Safety and arming device/contact fuze
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorJefferson O. Eaton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pneumatically operated safe and arm device for use in an ordnance item lizes cam controlled mechanical interlocks to prevent premature arming. This device also utilizes staticdynamic fluid pressure differential to cause the enabled mechanism to proceed with arming after a predetermined ordnance item velocity has been obtained. This pressure differential operates on a piston and rod to store energy within a flexible coil spring. Energy stored within this spring is subsequently released to power rotation of a disc, thereby aligning an out-of-line explosive train and causing switching functions in an electric arming and fuzing circuit.
Claims8
A pneumatically operated safe and arm device for use in an ordnance item in a fluid environment, comprising:
- a housing having an interior chamber;
- a piston sealingly retained within said housing and dividing said chamber into first and second volumes, said piston including a rigidly attached output rod having a free end, said piston and output rod being movable linearly between first and second positions and resiliently urged toward said first position;
- a disk mounted to said housing and rotatable about an axis between safe and armed positions, said disk including at least two explosive paths, each path having at least two exposed ends, and said disk being resiliently urged toward said safe position;
- resilient force transmission means linking said rod and said disk for converting linear rod motion to rotational disk motion;
- dynamic pressure means communicating between said fluid environment and said interior chamber for supplying fluid dynamic pressure to said first volume;
- static pressure means communicating between said fluid environment and said interior chamber for supplying fluid static pressure to said second volume;
- first interlock means releasably engaging said rod in a locking position for preventing said linear rod motion, said first interlock means being movable between said locking position and a releasing position, and resiliently urged toward said releasing position;
- second interlock means releasably engaging said disk in a jamming position for preventing rotation of said disk, said second interlock means being movable between said jamming position and a freeing position;
- a rotary solenoid attached to said housing, having a shaft configured for rotation between preventing and enabling positions, and being resiliently urged toward said preventing position, said shaft having first and second camming lobes contacting and operating said first and second interlock means respectively in response to rotation of said shaft;
- disk latching means pivotally attached to said housing and releasably engaging said disk in a storing position, said disk latching means being pivotal between said storing position and a tripping position, and resiliently urged toward said storing position, for releasing said disk in response to said output rod moving from said first position to said second position;
- instantaneous detonation means attached to said housing and positioned in alignment with one end of one of said explosive paths in said disk in said armed position for instantaneously detonating said one explosive path in response to a first signal;
- delay detonation means attached to said housing and positioned in alignment with one end of the other of said explosive paths in said disk in said armed position for delayably detonating said other explosive path in response to a second signal;
- and
- detonation output means attached to said housing and positioned in alignment with said other ends of said explosive paths in said disk in said armed position for directing detonation energy from detonation of at least one of said explosive paths to the exterior of said housing;
- whereby relative movement of said ordnance item in said fluid environment results in fluid static and dynamic pressures being applied to said piston, said relative movement at velocities greater than a preselected minimum causing said piston, enabled by release of said first interlock means, to load said resilient force transmission means and trigger rotation of said disk, thereby aligning an explosive train.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.