WO2007137444A1

WO2007137444A1 - Direct action fuse with self-destruct device

Info

Publication number: WO2007137444A1
Application number: PCT/CH2007/000271
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pascal Guenot; Jacob Budricks
Original assignee: Micro Technology Heremence Sa
Priority date: 2006-05-31
Filing date: 2007-05-29
Publication date: 2007-12-06

Abstract

Direct action fuse with self-destruct device comprising a casing (1) which comprises a cover (2) in which a rotor (8) is mounted. The rotor (8) comprises a cavity (7) and a striker pin opening, wherein a striker pin (5) cooperates with either the cavity or the opening, depending on the position of said striker pin. The striker pin (8) is movably mounted within a ball holder engageable with a ball holder attitude spring (12). The casing (1) comprises a ball cavity into which the balls (10) are moved by a centrifugal force when the attitude spring is compressed. When the centrifugal force diminishes, the balls leave the cavity and the ball holder attitude spring propels the striker pin and triggers self-destruction.

Description

IMPACT FUSE WITH SELF-SUCTION DEVICE

The present invention relates to an impact rocket with a self - destruct device for a projectile for causing an impact explosion.

Rockets such as detonating point type (PD) rockets are those whose initiation takes place when the projectile fired by a launcher, comes into impact with the surface of the target.

The action of such a rocket is generally initiated by the percussion of a sensitive primary detonator, under the action of a sharp firing pin which acts during the impact.

These rockets may be war ammunition, but also rockets or grenades whose use may be necessary to cause a remote explosion, for example for remote triggering of avalanches of snow.

The action of an impact rocket is generally initiated by the percussion of a sensitive primary detonator by a sharp firing pin on impact, this action causing the initiation of the detonator chain the primary detonator causing the detonation of the charge. explosive main contained in the projectile.

The purpose of this detonation succession is to obtain the explosion of the main charge only during a succession of actions and consequently to prevent the main charge from inadvertently exploding under The action of handling shocks or also under the influence of unwanted thermal influences.

Significant hazards are known in the use of impact rockets. It is essential first of all that the main load of the rocket can not explode unintentionally during handling, shocks caused during handling, or under the effect of unforeseen thermal effects.

It is also essential that the main load can not explode under the action of the launch shock, so the explosion of the propellant charge, and that it can not explode if a seizure blockage occurred in the tube launch.

And it is still essential that if an impact in soft ground, or for some other reason, does not cause the explosion of the main charge, a self-destruct device causes the explosion of the main charge.

Modern requirements state that impact rockets must have a self - destructing device in order to avoid that, following failed impacts that did not cause the rocket charge to explode, armed rockets remain in the wild and can explode under normal conditions. the untimely action of any manipulation or displacement.

Several forms of execution make it possible to obtain the requirements of the first phase, that is to say that the arming of the head of the rocket takes place only after the launching of the rocket. This requirement is most often obtained by a locking device which has a passage opening of the percussion tip, the passage opening being offset from the percussion tip before launching thus preventing the percussion tip from striking the primary and main loads. At launch and after a determined safety time, the locking device moves by putting the passage opening of the percussion tip in front of the percussion tip. The rocket is armed and the percussion tip can hit the impact loads expected, thus causing the explosion. Often, the locking device is constituted by a rotor which comprises the passage opening, the rotor rotating progressively after the launch under the effect of the rotation of the rocket obtained by the striations of the launcher tube, the rotor comprising a device rotational control to determine the placing of the opening passage online after a certain time after launching.

The modern requirements imply, as mentioned above, that the rockets include a self-destruct device for the case where the impact did not cause the explosion.

Modern requirements also imply that the self-destruct device is reliable, and therefore it does not work with energies stored in advance, or with complicated devices that can be blocked by shock such as timers, for example. is the disadvantage of most forms of execution. _d-

Other pyrotechnic self-destruct devices are also known, but they all have the disadvantage of not being of good reliability.

