US3871297A - Percussion fuses with a tilting rotor for gyratory projectiles - Google Patents

Percussion fuses with a tilting rotor for gyratory projectiles Download PDF

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Publication number
US3871297A
US3871297A US405301A US40530173A US3871297A US 3871297 A US3871297 A US 3871297A US 405301 A US405301 A US 405301A US 40530173 A US40530173 A US 40530173A US 3871297 A US3871297 A US 3871297A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
rotor
fuse
percussion
tilting
tilting rotor
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Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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US405301A
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English (en)
Inventor
Jean Claude Bayard
Louis Fournet
Jean Jacob
Bernard Pierre
Marcel Roux
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Gouvernement de la Republique Francaise
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Gouvernement de la Republique Francaise
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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
    • F42C—AMMUNITION FUZES; ARMING OR SAFETY MEANS THEREFOR
    • F42C15/00—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges
    • F42C15/18—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved
    • F42C15/188—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved using a rotatable carrier
    • F42C15/192—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved using a rotatable carrier rotatable in a plane which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the projectile
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
    • F42C—AMMUNITION FUZES; ARMING OR SAFETY MEANS THEREFOR
    • F42C15/00—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges
    • F42C15/18—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved
    • F42C15/188—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved using a rotatable carrier
    • F42C15/192—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved using a rotatable carrier rotatable in a plane which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the projectile
    • F42C15/196—Arming-means in fuzes; Safety means for preventing premature detonation of fuzes or charges wherein a carrier for an element of the pyrotechnic or explosive train is moved using a rotatable carrier rotatable in a plane which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the projectile by the action of centrifugal or inertia forces on the carrier body, e.g. the carrier having eccentrically mounted weights or eccentric centre of gravity

