U.S. patent application number 10/975321 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-24 for lightweight vehicle gun turret.
Invention is credited to Russell, David M..
Application Number | 20050257680 10/975321 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35373953 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050257680 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Russell, David M. |
November 24, 2005 |
Lightweight vehicle gun turret
Abstract
A vehicle gun turret that includes a circular or
horseshoe-shaped track suspended and mounted over the roof or cab
area of a lightweight military vehicle. The track includes three
legs configured in a triangle designed to attach to the vehicle's
windshield frame member and roll bar. Rolling over the track is a
carriage that attaches to a gun holder that selectively attaches to
a machine gun. The gun holder is attached to a rotating stem that
fits into a vertical sleeve attached to the carriage. Clevis pins
are used to attach to the machine gun to the gun holder and to
attach the gun holder to the carriage so that the components may be
manually and quickly assembled and disassembled.
Inventors: |
Russell, David M.;
(Puyallup, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DEAN A. CRAINE, P.S.
STE 140
400 - 112TH AVE NE
BELLEVUE
WA
98004
US
|
Family ID: |
35373953 |
Appl. No.: |
10/975321 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60515405 |
Oct 29, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
89/37.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 23/34 20130101;
F41A 23/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
089/037.12 |
International
Class: |
F41A 027/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A Vehicle gun turret, comprising a) a track; b) at least three
vertical legs perpendicularly aligned and attached to said track,
said legs being sufficient in length to align said track in a
substantially horizontal orientation over the roof or cab area of a
vehicle; c) means for connecting said legs to support structures
located along the roof or above the cab area of a vehicle; d) a
carriage attached to, and capable of rolling over said track, said
carriage includes a top plate aligned parallel to said track and a
perpendicularly aligned sleeve attached to said top plate, and
sleeve includes a bore formed therein; e) a cylindrical stem
capable of sliding and rotating freely inside said bore formed on
said sleeve, said neck including a narrow neck that is disposed
inside said sleeve when said stem is inserted to said sleeve; f) a
gun holder including a gun bracket with a downward extending neck
and at least one gun clip, said neck including a downward extending
bore capable of receiving the upper portion of said stem, when said
stem is inserted into said sleeve on said carriage, said gun holder
further including at least one downward extending gun clip attached
to a gun; g) at least one clevis pin disposed between said arm
bracket and said gun clip to selectively attach said gun to said
gun holder, and; h) at least one clevis pin disposed between said
stem and said neck to selectively attach said stem to said neck,
and; i) at least one clevis pin disposed transversely through said
neck on said stem and said sleeve to selectively attach said stem
to said carriage and allow said stem to rotate.
2. The vehicle gun turret, as recited in claim 1, wherein said
track has a horseshoe configuration.
3. The vehicle gun turret, as recited in claim 2, wherein said
track is circular.
4. The vehicle gun turret, as recited in claim 1, wherein at least
on leg member includes a bracket capable of connecting to a roll
bar located on said vehicle.
5. The vehicle gun turret, as recited in claim 1, wherein at least
one leg member includes a bracket capable of connected to the front
windshield frame member.
6. The vehicle gun turret, as recited in claim 4, wherein said
means for supporting said legs over the cab area of a vehicle is at
least one second bracket capable of being connected to the front
windshield frame member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This utility patent application is based on the provisional
patent application (60/515,405) filed on Oct. 29, 2003.
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention:
[0003] The invention relates generally to the field of ordinance
and in particular to the mounting of guns on motor vehicles.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art:
[0005] Lightweight vehicles are commonly used to transport soldiers
in a combat area. Many of these vehicles are truck-like vehicles
with open beds used to transport soldiers and cargo. Some of these
vehicles have machine guns attached to large, relatively heavy
turrets mounted on the top or back of the vehicle.
[0006] One drawback with turret gun mounts on motor vehicles used
in the prior art is they occupy a large portion of the cargo space
in the vehicle making the vehicle less useful for transporting
soldiers and equipment. Another drawback is that when the vehicle
is disabled, neither the turret nor the machine gun can be easily
and quickly disconnected from the disabled vehicle and re-mounted
to another vehicle. As a result, when a vehicle becomes disabled in
the field of compact, the turret and machine gun are often left
behind for local citizens or enemy combatants to recover.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
lightweight, turret gun mount for a multi-purpose vehicle commonly
used by the military that does not occupy a large amount of the
vehicle's cargo space.
[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide
such a turret gun mount that easily and quickly attaches to the
vehicle's roll bar and front windshield frame member.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide
such a turret gun mount that enables a machine gun to be easily and
quickly connected and disconnected from the turret.
[0010] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
such turret gun mount that enables soldiers to easily disconnect it
from a disabled vehicle and re-connect it to another vehicle with
simple hand tools.
[0011] These and other objects of the invention are met by a
lightweight turret gun mount disclosed herein that includes a
lightweight circular or horseshoe-shaped track mounted over the
roof or cab area of a multi-purpose military vehicle. The roof or
cab area of course is the highest point on the vehicle and the area
where cargo is usually not stored. The track includes at least
three legs aligned in a triangular configuration that securely
supports the track in the elevated position. In the preferred
embodiment, the three legs can be selectively attached via threaded
bolts to the vehicle's roll bar and front windshield frame
member.
[0012] Attached to the track is a rolling carriage. The carriage
includes a vertically aligned center sleeve that selectively
connects to a vertically aligned intermediate structure, called a
stem. The stem, which is able to rotate 360 degrees around the
sleeve's longitudinal axis, is connected to a downward extending
neck attached to a gun holder assembly. The gun holder assembly
includes a saddle bracket that connects to two gun brackets that
extend downward from the bottom surface of the gun. Two clevis pins
are used to connect the saddle bracket to the two gun brackets. A
third clevis pin is used to selectively hold the stem inside the
neck on the gun holder assembly, while a fourth clevis pin is used
to selectively connect the lower end of the stem to the sleeve. All
four clevis pins may be manually removed thereby allowing the
entire gun mount assembly and the machine gun to be easily
assembled and disassembled without tools. The track is attached
with threaded connectors to the roll bar and front windshield frame
member, so that it too can be easily disassembled and re-connected
to another vehicle by hand tools.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is top rear perspective view of the gun turret
disclosed herein.
[0014] FIG. 2 is rear elevational view of the taken along line 2-2
in FIG. 1.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carriage mounted on the
track.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a top rear perspective view of the carriage
mounted on a round track.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0017] Shown in FIG. 1 is a gun turret 10 that includes a gun
holder assembly 12 attached to a carriage 30 that rolls over a
horizontally mounted track 60 mounted over the roof or cab area of
a motor vehicle. The preferred embodiment, the gun holder assembly
12 is designed to be used with a M249 model machine gun 90,
although it's dimensions could easily be modified to fit other
types of guns or weapons.
[0018] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gun holder assembly 12
includes a saddle bracket 13 that includes two parallel, upward
extending arm brackets 14, 16 attached to the opposite sides a
perpendicularly aligned horizontal plate 18. Formed near the two
opposite ends of the two arm brackets 14, 16 are two pairs of
transversely aligned holes 15, 15' and 17, 17' designed to receive
two clevis pins 80, 82. Attached to the bottom surface of the
machine gun 90 are two downward extended gun brackets 20, 23.
Formed on the gun brackets 20, 23 are two pairs of holes 21, 21'
and 24, 24' that are spaced apart to be aligned and registered with
the two pairs of holes 15, 15' and 17, 17' on the two arm brackets
14, 16. The clevis pins 80 and 82 are inserted through the holes
15, 15', and 17, 17', and holes 24, 24' to securely connect the gun
brackets 20, 23, to the two arm brackets 14, 16, respectively.
[0019] Attached centrally to the horizontal plate 18 is a downward
extending cylindrical-shaped neck 25. Formed on the neck 25 is a
downward extending bore 27 designed to receive the upper end of the
upward extending stem 32. Formed on the neck 25 are two
transversely aligned bores 28, 29 designed to receive a third
clevis pin 84. During assembly, the stem 32 is longitudinally
aligned with the neck 25 so that the upper end of the stem 32
slides into the bore 27. A transversely aligned passageway 33 is
formed on the upper section of the stem 32 that is aligned and
registered with the two bores 28, 29 formed on the neck 25 so that
the third clevis pin 84 may couple and lock the neck 25 and the
stem 32 together.
[0020] A cylindrical sleeve 40 is welded to the top plate 35 on the
carriage 30. Formed inside the sleeve 40 is a cylindrical bore 43
designed to receive the lower portion of the stem 32. Formed on the
lower end of the sleeve 40 are two transversely aligned bores 44,
45 that communicate with the cylindrical bore 43. Formed on the
stem 32 is a reduced neck section 34. During assembly, the stem 32
is inserted into the bore 43 so that the narrow neck 34 is aligned
and registered with the two bores 44, 45. A fourth clevis pin 85 is
then inserted into the two bores 43, 44 to couple the stem 32 to
the sleeve 40. When coupled together, the stem 32 is able to rotate
freely inside the sleeve 40.
