Hovering Centripetal Projectile Balance Apparatus

Abstract

A non-destructive device that measures the accuracy potential and relative ballistic coefficient of projectiles, by placing the object tested within a swirling vortex having both a rotational and vertical vector, hovering the projectile essentially above the device, and essentially unencumbered by any stator. A perfectly balanced object hovers and turns at a high rate about its long/vertical axis without contact with the device.

Claims

1. The device generates a vertical swirling vortex, which due to its rotational vector, causes an object to rotate at a high rate and enables the measurement of dynamic stability of the spinning object, unencumbered.

2. The device generates a vertical swirling vortex, which due to its vertical lift vector, enables the measurement of relative resistance to that vertical flow.

3. The device generates a vertical swirling vortex, which due to its vertical lift vector enables a perfect dynamically balanced object's vertex to hover unencumbered essentially at or above the origin of vortex generation. The cylindrical section of the object hovers above the entire device, unencumbered.

4. The device positions the spinning object's long axis perpendicular to the ground.

5. The devices stator is square cut at the top, having no quadric mating surface within the stator. The surfaces of the rotor and stator diverge rapidly.

6. The gas jets are rigidly positioned offset horizontally and square vertically to the centerline of the stator pipe.

7. The device employs a swirling vortex above the vortex origin and stator that negates the need for a solid cone or quadric within the stator. The effective cone generated by this design consists of gas or liquid, is easily adjusted in diameter by way of flow rate through variable valves, permitting a single device to test a wide range of diameters, forms and weights of projectiles.

8. The device purposefully employs both the axial high-pressure and central low-pressure regions of a swirling vortex, whereby the high-pressure region of the vortex creates an effective gas cone of support, and imparts rotational force, and the low-pressure region creates a hole, wherein the projectile effectively attempts to fall. Thus, no solid materials encumber the dynamic hover of the test object.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0014] FIG. 1. Side view of the device, including the stator pipe, the air supply lines that create the swirling vortex, the hovering projectile within the swirling vortex, the relative distance between the vortex origin and the hovering projectile, the excess air path, and excess air control valve.

[0015] FIG. 2. Top view of the device, including the stator pipe, the air supply lines that create the swirling vortex, the vortex origin, the main supply line, supply control valve and pressurized air supply.

[0016] FIG. 3. Side view denoting the resultant vertical vector required to lift a projectile above the vortex origin, and hover that projectile substantially above the entire device.

[0017] FIG. 4. Top view denoting the resultant rotational vector required to turn a projectile at a rate sufficient to stabilize unencumbered by any solid material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A vertical straight stator pipe is plumbed with gas or liquid supply lines offset from the central pipe axis, such that upon application of force by gas or liquid through the supply lines, rotation of the gas or liquid medium is generated within the stator pipe. From this point of origin of force within the stator pipe, a swirling vortex is generated. This vortex may be permitted to exit both sides of the vertical pipe. At the upper mouth of the vertical stator pipe, a projectile is introduced to the vortex where the projectile long axis is centered with the long axis of the stator pipe. The projectile is then set free of encumbrances, and permitted to rotate and hover essentially above the device. The projectile, by means of F2 rotational vector causing increasing angular momentum, may stabilize within the swirling vortex, depending upon the relationship of center of mass and geometric center of the object and any disproportionate centripetal force caused by imbalance. The same projectile's vertex may hover at or above the vortex origin, depending upon the vertical vector applied below the object and the relative air resistance along the surface of any particular projectile.

[0019] The opposite and lower end of the vertical pipe is plumbed with an adjustable waste gate valve. This waste gate valve permits the tuning of F1 vector flow originating from the supply lines, to equal the force required to keep a particular projectile form, weight and diameter suspended in the swirling vortex, at or above the point of origin of the swirling vortex. Through the regulation of the bottom variable waste gate valve, optimized vertical lift upon the surface area of the projectile or object can be achieved to cause the vertex of the projectile or object to hover at or above the origin of the vortex.

[0020] The supply lines are plumbed to a regulator control valve, pressure gauge and source. The regulation of medium through the balanced supply lines controls spin rate of the projectile.

[0021] By optimizing both the inputs of supply flow rate and waste gate flow rate, a dynamically balanced object's vertex may hover at or above the stator pipe vortex origin, entirely unencumbered by the stator in all axes, held only by the positive and negative forces of the swirling vortex, substantially above the entire device, and rotate at a high rate. That is to say, when the device is tuned or optimized for any particular objects weight, form and diameter, objects with acceptable dynamic balance will stay in the rotating vortex, while objects of poor dynamic balance will falter within or fall from the rotating vortex.

[0022] These same force vectors created by the spinning and lifting medium will also cause objects with higher coefficients of form (lower air resistance) to ride lower in the rotating vortex, and objects with lower coefficients of form (higher air resistance) to ride higher in the rotating vortex. This height differential directly corresponds with relative ballistic coefficient of projectiles, and is directly witnessed as any projectile is rotated and lifted in the swirling vortex.

[0023] Through prior art instrumentation (non-contact height measurement, non-contact tachometer, accelerometers) or by simply tuning a failure mode combination of rotation and lift, objects tested for flight in a swirling vortex can be characterized. Those characterizations can then be used to sort dissimilar objects.

[0024] Industrial application of this particular device is readily incorporated with existing collating and sorting methods familiar to the ammunition industry. As the intention and function of this device is to hover dynamically balanced projectiles above a stator, the same balanced projectiles are collated in the proper position, and if hovering, proven to meet a quality standard, readily chosen and picked with automated machinery. Projectiles that don't meet the dynamic balance standards either fall out of the swirling vortex, or falter within it.

[0025] Of particular benefit, the same device, with same dimensions, and same stator, is capable of sorting a large array of projectile diameters, forms and weights, without changing any physical dimension of the design. As no peculiar quadric cone is incorporated within the stator, and the gas jets need not be positioned at any point of minimal clearance, this device presents broad utility.