Abstract: A rammer for an artillery piece with a barrel that can be elevated. The rammer has a cradle upstream of the barrel. The cradle is aligned with the powder chamber, has an accommodation for the shell, travels subject to a guide along a track that parallels the axis of the barrel, is coupled to a piston-and-cylinder mechanism that accelerates it toward the barrel, and is provided with a brake. The piston-and-cylinder mechanism is controlled by pneumatic controls that accommodate a rapid-opening valve. The valve diverts air back and forth between a source of compressed air and a vent. There is a pressure-reduction component with an electrically controlled proportional pressure-regulation valve between the source of compressed air and the rapid-opening valve. Signals from a fire direction system or position generator are forwarded to the electric controls. The pressure-regulation valve is then activated, reducing the ramming pressure in accordance with a prescribed formula as elevation decreases.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 23, 2000
Date of Patent:
September 3, 2002
Assignee:
Kraus-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG
Inventors:
Michael Kohltsedt, Arno Borner, Karl Lieberum