Whittaker Ordnance, Inc.

Other

Quantic Industries, Inc.

Mark F Folsom

Wm David Fahey

Jared M McGowan

Charles Piper, Iii

John Petrick

Michael C Todd

Samuel R Skaggs

Jerry D Callaghan

The present invention provides a fast, low-cost, small diverter capable of generating a relatively high impulse (1-5 N-sec) over a short time period. The diverter is adapted for installation in a projectile for steering the projectile in flight by ejecting an end cap or hot burning gases in response to control signals from a guidance system. In one embodiment, multiple diverters are arranged in one or more bands about a flying projectile such as a rocket. Each diverter includes a header assembly providing support for a plurality of electrical leads, a mounting surface either on the header assembly or on a sealing assembly, a reactive semiconductor bridge mounted on the mounting surface and providing an electrical path for the electrical leads at a certain voltage across the bridge, a diverter body supporting the header assembly and containing a prime, wherein the reactive semiconductor bridge and the prime permit a gap, and an end cap or a sealing assembly attached to the diverter body containing the propellant.

Projectile diverter

The present invention provides a fast, low-cost, small diverter capable of generating a relatively high impulse (1-5 N-sec) over a short time period. The diverter is adapted for installation in a projectile for steering the projectile in flight by ejecting an end cap in response to control signals from a guidance system. In one embodiment, multiple diverters are arranged in one or more bands about a flying projectile such as a rocket. Each diverter includes a header assembly providing a mounting surface and support for a plurality of electrical leads, a reactive semiconductor bridge mounted on the mounting surface of the header assembly and providing an electrical path for the electrical leads at a certain voltage across the bridge, a diverter body supporting the header assembly and containing a prime, wherein the reactive semiconductor bridge and the prime define a gap, and an end cap attached to the diverter body and containing a propellant.

The present invention discloses an improved apparatus for performing safe and reliable built-in testing (BIT) of a laser initiated ordnance device. The system transmits light energy from a laser through optical fibers to achieve initiation of pyrotechnic or explosive charges and other ordnance. In the preferred embodiment, a separate BIT return fiber is included in the system in addition to the energy transmission fiber. The invention also incorporates a 'telescope' comprising a pair of gradient-index (GRIN) rod lenses in series to first collimate and then reconcentrate light emitted by the energy transmitting fiber, while reflecting part of the light to an image at the face of the BIT fiber. Alternatively, an arrangement using a pair of aspheric silica lenses can be substituted for the GRIN lenses. The fraction of the light reflected to the BIT fiber can be controlled by specifying the reflectance at one of the lens end surfaces. The ratio of the output image size to the transmitting fiber core size (the magnification) can be controlled by appropriately selecting the focal lengths of the two lenses in the telescope. The invention also provides a simple means of making a spot size reduction (for example, from 100 microns down to 50 microns) without requiring alignment, and of adjusting the BIT amplitude response by adjusting the reflectance back from the second surface of the first lens. Because the combined pair of GRIN or other lenses has a magnification of less than unity, substantial power savings can also be achieved.

Dual fiber laser initiator and optical telescope

Fiber-reinforced composite springs having a unidirectional fiber wind. The present invention is a cylindrical torsion bar, or a helical tension or compression spring having a core that is either unreinforced, axial-fiber reinforced, or twisted fiber-reinforced, and a continuous-fiber-reinforced composite cladding having most or all of its fibers helically arrayed around the core. The core may be solid or hollow. The sense of the helical winding is that which places the fibers in tension when the spring is used as intended. A cladding fiber winding helix angle of approximately 55.degree. is used with a weak and unreinforced core, while larger or smaller helix angles are used only with a cores having sufficient stiffness to resist axial-normal stress. By carefully selecting the materials for the core and cladding, as well as utilizing a core twist and a fiber winding helix angle appropriate to the application, significant advantages over prior art springs are realized in energy per-unit-volume, energy per-unit-weight, and spring velocity.

Fiber-reinforced plastic springs with helical fiber wind

Reactive armor device for shielding a user from bullets or other ballistic threat combined with incapacitating device for disabling an assailant. A device constructed according to the principles of the present invention combines a modern technology armor element which shields a user from attack, and a reactive incapacitating element which renders the assailant at least temporarily incapable of continuing the attack. Armors used by the present invention include at least one of: technical ceramics, metals and metallic alloys, cermets, polymers, elastomers, high strength glass, and resins. The incapacitating element comprises at least one of: a brilliant flash device; reactive splashback and chemical spray. A device as taught by the present invention may be implemented in a wide variety of commonly available articles, or may be installed in furniture or structural panels.

Reactive ballistic protection devices

Fiber-reinforced composite springs having a unidirectional fiber wind. The present invention is a cylindrical torsion bar, or a helical tension or compression spring having a core that is either unreinforced or axial-fiber reinforced, and a continuous-fiber-reinforced composite cladding having most or all of its fibers helically arrayed around the core. The core may be solid or hollow. The sense of the helical winding is that which places the fibers in tension when the spring is used as intended. A fiber winding helix angle of approximately 55.degree. is used with a weak and unreinforced core, while larger or smaller helix angles are used only with a cores having sufficient stiffness to resist axial-normal stress. By carefully selecting the materials for the core and cladding, as well as utilizing a fiber winding helix angle appropriate to the application, significant advantages over prior art springs are realized in energy per-unit-volume, energy per-unit-weight, and spring velocity.

