Ammunition round for guns

• US 5,760,329 A
• Filed: 05/27/1997
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH
• Original Assignee: Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH
• Inventors: Christen, Andreas Michael, Baum, Hans-Georg
• Primary Examiner(s): TUDOR, HAROLD JAY
• Application Number:
  US08/863,553
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 102/439, 102/507-510, 102/513, 102/514-517, 102/519, 102/501
• US Class Current: 102/439
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/34 expanding before or on impact, i.e. of dumdum or mushroom type
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/38 of tracer type

Abstract

An ammunition round for guns has a cartridge case provided with a detonator cap at one end, a bullet inserted in the other open end and an explosive charge between them. The base of the bullet has a recess in which there is a pyrotechnic insert generating an illuminated trace when the bullet is fired. The bullet may be an expanding bullet. The round provides a bullet with an integral trace device.

Claims

1. An ammunition round for a gun comprising:

a cartridge case having opposing first and second ends;

a detonator cap closing said first end of said cartridge case;

an expanding bullet accommodated in said second end of said cartridge case, said expanding bullet having an inner end in said cartridge case and an outer end outside said cartridge case, said expanding bullet comprising a ball of an elastically yielding material, inserted with some deformation in a part-spherical widening in the outer end of said expanding bullet, where the part-spherical widening has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the ball in at least one point;

an explosive charge contained in said cartridge case between said detonator cap and said inner end of said expanding bullet, in which said lower end of said expanding bullet is provided with a recess; and

a pyrotechnic insert in said recess which generates an illuminated trace when said expanding bullet is fired by detonation of said explosive charge.

2. The ammunition round according to claim 1, wherein said pyrotechnic insert comprises an ignition body adjacent said explosive charge, an intermediate body and an illuminating body.

3. The ammunition round according to claim 2, wherein said illuminating body comprises tracer chemicals.

4. The ammunition round according to claim 2, wherein:

the ignition body is formed from ignition material comprising barium nitrate, strontium peroxide, barium peroxide, aluminum magnesium powder and plastics resin;

the illuminating body is formed from illuminating material comprising barium nitrate, barium peroxide, magnesium powder 4, magnesium powder 5 and plastics resin; and

the intermediate body is formed from a mixture of said ignition material and said illuminating material.

5. The ammunition round according to claim 2, wherein:

the ignition body is formed from ignition material comprising strontium nitrate, strontium peroxide, barium peroxide, aluminum magnesium powder and plastics resin;

the illuminating body is formed from illuminating material comprising strontium nitrate, strontium peroxide, barium peroxide, magnesium powder 4 and plastics resin; and

the intermediate body is formed from a mixtare of said ignition material and said illuminating material.

6. The ammunition round according to claim 1, wherein said expanding bullet is 9 mm caliber.

7. The ammunition round according to claim 1, wherein said part-spherical widening comprises an inwardly oriented lip portion for engaging the ball.