US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Brian R Hoffman

Hansen Lukman

Alexander Paul Smith

Michael Colonnello

Eric Binter

Alex Smith

James C Lee

William Burgermeister

Calvin Tyler Lawson

Robert Testa

John David Lawrence

Michael Manuel Mera

Caleb W McGee

Bai Ming Cen

Alexander Smtih

A remote weapon system (RWS) for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) includes a dedicated weapon, multi-axis gimbal and ammunition handling capabilities with all operations functioning remotely and wirelessly. The RWS comprises system-level and component-level safety features which preclude the weapon of the remote weapon system from being operable if removed from the remote weapon system.

Combat optimized ballistic remote armament with safety feature

A power generation assembly for a weapon system converts waste energy from a firing event to electric power. The power generation assembly directs expanding burning propellant gasses within the weapon system into a turbine array to generate electric current. The electric current is rectified to trickle charge a battery bank which then powers the weapon system.

Weapon energy harvesting by gas turbine electric generator

A remote weapon station (RWS) system for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) includes a dedicated weapon, multi-axis gimbal and ammunition handling capabilities with all operations functioning remotely and wirelessly. The RWS system is a gas powered, or self-powered, belt fed, rotating bolt lock weapon. In addition, the RWS is man-portable and air-droppable as the major subsystems may be latched together in the field without tooling or needing to make electrical connections.

Combat optimized ballistic remote armament

Provided is a firearm cartridge chamber with a relief feature that traps a portion of a cartridge case within the cartridge chamber when fired. The relief feature causes the cartridge case to deform within the chamber, wherein it optionally separates into a forward section and a rearward section. The deformed case remains trapped after firing, preventing extraction of the fired case and the chambering or firing of any subsequent cartridges, thereby causing a firearm malfunction. The cartridge chamber can distinguish between higher and lower pressure cartridges by allowing for normal firing and function with blank training ammunition while also facilitating localized deformation of the cartridge case when firing standard ammunition that includes one or more projectiles. The inventive chamber prevents more than one higher pressure round from firing while allowing lower pressure or training rounds to fire without limitation, which aids in enhanced safety during training exercises.

Pressure discriminating cartridge chamber

A gun barrel with piecewise helical barrel fluting comprises a single start non-stop feature of alternating and intersecting right hand and left hand helical segments. Piecewise helical barrel fluting combines the ease of manufacture of a single start fluting with the improved performance benefits of a multi-start approach, namely increased barrel stiffness and resulting performance with respect to firing accuracy and firing precision.

Piecewise helical barrel fluting

A cartridge case with a case crush region that facilitates an additional amount of case crush in the axial direction, per unit of input force and energy, as compared to an identical cartridge case without such a region. The crush region may conceivably be either of a fully or partially circumferential nature with applicability to any style cartridge case, be it bottleneck or straight-walled and of any rim configuration (rimmed, semi-rimmed, rimless, rebated-rim, belted) and without prejudice to the case material (brass, stainless steel, polymer, etc.). This feature may be incorporated into the design of existing cartridge cases as well as future designs.

Compressible cartridge case

A bottleneck cartridge chamber wherein a circumferential relief recess is placed within the shoulder region of the chamber. As opposed to the continuous angled shoulder of conventional cartridge chambers, the proposed relief recess is envisioned as an angular segment of larger included angle than the conventional chamber shoulder angle (thereby creating a compound angle cartridge chamber shoulder region) or a radial recess that would eliminate a portion of the conventional chamber shoulder.

Crush inducing cartridge chamber

A reciprocally-cycled weapon delinks and fires cartridges in open-end linked ammunition belts or close-end linked ammunition belts. The weapon has first round select and first cycle fire capabilities. The bolt carrier assembly translates out of phase with the extractor assembly. The extractor assembly is configured for rearward extraction of the cartridges in close-end linked ammunition belts. The weapon works seamlessly with open-end linked and close-end linked ammunition belts.

Reciprocally-cycled weapon

An ammunition magazine is used with a reciprocally-cycled weapon for delinking and firing cartridges in close-end linked ammunition belts. The magazine includes a housing with an ammunition indexing mechanism fixed to one side of the housing. A magazine feed box is disposed above the ammunition indexing mechanism. The magazine feed box includes a movable follower having an upper and a lower position and cam pins that engage cam slots in the magazine feed box. The movable follower is configured to receive a cartridge from the weapon.

Ammunition magazine for reciprocally-cycled weapon

An externally-operated weapon has a direct current servo motor that provides motive force to drive the weapon operating group at an average rate of fire. Within a single cycle, the weapon operating group is driven at rates greater than and less than the average rate of fire, while the overall rate for a single cycle is maintained at the average rate of fire. Some benefits of servo motor control include reduced power consumption, increased bolt dwell time, expansion of the weapon's battlefield role from one to many roles, and increased accuracy and shot-to-shot precision while firing from an open bolt position.

Motor control for externally-operated weapon

An automatically-reloadable, remotely-operated weapon system may include an operator station located distant from a weapon station. The weapon station may include an externally-powered firearm, a firearm mover for adjusting an azimuth and an angle of inclination of the firearm, and an ammunition storage and transport system for automatically moving ammunition to and from the firearm. From the operator station, a user may remotely control all aspects of firearm operation and ammunition reloading.

Automatically-reloadable, remotely-operated weapon system having an externally-powered firearm

A reciprocally-cycled, externally-powered weapon may include a rotative driver connected via a crank and connecting rod to the operating group of the weapon. The connecting rod may be connected to a pinion that meshes with a translating rack and a stationary rack. The translating rack may be connected to the operating group, and the stationary rack may be fixed to the receiver of the weapon. The energy needed to fire the weapon may be supplied by an energy generator. The minimum amount of energy supplied by the energy generator may be independent of the speed of translation of the operating group and may be sufficient to reliably result in cartridge ignition, thereby providing an infinitely adjustable firing rate.

Reciprocally-cycled, externally-actuated weapon

An blank firing attachment, with enhanced operating life, for use with gas-operated weapons; wherein, a tungsten carbide stem extending from the attachment is inserted into the bore of the weapon's barrel, the stem having a cross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of the bore, to provide backpressure within the barrel to properly cycle the weapon.

Enhanced operating life blank fire attachment for gas-operated weapons

A flash suppressor of the open prong type having a twist in its structure formed of alternating grooves and flutes or prongs provides a highly effective flash suppression for small and medium caliber weapons and especially for automatic weapons and machine guns when placed on the end of their barrels. The orientation of the direction of the twist of the structure is in a direction opposite to the direction of the rifling in its firearm barrel. Various objective laboratory tests and subjective user evaluation on its performance prove out its effectiveness in terms of mitigating visible flash on shorten machine gun barrels as well as standard full length barrels used in critical helicopter black out operations using night vision equipment. In addition, precise aiming of a weapon equipped with the inventive flash suppressor exhibits lower dispersion of actual projectile impact compared to conventional flash suppressors.

Muzzle flash suppressor

A gun barrel adaptor includes a body having a central bore therethrough and including a flange, the flange having a hole therethrough, the body having a lower side on one side of the flange and an upper side on another side of the flange; a flat spring attached to a lower side of the flange; a stop disposed in the hole in the flange and extending above an upper side of the flange, the flat spring being operable to resist movement of the stop towards the lower side of the body; and at least one locking tab disposed on the upper side of the body. The gun barrel adaptor provides for quick change modularity of muzzle devices without the use of any special tools.

Growing community of inventors

Bangor, PA, United States of America

Brian R Hoffman