of the lever 52, according to FIG. 5, pivots the actuating lever 56 of the lock 30 in a counterclockwise direction and reaches the position shown in FIG. 13. The arm 83 of the lever 56 abuts against the stop 84 of the bracket 71, which also causes this is pivoted into the position shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the latches 68, 69 are no longer assumed and can pivot into the position according to FIG. 12. When the closure carrier 33 is withdrawn, the closure head carrier 64 with the closure head 34 remains in its foremost position and the closure carrier 33 moves back alone, as shown in FIG. 4.

A separation of the breech head 34 from the breech carrier 33, in the manner just described, may only take place during the ignition delay and not at the start of a series fire if there is still no cartridge in the barrel at position E (FIG. 15).

11, when there is no cartridge 25, the stylus 88 moves to the left, as a result of which the arm 83 of the lever 56 disengages from the stop 84 of the support bracket 71. It is therefore not possible to disengage the closure head 34 from the closure carrier 33, as shown in FIG. 3, if the cartridge is missing. It should also be noted that if the cartridge 25 is missing, i.e. when the stylus 88 is advanced, the two-armed lever 56 in FIG. 11 is also shifted to the left and is therefore no longer in engagement with the arm 55 of the two-armed lever 52. If there is no gas pressure and a missing cartridge 25, the lever 52 (FIG. 5) is actuated, but it can no longer pivot the actuating lever 56, since this is no longer in engagement with the arm 55 of the lever 52, as also from FIG. 11 can be seen.

In the event of an ignition delay, the closure head 34 separated from the closure carrier 33 may no longer shift. By pivoting the support bracket 71 into the position shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the two levers 74 and 75 with their cams 78 are no longer in engagement with the groove 79 of the support bracket 71 and are moved by the spring 81 into the position shown in FIG 14 position shown pivoted. During this pivoting, the arms 80 of the two levers 74 and 75 come into the recesses 109 of the guide rails 29, which prevents any displacement of the locking head 34.

When the rotor 12 rotates in the direction of the arrow P (FIG. 15), the cartridge 25 not fired at position E because of the ignition delay moves to the position F. Since this cartridge was not pulled out of the weapon barrel because of the ignition delay (as just described), it pushes against the stylus 96, whereby the knee joint, which consists of the rods 97 and 98, is bent, whereby the switch 101 is pivoted about its axis 104. The cartridges supplied at A therefore no longer reach the weapon housing 14, but rather the ejection channel 105. The cartridge supply to the weapon is interrupted.

16, a weapon barrel 211 is fastened in a rotor 210. The rotor 210 is rotatable about the axis 212 and contains, in addition to the weapon barrel 211 visible in FIG. 16, five further weapon tubes, which are not shown in the drawing, however. These six weapon tubes 211 are arranged parallel to the axis 212 on a circle evenly distributed around its circumference. The rotor 210 is rotatably supported in a weapon housing 214 by means of a bearing 213. This weapon housing 214 is slidably mounted on a cradle 215 in a manner not shown for the return of the weapon. The cradle 215 is indicated by a single line in FIG. 16. The direction of displacement of the weapon relative to the cradle 215 is indicated by a double arrow A. A cam plate 216 (FIG. 17) is attached to the cradle 215 and projects through an opening 217 into the interior of the weapon housing 214. This opening 217 is sufficiently large that when the weapon housing 214 is displaced with respect to the cradle 215, the cam plate 216 does not abut the edge of the opening 217. A cartridge 218 is located in the weapon barrel 211. When the cartridge 218 is fired, the weapon housing 214 moves from the position shown in FIG. 16 downward in FIG. 16. Behind the weapon barrel 211 is the breech 219 of the firearm. This closure 219 has a closure head 220 and a closure carrier 221. The closure head 220 has a number of cams, of which only two cams 222 are visible in FIG. 16. With the aid of these cams 222, the locking head 220 can be locked in the rotor 210 by rotating about the locking axis 223 in the manner of a bayonet lock. 16, the locked position is shown. The closure carrier 221 is slidably mounted in rails 224 in the rotor 210. A roller 225 is rotatably mounted on the closure carrier 221. This roller 225 is located in an elliptical groove 226 of the cylindrical weapon housing 214. Through this groove 226, when the rotor 210 rotates about the axis 212 in the weapon housing 214, the breech carrier 221 is moved back and forth in the direction of the double arrow A. 16, the closure carrier 221 with the closure head 220 is in its foremost position. Closure head 220 and closure carrier 221 are coupled to one another in a manner not shown. A two-armed lever 227, which is pivotably mounted about an axis 228, serves to decouple the closure carrier 221 from the closure head 220. The axis 228 is connected to a bolt 230 via an arm 229 attached, which is slidably mounted in the closure head 220. A spring 231 tends to push the bolt 230 against the bottom of the cartridge 218. The front end 232 of the two-armed lever 227 interacts with the mentioned cam plate 216, which is fastened to the cradle 215, if the weapon housing 214 is in the position shown in FIG. 16, as can also be seen in particular from FIG. 17. 17, the cam plate 216 attached to the cradle 215 projects through the opening 217 into the interior of the weapon housing 214. When the rotor 210 (FIG. 16) rotates about the axis 212 in the housing 214, the two-armed lever 227 also moves its front end 232 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 17.