Definitions

  • the tilting rotor is held temporarily, until the departure of the shot, by a locking device releasable by the action of the field of force generated by this departure, in an angular resting position for said housing is disaligned with respect to said upstream percussion element and to said downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse.
  • the tilting rotor including the pyrotechnic charge that it carries, is arranged so as to have no imbalance.
  • the pyrotechnic charge is entirely symmetrical with respect to the middle transverse plane of the housing.
  • the rotor is arranged so as to have a principal axis of inertia, and the resting position of the rotor is such that its principal axis of inertia forms in resting position an angle of 90 with the axis of the fuse, said resting position being then a position of unstable equilibrium from which, on gyration of the fuse, the rotor seeks to reach its active position through an angular travel of 90, in one direction or the other, by reason of the appearance of a restoring torque tending, in the field of centrifugal forces and as soon as the rotor is separated however little it may be from its resting position in unstable equilibrium, to merge, that is to say to align, the principal axis of inertia (XX) of the rotor and the axis of gyration (YY) of the fuse, the pyrotechnic charge housed in said rotor then being aligned with the upstream percussion element and the downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse.
  • the invention relates to percussion fuses with a tilting rotor, intended to equip projectiles actuated by a gyratory movement aroung their axis, especially projectiles of the small or medium calibre type (for example of a calibre comprised between and 50 mm).
  • percussion fuse with tilting rotor means a fuse comprising a rotor, generally spherical, spheroidal, even if necessary cylindrical, arranged between an upstream percussion element (percussion member associated or not with the first primer) and an element downstream of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse and comprising a housing traversing this rotor from side to side and containing a pyrotechnic charge (first primer or secondary relay) intended to ensure the ignition of said downstream element on intervention of the abovesaid percussion member, the abovesaid rotor being mounted in the body of the fuse so as to be able to pass by tilting from a rest position, for which the abovesaid housing is disaligned with respect to the upstream percussion element and to the downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse (thus rendering impossible ignition of this downstream element in case of accidental intervention of the percussion member or accidental explosion of a first primer), to an active position for which the upstream percussion element (percussion member associated or not with the first primer) and an element downstream
  • the tilting of the rotor on departure of the shot is generally caused by the field of centrifugal forces generated by the gyration of the projectile around its axis and, of course, for safety reasons, before the departure of the shot (safety of storage, of handling and of supply) the rotor is held temporarily in resting position by a locking device arranged so as to be rendered inoperative by the forces brought into play on departure of the shot (generally by the abovesaid field of centrifugal forces).
  • the rotor had a dissymetry with respect to the middle plane perpendicular to the axis of the housing containing the pyrotechnic charge, such a dissymmetry being manifested by the presence of an imbalance which, under the effect of the field of centrifugal forces, reached a stable position of equlibrium, that is to say a position for which it was separated to the maximum from the axis of the fuse.
  • the percussion fuse according to the invention for a gyratory projectile, comprises a fuse body in which are mounted an upstream percussion element (generally a percussion member is necessary associated with a first primer) sensitive to impact and a tilting rotor arranged between said percussion element and a downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse, in which tilting rotor is formed a housing passing through it from side to side and shielding a pyrotechnic charge intended to ensure the ignition of said downstream element, the abovesaid tilting rotor being held temporarily, until the start of the shot, by a locking device releasable by the action of the fields of forces generated by this departure, in an angular lifting position over which the abovesaid housing is disaligned with respect to the abovesaid upstream percussion element and to the abovesaid downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse, said fuse being characterized in that,
  • its tilting rotor (here including the pyrotechnic charge which it bears) is arranged so as to have no imbalance
  • the pyrotechnic charge housed in its rotor is entirely symmetrical with respect to the middle transverse plane of the housing shielding said charge.
  • said rotary is arranged in addition to have a principal axis of inertia
  • the resting position of the abovesaid rotor is such that its principal inertia axis forms in this resting position an angle of 90 with the axis of the fuse, the abovesaid resting position then being an unstable equilibrium position from which, on gyration of the fuse, the rotor seeks to reach its active position through an angular travel of 90, in one direction or the other, by reason of the appearance of a return torque tending, in the centrifugal field of forces and as soon as the rotor has separated however little it may be from its resting position in unstable equilibrium, to merge, that is to say to align, the principal axis of inertia of the rotor and the axis of gyration of the fuse, the pyrotechnic charge housed in said rotor then being aligned with the percussion element upstream and the element downstream of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse.
  • Such a percussion fuse with a tilting rotor without imbalance keyed in resting position at 90 possesses, with respect to a conventional fuse ofthe same type but with an imbalanced tilting rotor keyed in resting position at about 45 with respect to the axis of the fuse, increased safety at the beginning of trajectory due to the fact,
  • the gain realized in safety at the beginning of the trajectory due to the invention is very appreciable and can lead, all other things being equal, to a safety distance of the beginning of the trajectory multiplied by a high factor, which enables the envisaging of safety of the start of the trajectory comprised between 10 and 20 meters and even more, such safety values at the beginning of the trajectory, at present sought in military programs, not having been achievable with a conventional percussion fuse with an imbalanced rotor keyed at 45 and without a special time delay device.
  • the invention implies, for the rotor, the existance ofa principal axis of inertia, the existence of such being obtained very simply by constituting the housing of the pyrotechnic charge by diametric bore and by adopting a pyrotechnic charge of less density than that of the constituent material of the rotor, the principal axis of inertia of said rotor then being merged with the axis of the bore.
  • a spherical shape (with or without a flat), said rotor then being guided by bearings in the shape of spherical domes.
  • the pyrotechnic charge housed in the rotor which charge must by symmetrical with respect to the middle transverse plane of its housing in order that its behavior may be identical in active position for the two directions of the possible tilting of the rotor, it could be constituted, either by a single element, or by two elements separated one another and arranged symmetrically with respect to the abovesaid middle plane.
