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US 6,142,056 AGranted
Variable thrust cartridge
AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorRusi P. Taleyarkhan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is a variable thrust cartridge comprising a water-molten aluminum reaction chamber from which a slug is propelled. The cartridge comprises a firing system that initiates a controlled explosion from the reaction chamber. The explosive force provides a thrust to a slug, preferably contained within the cartridge.
Claims8
A variable thrust cartridge, comprising:
- a. a substantially rigid casing;
- b. a slug encased by said casing;
- c. a reaction chamber comprising a vaporizing mixture, said chamber encased by said casing;
- d. a partition disposed between said slug and said reaction chamber, said partition encased by said casing;
- e. a pellet bank comprising at least one pellet, said pellet further comprising high energy material disposed in said reaction chamber;
- f. a means for firing said pellet bank comprising;
- a firing means selected from at least one of the group consisting of at least one battery, at least one capacitor, at least one piezoelectric device, and at least one operational amplifier;
- at least one trigger switch for initiating flow of electric current;
- at least one selector switch for routing said electric current to a selectable number of pellets in said pellet bank wherein said selector switch routes said electric current to an incrementally cumulative number of pellets to be fired;
- contacts comprising at least one cartridge contact and at least one barrel contact disposed for enabling electrical contact between said cartridge and said barrel;
- and
- interconnecting electrical wiring between said firing means, said selector switch, said trigger switch, and said contacts;
- wherein said cartridge is non-lethal.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.