Wing deployer and locker
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorDavid A. Bittle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a flying object equipped with the wing deployer and locker, a torsion spring connecting the wing with the base deploys the wing upon the release of the object from its storage canister and, after the wing has reached a certain degree of deployment, a tapered tooth that protrudes from the base engages a matching slot in the wing boss to lock in the wing at the moment the wing obtains the fully-deployed position. The taper angle of the tooth and the slot compensates for manufacturing tolerances and provides a positive, solid locking action for the duration of the object's flight.
Claims10
A deployable wing and a device for deploying and locking said wing, in the fully deployed position, said wing residing on a flying object, the object being stored in a canister with said wing in a folded state until release, said wing and device comprising;
- an elongated base, said base comprising a rod, a plurality of arms extending from said rod and a plurality of teeth protruding from said arms, said rod having a means for fixed attachment to the body of the flying object and each of said teeth having a cylindrical hole therethrough;
- a pin suitable for being inserted through said cylindrical holes, thereby connecting said teeth;
- a plurality of wing bosses extending from said wing, each of said bosses being adapted for mating with one of said teeth;
- a means for unfolding said wing and a means for motivating said teeth to mate with said bosses as said wing unfolds so as to lock said wing in the fully deployed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.