' United States Patent [ 1 9 ]

[ 1 1 ] 3,9 77,329
W il de [ 4 5 ] A u g . 31 , 1 9 76
[ 5 4 ] SHOCK-A CCELERA TION A CTIVA TED 3,36 2,331 l / l 9 6 8 Lag er str ' tim 6 1 6 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 2/ 70 . 2 P
FUNCTION SELECTOR 3,5 29 ,5 4 9 9 / 1 9 70 l -l az el et et al . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 0 2/ 70 . 2 R
3,79 3,9 5 6 2/ 1 9 74 Nor dg r en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 0 2/ 70 . 2 R
[ 75 ] Inventor : Ger al d L- W il de, Scottsdal e, A r iz - 3,8 39 ,9 6 3 1 0 / 1 9 74 Nathan et al . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 2/ 78 x
[ 73] A ssig nee: Motor ol a, Inc. , Chicag o, II] . > i
. Pr im ar y Exam iner -David H. Br own
[ 22] Fl l ed' Oct 25 1 9 74 A ttor ney, A g ent, or Fir m -Sang Ki Lee; Vincent J .
[ 21 ] A p p l . No. : 5 1 7,9 9 4 Rau ner
[ 5 2] US. Cl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 0 2/ 70 . 2 R; 1 0 2/ 78 [ 5 7] A BSTRA CT
2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . A m ode Sel ector device Su ch as be u sed in a
l e 0 ar c """"""""" " 1 0 2/ / 7 0 k 7 8 p r oj ectil e, al l owing a sim p l e m anu al adj u stm ent bef or e
?r ing tim e toenabl e a f u nction u p on ?r ing . A saf e,
[ 5 6 ] R f C, d sm al l , r el iabl e, f ail -u sef u l m echanism u sing shock to
e er ences Fe activate a cu tter which r em oves a p ar ticu l ar shor t in
UNITED STA TES PA TENTS the cir cu it f or each of a p l u r al ity of f u nctions.
2,9 9 0 ,777 7/ 1 9 6 1 Gar m an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 0 2/ 70 . 2 R l . . -
3,36 2,330 1 / 1 9 6 8 Lag er str tim et al . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 2/ 70 . 2 P 5 Cl am , 7 Dr aw! Fig u r es
3. 5
F-I
a
l HI '
LO
l l MP
2 DLY
3,9 77,329
1
SHOCK-A CCELERA TION A CTIVA TEDFUNCTION
SELECTOR
BA CGROUND OFTHE INVENTION
l . Fiel d of the Invention
This invention r el ates tosel ector devices and m or e
p ar ticu l ar l y todevices f or al l owing a choice of f u nction
tobe m ade at the tim e of u se.
2. Pr ior A r t
Ther e ar e twom ain m ethods now in u se f or sel ecting
m ode f u nction. Sim p l y m aking a p or tion of the el ec
_ tr onic contr ol cir cu it avail abl e tothe u ser sothat a
p ar ticu l ar wir e or other connecting device m ay be br o
ken is one of them . This action al ter s the cir cu it in su ch
a way as toenabl e one sp eci?c f u nction. This m ethod,
however , is ir r ever sibl e and g ener al l y r eq u ir es a tool .
Each of these l im itations m ay be a handicap u nder the
r ig or ou s conditions of actu al u se.
A sp ecial l y desig ned sel ector switch is m or e com -.
m onl y u sed bu t is costl y, r eq u ir es consider abl e sp ace, is
som etim es u nr el iabl e, and is dif ?cu l t toconnect toits
associated cir cu itr y by m eans of au tom ated assem bl y
techniq u es. I
SUMMA RY
Ther ef or e, it is a g ener al obj ect of this invention to
el im inate the af or em entioned r otar y switch and p r o
vide an im p r oved m ode sel ector .
It is a sp eci?c obj ect of this invention top r ovide a
m ode sel ector that r eq u ir es l ess sp ace than a r otar y
switch, this being p ar ticu l ar l y desir abl e f or sm al l er
siz es.
It is another obj ect of this invention top r ovide hig her
r el iabil ity f or the sel ection of m odes than is now p r o
vided by said r otar y switch.
It is stil l another obj ect of this invention top r ovide a
m ode sel ector which is com p atibl e with au tom ated
assem bl y techniq u es.
Fu r ther obj ects and advantag es of the invention wil l
becom e ap p ar ent as the descr ip tion p r oceeds.
