Transfer ring turnbuckle
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorsRyan Hanc, Brian Peterson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A projectile enables axial assembly and precise angular alignment of cylindrical or ogival sections of the projectile without interfering with internal parts spanning those sections. The projectile includes a turnbuckle design that minimizes Outer Mold Line (OML) transitions and maintains structural integrity. Advantageously, the turnbuckle allows surface mounted antennas and internal electronics to span structural sections of the projectile. The minimal OML produces less turbulence and drag. Finally, the turnbuckle is structurally robust for gun launched applications.
Claims13
A projectile comprising:
- a fore portion having a threaded portion of a first handedness;
- an aft portion having a threaded portion of a second handedness;
- and
- a threaded module positioned between and connecting the fore portion and the aft portion, said threaded module further comprising
- a cylinder further comprising a first threaded portion of a first handedness for mating with the fore portion of the projectile and a second threaded portion of a second handedness for mating with the aft portion of the projectile, said first threaded portion and second threaded portion diametrically opposed from each other at opposing ends of the cylinder and one or more radial slots positioned between the first threaded portion and the second threaded portion,
- a torque ring coaxial with and partially surrounding the cylinder with a top surface of the torque ring in contact with a bottom surface of the fore portion and a bottom surface of the torque ring in contact with a top surface of the aft portion, said torque ring further comprising one or more holes, said one or more holes each corresponding to the one or more radial slots of the cylinder, and
- one or more torque pins sized and dimensioned to be inserted through the one or more holes and radial slots.
A method for assembling a projectile comprising the steps of:
- providing a fore portion having a threaded portion of a first handedness, an aft portion having a threaded portion of a second handedness, a cylinder further comprising a first threaded portion of a first handedness and a second threaded portion of a second handedness, said first threaded portion and second threaded portion diametrically opposed from each other at opposing ends of the cylinder and one or more radial slots positioned between the first threaded portion and the second threaded portion, a torque ring further comprising one or more holes;
- positioning a torque ring around a center portion of a cylinder such that the one or more holes defined by the torque ring are aligned with the one or more radial slots defined by the cylinder;
- inserting a torque pin through each of the aligned pairs of holes and radial slots;
- simultaneously engaging the first threaded portion of with the fore portion of the projectile and the second threaded portion with the aft portion of the projectile;
- rotating the cylinder and torque ring thereby drawing the fore portion and the aft portion together without rotating the fore portion and the aft portion;
- and
- bottoming out the fore portion and the aft portion on the torque ring.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.