A beam distributor apparatus employing an eccentrically mounted retroreflector prism is driven to revolve about a central axis by a motor/encoder to direct an input beam to a plurality of optical fibers in sequence. The retroreflector prism possesses the property of reflecting a beam in a directional parallel to the incident beam but displaced laterally therefrom. In one arrangement, a synchronously triggered laser is used as the light source. In a second embodiment, a non-laser light source is employed with a shutter coupled to be triggered in synchronism with the position of the rotating prism relative to the output optical fibers.

Beam distributor for laser-to-optical fiber application

The optical window is useful in laser-initiated explosive devices. It includes a solid transparent block of high temperature-resistant material such as glass, quartz, corundum, cubic zirconia or the like having two opposed light input and light output surfaces, one or both of which bear ablative mirror coatings of metal or the like, preferably aluminum, silver or gold, which can be vaporized by a laser beam. Preferably, the coatings are covered by a protective ablative film which resists scratching or the like. Such may be, for example, silicon monoxide. The coatings reflect incident light so as to prevent inadvertent initiation of explosive situated behind or downstream of the window in an explosive device. Preferably, the block is cylindrical with a curved light-focusing input surface which reduces the intensity which the laser beam trained through the window has to have in order to vaporize the mirror coatings and set off the explosive. In one embodiment both the input and output surfaces of the block are coated with the mirrors, but the input surface mirror has a central opening alignable with an optic fiber transmitting a laser beam, in order to facilitate passage of the beam into the block, while still providing protection against stray radiation. When the mirror coating on the output end of the window vaporizes, its vaporization products facilitate and augment the detonation of the exposive by the laser beam.

Optical window for laser-initiated explosive devices

The explosive initiator features an angled fiber optic adapter connected thereto. The initiator includes an elongated tubular cartridge with a longitudinal passageway having input and output ends and an explosive disposed therein downstream of a transparent sealing window and upstream of an output closure. The adapter has an elongated passageway therethrough with input and output ends and divided into a first portion at an angle of preferably 90 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the cartridge and a second portion in line with the cartridge. A mirror lens is positioned in the adapter passageway at the intersection of the two portions for reflecting a light beam from an optical fiber in the inlet end of the adapter to the cartridge passageway and focusing the light beam on the window. Preferably the second portion of the adapter is rotatably mounted to the cartridge. In one embodiment, the first portion is rotatably mounted to the second portion and includes two sub-portions at an angle to each other and bearing a mirror at the intersection thereof. With this arrangement, the initiator can receive an optical fiber from various locations without strain on the fiber.

Explosive initiator with angled fiber optic input

The improved focusing mirror lens reduces the ellipticity of the output beam of a laser diode or the like light source and corrects astigmatism of the beam so that beam light can be focused to a fine point. The lens has a monolithic, transparent, preferably cylindrical lens body of glass or the like, upon the opposite entrance and exit ends of which are coated focusing mirrors. At least one of the mirrors, and preferably both, has the configuration of a segment of a circular cylinder. The other mirror may have the configuration of a segment of a circular cylinder or of a sphere. The axes of the mirrors, when both are segments of a cylinder, are perpendicular to each other. Each of the mirrors has a light-transmitting unmirrored pupil aligned along the longitudinal axis of the lens body. When light passes through the entrance pupil, it passes through the lens body, is focused in a given orientation by the exit mirror and reflected back to the entrance mirror where it is again focused in an orientation perpendicular to the first orientation and is reflected toward and out the exit pupil. The lens allows efficient coupling of laser diodes to optical fibers and has other applications.

Focusing mirror lens

The novel optical explosive initiator employs a window of a new type. The window hermetically seals the initiator explosive and is a transparent preferably monolithic block or cylinder of glass or the like solid material having a mirrored convex entrance end in the configuration of a segment of a spheroid, paraboloid, ellipsoid or hyperboloid and having an unmirrored opening therethrough along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. The opposite exit end of the cylinder is mirrored and is perpendicular to the cylinder longitudinal axis and is at least nearly flat, preferably entirely flat. It includes an unmirrored opening along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. An optical fiber transmitting light, such a laser light, can be positioned adjacent to the entrance opening. Light passing therethrough and into the cylinder is reflected from the flat mirrored end back to the mirrored convex end and is focused to a concentrated beam of high intensity which focused beam then passes out the exit opening to an explosive initiator. Therefore, much less power is needed to initiate the desired explosive reaction.

Focusing optical explosive initiator and initiator window

The method seals optical windows in explosive initiators so that the resulting seal remains undamaged by exposure to about - 320.degree.-840.degree. F. and pressures up to 26000 psi. The method includes disposing a solid body optical window of quartz or silica glass or the like in a passageway in a wall of an explosive initiator body of metal, ceramic or the like. The optical window is dimensioned relative to the passageway so that an annular space is provided between the outer periphery of the optical window and the passageway wall. This annular space is filled with solder glass, in powdered or solid body or slurry form. Preferably, the solder glass is a ring which closely fits around the optical window. The resulting sub-assembly preferably abuts a shelf in the passageway formed between two contiguous portions of the passageway with different diameters, the sub-assembly being in the larger portion. The assembly of solder glass, optical window and initiator body is then heated to above the melting point of the solder glass, e.g. about 450.degree. C. and held at this temperature until the solder glass melts and fuses to the optical body and passageway wall, sealing the optical body in place. The assembly is then cooled to ambient temperature.

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Carmel, CA, United States of America

Mark F Folsom