Abstract:
A rotor for a firearm having a tracks and locks for interaction with at least one firearm bolt with a rotatable head and carrier body may have a reversible lock structure such that locks may be merely turned around in relation to the rotor when one set of lock bosses is worn by the interaction of the lock and bolts when firing. Drive and delinker gears may also be geometrically keyed to the rotor to efficiently divide torque across the gears and to maintain correct timing for the firearm.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of firearms and more particularly relates to a rotor for a multiple barreled rotary firearm. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The modern “mini-gun,” or M-134, can trace its origins to the original Gatling gun of the mid-nineteenth century. It is a machine gun which fires projectiles in an automatic fashion. In the process of firing these projectiles, the gun utilizes a plurality of barrels (usually six) which consecutively rotate in a circular circuit into a single position which allows for the firing of a projectile. Each barrel, then, is only used to fire one-sixth of the projectiles, spending the remaining time cooling in an air current caused by the rotation of the barrels. Over time, many improvements have been made to the original Gatling gun, resulting in the modern M-134. However, each variant of the M-134 has always featured the rotatable barrels which are the signature characteristic of this family of firearms. 
         [0003]    Most modern firearms utilize cartridge ammunition. As cartridge is a fairly simple structure, with a projectile, or bullet, nested over an explosive charge of propellant. The charge and projectile are held together by a casing, or head. This casing presents a rearward primer which, when crushed, ignites and this ignition travels to the charge, igniting it explosively and thereby providing the impetus for launching the projectile. In most modern firearms, particularly with rifles, the primer is impacted by a firing pin. This firing pin is a spring-loaded hammer residing within a firearm bolt and, when released, impacts the primer of properly seated ammunition. The firearm bolt is also used to seat the next successive round of ammunition and, frequently, aids in the ejection of spent cartridges. Usually in an M-134 or Gatling variant, each barrel will have its own bolt. The bolt usually has a body and a head which is movable (rotatable) with respect to the body. 
         [0004]    The bolts and barrels are mounted upon a rotor. The rotor is driven by a drive gear connected to the motor of the firearm and, often, serves as a connection to translate rotational motion to a delinker gear so that the firearm delinker may be run from the same motor. It is important that the drive gear and the delinker gear maintain correct timing with respect to each other for proper firearm function. The rotor also provides the structure which keeps each barrel and bolt pair in-line while rotating and allows the longitudinal displacement of each bolt as it travels with the rotor. This structure also features a lock structure for each bolt which secures the bolt at its forward-most (firing) position as each bolt head twists to release its contained firing pin (a process explained in co-pending application 15/000,272, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Over time, the lock structure wears to the point it requires replacement for the proper functioning of the firearm. Likewise, the gears also wear. When these events occur, the parts must be replaced and, possibly, the entire rotor may have to be replaced. 
         [0005]    The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the rotor of the present invention allows a replaceable and reversible lock structure, for extended useful life of the lock parts. It also features replaceable gears keyed into the structure of the rotor. This mitigates the need to replace the rotor when gears are worn. Both of these features extend the useful life of the rotor itself and reduce the cost of maintenance of the firearm. A rotor of the present invention may be further adapted to be backwards compatible with existing rotating firearms and be readily usable in future designs. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of rotors, this invention provides a firearm rotor with replaceable components designed to extend the useful life of the rotor. As such, the present invention&#39;s general purpose is to provide a new and improved firearm rotor that is backwards compatible with existing M-134 systems and yet even more sturdy and reliable than the prior art rotor systems. 
         [0007]    To accomplish these objectives, the firearm rotor may comprises a rotor body with a number of bolt tracks and associated lock structures. The lock structures may then be removable from the rotor body, but also reversible such that the life of each lock structure is doubled. Drive and delinker gears may also be removable and keyed to the structure of the rotor body. In this manner, the gears will be easily replaceable, especially if failure occurs in the field. Also, due to their keyed nature, the drive and delinker gears will maintain a correct timing relationship with each other, allowing for proper firearm function. 
         [0008]    The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
         [0009]    Many objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
         [0010]    Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
         [0011]    As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a rotary firearm. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a partial sectional view of the rotary firearm of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a rotor utilized in the rotary firearm of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the rotor of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a prior art rotor. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a partial section of a rotor of  FIG. 3  and bolt, about to fire. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a close up view of the rotor and bolt, taken in circle A of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a partial section of a rotor of  FIG. 3  and bolt, firing. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a close up view of the rotor and bolt, taken in circle B of  FIG. 8 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a track lock used with the rotor of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is an end elevation of the track lock of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a track lock, with bolts, after significant wear. 
           [0024]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a worn track lock, without bolts. 
           [0025]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a rotor with a worn track lock in the process of being reversed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0026]    With reference now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the firearm bolt is herein described. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. 
