US3361065A

US3361065A - Personnel-disabling grenade

Info

Publication number: US3361065A
Application number: US549008A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alan L Litman
Original assignee: Smith and Wesson Corp
Current assignee: Smith and Wesson Brands Inc
Priority date: 1966-05-10
Filing date: 1966-05-10
Publication date: 1968-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1985-01-02

Description

Jan. 2, 1968 A. LITMAN PERSONNEL-DISABLING GRENADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 10, 1966 INVENTOR. ALAN L. L/TMA/V ATTORNEYS Jan. 2, 1968 A. L. LITMAN PERSONNEL-DISABLING GRENADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1966 l l l ikgs AWs \ INVENTOR.

ALA/V L. L/TMA/V ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,361,065 PERSONNEL-DISABLING GRENADE Alan L. Litman, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Smith & Wesson, Inc., Springfield, Mass.

Filed May 10, 1966, Ser. No. 549,008 9 Claims. (Cl. 102-65) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention provides an improved grenade which has the following main features:

(a) The propelling gas is generated in a closed vessel within the grenade body, and this gas is first discharged against the wall of the grenade opposite the discharge opening. This construction has the following advantages:

(i) It prevents direct contact of the burning powder with the disabling media.

(ii) It causes a pre-cooling of the propelling gas before it contacts the main body of the disabling media.

(iii) It causes the propelling gas to sweep the interior wall of the grenade body, effecting smooth acceleration and de-agglomeration of the tear-gas powder.

(b) The body of the grenade is preferably formed of a high-strength plastic that is inert to the disabling media, but which will react with the propelling gas. This feature has the following advantages:

(i) There is no degradation of the disabling media by reaction with the body during storage.

(ii) The high-velocity propelling gas impinges on the plastic causing ablation (endothermic breakdown) of the plastic. This breakdown decomposes the plastic into both solid and gaseous materials, and the reaction serves to reduce the temperature of the propelling gas while adding to the volume of that gas.

(iii) The plastic body excludes entry of moisture, which would degrade the disabling media.

(iv) The plastic body can be molded in the desired shape at minimum cost.

Background of the invention This invention provides an improved form of personnel-disabling grenade useful in capturing barricaded criminals, in control of riots and for other similar law-enforcing and military purposes.

The use of hand grenades for the purpose of temporarily disabling persons who are enemies of society has been known for a long time. Such grenades have been used to project different types of disabling media, particularly tear gas. Over the years many improvements in specific details of these grenades have been made.

The United States Patent No. 1,530,133 to Maxwell points out that for peacetime use it is desirable for humanitarian reasons to avoid injury or mutilation. That patent therefore describes a grenade with a body of suflicient strength that it will not rupture during use, thus avoiding flying fragments.

It has been customary in tear-gas grenades to provide within the grenade a charge of propelling material that will generate a volume of gas sufiicient to discharge and disperse the tear-producing material. The suggestion has been made (see US. Patent 1,659,158 to Oglesby) that the temperature of this propelling gas should be somewhat moderated before it contacts the tear-producing material in order to avoid any chemical reaction or decomposition of the tear-producing material that might reduce its effec tiveness.

Description of the invention In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a hand grenade incorporating the invention.

FIG. 2 is a central vertical section of the device of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating modifications.

The invention will be described as a tear-gas grenade, although it can be used to disperse other personnel-disabling materials.

Referring to the drawings more particularly, the main body 10 is substantially barrel-shaped. It is preferably formed from a strong plastic that will not burst when the grenade is used. A suitable material for body 10 has been found to be a polyacetal copolymer having a tensile strength of 8 to 10,000 pounds per square inch. This material will not react chemically with the tear-gas material during storage, and will not permit permeation of tear-gas material or moisture, but will react with the hot propelling gas in a manner that will be subsequently described.

The grenade is illustrated in a normal upright position, and the part illustrated at the top of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be referred to as the upper end.