A self-destruct device is known from US Pat. No. 6,237,495, however the rocket described by this patent has the drawback of actually using a pre-stored energy before launching, the energy being pre-loaded into the spring of the firing pin subassembly. self-destruction. This form of execution is complicated. Moreover, the fact that it uses pre-stored self-destruction energy can lead to misfires. Indeed, it is known that the rockets can be stored for quite long times, and it is known that energy prechargements, stretched springs for example, may lose their effect over time.

The objects of the present invention therefore consist in overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the known embodiments. ;

The objects are achieved according to the principles of invention as defined by claim 1.

The impact rocket with a self-destruct device, according to the principles of the invention, comprises a ball carrier, a removable firing pin, a rotor comprising a safety housing and a firing pin opening, a detonator, a ball gate spring configured to push the ball holder forward, a striker spring, and a housing having a ball housing The spring may be a plate spring for example. According to the principles of the invention, the impact rocket has five positions. A handling position in which the striker is held in the striker housing thus blocking the rotor and preventing the striker from reaching the detonator, this position being obtained by the position of the ball carrier which is held by the ball gate spring which is in a relaxed position.

A launching position caused by the explosion of a launching load in which the ball carrier and the striker are projected backwards by compressing the ball spring door, the striker being held in the rear position by the striker spring. In this launching position the rotor starts a rotation caused by the rotation of the rocket obtained by the striations of the throwing tube, but the rotation of the rotor is slowed down and controlled so that the striker can reach the detonator only after a some time after launch in order to avoid an untimely explosion. In this position the balls are moved by the centrifugal force in the ball housing which blocks the ball holder in the rear position.

A cocking position in which the ball carrier and the firing pin are always behind, but in which the rotor has rotated and a firing pin opening is placed in the axis of the firing pin.

An impact position in which the striker is thrown forward and causes the detonator to detonate. A self-destruct position for the case where the striker did not cause the explosion of the detonator, in which the rocket stopped its rotation thus suppressing the centrifugal force, position in which the balls leave their housing ball, release the ball holder which is propelled forward by the action of the ball door spring, the ball carrier pushing the firing pin a second time to cause the explosion of self destruction.

The principles of the invention have several advantages.

An important advantage is that the ball spring has two essential functions. A function of maintaining the ball carrier in the safety position to prevent shocks during handling, so the striker that blocks the rotor and thus has a shock-resistant function, the plate spring being in this safety position in the uncompressed position. And a self destruct feature when he can relax after impact after being squeezed at launch.

The essential advantage is that the balls ^* door spring which is intended to cause one self-destruction is not stretched during storage, that is to say that the energy is not stored at in advance, but only at launch.

This advantage is extremely important because it makes it possible to avoid fatigue of the plate spring by a long pre-tension of storage, this voltage intervening only during the launch, which guarantees the reliability of the self-destruct device. The attached figures illustrate schematically and by way of example the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the rocket device in the safety position.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the rotor in the safety position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the rocket device in the launch position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the rotor in the launch position.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the device in the cocking position.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the rotor in the cocking position.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the device in impact position.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the device in self-destruction position.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 which _; show the device in the safety position, a housing 1 containing the device comprises a housing ball 11. a cover 2 is mounted in the upper part of the housing 1. A striker 5 is movably mounted in a cylindrical housing formed in a ball holder 3 which is movably mounted in a housing 4 formed in the cover 2. A striker spring 6, which is a compression spring, is mounted between a portion of the firing pin and the cover. In this safety position, the striker 5 is held in position in a housing 7 made in a rotor 8. A retarding mechanism 9, which can be formed by gears are connected to the rotor so as to control the movement of the rotor. Balls are arranged in the ball holder which is held in the forward position by a ball plate spring 12 which is in the relaxed position.

The rotor has a firing pin opening 13.

In the safety position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bolster plate spring holds the ball carrier in the forward position and holds the firing pin in the rotor safety housing.

In this safety position the rotor is blocked by the firing pin. The rotor can rotate only under the action of the rotation of the rocket, so only after the launch that causes the rotation. According to this principle even if, during improper handling the rocket was to suffer a shock, the shock would be absorbed by the ball plate spring and the striker would immediately return to its security slot disposed in the rotor which can not turn before the launch.

The retarder mechanism of the rotor is provided so that after launch, the rotor is not immediately put in the cocking position but is put in the cocking position after a certain time after launching.