• Es wird angenommen, dass die Feuerwaffe mit der beschriebenen Sicherheitsvorrichtung ein Seriefeuer abgibt. Somit dreht sich der Rotor 210 im Gehäuse 214 um die Achse 212 in Pfeilrichtung B (Fig. 17) und das Waffengehäuse 214 verschiebt sich unter der Wirkung des Rückstosses gemäss Fig. 16 gegenüber der Wiege 15 so weit nach unten, dass das Ende 232 des zweiarmigen Hebels 227 ausser Eingriff mit der an der Wiege befestigten Nockenplatte 216 gelangt. Die Nokkenplatte 216 ist daher nicht in der Lage den Hebel 227 zu betätigen und der Verschlusskopf 220 bleibt mit dem Verschlussträger 221 gekuppelt. Mit jeder Umdrehung des Rotors 210 bewegt sich somit der Verschluss 219 einmal vollständig vor und zurück und schiebt dabei eine andere Patrone 218 ins Waffenrohr 211, nachdem die leere Patronenhülse der vorhergehenden Patrone 218 ausgeworfen wurde. Sobald jedoch eine Patrone wegen Zündverzögerung nicht rechtzeitig zündet, dann darf sich der Verschlusskopf 220 nicht mehr zurückbewegen. Diese Rückbewegung des Verschlusskopfes 220 nach einer Zündverzögerung wird wie folgt verhindert:
  • Bei einer Zündverzögerung fällt der Rückstoss der Feuerwaffe aus und das Waffengehäuse 214, das sich unter der Wirkung des vorhergehenden Schusses hinten befindet, wird sich gegenüber der Wiege 215 soweit nach vorne, d.h. nach oben in Fig. 16 bewegen, bis das vordere Ende 232 des zweiarmigen Hebels 227 mit der Nockenplatte 216 in Eingriff gelangt. Wie aus Fig. 17 ersichtlich ist, wird bei der Drehung des Rotors 210 in Richtung des Pfeiles B das Ende 232 des Hebels 227 entsprechend der Form der Nockenplatte 216 radial nach innen gedrückt. Gemäss Fig. 16 wird somit der Hebel 227 um seine Achse 228 im Gegenuhrzeigersinne geschwenkt. Der Verschluss 219 wird dadurch zerlegt, d.h. der Verschlusskopf 220 bleibt in seiner vordersten Stellung und der Verschlussträger 221 bewegt sich alleine, ohne den Verschlusskopf 220 zurück, d.h. nach unten in Fig. 16, da die Rolle 225 in der Nut 226 geführt ist. Falls die Patrone 218 nachträglich doch noch gezündet wird, so ist gewährleistet, dass der Verschlusskopf 220 sich noch in seiner vordersten, verriegelten Stellung befindet. Sobald der Verschluss 219 zerlegt worden ist, wird die Waffe durch eine nicht dargestellte Vorrichtung ausgeschaltet und der Rotor 210 wird angehalten.

The safety device described works as follows:

• It is assumed that the firearm emits a series fire with the described safety device. Thus, the rotor 210 in the housing 214 rotates about the axis 212 in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 17) and the weapon housing 214 moves under the action of the recoil according to FIG. 16 so far downward from the cradle 15 that the end 232 of the two-armed lever 227 disengages from the cam plate 216 attached to the cradle. The cam plate 216 is therefore unable to actuate the lever 227 and the closure head 220 remains coupled to the closure carrier 221. With each revolution of the rotor 210, the breech 219 thus moves back and forth completely and pushes another cartridge 218 into the weapon barrel 211 after the empty cartridge case of the previous cartridge 218 has been ejected. However, as soon as a cartridge does not ignite in time due to the ignition delay, the breechhead 220 may no longer move back. This return movement of the locking head 220 after an ignition delay is prevented as follows:
  • In the event of an ignition delay, the recoil of the firearm fails and the weapon housing 214, which is under the effect of the previous shot, will move forward relative to the cradle 215, ie upwards in FIG. 16, until the front end 232 of the two-armed lever 227 comes into engagement with the cam plate 216. 17, when the rotor 210 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the end 232 of the lever 227 is pressed radially inward in accordance with the shape of the cam plate 216. 16, the lever 227 is thus pivoted about its axis 228 in the counterclockwise direction. The closure 219 is thereby disassembled, ie the closure head 220 remains in its foremost position and the closure carrier 221 moves alone without the closure head 220 back, ie downwards in FIG. 16, since the roller 225 is guided in the groove 226. If the cartridge 218 is still ignited afterwards, it is ensured that the closure head 220 is still in its foremost, locked position. As soon as the breech 219 has been disassembled, the weapon is switched off by a device (not shown) and the rotor 210 is stopped.

