The technical field of the invention is that of
movable artillery guns, and particularly towed artillery
guns.
5 A towed artillery gun comprises, on the one hand,
a frame on which an artillery gun carriage rotates and
comprises, on the other hand, an automotive system as well
as trails. These trails play a double role. When apart and
unhooked from the towing vehicle, they serve as a stable
10 support for the firing phases. When closed, they play the
role of a tiller for the towed mobility phases.
During the towed mobility phase, the gun tube is
oriented parallel to the trails and toward the towing
vehicle. Once the gun is on its firing site, in order to be
15 able to fire, it is necessary to first bring the tube in
the laying area located opposite to the trails, and then to
accurately lay the tube of the weapon.
Heavy artillery guns which cannot be manually
implemented are known, such as the 155mm artillery guns
20 TR155 from Nexter Systems. These guns use a single weapon
rotating means consisting in a hydraulic engine and a
single pivot integral with the frame for turning and laying
a weapon carriage. These two phases require different
performances. Turning requires speed to implement the gun
25 as fast as possible, while laying requires accuracy. These
two performances are thus difficult to maintain
simultaneously as these means, which allow to act quickly,
have features which do not allow to obtain a satisfactory
accuracy, and vice versa.
30 The invention thereby proposes to solve a problem
of antagonistic performances by allowing both to provide an
accurate laying of the weapon carriage and the possibility
to ensure a fast turning of the weapon carriage.
Thus, the invention relates to a movable
artillery gun characterized in that it comprises:
a frame supporting a turning plate, turning plate
5 comprising a first pivot link of a vertical axis, turning
plate comprising at least one turning motor means for
rotating a turning interface around the first pivot link,
the turning interface supporting a firing carriage and
comprising a fine traverse laying means allowing the
10 carriage to rotate with respect to the turning interface
around a second pivot link of a vertical axis.
According to an embodiment, the turning motor
means comprises a pinion meshing with a ring gear of the
turning interface.
15 Advantageously, the fine traverse laying means
comprises a hydraulic cylinder able to lay the carriage
over an amplitude of at least 30 degrees.
According to a feature of the invention, the
turning motor means is able to rotate the plate with
20 respect to the frame by at least half a turn.
Advantageously, the first pivot link comprises a
ring protruding from the turning plate, ring corresponding
with a recessed shape made in the turning interface, the
ring and the recessed shape are coaxial around the vertical
25 axis.
The invention will become more apparent upon
reading the following description, with reference to the
appended drawings, in which:
30
Figure 1 shows a partial side view of an artillery gun,
according to the invention, towed by a vehicle. On this
view, the most forward trail as well as the wheel it
carries are not shown ;
Figure 2 shows a partial exploded view of the artillery
5 gun according to the invention, at the frame, the view
only showing the plate, the interface and the carriage ;
Figure 3 shows a partial side view of the artillery gun
according to the invention being turned. On this view,
10 the most forward trail as well as its wheel are not
represented ;
Figure 4 shows a partial cross-sectional top view of the
artillery gun according to the invention during fine
15 laying.
According to Figure 1, a towed artillery gun 1 is
hooked behind a vehicle 100. The gun 1 is linked to the
vehicle 100 by means of two trails 2 acting as tillers 3.
20 The trails 2 are linked to a frame 4 supporting, on the one
hand, an automotive system 5, allowing the mobility of the
gun, and, on the other hand, a weapon 6 allowing to fire
shells (shells not shown). For further reading convenience
of Figures 1 and 3, the most forward trail has been removed
25 from the figure as well as the wheel it carries, so as to
better see the structure of the artillery gun.
The weapon comprises a tube 7 oriented toward the
vehicle 100, namely oriented on the same side of the frame
4 as the trails 2. The end of the tube 7 placed toward the
30 vehicle 100 is secured to the trails 2 by means of a
clamping means 8 .
According to Figure 2, the frame 4 of the
artillery gun 1 supports a turning plate 10 bolted to the
frame 4. This plate 10 comprises a latch 20 for blocking in
position a turning interface 12 described later. The
5 turning plate 10 comprises a substantially circular upper
surface 10a. The upper surface 10a comprises a pivot ring
10b which protrudes with respect to the upper surface 10a.
The central part of the turning plate 10 comprises a
tubular barrel 10c defining a cylindrical bore. The upper
10 surface 10a, the pivot ring 10b and the tubular barrel 10c
are coaxial around a same substantially vertical pivot axis
9.
The turning plate 10 comprises a motor means 11
comprising a hydraulic engine 11a driving a pinion lib via
15 a bell crank. The pinion lib has a rotation axis lie
parallel to the pivot axis 9.