In accor dance with the p r esent invention, the af or e
m entioned and other obj ects ar e achieved by p r oviding
a sel ection ap p ar atu s in a device su bj ectabl e toshock,
wher ein, the sel ection ap p ar atu s incl u des m eans f or
op er ating the device in dif f er ent m odes. Il l u str ativel y,
the sel ection ap p ar atu s m ay incl u de m eans f or p r ovid
ing a p l u r al ity of m odes of op er ations, m eans f or sel ect
ing a m ode of op er ation, and m eans toactivate the
sel ecting m eans when the device is su bj ected toa
shock. Su ch a shock initiated op er ating device m ay be
desig ned toop er ate when the device is su bj ected toa
su dden accel er ationor decel er ation. It m ay be advan
. tag eou sl y u til iz ed in a p r oj ectil e in actu ating bu r st af ter
a sel ected du r ation of tim e del ay or tosel ect the
m ethod by which bu r st is actu ated.
BRIEFDESCRIPTION OFTHE DRA W INGS
FIG. 1 is a view of the nosecone of a p r oj ectil e in
accor dance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a cr oss sectional view taken al ong the l ine
2 2 of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a p ar tial top view of a su bstr ate in accor
dance with the invention, taken al ong the l ine 3 3 of
FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is an enl ar g ed view of the sl otted p or tion of
the su bstr ate shown in FIG. 3.
5
1 0
V20
25
35
4 0
4 5
5 0
5 5
6 5
2
FIG. 5 is an enl ar g ed p ar tial cr oss sectional view of
the su bstr ate taken al ong the l ine 5 5 of FIG. 3 and an
enl ar g ed view of the cu tter m echanism as shown in
FIG. 2. .
FIG. 6 is a p l an view of a section of a su bstr ate of an
al ter nate em bodim ent of the invention.
Fl . 7 is a side view of a su bstr ate p or tion shown in
FIG. 6 .
DESCRIPTION OFTHE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS
Ref er r ing m or e sp eci?cal l y toFIGS. 1 and 2, a 6 0
m m p r oj ectil e nosecone section 1 0 is il l u str ated that
has a m anu al l y-r otatabl e f u nction sel ector r ing 1 1
which has f ou r r ibs 1 2, l 3, l 4 and 1 5 toassist m anu al
g r ip p ing . The r ing 1 1 can be r otated by hand toal ig n a
scr ibed l ine on r ib 1 2 with any one of f ou r l ines scr ibed
on a hou sing 1 6 l abel ed HI, LO, IMP and DLY as
shown in FIG. 1 . For easier identi?cation of m ode
f u nctions u nder adver se l ig hting conditions, the scr ibed
l ines m ay be au g m ented or r ep l aced by sm al l p r otu ber
ances ( not shown) on the' su r f aces of the r ing 1 1 and
the hou sing 1 6 , with the p r otu ber ances being coded in
any su itabl e f ashion toindicate the var iou s m ode f u nc
tion p ositions.
A s shown in FIG. 2, p ositive al ig nm ent or l ocking
in is assu r ed by a detent shaf t 1 7 and a coil sp r ing 1 8
contained within a cyl indr ical cavity 1 9 in the r ib 1 4 .
This detent, or any eq u ival ent detent device, hol ds the
r ing 1 1 ?r m l y when the sp her ical end of the shaf t 1 7
becom es r ecessed in one of f ou r detent hol es 20 ( onl y
one is shown) in the hou sing 1 6 , cor r esp onding tothe
desir ed al ig nm ent of the scr ibed l ines as descr ibed
above. The al ig nm ent of the scr ibed l ines is f or the
p u r p ose of sel ecting one of f ou r f u nction m odes of the
p r oj ectil e f u z e. These f u nction m odes ar e; p r oxim ity
bu r st HI, near su r f ace bu r st LO, im p act bu r st IMP, and
del ay af ter im p act bu r st DLY . It is obviou s that u sing
other f u nction m odes or chang ing the nu m ber of f u nc
tion m odes m ay be done withou t dep ar ting f r om the
sp ir it or scop e of the invention.
Ref er r ing toFIG. 2, an el ectr onic cir cu it ( not shown
in its entir ety) on a su bstr ate 21 is desig ned sothat
br eaking a p ar ticu l ar wir e in the cir cu it wil l sel ect a
cor r esp onding f u nction m ode. Del ay af ter im p act
bu r st, im p act bu r st, and near su r f ace bu r st r eq u ir e wir e
cu tting whil e nor m al p r oxim ity bu r st r eq u ir es no
chang e in the cir cu it. The wir es tobe sever ed ar e at
tached tothe cir cu it al ong the p er im eter of the su b
str ate 21 , each br idg ing a sl ot in the edg e of the su b
str ate, as shown in FIG. 3 and its FIG. 4 enl ar g em ent.
