Gas generator

Claim 1

In a multi-stage gas generator having a plurality of individual gas generating compartments mounted in tandem and separated from each other by a phenolic partitioning wall, each of said compartments containing a propellant disc, a first one of said compartments at a forward end of said generator and containing a propellant charge, a first electric squib in contact with said propellant charge, and electric wire means in contact with said first squib and extending in substantially opposed directions, a pair of spaced apart electric lead wires respectively in contact with end portions of said electric wire means and extending longitudinally along substantially opposed sidewall portions of said generator to an outlet remote from said forward end for establishing an electric circuit through said first squib, each partitioning wall containing a filtering slot in fluid communication with a forward unidirectional gas plug, a propellant charge and an electric squib in contact therewith and in fluid communication with said filtering slot through an annular recess in a rearward surface of the corresponding partitioning wall, each propellant charge and electric squib positioned in the respective partitioning wall annular recess, and means including a pyro-electric switch having a burnable pyrotechnic responsive to propellant gas generated in an adjacent compartment for establishing an electric circuit through the corresponding partitioning wall squib and pyro-electric switch across said pair of lead wires and in parallel with the first squib electric circuit, so constructed and arranged that selective sequential initiation of said compartment propellant charges is available as a pulsing gas generator.