High pressure power source for a missile and the like

A high pressure power source for receipt on board a missile. The power source is passive until after the missile has been fired. The power source is in the form of a high pressure gas which is received in a combustion chamber of a pressure bottle. The energy from the gas is converted to electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic power as required on the missile thereby eliminating the need of electrical batteries on board the missile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a high pressure power source and more 
particularly but not by way of limitation to a power source for a missile 
and the like which is activated after the missile has been fired. 
Heretofore, missiles whether launched from a cannon, mortar or impulsively 
fired from a tube or propulsive during flight, utilize stored energy to 
provide power to operate the missile's electrical subststem. In the case 
of small missiles, thermal batteries are most often used for this power. A 
thermal battery is inert until it is activated by a forcible mixing of a 
chemical that reacts with a release of electrical power. The thermal 
battery name is derived from the fact that the battery is exothermic and 
produces considerable heat during operation. Also wet batteries are 
similarly used. In this case, the different liquid chemicals are mixed 
with a subsequent release of electrical energy. In other cases, especially 
from test missiles, the chemicals are manually mixed before launch. 
In all the above mentioned cases, the state of the art has reached a point 
where chemical batteries are reliable and suitable for long term storage. 
The basic difficulties with this type of battery, rests with cost, weight 
and potential hazard to personnel or equipment from accidental activation. 
Also, a major operational problem lies in the user changing his mind after 
the battery is activated. Due to the short lifetime of the battery, from 
less than one minute to several hours, depending on its design, recycling 
of the missile may not be possible. 
In the following United States Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 1,933,694 to Allen, 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,118 to Kadenacy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,755 to Edwards et 
al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,334 to McCullough, Jr., et al, U.S. Pat. No. 
3,023,574 to Clement et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,467 to Gallagher et al, 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,407 to Gallagher et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,352 to 
Summers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,296 to Wills and U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,884 to 
Kranz et al various types of gas operated extendable probes for a 
ballastic missile, a gas operated moveable mass for a ballastic missile 
and apparatus and various methods for storing pressure in a reservior of a 
projectile are disclosed. None of the above mentioned patents specifically 
point out the unique features and advantages of the subject high pressure 
source as described herein. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The subject invention provides a source of energy for a missile which is 
entirely passive until the missile is fired. The energy from the power 
source can be converted to electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic power as 
needed to meet design objectives. 
Further, the invention provides a power source which eliminates electrical 
batteries for a missile. The power source captures high pressure gas from 
the missiles launch source such as a cannon powder charge. 
The high pressure power source for a missile and the like includes a 
combustible chamber inside a pressure bottle. The inside of the bottle and 
the outside of the bottle are insulated. A high pressure inlet valve in 
the bottle communicates with a powder charge used for launching the 
missile. The bottle receives high pressure gas through a gas intake 
orifice. The valve is held in an opened position prior to receiving the 
gas. The gas, when received in the bottle and when reaching a certain 
pressure, closes the valve against the intake orifice sealing the gas 
therein. The pressure bottle further includes a plurality of gas outlets 
having filters, regulators and control valves for providing energy to the 
missile's electrical generator, seeker head, fin actuator and any other 
power requirements on the missile. 
The advantages and objects of the invention will become evident from the 
following detailed description of the drawings when read in connection 
with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of 
the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
In FIG. 1 the high pressure power source is designated by general reference 
numeral 10 and is mounted in the rear of a missile 12, received inside a 
launch tube 14. It should be kept in mind, that while the launch tube 14 
is shown, the missile 12 can be launched by various means. Further, in 
this figure, the missile 12 is shown having a cannon powder charge 16 for 
launching the missile 12 from the missile launch tube 14. 
The missile 12 also includes a seeker head 18, a war head 20, a head power 
supply 22, a missile electronics and control system 24. Also an electrical 
power supply 26 and a fin actuator 28 are connected to the power source 
10. 