Cu tting the chosen wir e is done in a m anner sim il ar to
the op er ation of a p u nch and die, with a sl ot in the
su bstr ate 21 u nder the wir e being the die" and the
p u nch being a steel cu tter 23 l oaded by a coil sp r ing
24 .
Ref er r ing tor ib 1 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2 and enl ar g ed
cr oss sectional view of p or tions of the r ib and the su b
str ate 21 in FIG. 5 , the cyl indr ical cu tter 23 is sl ideabl y
p ositioned within a cyl indr ical cavity 25 in the r ib 1 2,
dir ectl y above a wir e 26 . Ref er r ing al sotoFIGS. 3 and
4 one end of the wir e 26 is attached toa condu ctor 27
on the su bstr ate 21 and the other end of the wir e 26 is
attached toa condu ctor 28 . The condu ctor s 27 and 28
ar e connected toel ectr onic cir cu it ter m inal s 29 and 30 ,
r esp ectivel y. W hen the wir e 26 is br oken, the el ec
tr onic cir cu it is set f or the near su r f ace LObu r st m ode.
Ref er r ing ag ain toFIGS. 2 and 5 , the cyl indr ical steel
3,9 77,329
3
cu tter 23 consists of a l ar g er diam eter weig ht sec~
tion, which sl ides easil y within the cavity 25 , and a
sm al l er diam eter cu tter " section, which is concentr ic
with the weig ht section and is encir cl edyby the sp r ing
24 . The sp r ing and the cu tter ar e hel d in p osition by a
r etaining r ing 31 u ntil ?r ing occu r s. W hen a p r oj ectil e
u til iz ing the nose section 1 0 is ?r ed the setback f or ce I
cau sed by the p r oj ectil e s accel er ation m akes the cu tter
23 com p r ess the sp r ing 24 and sever the f r ang ibl e wir e
26 as the cu tter p asses thr ou g hthe sl ot 22 in the su b
str ate 21 . Thu s the el ectr onic cir cu it on the su bstr ate is
set f or near su r f ace LO bu r st by?r ing the p r oj ectil e.
Rotating the f u nction sel ector _ r ing 1 l tothe IMP
p osition al ig ns the cu tter 23 with a wir e 32 that br idg es
a sl ot 33 in the su bstr ate 21 as shown in FIG. 4 . The
wir e 32 is connected by m eans of condu ctor s 34 and 35
tothe ter m inal s 36 and 37. W hen the p r oj ectil e is ?r ed,
the setback f or ce cau ses the cu tter 23 tosever thewir e
32 thu s r em oving the shor t cir cu it acr oss ter m inal s 36
and 37, and setting the el ectr onic cir cu it f or im p act.
IMP bu r st. . _
Sim il ar l y, r otating f u nction sel ector r ing 1 1 tothe
DLY p osition al ig ns the cu tter 23 with a wir e 38 above
a sl ot 39 in the su bstr ate 21 . The wir e 38 is connected
by m eans of connector s 4 0 and 4 1 toter m inal s 4 2 and
4 3. Up on ?r ing the p r oj ectil e, the cu tter sever s the wir e
38 r em oving the shor t cir cu it acr oss the ter m inal s 4 2
and 4 3 and setting the el ectr onic cir cu it f or del ay af ter
im p act DLY bu r st. .
W hen the f u nction sel ector r ing 1 1 is set at the HI
p osition the cu tter 23 is not al ig ned with any wir e or
any p or tion of su bstr ate 21 . Ther ef or e, m ovem ent of
the cu tter weig ht u p on ?r ing of the vp r oj ectil e does not
cau se a chang e in the el ectr onic cir cu it. The cir cu it
then r em ains set f or nor m al p r oxim ity HI bu r st.
Instead of sever ing a wir e toset a f u nction m ode, as
descr ibed above, an al ter nate em bodim ent can be u sed
which can be u nder stood by r ef er ence toFIGS. 6 and
7, wher ein p ar ts sim il ar tothose of the f ir st em bodi
m ent ar e indicated by the sam e nu m ber s with p r im es
added. FIG. 6 is a p l an view of a section of a su bstr ate
21 which is anal og ou s tothe p r eviou sl y descr ibed
p or tion of the su bstr ate 21 containing wir e 26 , condu c
tor s 27 and 28 , and ter m inal s 29 and 30 . FIG. 7 is a side
view of the su bstr ate section shown in FIG. 6 . In this
em bodim ent a condu ctor or m eta' l iz ed tr ack Men the
su bstr ate 21 is connected between ter m inal s 29 ' and
30 of the el ectr onic cir cu it that contr ol s the f u nction
m ode. Rotating the f u nction sel ector r ing 1 1 to' the LO
p osition al ig ns the cu tter 23 with ap oint 4 6 in FIG. 6 .
