Process for generating gases and apparatus therefor

Claim 1

A GAS GENERATING APPARATUS COMPRISING MEANS FORMING A STORAGE CHAMBER, A PLASTIC, SHAPE-RETENTIVE MONOPROPELLANT CONTAINED THEREIN WHICH IS EXTRUDIBLE UNDER PRESSURE AT AMBIENT TEMPERAATURE, THE NONOPROPELLANT BEING AN IGNITIBLE COMPOSITION WHICH IS SELF-SUFFICIENT IN ITS OXIDENT REQUIREMENTS AND WHICH BURNS TO PRODUCE HOT COMBUSTION GASES, MEANS FORMING A COMBUSTION CHAMBER, PARTITION MEANS HAVING AN ORFICE THERETHROUGH SEPARATING SAID STORAGE CHAMBER AND SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR PROGRESSIVELY EXTRUDING A CONTINUOUS MASS OF SAID MONOPROPELLANT FROM SAID STORAGE CHAMBER THROUGH SAID ORIFICE INTO SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER AT A RATE AT LEAST AS HIGH AS THE LINEAR BURNING RATE OF THE MONOPROPELLANT, SAID MASS BEING LATERSLLY SHAPED BY SAID ORIFICE, SAID A RELATIVELY NARROW FLOW-DIVIDER BRIDGING SAID ORIFICE, FOR PROGRESSIVELY RECESSING THE LEADING FACE OF THE LATERALLY-SHAPED MASS EXTRUDING THROUGH SAID ORIFICE, AND MEANS FOR IGNITING SAID EXTRUDED, SHAPED MASS IN THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER.