IL24921A - Non gyrating projectile fuse - Google Patents

Description

C O H E N Z E D E K & S P I S B A C H R E G D . PAT E N T A TT O R N E YS 24, LEVONTIN STR., P. O. B. 11 9 I E L - AV I V P A T E N T S & D E S I G N S O R D I N A N C E 13923/65 SPECIFICATION NOR GYRATING PROJECTILE FUSE fe, BiDUSTHIAL HOB-DING ESTA BLISHE E T , a Company of the Principality of Liechtenstein, of 33 Hauptstrasse , Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein, DO, HEREBY DECLARE Ihe nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: The present invention concerns a non gyrating projectile fuse, of the type operating upon impact and comprising, on the one hand, trajectory safety means including a rocker-arm actuated by a spring and regulating the speed of radial movement of a rack, through the agency of an escapement, and on the other hand, first locking means to prevent, on the one hand the operation of the rocker-arm before · firing, and on the other hand the movement of a hammer bolt, as well as additional locking means for the hammer bolt, driven by the rack, so as completely to release the hammer only after a certain movement of this rack.

This fuse is characterized in that the first locking means are formed by a rod movable axially in the body of the fuse and accessible at the same time as the hammer bolt by dismounting at most the cover of the fuse to permit of bringing this rod and this bolt back to the initial position after the operation trial, in that the escapement is of the reversible type, and in that an orifice is provided radially in the body, opposite to the rack, to permit of acting on the latter from the outside in order to bring it back to the initial position after the operation trial, the second locking means being provided to return to the pre-trial initial position, through the influence of gravity, when one brings the fuse into a certain well defined position, after the hammer bolt has itself been brought back to the initial position. . 9 The accompanying drawing shows , by way of example, one embodiment of the fuse according to the _ invention.

Fig. 1 is a view in axial section along 1-1 of fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section along 2-2 of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in cross section along 3-3 of fig. 1 showing the members in the safety position.

Fig. 4 is. a view similar to fig. 3, but showing the members in the so-called instantaneous position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to fig. 3, but showing the members in a so-called lag position.

Fig. 6 is a view in partial section along 6-6 of fig. 7, on a larger scale, showing the rocker-arm and escapement device.

Fig. 7 is a plan' view corresponding to fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view in partial section of a detail already visible in fig. 1 and showing the members in the safety position, before firing.

Fig. 9 is a view in cross section along 9-9 of fig. 8. ί Fig. 10 is a view similar to fig. 8, but showing the members in the operating position which they occupy after the firing of the shot.

Fig.. 11 is a view in cross section along 11-11 of fig. 10.

The fuse shown comprises a body 1 on which is rotatably mounted a cover 2 itself provided with a cap 3.

An insulating joint 4, is provided between the body 1 and the cover 2. The axial immobilization of the -cover relative to the body is effected due to a slit elastic ring 5 disposed in t o' complementary grooves made the one at 6 in the bod 1 and the other opposite at 7 in the cover 2. This elastic ring is normally contracted so as to be disposed completely in the groove 6. A pointed screw 8 disposed in a corresponding threaded hole of the cover 2 is provided to separate one from the other the two ends of said ring when. the screw 8 is screwed home in its hole. The separation of the ends of the ring has for effect to expand the latter and to bring it into the position shown in fig. 1 (to the right) where it is seen that said ring is partly engaged in the two circular grooves 6 and 7, which prevents any relative axial movement of 1 and 2 while leaving the cover free to rotate relative to the body.

When the cover is in the position shown in fig. 1 which corresponds to fig. 3, the members are in a so-called safety position in which the hammer 9 is held stationary by. a hammer bolt 10. Simultaneously, a solid wall of a primer-holder barrel 11 is opposite the hammer0 On the other hand, in this safety position, r a primer-holder rack 12 ensures the breaking, as will be seen later on, of the pyrotechnical chain by which firing is effected.

In the safety position, a radial hole 13 made in the body 1 is opposite a solid portion of the cover 2 In this hole are disposed two balls 14 , 15 , the first completely engaged and the second only partly. The ball 1 5 is partly engaged in a notch 16 · of a rod 17 parallel to the shaft of the fuse. This rod is provided to slide in a tube 18 made in the frame 19 of a safety device which will be described later on. The lower end of this rod 17 , which is hollow, is engaged in a socket 20 itself disposed in a housing of the. body 1 . A compression spring 21 is disposed inside the socket 20 and acts upwardly in fig. 1 , on the rod 17. So long as the balls 14 and 15 are in the position shown in fig. 1 , the rod 17 is immobilized. 'In this safety position, the rod 17 immobilizes the hammer bolt 10 , that is to" say prevents it from rotating about its pivoting spindle 22 (fig.2) .

