Abstract:
A carriage and release system for stores (armaments such as rockets and bombs) on an aircraft includes a bracket adapted for attachment to the aircraft. A pylon is mounted on the bracket for movement in a pitch direction relative to the aircraft. A mechanism is provided to power the pitch movement and position it at a predetermined angle relative to the aircraft. A variety of stores carriers may be employed with the pylon. Subcarriages may also be mounted to the pylon for attaching additional stores carriers.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Releasable stores (armament such as bombs, rockets, flares, and the like) for manned aircraft are usually positioned on proprietary carriages and release mechanisms that are designed to integrate with a conventional piloted aircraft. These systems are highly specific to the aircraft and are not readily adaptable to other aircraft. 
         [0002]    On the other hand, small, remotely controlled, pilotless aircraft are much lighter in weight than conventional aircraft and are designed primarily for surveillance, but can also be adapted to carry releasable stores. The number and type of pilotless aircraft and other drones are quite large compared to the number of conventional manned aircraft in the military. Release and armament systems for each of these aircraft would normally be designed on an aircraft-by-aircraft basis, thus resulting in substantial design time and expense associated with adapting the unmanned aircraft to carry stores. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
         [0004]    The present invention, therefore, provides a configurable carriage and release system for drones and remotely controlled pilotless aircraft that are lightweight, that are easily adapted to a variety of wings and air frames, and that are interchangeable. The carriage and release system can be adapted to carry a wide variety of stores that vary in size, armament, releasability, and other configurations. In its broadest aspect, the present invention provides a carriage and release system for stores carried on an aircraft that comprises a bracket adapted for attachment to the aircraft and a pylon mounted on the bracket for movement in a pitch direction relative to the aircraft. The pylon preferably has a mounting port that receives a removable stores carrier. The pylon also carries a bracket for removably connecting a variety of other subcarriages and stores release mechanisms. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the carriage and release system shown mounted on the left and right wings of an unmanned aircraft (shown in phantom); 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged isometric view of the carriage and release system shown attached to the aircraft in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0008]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are enlarged longitudinal views in partial section of the mounting system for connecting the pylon and the bracket that comprises the carriage and release system; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a stores carrier adapted for mounting in the pylon shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view showing the stores carrier mounted in the pylon; 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the carriage and release system showing a bracket-mounted subcarriage mounted to the bottom of the pylon; 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged view illustrating the connection of the subcarriage to the pylon; 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of a second embodiment of a subcarriage having three mounting ports for stores carriers; 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a stores carrier mountable in the subcarriage of  FIG. 8  or in the pylon of  FIG. 2  that includes a powered ejection mechanism for ejecting a store; and 
           [0015]      FIGS. 10A ,  10 B,  10 C, and  10 D illustrate the ejection mechanism in a cocked and quiescent state and the mechanism for cocking the ejection mechanism. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the carriage and release system  10  is shown in dual configuration mounted on the left and right wings of a remotely piloted aircraft  12 . The carriage and release system  10  can, of course, be connected to any portion of the aircraft, including the wings, fuselage  14 , or any other appendage of the aircraft. The carriage and release system as shown in  FIG. 1  includes a pylon  16  attached to a bracket  17 , which in turn is affixed to the wings of the aircraft  12 . Affixed to the bottom of the pylon  16  is a subcarriage  18 , which is one of a variety of subcarriages that may be attached to the pylon  16 . 