In FIG. 2 an enlarged view of the power source 10 is shown. The power 
source 10 includes a pressure bottle 30 having a combustion chamber 32 
therein. The bottle 30 is insulated with insulation 34 both on the inside 
and outside of the bottle 30 to maintain and control the temperature of 
the source 10. The bottle 30 further includes the gas intake orifice 36 
which communicates with the cannon powder charge 16 for receiving high 
pressure gas therefrom when the missile 12 is launched from the launch 
tube 14. 
In operation, when the missile 12 is fired from the launch tube 14 using 
the powder charge 16, upon igition, the powder charge 16 releases gas 
pressure as high as 20,000 psi. This pressure generated by the burning 
propellant accelerates the missile 12 out of the launch tube 14. At this 
time, the pressure bottle 30 is used to provide power to all of the 
missile's subsystems. This includes the electrical power supply 26, the 
head power supply 24 along with the fin actuator 28. The seeker head 18 is 
controlled by the missile electronics and control system 24 which is in 
turn powered by the power system 10 through the electrical generator and 
power supply 26. 
The pressure bottle 30 as shown in FIG. 2 is attached to a missile base 38 
through a threaded or clamped arrangement. The power system 10 further 
includes a high pressure valve 40 having a valve seat 42 which is 
spring-biased by a coil spring 44 in an opened position as shown. The 
valve seat 42 is held in place by a valve retainer 46. As the gas passes 
into the pressure bottle 30, the pressure of the gas exerts a force 
against the open valve seat 42 and urges it to the left. The valve seat 42 
includes a fusible metal gasket 48 which engages a fusible metal gasket 
seat 50 disposed around the orifice 36. Through the use of the high 
pressure gas closing the valve seat 42, the metal gasket 48 fuses against 
the metal gasket seat 50, sealing the bottle 30 and capturing the high 
pressure gas inside the pressure bottle 30. 
The pressure bottle 30 further includes a plurality of outlet ports 52, 54 
and 56, each having a filter 58 and regulators 60. The regulators 60 are 
each connected to control valves 59, 61 and 63. The control valve 59 is 
connected to the fin actuator 28 via valve line 64. The second control 
valve 61 is connected to the electrical power supply 26 via valve line 66. 
The third control valve 63 is connected to the head power supply 22 via 
valve line 68. 
In FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of the power source 10 is shown having 
an internally generated power supply. In this figure a propellant stick 70 
is shown which burns to generate gases necessary for the system 10 to 
operate. The propellant stick 70 is ignited by a piezoelectric ignitor 72. 
The ignitor 72 consists of a piezoelectric material with plated end 74. 
Wires are routed from the plated end 74 of the ignitor 72 to an ignitor 
element 76. The piezoelectric material is oriented perpendicular to the 
direction of the "G" forces generated by firing the missile 12 from the 
launch tube 14. This force is generated when the piezoelectric ignitor 72 
is restrained by a fixed plate 78 in the bottle 30. This type of ignition 
system would normally require a high "G" load in the range of 5 to 20 
thousand "G's" for operation. It should be kept in mind, other ignitors 
could be used equally well in place of the piezoelectric ignitor 72 as 
described. It should be noted, in the operation of this alternate 
embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the internal generated power operation is 
identical to that shown in FIG. 2, but in this example, the valve 40 is 
not required. 
Further, it should be noted that the insulation of the gas bottle 30 
protects the bottle from becoming excessively hot and heating the 
surrounding electronic equipment. The gas temperature may be several 
thousand degrees. The pressure is a direct function of the gas 
temperature, i.e. P=RT/V, where T is the temperature, V is the volume, P 
is the pressure and R is the gas constant. As the temperature decreases, 
the pressure decreass. The subject power source 10 takes this into account 
so that the temperature losses are minimized for improved useful life of 
this system. 
Changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts or 
elements of the embodiments as described herein without departing from the 
spirit or scope of the invention defined in the following claims.