The following means are further provided in order to immobilize the hammer bolt 10 . A ball 23 is partly engaged in a housing 24 of the lower face of the bolt 10 and partly in a hole 25 parallel to' the axis of the fuse and made in the upper part 26 of the frame 19 . This frame 19 , 26 is in two pieces for mounting reasons. This ball is held in the position shown in fig. 1 by a rod 27 disposed in the hole 26 to slide therein. The lower end of this rod abuts against the prime-holder rack 12 when the members are in the position according When it is desired to arm the fuse to bring it either in the instantaneous position shown in fig. 4 , or in the lag position visible in fig. 2 and 5 , one turns the cover 2 in the desired direction relative to the bodyl. One will describe what happens in each of these cases.

If one turns the cover 2 so as to bring the members in the position according to fig. 4, that is to say up to the moment when the pointer I figuring on the cover occupies the position which was that of the pointer S when one was in the safety position (fig. 3) , a driving dog 28 stationary relative to the cover. 2 is partly engaged in a slot 29 made in the prime-holder barrel 11. Upon relative rotation of the cover relative to the body, this dog 28 obliges the barrel to rotate about its own axis by causing it to pass from the position visible in fig. 3 to that shown in fig.. 4. As a result, the priming 30 has placed itself in the axis of the fuse. This priming is provided for instantaneous firing upon impact. The other priming 31 of the barrel 11- occupies, in the instantaneous position, ·· the place shown in fig. 4.

In order to' pass from the safety position to' the lag position, one turns the cover so as to bring the pointer R into the position . hich the pointer S occupies in the safety position. In the lag position, the members are disposed as shown in fig. 2 and 5. The rotation of the cover in the .opposite direction to that previously described causes, through the agency of the dog 28, the. rotation of the barrel 11 in such a way that it is the priming 31 which, this time, places itself in the axis of the fuse (fig. 5). This priming differs from the priming 30 by its nature, in order to ensure slower firing than in the case of the instantaneous.

The bringing into the correct instantaneous or lag position, that is to say1 the correct angle of rotation of the cover relative to the body, is ensured by the. following means : a lug 32 is fixed in the body 1 and is opposite a countersinking 33 made in the. cover 2. In the safety position, this lug is between the two ends of the milling whereas in the instantaneous position it abuts against one of these ends and in the lag position, against the other end. Thus, the selection of one of the two operating positions, lag or instantaneous, may be carried out without eye help. When the members of the fuse are either in the instantaneous position, or in the lag position, the projectile may be fired.

This is what takes place at the moment of firing : the bringing of the cover 2 into one of- the positions, instantaneous or lag, has for result to bring opposite the hole 13 a countersinking 34 of sufficient depth to permit the balls 14, 15 to move so as to take up the position according to fig. 10, where the ball 15 is completely free from the notch 16. The rod 17 is thus no longer immobilized by these balls.

At the moment of firing, through inertia, the rod 17 passes from the position according to fig.8 to the position -of fig. 10, by compressing its spring 21 As soon as this position has been reached, a leaf spring 35 fixed in a manner not shown on a part of the frame of the mechanism slackens and passes from the position according to fig. 8 to that according to fig. 10, where its free end places itself opposite the upper end of the rod 17. From this moment, this spring 35 prevents the rod 17 from reacting to the action of the spring 21.

In this lower position, another notch 36 of the rod 17 is opposite a rocker-arm 37 mounted to pivot about a hollow spindle 38 coaxial with the fuse. Before, the firing of the shot., that is to say as long as the rod 17 was in the upper position, this rod blocked the rocker-arm and prevented it to oscillate. Now that it is in the lower posit.ion, it no longer opposes this oscillation. This rocker-arm thus oscillates under the action of a driving spring .39, due to the following means : this spring 39 is disposed in a threaded plug 40 screwed in a radial hole of the body 1 placed, opposite the primer-holder rack 12. At 41 is seen the priming carried by 12 and at 42 the escapement cooperating with a toothed wheel 43 integral with a pinion 44 itself gearing with another toothed wheel 45; .this latter is integral with another pinion 46 which, itself, gears with the teeth 47 of the primer-holder rack 12.. One will understand that under the action of the compression spring 39, as soon as the rocker-arm can oscillate, the. gear train described begins to rotate and the escapement' 42 to function, which has for result to cause the r¾ck 12 to advance step by,„step. This movement of the rack 12 in the frame 19 continues until this rack abuts against a part of the body of the fuse, as shown in fig. 11. At the end of the rack1 s . travel , the primin 41 of the latter is in the axis of the fuse and from thence on the different elements of the pyrotechnic al chain.30 or 31, 41 and a relay 53 of a detonator 54 (fig. 10) are in alignment and firing may take place.

