Patents by Inventor Bruno Ruppen

Bruno Ruppen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5115714
    Abstract: When using a multi-barrel firing weapon, such as a Gatling-type gun or canon, it is desired during a firing burst, to first fire the initial or lead cartridge or ammunition round when the rotating array of weapon barrels, during running up to speed, has attained its full rotational speed, that is, when the firing weapon is capable of firing at the full or maximum firing rate. In this way there is realized the desired high precision and low round scattering of the weapon system. The cartridge infeed apparatus requires a certain amount of time until it has reached its full cartridge infeed velocity. The initial or lead cartridge therefore should only then be delivered to the multi-barrel firing weapon after completion of the running up to speed of the array of weapon barrels and after the cartridge infeed apparatus has reached its full or maximum cartridge infeed velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 26, 1992
    Assignee: Oerlikon-Contraves AG
    Inventors: Kurt Muller, Erwin Bohler, Bruno Ruppen, Hanspeter Novet, Robert Gerber
  • Patent number: 4951547
    Abstract: During delivery of ammunition to a firing weapon from an ammunition magazine, in which the ammunition is arranged in an endless storage and conveyor chain, high acceleration forces occur, since the entire ammunition supply in the ammunition magazine must be accelerated to the required infeed velocity in the shortest possible time. In order to maintain as small as possible these acceleration forces in the ammunition magazine, the endless storage and conveyor chain is telescopically structured according to the invention, so that not all cartridges in the ammunition magazine have to be simultaneously accelerated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 28, 1990
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Hanspeter Novet, Bruno Ruppen
  • Patent number: 4840108
    Abstract: The ammunition infeed apparatus for an automatic firing weapon is constructed as simple and operationally reliable as possible. This ammunition infeed apparatus comprises an ammunition container filled with a plurality of ammunition loading or cartridge clips. The ammunition container rotates with the firing weapon about the azimuth axis. There is also provided a device for the ejection of the full ammunition loading clips from the ammunition container, a device for the extraction or stripping of the cartridges or ammunition from the ammunition loading clips. This extraction or stripping device comprises an endless conveyor band. Also provided is a flexible endless chain for the transport of the ammunition or cartridges stripped from the ammunition loading clips to the firing weapon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1989
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrick Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Ernst Hurlemann, Kurt Muller, Bruno Ruppen
  • Patent number: 4397214
    Abstract: An apparatus for the lubrication of the locking bolts of a breechblock of an automatic firing weapon enables, with very little maintenance, reliable lubrication of the locking bolts. The lubrication apparatus contains a hydraulically loaded supply container, a hydraulically actuatable dosing device, and a hydraulically releaseable or unlockable check or non-return valve, in order to spray or otherwise apply a lubricant by means of spray or injection nozzles upon the locking bolts within a breechblock housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1983
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Peter Mannhart, Bruno Ruppen
  • Patent number: 4388826
    Abstract: A weapon simulator for checking the removal of ammunition from a magazine at the rhythm or cadence with which the firing weapon is fired comprises two cams for feeding the cartridges and mounted upon a shaft driven by a drive motor. The shape of the cams is such that during the removal of the cartridges there occur the same accelerations and decelerations as during the removal of cartridges by means of a firing weapon during series firing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1981
    Date of Patent: June 21, 1983
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Peter Mannhart, Bruno Ruppen
  • Patent number: 4127055
    Abstract: A cartridge feed system for an automatic gun comprising a drum magazine possessing a number of chambers, the drum magazine being rotatably mounted about a drum shaft connected with the gun mount and incrementally or step-wise drivable. A first feed device is provided which moves the cartridges out of a respective chamber of the drum magazine and such first feed device is arranged stationarily externally of the drum magazine. A storage is disposed between the drum magazine and the gun and possesses two channels. The storage with the channels is arranged to be displaceable and each channel selectively can be shifted or displaced into a work position and into a rest position for the selective firing of different types of ammunition. A second feed device is provided which moves the cartridges out of the storage and delivers such to the gun, while the drum magazine is further rotated through one indexing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1977
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1978
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Conrad Hottinger, Bruno Ruppen, Pierre Bohler, Emil Singenberger
  • Patent number: 4092900
    Abstract: A weapon system containing a gun mount upon which there is mounted to be pivotable about an elevation alignment axis an automatic firing weapon or gun containing an ammunition container or magazine. A reloading container having an ammunition outlet opening is arranged at the gun mount. There is provided a conveyor device, by means of which sets of cartridges located in the reloading container can be brought to the outlet opening from which location these cartridges can be refilled into the ammunition container. The reloading container is displaceably arranged at the gun mount and its outlet opening can be brought into alignment with an inlet opening of the ammunition container which has been pivoted into an ammunition loading position. The conveyor device comprises transport elements which can be moved together with the sets of cartridges out of the reloading container into the ammunition container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1977
    Date of Patent: June 6, 1978
    Assignee: Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle AG
    Inventors: Conrad Hottinger, Bruno Ruppen, Kurt Schaffner