Figures 3 and 4 show a launch position or a time after launch.

The launch, therefore the explosion of a launching load, causes the rearward movement of the striker 5 and the ball holder 3 which compresses the ball plate spring 12 at the bottom of the housing 1. The striker spring 6 maintains the striker 5 in the rear position. Under the effect of the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the rocket, the balls 10 are held in the ball housing 11 and keep the ball carrier in the rear position. After the launch and under the effect of the rotation of the rocket, the rotor 8 rotates but remains in a safety position in which the opening of the firing pin 13 is not yet in the axis of the firing pin. In case of problems when launching the striker can not in this position reach the detonator.

Figures 5 and 6 show the position of arming ^r which occurs after a while, depending on the action of the deceleration mechanism, after launch. In this cocking position, the ball holder 3 is held in the rear position by the balls 10 which are held in the ball housing 11 formed in the casing 1. The striker 5 is held in the rear position by the action of the spring. striker 6. The ball plate spring 12 is compressed. Under the action of the rotation of the rocket, the rotor 8 has rotated and the striker opening 13 is in the axis of the firing pin.

FIG. 7 shows the impact position in which the striker 5 is projected forward into the striker aperture 13 of the rotor 8. The balls 10 still remain in the ball housing 11 and still hold the ball carrier 3 in the rear position continuing to compress the spring ball plate door 12. If the percussion is successful the striker causes the explosion of the detonator and the main charge of the rocket.

Figure 8 shows the self-destruction position. If the impact was not sufficient to cause the explosion by the action of the firing pin 5, the rocket having stopped its rotation the balls 10 are no longer held in the ball housing 11 and release the ball carrier. The ball bearing plate spring 12 can relax and cause self-destruction percussion by projecting the striker 5 into the striker aperture 13 of the rotor 8.

The half diameter of a ball is larger than the depth of the ball housing. As a result, by the principle of moments of force, the balls are pushed out of the ball housing as soon as the centrifugal force stops.

The casing 1 having the self-destruct device may be disposed at several places, for example at the head for a head impact rocket, at the rear for a tail impact rocket or in the middle part of the rocket.

The description above mentions a ball bearing plate spring.

The plate springs have the particularity of a reduction according to a curve of the force during the compression, unlike the conventional springs with turns for which the force increases in a relatively linear way with the compression.

Claims

1. Impact rocket with a self-destruct device characterized in that it comprises a striker (5) is displaceably mounted in a cylindrical housing which is formed in a ball holder (3) which is mounted in a housing (4) which is formed in a cover (2) of a housing (1) which comprises a ball housing (11), the ball carrier being subjected to the action of a ball bearing plate spring (12) and the striker ( 5) cooperating in several positions with a rotor (8) which comprises a housing (7) and a striker opening (13), balls being arranged either in the ball holder or under the effect of a centrifugal force in the housing ball (11), and in that the device has a handling position in which the striker cooperates with the housing (7) of the rotor and is maintained in this safety position by the ball holder which is maintained by the spring ball door plate, a launch position in which the ball carrier and the firing pin are propelled back by compressing the ball plate spring and into which the balls are introduced by centrifugal force into the ball housing and block the door balls in the rear safety position and in which the rotor is always in a position where the striker can not reach the detonator, a cocking position in which, by the rotation of the rocket the opening of the firing pin disposed in the rotor is placing in the axis of the striker, an impact position in which the striker passes into the striker opening and acts on the detonator, and a self - destruction position in which the rocket has stopped its rotation the balls releasing the ball carrier which is compressed forward by the spring ball door plate and which propels the striker forward if the impact did not cause the explosion.

2. Rocket at. impact according to claim 1, characterized in that the depth of the ball housing is less than the half-diameter of the balls so that, as soon as the centrifugal force is no longer sufficient, a forward pressure causes the _; housing logs.

3. impact fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that the self-destruction device is disposed at the head of the rocket.

4. Impact rocket according to claim 1, characterized in that the self-destruct device is disposed in the rear part of the rocket.

5. Impact rocket according to claim 1, characterized in that the self-destruction device is disposed in the middle part of the rocket.