This wall 11 of the upper end of body 10 is of greater thickness than the remainder of the body, and this end is formed with a screw-threaded opening 12 to receive a grenade fuse 13. The fuse 13 is of a construction wellknown in the grenade art, and is suitable for igniting the gas-generating powder shortly to be described. One example of such a fuse is disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,894,203 to Spring.

The lower end of body 10 is formed with a discharge opening 14 which is of a large diameter relative to the over-all diameter of the body 10. A metal or plastic end cap 15 is crimped over a rim 16 of the body and is sealed with a suitable sealant, preferably, a polysiloxane.

After the parts of the grenade have been assembled (some of which will be described later) and before the cap 15 is applied, the body 10 is charged with tear-gasproducing material indicated at 17. This material is preferably orthochlorbenzalmalononitrile (conventionally des ignated by the letters CS) or 2-chloroacetophenone (conventionally designated by the letters CN) reduced to a fine dust having a particle size average 15 microns. Powders reduced to this degree of fineness are usually called micronized.

In connection with tear gas it must be understood that one dictionary meaning of the word gas is:

a mist-like suspension of extremely fine dust particles in air, used to asphyxiate, or stupefy, or cause lachrymation.

In the past tear-gas bombs have been primarily of the following two types:

Type I. Slow-burning type In this type of bomb the tear-gas material has been placed in association with a fuel material. Upon ignition, the burning fuel vaporizes the tear-gas material, and this vapor condenses on the small particles of smoke produced by the fuel.

Because of its slow-burning characteristics this type of bomb can be dangerous to the thrower, because it can often be picked up and thrown back.

T ype II. Bombs using pre-micronized powder In this type of bomb the tear-gas powder has been premicronized prior to loading it into the bomb. With this type of bomb it is merely necessary to quickly discharge the powder from the casing, thus avoiding the disadvantages of the slow-burning type.

The present invention provides an improved bomb using pre-micronized powder.

The important improvement of the present invention lies in the special provisions made for the highly efficient and effective dispersion of the pre-rnicronized tear-gasproducing dust from the grenade. This is done in the following manner.

The gas-generating material, indicated at 18, is spaced within an elongated metal tube 19, which is closed except for its upper open end 20. The upper end 20 of the tube is aligned with, but spaced slightly below the lower end of the fuse 13. A preferred gas-generating material is a double-base smokeless powder having hollow grains. Since this powder produces the propelling gas, it can be called the propelling powder.

The main body of tube 19 is displaced away from the central axis of the grenade, and the lower end of tube 19 rests on the bottom of body adjacent to discharge opening 14. The tube w is therefore in such a position that it will not interfere with the free discharge of the tear-gas-producing dust through the discharge opening 14.

The lower end of tube 19 is held in its proper out-ofthe-way position by a slotted positioning member 21 which is carried by the closure cap 15, and which has fingers engaging opposite sides of the tube 18.

The lower end 22 of the fuse 13 is a cylindrical nipple and has an outer diameter corresponding with the outer diameter of the tube 18.

As previously stated, the upper end 19 of tube 18 is spaced a slight distance from the lower end 21 of the fuse. The gap between these two parts is sealed by a union sleeve 23, which is formed from a material which can be readily expanded by gas pressure, such as an elastomer.

Operation In using the grenade, the safety pin 24 is removed in the usual manner, and the handle 25 is released. Approximately 2 seconds thereafter the fuse ignites the propelling powder 18 in tube 19.

The rapidly expanding hot gases cause the upper end of the sleeve 23 to expand outwardly into a cone-shaped collar, as indicated by the dotted lines at 23a. This coneshaped collar directs the gases to take the course indicated by the arrows.

In following this course the gases first impinge against the upper end of the housing, where they are cooled, partly by their ablation (chemical reaction) with the plastic of the body. Since the upper wall 11 of the body is thick, it remains relatively cool, thus helping to cool the gas.

As stated previously, the body is formed of a material that reacts endothermically with the hot propelling gas. This reaction serves to reduce the temperature of the propelling gas while adding to the volume of that gas. The reduction of the temperature of the propelling gas is important because at higher temperatures there is a degradation, and hence a loss, of some of the teargasproducing dust.

