US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Charles H Robinson

Robert H Wood

Thinh Q Hoang

Mark R Gelak

Gabriel L Smith

David Hollingsworth

Ryan R Knight

Oliver M Barham

A safety and arming device may include a substrate and a frame fixed to the substrate. The frame may include a travel slot, a head socket, first and second gas expansion chambers having respective first and second nozzles, and first and second safety catch surfaces disposed adjacent to the respective first and second nozzles. A slider may be translatably disposed in the travel slot in the frame. The slider may include a latching head operable to latch in the head socket in an armed position of the device, a storage cavity for storing an explosive charge, first and second cantilevered arms disposed axially apart from each other and angled outwardly from the slider, and first and second deactivation cavities disposed adjacent to the respective first and second cantilevered arms. A spring may bias the slider away from the head socket.

Non-inertial safe and arm device

An ultra-miniature, electro-mechanical, MEMS type safe and arming (S&A) device for medium- or large-artillery rounds, including, three sequenced S&A interlocks: a setback slider which provides a 1interlock with respect to an arming slider which moves due to the round's spin; a stop and release mechanism that holds the arming slider until a release command signal is initiated by the fuze circuit, triggering a spot charge which generates an expanding gas wave that flexes the latch arm from contact with the safety catch, unlocking the 2interlock, thereby freeing the arming slider to continue its motion into an arming position, unlocking the 3interlock, and aligning the parts of the firetrain within the device, such that upon signal from the fuze circuit to an output charge, the device will ignite the acceptor charge within the round.

Ultra-miniature electro-mechanical safety and arming device

A ultra-miniature, electro-mechanical, MEMS type safe and arming (S&A) device for medium- or large-artillery rounds, including, three sequenced S&A interlocks: a setback slider, which is positioned partially within and partially extending from an arming slider, such that, upon firing acceleration, the setback slider will compress into a channel within the arming slider (unlocking the 1interlock); freeing the arming slider to move toward its arming position under urging of the round's spin; a stop and release mechanism formed by a flexible latch arm which impacts upon a safety catch located within the frame in which the arming slider is mounted, such that the arming slider is stopped until a release command signal is initiated by the fuze circuit, triggering a spot charge which generates an expanding gas wave that flexes the latch arm from contact with the safety catch (unlocking the 2interlock), thereby freeing the arming slider to continue its motion into an arming position (unlocking the 3interlock) and aligning the parts of the firetrain within the device, such that upon signal from the fuze circuit an output charge from the device will ignite the acceptor charge within the round.

A fuze for a submunition comprises a fuze housing with a stabilizer ribbon for aerodynamic orientation, a fuze slider released by tension on the stabilizer ribbon, an air-powered electric generator extended into the airstream by the fuze slider and powered in flight by high-speed airflow, a MEMS safety and arming device, a fuze circuit board including an explosive fireset, and an electrically initiated firetrain. The fuze is fixed to and communicates explosively with the end of a grenade warhead.

Air-powered electro-mechanical fuze for submunition grenades

A microscale firetrain for a safe and arm device having a safe position and an armed position, the firetrain including an input explosive column having a longitudinal axis; a transfer charge having a longitudinal axis and first and second ends and movable from a safe position to an armed position; a receptor charge having a longitudinal axis that is non-collinear with and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the input explosive column; wherein, in the safe position, the transfer charge is remote from both the input explosive column and the receptor charge; and wherein, in the armed position, the input explosive column is adjacent the first end of the transfer charge to thereby initiate the transfer charge, the longitudinal axis of the input explosive column is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the transfer charge, the second end of the transfer charge is adjacent the receptor charge to thereby initiate the receptor charge and the longitudinal axis of the receptor charge is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the transfer charge.

Micro-scale firetrain for ultra-miniature electro-mechanical safety and arming device

A MEMS type safety and arming device includes a substrate; a frame disposed on the substrate; a setback slider disposed in the frame, the setback slider moving linearly in response to a setback acceleration; an arming slider disposed in the frame, the arming slider moving linearly in an arming direction perpendicular to the direction of the setback acceleration and in response to spin; a setback lock lever disposed in the frame, the setback lock lever engaging the arming slider to prevent linear motion of the arming slider until the setback slider contacts and moves the setback lock lever; and a command lock rocker disposed in the frame, the command lock rocker engaging the arming slider to prevent full arming motion of the arming slider until after the command lock rocker is actuated.

