Ammunition and explosive-charge making – Bomb disposal
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-15
2002-06-25
Nelson, Peter A. (Department: 3641)
Ammunition and explosive-charge making
Bomb disposal
C102S440000, C042S001110, C089S001110, C089S043010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06408731
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to disrupter systems, and more particularly to a recoil controlled bomb disrupter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to provide bomb disrupters which disrupt or deactivate the bombs by blasting a high-velocity water jet against the bomb. A disrupter of known configuration includes a main hollow cylindrical barrel having a closed rear end portion and a sealable opened front end mouth portion. A water-tight explosive charge or cartridge is loaded inside the barrel at the rear end thereof and the barrel is then filled with water before the front end of the barrel is closed with a frangible water-tight seal. The disrupter is carried towards the bomb to be deactivated, for example by means of an automated remote control rover which is equipped with a video camera which allows remote visual inspection of the bomb as the rover approaches same. The disrupter barrel front end mouth is oriented towards the bomb along a selected direction, and the explosive charge therein is then detonated. Upon the charge exploding in the barrel, the water therein is propelled out of the barrel at high velocity (approximately at the speed of sound), rupturing the frangible seal closing the opened front end of the barrel. The thus ejected water then punctures the bomb outer casing at short range, and penetrates inside the bomb to damage the inner circuits and other detonating components thereof, to effectively deactivate the bomb. The high water speed is such that any tamper-proof detection means in the bomb does not have time to detect and prematurely detonate the bomb before the bomb is deactivated. Typically, a few milliseconds is what it takes to deactivate the bomb.
The problem associated with the above-described disrupter system is that the barrel will often be accidentally released brutally from its support on the robot to be backwardly projected, reactively under the counter-force or recoil of the explosive charge detonating inside the barrel and outwardly blasting the water. Often, such a disrupter severely damages or completely destroys the rover carrying it, and may also damage the video camera located on the robot, or other expensive equipment located thereon In addition to replacement or repair costs of the thus damaged equipment, damaging the video camera also has the drawback of taking away the available means to readily visually inspect the results of the water blast immediately after it has occurred, to verify whether the bomb has effectively been deactivated.
British patent NO. GB 2 299 156 A (published in September 1996)—hereinafter, the 156′ patent, shows in the embodiment of FIG. 6, a barrel 2, to the rear end of which is coaxially mounted a reaction absorbing element. Threaded connection occurs between the barrel and the reaction absorbing element. A bridge fits inside the reaction absorbing element, with a breech at the rear end thereof and a front air bore extending to the rear end of the barrel. A recoil cylinder array is mounted around the reaction absorbing element. Air channels provide air circulation between the front air portion of the recoil cylinders inside boring and the air boring extending between the bridge 16 and the rear end of the barrel.
It is clear from inspection of FIG. 6 of the 156′ patent that:
a) the radial channels are air passageways between the barrel inner chamber and the recoil cylinders inner chambers, i.e. they are not designed for water or other liquid flow, at any moment during operation of this liquid disrupter. Indeed, when explosion occurs at the level of the rear breech, the water present in the barrel will flow forwardly away from the radial channels, and the water present in the rearward portions of the cylinders will flow rearwardly again away from the radial channels.
b) the radial passageways open rearwardly spacedly from the rear end of the barrel, and never engage into the barrel inner chamber proper.
c) therefore, the recoil cylinders and the barrel are NOT in liquid communication with one another.
In such a disrupter arrangement as in the 156′ patent, the threaded connection constitutes a weak spot, since the threads will rapidly become stretched and deformed, under explosion borne air pressure loads, bringing structural fatigue and possible disrupter failure. Accordingly, such a disrupter device has low durability and low operating safety levels. Moreover this patent is made up of three main parts: the reaction absorbing element, the barrel and the cylinder array. Also, the (pneumatic) air pressure buffer zone between the liquid filled recoil cylinders and the liquid filled barrel, means that since air is a lighter fluid in mass per volume than water, under explosive load pressure force, the air will move toward the lesser resistance area i.e. toward the barrel and a very small fraction of the air will be expelled to engage into the recoil cylinders; hence, although reduced, there will still be some substantial recoil remaining.
Finally, in the FIG. 1 of the 156′ patent, is it noteworthy to mention that because of the illustrated small diameter size of the boring in the so-called plug, the radial flange and thus the disrupter itself is likely to be inoperative because the diameter of the central boring in the plug is much too restricted to enable enough air from the explosion to bring sufficient pressure to accelerate the water inside the barrel to reach the approximately 360 meters per second standard requirement for attaining minimal effective water jet speed to disrupt a bomb without triggering the anti-tampering built-in system of the bomb. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the boring diameter size would require such level of air pressure that the overall disrupter assembly would most likely disintegrate the first time it is used, due to its integrity being compromised, in particular due to stress applied about the threads linking the barrel, the plug flange and the device rear body portion.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bomb disrupter with a controlled recoil effect.
A corollary object of this invention is to prevent occurrence of collateral damage to the supporting rover of said bomb disrupter upon actuation thereof.
A general object of the invention is to enhance the efficiency of use of bomb disrupters by providing a bomb disrupter and supporting rover assembly which are reusable several times and is therefore long lasting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recoil controlled bomb disrupter.
The present invention more particularly relates to a disrupter for deactivating a bomb comprising:
a main elongated hollow barrel having a closed rear end and an opened front end;
at least two recoil pipes equally peripherally spaced about said barrel, said recoil pipes being in sealed fluid connection with and outwardly and rearwardly extending on opposite sides of said barrel intermediate said front and rear ends, said pipes each having a first end opening into said barrel and an opposite opened second end at least partially rearwardly oriented;
a remotely selectively controlled trigger member operatively mounted to said barrel; wherein an explosive charge is to be placed inside said barrel near said rear end and connected to said trigger member, and said barrel and said lateral pipes are to be filled with fluid, and wherein upon the explosive charge exploding when it is detonated by said trigger member, a portion of the fluid is ejected at high velocity frontwardly out of said barrel to puncture the bomb outer shell and deactivate the bomb inner detonating components, and another portion of the fluid concurrently engages said recoil pipes to be rearwardly ejected out of said recoil pipes, which at least partly counteracts the rearward recoil resulting from the explosive charge projecting the water frontwardly out of said barrel.
Preferably, said recoil pipes each have a first channel section transversely rearwardly extending from said barrel inner chamber and a second channel section in cont
Martineau Francçois
Nelson Peter A.
Proparms Ltd.
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