In addition, as a result of the direction of the gas being reversed 180, the velocity of the gas is reduced, and the resulting turbulence promotes aerosolization of the teargas powder.

This change of direction of the gas causes it to sweep along the inner wall of the body, passing partly around the mass of powder. This action appears to accelerate the powder more gradaully than would be the case if the gas impinged directly on top of the mass of powder.

When the pressure within the grenade rises to approximately 100 to 150 pounds per square inch, the cap pops off, allowing sudden release of the gear-gas powder. The fact that the tube 19 which holds the gas-generating compound is tilted to one side permits unimpeded flow of the dust from the relatively large discharge opening 14.

Because of the cooling and slowing down of the propelling gas, there is a substantial reduction in the percentage of dust particles that are tie-activated (have their tear-producing properties destroyed). By actual test it has been found that not over 10% of the dust particles are tie-activated, whereas without the cooling and direction-changing flow, approximately 50% of the dust particles are rendered ineffective.

In addition, the reversing gas flow of the present invention stirs up the body of tear-gas powder, and breaks up any clumps that may have formed during the storage of the grenade.

It should be noted that the propelling gas is generated within the tube 19 which opens toward the closed end 11 of the grenade. The result of that construction is that the burning powder which generates the propelling gas never comes into direct contact with the tear-gas-producing material. This feature is important because such contact would cause instant degradation of some of the teargas-producing material.

The tube 19 is preferably an elongated tube of the general shape of an ordinary test tube. With such a tube only a small area of powder is exposed at the top, so that the powder burns progressively and generates gas in a relatively slow reaction, thus producing a relatively slowmoving body of gas.

The over-all result is that a very high proportion of the tear-gas powder is dispersed into an aerosolized gas. Tests have shown that approximately 55% of the powder is aerosolized, which is a much higher percentage than is obtained with any prior-art grenades.

Another advantage of the new grenade is that since the body remains intact, and relatively cool, it may be held in the hand. The aerosolized tear gas issues in the form of an elongated cone, which may be aimed in any desired direction.

The presence of the slotted positioning member 21 causes the end cap 15 to twist to the left as it is blown from the body. The resultant tumbling through the air reduces its velocity and the chance of causing injury.

Possible variations Several possible variations are shown in FIG. 3. The union sleeve 23 is replaced by a union member 23b molded from rubber or other similar material. The member 23b has a lower portion collar 26 which has a snug fit over the upper end of the tube 19, and an upper relatively thin collar portion 27 which snugly engages the nipple of the fuse.

Between the collar portions 26 and 27, the union member 23b carries a cone-shaped rim 28, the upper end of lvjvhch closely approaches the end wall 11 of the grenade When the grenade is fired, the expanding gas formed in the upper end of tube 19 first bends outwardly the upper collar 27 to the position shown in dotted lines. The action causes the gas to travel upwardly and impinge on the upper wall 11 of the grenade body.

Thereafter, the expanding volume of gas deforms outwardly the cone-shaped rim 28 to the dotted line position shown. During this action the gas is caused to wipe along the wall of the casing and to change its direction with the advantages previously described.

Another possible variant is the provision of the hollow, cup-shaped Chamber 29 at the discharge end of the grenade body. Within this chamber is placed a charge 30 of a desiccant, preferably a silicon derivative which serves also as a sealing compound.

One wall of the chamber 29 carries a spring clip 31 which holds the tube 19 in its oifset position.

The closure cap 32, formed of low density polyethylene may be lined with a disc 33 of an impermeable material such as aluminum foil.

A tab 34 punched from a wall of chamber 29 permits passage of moisture to the desiccant, and also causes the blast of escaping gas to blow the cap 32 off with a twisting motion.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified form of gas generator tube. In this case the tube 19a is mounted directly on the nippel of the fuse and extends on the central axis of the grenade body to a point near the the discharge opening 14.

The upper end of the gas tube 19a extends over the nipple of the fuse and is crimped or brazed to it.

Just below the nipple the gas tube is formed with four gas ports 35 located 90 apart. A cone-shaped boot 36 fits snugly over the gas tube below the ports 35 and has an outer rim 37 which engages the upper Wall 11 of the grenade body.

