Rocket vehicle

Claim 2

A rocket vehicle for launching cargo contained in a cylindrical case, comprising: a rocket motor having a plurality of peripheral, outwardly canted, thrust nozzles; an aftwardly extending, coupling member fixed to the aft end of the rocket motor and shaped for telescoping, sliding engagement with the cylindrical cargo case, having holes that are alignable with holes on the cargo case; latch means that extend, against spring bias, through said alignable holes to lock the rocket vehicle to the cargo case; and a thermally operated, time delay device, containing consumable material in communication with the interior of the rocket motor that is operatively connected to the latch means to maintain it in locked position against the spring bias thereof, whereby removal of the consumable material by heat of the rocket operates to release the latch and permit separation of the rocket vehicle from the cargo.

Claim 3

The rocket vehicle of claim 1 wherein the coupling member is an aftwardly extending, open ended housing that is formed in part by the aft closure of the rocket and the nozzles thereof.

Claim 4

The rocket vehicle of claim 1 wherein the thermally operated delay device comprises a hollow cylinder open at one end and closed at the other; a piston in the cylinder having an actuation arm extending through a central hole in the closed end of the cylinder; a compression spring normally compressed and confined between the closed end of the cylinder and the piston; and slow burning, solid propellant filling the cylinder from the piston to the open end thereof and being bonded thereto so that the piston cannot move until the propellant is consumed, the open end of the cylinder being fixed in a hole in the aft closure of the rocket motor so that the propellant in the cylinder is exposed to the interior of the rocket motor-the actuation arm being normally in contact with the latch means to maintain it, against spring bias, in the aligned holes of the coupling member and the cargo case, whereby consumption of the propellant permits withdrawal of the actuation arm from the latch means and release of the latter from the aligned holes.

Claim 5

The rocket vehicle of claim 3 wherein the latch means comprises a channel plate having a central hole and short, inwardly extending flanges; a pair of diametrically extending pawls confined for sliding motion on the channel plate by the flanges thereof, the out end portions of the pawls being capable of fitting into diametrically opposite, aligned holes in the coupling member and the cargo case; and spring means biasing the pawls toward each other-the actuation arm of the piston extending between the pawls and through the central hole of the channel plate, whereby consumption of the propellant in the cylinder allows the compression spring to move the piston and withdraw the actuation arm from between the pawls, whereby theY may be withdrawn from the aligned holes in the coupling member and the cargo case to permit separation thereof.

Claim 6

The rocket vehicle of claim 3 further including an explosive charge interposed between the slow burning propellant and the piston in the delay device and having a tongue of explosive extending from the explosive charge into the slow burning propellant to serve as a precision means for release of the piston.

Claim 7

A rocket vehicle comprising: a solid propellant rocket motor having an aft closure with a plurality of peripheral, outwardly canted, thrust nozzles; an aftwardly extending, open ended housing partially formed by the aft closure and the thrust nozzles; a thermally operated time delay device comprising a hollow cylinder open at one end and closed at the other; a piston in the cylinder having an actuation arm that extends through a central hole in the closed end of the cylinder; a normally compressed compression spring confined in the cylinder between the piston and the closed end thereof; an explosive material in the cylinder adjacent the piston; and a relatively slow burning solid propellant bonded into the cylinder and filling it from the explosive material to the open end thereof-the open end portion of the cylinder being threadedly engaged in a central hole in the aft closure of the rocket motor so that is it exposed to the interior thereof; and a latch means comprising a channel plate having a central hole therein and short, inwardly extending flanges; a pair of radially extending pawls confined for sliding motion on the channel plate by the short flanges and capable of locking the rocket vehicle to a cylindrical cargo case by extending into diametrically opposite, aligned holes in the aftwardly extending housing and the cargo case; and spring means biasing the pawls toward each other-the pawls being normally locked into their extended positions through the aligned holes in the rocket and cargo case by the actuation arm of the time delay mechanism, which extends between the pawls and through the central hole of the channel plate, the pawls being released from the aligned holes by consumption of the slow burning propellant and the explosive charge in the delay device, which permits the compression spring to move the piston and withdraw the actuation arm from between the pawls.

Claim 8

A rocket vehicle comprising: a solid propellant rocket motor having an aft closure with a plurality of peripheral, outwardly canted, thrust nozzles; an aftwardly extending, open ended housing partially formed by the aft closure and the thrust nozzles; a thermally operated time delay device comprising a hollow cylinder open at one end and closed at the other; a piston in the cylinder having an actuation arm that extends through a central hole in the closed end of the cylinder; a normally compressed compression spring confined in the cylinder between the piston and the closed end thereof; an explosive material in the cylinder adjacent the piston; and a relatively slow burning solid propellant bonded into the cylinder and filling it from the explosive material to the open end thereof-the open end portion of the cylinder being threadedly engaged in a central hole in the aft closure of the rocket motor so that is it exposed to the interior thereof; and a latch means comprising a channel plate having a central hole therein and short, inwardly extending flanges; a pair of radially extending pawls confined for sliding motion on the channel plate by the short flanges and capable of locking the rocket vehicle to a cylindrical cargo case by extending into diametrically opposite, aligned holes in the aftwardly extending housing and the cargo case; and spring means biasing the pawls toward each other-the pawls being normally locked into their extended positions through the aligned holes in the rocket and cargo case by the actuation arm of the time delay mechanism, which extends between the pawls and through the central hole of the channel plate, the pawls being released from the aligned holes by consumption of the slow burning propellant and the explosive charge in the delay device, which permits the compression spring to move the piston and withdraw the actuation arm from between the pawls.