US2438307A - Nonmetallic mine - Google Patents

Description

March 23, 1948. J, 1, TAYLOR ET AL 2,438,307

NON-METALLIC MINE Filed Jan. 10, 1946 3 sheets-sheet 1` nmllllllQs wily i mn* X;

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JJ.' MVZA) 'Y and HJM/P055 March 23, 1,948. J, J, TAYLQR ET AL 2,438,307

NoN-METALLIC MINE v March 23, 1948'. J, J, TAYLOR, Er AL 4325.307

NoN-METALLIC MINE Filed Jan. 10, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1l- A gmc/whois and PM (QS Y tion; i

Patented Mar. 23,1948

NONMETALLTC MINE John J. Taylor and Paul M. Ross, Wadsworth, Ohio, assignors to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of NewJersey Application January 10, 1946, Serial No. 640,247

4 Claims.

This invention relates to explosive mines, especially to such mines that are built so as to have no magnetically sensitive members in the assembled mine structure.

Heretofore, most explosive mines have included in their construction one or more parts made from metals, especially metals capable of ready detection by certain types of electrical mine detectors so that,` even if the minerwere buried in the earth or otherwise hidden, it often could be located without exploding same. Then, with care, the mine could be removed from'its concealed location and rendered safe in an appropriate manner. It thus will be evident that the elimination of metal in theccnstruction of explosive mines is highly desirable.

One object of thisinvention is to provide a non-metallic, explosive mine of sturdy, inexpensive construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mine which is c onstructed'and arranged to be 'capable of operative action when substantially frozen to theearth, and which is watertight in the water-sensitive portions thereof.

A further object of the invention is top'rovide a mine construction adapted to exclude foreign material from the movable operating portion thereof. l, V

Yet another object of the inventionv is to provide a mine which has substantially the same operating characteristics for load applied to any portion of the top thereof.

Another object is to provide a mine which can be easily armed after it is positioned. Y

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mine with an operating plate which is substantially free from restraint imposed by frozen earth in contact with the mines circumference.

The foregoing and other objects will be made apparent by the following description, especially in relationship to the accompanying drawings-in which: f Y

Figure 1 is an elevation, shown primarily in vertical section, of a mine embodying the inven- Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the fuze arming means of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of the porcelain body member illustrating the under side thereof;

Figure 4 is the vertical sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an elevation, shown partially in vertical section, of a modification of the invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are respectively sections taken on lines 6 of Figure 7, and I---l of Figure 6of a rubber bellows shown in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is an elevation, partially in section, of a container member shown in Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the container of Figure 8 Figlll'e 10 is an elevation, partially in section, of a further container member shown in Figure 5;

Figures 11 and l2 are fragmentary sectional detail views taken on the lines I I--I I of Figure .8 and I2-I2 of Figure 9, respectively.

Referring in detail to the construction shown in the accompanying drawing, Figure 1, indicates generally a non-metallic explosive mine 2l), in which is disposed a porcelain disc frame member 2|, having an apertured boss 22 extending from its lower side, said boss having a plurality of indentations, or iiutes 23, therein with the reduced thickness zone of the boss 22 being appreciably greater than the zone of original or unchanged thickness, for a purpose hereinafter disclosed. Y m

A belleville spring 24 is vcarried by the disc 2l on its upper surface.V This spring is formed from laminated paper, plastic or other non-metallic composition capable of being formed tol an arched construction, but adapted to be flattened when a predetermined load is applied to its upper surface in order to operate thevmine, as hereinafter set forth. In place of one built-up belleville spring it may be desired to form'the spring from a plurality of spring laminations (not shown) heldV togetherbythe assembly of the mine components. The mine 20 is detonated by pressure applied to the side area of the upper surface of the mine. This is accomplished by the use of a plywood operating plate 25 which is carried on and supported by the upper surface of the belleville spring 24 at the center thereof. The lower surface of the operating plate andthe upper surface of the belleville spring are formed of such curvatures that the contact point of the spring and plate moves outwardly when pressure is applied to the iplates edge areas. 'Ihe lower surface of the operating plate, acting as a fulcrum moves the contact point radially of the mine and into closer vertical To seal the water pervious portion of the mine and prevent the entrance of foreign material between the edge portion of the operating plate and the belleville spring, a flexible rubber bellows 26 is secured to the operating plate 25 and extends to the disc 2|. The bellows 26 may, of course, be made from any suitable rubber, or rubber-like material and is secured to the operating plate 25 by a plastic disc plug 21' which is in threaded engagement therewith. Any suitable tape 28 may be used to seal the bellows 26 to the edge of the disc 2|, while the lower lip of the bellows 2B may be secured to a brous container 29 which is suitably associated with the disc 2| and its boss 22. The container 29 is used to carry the main explosive charge for the mine 20. Usually, trinitrotoluene is used as the charge for the mine and it is best positioned in the container 29 by heating the trinitrotoluene and pouring it as a liquid into the container when the container 23 is associated with the porcelain frame 2|. The liquid TNT iiows into intimate contact with the boss 22 and ilutes 23 therein, and aids in retaining itself and the container 29 in fixed engagement Vwith the mine. The flutes 23, which are best shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, give a good field of detonation for the booster charge of the mine which is carried within the boss 22, as hereinafter described. A slight air space is provided between the porcelain frame 2| and the container 29 which reduces the hazard of fracture of the porcelain frame if the mine is dropped on its bottom or lower corners. A further fibrous cover 3| may be placed over the lower surface of the TNT carried by the mine.