The second exemplary embodiment of the device according to FIGS. 18 and 21 differs essentially in the following features compared to the safety device shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. The same parts are provided with the same reference numbers. The cam plate 216 is no longer attached to the cradle 15 but to the weapon housing 14. An opening in the weapon housing 214 through which the cam plate 216 can protrude is therefore no longer necessary. When the weapon returns, the cam plate 216 also moves back and forth in the direction of arrow A. The cam plate 216 serves to actuate a two-armed lever 233 which forms an inertial mass and which has an elongated hole 234. An axis 235 projects through this elongated hole 234 and is fastened to a bolt 237 via an arm 236. The bolt 237 is slidably arranged in the locking head 220. A spring 241 presses the pin 237 against the bottom of the cartridge 218. In the two-armed lever 233 there is a pin 239 in a bore 238 which is pressed against the arm 236 by a spring 240, whereby the lever 233 in FIG. 18 so far is shifted to the right until axis 235 bears against the left end of elongated hole 234. The left end 242 of the lever 233 is in the starting position shown, i.e. before the firing of a cartridge in the area of the cam plate 216. The shape of this cam plate 216, as can be seen from FIG. 21, is the same as the cam plate 216, which is fastened to the cradle, as shown in FIG. 17. As can be seen from FIGS. 18 and 21 , a second cam plate 243 is attached to the weapon housing 214. The two-armed lever 233 has a stop 244 which bears against the cam plate 243. In the area of the cam plate 243, the lever 233 cannot therefore shift to the left from the position shown in FIG. 18.

• Es wird wiederum angenommen, dass die Feuerwaffe mit dieser zweiten Ausführungsform der Sicherheitsvorrichtung ein Seriefeuer abgibt. Der Rotor 210 dreht sich im Gehäuse 214 um die Achse 212 in Pfeilrichtung B (Fig. 21) und das Waffengehäuse 214 verschiebt sich unter der Wirkung des Rückstosses gemäss Fig. 18 gegenüber der Wiege 215 nach rechts. Infolge seiner Trägheit bleibt der Hebel 233 in seiner Ausgangslage, d.h. er verschiebt sich relativ zum Verschlusskopf 220 nach links und das Ende 242 des Hebels 233 gelangt somit in die strichpunktierte Stellung 242a und dadurch ausser Eingriff mit der am Waffengehäuse befestigten Nockenplatte 216. Die Nockenplatte 216 ist daher nicht in der Lage den Hebel 233 zu betätigen und der Verschlussträger 221 bleibt mit dem Verschlusskopf 220 gekuppelt. Mit jeder Umdrehung des Rotors 210 bewegt sich der Verschluss 219 einmal vollständig vor und zurück und schiebt dabei eine andere Patrone 218 ins Waffenrohr 211, nachdem die leere Patronenhülse der vorhergehenden Patrone ausgeworfen wurde. Sobald jedoch eine Patrone 218 wegen Zündverzögerung nicht rechtzeitig zündet, dann darf sich der Verschlusskopf 220 nicht mehr zurückbewegen. Die Rückbewegung des Verschlusskopfes 220 nach einer Zündverzögerung wird wie folgt verhindert:
  • Bei einer Zündverzögerung fällt der Rückstoss der Feuerwaffe aus, und die soeben beschriebene Relativverschiebung des Hebels 233 gegenüber dem Verschlusskopf 220 erfolgt nicht, das vordere Ende 242 des Hebels 233 gelangt daher in Eingriff mit der Nockenplatte 216 und es erfolgt die bereits beim ersten Ausführungsbeispiel beschriebene Zerlegung des Verschlusses 219.

The operation of this second embodiment of the safety device according to FIGS. 18 and 21 is as follows:

• Again, it is assumed that the firearm will fire a series fire with this second embodiment of the safety device. The rotor 210 rotates in the housing 214 about the axis 212 in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 21) and the weapon housing 214 shifts to the right under the action of the recoil according to FIG. 18 relative to the cradle 215. As a result of its inertia, the lever 233 remains in its initial position, ie it moves relative to the locking head 220 to the left and the end 242 of the lever 233 thus reaches the dot-dash position 242a and thereby out of engagement with the cam plate 216 attached to the weapon housing. The cam plate 216 is therefore not able to operate the lever 233 and the closure carrier 221 remains coupled to the closure head 220. With each revolution of the rotor 210, the shutter 219 moves fully once constantly back and forth, pushing another cartridge 218 into the barrel 211 after the empty cartridge case of the previous cartridge has been ejected. However, as soon as a cartridge 218 does not fire in time due to the ignition delay, the breechhead 220 may no longer move back. The return movement of the locking head 220 after an ignition delay is prevented as follows:
  • In the event of an ignition delay, the recoil of the firearm fails and the just described relative displacement of the lever 233 relative to the locking head 220 does not take place, the front end 242 of the lever 233 therefore comes into engagement with the cam plate 216 and the disassembly described in the first exemplary embodiment takes place the closure 219.

The cam plate 243 ensures that the lever 233 is in its initial position according to FIG. 18 before the shot is fired. When the shot is fired, however, the cam plate 243 is no longer in engagement with the stop 244 of the lever 233.

The third exemplary embodiment of the device according to FIGS. 19 and 20 differs essentially in the following features compared to the safety devices shown in FIGS. 16, 17, 18 and 21. The same parts are provided with the same reference numbers.

A stylus 245 is slidably mounted in the rotor 210 for each weapon barrel 211, two of which are visible in FIG. 20 and only one in FIG. 19. Each stylus 245 protrudes through a transverse bore 246 of the weapon barrel 211 and is supported on the conical part 247 of a cartridge case 248. The cartridge case 248 is located in a chamber 249 of the weapon barrel 211. This chamber 249 has a cutout 250 in the region of the stylus 245. As a result of this recess 250 in the chamber 249, the cartridge case 248 no longer lies against the wall of the chamber 249 of the weapon barrel 211 at this point. There is therefore a space between the cartridge case 248 and the chamber 249. When the cartridge is fired, the cartridge case 248 can be expanded by the gas pressure and pressed into the recess 250. The stylus 245 protruding into this recess 250 is displaced. 20, the stylus 245 is articulated on a two-armed lever 251 which is pivotally mounted in the rotor about an axis 252.

A spring 253 is arranged in the rotor 10 for each lever 251, which has the tendency to pivot the lever 251 counterclockwise (FIG. 20) and to push the stylus 245 into the recess 250 and against the conical part 247 of the cartridge case 248. This pivoting movement is limited by a stop 254 on the left arm of the lever 251. A cam 255 is arranged on the right arm of the two-armed lever 251 and cooperates with a slide 256 shown in FIG. 19. The slider 256 is slidably mounted in the weapon housing 214 in the axial direction. When this slide 256 abuts against the mentioned cam 255 of the lever 251, it is shifted to the left in accordance with FIG. 19. This slide 256 has at its right end a cam plate 257, which looks like cam plate 216 and interacts with the lever 227, which has already been described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 21. The slider 256 is displaceable from its right position into its left position by the cam 255 of the lever 251. A spring 258 tends to pull the slider 256 into its right position. The closure 219 is no longer described here, since it has already been described with reference to FIG. 16.

• Es wird nochmals angenommen, dass die Feuerwaffe mit der Sicherheitsvorrichtung ein Seriefeuer abgibt. Somit dreht sich der Rotor 210 im Waffengehäuse 214 in Richtung des Pfeiles B um die Achse 212 (Fig. 20). Beim Abfeuern der Patrone wird durch den Gasdruck die Patronenhülse 248 am konischen Teil 247 aufgeweitet und der Taststift 245 wird radial nach aussen verschoben (Fig. 20), dabei wird der Hebel 251 im Uhrzeigersinn geschwenkt und gelangt in die strichpunktiert gezeichnete Stellung. Der Nocken 255 wird somit ebenfalls radial nach innen verschwenkt, entgegen der Kraft der Feder 253. Dadurch gelangt der Nocken 255 ausser Eingriff mit dem Schieber 256, der daher unter der Kraft der Feder 258 in seiner rechten Stellung verharrt. Der Hebel 227 kann nicht betätigt werden und der Verschlusskopf 220 wird nicht vom Verschlussträger 221 getrennt. Erfolgt hingegen eine Zündverzögerung, dann bleibt der Taststift 245 in einer dargestellten Lage und auch der Hebel 251 wird nicht geschwenkt. Der Nocken 255 bleibt daher im Bereich des Schiebers 256 und verschiebt diesen nach links wodurch die Nockenplatte 257 in den Bereich des Hebels 227 gelangt. Sobald das linke Ende 242 gegen die Nockenplatte 257 stösst, wird der Hebel 227 im Gegenuhrzeigersinne verschwenkt und der Verschluss 219 zerlegt, d.h. der Verschlussträger 221 wird vom Verschlusskopf 220 getrennt.

The mode of operation of the third exemplary embodiment of the safety device according to FIGS. 19 and 20 is as follows:

• It is again assumed that the firearm emits a series fire with the safety device. The rotor 210 in the weapon housing 214 thus rotates in the direction of the arrow B about the axis 212 (FIG. 20). When the cartridge is fired, the cartridge sleeve 248 on the conical part 247 is expanded by the gas pressure and the stylus 245 is displaced radially outward (FIG. 20), the lever 251 being pivoted clockwise and reaching the position shown in broken lines. The cam 255 is thus also pivoted radially inward, counter to the force of the spring 253. As a result, the cam 255 disengages from the slide 256, which therefore remains in its right position under the force of the spring 258. The lever 227 cannot be actuated and the closure head 220 is not separated from the closure carrier 221. If, on the other hand, there is an ignition delay, the stylus 245 remains in the position shown and the lever 251 is also not pivoted. The cam 255 therefore remains in the area of the slide 256 and shifts it to the left, as a result of which the cam plate 257 reaches the area of the lever 227. As soon as the left end 242 abuts against the cam plate 257, the lever 227 is pivoted counterclockwise and the lock 219 is disassembled, ie the lock carrier 221 is separated from the lock head 220.

According to FIG. 22, six gun barrels 111 are fastened in an easily detachable manner in a rotor 110, only two of these six gun barrels 111 being shown in FIG. 22. The rotor 110 is rotatably mounted in a weapon housing 113 with the aid of a bearing 112. A lock 114 is assigned to each weapon barrel 111. Each closure 114 is slidably supported in the rotor 110 in longitudinal guides 115. 22 shows two locks 114, of which one lock 114 is in its foremost, locked position and the other lock 114 is in its rearmost, unlocked position. Each closure 114 has a closure head 116 and a closure head holder 117. Closure head 116 and closure head holder 117 together form a known twist lock, ie the The closure head 116 is connected to the closure head holder 117 via a steep screw thread 118. Cams 119 of the closure head 116 engage in recesses 120 in the rotor 110 when the closure 114 is locked in its foremost position. The breech 114 also has a spring-loaded ignition pin 121 which, in the foremost, locked position of the breech 114, can pierce a cartridge 122 located in the weapon barrel 111. The breech 114 also has a cam roller 123 which engages in a first control cam 124 in the weapon housing 113. When the rotor 110 rotates in the weapon housing 113, this cam 124 causes the individual breeches 114 to be pushed back and forth. The control curve 124 is arranged elliptically on the inside of the essentially cylindrical weapon housing 113. At the front and rear ends of the weapon housing 113 there are also a second or third control cam 125 or 126, which are arranged in a circle on the inside of the weapon housing 113. If the cam roller 123 of the breech 114 is in engagement with one of these two control cams 125 or 126, the breech 114 does not move when the rotor 110 rotates in the weapon housing 113. The breech 114 remains in its foremost position when the cam roller is in motion 123 is in the control cam 125 and the breech 114 remains in its rearmost position when the cam roller 123 is in the other circular control cam 126 of the weapon housing 113. Points 127 and 128 are provided so that the cam roller 123 can get from one elliptical control curve 124 into one or the other control curve 125 or 126.

26, the two switches 127 and 128 are pivotally mounted about axes 129. The cam roller 123 moves in the control curve 124 in the direction of the arrow S. In the position of the switches 127 and 128 shown, the cam roller 123 thus remains in the elliptical control curve 124. The organs described below are used to actuate these switches.

According to FIG. 22, each weapon barrel 111 has a gas removal opening 130 through which propellant gas can enter a gas chamber 132 via a gas channel 131. In this gas chamber 132 there is a gas piston 133, which reaches the position shown by the gas pressure. The gas piston 133 has a cam 134 which interacts with a cam 135 of a locking lever 136. This locking lever 136 is loaded by a spring 137, which tends to press the locking lever 136 with its cam 135 against the cam 134 of the gas piston 133. The locking lever 136 is pivotally mounted about an axis 138. As can be seen from FIG. 20, the locking lever 136 engages in a recess 139 in the switch 127 in the position shown and thus prevents the switch 127 from being pivoted out of the position shown.

So that the switch cannot be pivoted out of the position shown when the cartridge 122 is missing, a second locking lever 140 is also pivotally mounted in the housing 113 about an axis 141. The lock lever 140 has a first arm 142 that senses the presence of a cartridge 122. If a cartridge 122 strikes against this arm 142 (see FIG. 24), the locking lever 140 is pivoted about its axis 141 until a second arm 143 of the locking lever disengages from the switch 127, whereby it can be pivoted freely. A second scanning lever 144 is used to monitor stuck cartridges. This sensing lever 144 is pivotally attached to a rod 145. At the other end of the rod 145 mounted in the housing 113, a sub-latch 146 is fastened, which in the position shown in FIG. 26 prevents the switch 128 from being pivoted. If a cartridge 122 is stuck in the weapon barrel 111, the scanning lever 144 is pivoted when the rotor 110 rotates, as a result of which the pawl 146 is also pivoted via the rod 145 and the switch 128 is released.

An actuating lever 147 is fastened to the ignition pin 121 and cooperates with a control cam (not shown). This control curve releases the ignition pin 121 at the right time for piercing the cartridge 122.

• Mit dem anhand der Fig. 22 beschriebenen Gaskolben 133 wirkt gemäss Fig. 23 ein Betätigungshebel 150 zusammen, der einen Nocken 151 besitzt, der gegen den früher erwähnten Nokken 134 des Gaskolbens 133 stösst, wenn der Gaskolben 133 nicht durch den Gasdruck in die gezeichnete Stellung verschoben worden ist. An diesem Betätigungshebel 150 ist eine Klinke 152 um eine Achse 153 schwenkbar angelenkt. Die Klinke 152 wirkt mit einer zweiarmigen Leerlaufklinke 154 zusammen. Diese Leerlaufklinke 154 weist einen ersten Arm 155 auf, siehe Fig. 18, der an der erwähnten Klinke 152 anliegt, sowie einen zweiten Arm 156, der mit der Kurvenrolle 148 zusammen wirkt. Die Leerlaufklinke 154 ist um eine Achse 164 schwenkbar im Waffengehäuse 133 gelagert. Die am Betätigungshebel 150 angelenkte Klinke 152 kann die Leerlaufklinke 154 nur betätigen, wenn sie durch einen Sperrhebel 157 unterstellt ist. Dieser Sperrhebel 157 ist um eine Achse 158 schwenkbar im Waffengehäuse 113 gelagert. Dieser Sperrhebel 157 tastet gemäss Fig. 24 die Patrone 122 ab. Falls eine Patrone 122 vorhanden ist, gelangt der Sperrhebel 157 in die gezeigte Stellung, wodurch die Klinke 152 (Fig. 23) unterstellt ist.

The third exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention according to FIG. 23 essentially differs from the second exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 22 by the following features. A cam roller 148 according to FIG. 23 is arranged axially displaceably in the closure 114. A spring 149 tends to move the cam roller 148 radially outward. The elliptical control curve 124 is lower than the two circular control curves 125 and 126. As long as the cam roller 148 is pressed by the spring 149 against the bottom of the lower control curve 124, the cam roller 148 remains in the elliptical control curve 124. Thus, the cam roller 148 in one of the two circular control cams 125 or 126, the cam roller 148 must be displaced radially inward against the force of the spring 149. A switch for deflecting the cam roller 148 from one control curve 124 into one of the other two control curves 125 or 126 is no longer necessary. The device for the mentioned radial displacement of the cam roller 148 is designed as follows:

