Abstract:
An apparatus for production of pyrotechnic effects, having a plurality of pyrotechnic charges and initiation means which are accommodated in common casing bodies ( 22 ). According to the invention, the casing bodies ( 22 ) together with the pyrotechnic charges and initiation means are associated with a common mount ( 20 ), the mount having initiation conductors which lead to each initiation means.

Description:
STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent application is based on and claims convention priority on German Patent Application No. 10 2006 009 554.5, having a filing date of 28 Feb. 2006, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The invention relates to an apparatus for production of pyrotechnic effects having a plurality of pyrotechnic charges and initiation means which are accommodated in common casing bodies. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    Pyrotechnic effects are used, inter alia, for civil and military defense training purposes. When used in the interior of buildings, for example MOUT training, the pyrotechnic effects are produced by very small amounts of pyrotechnic effect charges. 
         [0006]    In the known apparatuses of this type, the effect charges for production of the pyrotechnic effects are accommodated in a casing body, which is tubular or in the form of a sleeve. The effect charge is in this case initiated by electrical detonation pellets. These together with the arrangement of the effect charges in the tubular or sleeve-like casing body make it very complex to produce known apparatuses of this type. This is particularly true when a plurality of pyrotechnic effects are arranged in the same casing body. In this case, the detonation of the individual effect charges by means of the detonation pellets is particularly complex. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for production of pyrotechnic effects, which can be produced easily, particularly when it has a relatively large number of pyrotechnic effects, and which is nevertheless highly reliable. 
         [0008]    An apparatus to solve this problem has a plurality of pyrotechnic charges and initiation means which are accommodated in common casing bodies, wherein the casing bodies together with the pyrotechnic charges and initiation means are associated with a common mount, and wherein the mount has initiation conductors which lead to each initiation means. Since the casing bodies together with pyrotechnic charges and initiation means are associated with a common mount and the mount has initiation conductors which lead to each initiation means, this allows a simple configuration and simple production of an apparatus having a plurality of pyrotechnic effects, with the apparatus being highly reliable. The casing bodies together with the pyrotechnic charges and initiation means can be designed in accordance with the requirement. A plurality of casing bodies can be arranged or mounted on the common mount. In this case, there is no need for the initiation means to be components of the casing bodies. The initiation means can in fact also be directly associated with the mount, or can be integrated in it. The initiation conductors which lead to each initiation means are preferably electrical lines, but can also be composed of combustible substances arranged in a linear form, for example as in the case of detonating cords or the like. 
         [0009]    The casing bodies are preferably designed such that they each enclose or cover a part of the mount. This allows a close connection to be produced between the casing body and the mount. The mount is relatively flat, with casing bodies raised above it. 
         [0010]    That part of the mount which is enclosed by the respective casing body is advantageously the initiation means mount. The initiation means and the initiation means mount are accordingly enclosed by the casing body, and are protected by it. 
         [0011]    The casing bodies are each preferably formed by two or more parts. This configuration allows the casing body to easily be connected to the mount and/or to be easily filled. 
         [0012]    It is particularly advantageous for the casing body to be configured in such a manner that different parts of the respective casing body are essentially arranged on mutually opposite sides of the mount. The mount can thus easily be enclosed in sections by the casing bodies. 
         [0013]    A development of the invention provides for the individual casing bodies to be attached to the mount by the connection of the parts of the respective casing body to one another. The casing bodies and the mounts are accordingly designed such that the connection of the parts of the respective casing body at the same time results in a connection to the mount. 
         [0014]    The casing bodies and the mount preferably have suitable recesses and/or projections for this purpose. 
         [0015]    The initiation conductors are advantageously embedded in the mount or rest on the mount. In consequence, the initiation conductors are largely protected against external influences. If the initiation conductors only rest on the mount, there is preferably a firm connection to the mount. 
         [0016]    The initiation means are preferably in the form of heating resistances. In this case, the initiation conductors are electrical conductors to which the heating resistances are connected. The latter may have heating conductors arranged in a meandering form. A large amount of heat can thus be produced on a small area. In order to locally limit the heat, the heating conductors are preferably designed to be considerably thinner, with considerably smaller cross sections, than the initiation conductors. 
         [0017]    A development of the invention provides for the mount to be flat, in particular in the form of a card. The mount dimensions are preferably similar to those of a check card or credit card, or a beer mat. A square, flat design is particularly preferable. However, it may also be in the form of a disk, or may have any other flat shape and size. A minimum thickness is necessary only to achieve sufficient robustness, to accommodate the initiation conductors, and to attach the casing bodies. 
         [0018]    The mount advantageously has an initiation means mount for each pyrotechnic charge, with the initiation means mounts being parts or sections of the mount and, in particular, being partially separated along their circumference from the mount as well, in order to form intermediate spaces, with at least one web in each case being formed additionally as a connection between the initiation means mount and the mount. The initiation means mounts may therefore be areas of the mount in which, for example, the heating resistances that have been mentioned are embedded and, in particular, which are designed like tongues. 
         [0019]    The initiation conductors are preferably routed along the webs or in the webs and thus also connect the respective initiation means mount to the mount. The webs therefore have a dual function. On the one hand, they hold the initiation means mounts firmly on the mount while, on the other hand, apart from this, they are used to guide the initiation conductors. 
         [0020]    According to a further idea of the invention, the mount may have at least one electrical connection, preferably at the edge, and in particular a plug contact, with the connection being connected to all of the initiation conductors. This means that the apparatus according to the invention can easily be connected to a correspondingly configured initiation cable and plug of a firing apparatus. 
         [0021]    According to a further idea of the invention, the casing body may in each case have a cover part and a bottom part, with the cover part having a cover internal area which is open to the bottom part in order to hold at least a part of the pyrotechnic charge. The cover part is accordingly in the form of a cavity, and contains the pyrotechnic charge, or a part of it. 
         [0022]    The bottom part is preferably provided with a bottom internal area, which is open to the cover part, in order to accommodate at least a smaller part of the pyrotechnic charge. In this configuration, the bottom part also has a cavity, so that the majority of the volume of the pyrotechnic charge is located in the cover part, and the minority in the bottom part. However, a solution is also feasible in which the pyrotechnic charge is arranged only in the cover part or only in the bottom part, or only in a central part located between them. 
         [0023]    A further idea according to the invention provides for the bottom part and the cover part each to have circumferential free rims which cover one another, in particular in the area of the mount. The coverage provides good shielding and protection for the contents—the pyrotechnic charge. The arrangement of the coverage in the area of the mount effectively reinforces the casing body, particularly in this area. 
         [0024]    The cover part and bottom part are preferably firmly connected to one another, in particular by welding or adhesive bonding. Other types of connection are also possible, such as friction welding, screw connection or a static friction in conjunction with the parts being manufactured such that they fit accurately. The pyrotechnic charge should thus be stored safely until initiation. 
         [0025]    According to the invention, the bottom part and/or cover part have/has a recess for a part of the mount, in particular of an initiation means mount, to pass through. Inter alia, this has manufacturing advantages. This allows the mount and the casing body to be connected particularly closely to one another. 
         [0026]    The bottom part and cover part may also have side rims, walls or collars, which hold a corresponding rim on the mount between them. The casing body is in this way held in a precisely defined position, and in an extremely robust form, on the mount. 
         [0027]    According to the invention, the casing body, in particular on the cover part, and preferably on the upper face of the cover part, may have weak points, in particular weakened material areas in the form of strips or lines. These may cross one another at a common center point, which is preferably at the same time the center point of the upper face of the cover part. The detonation effect of the pyrotechnic charge is thus directed at right angles to the plane of the mount. This results in adjacent pyrotechnic charges influencing one another to the least extent. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    Further features of the invention can, apart from this, be found in the claims and in the description. Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to drawings, in which: 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of an upper face of the apparatus. 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  shows a section through the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 , along the line C-C. 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the apparatus from underneath. 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  shows a plan view of the lower face of the apparatus. 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of the apparatus. 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  shows a perspective plan view of the upper face of the apparatus. 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  shows a view from underneath of the apparatus without a casing body, that is to say only of the mount with the initiation conductors. 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  shows a view from underneath of the cover part of a casing body. 
           [0037]      FIG. 9  shows a section through the cover part along the line A-A in  FIG. 10 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 10  shows a plan view of the cover part of the casing body. 
           [0039]      FIG. 11  shows a side view of the cover part. 
           [0040]      FIG. 12  shows a perspective plan view of the cover part. 
           [0041]      FIG. 13  shows a plan view of a bottom part of the casing body. 
           [0042]      FIG. 14  shows a side view of the bottom part. 
           [0043]      FIG. 15  shows a section through the bottom part along the line B-B in  FIG. 13 . 
           [0044]      FIG. 16  shows a perspective side view of the bottom part. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0045]    The apparatuses shown in the figures are used for civil or military defense training exercises, to be precise in particular in the interior of buildings when, for example, soldiers or police are realistically practicing attacks in buildings or the storming of a building. In this case, the apparatus is used for pyrotechnic simulation of shots, explosions or else flash grenades. However, the use of the apparatus according to the invention is not restricted to this. In fact, it can also be used for other normal simulations. 
         [0046]    The described apparatus produces simulations which may be audible and/or visual, by the initiation of pyrotechnic charges. The apparatuses illustrated in the figures have a plurality of pyrotechnic charges. The number of pyrotechnic charges in each apparatus may vary depending on the nature of the simulation. It is also feasible for the apparatus to have only a single pyrotechnic charge and thus to be used only for simulation of a single explosion or the like. 
         [0047]      FIGS. 1 to 6  show the apparatus overall, with all of the components, to the extent that these can be seen in the respective view. A plate-like mount  20  is fitted with five pyrotechnic charges  21 , with each of them being arranged in a casing body  22 . The plate-like mount  20  in this case has an essentially square format with the five casing bodies  22  being arranged like the dots on a die that is to say with four casing bodies in the corners, and one central casing body. 
         [0048]    The casing bodies  22  are each formed in two parts, specifically with a cover part  23  and a bottom part  24 . The volume between the cover part  23  and the bottom part  24  is completely filled with the respective pyrotechnic charge  21  and a small section of the mount  20 . This small section is referred to in the following text as the initiation means mount  25  and, apart from this, is connected via a web  26  to the mount  20 , see in particular  FIG. 7 . 
         [0049]    Initiation conductors  26  which are in the form of conductor tracks and run from an edge (or else central) plug contact  27  to the individual initiation means mounts  25  are arranged on the mount  20 , or are embedded in it, see in particular  FIGS. 4 and 7 . 
         [0050]    The initiation means mounts  25  are in this case formed by a C-shaped stamped-out area or cutout in the mount  20 , in such a manner that a C-shaped free space  29  is produced around each initiation means mount  25  with a web  28 . 
         [0051]    The initiation conductors  26  end on the initiation means mounts  25  as initiation means  30 , which in this case are each in the form of heating resistances. Their meandering configuration and arrangement are indicated in the area of one of the initiation means  30  in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0052]    The initiation conductors  26  first of all run in straight lines (essentially at right angles to the mount edge) in the area of the plug contact  27 , at the same distances apart and parallel to one another. The initiation conductors branch off to the individual initiation means mounts  25  approximately at the same level as the initiation means mounts  25  which are closest to the plug contact  27 . 
         [0053]    The cover part  23  is shown enlarged in  FIGS. 8 to 12 . The cover part  23  is essentially in the form of a cap with a cylindrically circumferential wall  31  and a convex-curved upper cover wall  32 . 
         [0054]    At approximately half its height, the cylindrical wall  31  has a circumferential collar  33 , which points outwards, with an essentially flat collar lower face  34  parallel to the opening plane of a lower opening  35  in the cover part  23 . 
         [0055]    The collar  33  subdivides the cylindrical wall  31  into an upper area  36  and a lower area  37 . The latter has a recess  38  in the form of a window, a notch or the like, in such a manner that a lower rim  39  is interrupted in the area of the recess  38 , in the same way as the lower area  37 , over its complete height. 
         [0056]    The upper cover wall  32  is provided with weak points. In the present case, these are three strip-like cross-sectional constrictions  40 , which cross one another at the center point  41  of the upper cover wall  32  and extend as far as the cylindrical wall  31 , or are at only a short distance from it. 
         [0057]    The cross-sectional constrictions  40  are in the form of recesses with a V-shape or trough-shaped cross section, in the material on the upper face  42  of the upper cover wall  32 . 
         [0058]    The bottom part  24  is designed in a corresponding manner to the cover part  23 , specifically with a circumferential cylindrical wall  43  and a bottom wall  44  which projects outwards at the side with a rim area  45  beyond the cylindrical wall  43 . An outer cylindrical wall  46  then extends upwards at a distance from the cylindrical wall  43  and outside the rim strips  45 , and is approximately only half as high as the cylindrical wall  43 . 
         [0059]    An annular gap  47  is formed, starting from the rim strip  45 , between the cylindrical wall  43  and the outer cylindrical wall  46 . The cross section of the annular gap  47  is designed such that the lower area  37  of the cover part  23  is accommodated in it, see in particular  FIG. 2 . When the casing body  22  is joined together, the cylindrical wall  31  accordingly engages over the cylindrical wall  43 , but remains within the outer cylindrical wall  46 . 
         [0060]    The height of the outer cylindrical wall  46  and the height of the lower area  37  and/or the arrangement of the collar  33  are matched to one another such that just the mount  22  is held in an area around the free space  29  between the collar  33  and the outer cylindrical wall  46 , and the collar lower face  34  rests on the mount  20 . 
         [0061]    The cylindrical wall  43  has a window-like recess  48 , which corresponds to the recess  38 , extends as far as the bottom wall  44 , and is open in the direction of the cover part  23 . The two recesses  38 ,  48  come to rest directly one in front of the other in the casing body  22  which is formed from the cover part  23  and the bottom part  24 , thus forming an access to the interior of the casing body  22 . This access is preferably of just the same size and has a corresponding cross section, such that the web  28  can pass through it with as little play as possible. In a corresponding manner, the web  28  and the recesses  38 ,  48  are designed such that they correspond to one another. 
         [0062]      FIG. 2  shows a cross section through one of the casing bodies  22 . The initiation means mount  25  can be seen well in its position at a short distance from the bottom wall  44  and from the cylindrical wall  43 , and at a considerably greater distance from the upper cover wall  32 . The volume within the casing body  22  is filled—apart from the initiation means mount  25 —with the pyrotechnic charge  21 , that is to say in this case also in the area between the initiation means mount  25  and the bottom wall  44 . However, a configuration is also possible in which the initiation means mount  25  rests directly on the bottom wall  44 . 
         [0063]    The casing bodies  22  are preferably produced from plastic, which can be welded after filling. The mount  22  is essentially produced in the form of a printed circuit board with conductor tracks applied to it as initiation conductors  26 . The initiation conductors  26  are preferably applied to a lower face  49  of the mount  20 . 
         [0064]    The above detailed description of the preferred embodiments, examples, and the appended figures are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the invention, and its equivalents, as defined by the appended claims. One skilled in the art will recognize that many variations can be made to the invention disclosed in this specification without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 
       LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
       [0000]    
       
           20  Mount  46  Outer cylindrical wall 
           21  Pyrotechnic charge  47  Annular gap 
           22  Casing body  48  Recess 
           23  Cover part  49  Lower face 
           24  Bottom part 
           25  Initiation means mount 
           26  Initiation conductor 
           27  Plug contact 
           28  Web 
           29  Free space 
           30  Initiation means 
           31  Cylindrical wall 
           32  Upper cover wall 
           33  Collar 
           34  Collar lower face 
           35  Opening 
           36  Upper area 
           37  Lower area 
           38  Recess 
           39  Lower rim 
           40  Cross-sectional constriction 
           41  Center point 
           42  Upper face 
           43  Cylindrical wall 
           44  Bottom wall 
           45  Rim strip