|Publication number||US8171853 B2|
|Application number||US 12/716,160|
|Publication date||May 8, 2012|
|Priority date||Mar 2, 2010|
|Also published as||EP2542852A2, US20110214584, WO2011109434A2, WO2011109434A3|
|Publication number||12716160, 716160, US 8171853 B2, US 8171853B2, US-B2-8171853, US8171853 B2, US8171853B2|
|Inventors||John W. Purvis|
|Original Assignee||Sierra Nevada Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (32), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (1), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This disclosure relates generally to the field of munitions. More specifically, it relates to munitions or projectiles launched or fired from single person-operated, particularly shoulder-fired, weapons. Still more specifically, it relates to a round or projectile that is launched or fired from a grenade launcher or the like, and that is configured to deliver an incapacitating agent to a target through a solid barrier.
There are many tactical situations, in both military and law enforcement contexts, in which it is necessary or desirable to incapacitate an adversarial human target short of lethality. Typically, the incapacitating agent is a non-lethal aerosol or gas, such as tear gas or one if its variants, such as CS. The typical method of delivering the agent is to throw or launch a gas-dispersing canister or grenade at the target. This method works reasonably well when the target is confronted without an intervening barrier, or when the target is in a room having an outside window that can be penetrated easily by the canister or grenade.
A problem exists, however, when the target is in a structure, vehicle, or other enclosure that is not accessible through an easily-penetrated barrier, such as a glass window, or when the target is in a structure is beyond the range of the conventional gas-dispersing canister or grenade. In such situations, law enforcement or military personnel must place themselves at increased risk in order to position themselves to allow the effective deployment of the incapacitating agent. Furthermore, the canister or grenade usually lands on the floor of the structure, vehicle, or enclosure, thereby possibly affording the target an opportunity to dispose of the canister or grenade before being incapacitated.
Thus, there is a heretofore unmet need for a device, mechanism, and/or method for delivering an incapacitating agent to a target in a structure or enclosure that cannot be reached or penetrated by conventional gas-dispersing munitions. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide such a projectile that begins dispersing the agent almost immediately upon impact and that is not easily disposed of by the target. Finally, it would be advantageous to combine these features in a projectile that can be fired from a conventional grenade launcher.
Broadly, in accordance with a first aspect, the subject of the present disclosure is a projectile configured for delivering an incapacitating agent to a target through a solid barrier, the projectile comprising a canister configured to contain an incapacitating agent and having an outlet with a breachable closure; a canister holder configured to hold the canister and having an external surface; a deformable, radially-expansible sleeve fixed to the external surface of the canister holder and configured to spread radially outward upon impact with the solid barrier; a ballistic body movably connected to the canister holder forward of the canister so as to be axially movable from a forward position to a rearward position upon impact with the barrier, the ballistic body including a closure-breaching member located so as to breach the closure when the ballistic body moves axially rearward upon impact with the barrier, the ballistic body further including a plurality of dispersion ports that are in fluid communication with the outlet of the canister when the closure is breached.
In accordance with a more specific aspect, the subject of the present disclosure is a projectile configured for delivering an incapacitating agent to a target through a solid barrier, the projectile comprising a canister filled with an incapacitating agent and having an outlet with a breachable closure; a canister holder having an external surface; a substantially cylindrical deceleration sleeve that is fixed to the external surface of the canister holder and that is divided around its circumference into a plurality of radially-deformable axial fingers configured to spread radially outward upon impact with a solid barrier; and a ballistic body movably connected to the canister holder forward of the canister so as to be axially movable from a forward position to a rearward position upon impact with the bather, the ballistic body including a conical portion terminating in a penetration tip at its forward end, and a closure-breaching member located so as to breach the closure when the ballistic body is moved to its rearward position, thereby opening a fluid path from the canister through the ballistic body; whereby the penetration tip is configured to penetrate the barrier upon impact therewith, and wherein the movement of the ballistic body to its rearward position forces the axial fingers to spread radially outward against the barrier upon impact therewith, thereby lodging the ballistic body in the barrier in position for the dispersal of the incapacitating agent on the side of the barrier opposite the fingers.
In a preferred embodiment, the gas-dispersing projectile of the present disclosure is configured and adapted to be fired from a conventional grenade launcher. To this end, the deceleration sleeve and the canister holder are advantageously enclosed coaxially in a frangible cylindrical outer sleeve that is dimensioned to fit any of several standard grenade launcher bore sizes. The outer sleeve may advantageously be provided with one or more circumferential ridges or beads that engage the rifling of the grenade launcher barrel, so as to impart a stabilizing gyroscopic spin to the projectile for enhanced accuracy. In a preferred embodiment, a frangible nose cone, enclosing the penetration tip of the ballistic body, is fixed to the forward end of the outer sleeve. The nose cone engages against the forward ends of the axial fingers, so that, on impact with a solid barrier, the nose cone applies a radially-outward force against fingers to initiate their radial spread. Rearward of the outer sleeve, a shell casing coaxially encloses and engages the rearward portion of the canister holder. The shell casing is filled with a propellant powder charge and is provided with a center-fire primer cap.
The projectile of the present disclosure offers significant advantages over conventional gas-dispersing projectiles or munitions. For example, after being launched from a conventional grenade launcher, the projectile strikes a barrier surface (e.g., a wall or roof) near the human target. The penetration tip penetrates the barrier, and as it does so, the segments or fingers of the deceleration sleeve peel back axially and spread radially outward, thereby lodging against the barrier surface and thus preventing the projectile body from completely passing through the barrier. Furthermore, upon striking the barrier surface, the ballistic body is pushed axially to its rearward position, whereby the closure-breaching member breaches the closure of the container or capsule containing the incapacitating agent, thereby providing a flow path for the agent from the container or capsule out through the dispersion ports into the room or enclosure in which the human target is located. Thus, by dispersing the agent upon impact with the barrier, while being, in effect “stuck” in the barrier (perhaps out of reach of the target), the projectile is capable, in many instances, of delivering an incapacitating “dose” of the agent before the target can remove either the projectile or himself from the premises. These and other advantages will be more clearly understood from the detailed description that follows:
Referring first to
The canister holder 14 has an interior that is configured and dimensioned for snugly receiving the canister 12. The canister holder 14 includes a forward portion 30, an intermediate portion 32, and a rear portion 34. The deceleration sleeve 18 has a rearward end that is fixed to the intermediate portion 32 of the canister holder 14, as will be more fully described below. A base 36, preferably of aluminum, is fixed to, or, alternatively, integral with, the rear portion 34 of the canister holder 14, and it has an interior surface against which the canister 12 seats. The forward portion 30 of the canister holder is internally threaded. The canister retention collar 16 is dimensioned to fit snugly around the forward portion of the canister 12, and it has an externally-threaded rearward portion 38 that is threaded into the forward portion 30 of the canister holder 14 to form with the canister holder 14 the aforementioned canister retention assembly. An O-ring 40, seated between the canister 12 and the interior surface of the retention collar 16, may advantageously be included as part of the canister retention assembly to provide a compressible engagement between the canister 12 and the retention collar 16, thereby enhancing the security of the canister retention function of the canister retention assembly. The externally threaded portion 38 of the retention collar 16 has an internal diameter that is approximately the same as that of the canister holder 14, so that the externally threaded portion 38 of the retention collar 16 and the canister holder 14 form a continuous interior surface that is dimensioned to hold the canister 12.
The ballistic body 20 has an annular rear portion 42 defining the above-mentioned open-ended chamber 24. The annular rear portion 42 of the ballistic body 20 is externally threaded for attachment to an internally threaded forward portion of an annular linkage element 44, the rear portion of which has a reduced inside diameter and is configured as an annular cam element 46 (to be described more fully below) that normally seats in the forward portion of an annular recess 48 in the exterior surface of the retention collar 16. The annular recess 48 is substantially larger in the axial direction than the axial dimension of the cam element 46, so as to provide a track in which the cam element 46 can move axially in the recess 48, in a rearward direction, thereby allowing, as will be seen, the linkage element 44 (and thus also the ballistic body 20 attached to it) to move axially with respect to the canister 12 from a forward position (
Fixed in the ballistic body 20 so as to extend rearward into the chamber 24 is a closure-breaching member 52, preferably formed as a metal rod or pin. The closure-breaching member 52 has a length dimensioned so that it terminates a short distance from the closure or seal 26. As will be seen, axial movement of the ballistic body 20 in the rearward direction (i.e., toward the canister retention assembly 14, 16) in response to the projectile striking a barrier causes the closure-breaching member 52 to puncture or rupture the seal or closure 26 to release the contents of the canister 12, which then flows into the chamber 24 and out of the ballistic body 20 through at least one dispersion port 54, and preferably a plurality of dispersion ports 54, extending radially from the chamber 24 to the exterior of the ballistic body 20.
The ballistic body 20 has a substantially conical forward end portion 56 that tapers to a penetration tip 58 at the extreme forward end. Other configurations for the forward end portion 56 may suggest themselves as advantageous for particular applications. The material of the ballistic body 20, and particularly the forward end portion 56, may be selected for particular applications. For example, stainless steel (e.g., 300 series stainless steel) may be suitable for penetrating build walls, while depleted uranium may be used for armor-piercing applications.
As best shown in
As best seen in
To assure a proper fit in the bore of a typical grenade launcher, a frangible, substantially cylindrical outer sleeve 72 is provided coaxially around the exterior of the deceleration sleeve 18. For example, the outer sleeve 72 may have an outside diameter of 37 mm or 40 mm, thereby conforming to typical grenade launcher bores. The outer sleeve 72, which may be made of laser-sintered nylon, is advantageously provided with a plurality of equidistantly-spaced, axially-extending grooves 74 (see
In a preferred embodiment, a frangible nose cone 82, enclosing the conical portion 56 of the ballistic body 20, may advantageously be fixed to the forward end of the outer sleeve 72. The nose cone 82, which advantageously has an aerodynamically-shaped outer surface, has a rearward-facing annular shoulder 84 that seats both the forward end of the outer sleeve 72 and the forward tip portions 66 of the axial fingers 62. The shoulder 84 defines an angled camming surface 85 that engages against the interior surface of the forward tip portions 66 of the axial fingers 62. Thus, as will be explained below, on impact with a solid barrier, the camming surface 85 of the nose cone 82 applies a radially-outward force against the fingers 62 to initiate their radial spread, which, in turn, causes the outer sleeve 72 to fragment. The nose cone 82, if present, is preferably made of the same frangible material as the outer sleeve 72 (e.g., laser-sintered nylon). It is also preferably divided by a plurality of slits 86, extending from the forward end of the nose cone 82 and back along its sides, into a plurality of nose cone segments, to facilitate its fragmentation upon impact. In the illustrated embodiment, there are three such segments, labeled 82 a, 82 b, and 82 c, but the number may be varied. It will be understood that, in alternative embodiments, the ballistic body 20 may be configured to engage the axial fingers 62 directly, thus eliminating the need for the nose cone 82.
The increased-diameter section 78 of the canister holder 14 is configured with an annular lip 88 that forms a rearward-facing shoulder 90. The shoulder 90 forms a seat for the forward end of a tubular shell casing 92 that is secured to the increased-diameter section 78 of the canister holder 14. The shell casing 92 coaxially surrounds and encloses the rear-most part of the canister holder 14 and the base 36, and it extends rearward therefrom, terminating in a casing rim portion 94. The shell casing 92 is filled with a propellant powder charge 95 that is ignited by a center-fire primer cap 96 encased in the center of the casing rim portion 94. A wadding element 98 may advantageously be provided between the powder charge 95 and the base 36. The wadding element 98 and the adjacent surface of the base 36 may advantageously have a concave configuration, as shown, to provide more room for the powder charge 95 and to enhance the propulsive force provided by its ignition.
Referring now to
Then, as shown in
Finally, as shown in
As mentioned above, and as shown in
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the projectile 10, in accordance with the present disclosure, provides a mechanism for delivering an incapacitating agent accurately to a remote target by means of a conventional grenade launcher. Furthermore, the agent can be delivered to a target that is behind or below a sold barrier, such as a building roof or wall, or within a vehicle, and might thus be inaccessible to a conventionally-delivered gas dispersing grenade or the like. Moreover, the dispersal of the agent delivered by the projectile disclosed herein is begun almost immediately upon impact of the projectile, while the lodging of the projectile in the barrier it impacts makes it difficult to remove or dispose of by the targeted individual(s) before the agent has its desired effect.
