Orthogonal line deployment device

A gas-propelled line deployment device is operable for orthogonally deplog two antenna lines to a distance of greater than one hundred feet. The device includes first, second and third tubes, closed at one end and open at one end, the first and second tubes being arranged perpendicular to each other and the third tube being arranged along the resulting vector of the axes of the perpendicular tubes. The first and second tubes have wire-carrying projectiles received therein and the third tube has a recoil piston received therein, said projectiles and piston making a gas tight seal with their respective tube. The recoil piston has a larger cross-sectional area than each of the first and second wire-carrying projectiles. The device further includes a retainer mechanism which is operable for retaining the wire-carrying projectiles and the recoil piston within their respective tubes until a predetermined gas pressure is achieved. The retainer mechanism is further operable for automatically, and simultaneously releasing the wire-carrying projectiles and the recoil piston when the predetermined gas pressure is achieved within the closed ended tubes. When the wire-carrying projectiles are launched, the recoil piston produces an equal and opposite reaction force to the wire-carrying projectiles so that the device is essentially recoilless.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The instant invention relates to means for deploying an antenna line or 
wire over the ground, and more particularly to an orthogonal antenna line 
deployment device. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Means for deploying wires or lines along a particular path, or over the 
ground have heretofore been known in the art. In this regard, the U.S. 
patents to Myers U.S. Pat. No. 3,382,859; Hudiek et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 
3,575,083; Hamrick U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,087; Alderson U.S. Pat. No. 
3,780,720; Barret et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,379; and Pinson U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,770,370 are illustrative of such devices. 
Means for simultaneously deploying two projectiles in different directions 
have also been known in the art. In this regard, the U.S. patents to 
Grandy et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,509 and Washington U.S. Pat. No. 
4,559,737 represent the closest prior art to the subject invention of 
which the applicant is aware. 
The patent to Grandy discloses a recoilless flare launching apparatus for a 
helicopter which simultaneously launches two flares in outwardly opposing 
directions. The opposing propulsion forces cancel each other out thereby 
preventing any recoil forces from affecting the helicopter. 
The patent to Washington discloses a gun for launching two tethered 
projectiles at acute angles. The gun includes a Y-shaped barrel and the 
projectiles are received in the divergent portions of the barrel. The 
tether or string attaching the projectiles is slidably received in a slot 
extending along the inside of both divergent barrels. The gun is operative 
for simultaneously launching the tethered projectiles wherein they are 
operative for entangling the legs of a fleeing person or animal. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The instant invention provides an orthogonal line deployment device for 
orthogonally deploying two antenna lines. 
Briefly, the orthogonal line deployment device of the instant invention 
comprises first and second closed-ended tubes which are arranged 
perpendicular to each other and a third tube which is arranged along a 
resultant vector of the axes of the first and second tubes. The first and 
second tubes have wire-carrying projectiles slidably received therein, and 
the third tube has a recoil piston slidably received therein. The recoil 
piston has a cross-sectional area 1.414 times larger than each of the 
wire-carrying projectiles. The device utilizes a pressurized gas canister 
for propulsion of the wire-carrying projectiles and the recoil piston, and 
the gas canister is operable for selectively simultaneously introducing a 
pressurized flow of gas into all three tubes. The device further includes 
a retaining mechanism for retaining the wire-carrying projectiles and the 
recoil piston in their respective tubes until a predetermined equal gas 
pressure is achieved in all three tubes. The retaining mechanism is 
operable for simultaneously releasing the wire-carrying projectiles and 
the recoil piston when the predetermined gas pressure is achieved. When 
the wire-carrying projectiles and the piston are released, the 
wire-carrying projectiles orthogonally deploy the two antenna lines as 
they travel through the air, and the recoil piston produces an equal and 
opposite reaction force to the wire-carrying projectiles, resulting in a 
device which is substantially recoilless. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a line 
deployment system for simultaneously deploying two antenna lines. 
It is another object to provide an orthogonal line deployment device for 
orthogonally deploying two antenna lines. 
It is still another object to provide an orthogonal line deployment device 
which is substantially recoilless.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawing figures, the orthogonal line deployment device 
of the instant invention is illustrated and generally indicated at 10 in 
FIGS. 1, 2 and 8. As will hereinafter be more fully described, the instant 
invention is operable for orthogonally deploying two antenna lines to a 
distance of more than 100 feet. 
The device 10 comprises first, second and third closed ended tubes 
generally indicated at 12, 14 and 16, first and second wire-carrying 
projectiles generally indicated at 18 and 20, a recoil piston generally 
indicated at 22, a vertical mast generally indicated at 24 for supporting 
the device 10 above a supporting surface, first and second continuous 
lengths of antenna line 26 and 28, and a pressurized gas cartridge 
generally indicated at 30. 
The first and second tubes 12 and 14 (FIGS. 1-4) each comprise a generally 
rectangular body portion 32 having a cylindrical bore generally indicated 
at 34 formed therein having a closed end 36 and an open end 38. The body 
portion 32 of each tube 12 and 14 further includes a rectangular opening 
40 adjacent the open end 38 of the bore 34, a gas vent 42 which extends 
into the bore 34, and a threaded mounting bore 44 adjacent the closed end 
36 of the bore 34. The body portion 32 still further includes a generally 
rectangular appendage 46 having a mounting hole 48 formed therein. The 
rectangular opening 40 is operative for mounting retaining means for 
retaining the projectiles 18 and 20 within the tubes 12 and 14. The gas 
vent 42 is operable for introducing a flow of pressurized gas into the 
bore 34. 
The third tube 16 (FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6) also comprises a generally 
rectangular body portion 50 having a cylindrical bore generally indicated 
at 52 formed therein having a closed end 54 and an open end 56. The body 
portion 50 further includes a gas port 58 at the closed end 54 of the bore 
52, two opposing gas vents 60 and 62 respectively, which are positioned on 
upper and lower sides of the body portion 50, and a plurality of radially 
extending, threaded apertures 64 adjacent the open end 56 of the bore 52. 
The gas port 58 permits a flow of pressurized gas into the bore 52, and 
the radial apertures 64 are operative for threadedly receiving shearable 
retainer screws therein. The open end 56 of the bore 52 is preferably 
chamfered as at 65 to facilitate the insertion of the recoil piston 22 
therein. The body portion 50 still further includes a rectangular 
appendage 66 having a mounting hole 68 formed therein. 
The three tubes 12, 14 and 16 are assembled together, one stacked on top of 
another, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the third tube 16 being 
sandwiched between the first and second tubes 12 and 14. The tubes 12, 14, 
and 16 are assembled so that the gas vents 42 in the first and second 
tubes 12 and 14, align and communicate with the gas vents 60 and 62 on the 
upper and lower sides of the third tube 16. The tubes 12, 14 and 16 are 
maintained in assembled relation by two opposing mounting bolts 70 which 
are first extended through the mounting holes 48 in the appendages 46 of 
the first and second tubes 12 and 14, and then threadedly received in the 
threaded bores 44 in the opposing body portion 32. (See FIGS. 1 and 2). 
The first and second tubes 12 and 14 are preferably arranged so that their 
longitudinal axes 12a and 14a (See FIG. 8) are perpendicular to each 
other, and the third tube 16 is arranged so that its respective 
longitudinal axis 16a lies along a resultant vector of the longitudinal 
axes 12a and 14a of the first and second tubes 12 and 14. 
The mast 24 comprises a cylindrical, vertically oriented rod 72 having a 
first end (not shown) which is securable by any conventional means to a 
supporting surface and a second end 74 which is adapted to be secured to 
the appendage 66 of the third tube 16 by a threaded fastener 76. 
The antenna lines 26 and 28 preferably comprise #6 Litz wire, although 
other types of wire are also suitable, and they are preferably wound onto 
spools 78. The spools 78 are formed by winding the line around a tapered 
mandrel (not shown), and when a sufficient amount of line is wound, the 
mandrel is removed and the line is allowed to pay out from the center of 
the spool 78. The taper in the center of the spool 78 helps limit snags 
when the line is paying out. The spools 78 are mounted onto a carrier 80 
which is rotatably mounted to the mast 24 directly below the tubes 12, 14 
and 16. In order to keep the lines 26 and 28 paying out freely, the 
carrier 80 is permitted to freely rotate around the mast 24. 
The first and second wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 (FIG. 2) each 
comprise a bullet-shaped slug having a rounded head portion 82, a tail 
portion 84, and a circumferential groove 86 adjacent to the rounded head 
portion 82. Each of the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 further 
includes a resilient O-ring 88 which is received in the circumferential 
groove 86. The tail portion 84 of the projectiles 18 and 20 each include a 
fastener 90 for connecting their respective antenna line 26 and 28 
thereto. The wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 are snugly received 
within the bores 34 in the first and second tubes 12 and 14 with the head 
portions 82 adjacent to the closed ends 36 of the bores 34, and the first 
and second antenna lines 26 and 28 are respectively attached to the 
fasteners 90 at the tail portions 84 of the projectiles 18 and 20. The 
resilient O-rings 88 are operative for forming a gas-tight seal between 
the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 and their respective bores 34. 
The recoil piston 22 (FIG. 7) comprises a cylindrical slug having a first 
end 92, a second end 94, and first and second circumferential grooves 96 
and 98 respectively, which are respectively located adjacent the first and 
second ends 92 and 94. A resilient O-ring 99 is received in the first 
groove 96. The recoil piston 22 is dimensioned to have a cross-sectional 
area which is 1.414 times larger than the cross-sectional areas of each of 
the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20. The increased cross-sectional 
area of the recoil piston 22 is provided to produce an equal and opposite 
reaction force to the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 along the 
resulting vector line 16a (FIG. 8). 
The pressurized gas canister 30 preferably comprises an eight gram carbon 
dioxide canister and it is connected to the gas port 58 on the body 
portion 50 of the third tube 16 by a conventional gas conduit 100. The gas 
canister preferably includes selectively actuatable valve means 102 for 
selectively permitting the flow of pressurized gas into the tubes 12, 14 
and 16. It is pointed out that when the valve means 102 is actuated to 
permit the flow of pressurized gas into the third tube 16, the gas flows 
through the third tube 16 into the first and second tubes 12 and 14 via 
the gas vents 60 and 62, so that all three tubes 12, 14 and 16 are 
simultaneously and equally pressurized. 
The device 10 still further includes a retainer mechanism for retaining the 
first and second projectiles 18 and 20, and the recoil piston 22 in their 
respective tubes 12, 14 and 16 until a predetermined, equal gas pressure 
is attained in each of the tubes. The retainer mechanism is operable for 
simultaneously releasing the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20, and the 
recoil piston 22 when the predetermined gas pressure is achieved. The 
retainer mechanism comprises a pair of retainer levers 104 which are 
pivotably mounted in the rectangular openings 40 at the open ends 38 of 
each of the first and second tubes 12 and 14, a pair of cams 106 (FIG. 9) 
which are rotatably mounted adjacent to each of the pivotable levers 104, 
a pair of actuator rods 108 fixedly attached to the recoil piston 22, and 
a plurality of shearable retainer screws 110 which are threadedly received 
in the radial apertures 64 adjacent the open end 56 of the third tube 16. 
Referring to FIG. 9, each of the cams 106 includes a pair of depending 
legs 106a which slidably receive an actuator rod 108 and a rounded camming 
head 106b which engages a lever 104. It is to be understood that the cam 
106 and lever 104 arrangement is identical on both tubes 12 and 14 even 
though the cam 106 and lever 104 are only visible in connection with the 
second tube 14. The cams 106 are operable for pivoting the levers 104 
between a first position (FIG. 1), wherein the levers 104 are in retaining 
engagement with the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 in the first and 
second tubes 12 and 14, and a second position, (FIG. 2), wherein the 
levers 104 are pivoted out of engagement with the wire-carrying 
projectiles 18 and 20 so as to release same for ejection. The actuator 
rods 108 are attached to the recoil piston 22 by a bar-shaped yoke 112 
which is fixedly attached to the recoil piston 22 by a rivet 114 or other 
suitable connector. The actuator rods 108 each have a first threaded end 
116 which is attached by threaded nuts 118 to the yoke 112 so that the 
rods 108 extend parallel to the piston 22, and a second hooked end 120. 
The rods 108 are rotatably aligned in the yoke 112 so that the hooked ends 
120 extend outwardly in opposite directions. (See FIG. 7). 