  • FIG. I shows, in elevation the partial axial section, a percussion fuse constructed according to a first embodiment of the invention, said fuse being mounted with its rotor in resting position,
  • FIG. 2 shows, under the same conditions as FIG. 1, another embodiment of a fuse of the same type according to the invention.
  • the fuse illustrated in FIG. I intended for a gyratory projectile, comprises a fuse body I equipped rearwardly with a detonator 2 and comprising a threading la for its adaptation to the nose of the projectile.
  • a spherical tilting rotor 3 free of any imbalance and comprising a diametric housing or passageway 4 in which are housed two elemental pyrotechnic charges 5a and 5b separated from one another and arranged symmetrically with respect to the middle transverse plane of the housing 4.
  • the rotor 3 is held and guided by spherical bearings 6 ensuring its positioning between the detonator 2 and the firing pin 7.
  • Such a tilting rotor has a principal axis of inertia XX merged with the axis of the housing 4.
  • a releasable locking device holds the rotor 3 in resting position with its principal axis of inertia XX oriented perpendicularly to the axis of gyration YY of the fuse.
  • the abovesaid locking device being constituted by inclined pins 8 engaged in facing housings formed respectively in the rotor 3 and in the guide bearings 6 of this rotor, the abovesaid pins, which retract under the effect of the centrifugal force into housings 8a provided for this purpose. being temporarily held in active position by a ring 9 radially expandable under the effect of the field of centrifugal forces.
  • the ring 9 separates radially, freeing the pins 8 which then -retract into the housings 8a, thus releasing the rotor 3; the latter immediately leaves its unstable equilibrium position under the effect of the disturbances to which the projectile is subjected, and it enters gradually into rotation whilst tilting by to gain, for a helicoidal track, a stable equilibrium position for which its principal axis of inertia XX is merged with the axis YY of the fuse.
  • Such a fuse has a safety at the beginning of the trajectory which is notable by reason of the relatively long helicoidal path (in one direction or the other) which its rotor must effect and the little importance of the return torque acting initially on said rotor.
  • the fuse is armed and, in the case of impact, the firing pin 7 ensures the firing of that of the two elemental charges 5a or 512 which occurs facing said firing pin (in the direction of tilting of the rotor 3) and plays then the role of primer, the other elemental charge playing the role of a relay with respect to the detonator 2.
  • FIG. 2 Another embodiment of a percussion fuse with a tilting rotor according to the invention, the same reference numbers and letters denoting, in this FIG. 2, the same members or elements as in FIG. 1.
  • the fuse illustrated in FIG. 2 differs from that illustrated in FIG. 1,
  • the locking device of the rotor 3 which device is constituted by a radially expandable split ring 10, supported on a shoulder 10a arranged in the wall of the rotor, said ring being held temporarily in closed position by a spiral band 11, itself held wound by a radially expandable split ring 12 under the effect of the field of centrifugal forces.
  • the ring 12 frees the spiral band ll, which unrolls with a certain time delay (which delay constitutes a safety at the beginning of the supplementary trajectory), after which the ring 10 opens radially thereby freeing the rotor 3, which then gains its active position by the same process as in the case of the fuse illustrated in FIG. 1.
  • a gyratory percussion fuse comprising:
  • a fuse body having a longitudinal axis of gyration and adapted for movement along that said axis, and including an upstream percussion element sensitive to impact, a downstream element of the pyrotechnic chain of the fuse, and a tilting rotor arranged, longitudinally, between said percussion element and said downstream element,
  • said tilting rotor having a passageway extending therethrough from side to side, and a pyrotechnic charge in said passageway, said tilting rotor being entirely symmetrical with respect to a middle transverse plane through the center of said passageway, said rotor further having an axis of inertia, and the weight of said rotor including the pyrotechnic charge being equally balanced,
  • holding means including a locking device releasable in response to forces generated by a shot for bolding the tilting rotor in a rest position with respect to the fuse body prior to a shot, at which rest position said passageway is out of alignment with said percussion element and said downstream element so that the rotor blocks inadvertent movement of the percussion element toward the downstream element, and wherein at said rest position the said axis of inertia of the tilting rotor is at an angle of 90 to the said longitudinal axis of gyration of the fuse body, and said fuse body including means for mounting the tilting rotor so as to permit the tilting rotor to move in either direction from said rest position through a 90 angle to align the passageway with the percussion element and downstream ele ment and hence align the axis of inertia with the longitudinal axis of the fuse body to arm the fuse in response the action of a restoring force operating on the tilting rotor as the rotor is released by said holding means.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 1, wherein the tilting rotor of said fuse has a spherical or spheroidal shape and comprises a diametric passageway receiving a pyrotechnic charge of a density less than that of the constituent material of the rotor, the principal axis of inertia of said rotor being merged with the axis of said diametric housing.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 1, wherein said tilting rotor. including its pyrotechnic charge is entirely symmetrical with respect to the said middle transverse plane of the passageway containing said pyrotechnic charge.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 3, wherein the pyrotechnic charge of its tilting rotor is constituted of two identical elemental charges, separated from one another and arranged symmetrically with respect to the middle transverse plane of the housing of said charge.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 3, wherein the pyrotechnic charge of its tilting rotor is constituted by a single element comprising a plane of symmetry coinciding with the plane of symmetry of the housing containing this element.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 1, wherein the locking device of its tilting rotor is equipped with a time delay system retarding the release of this locking device and thus conferring an additional barrel safety to the fuse.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 3, wherein the locking device of its tilting rotor is equipped with a time delay system retarding the release of this locking device and thus conferring an additional barrel safety to the fuse.
  • Percussion fuse according to claim 4, wherein the locking device of its tilting rotor is equipped with a time delay system retarding the release of this locking device and thus conferring an additional barrel safety to the fuse.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Percussive Tools And Related Accessories (AREA)
  • Air Bags (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)
  • Fuses (AREA)
US405301A 1972-10-13 1973-10-11 Percussion fuses with a tilting rotor for gyratory projectiles Expired - Lifetime US3871297A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR7236251A FR2203500A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-10-13 1972-10-13

