A device responsive to an acceleration pulse event, the device including: a piezoelectric device configured to generate a voltage over a duration responsive to one or more acceleration pulse events; an electrical storage device configured to receive a portion of the generated voltage to accumulate a charge; an energy dissipating device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to dissipate the accumulated charge following the one or more acceleration pulse events and not to substantially dissipate the accumulated charge during the one or more acceleration pulse events; and a voltage limiting device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to limit the portion of the generated voltage applied to the electrical storage device to a predetermined limit.

A piezoelectric generator for generating power upon an acceleration and upon a deceleration of a body. The piezoelectric generator including: first and second masses; first and second springs, the first spring being connected to the body at one end and to the first mass at an other end, the second spring being connected to the body at one end and to the second spring at an other end; and a piezoelectric material connected to the first and second masses such that the piezoelectric material generates power when the body is accelerated or decelerated.

A thermal battery including: a casing; a battery cell disposed in the casing; a heat generating pyrotechnic material, separate from the battery cell, at least partially surrounding the battery cell; and insulation disposed between the heat generating pyrotechnic material and the casing, wherein the heat generating pyrotechnic material is disposed in a flattened tube having a flat cross-section where at least two sides are substantially parallel, the flattened tube being spirally wound to form a shape corresponding to a complimentary shape of at least a portion of the battery cell.

A device responsive to an acceleration pulse event, the device including: a piezoelectric device configured to generate a voltage over a duration responsive to one or more acceleration pulse events; an electrical storage device configured to receive a portion of the generated voltage to accumulate a charge; an energy dissipating device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to dissipate the accumulated charge following the one or more acceleration pulse events and not to substantially dissipate the accumulated charge during the one or more acceleration pulse events; and a voltage limiting device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to limit the portion of the generated voltage applied to the electrical storage device to a predetermined limit.

A powered projectile having a nose portion, a body portion, a tail portion, and a central axis. In various embodiments a collar is rotatably mounted to a control support portion with a plurality of aerodynamic surfaces thereon for despinning the collar. An alternator configured as an axial flux machine with a stator arranged can be axially adjacent to one or more rotors, the stator including a plurality of windings and the one or more rotors each including a plurality of permanent magnets arranged about the face of the respective one or more rotor. In various embodiments the projectile includes an assembly of projectile control circuitry. In one or more embodiments, upon relative motion of the rotor with respect to the stator, magnetic flux from the magnets interacts with the windings of the stator and passes through an air gap between the one or more rotors and stator.

A method for generating power in a gravity dropped munition, the method including: winding a cable around a drum of a generator associated with the munition; attaching the cable from the generator to a portion of an aircraft; separating the munition from the aircraft to unwind the cable from the drum to release the cable from the drum after a predetermined amount of rotation of the drum; converting the rotation of the drum to energy in a spring as the cable is unwound from the drum; restricting movement of an intermediate member connecting the drum to the generator while the cable is being unwound from the drum; and ending the restricting when the cable is released from the drum allowing the intermediate member to engage the drum with the generator to produce power from the generator.

A munition including: a shell; and a generator including: a drum having a cable with a free end, the drum includes a drum gear, the cable releasing from the drum when unwound; a spring for storing energy as the cable is unwound; a generator connected to the drum such that drum rotation is transferred to an input of the generator after the cable is unwound and stored energy in the spring turns the member, the generator includes an input gear connected to the drum gear; and a clutch having an input gear engaged with the drum gear and an output gear engaged with the generator input gear, wherein the clutch transfers rotation of the clutch input gear to rotation of the clutch output gear after the cable is unwound and released from the drum and the stored energy in the spring turns the drum.

An electric power generator for a projectile moving through the air is based on vibrational, rather than rotational motion. The electric power generator uses an air stream through, which the projectile is traveling typically 100-250 m/s for mortars to up to 1,500 m/s for sabot or even higher electrically fired rounds. A typical 223 rifle round after being fired has energy of over 1700 J, which is equivalent to 1700 W seconds. If a Nano computer was able to extract energy of for example 50 nanowatts during bullet flight which rarely exceeds two seconds the power needed during the flight would be only a few parts per billion of the bullet's energy. Even allowing for very inefficient extraction of power, the necessary power to operate on onboard electronic devices such as computers and sensors can be extracted from the airstream through which the projectile travels.

A method for generating power in a gravity dropped munition. The method including: attaching a cable from a generator associated with the munition to a portion of an aircraft; separating the munition from the aircraft to pull the cable from the munition; converting the pulling of the cable to a rotation; producing power from the rotation; and providing the power to an internal component of the munition.

A device responsive to an acceleration pulse event, the device including: a piezoelectric device configured to generate a voltage over a duration responsive to one or more acceleration pulse events; an electrical storage device configured to receive a portion of the generated voltage to accumulate a charge; an energy dissipating device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to dissipate the accumulated charge following the one or more acceleration pulse events and not to substantially dissipate the accumulated charge during the one or more acceleration pulse events; and a voltage limiting device coupled to the electrical storage device and configured to limit the portion of the generated voltage applied to the electrical storage device to a predetermined limit.