US2541082A - Delay arming device for projectile fuses - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 13, 1951 J. F. MccAsLlN 2,541,082

DELAY ARMING DEVICE FOR PROJECTILE FUSES Filed Aug. 2l, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 James FT McEaaln mi afm# lum a Feb- 135 1951 .1. F. MCcAsLlN 2541082' DELAY ARMING DEVICE FOR PROJECTILE FUsEs Filed Aug. 21, 1945 s shees-sheet 3 'lll/1111111111 Jamej.' Mclalin DELAY ARMING SPATENT oFF DEVICE FOR PROJ ECTILE 2,541,082 IC E FUSES James F. McCaslin, Cleveland, Ohio Application April 21, 1945, Serial No. 589,683

, Y 1I) Claims.

(Granted under the act ofMarch 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon. n This invention'relate's, to an improved delay iarming device for use with projectile fuzes of the rotating type and whiclrfunctions to retain a fuze, with which it is associated, in a disarmed or safe condition until a projectile, in which the fuze is contained, has traveled a predetermined distance in its flight.

More particularly; the present invention relates to a safety attachment for use with the M48, and M51v series fuzes, to vprovide additional safety means for delaying the arming of' thefuze to insure a minimum travel of the projectile in flight prior to the arming of the fuze, and which is suicient so that the projectilewill bebeyond a zone where the gun-'crew couldrbe endangered by the detonation of the projectile, when the device permits arming of the-fuze. Specifically, the invention comprises a centrifu- .gally operated gear train the operation of which is regulated for arming the fuze at a predeter- ,mined point beyond the muzzle of the Weapon by .releasing a conventional safe-ty element of the fuze. Y

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device Vof the aforedescribed character capable of beingL readily applied to the types of fuzes, heretofore mentioned, without. modification ,of the conventional partsof the fuze and by only slight modifications of the fuze housing, by so larranging the parts of the device that they will principally occupy an otherwise unused space in thghousing. i 1

, Other objectsand advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, which lillustrate a preferred embodiment thereof,l and wherein: i v,

' `Figure 1 isa cross sectional view through a part of a 'M48A2 fuze housing and showing the delayiarming device, in top plan, disposed therein and its initial position; i Figure, 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1` and showing the device in an intermediate position;

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing the device in its final, released position; and

Figures 4, 5,I and Gare longitudinal sectional views to an enlarged scale, taken substantially along vthe planes of" the lines 4 -7-4, 5 5, and

'6e-Q6, respectively, of Figi. Y

Referringmore particularly to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like 4or'corresponding parts throughout the several ingof a portion of the M48A2 fuze and which ineludes an inner portion, support or core 1 which 'isprovded Vwitlrx substantially radiallyidisposed we. @thigh @eternamente s biased inwardly by a spring I0 and into obstructing' relationship to a sleeve Il. Core 1 is reciprocally mounted lengthwise of housing 6 and relatively to the sleeve l I. A bore I 2 in core 1 accommodates the sleeve II when core 1 moves forward relatively to housing 6. Core 1 is normally spring biased rearwardly by an expansion spring I3. The sleeve II is connected to a firing pin I 4, which iS radially oiiset from the sleeve I I and from the axis of the housing 6, and which is in alignment with a primer and powder train I5, contained in core 1, and which has a flash passage `I6 leading to a booster, not shown, disposed behind the core I and which is adapted to be mounted in the nose of a projectile. The parts previously described and the operation of which will be briefly described, form no part of the present invention but are conventional in fuzes of the aforementioned types.

Briefly, a detonator, not shown, disposed forwardly of the housing 6, may be exploded upon the impact of a projectile, containing the fuze, with its target, and the blast therefrom will pass through the sleeve I I and bore I2 to immediately detonate the booster charge when the fuze is set for superquick action. The fuze can also be set for delay action by obstructing the passage `for the flash, from the detonator contained in the nose, forward of the sleeve II. When thus arranged, and assuming "that the plungers 9 have been set back by centrifugal force, upon impact with a target, core 1 is moved forward, relatively to housing 6, to cause firing pin I4 to strike the primer of powder train I5 which produces a flash through passage I6 for setting off the booster and bursting charge, not shown, after a short delay, all of which operation is conventional in fuzes of the aforementioned types. p

The delay arming device, comprising the inf vention, and designated generally l1, is contained for the most part within an annular chamber |8 which is a conventional part of the fuze housing 6 and which is located for'- wardly of. core 1, Aand in addition, the core 1 is provided with a forwardly opening well or recess I9 (Fig. 5) constituting a modification thereof and' in which a portion of the device I1 is contained. The delay arming device I1 ncludes an elongated, segmental shape-d centrifu- 'gally operated element 20 which is contained in the well I9 and which is keyed to a shaft 2 I which extends axially through said well. The rear end of the shaft 2l is journalled in a recess 22 of the core T, which opens into the bed of the well I9. The forward end of the shaft 2| extends into the chamber I8 and has keyed thereto a disk 23, a portion of the periphery of views' g designates genefanythe part of the hous which is provided with teeth 24, forming a gear segment..l A segmental shaped detent or stop 25` is keyed-fte the forward end of the shaft ZI., f

25 are in therecess I8.

v21 in me core 1, and extends forwardly therefrom into the recess I8, and has an escapement wheel 28 keyed thereto and a pinion 29 keyed to its forward end and forwardly of the escapement wheel 28. Escapement wheel 28 and pinion wheel 29 are disposed in the recess o r chamber I3. YAs best seen in Fig. 6, the escapement wheel 28 is disposed behind and in partly overlapping relationship to the disk 23, and the pinion 29 is disposed in the same plane as the disk 23 and is located so as to mesh with the gear teeth 24, v when the device I1 is in its initial and intermediate positions, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.

A shaft 30 is seated in a recess 3l of the core 1 and projects forwardly therefrom into the cham- I ber I8. An escapement or pallet 32 is disposed in chamber I8 and is swingably mounted on the shaft 30 which is provided with .a head 33 which Vretains the pallet 32 in engagement with the 'shaft 30. Pallet 32, as seen in Figs. l-3, is located adjacent the escapement wheel 28 and is provided with pawls 34 for alternately engaging the teeth of escapement wheel 28, to regulate the .rotation thereof, in a conventional manner.

, A pin 35 is anchored in the core i and proltr'udes therefrom forwardly into the chamber I3. fA lever 38 is provided with an elongated slot 31 in Which the pin 35 is loosely received and` by means of which the lever 38 is pivotally and slidrably mounted in chamber I8. The lever 33, as seen in Figli, is disposed in the same plane as the stop or detent 25 and is provided with a portion 38 which is located in partial overlapping vrelationship .to the disk 23 and which normally vbears against the arcuate edge of the stop 25, vI fever 36, on the opposite side of its pivot, is Aprovided with an extension 39.

` Referring to Fig. 6, the core 1 is provided with Aa bore having a restricted rear end 49, which opens .into one of thebores S at its rear end, as `seen in Fig. 4, and an enlarged forward end 4! having an internally threaded forward portion 42 which opens forwardly into the chamber I3. A bushing 43 is disposed in threaded engagement ywith the portion 42 Vand is provided. with a bore ,of the same diameter-as the bore portion 43 and which is in alignment therewith, for receiving a setback pin 44 which is reciprocally mountedin the bore portion 44 and the bushing 43. A collar 45 is suitably fixed to the pin 44 and is reciproi cally disposed in the bore portion 4I. A helical spring 48 is carried by the pin 44 and is contained in the bore portion 4|, between the bed lthereof and the collar 45, for urging the pin 44 forwardly and to its position of Fig. 4; in which position the forward end of the pin 44 protrudes into the chamber I8 and forms a stop against which the lever end 39 bears to prevent counterclockwise swinging movement of the lever 36 as seen in Figs. 1-3.

With the pin 44 thus disposed, as seen in Fig. 4, its rear end is disposed in the rear end of the bore portion 43 adjacent one of the radial bores 8 and slightly behind or outwardly of the plunger 9 which is disposed therein, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

A torsional spring 41 is located in the chamber I8 and is anchored to two spaced pins 48 which project from the housing 1 forwardly into chamber I8, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1-3, and is provided with a free end which bears against the terminal of the lever end 39 and which is biased in a clockwise direction 'for urging the lever portion 39 against the setback pin 44 or in a counterclockwise direction.