The boss 22 of the porcelain frame is used to receive a non-metallic fuze used with the mine 2@ to render same operative. To this end, a iuze well sleeve 32 is positioned within the boss 22 and extends along the axis thereof. A cover 33 is cemented in to seal the upper portion of the chamber formed between the inner surface of the boss 22 and the sleeve 32, and normally a booster charge 34 is received within'this compartment of the mine 23.

A tubular body 35, also made from plastic, porcelain or other suitable non-metallic material, received within the sleeve 32. A housing 35, which receives a piston 31r therein for movement along the axis of the sleeve 32 is positioned in the tubular body 35. A thin piston retainer disc 35i is positioned within the housing 36 to retain the piston in a given position until forced to move therefrom by impact of a firing pin, as hereinafter described. A porcelain diaphragm 39 is in contact with the inner end of the piston 31 and is in closely spaced relation to a porcelain anvil fil, so that the movement of the piston will drive the diaphragm 39 against the end of the anvil lli, The normal space between such members is filled with impact and pressure sensitive ingredients (not shown) so that such ingredients .vill be caused to explode when the porcelain diaphragm is driven against the anvil 4| by impact oi the ring pin on the piston 31. One mixture which has been satisfactory as a detonator is made of lead thiocyanate, potassium ehlorate, and ground glass. Obviously, the composition and physical strength of the piston 31, piston retainer disc 38, porcelain diaphragm 39 and porcelain anvil l|| are made of such nature as to operate in the manner outlined above.

The porcelain anvil 4| is positioned on shoulders 35a formed in the body 35 so that it is prevented from moving when the piston drives the porcelain diaphragm 39 inwardly of the fuze so as to break it and detonate the ingredients therebetween.

A detonator cup 42 and a pellet booster 43 are positioned within the tubular body 35 and spaced from the porcelain anvil 4| by a booster disc 44 positioned within the fuze body. A closure disc 45 and a pad 46 are positioned at the bottom of the tubular body 35 to complete same.

A bottom closure plug 41 is in threaded engagement with the sleeve 32 and it presses a suitable gasket 43 into sealing engagement with the boss 22 of the frame disc 2|. This seals the fuze opening in the boss, thus preventing entrance of water into the water sensitive fuze assembly from the bottom of the mine. It will be seen that the fuze can be inserted into its position from the bottom of the boss 22, prior to engagement of the plug 41.

In the upper portion of the mine, the plastic disc 21 compresses one extremity of the rubber bellows 26 into sealing engagement with the plate 25 to form a water tight seal for the upper portion of the mine 2|). Thus the water sensitive portions of the mine are sealed by the bellows 23, the porcelain disc 2| and the two plugs, 21 and d1. The disc 21 also forms a bearing for a ring pin 5l. An arm 52 extends substantially horizontally from the firing pin and connects to a shaft 53 extending through the disc. This shaft 53 is eccentrically positioned with relation to the axis of the fuze well sleeve 32 and connects to an operating lever 54 on the outside oi the mine 2li. The operating lever 54 is adapted to be moved through an arc and move the firing pin 5| into superimposed vertical alignment with the piston 31 so as to arm the mine 23 but to be positioned normally at its other extremity of movement whereby the iiring pin is removed from vertical alignment with the piston 31, and downward movement of the operating plate and its associated structure will not detonate the mine.

It will be noted that all of the parts of the mine 2E) are made from plywood, porcelain, plastic, fiber or other non-metallic materials, but that the physical strength of the mine is still satisfactory for its normal use. It is to be noted that the portions of the mine inclosing the fuze are made water-tight to prevent water from seeping into the mine. Another feature of the mine is that it is not easily damaged by being dropped and not easily detonated sympathetically.

A mine 6|] embodying a modied type of nonmetallic construction is shown in Figures 5 through l2. The mine 6|) is of substantially the same construction as the mine 20 but includes -a rubber bellows 26a which is secured between the disc 2|a and the operating plate 25a to form a seal therebetween. In this instance, the operating plate remains in fixed contact with the center of the belleville spring. The top portion of the mine 6G then is partially sealed to the lower mine section by a seal tape 3| carried by a fabric or fiber cover member |52 secured over the rubber bellows 230.. vertically extending ribs 23h are formed in the bellows to facilitate expansion of the bellows when the mine operating plate and belleville spring are depressed, and thus reduce the back pressure set up in the mine when the operating plate is moved downwardly. indentations 63 are formed in the upper edge surface of the TNT container 41a. These indentations permit air Within the mine 60 but outside of the bellows 26a to vent therefrom when the upper section of the mine is pushed down towards the lower section.

Several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and completely described herein. However, it will be understood that the scope of the invention is dened by the claims appended hereto and is not limited otherwise to the examples set forth herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A non-metallic mine comprising a disc having an apertured boss extending from the lower side thereof, a belleville spring positioned on the upper surface of said disc, an operating plate associated with the upper surface of said spring with only a center contact therebetween under no-load conditions, non-metallic fuze means carried in the boss of said disc, a plastic base plug sealing said fuze means in the lower portion of the ,boss of said disc, explosive means associated with the outer surface of the boss of said disc, said disc having flutes formed in the outer surface of said boss, a rubber bel-lows extending between the outer portion of said disc and operating plate so as to prevent the entrance of water into the mine, and fuze arming and detonating means carried by said operating plate in spaced vertical relation to said fuze means and being adapted to detonate said fuze means on downward movement of said operating plate, an air pressure space being provided between the upper surface of said explosive means and the lower surface of said disc to render the mine less susceptible to mechanical shocks on said explosive means, all of the components of the mine being made from non-metallic materials.

2. In a non-metallic explosive mine, a nonmetallic frame member, a non-metallic belleville spring positioned on the upper surface of said frame member, a non-metallic operating plate associated with the upper surface of said spring, and tape means retaining said operating plate and belleville spring in association to prevent separation thereof, said operating plate having a lower surface curved to bring only the center thereof in contact with said spring at no load condition, said spring and said operating plate being constructed and arranged to have a rolling contact which moves radially outwardly of the mine towards the applied force when an edge load is applied to said operating plate so as to reduce the lever eiect of the edge load.

3. A non-metallic mine comprising a disc having an apertured boss extending from the lower side thereof, a belleville spring positioned on the upper surface of said disc, an operating plate associated with the upper surface of said spring, non-metallic fuze means carried in the boss of said disc, a base plug sealing said fuze means in the lower portion of the boss of said disc, said disc having flutes formed in appreciably more than half of the outer surface of said boss, a rubber bellows extending between the outer portion of said disc and said operating plate so as to prevent the entrance of water therebetween whereby the water pervious portions of the mine 'are sealed, a fuze arming and detonating means carried by said operating plate in spaced vertical relation to said fuze means and being adapted to detonate said fuze means on downward movement of said operating plate, an air space being provided between the upper surface of the explosive means which is usually associated with said boss and the lower surface of said disc to render the mine less susceptible to fracture by dropping, all of the components of the mine being made from non-metallic materials.

4. In an explosive mine, a frame member comprising a porcelain disc, a belleville spring positioned on the upper surface of said porcelain disc, an operating plate carried by said spring, and means extending between said operating plate and belleville spring to prevent separation thereof, said operating plate having a curved lower surface so as to bring only the center thereof in no load Contact with said spring, said spring and said operating plate being constructed and arranged to have a rolling contact which moves radially outwardly of the mine towards the appled force when an edge load is applied to said operating plate so as to reduce the lever effect of the edge load as the said spring is compressed.

JOHN J. TAYLOR. PAUL M. ROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date ,1,503,769 Ryan Aug. 5, 1924 2,324,846 Joyce et al. July 20, 1943 2,336,701 Rasmussen Dec. 14, 1943 2,358,403 Gore et al Sept. 19, 1944 2,376,332 Adelman May 22, 1945 2,377,174 Parker May 29, 1945 2,412,695 Rost et al. Dec. 17, 1946

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