Miniature MEMS-based electro-mechanical safety and arming device

The invention is a normally-open, momentary, non-latching, inertial thresholding switch , fabricated on a substrate in a planar configuration, using no cylindrical tilt mass, with low mass and small switch gap to allow fast switch action and rapid reset. Of ultra-miniature, rugged construction, its high mechanical frequency limits sensitivity to vibration inputs.

Omnidirectional microscale impact switch

A MEMS type safe and arm apparatus for a fuze includes a setback slider responsive to a first setback acceleration, the setback slider moving linearly in response to the first setback acceleration; a setforward slider responsive to a first setforward acceleration, the setback slider unlocking the setforward slider, the setforward slider moving linearly in response to the first setforward acceleration; a first rotor responsive to a second setback acceleration, the setforward slider unlocking the first rotor, the first rotor rotating in response to the second setback acceleration; a second rotor responsive to a second setforward acceleration, the first rotor unlocking the second rotor, the second rotor rotating in response to the second setforward acceleration; and an arming slider that moves linearly in response to the rotation of the second rotor to thereby arm the fuze.

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) safe and arm apparatus

A first embodiment of the invention comprises a miniature release and latch anchor assembly that can be fabricated in combination with other moving and fixed elements on a single substrate (,). Such a release and latch anchor assembly has many applications in MEMS-type devices, particularly devices whose moving elements react in response to predetermined inertial loading inputs externally imposed thereupon. This embodiment provides ways of imposing or enforcing sequential operations of moving parts in a MEMS-type device, a necessary operational requirement for safety and proper arming of projected munitions. A second embodiment of the invention is a variation of the first embodiment wherein a reinsertable-re-releasable latch anchor assembly mechanism has insertable anchor feet members (,) in cooperation with the linchpin member (,) whereby re-latching of the anchor assembly can occur. A third embodiment of the invention comprises various designs of mechanical output pin (,) in various assemblies for relay functioning. These output pin assemblies are part of an integrated or coupled MEMS-type device that mechanically closes or opens an output actuated device such as a valve, electrical contacts or optical transmitting device.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) -type devices having latch release and output mechanisms

Various ultra-miniature, monolithic inertial switching (G-switch) devices used in safety and arming (S&A) devices for projected munitions, which operate in accordance with a shuttle member (,), which effectuates current switching of around an ampere of current when subjected to a threshold inertial loading (for example, an impact or gun launch of a projection munition). The embodiments of the invention can be a passive threshold G-switch with or without switch enable and arming capability. The embodiments (,) of the invention use either mechanical or electromechanical switch enable functioning and can optionally include a shuttle time-delay feature (,). Both embodiments can incorporate various designs for a switching assembly (,) such as latching single-throw switch having the configurations of either a normally-open, double pole, single-throw switch or a normally-open, single pole, single-throw switch, wherein switch closing occurs when the shuttle member (,) experiences inertial loading and penetrates the switching assembly (,).

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-type high-capacity inertial-switching device

An ultra-miniature, monolithic, mechanical safety and arming (S&A) device for projected munitions operates in accordance with a double interlock feature. Acceleration of the projected munition moves a delay slider into a final position, causing an arming slider and a safety interlock slider (in a first embodiment) or a command slider (in a second embodiment) to become partially disengaged. In the first embodiment, a command received by the safety interlock slider then moves it out of the way of the arming slider, thereby permitting the arming slider to move into its armed position. In the second embodiment, a command received by the command slider then moves it out of the way of the arming slider, thereby permitting the arming slider, under spring force, to move into its armed position.

Ultra-miniature, monolithic, mechanical safety-and-arming (S&A) device for projected munitions

A miniature, planar, inertially-damped, inertially-actuated delay slider uator is micromachined on a substrate and consists of a 'slider', with zig-zag or stair-step-like patterns on the side edges, interacting with similar vertical-edged zig-zag patterns on 'racks' which are positioned across a small gap on each side. The slider has been released from the substrate, and is captured vertically in its track by a non-interfering lattice or cover or other feature that bridges across from the top of one rack to the other. The racks are fixed to the substrate and the slider is forced axially down the 'track' by an inertial load in the slider's axial direction. The slider is drawn along the track such that the 'teeth' on the right edge of the slider engage with the teeth on the right rack. The slider is forced to move to the left as it slides down the faces on the right rack, until it is thrown clear of the right rack and goes across to engage similarly with the left rack. In this way the slider zig-zags under the continuing inertial forces as it also moves axially down the track toward the objective function. The time it takes to do this is the programmed delay. The objective function is anything the slider can act upon, such as a switch, a latch, a light beam, a capacitive pickup, etc.

Growing community of inventors

Silver Spring, MD, United States of America

Charles H Robinson