Submarine air bag launch assembly
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsMichael T. Ansay, John R. Little
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air bag launch assembly is disclosed which allows for modular loading onto a submarine, the launch of weapons or vehicles external to the submarine pressure hull, while also achieving greater packing density. The air bag launch assembly includes a large, watertight pressure container; one or more smaller, watertight canisters used to contain the weapon or vehicle. The canisters are sized to fit within the larger pressure container. An air bag inflator is attached to the top and/or sides of the small canister to buoy the canister out of the container.
Claims8
An air bag launch assembly for launching a payload from an underwater vehicle comprising:
- at least one canister constructed and arranged to hold a payload to be launched;
- at least one air bag inflator supported on each canister and constructed and arranged to launch the canister;
- a container having at least one canister supported therein wherein said container is substantially watertight and includes a body portion and a hatch, said container being removably attachable to a hull of the vehicle;
- a tether attached between said at least one canister and said container;
- and
- a support framework constructed and arranged to support said at least one canister within said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.