         [0027]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a representational M134 is depicted. As can be seen, this particular firearm embodiment features six barrels  10  mounted on a rotor  20  driven in turn by a motor  30 . Belt-linked ammunition is fed into the weapon by first entering the delinker/feeding system, which strips individual rounds of ammunition from connecting links and advances individual rounds of ammunition onto one of six rotating slots  22  in the rotor, each corresponding to one barrel  10  and each having one bolt  50 . Ammunition is advanced along a cam track  12  with the bolt  50  until it is chambered in a barrel  10  and ignited. After which the bolt  50  retracts, releasing the spent ammunition casing for ejection. 
         [0028]    A rotor may serve as a connection of the motor to the delinker. As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , rotor  20  has a removable drive gear  26  and a removable delinker gear  28 . The rotor  20  then connects the motor to the delinker and better allows the entire system to stay in time. The gears are removable as they may wear or break over time. Prior art rotors  1  ( FIG. 5 ) also use removable gears, but such gears are secured by a lock pin in a port  5  along the head of the rotor  7 . Thus, when rotating, the force of the motor is positioned upon a lock pin which measures less than a quarter inch in diameter. Should this pin bend or break, the entire force of the motor (about 3 hp in most modern M-134 systems) is uncontrollably released, causing catastrophic failure and further part and system damage or, worse yet, injury. Gears according to the present invention are geometrically keyed onto the rotor head  27  and tail  29 . This allows them to be supported and torque to be distributed more efficiently on a number of components, rather than a single pin. In so doing, if a single support load fails, others provide redundancy to the system to allow it to continue functioning until it may be stopped and repaired. The keyed nature of the interfaces also requires the drive  26  and delinker  28  gears to be positioned on the rotor  20  in a manner that preserves their inherent timing. In the illustrated embodiment, a hexagonal structure is imparted to the motor gear  26  and rotor head  27  while three bosses project from the tail  29  to interface with the delinker gear  28 . These structures are more than enough to provide adequate support to the gears in question, though other designs are possible, such as the tail shown in  FIG. 14 . No limitation to the size and shape of the keyed structure should be inferred from the illustrated embodiments. Gears may be held in place by any means known in the art, including by lock pins as the keyed interaction of the gears to their supports distributes torque about the whole of the gear. 
         [0029]    Advancement and retraction of the bolt  50  is accomplished by the interaction of a cam roller  52 , positioned on the top surface of the bolt, and the helical cam track  12  fashioned in the receiver  14  ( FIG. 2 ). As the rotor  20  rotates in a circuit, the cam roller  52  follows the cam track  12  and forces the bolt  50  forward or backwards according to where in the circuit the bolt and rotor are positioned. The forward most position ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) for the bolt  50  is located when the bolt is at the top of the rotor  20  while the rearward most position has the bolt  50  at the bottom of the rotor  20 . At the top of the rotor, the bolt  50  is forced even further forwards ( FIGS. 8 and 9 ), compressing the head  58  against the body  56  of the bolt. Structure in the bolt then forces the head  58  to twist in relation to the bolt body  56 . As it twists, the bolt head interfaces with the bosses  25  of track locks  24  to secure the forward position of the bolt  50  during firing. As the bolt  50  retracts, it first draws back the bolt body  56  which untwists the head  58  and releases it from the track lock  24 . 
         [0030]    The locks  24  of the present invention feature a plurality of bosses  25  ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ) which are mirrored from front-to-back about the lock  24 . The illustrated track locks  24  each have six identical bosses  25 , so that between two paired track locks  24  six tracks will be formed (two internally for each, two between the edges of where the track locks  24  meet). This is, of course, an exemplary arrangement and any suitable arrangement will be based, in part, on the number of barrels utilized by the firearm. It is suitable, however, to use multiple pieces around the rotor for ease of manufacture and removal from and installation on the rotor  20 . Due to the structure and positioning of the bosses  25 , the disclosed track lock  24  is reversible and may be installed on the rotor in any direction. This is important as repeated use of the firearm does cause wear on the bosses  25  of track locks  24 . An example of the pattern of wear is easily identifiable as the distressed areas  23  shown on worn track lock  21  in  FIGS. 12-14 . This wear  23  does eventually affect the tolerances of the bolt as the firearm is fires and, when it does, a worn track lock  21  needs replaced. So, when one side is worn and needs replaced, the worn track lock  21  is removed and flipped around, as shown in  FIG. 14 , and re-installed. The wear  23  on an inner side of bosses  25  is irrelevant to the function of the worn track lock  21  at the middle stages of the bolt&#39;s progression, so the ability to reverse the track locks  24  doubles their life and reduces the time down for repair. Track locks  24  may be simply bolted onto the rotor  20 , or may be fastened in any manner known or later discovered or engineered for easy removal and secure installation. 
         [0031]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to prefered embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. The rotor of the present invention may also be readily adapted to perform in currently available M-134 models. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.