• With the gas piston 133 described with reference to FIG. 22, an actuating lever 150 interacts according to FIG. 23, which has a cam 151 which abuts against the cam 134 of the gas piston 133 mentioned earlier if the gas piston 133 is not in the position shown by the gas pressure has been postponed. On this actuating lever 150, a pawl 152 is pivoted about an axis 153. The pawl 152 acts with a two-armed idle jack 154 together. This idling pawl 154 has a first arm 155, see FIG. 18, which bears against the pawl 152 mentioned, and a second arm 156, which interacts with the cam roller 148. The idle pawl 154 is pivotally mounted about an axis 164 in the weapon housing 133. The pawl 152 articulated on the actuating lever 150 can only actuate the idling pawl 154 if it is placed under a locking lever 157. This locking lever 157 is pivotally mounted about an axis 158 in the weapon housing 113. 24, the locking lever 157 scans the cartridge 122. If a cartridge 122 is present, the locking lever 157 moves into the position shown, whereby the pawl 152 (FIG. 23) is placed under it.

The scanning lever 144, which - as mentioned - serves to monitor stuck cartridges, is attached to the rod 145 mounted in the weapon housing 113. 25, a cam 159 is also attached to this rod 145, which engages in a fork 161 of a second idling pawl 160. This idling pawl 160 is pivotally mounted in the weapon housing 113 about an axis 163 and, in addition to the fork 161 mentioned, also has an arm 162. 23, this arm 162 interacts with the cam roller 148 of the closure 114. As can be seen from FIG. 25, when the cartridge 122 is stuck, it will pivot the feeler lever 144 clockwise, whereby the cam 159 is also pivoted in the same sense, and the idle pawl 160 is pivoted counterclockwise. By pivoting the idle pawl 160, the cam roller 148 is displaced against the force of the spring 149 (FIG. 23).

• Bei der Drehung des Rotors 110 im Gegenuhrzeigersinne, wie durch den Pfeil S in Fig. 24-26 angedeutet ist, bewegen sich die Verschlüsse 114 ständig vor und zurück, da die Kurvenrolle 123 bzw. 148 in der elliptischen Steuerkurve oder -nut 124 geführt ist. Bei der Vorwärtsbewegung des Verschlusses 114 wird die strichpunktiert angedeutete Patrone 122 ins Waffenrohr 111 eingeschoben und der Verschlusskopf 116 wird im Rotor 110 verriegelt. Gleichzeitig wird dem, in seiner hintersten Stellung befindlichen Verschluss 114a eine Patrone 122a durch eine nicht dargestellte Munitionsfördervorrichtung zugeführt. Die in das Waffenrohr eingeführte Patrone 122 wird nach dem Verriegeln des Verschlusskopfes 116 durch den Zündstift 121 gezündet. Dabei dringen Treibladungsgase durch die Gasentnahmeöffnung 130 und den Gaskanal 131 in die Gaskammer 132, wodurch der Gaskolben 133 ganz nach hinten, d.h. in Fig. 22 nach rechts verschoben wird. Bei der Drehung des Rotors 110 kann der sich mitdrehende Gaskolben 133 nicht mit seinem Nocken 134 gegen den Nocken 135 des Sperrhebels 136 stossen und dieser Sperrhebel 136 wird somit nicht betätigt.

The operation of the two exemplary embodiments of the safety device according to the invention shown in FIGS. 22-26 is as follows:

• When the rotor 110 rotates counterclockwise, as indicated by the arrow S in FIGS. 24-26, the shutters 114 move continuously back and forth, since the cam roller 123 or 148 is guided in the elliptical cam or groove 124 . During the forward movement of the breech 114, the cartridge 122 indicated by dash-dotted lines is inserted into the weapon barrel 111 and the breech head 116 is locked in the rotor 110. At the same time, a cartridge 122a is fed to the breech 114a, which is in its rearmost position, by an ammunition conveyor device, not shown. The cartridge 122 inserted into the weapon barrel is ignited by the firing pin 121 after the locking head 116 has been locked. In this case, propellant gases penetrate through the gas extraction opening 130 and the gas channel 131 into the gas chamber 132, as a result of which the gas piston 133 is pushed completely to the rear, ie to the right in FIG. 22. When the rotor 110 rotates, the co-rotating gas piston 133 cannot hit with its cam 134 against the cam 135 of the locking lever 136 and this locking lever 136 is therefore not actuated.

If the cartridge 122 is fired with some delay or not at all, no propellant gas will enter the chamber 132 and the gas piston 133 will not move. When the rotor 110 rotates, the gas piston 133, which is also rotating, with its cam 134 abuts against the cam 135 of the locking lever 136 mounted in the housing 113, as a result of which the locking lever 136 is pivoted against the force of the spring 137. The locking lever 136 thus comes out of engagement with the recess 139 of the switch 127, whereby the switch 127 is no longer held. The cam roller 123 (FIG. 26) moving in the direction of the arrow S abuts this switch 127. The switch 127 is pivoted completely by the cam roller 123 and the cam roller 123 moves from the elliptical control curve 124 into the circular control curve 125. The lock 114 thus no longer moves back and remains locked in its foremost position. Since the switch 127 unlocks, i.e. is no longer held by the locking lever 136, the locks 114 of the remaining five weapon tubes 111 will also remain in their foremost, locked position during the further rotation and the weapon will no longer fire.

