US 3,998,164 AGranted

Self-destruct delay fuze

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army

InventorHarry J. Hadfield

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Abstract

A conventional impact-sensitive fuze for an explosive projectile, compris a support frame having a transverse channel, containing an arming slider having a locking hole and a detonator, and an axial opening in which a firing pin is slidably mounted by means of a slidable weight in which the firing pin is threaded, is modified by substituting, for the firing pin, a tubular firing pin support containing a timing member having a shaft and a head or paddle forming part of a retarding dashpot, and a spring-loaded firing pin connected to the timing member shaft by a camming pin and helical slot connection. In safe condition, the firing pin is in forward position engaging the locking hole in the slider. When the firing pin support and firing pin are retracted, the slider moves into armed position, and the timing member starts to rotate, retarded by the dashpot. If the fuze has not functioned normally, the timing member rotates sufficiently, after a predetermined time, to release the pin from the slot and self-destruct the fuze.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A self-destruct delay fuze comprising:

a generally tubular firing pin support open at one end and closed at the other end;
a detonator assembly, comprising a detonator, mounted adjacent to said open end of said support;
a firing pin slidably mounted in said open end of said support for firing said detonator, said firing pin having a firing point at one end and a tubular portion a the other end formed with at least one helical slot;
spring means urging said firing pin toward said detonator assembly;
means for preventing rotary movement of said firing pin in said support;
a timing member comprising a cylindrical shaft telescoped within said tubular firing pin portion and a paddle rotatably mounted within the closed end of said support;
a camming pin disposed transversely in said shaft of said timing member and extending through said helical slot, for converting the sliding motion of said firing pin to rotary motion of said timing member;
means for limiting longitudinal movement of said timing member in said support;
and
a ring seal disposed between sid shaft and said support adjacent to said paddle, to form a fluid-tight chamber between said paddle and said support;
said chamber being filled with a highly viscous fluid, to retard the rotary motion of said paddle in said support.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.