As seen in dotted lines in Figs. l, 2, and 3, a

Vstop pin 49 projects upwardly from the bed of the well `I9 and is disposed to be engaged by a portion of the member 2U, when in its position of Figs. 1 and 2 to prevent back Winding of the gear train beyond its starting position. A weighted arm 50 is swingably mounted in chamber I8 on a headed pin 5I which is anchored in core 1. A torsional spring 52 is anchored in a split pin-53 which projects into the chamber I8 fromthe core 1. Spring 52 bears against arm 50 for biasing said arm against a portion of the pallet 32 to resist rocking movement of the pallet to thereby prevent inadvertent movement of the gear train. The arm 50 is centrifugally swung out of engagement with the pallet 32, when the fuze is rotated in'flight, to release the pallet and gear train for normal operation.

The parts of the device I1 which are contained in the chamber I8 are retained in place by means of a cover shown in dotted lines at 54, in Figs. 4 and 5.

Assuming the parts of the device I1 and of the fuze to be in their initial positions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, when a projectile, not shown, containing the parts is red from a weapon, the initial acceleration of the projectile will cause the pin 44 to be set lback against the thrust of its spring 48. This rearward movement of the pin 44 will cause the rear end thereof to move into the bore 8, into Which the bore 40 opens, outwardly or behind the plunger 9 thereof, to form a stop to prevent radial outward retraction of said plunger 9 to a position where it will release the stem II. Likewise, the rearward movement of the pin 44 will cause the forward end thereof to move out of the chamber I8 and out of engagement with Ythe lever end 39. The lever 36 thus being released at its end 39 will slide in a direction substantially radially outward of the cham,- ber I8 to the extend of its movement as permitted by the slot 31, so that said lever will move from its position of Fig. 1 to its position of Fig. 2. This movement is primarily produced by the free end of the spring 41 bearing `against the terminal of the lever portion 39, but is also partially caused by the centrifugal force resulting from the rotation of the fuze. Therotation of the fuze will cause the segmental weighted element 28 to begin to revolve Vin a clockwise direction, as seen in Figs. 1 to 3, from its position of Figs. 1 and 2. The disk 23 and stop 25, being rotatively connected to the member 20, will be rotated therewith so that said stop 25 is rotated relatively to the concave edge of the leverportion 38. Likewise, the rotation of the parts 20, 23, and 25 are regulated by the escapement wheel 28 and pallet .32, due to the fact that the gear teeth 24 are in mesh with the pinion 29 which is rotatably con- .nected to the escapement wheel 28. `As the stop 25 approaches its position of Fig. 3, the rgear teeth-24 move-out of mesh with the pinion 29 to permit a final, free movement of the parts 20, 23, and 25, and as the trailing, substantially radial edge of the stop 25 clears the terminal of the lever portion 38, said lever end 38 is released and thereby permitted to swing byv centrifugal force in a clockwise direction from its position of Fig. 2 to its position of Fig. 3. This clockwise 'movement of lever 36causes its end 39 to move ont o f obstructing.,relationship to pin 4 4, andas dceleratdon'of theproiectile has already com,

menced, spring 46 will project the pinl 44 forwardly and back to its position of Fig. 4, to release the yplunger 9, which was held thereby, so that said plunger can bey retracted radially outwardly and out of engagement with the sleeve Il. The other plunger 9 will have been previously moved outwardly by centrifugal force so that the fuze will have been held in a disarmed condition only by the plunger 9, which was engaged by the setback pin 44. Therefore, it will be readily apparent that the device Il regulates the arming of the fuze when set for delay functioning. By simple expedient, such as varying the number of teeth 24, the length of time and the distance of night required to arm the projectile fuze can be accurately regulated.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims, as only a preferred embodiment thereof has been disclosed.