[0021] In the preferred embodiment, the top plate 35 is triangular
when viewed from above. Attached to the top plate 35 are three ball
bearings 37, 39, 41 that roll over the top surface of the track 60
during use. Each ball bearing 37, 39, 41 includes a roller ball 38
and an upper race member 40 and a lower race member 42 located on
opposite sides of the top plate 35. Suitable threaded connectors 44
are used to hold the upper race member 40 and the lower race member
42 together so that the roller ball 38 is held inside a hole 47
formed in the top plate 35.
[0022] Attached to the three corners of the top plate 45 are three
downward extending bolt assemblies 50A, 50B, 50C. Each bolt
assemblies 50A, 50B, 50C consist of a threaded bolt 51, an upper
washer 52, a lower washer 53 and a threaded nut 54. Aligned below
and parallel to the track 60 and extending between the first and
third bolt assemblies 50A, 50C is an elongated stop bar 57. Holes
(not shown) are formed on the stop bar 57 which allow the threaded
bolts 51A, 5C to extend through the elongated stop bar 57. Attached
to the middle bolt assembly 50B is a large diameter stop washer 58.
The stop washer 58 is disposed below the track 60. The purpose of
the stop bar 57 and stop washer 58 is to retain the carriage 30 on
the track 60.
[0023] During assembly, optical spacers 59 are placed around the
bolts 51A, 51B, 51C and between the bottom surface of the top plate
35 and the top surface of the track 60. The race members 40, 42 on
each bolt assembly 50A, 50B, 50C is adjusted so that their
respective roller balls roll freely and support the top plate 35
over the track 60.
[0024] As stated above, the track 60 is disposed over the roof or
cab area of the motor vehicle. In the first embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1-3, the track 60 is a flat horseshoe structure with an open
area 61 in which the user stands. Track 60 is typically used in a
vehicle with no roof so that the gun may stand upright in the
passenger seat adjacent to the driver and move the carriage 30
along the track 60. Attached to the track 60 are two vertically
aligned stop pins 63, 64 that establish the limits of the movement
of the carriage 30 over the track 60. The track 60 is supported by
three short vertical leg members 65, 70, 75 that attach to the
front windshield frame member 95 and roll bar 96. Attached to the
lower ends of the two leg-members 65, 75 are L-shaped brackets 66,
76, respectfully, that enables the leg members 65, 75 to attach to
a 90 degree edge (commonly found on a roll bar). Attached to the
middle leg member 70 is a flat bracket 71 that attaches to a flat
surface (commonly found on a windshield frame member) substantially
parallel to the track 60. During assembly, threaded bolts 88 are
used to attach the brackets 66, 71, 76 to the upper windshield
frame 95 and roll bar 96.
[0025] The track 60 may be attached on the vehicle in a front
facing direction in which the center leg member 70 is attached to
the upper windshield frame member 95 and two outer leg members 65
and 75 are attached to the roll bar 96. Alternatively, the track 60
may be attached in a rear facing direction in which one outer leg
member 75 is attached to the roll bar 96 and other two leg members
65 and 75 are attached to the upper windshield frame 95.
[0026] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, track 60' is a flat
circular structure with a large center opening designed to
accommodate the user. Using this track 60, the user is able to move
the carriage 30, 360.degree. around the track 60. Like track 60
shown in FIGS. 1-3, the track 60' includes three, triangularly
aligned, leg members 65, 70, 75 with brackets 66, 71, 76
respectively, that connects to the front windshield frame member 95
and to the roll bar 96. During use, the carriage 30 is free to
slide around the track 60 within the limits placed by the stop pins
63, 64 with both tracks 60, 60'. Optional holes are formed on the
tracks 60, 60' that allow the stop pins 63, 64 to be located at
different locations. The entire gun holder assembly 12 and track 60
or 60' mount is less than 25 pounds and can be easily disconnected
and transferred to another vehicle.
[0027] In compliance with the statute, the invention described
herein has been described in language more or less specific as to
structural features. It should be understood, however, that the
invention is not limited to the specific features shown, since the
means and construction shown is comprised only of the preferred
embodiments for putting the invention into effect. The invention is
therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the
legitimate and valid scope of the amended claims, appropriately
interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
* * * * *