Fir ing the p r oj ectil e f or ces the cu tter ag ainst the su b
str ate 21 ' at the p oint 4 6 , cau sing the su bstr ate and the
condu ctor 4 4 tobr eak of f at a notch 4 7. Thu s, the shor t
cir cu it between the ter m inal s 29 and 30 is r em oved ,
setting the el ectr onic cir cu it f or near su r f ace LO bu r st
as bef or e. The other m odes wou l d be sel ected in anal o
g ou s f ashion. . . _
The nose sections 1 0 wil l be ship p ed, and m ost of ten
?r ed, with the nor m al p r oxim ity HI m ode setting . In
this situ ation, the cu tter 23 does not p er f or m a f u nc-_
tion. In any other m ode setting , if on r ar e occasion the
cu tter f ail s tosever the intended wir e or condu ctor , a
20
25
30
35
4 5
5 5
4
u sef u l nor m al p r oxim ity f u nction r esu l ts. Thu s ver y
hig h r el iabil ity of op er ation is ef f ected.
Sel ection of any one of the f ou r f u nction m odes can
be m ade or chang ed easil y u p tothe tim e of ?r ing ,
withou t tool s and u nder adver se weather and l ig hting
conditions, by m eans of the above descr ibed em bodi
m ents. Said em bodim ents, descr ibed f or the sm al l est
( 6 0 m m ) m or tar f u z e, ar e com p atibl e with au tom ated
assem bl y techniq u es, can be m ass p r odu ced at l ow cost
and can al sobe easil y adap ted f or u se with l ar g er p r o
j ectil es.
Other ap p l ications of these em bodim ents incl u de al l
g u n?r ed p r oj ectil esv containing el ectr ical ap p ar atu s
wher ein it is desir abl e tohave f u nctions which ar e
sel ectabl e bef or e ?r ing bu t enabl ed u p on ?r ing or
wher ein a chang e of f u nction u p on ?r ing is desir ed,
su ch as r em oving of a shor t cir cu it f r om a detonator ,
enabl ing an, ar m ing cir u it, or sel ecting a tim e toar m ,
tim e tobu r st, tim e todep l oy a p ar achu te, or other
sim il ar f u nction. _
The f or eg oing descr ip tion of the em bodim ent of the
invention is by way of exam p l e onl y and not intended to
l im it the scop e of the ap p ended cl aim s. Noattem p t has
been m ade toil l u str ate al l p ossibl e em bodim ents of the
invention, bu t r ather onl y toil l u str ate its p r incip l es and
the best m anner p r esentl y known top r actice it. Ther e
f or e, su ch other f onns of the invention as m ay occu r to
one skil l ed in this ar t u p on r eading the f or eg oing sp eci
?cation ar e al sowithin the sp ir it and scop e of the in
vention, and is intended that this invention incl u de al l
m odi?cations and eq u ival ents which f al l within the
scop e of the ap p ended cl aim s.
W hat is cl aim ed is:
1 . A m ode f u nction sel ector in a device which in
cl u des m eans f or enabl ing the device top er f or m a
f u nction in di? er ent m odes, when the device is su b
j ected toa shock, the sel ector com p r ising :
a. cir cu it m eans having a p l u r al ity of condu ctive
p aths associated with said dif f er ent m odes,
b. sho' ck actu abl e cu tting m eans,
0 . m eans f or al ig ning sel ected one of said p l u r al ity of
dif f er ent condu ctive p aths with said shock actu abl e
cu tting m eans, and
d. detent m eans f or l ocking said al ig ning m eans in the
' sel ected one of the m odes, wher eby, when said
device is su bj ected tothe shock, said cu tting m eans
is- actu ated tosever the sel ected p ath toef f ect the
sel ected m ode of op er ation.
2. The sel ector , accor ding tocl aim 1 , wher ein said
device' is a p r oj ectil e and said m ode f u nctions ar e the
f u nctions of said p r oj ectil e.
3. The sel ector accor ding tocl aim 1 , wher ein said
shock actu abl e cu tting m eans incl u des p u nch and die
m eans. i
4 . The sel ector accor ding tocl aim 3, said cu tting
m eans incl u des sp r ing m eans f or p ositioning the p u nch.
m eans adj acent the sel ected p ath sothat the p u nch is
actu abl e tosever the sel ected p ath when the device is
su bj ected tothe shock. ~
6 0
6 5
5 . -The sel ector accor ding tocl aim 4 , wher ein said
al ig ning m eans, said detent m eans and said cir cu it
m eans ar e adap ted sothat non-op er ation of said p u nch
and die m eans al sop r ovide a u sef u l m ode of op er ation.
* * * * *