I claim:

l. A delay action arming device for projectile fuzes of the rotating type, comprising a setback pin movable, upon acceleration of a fuze in which it is contained, into a position to render the fuze safe, a release lever slidably and pivotally mounted relatively to the setback pin, a centrifugally actuated detent against which the lever bears, said pin being setback upon acceleration out of engagement with the lever whereby the lever is released for sliding movement into a position to prevent return of the setback pin, and said detent being movable by rotation of the fuze, to a position to disengage the lever, whereby the lever is centrifugally swung to a position in unobstructing relationship to the setback pin so that upon deceleration, said pin is free to move to a position to arm the fuze.

2. A delay action arming device as in claim l, and escapement means for regulating the movement of the detent to a lever releasing position.

3. A delay action fuze as in claim 1, and a torsional spring for urging said lever into an obstructing position relatively to the setback pin.

4. In a fuze for projectiles of the rotating type having a firing means secured thereto, a core slidable in said fuze relative to said ring means, centrifugal means in said core engaging said ring means to hold the same and said core immovable relative to each other and a delay arming device for the fuZe, comprising a setback pin movable upon acceleration of the fuze into contact with the centrifugal means to hold the Same inactive against centrifugal force thereby rendering the fuze safe, a pivotally mounted release lever normally engaging the setback pin and centrifugally movable when released by setback of said pin, into an obstructing position relatively to the pin, and a centrifugally actuated detent, against which the lever bears, movable by centrifugal force of the fuze in flight, for releasing the lever for movement to a position in unobstructing relationship to the setback pin, and spring means cooperating with said setback pin and effective to move the same upon deceleration of the fuze in the direction of its flight, away from the centrifugal means to release said ring means and said core for relative movement to each other, thereby arming the fuze.

5. A delay arming device as in claim 4, and escapement means for controlling the centrifugally impelled movement of the detent.

6. A delay arming device as in claim 4, said Number release lever being mounted for sliding and pivoting movement.

'7. A delay arming device as in claim 4, said release lever being mounted for sliding and pivoting movement, and a torsional spring bearing against the release lever for urging it into an obstructing position relatively to the setback pin.

8. A delay arming device as in claim 4, a gear segment rotatable with the detent, a pinion in mesh with the gear segment, an escapement wheel rotatable with the pinion, and a pallet for governing the step by step rotation of the escapement Wheel.

9. In a delayed action arming device for a projectile fuse of the rotating, centrifugallyarmed type, a support adapted for attachment with a projectile and rotatable therewith about a longitudinal axis, an arming plunger iitting a radial bore in said support and slidable, in response to centrifugal force, from a safe position t0 a fuZe-arming position, a setback pin slidable in said support in response to acceleration, from a first position to a second position in the path of said plunger and, when in second position, preventing movement of said plunger to fuZe-arming position, means urging said pin into first position, a segmental-shaped stop pivoted in said support, centrifugally-operated means connected with said stop to pivot the same, escapement means carried by said support and normally connected to control the rate of rotation of said stop, a lever slidably and pivotally mounted in said support, spring means urging said lever into a position with respective ends in contact with said stop and pin, said pin when moved to second position, releasing one end of said lever for movement into the path of said pin to hold the same in second position, said stop when rotated to predetermined position under control of said escapement, releasing the other end of said lever to permit movement thereof out of said obstructing relation to free said pin and permit arming of said fuze.

10. In a delay action arming device for projectile fuzes of the rotating type, a plunger movable in response to centrifugal force from a safe position to a fuze-arming position, a lever slidably and pivotally mounted for movement into rst, second and third consecutive positions, means urging said lever into said positions, consecutively, a pin and a movable stop normally engaging opposite ends of said lever, respectively, to hold the same in rst position, said pin being movable, in response to linear acceleration, to release said lever for movement to second position and simultaneously to obstruct movement of said plunger to fuze-arming position, said lever in second position obstructing return movement of said pin, and centrifugally-operated time-controlled means operable to move said stop out of contact With said lever to permit movement of said lever to third position, said lever in third position again releasing said pin for movement to free said plunger.

JAMES F. MCGASLIN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,496,271 Junghans June 3, 1924 1,523,073 Junghans l Jan. 13, 1925 1,665,666 Junghans Apr. 10, 1925

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