In this case the boot 36 directs the gas upwardly against the end Wall 11 and bends outwardly to the dotted position, directing the gases in the manner previously explained in connection with FIG. 3.

While the grenade has been described as a hand grenade, it should be understood that it may be adapted for projection by rifle, mortar, or any preferred device.

The body may be formed of metal, or any desirable material, although plastic is preferred for the reasons given herein.

Although the new grenade has been described in connection with its use for projecting tear gas, is should be understood that it may be used to project any suitable personnel-disabling gas or aerosol suspension, such as some fire-extinguishing media.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a personnel-disabling grenade of the type having a hollow body filled with a disabling medium, a charge of gas-forming material which when ignited produces a volume of gas which propels the disabling medium from the grenade, and is used for igniting the gas-forming material; the improvements comprising:

(a) the hollow body carrying a fuse (13) at one end and being provided with a discharge opening (14) at the opposite end;

(b) a receptacle (19) within the body (10) and which carries the gas-generating material, the receptacle having an open end adjacent to the fuse (13) Whereby the firing of the fuse ignites the gas-generating material in the receptacle (19);

(c) the receptacle (19) having one or more gas emission ports arranged to discharge the propelling gas against the fuse end (11) of the grenade body (10);

(d) the receptacle (19) being closed except for the open end adjacent the fuse, and for the emission ports.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle (19) is an elongated tube having its closed end adjacent to the discharge opening (14) of the grenade.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fuse has a depending nipple, and

(a) the receptacle (19) is an elongated tube having its open end aligned with the nipple;

(b) the gas emission ports of the receptacle (19) are located near the fuse nipple;

(c) and a directional collar (23, 28, 36) is mounted on the elongated tube (19) and which directs the gas emerging from the emission ports to cause it to impinge on the upper end (11) of the body (10).

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hollow body is formed from a moldable plastic that is inert to the disabling medium, but which reacts endothermically with the hot propelling gas.

5. A device .as claimed in claim 1, wherein a desiccant chamber (29) is held within the discharge opening (14) by a closure cap (32).

6. In a personnel-disabling grenade of the type having a hollow body filled with a micronized tear-gas-forming powder, a charge of propelling powder adapted on ignition to form a propelling gas, and a fuse for igniting the propelling powder; the improvements comprising:

(a) the hollow body (10) being barrel-shaped and having the end (11) which carries the fuse formed with a thicker wall than the remainder of the body and being provided with a discharge opening (14) at the opposite end;

(b) an elongated gas tube (19) within the body (10) and which is filled with propelling powder,

(1) the gas tube having an open end adjacent to the fuse, whereby the firing of the fuse ignites the propelling powder,

(2) the lower end of the gas tube being adjacent to, but spaced from, the discharge opening (14);

(c) the gas tube having one or more gas emission ports arranged to discharge the propelling gas against the fuse end (11) of the hollow body (10), whereby the propelling gas is caused to change direction in propelling the tear-gas powder from the grenade.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the hollow body (10) is formed from a moldable plastic that is inert to the disabling medium, but which reacts endothermically with the hot propelling gas.

8. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the gas tube (19) carries a directional collar (23, 28, 36) which directs the propelling gas issuing from the emission ports to cause it to impinge on the end (11) of the body (10).

9. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a desiccant chamber (29) is held within the discharge opening (14) by a closure cap (32).

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,539,609 5/1925 Taylor 102-64 1,878,489 9/1932 Goss 102-65 1,878,491 9/1932 Goss 102-65 2,294,415 9/ 1942 McBride 102-65 2,925,942 2/1960 Schmidt et al. 222-389 X 2,959,127 11/1960 Weinert 102-65 FOREIGN PATENTS 705,643 3/1965 Canada. 629,069 7/ 1927 France.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. W. KUJAWA, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,361,065 January 2, 1968 Alan L. Litman It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 5, line 40, for "is used" read a fuse Signed and sealed this 11th day of February 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, I r.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer