US3529745A - Sonobuoy dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 1970 c. FREEMAN AL 3,529,745

SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Cl. IFFORD L. FREEMAN W/L L IAM R E DWA R05 ZJZQ/ AGENT Se t. 22, 1970 c. L. FREEMAN ETAL 3,529,745 SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Shqet 2 H 4 I I F I l 1' I 27 W W 26", i I I N i i I o "I I I l I q @1223 ""1 "'lm "u' 7 I 25 ,4 34a %0 34 FIG. 3

ANB' DROP SONOBUOY CHUTES FIG. 7

Sept. 22, 1970 c; FREEMAN ETAL 3,529,745

SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 s Sheets-$heet 3' FIG. 4

United States Patent 3,529,745 SONOBUOY DISPENSER Clifford L. Freeman, Alexandria, Va., and William R.

Edwards, California, Md., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed July 25, 1968, Ser. No. 750,425 Int. Cl. B64d ]/06 US. Cl. 22190 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser for sonobuoys, or the like, having a number of parallel, vertically extending slots, or channels, each slot to house a sonobuoy. At the bottom of each slot is an electrically operated latch which opens a bottom door thereby permitting the sonobuoy to slide out of the slot by gravity.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to article dispensing and more particularly to a dispenser for ejecting sonobuoys, underwater sound sources, or depth charges, and the like, from an aircraft.

During World War II when enemy submarine activity played a predominant part in the conflict there developed as a defense against this enemy action a number of antisubmarine warfare defenses. For example, there were developed a number of passive listening systems, such as anchored hydrophone, or other listening devices placed aboard moored buoys, which were connected by electric cable to equipment on shore to give a warning if there was submarine activity in the neighborhood. Also, an intensive underwater sound listening campaign was carried on by our own submarines in their monitoring and surveillance of the ocean bottom. On the other hand, in the air, patrols were maintained by lighter-than-air aircraft, such as blimps, and long-range amphibious craft which constantly scanned the ocean for silhouettes, oil slicks or bubble streams which were indicative of the presence of submarines.

One of the most effective systems developed, however, was that in which a helicopter, either manned or of the drone type, was flown to the area where suspected submarines were operating and the helicopter lowered by a suspended cable either some form of listening device or a sonobuoy, or in the alternative actually dispensed a sonobuoy and listened for its signals at a remote distance. In this arrangement, two or more sonobuoys were carried by suspending them under the aircraft by means of a strap arrangement, but this method had the disadvantage of utilizing one of the two weapon racks on the aircraft, thus reducing its Weapon capabilities. This form of defensive system worked well for a while, but in time it became antiquated and outmoded due to the increasing number of newer and faster submarines. With only two sonobuoys aboard the helicopter a fast submarine could soon move out of range of the sonobuoys listening capability and thus leave the helicopter defenseless against other maneuvers. It became apparent, then, that if more sonobuoys were available aboard the helicopter then they could be dispensed over a wider area, resulting in a triangulation on the submarine or even a pursuit and further dispensing of the sonobuoys at a later time.

3,529,745 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 ICE With these disadvantages in mind it was decided that a sonobuoy dispenser containing a number of these devices located in some form of canister or container would be advantageous. This arrangement would provide not only a multiple number of listening devices for deployment, but would also increase the weapon capability of the aircraft by not utilizing its bomb racks to carry the sonobuoys. Therefore, the present invention offers considerable improvement over prior art systems in that it provides a dispenser which contains at least eight sonobuoys in at least two sizes and includes a means in which these sonpbuoys are easily and rapidly dispensed from the aircra t.

An object of the invention is the provision of a dispenser for ejecting stores from an aircraft which is airborne.

Another object is the provision of a dispenser which ejects sonobuoys from an aircraft in flight.

Another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which is electrically operated.

Still another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which ejects the sonobuoys in sequence.

Yet another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which is inexpensive to construct and is highly efficient in its operation.

Still another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which contains a plurality of sonobuoys that may be released in sequence, rapidly, one behind the other.

Other objects and :many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows the dispenser located aboard a helicopter.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the dispenser.

FIG. -3 shows a sectional view of the solenoid and latch mechanism.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the release mechamsm.

FIG. 5 shows a view of the latch mechanism, taken along the line 55 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the latch mechanism.

FIG. 7 shows the electrical circuit for releasing the sonobuoys.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now the drawings there can be seen in FIG. 1 the manner in which the dispenser is located aboard a helicopter. It will be noted that the dispenser is located about midships of the aircraft and that the sonobuoy launch tubes, which are about four feet in length, are clustered together and standing vertically. Thus, when the release means is activated the sonobuoys slide out of the tubes by gravity and fall directly into the water since there is no bottom on the helicopter. Now, turning to FIG. 2, there can be seen that the overall configuration of the dispenser comprises a row of smaller sonobuoy launch tubes 11 interspersed between a row of larger sonobuoy launch tubes 12, all of them clustered within an outer casing 13. In this particular presentation there is shown a row of four small sonobuoys and four large ones, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited to eight but there may be more or less as the situation requires.

