Jettisonable protective element
AssigneeRafael-Armament Development Authority Ltd.
InventorZeev Steiner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An airborne platform comprising: (a) an aerodynamic body; (b) a protected element within the aerodynamic body; and (c) a cover, reversibly secured to the aerodynamic body, for protecting the protected element from an external atmosphere. The present invention is particularly suited for an electro-optical detection system equipped with an optical dome or window. Optical windows carried on airborne platforms are known to be particularly sensitive to the high temperatures generated by air friction at super-sonic speeds. By covering such a window when the airborne platform is in flight, and releasing the cover just before use, the electro-optical detection system equipped with the optical window can be made operative, even at airborne platform speeds of several Mach and higher.
Claims22
An airborne platform comprising:
- (a) an aerodynamic body;
- (b) a protected element within said aerodynamic body;
- (c) a cover, reversibly secured to said aerodynamic body, for protecting said protected element from an external atmosphere;
- (d) a releasing mechanism for at least partially detaching said cover from said aerodynamic body, and (e) a securing assembly for securing said cover to said aerodynamic body, said securing assembly including a hinge for connecting a first end of said cover to a first region of said aerodynamic body, and a releasable element securing a second end of said cover to a second region of said aerodynamic body,
- said hinge being configured such that when said second end of said cover separates from said second region of said aerodynamic body when the airborne platform is in flight, a force exerted on said cover detaches said hinge, thereby removing said cover from said aerodynamic body,
- and wherein said hinge includes an asymmetric ball element disposed in a socket.
An airborne platform comprising:
- (a) an aerodynamic body;
- (b) a protected element within said aerodynamic body;
- (c) a cover, reversibly secured to said aerodynamic body, for protecting said protected element from an external atmosphere;
- (d) a releasing mechanism for at least partially detaching said cover from said aerodynamic body, and
- (e) a securing assembly for securing said cover to said aerodynamic body, said securing assembly including a hinge for connecting a first end of said cover to a first region of said aerodynamic body, and a releasable element securing a second end of said cover to a second region of said aerodynamic body,
- said hinge being configured such that when said second end of said cover separates from said second region of said aerodynamic body when the airborne platform is in flight, a force exerted on said cover detaches said hinge, thereby removing said cover from said aerodynamic body,
- and wherein said hinge includes a stoppage element, said stoppage element serving for limiting an angular movement of said hinge such that when said second end of said cover separates from said second region by a predetermined parameter, a force exerted on said cover acts to effect a disengagement of said cover in a predetermined location.
An airborne platform comprising:
- (a) an aerodynamic body;
- (b) a protected element within said aerodynamic body;
- (c) a cover, reversibly secured to said aerodynamic body, for protecting said protected element from an external atmospheric atmosphere;
- (d) a securing assembly for securing said cover to said aerodynamic body, said securing assembly including a hinge for connecting a first end of said cover to a first region of said aerodynamic body, and a releasable element securing a second end of said cover to a second region of said aerodynamic body, and
- (e) a releasing mechanism for at least partially detaching said cover from said aerodynamic body,
- said hinge being configured such that when said second end of said cover separates from said second region of said aerodynamic body when the airborne platform is in flight within said atmosphere, a force exerted on said cover detaches said hinge, thereby removing said cover from said aerodynamic body, and wherein said releasing mechanism is designed and configured to be substantially isolated from an aerodynamic force exerted by said external atmospheric atmosphere while urging said releasable element to unsecure said second end of said cover,
- and only subsequently to act against said aerodynamic force, so as to at least partially detach said second end of said cover from said aerodynamic body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.