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US 9,086,258 B1Granted
G-hardened flow control systems for extended-range, enhanced-precision gun-fired rounds
AssigneeOrbital Research Inc.
InventorsSrikanth Vasudevan, Paul Suchy, Matthew C. Birch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A guided munition (e.g., a mortar round or a grenade) utilizes deployable flow effectors, activatable flow effectors and/or active flow control devices to extend the range and enhance the precision of traditional unguided munitions without increasing the charge needed for launch. Sensors such as accelerometers, magnetometers, IR sensors, rate gyros, and motor controller sensors feed signals into a controller which then actuates or deploys the flow effectors/flow control devices to achieve the enhanced characteristics.
Claims15
A short-barrel gun-fired munition comprising
- at least one activatable flow effector for extending the range and enhancing the precision of the munition,
- sensors consisting of at least one accelerometer, at least one magnetometer, at least one rate gyroscope, and at least one IR sensor,
- at least one microcontroller configured to process signals from the sensors and provide output to control the at least one activatable flow effector,
- wherein the munition is fired from a short-barrel gun and experiences a launch or firing acceleration of more than 10,000 g's and wherein the microcontroller output to control the at least one activatable flow effector is further based at least in part from a signal from the IR sensor.
1 more element
A short-barrel gun-fired munition comprising
- at least one activatable flow effector for extending the range and enhancing the precision of the munition, the at least one activatable flow effector comprising a canard that extends beyond the outer radius of the munition,
- at least one activatable wing that also extends beyond the outer radius of the munition,
- sensors consisting of at least one accelerometer, at least one magnetometer, at least one rate gyroscope, and
- at least one microcontroller configured to process signals from the sensors and provide output to control the at least one activatable flow effector,
- wherein the munition is fired from a short-barrel gun and experiences a launch or firing acceleration of more than 10,000 g's, and wherein the canard's angle of attack is modified after deployment by a beveled geared reduction mechanism located inside of the munition body.
2 more elements
A munition comprising:
- a munition body having a forebody and an afterbody;
- at least one deployable fin on the afterbody;
- and
- at least one deployable flow effector or flow control surface on the forebody, the at least one deployable flow effector or flow control surface being a canard,
- wherein the at least one deployable fin is deployed after the munition's launch or ejection and the at least one deployable flow effector is subsequently deployed to affect air flow over the at least one deployable fin, thereby both extending the range and increasing the precision of the munition, and wherein the canard's angle of attack is modified after deployment by a beveled geared reduction mechanism located inside of the munition body.
2 more elements
A munition comprising:
- a munition body having a forebody and an afterbody;
- at least two deployable dihedral wings on the munition body;
- and
- one or more deployable canards on the forebody
- wherein the wings are deployed after the munition's launch or ejection and the one or more deployable canards are subsequently deployed to lift the forebody with respect to the afterbody and achieve a desired glide ratio, thereby increasing both the range and the precision of the munition, and wherein the deployable dihedral wings' angles of attack are independently modified after deployment by a beveled gear reduction mechanism located inside of the munition body.
2 more elements
A munition comprising:
- a munition body having a forebody and an afterbody;
- at least two deployable dihedral wings on the munition body;
- and
- one or more deployable canards on the forebody
- wherein the wings are deployed after the munition's launch or ejection and the one or more deployable canards are subsequently deployed to lift the forebody with respect to the afterbody and achieve a desired glide ratio, thereby increasing both the range and the precision of the munition, and wherein the canards' angles of attack are independently modified after deployment by a beveled gear reduction mechanism located inside of the munition body.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.