Positioned across the bottom of the launch tubes 11 and 12, and forming a part of the trigger mechanism, there is a triangular shaped release arm 14 which is hinged at one end about a pivot 15. A U-shaped housing 16 which forms a support for the pivot is integrally attached to casing 13, while positioned around the pivot 15 there is a spiral spring 17 which acts to rotate the arm 11 4 when the release is activated. One of the components making up the pivot 15 is a plate 18 which is joined to release 14, one end of plate 18 being U-shaped so as to receive the pivot 15 while the other end of the plate has its corners rounded off (see FIG. 6 for detail).

At the opposite end of release arm 14 from pivot 15 there is located a rotatable, arcuate-shaped latch shown generally as and having a longer arm 21 and a short rounded arm 22. The latch 20 is mounted to pivot about a bolt 23 while one end of a leaf spring 24, which is attached to the top of release arm 14, is in contact with the short rounded leg 22 of the latch to urge it into a clockwise rotation, as seen in the view of FIG. 5. A cotter pin 25 which extends transversely across the narrow end of release arm 14 not only serves as a structural support for release arm 14 but it also serves as a rotational stop for latch 20 when shorter leg 22 contacts it.

In FIG. 3 there can be seen a view of the solenoid activated latch means. The solenoid coil 26 is placed in a housing which is attached to the sonobuoy casing 113 as at wall 27, the solenoid 26 having an armature 28 which is rotatively connected to a latch release means 30. Latch release 30 is pivotally connected to the housing by means of a bolt 31 and is connected to the solenoids armature 28 at a rotatable point 32. In one face of the latch means 30 there is an indentation or notch 33 which is adapted to receive latch 20 when the release means 14 is in its closed position as will be described more fully hereinafter. Positioned below the latch release means 30 and attached to' the solenoid housing is a safety guard 34 having a horizontally extended side 35, the safety guard acting to pro tect the solenoid and release means from damage due to handling. Safety guard 34 which is pivotally mounted on the solenoid housing by a bolt 34A, and normally held closed by a spring 19, may be swung open to provide access to the latch releasing mechanism.

The circuitry utilized to release the sonobuoys, as shown in FIG. 7, consists of a relay 36 which, when activated, causes a stepping switch 37 to move sequentially to each of its positions. The positions of the stepping switch in turn are connected to the solenoids 26 located at each of the bonobuoy containers.

In operation, when it is necessary to release one of the sonobuoys, relay 36 is energized which causes stepping switch 37 to move to one of its positions, this in turn activating one of the solenoids 26. When solenoid 26 is energized it pulls in its armature 28 causing it to move upward, this in turn through its connection 32 to latch release 30 causes latch release 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction about bolt 31. The rotation of latch release 30 in a clockwise direction causes latch 21 to slide out of notch 33. This action results in latch 21 rotating slightly in a counter-clockwise direction against the action of leafspring 24 pressing upon the short leg 22 of latch 20. The release arm 14 is now free to rotate and the sonobuoy is dispensed by gravity from its container 11 causing release arm14 to turn in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 15. Once the sonobuoy has cleared the container 11, coil spring 17, which is wound around the pivot 15, causes the release arm 14 to close again thereby moving the latch 21 back into the notch 33 and it is held in place there by the leafspirng 24. This semi-automatic closing of the sonobuoy containers 11, once the sonobuoys have been dispensed, is a desirable feature in that the release arm 14 is not dangling loose to cause air drag and aerodynamic resistance.

From the above description of the structure and operation of the present invention it is obvious that there are presented many improvements over prior art dispensers. The invention thus oifers a simple, inexpensive, almost foolproof, means of dispensing sono buoys which is light in weight and sure of action.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood, that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An article dispenser comprising:

a plurality of compartments for housing the articles to be dispensed, the compartments being of different sizes and tubular in shape and positioned vertically;

release means in the form of an arm extending across the bottom of each compartment, the arm being pivoted at one end;

resilient means associated with the arm to cause rotation of the arm about the pivot;

a movable latch operatively associated with each arm at an end remote from the pivot;

a solenoid connected to the movable latch of each compartment;

a pivotable latch guard partially covering the latch to protect it from abuse; and

sequentially operating means for sequentially energizing the solenoids whereby the articles are dispensed from their compartments in sequence.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner D. A. SCHERBEL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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