Special receptacle or package – For ammunition
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-08
2004-08-10
Fidei, David T. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For ammunition
C206S521000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06772877
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention described herein relates to the field of military ordnance. In particular it relates to high caliber ammunition fired from weapons in the arsenal of the United States Army, and more specifically to ammunition containers that protect the rounds fired from these weapons. The ammunition containers described herein offer distinct advantages over those that preceded them. The containers provide superior protection from shock, vibration, exposure to the elements and address important concerns related to weight, operational effectiveness, cost, and environmental impact. While specifically developed for mortar ammunition the technology of this invention is readily adapted tank ammunition, grenades, and other ammunition families that utilize the fiber container packaging technology.
2. Background of the Invention
Ordnance used on the modern battlefield and in training exercises by the United States Army must be protected from the effects of vibration, shock and exposure to the elements. Exemplary cases are relatively lightweight, mobile weapons such as the Army's 60 mm, 81 mm and 120 mm mortars. The inherent portability, flexibility and ubiquity of these weapons dictate that they and the ammunition they fire can and will be exposed to a very wide range of non-ideal conditions.
In particular, these weapons and their ammunition are expected and, indeed, required to perform as designed in conditions that include extreme heat and cold, as well as wet and dusty environs. In addition, ammunition for these mortars is expected to survive high g-loadings such as those that might be experienced when being transported by tracked or wheeled vehicles, carried by soldiers or even delivered by fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft or even by parachute. As such, whose rounds are currently packed in pairs in a metal/fiber packing system.
Recent emphasis on rapid deployment and the requirement for heretofore unimaginable mobility and unprecedented firepower, as exemplified by the US Army's new Lightweight Brigade Combat Team (BCT), gives all new importance to minimizing the weight and volume associated with packing materials while maintaining the protection required by these highly explosive rounds. In addition, cost and environmental concerns can no longer be ignored and, therefore, must be addressed in an effective manner. These requirements place added restrictions on construction materials and techniques and require that the containers be re-usable and/or recyclable.
The current metal/fiber container packing system for 120 mm mortar ammunition was designed/developed by contractors in the early 1990s. In its current embodiment, the packaging system consists of two PA153 fiber containers inside a PA154 metal container. Two loaded PA153 fiber containers are packaged inside the PA154 metal container to achieve the long term protection to the ammunition against various rough handling environments while still fitting inside the vehicle for operations.
In a typical battlefield or training scenario, the PA153 fiber containers are removed from the PA154 metal container at the point of re-supply. This is a time-consuming exercise, placing an added burden on the soldiers, could leave the mortar cartridges relatively unprotected, and could leave the discarded metal containers subject to loss and/or damage. The final condition is an important consideration when unexpended rounds need to be re-stored.
The existing metal/fiber container system with 2 rounds of ammunition has a gross weight of 101 lb. Because it exceeds the 90-pound maximum lift of a single package by a single soldier, as mandated in Operations Requirement Documentation, it must be handled by two persons.
In order to access the ammunition, the soldiers must first open the metal container, pull out the fiber containers, open the tape-seals of fiber containers and retrieve the ammunition. This is obviously is a very time-consuming process that affects combat readiness. In addition, the tight-fitted fiber containers are difficult to be removed from the metal container under non-ideal conditions such as cold weather where soldiers are wearing heavy gloves.
During military operations, soldiers normally discard the metal containers at the ammunition supply point and only the loaded fiber containers are placed into the storage racks of a mortar carrier. Since it is the metal container that provides most of the environmental protection to the ammunition inside, the ammunition sitting in the racks inside the vehicle can be adversely affected by moisture and rough handling. This can decrease the overall useful life of the ammunition especially if the ammunition is no expended immediately.
Furthermore, metal containers are also often lost or damaged after vehicle uploading and the two container approach to packaging becomes a burden on the soldier should the ammunition need to be repackaged. This is especially important in training situations where ammunition is often re-loaded and returned to an ammunition storage facility for future use. In addition, it may be observed that the fiber containers are not readily recyclable nor re-usable, resulting in higher production costs and environmental impact.
Thus, there is a great and still unsatisfied need for a solution to the problem of producing an efficacious, cost-effective, lightweight container for mortar rounds.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The composite monopack container of the present invention represents a new generation of packing container for mortar ammunition, and addresses the shortcomings of the existing packaging systems. In particular, the container is lightweight, universally adaptable to all existing ammunition types, is capable of fully protecting ammunition without the need of a metal overpack, and is relatively inexpensive to produce, maintain and dispose.
In addition, the container is easy to use and fully back-compatible, that it is compatible with existing ammunition racks, etc., within the inventory. Moreover, the new implementation features mean quicker ammunition re-supply and greater ammunition availability on the battlefield.
The lightweight monopack container is made from lightweight thermoset, flame-retardant composite materials. This composite compound material comprises Vinyl Ester resin and 56% (by weight) fiber glass designed for compression molding of components requiring high structural strength. These elements are subjected to a pressure of 1,500 pounds per square inch (minimum) at 290° F. for 5-10 minutes during the molding process. Primary features of the container are formed during the molding process, reducing post-processing time and minimizing production costs.
The monopack container comprises a cap and body assembly sufficiently rugged and impervious to environmental factors to eliminate the need for secondary containment. Unlike its predecessor, the monopack container provides full environmental protection for the ammunition from adverse battlefield conditions at all times until the actual point-of-use and, thus, increases the service life of ammunition and greatly simplified re-packaging operations in cases when ammunition is unpacked but not expended.
Further, it is anticipated that the composite monopack container will provide improved Insensitive Munitions (IM) response compared to the current metal/fiber container packing system. In particular, the composite resin will burn very slowly and evaporate at the elevated temperature (carrying away the heat of evaporation), thus preventing a high pressure built-up inside the container. In addition, the composite container contains minimal amount of metal materials, limited to a small latching system and several tie down rivets, as compared to the current heavy duty PA154 metal container. Therefore, no significant amounts of fragmentations are expected.
Weighing about 7.5 lbs, one embodiment of the monopack container is designed to hold a single cartridge, and be carried or handled by a single soldier. Advantageously, a collapsible type handle is attached to the
Cheung Kwok L.
Lam Yuen H.
Sinha Yash
Woo Timothy
Zoll James F.
Fidei David T.
Moran John F.
Sachs Michael C.
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
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