Recoilless projectile launcher

Details Recoilless projectile launcher Recoilless projectile launcher

1993-07-19

1994-10-25

Brown, David

Ordnance

Recoilless gun

Having a reaction mass

89 1703, F41A 110

Patent

active

053578414

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION



1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a projectile launcher and in particular to a hand-held shoulder-launched recoilless mass/countermass projectile launcher.


DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART

One type of known projectile launcher comprises a launch tube with a forward open end at which a piston intercept is located. A cylindrical piston is slideably located within the launch tube and a sub-calibre projectile is supported in the launch tube on the surface of the piston facing said open end. In operation the piston and the projectile supported thereon are propelled along the launch tube towards the said open end, where the piston is halted by the piston intercept. The sub-calibre projectile passes through the intercept and is thereby launched.
Known recoilless mass/countermass projectile launchers operate by simultaneously firing a projectile in one direction and a countermass in an opposite direction with equal and opposite momentum. This prevents any recoil from being transmitted to the launcher, and thus allows the launcher to be hand-held when fired. In such systems the sub-calibre projectile is piston launched as described above and the countermass comprises either a solid block that is also piston launched or propellant gases which are forced through a rearwardly facing nozzle.
Piston intercepts are therefore designed to restrain the piston in the launch tube, while allowing the projectile to be launched unhindered.
The simplest piston intercept known in prior art launchers comprises a hollow cylindrical collar which fits slideably within the launch tube and is secured inside the muzzle. The internal diameter of the collar is sufficiently large to allow the sub-calibre projectile to pass through it. Such collars are either threadedly connected to the muzzle or constitute part of the launch tube itself. The collars are made from metal, usually steel, and plastically deform in the act of arresting the piston. In this manner the kinetic energy of the piston is dissipated and the piston is restrained inside the launch tube. Examples of such piston intercepts are disclosed in United Kingdom Patents numbered CAB 2 183 800, GB 1 346 555 and GB 1 576 366.
More sophisticated piston intercepts are known in the prior art. However all such intercepts are made of deformable metals and work on the principle that the kinetic energy of the piston will be absorbed by the deformation of the intercept. One such intercept is disclosed in United Kingdom Patent GB 2,186,956 and comprises a metal braking collar which has circumferential groves provided in it to facilitate its lengthwise compression with consequent absorbtion of energy from the piston.
Such deformable metal intercepts have several disadvantages associated with them. Firstly the load required to plastically deform a metal progressively increases as plastic deformation occurs. Consequently a high peak load will be transmitted to the launcher by a metal intercept near the end of the piston arresting process (see FIG. 7B). For this reason the launch tube, piston intercepts and pistons have to be strong enough to withstand these peak loads which results in an unnecessarily heavy launcher. This is a disadvantage if the launcher is designed to be shoulder-launched by a human operator. A second disadvantage is that known deformable metal collars have a tendency to buckle radially inwards during braking and may come into contact with the moving projectile. When this happens the projectile can be substantially decelerated. deflected from its path or in extreme cases the rearward end of the projectile can be sheared off.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to overcome at least some of the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a projectile launcher which can be successfully shoulder-launched by a human operator.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a projectile launcher, comprising:
a launch tube open at one end, a piston slideably located within the launch tube for thr

REFERENCES:
patent: 3476048 (1969-11-01), Barr et al.
patent: 3490330 (1970-01-01), Walther
patent: 3771417 (1973-11-01), Schnabele et al.
patent: 4643071 (1987-02-01), Baechler et al.
patent: 4676136 (1987-06-01), Kalin
patent: 4759430 (1988-07-01), Kalin

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