USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Other

William J Donahue

Thomas A Cammack

Lee James Johnson

Norman Czajkowski

Joseph F Mattis

Michael A Halling

Rodney A Bernardin

Ken Pinkerton

Art Lohmann

James M Douglas

Peter D Gratton

Ed Abt

William C Pickler

Milton K Burford

The objectives of these inventions are to provide simple, reliable, and low-cost mechanical means to obtain (1) second impact detonation and (2) substantial safe arming separation from the gun for point detonating fuzes for small caliber spin stabilized shell. The first objective is attained by use of a heavy shield over the firing pin which is removable between the first and second impacts by spin forces; the second objective is attained by a centrifugally driven rotor, containing the out-of-line explosive element, which deforms a ductile material to effect the arming delay.

Small caliber fuze with arming delay, second impact and graze sensitivity

A fail-safe projectile fuze safety-and-arming mechanism comprises a rotor ving thereon an explosive train component, said rotor having its mass center on the projectile spin axis. Fixedly secured to the rotor is a pinion whih engages first and second drive gears provided with clearance spaces on the circumference thereof, wherein a plurality of gear teeth have face dimensions less than the thickness of the gears. The mass centers of the drive gears are offset from the geometric centers thereof. Engagement is continuous between each of the drive gears but, because of the clearance spaces, is intermittent between the drive gears and the pinion. Rotation of the rotor is controlled by the position and dimensions of the clearance spaces. A locking ball positioned in a raceway between the rotor and the housing of the device prevents undesired movement of the rotor. For a selected projectile launcher and a selected elevation angle of launch, a constant, predetermined arming distance is achieved with the present arming mechanism irrespective of the linear velocity of the projectile.

Flywheel type odometer safing and arming mechanism

A target discriminating antipersonnel/antimaterial cluster weapon capable distinguishing between hard and soft targets. Upon striking a hard target such as armor or concrete, shear rivets are defeated causing a striker to plunge a firing pin into a stab detonator which through an explosive transfer train causes immediate detonation of the bomblet. Upon hitting a soft target such as sandy soil, the shear rivets will not be sheared, however, an inertia firing weight plunges a firing pin assembly into a stab primer which leads to a propellant charge causing the bomblet to pop back up into the air. The bomblet then is detonated through a pyrotechnic delay in the air. The bomblet is armed during its descent via a flutter plate giving oscillatory motion which is transferred into rotary motion. The rotary motion is employed to align the primer and detonator with the firing pins.

Target discriminating bomblet

Growing community of inventors

Takoma Park, MD, United States of America

William J Donahue