US3194066A

US3194066A - Burst effect testing target

Info

Publication number: US3194066A
Application number: US181961A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schwab Kuno; Schmausser Gerhard; Konrad Erich; Hoffmann Joachim
Original assignee: Dinglerwerke AG
Current assignee: Dinglerwerke AG
Priority date: 1962-03-23
Filing date: 1962-03-23
Publication date: 1965-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1982-07-13
Also published as: NL275854A

Description

July 13, 1965 K, CHW T I BURST EFFECT TESTING TARGET Filed March 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 13, 1965 Filed March 23, 1962 FFEC ETAL

ING TARGET BUR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,194,066 BURST EFFECT TESTING TARGET Kuno Schwab, Gerhard Schniausser, and Erich Konrad, Zweibrucken, and Joachim Hoifmann, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignors to Dinglerwerlke Aktiengeselischaft, Zweibruiciren, Germany Filed Mar. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 181361 7 (llaims. (Cl. 73167) The present invention relates to an apparatus for permitting the burst effect of projectiles which are shot directly upon armor plates, especially steel or concrete plates, to be observed and evaluated.

The conventional means for this purpose consist of a supporting structure which holds the steel or armor plate upon which the projectile is directed at the appropriate distance from the gun in a position vertical to the trajectory of the projectile or inclined to the horizontal plane. These supporting structures have previously been made of heavy bars and blocks of wood, tie bars, and posts which were rammed into the ground and secured to each other by connecting means. Every different angle of inclination of the armor plate then required a separate wood construction. When being shot at, such Wood structures proved to be of insufficient strength. They constantly required replacing, repairing, or renewing which entailed a considerable waste of time and expense. The reconstruction of a larger structure required at least one or two days and this peirod was even increased by the length of time required for changing the armor plate to be shot at from one structure to another for testing the effects of the projectile at different predetermined angles of the plate. Furthermore, it was very difiicult to-build these wood structures so as to be sufficiently yieldable andto vary their yiel-dability within wide limits.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a burst effect testing target which is preferably made of a solid steel construction and provided with a test plate, for example, of steel or other suitable materials, hereafter generally referred to as an armor plate, which is adapted to be adjusted to and secured at different angles of inclination. A further object of the invention is to provide such a testing target with a pivotable support on which the armor plate which is to be shot at may be mounted, and to mount this support so as to be slidable as well as resilient. The means for adjusting the inclination of the armor plate may consist, for example, of an oil-hydraulic drive which controls the pivoting of the support and which by the installation of a resilient damping device connected to the oil-hydraulic drive also acts as a shock absorber.

Another feature of the invention consists in making the support for the armor plate of a drum-shaped construction, in winding elastic cables in opposite directions to each other around this drum, and in resiliently securing these cables to the under-structure so that the drum then acts as a restraining device. The resilience of the structure may be further increased by the insertion of elastic cushions between the drum and the pivoting shaft.

In order to reduce or eliminate entirely the reaction of the forces of the projectile upon the entire structure of the testing target the invention further provides that the axis of rotation is placed within the dynamic center of percussion.

The objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description of one preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section thereof; while 3,194,066 Patented July 13, 1965 FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross section of a modification of a part of the apparatus according to FIG. 1.

As illustrated particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the testing target according to the invention comprises an armor plate 1 upon which projectiles are to be shot and which is clamped by wedges 2 into slots S, one being shown, in parallel side plates 3 and 4 forming arms which are secured to a drum 5. This drum 5 is mounted by means of intermediate damping elements 6 on a shaft 7 which, in turn, is mounted in a frame 10 in a pit 8 of the understructure 9 and which frame is slidable in guides 11. Thecompletely closed frame 10 is connected to a piston rod 12 of a hydraulic unit 13 Which is driven by an electric-hydraulic unit 14 and is resiliently supported at its rear end by a shock absorbing device 15. Drum 5which serves as a restraining device carries

elastic cables

16 and 17 which are wound around it in opposite directions to each other and are mounted by resilient means 18 on the understructure 9. Pit 8 is covered in the upward direction by a horizontally slidable plate 1? to such an extent that it only leaves a pair of slots 26 for the passage of the side plates 3 and 4.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

By means of the piston rod 12 which is connected to frame 10, shaft 7 of drum 5 may be shifted for a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction. Since drum 5 which is mounted on shaft 7 is acted upon by the tension of the

elastic cables

16 and 17,. shaft 7 turns with the drum, and as the result thereof the armor plate 1 which is mounted on the side plates 3 and 4 is adjusted to a different inclination, as indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. In this manner, it is possible to vary the impact angle from 0 to If a projectile hits in the direction of the arrow 21 upon plate 1, the impact is transmitted to the elastically mounted shaft 7 which can then shift horizontally in the direction of fire and which is also resiliently mounted in the direction of rotation. The extent of the simultaneous shifting and rotary movements of shaft7 is determined by the strength of the

restraining cables

16 and 17 and their resilient mounting means 18 and it is variable by a suitable adjustment of the valves of the hydraulic unit 13. By properly adjusting the mass of the adjusting device in relation to the mass of the projectile and the armor plate 2, it is possible to insure that only relatively small forces or impulses will be exerted upon the adjusting device and that, especially by mounting the shaft 7 within the dynamic center of percussion of the system, the reactionof forces of the projectile upon the apparatus will be reduced to a minimum.