It will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiment described herein is exemplary only, and that a number of modifications and variations may suggest themselves to such persons. Such variations and modifications are considered within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and the claims that follow should be construed accordingly.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US1417475 *||Feb 28, 1922||May 23, 1922||Weeke Theodore L||Shell|
|US1671364 *||Dec 10, 1926||May 29, 1928||Arnt Gangnes||Firearm cartridge|
|US2096698 *||Feb 20, 1935||Oct 19, 1937||Fed Lab Inc||Gas dispersing projectile|
|US2247111 *||Jul 10, 1937||Jun 24, 1941||Batchelor||Acoustical projectile|
|US3289588 *||Mar 16, 1954||Dec 6, 1966||Dawson Vernon L||Caliber 50 spotting bullets|
|US3289589 *||Jul 30, 1958||Dec 6, 1966||Dawson Vernon L||Caliber .50 spotting bullets|
|US3374740 *||Dec 8, 1965||Mar 26, 1968||Whirlpool Co||Projectile|
|US3820465 *||Feb 9, 1973||Jun 28, 1974||Delphia J||Sedative bullet|
|US3983817||May 19, 1975||Oct 5, 1976||Remington Arms Company, Inc.||Spotting projectile|
|US4063512 *||Oct 5, 1966||Dec 20, 1977||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force||Armor penetrating projectile|
|US4627354 *||Sep 13, 1984||Dec 9, 1986||George B. Diamond||Launchable aerosol grenade|
|US4667601 *||Aug 28, 1985||May 26, 1987||George B. Diamond||Launchable aerosol grenade|
|US4798143 *||May 6, 1987||Jan 17, 1989||Douglas Graham||Gas dispensing projectile|
|US5078117||Oct 2, 1990||Jan 7, 1992||Cover John H||Projectile propellant apparatus and method|
|US5086703 *||Feb 5, 1991||Feb 11, 1992||Klein John M||Universal projectile ammunition|
|US5221809 *||Apr 13, 1992||Jun 22, 1993||Cuadros Jaime H||Non-lethal weapons system|
|US5230531||Jan 6, 1992||Jul 27, 1993||Oea, Inc.||Gas generator ignition assembly using a projectile|
|US5299501 *||Feb 16, 1993||Apr 5, 1994||Bei Electronics, Inc.||Frangible armor piercing incendiary projectile|
|US5361701||Aug 9, 1993||Nov 8, 1994||Stevens Robert D||Shotgun slug tracer round and improved shotgun slug|
|US6209461 *||Jun 20, 1997||Apr 3, 2001||Etienne Lacroix Tous Artifices S.A.||Non-lethal projectile|
|US6250226 *||Jun 21, 1996||Jun 26, 2001||Etienne Lacroix Tous Artifices S.A.||Non-lethal ammunition with incapacitating effect|
|US6523478 *||Sep 10, 2001||Feb 25, 2003||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army||Rifle-launched non-lethal cargo dispenser|
|US7278358 *||May 14, 2004||Oct 9, 2007||Pdt Tech, Llc.||Non-lethal marking bullet for related training cartridges|
|US7549376 *||Jul 11, 2006||Jun 23, 2009||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army||Non-lethal projectile carrier|
|US7621220 *||Nov 24, 2009||Sanford Matthew J||Wall penetrating, agent dispensing warhead|
|US20030140813 *||Jan 29, 2003||Jul 31, 2003||Felix Rosenkranz||Barricade-penetrator|
|US20050116090 *||Jan 27, 2004||Jun 2, 2005||Welty Thomas C.||Non-lethal nose cone design|
|US20110079164 *||Sep 22, 2010||Apr 7, 2011||Amtec Corporation||Non-dud signature training cartridge and projectile|
|WO1997049968A1 *||Jun 21, 1996||Dec 31, 1997||Etienne Lacroix Tous Artifices S.A.||Non-lethal ammunition with incapacitating effect|
|WO1997049969A1 *||Jun 20, 1997||Dec 31, 1997||Etienne Lacroix Tous Artifices S.A.||Non-lethal projectile|
|WO1998046964A1 *||Apr 3, 1998||Oct 22, 1998||Verney Carron S.A.||Projectile as ammunition for large calibre firearms|
|WO2005078379A1 *||Feb 13, 2004||Aug 25, 2005||Ruag Ammotec||Barricade breaker|
|1||International Search Report on corresponding PCT application (PCT/US2011/026742) from International Searching Authority (KIPO) dated Nov. 25, 2011.|
|2||Written Opinion on corresponding PCT application (PCT/US2011/026742) from International Searching Authority (KIPO) dated Nov. 25, 2011.|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US9021961 *||Mar 7, 2013||May 5, 2015||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army||Enhanced stability extended range (guidance adaptable) 40 mm projectile|
|U.S. Classification||102/512, 102/502, 102/501|
|Cooperative Classification||F42B12/08, F42B12/34, F42B12/50|
|European Classification||F42B12/34, F42B12/50, F42B12/08|
|May 4, 2010||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION, NEVADA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PURVIS, JOHN W.;REEL/FRAME:024333/0513
Effective date: 20100504
|Dec 18, 2012||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, IL
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:029488/0371
Effective date: 20121214
|Nov 9, 2015||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4