Turret system for lightweight military vehicle
First Claim
1. In a lightweight military vehicle, an improved turret system adapted for use with large weapons, said turret system comprising:
- a platform;
a plurality of vertically extending stanchions connected at their upper ends to the platform and at their lower ends to side rails of the vehicle frame each of said stanchions including an outer casing and an energy absorbing material filling the outer casing, and being of a different material than the outer casing;
a disk mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said platform;
mounting means connected to the disk for receiving a large weapon and being adapted to pivot the weapon in elevation about a pair of horizontally disposed trunnions;
elevation drive means vertically extending upwardly from central interior portions of the vehicle for controlling elevation of the weapon, said drive means having a lower fixed actuator portion rotatably coupled to an upper portion, said upper portion being connected to the weapon mounting means offset from the trunions whereby vertical motion thereof controls elevation of the weapon, with said upper portion being capable of rotating with the weapon during azimuth positioning thereof;
a plurality of forward looking seats within the interior of the vehicle, one seat being for a gunner;
power drive control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat for activating the elevation drive means and for rotating the disk to move the weapon in elevation and azimuth, respectively; and
manual control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat for manually actuating the elevation drive means and for rotating the disk as a backup to the power drive control means.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A lightweight military vehicle is provided with an unmanned turret for interchangeably supporting large weapon stations. Elastomer filled stanchions connected to a turret platform serve to isolate weapon impulse forces from the vehicle frame. Driver, commander and gunner seats are located externally to the turret and provided with side doors to enable quick exiting. Both powered and manual backup drives are external to the rotating turret disk and are accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat. The elevation drive employs a ball and socket joint connecting an upper yoke mounted to the weapon with a fixed lower portion controlling vertical movement of the yoke and thereby the elevation of the gun.
65 Citations
45 Claims
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1. In a lightweight military vehicle, an improved turret system adapted for use with large weapons, said turret system comprising:
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a platform; a plurality of vertically extending stanchions connected at their upper ends to the platform and at their lower ends to side rails of the vehicle frame each of said stanchions including an outer casing and an energy absorbing material filling the outer casing, and being of a different material than the outer casing; a disk mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said platform; mounting means connected to the disk for receiving a large weapon and being adapted to pivot the weapon in elevation about a pair of horizontally disposed trunnions; elevation drive means vertically extending upwardly from central interior portions of the vehicle for controlling elevation of the weapon, said drive means having a lower fixed actuator portion rotatably coupled to an upper portion, said upper portion being connected to the weapon mounting means offset from the trunions whereby vertical motion thereof controls elevation of the weapon, with said upper portion being capable of rotating with the weapon during azimuth positioning thereof; a plurality of forward looking seats within the interior of the vehicle, one seat being for a gunner; power drive control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat for activating the elevation drive means and for rotating the disk to move the weapon in elevation and azimuth, respectively; and manual control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat for manually actuating the elevation drive means and for rotating the disk as a backup to the power drive control means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In a vehicle having a frame, the improvement comprising:
a platform, a weapon mounted to the platform, and a plurality of vertically extending stanchions connected at their upper ends to the platform and at their lower ends to the vehicle frame, with the stanchions including an outer casing, and an energy absorbing material filling the outer casing and being of different material than the outer casing material whereby said stanchions flex during firing of the weapon to thereby minimize the transfer of weapon impulse forces to the vehicle frame. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. In a vehicle for carrying a weapon, the improvement comprising:
a platform for supporting the weapon and being capable of moving relative to the vehicle, a plurality of stanchions connected at their one ends to the platform and at their opposite ends to the vehicle, with the stanchions including an outer casing and an energy absorbing material filling the outer casing, and being of different material than the outer casing whereby said stanchions flex during firing of the weapon to thereby minimize the transfer of weapon impulse forces to the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A military vehicle having an unmanned turret system, said vehicle comprising;
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a platform; a plurality of stanchions connected at one end to the platform and at an opposite end to fixed portions of the vehicle; a disk mounted for rotation on the platform about an axis extending generally normal to the plane of the platform; mounting means connected to the disk for receiving a weapon, with said weapon being adapted to pivot in elevation about a pair of trunnions disposed in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the disk; elevation drive means for controlling elevation of the weapon, said means including first and second portions rotatably coupled together at their inner ends, said first portion being located within the vehicle and centrally disposed about the axis of rotation of the disk, with the opposite end of said second portion being coupled to the weapon, and means for imparting axial movement to said first portion whereby said movement controls elevation of said weapon, with the second portion being capable of rotating with the weapon during azimuth positioning thereof; at least one seat in the vehicle for a gunner, said seat being spaced from said disk and being mounted to the vehicle so that it is free from rotation with the disk; azimuth drive means for rotating the disk to control azimuth positioning of the weapon; control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat and coupled to the elevation and azimuth drive means for positioning and firing the weapon; and said stanchions including an outer casing and an energy absorbing material filling the outer casing, and being of different material than the outer casing whereby said stanchions absorb impulse forces generated during firing of the weapon to thereby minimize the transfer of the forces to the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A military vehicle comprising:
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a platform connected to the vehicle; a plurality of stanchions connecting said platform to the vehicle, each of said stanchions including an outer casing and an energy absorbing material filling the casing, and being of different material than the casing whereby said stanchions flex during firing of the weapon to thereby minimize the transfer of weapon impulse forces to the vehicle; a disk rotatably mounted on the platform; a weapon mounted on the disk and capable of pivoting in elevation; azimuth drive means for rotating the disk thereby positioning the weapon in azimuth; elevation drive means for controlling elevation of the weapon; a seat for a gunner within the interior of the vehicle; power control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat and including at least one motor for activiting the elevation and azimuth drive means; and
manual control means accessible from the gunner'"'"'s seat for manually actuating the elevation and azimuth drive means as a back-up to the power control means. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification