FR2707751A1 - Girl missile release device. - Google Patents

Abstract

Daughter missiles (11) are catapulted forward from a mother missile when a mother missile rocket motor (12) no longer accelerates the missiles. A catapult force exerted on a piston head (43) by the gas pressure from the rocket motor on rear facing surfaces (26) of the daughter missiles is large enough to shear pins (34) holding the missiles daughters on the mother missile, but only when the reaction forces of the daughter missiles on the piston (43) due to acceleration have disappeared. Preferably, the daughter missiles are pushed outwardly during release, advantageously by a rotation around the axis of the structure of the mother missile on which they are mounted.

Description

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for

  ensuring the release of several daughter missiles from a mother missile

  lying down, during the flight of the mother missile, with practi-

  only no loss of kinetic energy from daughter missiles. The Applicant is currently seeking to create

  a missile system in which missiles "wire-

  "guided by antenna fly along a trajectory

  roof towards a target and which are accelerated to their flight speed by a rocket-propelled mother missile. The release of daughter missiles from the mother missile must occur when the last

  rocket engine of the mother missile has completed its combustion

  tion. Any undesirable disturbance to the calculated flight paths of daughter missiles and any loss of their kinetic energy during launch must be avoided. The object of the invention is to satisfy

These conditions.

  In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for effecting a forward launch of a forward daughter missile from a rocket-propelled mother missile after a period

  acceleration of the daughter missile obtained by the combustion

  tion of the rocket motor of the mother missile, characterized in that it consists in: i) establishing before the end of said acceleration period a catapult force to ensure said launch forward and ii) in using the reaction force acceleration of said daughter missile to oppose it to the catapult force, so that the catapult force is insufficient to cause the launch forward during said acceleration period while being sufficient from

  that the acceleration period ends.

  According to a second aspect of the present in-

  vention, there is provided an aerial guided missile

  comprising a mother missile and at least one wire missile

  carried by the mother missile, the mother missile having a rocket motor to accelerate it during a period along a flight path to a target and the daughter missile being mounted for launching towards the forward in flight from the mother missile at the end of the

  acceleration period, characterized in that it comprises

  carries means to impose on the girl missile,

  during the acceleration period, a catapult force sufficient to ensure said forward launch in the absence of the acceleration to which the missile is subjected during said acceleration period, but which is insufficient when it is thwarted by the reaction force of the girl missile on the missile

  mother, which exists during the said acceleration period

tion.

  It is advantageous to use the press-

  propulsion gas of the rocket engine (standard

  second stage motor) to provide catapult force. This can be delivered to or to each daughter missile by a piston arranged to be in contact with the daughter missiles and to be

  biased forward by gas pressure.

  If desired, a shear pin-

  can be used to prevent displacement

  premature forward of the piston. A pre-launch

  forward matured can be prevented by keying the or each daughter missile to the mother missile using a fastening device whose keying force is calculated to be overcome by the catapult force

  at the time of the release of the or each missile fi-

  lle. One way to ensure keying is to use a shear pin that is broken at the moment

of release.

  A number of girl missiles can

  be mounted side by side on a sleeve (also suitable

  peeled hoof) which can slide on the axis of the mother missile, the daughter missiles being arranged regularly

  around the axis of the sleeve. The sleeve can be sol-

  lawful in a storage arrangement at the rear of its travel stroke. Such a stress is effective in absorbing handling shocks before the release of daughter missiles. The fixing device with which each daughter missile is fixed

  by a keying force to the sleeve includes a ta-

  quet likely to be broken by the forces of ci-

  protrusion imposed on it by the force of cata-

  fails when the mother missile is no longer accelerated. Of

  each fastening device is preferably made up of

  killed by a single shear pin at the level (along the length of the missile) of the center

gravity of the girl missile.

  Preferably, the daughter missiles have a

  outwardly directed radial acceleration

  ment of their release. This can be understood by them.

  equipped by ensuring that the mis-

  if the girl turns around her axis at the time of release and / or while accelerating the girl missiles towards the outside (for example using ramps) in a forward movement of the mother missile from

  from a flight provision to a release provision

ration.

  In order to better understand the present invention and to show more clearly how it can be implemented, we

  will now refer to the attached drawings on the-

which:

  - Fig. 1 is a side elevation view

  the of a preferred embodiment of an antenna guided missile according to the invention; - Fig. 2 is a cross section along line III-III of FIG. 1; and

  - Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through

  part of the missile of FIG. 1 between lines III-III and IV-IV of Fig. L taken at larger

  scale to show more details.

  The missile comprises a mother missile 10 and three daughter missiles 11 carried by it. The mother missile 10 has a first rocket engine RI and a second engine R2 which are ignited sequentially and flight control surfaces 17 which are also adapted to communicate a rotational movement to the mother missile during its flight. In front of the material

  propulsion 12 of the R2 engine of the second stage, is available

  a light alloy motor head part 13 carried by the casing 22 of the motor R2 using a

threaded collar 23.

