Gun lock and firing mechanism for 30mm cannon

Claim 2

In a weapons system including a stationary receiver, a reciprocable firing chamber, a reciprocable bolt and a reciprocable firing mechanism having in and out of battery positions, the improvement comprising: means for reciprocating said firing chamber between said positions, means carried by the receiver for locking the firing chamber in the in-battery position, means carried by the firing chamber to move the bolt between said positions and to secure the bolt in the in-battery position, means carried by the bolt to move the firing mechanism between said positions and to secure the firing mechanism, when cocked, in the in-battery position, means carried by the firing chamber locking mechanism for automatically initiating release of said cocked firing mechanism to fire a round when said firing chamber is in said in-battery position and, means for latching and unlatching said locking means in response to the relative position of said firing chamber.

Claim 3

The system of claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating said firing chamber includes: an outer casing concentric with the path of movement of said firing chamber, a cylindrical cam raceway in the interior surface of said outer casing, and a cam follower carried by said firing chamber in said raceway to impart linear reciprocable movement to said firing chamber between said positions in response to rotation of said outer casing, and means for permitting only unidirectionally rotation of said outer casing relative to said firing chamber.

Claim 4

The system of claim 2 wherein said stationary receiver is substantially cylindrical and includes a rectilinear slot through whch said cam follower extends, said slot guiding said cam follower during its movement between said positions and preventing rotation of said firing chamber.

Claim 5

The system of claim 3 including an alignment means fixedly carried by said receiver for preventing rotation of said bolt and firing mechanism relative to said firing chamber.

Claim 6

The system of claim 4 wherein said alignment means comprises a pin extending laterally from said receiver and into a recess in said bolt to permit linear movement of said bolt within the limits prescribed by the length of the recess.

Claim 7

The system of claim 4 wherein said firing mechanism is movable in said bolt and includes: an elongated body portion carrying a firing pin striker at one end, spring means in a recess in said striker body portion, said spring means being bottomed at one end against said bolt to bias the striker and firing pin to their firing position, and crosspin means extending laterally through an aperture in said body portion of said firing mechanism and through said slot in said bolt, said crosspin means being engageable by said firing chamber during linear movement of the firing chamber to its out of battery position to move the striker and firing pin linearly relative to the bolt to their cocked position against the bias of said spring means.

Claim 8

The system of claim 6 including sear means carried by the firing mechanism and means carried by the bolt to releasably latch the firing mechanism in its cocked position and to the bolt for movement therewith.

Claim 9

The system of claim 7 wherein said sear means comprises a transverse outwardly biased plunger and said bolt latch means includes an aperture for receiving said plunger to hold the firing mechanism in its cocked position and to the bolt for movement therewith.

Claim 10

The system of claim 7 wherein said reciprocable firing chamber includes a wall defining an internal shoulder for engagement with a projection on the bolt to move the bolt and firing mechanism to the in-battery position.

Claim 11

The system of claim 2 wherein said locking mechanism comprises a transversely pivotable lever member carried by the receiver having a first position for locking the firing chamber in its in-battery firing position and a second unlocking position for permitting reciprocable movement of the firing chamber.

Claim 12

The system of claim 10 wherein the outer casing carries means for camming the pivotable lever member into its first and second positions sequentially in response to the position of the firing chamber.

Claim 13

The system of claim 11 wherein the lever member carries sear release means to release the sear and thereby release the cocked firing pin, when the lever member is in the locked position.

Claim 14

The system of claim 12 wherein the lever member include an unlocking lug engageable by said lock camming means to move the lever member from the locked to the unlocked position.

Claim 15

The system of claim 13 wherein the lock camming means also moves the sear release means from the path of movement of the firing mechanism with respect to the bolt.

Claim 16

In a weapon system including a stationary receiver, a reciprocable firing chamber, a reciprocable bolt and a reciprocable firing mechanism having in and out of battery positions, the improvement comprising: a firing chamber reciprocating and lock actuation mechanism for locking the firing chamber, bolt, and firing mechanism in the in-battery position, said reciprocating the lock mechanism including an outer rotatable casing having a cylindrical cam raceway, a cam follower extending through a slot in the receiver and fixedly carried by the firing chamber for movement in said raceway to reciprocate said firing chamber, bolt, and firing mechanism between said positions, a cam surface carried by said outer casing for actuating locking of said firing chamber, bolt and firing mechanism in the in-battery position, a transverse lock member pivotably carried by said receiver and movable between locking and unlocking position behind said firing chamber in response to engagement thereof by said cam surface, means carried by the bolt for cocking said cam surface, and latching the bolt and firing mechanism together for movement to the in battery position and, means carried by the lock member to actuate the firing mechanism after the firing chamber, bolt and firing mechanism are locked in the in-battery position.

Claim 17

In a weapon system including a stationary receiver, a reciprocable firing chamber, a reciprocable bolt and a reciprocable firing mechanism having in and out of battery positions, the improvement comprising: a firing chamber reciprocating and lock actuation mechanism for locking the firing chamber, bolt, and firing mechanism in the in-battery position, said reciprocating the lock mechanism including an outer rotatable casing having a cylindrical cam raceway, a cam follower extending through a slot in the receiver and fixedly carried by the firing chamber for movement in said raceway to reciprocate said firing chamber, bolt, and firing mechanism between said positions, a cam surface carried by said outer casing for actuating locking of said firing chamber, bolt and firing mechanism in the in-battery position, a transverse lock member pivotably carried by said receiver and movable between locking and unlocking position behind said firing chamber in response to engagement thereof by said cam surface, means carried by the bolt for cocking said cam surface, and latching the bolt and firing mechanism together for movement to the in battery position and, means carried by the lock member to actuate the firing mechanism after the firing chamber, bolt and firing mechanism are locked in the in-battery position.