For reducing the reaction of forces upon the apparatus to a still greater extent, the armor plate to be tested may be clamped resiliently to the side plates 3 so that a damping effect will be attained. A preferred embodiment of such a mounting of the armor plate 1 is illustrated in FIGURE 3 which shows plate l as being clamped into the side plate 3 by means of a double wedge 2a and a counterwedge 22, and an intermediate biased resilient insert 23. A bolt 24 extends through the double wedge 2a, and a nut 25 on bolt 24 may be tightened to clamp armor plate 1 securely to the side plate 3. In this manner it is possible to reduce the reaction of the forces of the projectile upon the side plates 3 and 4 very considerably.

Although our invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, we wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, what we claim is:

1. A testing target including an armor plate, comprising pivotal mounting means for said late, hydraulic means for movably positioning said mounting means at a selectedangle and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle, damping means connected to said hydraulic means whereby said hydraulic means act as a shock absorber, means for permitting said plate mounting means, under the impact of a projectile, to pivot and to slide in the direction of fire, and resilient means connected to said plate mounting means to retard said pivoting and sliding movements.

2. A testing target including an armor plate, pivotal mounting means for said plate including a drum-shaped member, means for movably positioning said mounting means at a selected angle and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle, means for permitting said plate mounting means, under the impact of a projectile, to pivot together with said drum-shaped member and to slide in the direction of fire, means to retard said pivoting and sliding movements comprising elastic cables secured to and wound in opposite directions around said drumshaped member, a stationary base, and resilient means for connecting said elastic cables to the stationary base.

3. A testing target including an armor plate, pivotal mounting means for said plate including a drum-shaped member, a shaft, said drum-shaped member being mounted on said shaft, elastic cushion means interposed between said drum-shaped member and said shaft, means for movably positioning said mounting means at a selected angle about the axis of said shaft and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle, said plate mounting means, being adapted under the impact of a projectile, to pivot together with said drum-shaped member about said axis, guide means for said shaft to allow said shaft carrying said drum-shaped member and said plate mounting means to slide under impact in the direction of fire, means to retard said pivoting and sliding movements comprising elastic cables secured to and wound in opposite directions around said drum-shaped member, a stationary base and resilient means for connecting said elastic cables to the stationary base.

4. A testing target including an armor plate, a shaft, a pair of side plates forming arms mounted on said shaft, said side plates having slots for receiving said armor plate, means for clamping said armor plate in said slots, a frame member, said shaft being pivotably mounted in said frame member, guide means to guide said frame member for sliding movement in one direction, whereby under the impact of a projectile said armor plate together with said side plates are adapted to pivot about the axis of said shaft and also to slide in said direction, resilient means connected to said plate mounting means for opposing said pivoting and sliding movements, and hydraulic means for movably positioning said side plates together with said armor plate at a selected angle and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle.

4 5. A testing target including an armor plate, pivotal .mounting means for said plate including a shaft, 21 pair of side plates forming arms mounted on said shaft, means for securing said armor plate to said side plates, means for rotatably mounting said shaft Within the dynamic center of percussion of the testing target, means to guide said shaft mounting means for sliding movement in one direction, whereby under the impact of a projectile said armor plate together with said side plates are adapted to pivot about the axis of said shaft and also to slide in said direction, resilient means to retard said pivoting and sliding movements, and hydraulic means for movably positioning said side plates together with said armor plate at a selected angle and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle.

6. A testing target including an armor plate, pivotal mounting means for said plate, means for movably positioning said mounting means at a selected angle and for normally maintaining the same at the selected angle, means to allow said mounting plate under the impact of a projectile to pivot and also to slide in the direction of fire, resilient means connected to said plate mounting means to retard said pivoting and sliding movements, and covering means substantially separating said armor plate and a part of said mounting means from all of the other means of said testing target for protecting said other means from shell fragments.

7. A testing target including an armor plate, a shaft, a pair of side plates forming arms mounted on said shaft, said side plates having slots for receiving said armor plate, resilient damping inserts interposed between said armor plate and the walls of said slots, wedges for clamping said armor plate between said inserts in said slots, 2. frame member, said shaft being pivotably mounted in said frame member, guide means to guide said frame member for sliding movement in one direction, whereby under the impact of a projectile said armor plate together with said side plates are adapted to pivot about the axis of said shaft and also to slide in said direction, resilient means connected to said side plates to retard said pivoting and sliding movements, and hydraulic means for movably positioning said side plates together with said armor plate at a selected angle and for normally maintaining the same at the angle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 929,721 8/09 Sprankle 188-64 X 1,087,507 2/ 14 Palen 273102 1,424,632 8/22 Fenton 273-102 2,689,938 9/54 Larson 7312 X 2,731,829 1/56 Wigington et al. 73--167 FOREIGN PATENTS 727,342 3/ 32 France.

RICHARD C. QUEISSER, Primary Examiner. DAVID SCHONBERG, Examiner.

Claims

1. A TESTING TARGET INCLUDING AN ARMOR PLATE, COMPRISING PIVOTAL MOUNTING MEANS FOR SAID PLATE, HYDRAULIC MEANS FOR MOVABLY POSITIONING SAID MOUNTING MEANS AT A SELECTED ANGLE AND FOR NORMALLY MAINTAINING THE SAME AT THE SELECTED ANGLE, DAMPING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HYDRAULIC MEANS WHEREBY SAID HYDRAULIC MEANS ACT AS A SHOCK ABSORBER, MEANS FOR PERMITTING SAID PLATE MOUNTING MEANS, UNDER THE IMPACT OF PROJECTILE, TO PIVOT AND TO SLIDE IN THE DIRECTION OF FIRE, AND RESILIENT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PLATE MOUNTING MEANS TO RETARD SAID PIVOTING AND SLIDING MOVEMENTS.