US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Stephen C Cayson

Daniel F Lawless

David A Gibson

Roger P Berry

Lamar M Auman

Charles S Cornelius

J C Dunaway

Mark D Dixon

The Rotational Canted-Joint Missile (RCJM) Control System utilizes a single or multiple body joints that rotate in planes that are not perpendicular to the missile body axis. The result is the deflection of a portion of the missile body for flight control purposes. The canted interface plane between any two adjacent movable sections of the missile body and a joint at the interface plane that allows one of the sections to be rotated by a pre-determined angle with respect to the other section comprise a rotational plane mechanism that offers an inclined bearing plane with a large mechanical advantage over typical &ldquo;brute force&rdquo; ball joint methods.

Rotational canted-joint missile control system

The Magnetostrictive Missile Guidance System pivots the missile nosecone about a multi-directional joint on the missile axis to produce aerodynamic control forces for missile flight path control. The nosecone is driven by magnetostrictive materials in conjunction with displacement amplification devices. The determination of the nosecone deflection angle necessary to achieve any change in the flight path is made by a sensing device that produces position signals and a guidance computer that produces the desired flight path command signals. The sensing device senses the current position of the nosecone and this position signal is compared with the command signal by the computer to yield an error signal, which is indicative of the difference between the two input signals. Then appropriate magnetic field is applied to the magnetostrictive materials to cause them to grow in length and deflect the nosecone until the error signal is eliminated and flight path is changed.

Magnetostrictive missile guidance system

Upon the occurrence of a preset event, compressed gas is released from a mber and travels to fill a bellows. The bellows inflates and provides the power to eject a force transfer strut from the cavity of one body. The strut being fixedly attached at one end to a second body, this ejection accomplishes the separation of the two bodies from each other.

Pneumatic separation device

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Huntsville, AL, United States of America

Stephen C Cayson