Base recovery device and gun equipped with such a device

1 . A device for recovering ammunition bases for a gun including a breechblock movable in a breech ring between a closed position, in which the breechblock closes off a chamber, and an open position, in which said chamber is open to receive a round of ammunition, wherein said device includes:

an extendable structure that is extendable between a non-spread out state and a spread out state, the extendable structure having a base-receiving opening located opposite the chamber in the spread out state and not located opposite the chamber in the non-spread out state, the base-receiving opening being delimited by a first arm connected to the breech ring and a second arm parallel to the first arm;

at least one lever that is rotatable about a pivot pin parallel to the first and second arms and is connected to the breech ring, the at least one lever supporting the second arm; and

a movement mechanism for moving the at least one lever, wherein the movement mechanism is arranged to place the at least one lever in a folded up position, in which the extendable structure is in the non-spread out state, and in an unfolded position, in which the extendable structure is in the spread out state,

wherein the movement mechanism includes:

an actuating member able to be moved in translation and rotation, the rotation being controlled by a system for controlling the movement of the breechblock;

a drive assembly connected to the at least one lever and able to move the at least one lever in rotation about the pivot pin as a result of a rotation of the actuating member; and

a clutch assembly carried by the breech ring and able to adopt a coupling position, in which the actuating member and the drive assembly are coupled in rotation, and a decoupling position, in which the actuating member and the drive assembly are uncoupled, the clutch assembly being arranged to be placed in the coupling position during a phase of recovery stroke of the gun, during which the breechblock is moved from the closed position to the open position, whereby the at least one lever is moved to the unfolded position by the drive assembly to enable an ejection of a base into the extendable structure in the spread out state once the breechblock is in the open position, and to be placed in the decoupling position as the end of the recovery stroke of the gun approaches, whereby the at least one movable lever is then moved to the folded up position by action of return means, independently of the movement of the breechblock.

2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one lever consists of a single lever, the single lever having a distal end integral with the second arm and a proximal end connected to the pivot pin, the single lever and the second arm being perpendicular to each other.

3 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the actuating member is a piece mounted so as to be movable in translation along a rotary cylinder connected to the breech ring so as to be able to rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the pivot pin, rotation of the rotary cylinder being controlled by the system for controlling the movement of the breechblock, said piece being coupled in rotation to the rotary cylinder and including:

a first connecting part connected to the clutch assembly such that said piece is movable in translation along the rotary cylinder by movement of the clutch assembly between the coupling and decoupling positions, but that a rotation of said piece about the rotation axis is not transmitted to the clutch assembly;

a second connecting part having a tab carrying a member for coupling in rotation to the drive assembly when the clutch assembly is in the coupling position; and

a third connecting part around which the drive assembly is mounted so as to allow a relative rotation between the actuating member and the drive assembly when the clutch assembly is in the decoupling position.

4 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the clutch assembly includes:

a pushing element connected to the breech ring and mounted so as to be movable in translation along a push direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the first and second arms and parallel to a plane in which the at least one lever pivots;

a coupling element integral in translation with the actuating member; and

an intermediate element connected to the pushing element and to the coupling element, and arranged to convert a translational movement of the pushing element toward the coupling element into a translational movement of the coupling element, and therefore of the actuating member, away from the drive assembly, and vice versa, the coupling element also being arranged to prevent any transmission of rotation from the actuating member to the intermediate element.

5 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the drive assembly includes:

a first drive element configured to be coupled in rotation to the actuating member when the clutch assembly is in the coupling position;

a second drive element connected to the first drive element and cooperating with the at least one lever such that a rotation of the first drive element under action of the actuating member causes a rotation of the at least one lever toward the unfolded position; and

the return means connected to one of the first drive element and the second drive element, and arranged such that, when the clutch assembly is in the decoupling position, the return means urges the drive elements so as to cause a rotation of the at least one lever to the folded up position.

6 . The device according to claim 5 , wherein the second drive element has a locking hook arranged to engage with the at least one lever when the at least one lever is in the folded up position.

7 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the extendable structure has an envelope made of flexible material formed as a bag, the base-receiving opening being the only opening of the bag.

8 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first arm is fixedly mounted to the breech ring at a lower region of cheeks of the breech ring that is located below the opening of the chamber, and the second arm is positioned above the first arm and is able to be moved to an upper region of the breech ring that is located above the opening of the chamber, the first and second arms extending horizontally.

9 . A large-caliber gun equipped with the device for recovering ammunition bases according to claim 1 , the pivot pin of the at least one lever being positioned on a rear face of one of the cheeks of the breech ring, rotation of the actuating member being controlled by a system for controlling the movement of the breechblock and the clutch assembly being carried by the breech ring.