Electromechanical contact fuse for multipurpose aircraft ammunition

Abstract

The present invention relates to the military field. It discloses a contact fuse for multi-purpose aircraft ammunition, characterised in that it comprises an electromechanical arming system that is easy to manufacture and does not contain any explosive material inside of same. In addition, said fuse is characterised in that it comprises an alert system that reveals a possibly unsafe condition on the ground and in that it is structurally straightforward to manufacture.

Claims

1. A percussion fuze for multipurpose aerial ammunition comprising: a. an outer main body comprising a housing cup, a front cover and a cap; b. an electromechanical arming system comprising an explosive train housing, a solenoid, a life pin, an ejection spring, a firing pin, a housing fitting, an aircraft's arming cable connected to said housing fitting that in a safe position blocks said solenoid which, when blocked, prevents the firing pin's alignment with an explosive train, an electronic card that energizes said solenoid when said solenoid is unblocked by means of removal of said aircraft's arming cable and release of said life pin, in order to align the firing pin with said explosive train; and c. an alert system comprising a LED placed in said housing cup that will send a signal in case the fuze is armed; wherein: said explosive train housing is so configured to allow said explosive train to be internally threaded thereto and to allow an explosive train multiplier to be externally threaded to said explosive train housing.

2. The percussion fuze for multipurpose aerial ammunition of claim 1 further comprising a cam, wherein said firing pin is mounted on said cam with a torsion helical spring.

3. The percussion fuze for multipurpose aerial ammunition of claim 1, wherein, said electromechanical arming system further comprises a time setting knob with which a user can set an arming delay time, and said electronic card temporizes the arming delay time set by the user in said time setting knob.

4. The percussion fuze for multipurpose aerial ammunition of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said percussion fuze is assembled at a front and/or back of the ammunition.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) With the aim that the present invention can be easily understood and implemented, reference will be made to the attached figures and the description of one or more embodiments of the invention will be detailed.

(2) With reference to the attached figures:

(3) FIG. 1 is a representation of the external front view of the fuze of the invention when the device is locked.

(4) FIG. 2 is a representation of a side cut of the armed fuze of the invention and showing the components of both the arming and alert systems.

(5) FIG. 3 is a representation of a side cut of the non-armed fuze of the invention and showing the components of both the arming and alert systems.

(6) FIG. 4 is a representation of the internal components of the fuze of the invention, particularly the arming system.

(7) FIG. 5 is a representation of the arming process of the fuze of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE OF IMPLEMENTATION

(8) The following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention refers to the attached figures. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments or changes to the described ones are also possible without departing from the intention and scope of the invention.

(9) Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the configurations disclosed in the following embodiments represent configurations proposed by the inventors for the operation of the invention in practice. However, those skilled in the art should appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments that are disclosed herein obtaining a result that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

(10) FIG. 1 illustrates the body of the fuze secured as it is seen and handled when it is transported.

(11) As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes a housing cup 1 and a front cover 2 that comprise the outer main body of the fuze. These elements are responsible for housing the alarm system as well as the explosive train. Both the front cover 2 and the housing cup 1 are made of aluminum and assembled by threading. The external body is closed with a cap 3 responsible for closing and sealing the front cover 2.

(12) In addition, externally, there is a time setting knob 4 with options 3, 6, 9 and 12. These options represent the time in seconds that must elapse from the release of the ammunition from the aircraft until the start of the arming process. This is known as arming delay time.

(13) For the arming condition to occur, it is necessary that the present invention knows when the ammunition has been released by the aircraft; that is, once the weapon is released, a signal must be sent to the fuze for the arming process to initiate. For this purpose, once the bomb has been mounted in the aircraft and the fuze has been assembled in the front (nose) or back (tail) of the ammunition, from the aircraft's rack should be and arming cable passing through any of the housing fitting 5 adjacent to the life pin latch 6 with banderoles 7. The housing fitting 5 is the fuze-aircraft communication path via the arming cable. The life pin latch 6 should only be removed once the fuze is assembled in the ammunition mounted on the aircraft and the arming cable has been previously passed through the housing fitting 5. Banderoles 7 indicate the elements that should be removed just before flying, and that, as a precaution, are secured, as well as the protective case of the time setting knob 4. The protective case 4b of the time setting knob 4 is an additional safety method connected to the fuze body by means of the securing screw 8. Additionally, as a preventive safety measure, the housing cup 1 has a red LED 9 (alarm system) that will turn on in case the fuze is in armed condition to notify an unsafe condition due to improper handling and indicate that it should be isolated from the rest.

(14) FIG. 2 shows a cut-away view of the fuze that allows to see the safety system, which represents the greatest challenge of the present invention. In this figure, the life pin latch 6 (FIG. 1) has already been removed and replaced by the aircraft's arming cable, as well as the securing screw 8 has been removed, leaving the fuze as it should be assembled once the aircraft is to be flown.

(15) FIG. 2 shows the fuze and its safety system in its armed position, which means that the firing pin 10 is aligned with the explosive train housing 12, where the explosive train responsible for detonating and triggering the chain reaction that ignite the ammunition up is threaded.