In fact, before arriving at the end of the rack's travel, the rear end 48 of the latter has passed in front of the lower end of the rod 27, so that this rod is no- longer blocked in the position according to fig. 1. Under the action of a torsion spring not shown, acting on the hammer bolt 10, this bolt begins to rotate, thus forcing the ball 23 and the rod 27 downwards since nothing an longer holds back this rod. As soon as the hammer bolt has released the hammer, the latter is able to bring about the firing at the moment when the projectile meets an obstacle. The operation of the hammer may take place in two ways : either by percussion of the central part 49 of the cap 3 which crashes bringing about the driving back of the hammer downwardly in fig. 1, or simply by inertia, if the projectile hits an obstacle in a skimming way and in this latter case,' at the moment of braking or stopping of the projectile, through inertia, the primer-holder barrel 11 is projected forwards and the priming 30 or 31 which is in the axial position strikes the point of the hammer. One sees at 50 the spring which normally maintains the hammer in the position of rest.

It is seen that the fuse shown comprises trajectory safety means including a rocker-arm, spring-actuated and regulating the speed of radial movement of a primer-holder rack, this adjustment be.ing effected through the agency of an escapement. These trajectory safety means further comprise first' locking means (rod 17) to prevent on the one hand the operation of the rocker-arm before firing and on the other hand the movement of the hammer bolt. Additional locking' means shown by the rod 27 and the ball 23 are provided so as completely to release the hammer only after a certain movement of the rack0 It is to be noted that the first locking means are constituted in this example in a very advantageous manner by a single element 17 provided to slide axially in the body of the fuse„ One thus replaces by a single member a complicated assembly of members which is to be found in certain existing fuses. Of course, means not shown and easy to imagine are provided to prevent accidental rotation of the rod 17 about its own axis.

It should be noted, that the rod 17 is accessible at the same time as the hammer bolt 10 simply by removing the cover 2. This removal is easy since it is sufficient to unscrew slightly the pointed screw 8 for the elastic ring 5 to take up the ' ithdrawn position and free the cover. Thus, it is possible, after the operation trial, to return the rod 17 and the bolt 10 to. the initial position. By operation trial, is meant, as is well known, a mechanical trial permitting of verifying all the functions of the fuse except, of course, the firing. This firing may be prevented very simply by providing for the > trial a primer-holder barrel equipped with an inert priming, barrel which is replaced after the trial. Other methods of procedure are known.

Moreover, there is provided in the body 1 a radial threaded hole 51, in a position diametrally opposite to the. spring 39. A threaded plug 52 normally rack 12 has reached, the end of its travel (fig. 11) , it is easy to return this rack to the initial position. In fact, it is sufficient to unscrew the plug 52 and to push back the rack 12 by means of a rod inserted in the hole 51, until this rack is at the end of its travel. This withdrawal movement . of the rack is possible since the escapement is chosen from the reversible ty e.

When the rack is thus brought back to the initial position according to fig. 1, while maintaining it in this position, one operates on the rod 17 by means of another rod of the same diameter to bring about the withdrawal of the holding spring 35 and then the return into the upper position of the rod 17 under the action of the spring 21. This done, the escapement mechanism and the rack are immobilized in the initial position. Of course, one has been careful to begin by bringing by hand the hammer bolt to the locking position then to reverse the fuse, point downwards, which has for result to bring back through gravity the rod 27 and the ball 23 to the working position according to fig.1. Thus, the lower end of this rod allows free passage for the rack 12 in its .withdrawal movement.

The control being effected and the members being brought back to ,the initial position, one again positions the cover and one screws home the pointed screw 8, then one repositions the plug 52. The members 8 and 52 may then definitely be immobilized by a centre punch blow or by hammering in order to prevent acts of sabotage.

Claims (1)

WHAT IS CLAIMED ISt

1. Non gyrating projectile fuse, of the type operating upon impact and comprising trajectory safety means consisting of a rocker-arm actuated by a spring and regulating the speed of radial , movement of a rack, through the agency of an escapement, and furthermore first locking means to prevent, on the one hand, the operation of the . ocker-arm before firing and, on the other hand, the movement of a hammer bolt, as well as additional locking means for the hammer bolt, driven by the rack, so as to completely to release the hammer only after a certain movement of said rack, the said first lock-ing means being formed by a rod movable axlally in the body of the fuse and being accessible at the same time as the hammer bolt by dismounting at most the cover of the fuse, to permit of bringing this rod and this bolt back to the initial position after the operation trial, characterised in that the escapement is of the reversible type, , and in that an orifice is provided radially in the' body, opposite the rack, to permit of acting on the latter from the outside in order to bring it back to the initial position after the operation trial, the additional locking means being so positioned as to return to the pretrial initial position, through the influence of gravity, when one brings the fuse into a cattain well defined position, after the hammer bolt itself has been brought back to the initial position* ^