GB2295001A

GB2295001A - Ammunition identification

Info

Publication number: GB2295001A
Application number: GB9522723A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anders Moeller; Lars Strange
Original assignee: CelsiusTech Electronics AB
Current assignee: CelsiusTech Electronics AB
Priority date: 1994-11-08
Filing date: 1995-11-06
Publication date: 1996-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-06
Also published as: GB9522723D0; SE9403819L; SE508648C2; FR2726640A1; DE19541647A1; GB2295001B; DE19541647C2; FR2726640B1; SE9403819D0

Description

Ammunition identification 2295001 The present invention relates to a

method f or marking and Identification of an ammunition cartridge of the type which comprises a cylindrical circumferential surface and a base plate provided with contact surfaces for electrical connection to the interior of the ammunition cartridge. The invention also relates to an ammunition cartridge comprising a cylindrical circumferential surface and a base plate provided with contact surfaces for external electrical connection to the interior of the ammunition cartridge, and to an ammunition- identifying plate intended to be applied on the base plate of the ammunition cartridge.

An ammunition cartridge in accordance with the above in already known from the patent SE-7414669-7. When handling ammunition of different kinds, it is important to keep different types apart and to prevent mix-ups. Ammunition cartridges are usually marked with printed or engraved text which identifies the ammunition type.

Colour marking can also be used. These types of marking place all the responsibility on the operator for ensuring that the right type of ammunition is in place and that the system is informed of the ammunition type.

It is already known from DE-Al-3,830,903 to mark the ammunition type by means of a resistance ring whose resistance is an indication of the ammunition type. The ring is applied around the cylindrical part of the cartridge case. Two detector electrodes situated diametrally opposite one another in relation to the cylindrical part detect the resistance value which the resistance ring introduces between the electrodes. Based on the characteristics which the identified ammunition type represents, the gun in which the identification takes place is given a suitable setting. The individual cartridges are identified one at a time, close to the moment of their activation.

The object of the present invention is to provide for a simple identification of ammunition cartridges which does not require that the circumferential surface of the cartridge case is accessible and which means that existing ammunition cartridges can easily be modified. Thin means that the ammunition type f or each one of a plurality of cartridges arranged in parallel in groups, and with the base plates in a common plane, can be made accessible simultaneously for determination of the type of ammunition.

The object of the invention is achieved by a method characterized in that a contact-surface-free part of the base plate is provided with an annular plate comprising two conductive rings, in that each ammunition type which is to be marked is assigned a specific resistance range, in that the resistance is detected between the conductive rings, and in that the detected resistance is compared with the specific resistance ranges for identification of the ammunition type in question, by an ammunition cartridge characterized in that an annular plate comprising two conductive rings is applied on the base plate of the ammunition cartridge, which annular plate has, between the two conductive rings, a resistive portion which indicates the type of ammunition which the cartridge accommodates or is intended to accommodate, and by an; qmmunition- identifying plate characterized in that the plate is annular and comprises two conductive rings which are separated by a resistive portion.

The positioning of the annular plate adjacent to the other contact surfaces in the base of the cartridge means that the plate can be reached from the same part of the equipment, in which the cartridge is mounted, as the other contact surfaces, which means, inter alia, that space is saved. Ammunition cartridges available on the market have contact-surface-free parts in the base part which can be upgraded without any great outlay with ammunition identification according to the invention.

The annular plate can advantageously be applied by gluing or by a clamping action.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the plate comprises an essentially insulating carrier layer on which the conductive rings and the resistive portion are applied.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the plate comprises an essentially insulating carrier layer within which the conductive rings and the resistive portion are accommodated.

According to yet another advantageous embodiment, the resistive portion consists of several resistive elements coupled In parallel between the two contact rings. The resistance of the resistive portion can in is this way be easily altered by cutting out one or more resistive elements so that the resulting resistive portion indicates other types of ammunition.

