Pulsed combustion acoustic wave generator
AssigneeAdroit Systems, Inc.
InventorsJohn B. Hinkey, Joseph T. Williams, Thomas R.A. Bussing
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pulsed combustion acoustic wave generator includes a tubular barrel having an inlet end and an open outlet end, a fuel controller for metering a controlled quantity of fuel into the inlet end of the barrel, an oxidant controller for metering a controlled quantity of oxidant into the inlet end of the barrel and an igniter extending into the inlet end of the barrel that is controllable by an operator to ignite a mixture of fuel and oxidant in the inlet end.
Claims19
A pulse acoustic wave generator for generating a series of pulsed waves of sufficient pressure to incapacitate individuals, the generator comprising:
- (a) an elongate barrel, the barrel having an inlet end and an open outlet end;
- (b) a fuel controller for metering a controlled quantity of fuel into the inlet end of the barrel;
- (c) an oxidant controller for metering a controlled quantity of oxidant into the barrel such that a fuel-oxidant mixture formed in the barrel is detonable;
- (d) an igniter extending into the barrel, the igniter controllable by an operator of the acoustic wave generator to ignite and cause detonation of a mixture of a fuel and oxidant mixture in the inlet end of the barrel to generate a pressure wave;
- and
- (e) a digital signal processor in electrical communication with the fuel controller and the oxidant controller, the processor programmed to control metering of fuel and oxidant through the fuel controller and the oxidant controller to produce detonable mixtures, the processor in electrical communication with the igniter to control ignition of sequential detonable fuel and oxidant mixtures;
- whereby during operation the generator produces sequentially pulsed directed pressure waves of sufficient pressure to incapacitate individuals at whom the open end of the barrel is pointed while minimizing effects on an operator of the generator out of a direct path of the pressure waves.
A method of generating directed pulsed acoustic waves of sufficient pressure for incapacitating individuals, the method comprising:
- (a) injecting a controlled quantity of fuel into a longitudinally extending barrel having an inlet end and an open outlet end;
- (b) injecting a controlled amount of an oxidant into the barrel to form a detonable mixture of fuel and oxidant;
- (c) igniting the detonable mixture of fuel and oxidant to cause a high amplitude pressure wave to propagate along the barrel and out of the open outlet end thereof;
- and
- (d) repeating steps (a) to (c) under control of a digital signal processor to produce a series of pulsed acoustic waves of amplitude and frequency sufficient to incapacitate an individual in front of the outlet end of the barrel in a path of the propagating wave while minimizing effects on an individual at the inlet end of the barrel, not in the direct path of the wave.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.