  The head piece carries a hollow structure 24 of abutment and fairing of the daughter missiles which comprises three abutment pads 25 directed towards the front which bear against the rear faces 26 of the

girl missiles 11.

  An axial projecting portion 14 of the head piece 13 carries a support cylinder 15 which extends to a pointed nose 16. The projection 14 defines a chamber A forming a pressure reservoir closed by the

  cylinder 15 and nose 16. (In a variant of reali-

  sation, the tank is closed, not by the nose 16, but by a partition extending transversely into the hollow cylinder 15. This makes it possible to install telemetry equipment in the cylinder, between the partition and the nose). When the engine R2 of the second stage is ignited, the chamber A is filled with gases compressed from the propulsion material 12 by passage of these gases through a non-return valve 18 of the workpiece.

  head 13. The structure of the valve 18 is not shown

  but it is of the "pellet" type.

  The cylinder 15 has, on its cylindrical surface

  that an annular recess 20 on which can slide

  axially, but not in rotation, a sleeve 21.

  Three daughter missiles 11 are carried by the sleeve 21, each being fixed to the latter by a shear pin fixing device 34. The missiles 11 are arranged at angles of 120 'relative to each other around the circumference of

  sleeve 21, as shown in FIG. 2. A provision

  tif 31 of helical spring bias is housed in the space between the cylinder 15 and the sleeve 21 between the end surface 23 of the recess 20 and

  an abutment surface directed towards the front 32 of the man-

chon 21.

  Figure 2 shows an outer protective envelope 50 and containment blocks 51 and 52 of expanded polystyrene or other extremely material

  light, said envelope and said blocks being intended

  born to detach from the daughter missiles 11 at a certain moment before the second stage R2 engine has finished combustion but which, until that moment at

  during the flight of the missile, serve to protect the missl-

  girls against accidental damage and,

  during the first part of the missile flight, allows

  attempt an aerodynamic fairing of the missile in its

  seems. The present indications are that such a

  swimming is not essential, so one could

  dispense with the envelope and blocks.

  Referring now to Figure 3,

  several openings 19, formed through the cylinder

  support dre 15 and projection 14 allow the passage

  propellant gases to a pressurized gas chamber 39 delimited by a ring 40 of a piston 41 and the cylinder 15. A first O-ring 42

  provided at the head end 43 of the piston and a

  O-ring seal 44 provided on the outer surface

  upper 47 of cylinder 15 maintain the gas tightness of the working space 39. The head 43 of the piston is in contact with the rearward facing surface 26 of the daughter missile 11 and a retaining device 46

  with shear pin resists relative movement

  tif of the piston and the outer annular surface 47. The last indications are that this pin

  shear 46 is not required.

  After launching the mother missile, gas from

  propulsion tablets enter the work space

  vail 39 to generate a catapult force F on the piston 41, but the combination among others i) of the

  shear strength of the shear pin -

  ment 46, ii) of the reaction R of the three missiles

  the, of the sleeve and of the piston 41 at the thrust of the rocket motor 12 on the head end 43 of the piston 41 and iii) the biasing force B of the spring 31 is sufficient to prevent the gas pressure from displacing the daughter missiles forward with respect to the support cylinder 15 but only while the rocket engine 12 delivers its full thrust, that is to say accelerates the daughter missile structure of the daughter missiles 11, of the sleeve 21 and piston 41, and the reaction force R.

  The release of daughter missiles is required

  at the instant of the maximum speed of the mother missile, at the moment when the second (and last) stage of the engine has finished its combustion. When the thrust from the R2 motor disappears, there is a corresponding drop in the

  reaction force R on the head end 43 of the pis-

  tone 41 (although the drag forces exerted on

  daughter missiles provide certain residual pressures

  on the piston). The force of catapult F

  exerted on the piston, produced by the accumulated pressure

  gas throttle in workspace 39, is now

  holding high enough for the piston to shear the shear pin 46 and to propel the

  piston forward, in turn driving a-

  in front of the sleeve 21 and the three missiles

  girls 11. This forward movement compresses the res-

  helical exit 31 to the point where the turns of the

  spring become contiguous, no ul-

  occurs and there is a deceleration

  of the sleeve 21 on the cylinder 15.

  This rapid deceleration of the sleeve 21 and the maintenance of the pressure of the head 43 of the piston on the daughter missiles 11 cause the shearing of the

  shear pins 34 thereby cutting the link

  sound between the girl missiles and the sleeve 21. The forward movement of the girl missiles which takes place

  between the shearing of the pin 46 and the pins

  the 34 can, therefore, be viewed as a forward movement from a provision of

  flight to a launch layout.

  In the embodiment which does not include

  no shear pin 46, the strength of the

  pulte F is counterbalanced by the shear force-

  ment P. up to the breaking stress of the pin

  the shear 34, the reaction force of the three daughter missiles to the acceleration of the mother missile, and all drag forces acting on the daughter missiles. The mass of the daughter missiles is large compared to that of the sleeve 21. In such embodiments, the forward movement of the launching arrangement and the compression of the spring 31 is considered to occur during the phase acceleration of the mother missile. At the end of the period

  acceleration, there is no more movement towards the a-

  front of the sleeve 21, but the reduction in the reaction force R causes the pins 34 to shear

  and the forward release of daughter missiles 11.

  The mother missile rotates during the combustion of the engine 12 and the rotational movement communicates to the daughter missiles a tendency to be accelerated towards the outside in the direction of separation from the longitudinal axis of the mother missile at the time of

  breakage of shear pins 34. A release

  optimal tion is obtained when the shear pins 34 are arranged at the center of

  gravity of the girl missiles according to their length.

  The sleeve 21 can be replaced by a

  seems to be three cradles, one for each wire missile

  the, arranged around the support cylinder 11. The cradles

  they can be supported in a way that allows limited outward radial acceleration, by

  example by ramps, during the movement towards the a-

  of the launch layout, to give

  girl missiles radial acceleration outwards

  laughing which is added to the acceleration due to the rotation or gives an acceleration in the case where the missile

mother does not turn.

  If desired, the sleeve 21 and the pins

  shear pins 34 can be omitted by endowing

  each of the daughter missiles, for example, of a gou-

  front pillar and a rear pin which slide into a respective slot in the support cylinder 15, each slot being open at a front end thereof to allow the pins to move radially outward when the daughter missile

  reached the launch layout.

1 0

Claims (13)

  1. Method for ensuring the release in flight of a forward daughter missile from a rocket-propelled mother missile after a period of acceleration   tion of the daughter missile obtained by the combustion of the mo-   mother missile rocket, characterized in that it consists in i) establishing before the end of said acceleration period a catapult force to ensure said release towards the front and ii) in using the reaction force at the acceleration of said daughter missile to oppose the catapult force, so that the catapult force is insufficient to cause release forward during said acceleration period while being sufficient as soon as the   acceleration period ends.   2. Method according to claim 1, ca-   characterized in that it also consists in using the pressure of the propellant gases generated by the engine   rocket to provide catapult strength.   3. Method according to one of claims   1 or 2, characterized in that it consists in fixing the   daughter missile to mother missile against liberation   forward ration with a shear pin adapted to be broken by shearing by the catapult force at the end of said acceleration period.   4. Method according to any of the   previous vendications, characterized in that it   consists in i) causing the parent missile to rotate in space during said acceleration period and ii) mounting the or each daughter missile on the carrier outside the axis of rotation, so that the daughter missile is released with an acceleration transverse to its line of flight. 5. Antenna guided missile, comprising a mother missile (10) and at least one daughter missile (11) carried by the mother missile, the latter having a rocket motor (R1, R2) to accelerate the missile during a   period along a flight path to a ci-   ble and the daughter missile (11) being mounted for a   forward beration in flight from the mother missile at the end of the acceleration period, characterized by   what it includes means (40) to impose on the mis-   if daughter during the acceleration period a catapult force sufficient to ensure said release forward in the absence of acceleration at which   the missile is subjected during said acceleration period   ration, and which is however insufficient when it is counterbalanced by the reaction force of the daughter missile on the mother missile which is present during said acceleration period.   6. Missile according to claim 5, ca-   characterized in that the means for imposing the catapult force comprise a rearward facing surface (40) of a piston (41) and means for delivering to a pressurized gas chamber (39) delimited by said surface ( 40), compressed gases   from the rocket engine R2 of the mother missile (10).   7. Missile according to claim 6, ca-   characterized in that the daughter missile is attached to the mid-   sile mother against a forward displacement of the piston, by the keying force of a fixing device having a cleat on the daughter missile which   is suitable to be sheared by the force of cata-   fail at the end of said acceleration period.   8. Missile according to claim 7, ca-   characterized in that said fixing device comprises   takes a shear pin (34).   9. Missile according to any of the   vendications 6 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a non-return valve (18) to prevent the return of the gas stream from the pressurized gas chamber (39) to the rocket motor (R2).   10. Missile according to any of the   vendications 6 to 9, characterized in that the piston (41) has a forward-facing surface (43) which takes   directly support (26) on the or each daughter missile.   11. Missile according to any of the   vendications 5 to 10, characterized in that it comprises   several of said girl missiles (11) arranged regularly   smoothly around a longitudinal axis of the missile mother.   12. Missile according to claim 11, ca-   characterized in that the daughter missiles are carried by a sleeve (21) of a daughter missile structure, slidably mounted on a projection (14) of the missile   mother stretching forward along the longitu- dinal of the mother missile.   13. Missile according to claim 12, ca-   characterized in that it includes means for soliciting   tation (31) which generate a biasing force   pushing the sleeve back, the force of   tapult being sufficient in the absence of said access   leration to overcome the biasing force, the keying force and any drag force exerted on the girl missiles to ensure their release forward.