The recoil piston 22 is snugly received within the bore 52 of the third 
tube 16, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the actuator rods 108 
extending along the outside of the body portion 50. The resilient O-ring 
99 is operative for forming a gas-tight seal between the recoil piston 22 
and the bore 52. When the recoil piston 22 is fully inserted into the bore 
52 (FIG. 1), the actuator rods 108 engage the cams 106, i.e. the hooked 
ends 120 are received between the depending legs 106a of the cams 106 to 
rotate the rounded heads 106b of the cams 106 into engagement with the 
levers 104 and thereby pivot the levers 104 into retaining engagement with 
the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20. The body 50 of the third tube 16 
is provided with two guide pins 122 (only one shown) which guide the 
actuator rods 108 along the sides of the body portion 50 and into 
engagement with the cams 106. The guide pins 122 are received in bores 
122a (FIG. 5) formed in the sides of the third tube 16. 
The shearable retainer screws 110 preferably comprise nylon screws and they 
are threadedly received in the radial apertures 64 adjacent the open end 
56 of the third tube 16 so that they extend into the second 
circumferential groove 98 in the recoil piston 22. In this regard, the 
nylon screws 110 are operative for retaining the recoil piston 22 within 
the third tube 16 while a volume of pressurized gas is being introduced 
into the bore 52. 
To operate the instant deployment device 10, the valve means 102 is 
actuated to permit a pressurized flow of carbon dioxide gas to flow from 
the canister 30 into the third tube 16. The pressurized gas flows through 
the third tube 16 to the first and second tubes 12 and 14 via the gas 
vents 60 and 62 to simultaneously and equally pressurize all three tubes 
12, 14 and 16. The pressurized gas builds up pressure within the three 
tubes 12, 14 and 16 to create a propulsion force which is sufficient for 
shearing the nylon retainer screws 110 and propelling the recoil piston 22 
and the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 outwardly of their respective 
tubes 12, 14 and 16. In the instant embodiment, the diameter and quantity 
of retainer screws 110 is selected so that a propulsion force sufficient 
to propel the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 at least one hundred 
feet is achieved. However, the distance travelled by the wire-carrying 
projectiles 18 and 20 can be altered by increasing or decreasing the 
diameter and/or the quantity of retainer screws 110 so that a greater or 
lesser gas pressure is required to shear the screws 110. When the nylon 
retainer screws 110 shear, the recoil piston 22 moves slightly outwardly 
drawing the actuator rods 108 out of engagement with the cams 106 which in 
turn rotate and release the retainer levers 104. The pressurized gas in 
the first and second tubes 12 and 14 simultaneously ejects the 
wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 outwardly of their tubes, pivoting the 
now-free retainer levers 104 out of the way. It can thus be appreciated 
that the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 and the recoil piston 22 are 
simultaneously propelled outwardly and that the recoil piston 22 produces 
an equal and opposite reaction force to the first and second wire-carrying 
projec-tiles 18 and 20 so that the device 10 produces substantially no 
recoil when the projectiles 18 and 20 are released. When the wire-carrying 
projectiles 18 and 20 are launched, the antenna lines 26 and 28, 
respectively, attached thereto operate to reorient the projectiles 18 and 
20 so that the rounded head portion 82 faces forwardly for travel through 
the air. As the projectiles 18 and 20 travel through the air, the lines 26 
and 28 pay out from the spools 78 to provide two orthogonal antenna lines. 
It can therefore be seen that the instant invention provides an effective 
line deployment device 10 which is operative for orthogonally deploying 
two antenna wires 26 and 28 to a distance of over one hundred feet. The 
device 10 utilizes a single pressurized gas cartridge 30 to pressurize 
three launching tubes 12, 14 and 16, so that all the tubes 12, 14 and 16 
are simultaneously and equally pressurized. The tubes 12 and 14 housing 
the wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 are arranged perpendicular to each 
other and the third tube 16 is arranged along the resulting vector of the 
axes of the first and second tubes 12 and 14. In this manner, the recoil 
piston 22 produces an equal and opposite reaction force to the 
wire-carrying projectiles 18 and 20 so that the device is essentially 
recoilless. 
While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure 
embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art 
that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made 
without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive 
concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein 
shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the 
appended claims.