Dual underwater safety fuse
AssigneeRheinmetall GmbH
InventorsGuenter Backstein, Hans W. Unger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuse apparatus for a depth charge or the like has a primary fuse that operates at a relatively shallow depth to position a detonator in line with a firing pin, and a secondary fuse that operates to release the firing pin to explose the detonator. A safety mechanism normally prevents operation of the primary fuse, but can be canceled to allow such operation. The secondary fuse cannot itself operate until the primary fuse has operated, so that the two fuses must operate successively to set off the detonator. In addition the two fuses operate along mutually perpendicular axes, so accidental jarring of the device cannot set it off. Finally the arrangement is constructed to leak slightly so that in the event it fails to go off it will rapidly become inoperative.
Claims18
A pressure-actuated fuse apparatus comprising:
- a housing forming primary and secondary compartments;
- respective primary and secondary fuses including
- primary and secondary actuating elements exposed in the respective compartments and displaceable along respective primary and secondary axes in said housing between outer and inner positions, said axes being transverse, and
- primary and secondary spring means braced between said housing and said primary and secondary elements for urging same into their outer positions and for permitting same to move into their inner positions when the respective compartments are at respective primary and secondary pressures, said pressures being substantially different from each other;
- a detonator mounted in said housing;
- a firing member in said housing displaceable into a firing position engaging and exploding said detonator;
- primary link means for blocking said secondary element from moving into the respective inner position except when said primary element is in the respective inner position;
- and
- secondary link means for blocking said firing member from moving into said firing position except when said secondary element is in the respective inner position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.