Shell construction sealing washer

Claim 2

A gun launched ram jet projectile having a warhead assembly and an attached shell structure mounted within a cartridge casing, the combination comprising an explosive charge within an inner casing supported centrally within an outer casing and spaced therefrom to provide an air passage therebetween, a tubular solid fuel grain fitted in the inner wall of said shell structure and axially spaced from said inner casing, said grain defining a combustion chamber, an aluminium ring having a central opening substantially the same diameter as the center longitudinal bore of said tubular grain cemented to said inner casing and axially spaced therefrom when in a closed position, said ring when in said closed position sealing said air passage to prevent escape of fuel gases while said shell is in a gun barrel, and to move axially to an open position against said grain in response to air pressure during free flight of said projectile to provide passage of said air to said combustion chamber.

Claim 3

In a gun launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead assembly and carrying a hollow cylindrical shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly, and a sealing washer displaceably disposed in the shell structure in the space between said fuel grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile, the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure.

Claim 4

In a gun launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead assembly and carrying a hollow cylindrical shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly, and a sealing washer displaceably disposed in the shell structure in the space between said fuel grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile, the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure.

Claim 5

In a gun launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead assembly and carrying a hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly and a sealing washer displacably disposed in the shell structure in the space between said fuel grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure, said sealing washer comprising an aluminum ring structure having a central opening substantially the same diameter as the central longitudinal opening in said hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain.

Claim 6

In a gun launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead assembly and carrying a hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly and a sealing washer displacably disposed in the shell structure in the space between said fuel grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure, said sealing washer comprising an aluminum ring structure having a central opening substantially the same diameter as the central longitudinal opening in said hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain.

Claim 7

The device as in claim 3 in which the space between said fuel grain and rear wall of said warhead assembly is two to three times longer than the axial thickness of said sealing washer.

Claim 8

In a gun Launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead and carrying a hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly, and a sealing washer disposed in the shell structure in the space between said full grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile, the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure, said sealing washer cemented to the rear wall warhead structure by a rubber cement permitting same to be detached in response to a relatively slight pressure rise in said air passages of about 25 pounds per square inch.

Claim 9

In a gun Launched ram jet projectile comprising a warhead assembly provided with longitudinally extended air passages, a shell structure attached to said warhead and carrying a hollow cylindrically shaped solid fuel grain cemented to the interior shell surface, said fuel grain longitudinally spaced from the rear wall of said warhead assembly, and a sealing washer disposed in the shell structure in the space between said full grain and the rear wall of said warhead assembly, said sealing washer initially cemented to the said rear wall of the warhead assembly to close said air passages, the space between the fuel grain and the rear wall of the warhead assembly being greater than the axial thickness of said sealing washer, whereby upon launching of said projectile, the increase of air pressure in said warhead air passages displaces said sealing washer and opens said air passages to provide air for the burning of the fuel in said shell structure, said sealing washer cemented to the rear wall warhead structure by a rubber cement permitting same to be detached in response to a relatively slight pressure rise in said air passages of about 25 pounds per square inch.

Claim 10

In a gun launched ram jet projectile the combination of a warhead assembly, a shell structure attached to and spaced from said warhead assembly, said shell structure being mounted within a cartridge casing, said warhead assembly comprising an explosive charge within an inner casing supported centrally within an outer casing and spaced therefrom to provide an air passage therebetween, a point detonating fuze mounted on the forward end of said inner casing and an aluminum sealing ring cemented to the rear wall of said inner casing to seal off said air passages, a cylindrical stearic acid magnesium fuel grain cemented to the inner wall of said shell structure and spaced from the rear wall of said inner casing, defining a sealing ring cylinder within which said sealing ring moves from a closed position in which it is cemented to the rear wall of the inner casing to an open position in which it rests against said grain, said grain defining a combustion chamber within the central bore thereof which is supplied with air under pressure from said air passages when said sealing ring is in said open position in response to ram air pressure, a gun blast charge within said cartridge casing to launch said warhead assembly and attached shell structure.

Claim 11

In a gun launched ram jet projectile the combination of a warhead assembly, a shell structure attached to and spaced from said warhead assembly, said shell structure being mounted within a cartridge casing, said warhead assembly comprising an explosive charge within an inner casing supported centrally within an outer casing and spaced therefrom to provide an air passage therebetween, a point detonating fuze mounted on the forward end of said inner casing and an aluminum sealing ring cemented to the rear wall of said inner casing to seal off said air passages, a cylindrical stearic acid magnesium fuel grain cemented to the inner wall of said shell structure and spaced from the rear wall of said inner casing, defining a sealing ring cylinder within which said sealing ring moves from a closed position in which it is cemented to the rear wall of the inner casing to an open position in which it rests against said grain, said grain defining a combustion chamber within the central bore thereof which is supplied with air under pressure from said air passages when said sealing ring is in said open position in response to ram air pressure, a gun blast charge within said cartridge casing to launch said warhead assembly and attached shell structure.