The Invention will be described in more detail below on the basin of an illustrative embodiment and with reference to the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 shown a cross- sectional side view of an ammunition cartridge according to the invention, Figure 2 shown a bottom view of the ammunition cartridge according to Figure 1, Figure 3 shown an ammunition-identifying plate according to the invention, included in the ammunition cartridge according to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 shows a section along 4 - 4 in Figure 3, Figure 5 shows a section along 4 - 4 In Figure 3 according to an alternative embodiment of the ammunition-identifying plate, Figure 6 shows a further example of an ammunition-identifying plate according to the invention, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic representation of a scanning and evaluating device.

The ammunition cartridge 1 according to Figures 1 and 2 comprises a cylindrical part 2 and a base part 3. The base part 3 comprises a plate 4 on one side of which a number of contact rings 5, 6, 7 are applied. The contact rings and a central circular contact surface 8 are in contact with the interior of the cartridge which can, for example, accommodate counter-measures 9 in the form of, for example, flares or chaff. An annular plate is secured between the outer periphery of the base part and the outermost of the contact rings 5 and can consist, for example, of a foil. The annular plate can be secured by means of glue, can be held In place by a clamping action between cartridge 1 and plate 10, or can be secured in another suitable manner.

As can beet be seen from Figures 3 and 4, the annular plate is provided with two conductive rings 11, 12 and an intermediate resistive portion 13 applied on an essentially insulating carrier layer 14. According to an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5, the conductive rings 11, 12 and the intermediate resistive portion 13 is can be accommodated within the carrier layer 14, with the conductive rings contactable in the surface of the carrier layer.

According to the illustrative embodiment shown in Figure 6, the resistive portion consists of several resistive elements 15 to 18. The elements are coupled in parallel between the two conductive rings 11, 12. By cutting out one or more of these resistive elements 15 - 18, the resistance which a scanning and evaluating device detects in altered, and with it the ammunition type coupled to the resistance. A cut-out resistive element in this context occurs as a circuit interruption.

Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of a scanning and evaluating device 20 for detecting the resistance between the two conductive rings. A scanning unit 21 is provided with a first detection electrode 22 coupled to one conductive ring 11, and a second detection electrode 23 coupled to the second 12 of the two conductive rings. The detection unit functions in accordance with any of the principles which are known for determining resistance and outputs a resistance value.

Resistance ranges for different ammunition types are stored in a memory 25. By comparing the resistance value detected by the detection device and resistance ranges stored in the memory 25 by using a comparator device 26, the present resistance range can be established and with it the ammunition type associated with the range.

Claims

Patent Claims is 1. Method for marking and identification of an ammunition

cartridge of the type which comprises a cylindrical circumferential surface and a base plate provided with contact surfaces for electrical connection to the interior of the ammunition cartridge, characterized in that a contact- surface-free part of the base plate in provided with an annular plate comprising two conductive rings, in that each ammunition type which is to be marked Is assigned a specific resistance range, in that the resistance is detected between the conductive rings, and in that the detected resistance is compared with the specific resistance ranges for identification of the ammunition type in question.
2. Method according to Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the annular plate is applied by gluing.
3. Method according to Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the annular plate is applied by a clamping action.
4. Ammunition cartridge comprising a cylindrical circumferential surface and a base plate provided with contact surfaces for external electrical connection to the interior of the ammunition cartridge, characterized in that an annular plate comprising two conductive rings is applied on the base plate of the ammunition cartridge, which annular plate has, between the two conductive rings, a resistive portion which indicates the type of ammunition which the cartridge accommodates or is intended to accommodate.
5. Amimunition- identifying plate intended to be applied on the base plate of an ammunition cartridge, characterized in that the plate is annular and comprises two conductive rings which are separated by a resistive portion.
6. Ammunition-identifying plate according to Patent Claim 5, characterized in that the plate comprises an essentially insulating carrier layer on which the conductive rings and the resistive portion are applied.
7. Ammunition-identifying plate according to Patent Claim 5, characterized in that the plate comprises an essentially insulating carrier layer within which the conductive rings and the resistive portion are accommodated.

Ammunition- identifying plate according to any one of Patent Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the resistive portion consists of several resistive elements coupled in parallel between the two contact rings.