Publications (1)

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US3871297A true US3871297A (en) 1975-03-18

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US405301A Expired - Lifetime US3871297A (en) 1972-10-13 1973-10-11 Percussion fuses with a tilting rotor for gyratory projectiles

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US (1) US3871297A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH579259A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2350915A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
ES (1) ES419494A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2203500A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1413919A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IL (1) IL43422A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
ZA (1) ZA737954B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4458594A (en) * 1980-12-24 1984-07-10 Diehl Gmbh And Co. Fuse with a detonator
US5243912A (en) * 1991-12-09 1993-09-14 General Electric Co. Arming delay, dual environment safe, fuze
US20170138714A1 (en) * 2015-07-24 2017-05-18 Nexter Munitions Safety and arming device for an instant impact point fuse and fuse including such a device

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2189309B (en) * 1985-04-04 1989-12-28 British Aerospace Control mechanism for projectiles.

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2155100A (en) * 1936-04-17 1939-04-18 Scelzo Luigi Safety device for projectile fuses
US3211099A (en) * 1963-10-31 1965-10-12 Popovitch Dragolyoub Time delay mechanism
US3353489A (en) * 1965-02-26 1967-11-21 Rheinmetall Gmbh Impact fuze for a spinning projectile
US3616757A (en) * 1965-02-26 1971-11-02 Rheinmetall Gmbh Impact fuse for a spinning projectile

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2155100A (en) * 1936-04-17 1939-04-18 Scelzo Luigi Safety device for projectile fuses
US3211099A (en) * 1963-10-31 1965-10-12 Popovitch Dragolyoub Time delay mechanism
US3353489A (en) * 1965-02-26 1967-11-21 Rheinmetall Gmbh Impact fuze for a spinning projectile
US3616757A (en) * 1965-02-26 1971-11-02 Rheinmetall Gmbh Impact fuse for a spinning projectile

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4458594A (en) * 1980-12-24 1984-07-10 Diehl Gmbh And Co. Fuse with a detonator
US5243912A (en) * 1991-12-09 1993-09-14 General Electric Co. Arming delay, dual environment safe, fuze
US20170138714A1 (en) * 2015-07-24 2017-05-18 Nexter Munitions Safety and arming device for an instant impact point fuse and fuse including such a device
US10041775B2 (en) * 2015-07-24 2018-08-07 Nexter Munitions Safety and arming device for an instant impact point fuse and fuse including such a device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES419494A1 (es) 1976-05-01
IL43422A0 (en) 1974-03-14
DE2350915A1 (de) 1974-04-18
ZA737954B (en) 1974-08-28
IL43422A (en) 1977-06-30
FR2203500A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-05-10
CH579259A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1976-08-31
GB1413919A (en) 1975-11-12

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