Raytheon Company

John F Bugge

Randall S Firor

Cade Wilson

Byron Terence Edgar

Jerry Dean Robichaux

Christopher L Hernandez

Charles M De Lair

John D Willems, Jr

Dylan Foster Bixby

Eric M Lafontaine

A sabot including a first casing petal having at least one coupling feature and at least one disengagement feature; a second casing petal having at least one coupling feature and at least one disengagement feature; and a cap insertable within a forward receiver formed by coupling the first casing petal with the second casing petal, wherein the first casing petal and the second casing petal and the cap are configured to cooperatively attach to a forward assembly of a missile and cooperatively detach from the forward assembly of the missile responsive to a missile launch.

Sabot or cover for seekers, sensitive windows and surface elements on gun launched munitions

A power take-off (PTO) system includes a spur pinion on a shaft, used to turn a sector face gear that is coupled to a surface to be turned, such as a jet vane in a rocket nozzle. These may be parts of a thrust vectoring system, with the PTO system used to connect to a control surface actuator for a control surface such as a fin. The mechanical coupling between the fin and the jet vane may enable steering of a flight vehicle such as a missile at both low speeds and high speeds, with the thrust vectoring by the jet vane effective at low airspeeds and the control surface movement used for steering at high airspeeds. The PTO system may be backward compatible with prior systems, while allowing a more direct connection between the control surface actuator and the thrust vectoring system, with a reduced number of parts.

Steering system with power take-off from actuators

A gear drive, such as for an actuator, is a right-angle drive where toothed outer ridge of a face gear is coupled to teeth of a motor output shaft, and a set of planetary gears are engaged with a central sun gear of the face gear. The sun gear and planetary gears are aligned with the motor output shaft. For instance the motor output shaft may be substantially in the same plane with the sun gear and the planetary gears. From another standpoint the axis of the motor output shaft may intersect the sun gear, as well as intersecting a volume that the planetary gears sweep through as the planetary gears engage the sun gear.

Compact modular right-angle drive gear aligned actuator

A projectile and method of deploying a projectile includes a wing deployment system for deploying a wing of a projectile. The wing deployment system includes a stored energy release mechanism that is activated to generate an initial range of motion of the wing and a panel arranged on the wing and configured to cause an angular acceleration of the wing during the initial range of motion of the wing.

Aero-assisted missile fin or wing deployment system

A torsion bar spring is disclosed. The torsion bar spring can include a first elongated spring bar made of a resiliently flexible material. The first elongated spring bar can have a first coupling interface portion at a distal end and an interior opening oriented along a longitudinal axis. The torsion bar spring can also include a second elongated spring bar made of a resiliently flexible material. The second elongated spring bar can have a second coupling interface portion at the distal end. The second elongated spring bar can be disposed at least partially in the interior opening of the first elongated spring bar. The first and second elongated spring bars can be directly coupled to one another at the first and second coupling interface portions such that uncoupled portions of the first and second elongated spring bars are rotatable relative to one another about the longitudinal axis.

Torsion bar spring

A modular actuation device for an object, such as an aerodynamic control surface of a missile. The modular actuation device can include an outer support structure configured to couple with an external support member, such as a structural portion of a missile. The modular actuation device can also include an electric motor to provide an input torque and having an outer casing coupled to the outer support structure. The modular actuation device can further include an epicyclic gear train disposed within the outer support structure and operably coupled to the electric motor to receive the input torque. The epicyclic gear train can be configured to provide an output torque to move the object. In addition, the modular actuation device can include a torque output member disposed at least partially within the outer support structure and coupled to the epicyclic gear train to receive the output torque. The torque output member can be configured to couple with the object.

Modular actuation device for an aerodynamic control surface of a missile

A missile container sealing assembly includes an end cap capable of sealing an end of a container for a missile, and one or more linkage assemblies for controllably opening the end cap. The end cap has a frame portion that defines an opening for a missile and is mountable to the end of the missile container, and a door portion that includes one or more doors that close and seal the opening in the frame portion. Each linkage assembly is associated with a respective one of the one or more doors, for opening the doors relative to the frame portion. Moreover, each linkage assembly includes a link that transmits a force ahead of the leading end of the missile to open the doors and permit the missile's egress through the opening.

Actuation system and method for missile container doors

A fin lock assemblyfor locking and unlocking missile finsincludes a pistonmovable along a piston axisbetween a locked position for preventing a fin from rotating and an unlocked position for allowing the fin to rotate. The fin lock assembly includes a camshaftrotatable between a locked position and a relatively-rotated unlocked position about a cam axisthat is transverse the piston axis. The camshaft has an eccentric portionconnected to the piston such that rotation of the camshaft between the locked position and the unlocked position moves the piston between its corresponding locked and unlocked positions. The fin lock assembly includes a torsion springconnected to the camshaft to bias the camshaft toward its unlocked position. A latch mechanismholds a plurality of camshafts in their locked positions and simultaneously releases the camshafts to release their fins.

Resettable missile control fin lock assembly

Methods and devices for determining the position and/or angular orientation of a rotating shaft. Exemplary features include a sensor module and a position determination module. Sensor module may include a plurality of Hall Effect devices (HEDs) arranged at a specified angular separation to produce a signal in response to rotation of the shaft. Position module may be responsive to sensor module to produce a converted signal, determine an error term, and produce a position estimate. Converted signal may be produced by processing the HED signals into sinusoidal reference signals having offset scale and amplitude scale factors. Error term may be determined by processing the converted signals to produce an estimated position signal. Position estimate may be produced by processing the error term. Refined position measurement may be achieved by iterative elimination of regressive differences between position estimates with minimization of absolute magnitude of error term.

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

John F Bugge