(16) When the fuze is in its safe or non-armed condition, the firing pin 10 is not aligned with either the impact plunger 11 or the explosive train housing 12. The impact plunger 11 is secured by the securing screw 8. The impact plunger 11, which internally acts as a superior firing pin and is responsible for transmitting the linear movement towards the firing pin 10, once there is contact with the target, it acts as a housing for the power pack or batteries 13 responsible for supplying the necessary power for the internal safety system to work.

(17) Also, FIG. 2 shows the internal contents of the housing fitting 5, of which the life pin 14 and the ejection spring 15 are part. The ejection spring 15 is a pre-loaded helical compression spring locked, on the ground, by the life pin latch 6 (FIG. 1) and, in flight, by the arming cable 6A from the aircraft's rack. Once the arming cable from the aircraft is removed when the ammunition is released, the ejection spring 15 decompresses, releasing the life pin 14 with it. The latter is in charge of closing the circuit that allows the arming of the fuze. The explosive train housing 12 is so configured to allow an explosive train 16 to be internally threaded thereto through threads 25, and to allow an explosive train multiplier 26 to be externally threaded thereto through threads 27.

(18) In FIG. 3 the fuze and its safety system are shown in their unarmed or safe position, which means that the firing pin 10 is not aligned with the explosive train 16 responsible for detonating and triggering the chain reaction that will light the ammunition up. Likewise, the firing pin 10 is also not aligned with the impact plunger 11, which internally acts as a superior firing pin and is responsible for transmitting the linear movement towards the firing pin 10 once there is contact with the target. The impact plunger 11 is fixed in its position so that it does not slide by means of 2 o-rings 17, which are also responsible for preventing the entry of water or humidity into the housing cup 1. Simultaneously, the impact plunger 11 acts as a housing for the power pack or batteries 13 responsible for supplying the necessary power for the internal safety system to work.

(19) FIG. 4 is a zoomed-in image that allows a more detailed view of the main components inside the fuze that are part of the safety system mounted on the chassis 18. In this figure it is possible to see the system in the non-armed position.

(20) From FIG. 4 it is possible to see the fuze with the firing pin 10 out of alignment with respect to the explosive train 16, thus keeping the fuze in the non-armed position. The safety system preventing the alignment of the firing pin 10 consists of a solenoid 19 which locks the cam 20 on which the firing pin 10 is mounted. The cam 20 tends to be mechanically aligned with the explosive train 16 by means of a preloaded torsion helical spring 21. Likewise, the solenoid 19 is mechanically locked by the life pin 14 so that it cannot be retracted. In turn, the life pin 14 keeps the electrical circuit open by obstructing the microswitch 22 responsible for closing the electrical circuit and providing the necessary current for the system to work.

(21) In order for the system to be activated and get to the armed position, it is necessary to release the life pin 14 housed in the housing fitting 5. The life pin 14 enters the housing fitting 5 where the ejection spring 15 is located. The ejection spring is a pre-loaded helical compression spring locked, on the ground, by the life pin latch 6 (FIG. 1) and, in flight, by the arming cable from the aircraft's rack.

(22) Once the ammunition is released in flight and falls by gravity towards the target, the arming cable will remain in the aircraft thus unlocking the preloaded ejection spring 15 and releasing with it the life pin 14. Once the life pin 14 has been released from the housing fitting 5, the microswitch 22 will close, giving continuity to the current coming from the batteries 13 (FIG. 3). The supplied current will go to the electronic card 23 assembled behind the solenoid 19. This is the one responsible for giving the instruction to energize the solenoid 19 after the seconds selected with the time setting knob 4 have elapsed to adjust the arming delay time. The time setting knob 4 sends the signal indicating the arming delay time to the electronic card 23 by means of a selection key 24.

(23) The images in FIG. 5 are a demonstration of the operating process of the present invention.

(24) Once the pre-selected arming delay time has elapsed on the ground with the time setting knob 4 connected to the selection key 24, the electronic card 23 will energize the solenoid 19 so that it magnetizes and retracts its plunger thus removing the lock that this represents for the cam 20 on which the firing pin 10 is mounted. Once the solenoid 19 removes the lock, the torsion helical spring 21 will release its preload by rotating the cam 20 and leaving the firing pin 10 aligned with the explosive train 16. Once this alignment process is complete, the fuze is considered to be armed. The red LED 9 (FIG. 1) will light up.

(25) In order for the fuze of the present invention to complete its mission, it must perform percussion. For this purpose, once in its armed condition, the ammunition will follow its trajectory in free fall until hitting the surface where the impact plunger 11 will be the first component to make contact with the ground, thus moving and transmitting the movement until hitting the firing pin 10. The firing pin 10 will slide through the machined channel in the housing cup 1 until it impacts and strikes the explosive train 16 threaded in the explosive train housing 12.

(26) Finally, once there is percussion in the explosive train 16, it will detonate initiating an explosive amplifying charge (part of the ammunition or bomb) that will then initiate the final detonation.