The firearm behaves differently according to the third exemplary embodiment (FIG. 23). If here the cartridge is ignited with a certain delay or not at all, no propellant gas penetrates into the chamber 132 and the piston 133 is not displaced. When the rotor 110 rotates, the co-rotating gas piston 133 with its cam 134 abuts against the cam 151 of the actuating lever 150 mounted in the housing 113, as a result of which the actuating lever 150 is pivoted about the axis 138 and, via the pawl 152 supported by the blocking lever 157, the idling pawl 154 pivoted counterclockwise according to FIG. 24. The arm 156 of the idle pawl 154 is pressed against the center of the rotor 110. The associated fastener 114 guided on the rotor 110 abuts this arm 156 with its cam roller 148 and the cam roller 148 is displaced radially inward against the force of the spring 149. As a result, the cam roller 148 moves from the elliptical guideway 124 into the circular, less deep guideway 125. This has the consequence that the closure 114 remains in its forward locked position. However, as soon as the rotor 110 continues to rotate, the actuating lever 150 mounted in the weapon housing 113 can no longer be supported on the cam 134 of the gas piston 133 mounted in the rotor 110 and is pivoted back into its starting position by the spring 137. As a result, the idle pawl 154 also comes into its initial position and the locks of the remaining gun barrels 111 can continue to move back and forth. The weapon would therefore be able to continue firing with only five out of six weapon tubes 111. To prevent this, the weapon is automatically stopped in the event of an ignition delay.

Claims (19)

1. A safety apparatus for an externally powered weapon, including a weapon barrel (11, 24) and a breechblock (30, 2, 19) positively reciprocating, which is locked in forwardmost position to said weapon (11, 211), characterised in that said breechblock (30) comprising a breechblock head (34) and a breechblock carrier (33) which are operatively coupled to each other and that decoupling means are provided for decoupling said breechblock head (34) from said breechblock carrier (33) in said forwardmost position in which said breechblock head (34) is locked to said weapon barrel (11) in response to said ignition delay of a cartridge (25).

2. A safety apparatus for a multi-barrel weapon, including a weapon housing (14), a rotor (12) rotatable in said weapon housing (14) and a predetermined number of weapon barrels (10) arranged at said rotor (12) and a number of breechblocks (30) each operatively associated with one of said weapon barrels (11) characterised in that each breechblock (30) comprising a breechblock head (34) and a breechblock carrier (33), coupling means releasably coupling said breechblock head (34) and said breechblock carrier (33), a gas intake passage (37, 39) provided for each said weapon barrel (11), a gas pressure operable piston (41) cooperating with said gas intake passage (37, 39), said gas pressure operable piston (41) being displaceable from an operative position to an inoperative position under the action of gas pressure generated in said weapon barrel (10), an actuator mechanism (44-55) for decoupling said breechblock carrier (33) from said breechblock head (34) coupled to said weapon barrel (11) in the event of said ignition delay when the gas pressure operable piston (41) in its operative position.

3. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 2 for a weapon further including guide rails (29) at said rotor (12) on which said breechblocks (30) are reciprocating, a control cam (32) provided at said weapon housing (14), a cam follower roll (31) mounted at each one of said breechblocks (30) and engaging said control cam (32), so that each breechblock (30) is reciprocatingly displaced along said guide rails (29) during rotation of said rotor (12) characterised in that said cam follower roll (31) is mounted at said breechblock carrier (33) for rearwardly displacing only said breechblock carrier (33) along said guide rails while the associated breechblock head (34) is held in said forwardmost locked position to said weapon barrel (11).

4. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 3 characterised in that coupling means for coupling said breechblock head (34) to said breechblock carrier (33), are provided, said coupling means comprising: a retaining bracket (71) and two latches (68, 69) retainable by bracket (71) and a two-armed actuating lever (56) in engagement with said actuator mechanism (44, 48, 52) mounted at said weapon housing (14).

5. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 4, characterised by a displaceable slide means (87) at which said two-armed actuating lever is pivotably mounted; a contact bolt (88) carried by said slide means (87) said contact bolt (88) responding to the presence of a cartridge case of the cartridge in said weapon barrel (11), said slide means (87) including said contact bolt (88) and said actuating lever being displaceable into said inoperative position of said slide means (87) in the absence of said cartridge.

6. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 4, characterised in that said guide rails (29) are provided with recesses (109); two pivotably two-armed levers (74, 75) for retaining said breechblock head (34) in said forwardmost locked position; each of said two-armed levers (74, 75) having one arm (80) engageable with a respective one of said recesses (109) of said guide rails (29) with which said breechblock (30) is operatively associated; said retaining bracket (71) being provided with grooves (79); each of said two-armed levers (74, 75) having another arm (77) thereof engageable with a respective one of said grooves (79) of said retaining bracket (71) and spring means for urging said two-armed levers (74, 75) to engage said recesses (109) formed in said guide rails (29) and said grooves (79) formed at said retaining bracket (71).

7. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 2, characterised in that each breechblock (30) further comprises a breechblock head support (64); said breechblock head (34) being displaceably arranged at said breechblock head support (64); and said coupling means releasably coupling said breechblock head support (64) with said breechblock carrier (33).

8. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 2, characterised in that an ammunition feed housing (26) is provided, a deflector (101) is pivotably mounted; a cartridge ejection channel (105) is provided for said ammunition feed housing (26); pivoting means pivoting said deflector (101) in the event of said ignition delay condition in a position deflecting cartridges supplied from said ammunition feed housing (26) to said cartridge ejection channel (105).

9. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 8, characterised in that said pivoting means contain a contact bolt (96) which contacts a cartridge (25) which has remained stuck in the weapon barrel (11) during said ignition delay condition for pivoting said deflector (101) in the event of ignition delay condition.

10. A safety apparatus for a multi-barrel weapon, mounted for recoil motion at a cradle (215) and displaceable from a forward position into a rearward position under recoil action and including a weapon housing (214), a rotor (210) rotatable in said weapon housing (214), a predetermined number of weapon barrels (211) arranged at said rotor (210), and a predetermined number of breechblocks (219), each of which is operatively associated with a respective one of said weapon barrels (211) and structured to be locked thereto prior to firing a cartridge (218) present in said operatively associated weapon barrel (211) characterised in that a cam plate (216) is mounted at said weapon cradle (215), an actuating mechanism cooperating with said cam plate (216); and said cam plate (216) engaging with said actuating mechanism in said forward position of said multi-barrel weapon and preventing unlocking of said breechblock (219) when confronted with said ignition delay condition, when said multi-barrel weapon is moved from said rearward position to said forward position.

11. A safety apparatus for a multi-barrel weapon mounted for recoil motion at a cradle (215) and including a weapon housing (214), a rotor (210) rotatable in said weapon housing (214), a predetermined number of weapon barrels (211) arranged at said rotor (210) and a predetermined number of breechblocks (219), each operatively associated with a respective one of said weapon barrels (211) and structured to be locked thereto prior to firing a cartridge (218) present in said operatively associated weapon barrel (211), characterised in that a cam plate (216) is mounted at said weapon housing (214) each said breechblock (219) comprising an inertia mass (233) displaceably arranged therat; said inertia mass (233) being displaceable relative to said multi-barrel weapon from an operative position into an inoperative position under recoil action in order to prevent unlocking of a related breechblock (219), when said inertia mass (233) remains in said operative position upon encountering said ignition delay condition.

12. A safety apparatus for a multi-barrel weapon, including a weapon housing (214) a rotor (210) rotatable in said weapon housing (214), a predetermined number of weapon barrels (211) arranged at said rotor (210), and a predetermined number of breechblocks (219), each of which is operatively associated with a respective one of said weapon barrels (211) and structured to be locked thereto prior to firing a cartridge (218) characterised in that a chamber (249) is formed in each one of said weapon barrels (211) to accommodate said cartridge (218) and is provided with a recess (250) into which said cartridge (218) is expanded when subjected to said gas pressure; a contact element (245) protruding into said recess (250) an displaceable between an operative position and an inoperative position; and an actuating mechanism operatively connected to said contact-element (245) in order to prevent unlocking of said breechblock (219) when said contact element (245) remain in said operative position encountering said ignition delay condition.

13. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 10, characterised in that each of said breechblocks (219) comprises a breechblock head (220) coupled to a breechblock .carrier (221) and said actuating mechanism comprising a two-armed lever (227) pivotably linked to said breechblock head (220) for decoupling said breechblock carrier (221) from said breechblock head (220).

14. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 11, characterised in that said weapon defines an axial direction; each of said breechblocks (219) comprising a breechblock head (220) coupled to a breechblock carrier (221) said inertia mass (233) is structured as a two-armed actuating lever (227) pivotably linked to said breechblock head (220), said two-armed actuating lever (227) being provided with an elongated hole (234) enabling said inertia mass (233) to be displaced in said axial direction; and said two-armed lever (227) being structured to decouple said breechblock carrier (221) from said breechblock head (220).

15. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 11 characterised in that a second cam plate (243) mounted at said weapon housing (214) and said second cam plate (243) retaining said inertia mass (233) in said operative position prior to firing.

16. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 12, characterised by a cam plate (257), each of said breechblocks (219) comprising a breechblock head (220) coupled to a breechblock carrier (221), said actuating mechanism comprising a slide bar (256) mounted in said weapon housing (214) for axial displacement from an inoperative position into an operative position by means of said contact element (245); said cam plate (257) mounted at said slide bar (256); a two-armed actuating lever (227); and said two-armed lever (227) being operatively connected to said cam plate (257) in said operative position of said contact element (245) and being structured to decouple said breechblock carrier (221) from said breechblock head (220).

17. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 3, characterised in that a second control cam (125) is provided; said cam follower roll (123) of each breechblock (114) being engageable with said second control cam (125) to hold each said breechblock (114) upon rotation of said rotor (110) in said weapon housing (113) in said position in which it is locked to the operatively associated one of said weapon barrels (110) and which position constitutes a forward most position of said breechblock (114), an actuating element (150) said cam follower roll (113) being brought by means of said actuating element (150) out of engagement with said first control cam (124) and into engagement with said second control cam (125).

18. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 17, characterised in that a deflector (127) for de- flectingsaid camfollower roll (123) from engagement with one of said first and second control cams (124) into engagement with the other cam (125), said deflector (127) being releasable by means of said actuating element (136) in order to pivot from a first position into a second position.

19. The safety apparatus as defined in claim 17, characterised in that said cam follower roll (148) comprises an axle and is displaceable along said axle, said first control cam (124) and said second control cam (125) each defining a respective first cam groove and second cam groove; said first cam groove (124) having a greater depth than said second cam groove (125) and said cam follower roll (148) being axially displaceable by means of said actuating element (150) in order to pass from one of said first and second cam grooves (124,125) into the other.

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