The upper surface 10a is designed to slidably
support a turning interface 12. The turning interface 12
20 comprises in its lower part a groove (groove not visible)
for corresponding with the pivot ring 10b. The pivot ring
10b and the groove are coaxial around the same
substantially vertical pivot axis 9.
The matching between the groove and the pivot
25 ring 10b thus defines a first pivot link 13 allowing the
rotation of the turning interface 12 with respect to the
turning plate around the axis 9. The turning interface
comprises an internal tooth ring gear 14. The ring gear 14
is centered around the axis 9.
30 The ring gear 14 is designed to mesh with the
pinion lib of the motor means 11 of the turning plate 10.
The rotation of the pinion lib causes the turning interface
12 to rotate around the axis 9.
Thus, the motor means 11 and the gear train
comprising the pinion lib and the ring gear 14 will be
sized by the person skilled in the art to achieve a fast
rotation, namely a rotation of 180° in less than 20
5 seconds, namely a speed higher than 9 degrees per second.
The turning interface 12 comprises a fine laying
means 15 comprising a double effect hydraulic cylinder 15a.
The cylinder 15a is secured to the turning interface 12 by
means of a joint 15b enabling low amplitude oscillations of
10 the cylinder 15a around an oscillation axis 15c of the
joint 15b (oscillation with an amplitude of about 15
degrees). The axis 15c is parallel to the pivot axis 9. The
cylinder rod 15d comprises at its end a swivel 16 designed
to be secured to a yoke 17 of a weapon carriage 18 (weapon
15 visible in Figure 1) . The weapon carriage 18 comprises a
cylindrical shaft 19 coaxial with the pivot axis 9. This
shaft 19 is designed to match the bore of the tubular
barrel 10c of the turning plate 10, the thus-constituted
assembly defining a second pivot link 40 of a rotation axis
20 9.
The exit or the entry of the cylinder rod 15d of
the fine laying means 15 allows to pivot the carriage 18
with respect to the turning interface 12 by about plus or
minus fifteen degrees with a play lower than a tenth of a
25 degree.
According to Figure 3, after unlocking the
turning interface 12 by releasing a latch 20, the weapon 6
has rotated by half a turn around the pivot axis 9 (angle
marked Rl in Figure 4) . The tube 7 of the weapon 6 is
30 located opposite to the trails 2. To this end, the motor
means 11 has driven in rotation the turning interface 12,
which has rotated with respect to the turning plate 10
around the first pivot link 13. At the end of the half
turn, the turning interface 12 is blocked in the reversed
position via the latch 20.
In a second step, according to Figure 4, the
weapon must come back to its exact laying position so as to
5 be aligned on a potential target (target not shown). To
this end, the fine laying means has caused the rotation of
the weapon carriage 18 by an angle R2 around the second
pivot link 40 at a speed lower than 3 degrees per second.
Thus, the invention allows to quickly and
10 accurately put the gun in a firing configuration. The
invention also allows a fast output of the firing position,
by firstly bringing the weapon back in its occupied
position after the previously mentioned half turn, by means
of the fine laying means, and then by bringing the weapon
15 tube back toward the trails by means of the turning motor
means 11 in a second step.

oni usy*^
We Claim:
1 - A movable artillery gun (1) characterized in
that it comprises:
5 a frame (4) supporting a turning plate (10),
turning plate (10) comprising a first pivot link (13) of a
vertical axis (9), turning plate (10) comprising at least
one turning motor means (11) for rotating a turning
interface (12) around the first pivot link (13), the
10 turning interface (12) supporting a firing carriage (18)
and comprising a fine traverse laying means (15) allowing
the carriage (18) to rotate with respect to the turning
interface (12) around a second pivot link (40) of a
vertical axis (9).
15
2 - The artillery gun according to claim 1,
characterized in that the turning motor means comprises a
pinion meshing with a ring gear of the turning interface.
20 3 - The artillery gun (1) according to one of
claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the fine traverse
laying means comprises a hydraulic cylinder able to lay the
carriage over an amplitude of at least 30 degrees.
25 4 - The artillery gun according to one of claims
1 to 3, characterized in that the turning motor means (11)
is able to rotate the plate (10) with respect to the frame
(4) by at least half a turn.
30 5 - The artillery gun according to one of claims
1 to 4, characterized in that the first pivot link (13)
comprises a ring (10b) protruding from the turning plate
(10), ring (10b) corresponding with a recessed shape made
in the turning interface (12), the ring (10b) and the
recessed shape are coaxial around the vertical axis (9) .