         [0017]    The carriage and release system  10 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , includes the pylon  16  and the bracket  17 . The bracket  17  has an upper surface  20  that is either flat or can be conformed to the surface to which it is to be mounted. If flat, and the surface to which it is to be mounted is curved, a variety of spacers (not shown) can be utilized to make the attachments. The bracket  17  is attached to the aircraft, whether it is the wing or fuselage, with conventional fasteners that extend through a plurality of apertures  22  that can be positioned in the bracket  17  at any of a variety of locations suitable to one of ordinary skill. The pylon  16  is pivotally attached to the bracket via arm  24  and transverse pivot pin  26 , which will be described in more detail below. The pylon  16  comprises a main body  30  that extends fore and aft or in the longitudinal direction. Arms  32  extend downwardly from the front and back portions of the body  30 . The arms and body  30  are preferably integrally formed; however, they can be formed of separate components if desired. The pylon  16  defines a mounting port  34  in both forward and rearward arms  32  having a cylindrical interior. The mounting port  34  in the forward arm and the rearward arm are axially aligned in the fore and aft direction. The bottom of each of the arms  32  carries a longitudinal slot  36  that extends all the way through the bottoms of the forward and rearward arms. The arms  32  are made of a flexible but resilient material so that the bottom of the arms can be pinched together so as to slightly decrease the diameter of the mounting ports to securely fasten a stores carrier therein, as will be described in more detail below. In addition, the bottom of the arms each have a longitudinal T-shaped slot  40 , again aligned in the fore and aft direction. The bottom of the slot opens downwardly from the arms  32 . The purpose of the slot  40  will be described in more detail below. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the bracket  17  is shown mounted to an aircraft structure (shown in phantom). The pylon  16  depends from the bracket  17  via pivot pin  26  which extends transversely through arm  24  of the pylon. The downwardly extending arm  24  is affixed at its upper end to the bottom side of the bracket  17 . The pylon is journaled on the pivot pin  26 ; thus, the pylon  16  can pivot about the pivot pin  26 . Because the arm is mounted in the fore and aft direction on the aircraft, this pivotal movement of the pylon  16  adjusts the pitch of the pylon relative to the aircraft; thus, the aircraft can be flying in a horizontal mode while the pylon can be pivoted either upwardly or downwardly to pitch the pylon downwardly or upwardly so as to point the stores mounted on the pylon  16  in a downward or upward direction relative to the aircraft. 
         [0019]    In one embodiment, the pivotal movement of the pylon is driven by a power mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, the pivotal movement of the pylon is powered by a pair of jack screws  46 . The upper ends of the jack screws  46  are pivotally mounted to the underside of the bracket  17  via downwardly depending bracket  48  and pivot pin  50 . The jack screws  46  carry external threads that mate with internal threads on gear members  52 , which are journaled in the upper portion of the pylon  16  and spaced fore and aft from the pivot arms  24 . Gear members  52  have integral pulleys  54  that are coupled together by an endless belt  56  so that when one gear member is rotated, both gear members  52  will rotate simultaneously with each other. The lower portion of the gear members  52  contains vertical splines or gear teeth  58 . In this embodiment, a shaft  60  containing a worm gear  64  at its end engages the splines  58  on the rear gear member  52 . As the worm gear  60  is rotated, the rear gear member  52  is rotated. The forward gear member  52 , which is slaved to the rear gear member by the pulleys  54  and belt  56 , rotates as the rear gear member is rotated. The worm gear  64  is driven by a motor  62  mounted in the pylon and powered from an external source (not shown). The jack screws  46  are counterthreaded so that as the gear members  52  rotate, the aft jack screw will move in a vertical direction opposite from the forward jack screw  46 . Thus, as the jack screws move in opposite vertical directions, they will simultaneously work together to pivot the pylon  16  about the pivot pin  26 . 
         [0020]    One embodiment of a stores carrier  66  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Stores carrier  66  is inserted in the mounting port  34  of the pylon  16  from the rear. Stores carrier  66  has a rear shoulder  67  that abuts against the rear of the pylon  16  to index it in place. In this embodiment, the stores carrier has a plurality of axial channels  68  that run the entire length of the stores carrier. The axial channels  68  may carry flares, rockets, or other self-powered stores that can be fired from the stores carrier  66 . 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 5 , the stores carrier  66  is shown mounted in the pylon  16 . As can be seen, it extends from the rear arm  32  forwardly to the forward arm  32  of the pylon  16 . The stores carrier  66  is held firmly in place in the pylon  16  by the co-action of cam mechanisms  70  mounted on the bottom of the arms  32  of the pylon  16 . As the cam mechanism  70  is rotated, it causes the bottom end of the arms to be pinched together so that the slot  36  is made smaller, thus reducing the diameter of the chamber mounting port  34  and firmly clamping the stores carrier  66  in place. 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a carrier subassembly  74  is shown for mounting a different type of store on the bottom of the pylon  16 . The subassembly  74  has a stores carrier  76 , which in this embodiment has a plurality of longitudinal bores that carry self-launched stores  78 . The upper portion of the subassembly  74  carries a rail  80  having an inverse-T configuration that fits in the slots  40  in the bottom of the arms  32  of the pylon  16 . The slot  40  has outwardly extending slot portions  40   a  that terminate in bottom inwardly-directed shoulders  40   b . Rail  80  has outwardly directed flanges  80   a  that fit within the slots  40  so as to slidably position the subassembly  74  under the pylon. Depending on the weight distribution of the subassembly  74 , it can be moved fore and aft, as desired, in the slots  40 . Once the subassembly  74  is positioned on the pylon, the same cam mechanism  70  that holds a stores carrier in place in the pylon also clamps the slots  40  together to place a friction grip on the rail  80  and, thus, secures the subassembly  74  at the desired location. 
         [0023]    Still referring to  FIG. 7 , the cam mechanism  70  comprises the shaft  90  that extends transversely through the arm  32  and threads into head  92  on one side of the arm  32 . The other end of the shaft  90  is threaded into a nut  94  having a lever arm  96  attached thereto. When the rail  80  is in place in the slot  40 , the shaft  90  is snugged down by rotating the head  92  until finger-tight. Then the arm  96  is rotated to tighten the nut  94  beyond finger-tension-tight so that a secure friction grip is held not only on the rail  80 , but any stores carrier mounted in the port  34 . A similar cam mechanism  70  is also integrated into the rearward arm  32  of the pylon  16 . 
         [0024]    Referring now to  FIG. 8 , another type of subcarriage assembly  100  is illustrated. This subcarriage assembly  100  has three mounting ports  102 ,  104 , and  106 , in each of which is mounted a stores carrier  108 ,  110 , or  112 . As depicted, the stores and stores carrier may be different for each of the ports of the subcarriage  100 . Subcarriage assembly  100  has rails  114  on its upper side that can be coupled directly to the slots in the bottom of the pylon  16 . In addition, if desired, this subcarriage  100  can also carry a slotted member  116  on the bottom thereof so that another subcarriage assembly can be similarly mounted to the bottom of this subcarriage. The carriers  108 ,  110 , and  112  are secured in the mounting ports  102 ,  104 , and  106  by the cam mechanisms  120  on both the fore and aft depending arms of the subcarriage  100 . Each of the arms carries a longitudinal slot extending along its entire length below each of the mounting ports. The cam mechanisms  120  pull the bottoms of the arms together to decrease the width of the slot and, thus, securely grip the stores in each of the mounting ports. 
         [0025]    The stores carrier  108  shown in  FIG. 8  includes an ejection mechanism shown in the exploded view in  FIG. 9 . The ejection mechanism is designed to eject the store  130  from the carrier  108 . The store  130  is the type that is not self-propelled and, thus, is forcibly ejected from the stores carrier  108 . The ejection mechanism  132  is shown in exploded view in  FIG. 9 . It includes an ejection plate  134 , a coil spring  136 , a detent retaining mechanism  138 , a backing plate  140 , a retaining plate  142  for the detent mechanism  138 , and a cocking cylinder  144 . 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIGS. 9 and 10A , the rearward end of the carrier  108  has two longitudinal slots  146 , which run from the rearward end forwardly. These two slots are diametrically opposed from each other. The ejection plate  134  carries two diametric tabs  134   a  that extend outwardly through the slots  146 . The backing plate  140  is secured on the rear end of the store  130  by suitable fasteners (not shown). The coil spring  136  is positioned between the backing plate  140  and the ejection plate  134 . The backing plate carries a central concentric cylindrical shell that extends forwardly from the central rear side of the backing plate  140 . A detent retaining mechanism  138  is positioned in the cylindrical shell of the backing plate  140 . A ball detent mechanism  138   a  extends forwardly through an opening in the forward end of the cylindrical shell of the backing plate  140 . The ball detent mechanism is of a conventional design where a plurality of ball bearings are positioned to radially extend outwardly from a series of radial slots in the extension  138   a . Ejection plate  134  carries a rearwardly extending cylindrical member  134   b  having a rearward end with inwardly extending shoulder  134   c . The inner diameter of the shoulder  134   c  is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the detent mechanism  138   a  and is axially aligned therewith. 
         [0027]    The cocking cylinder  144  comprises a cylindrical shell having a rear plate with a lug  150  thereon. The inner surface of the cocking cylinder  144  carries internal threads. The internal diameter of the cocking cylinder is slightly larger than the external diameter of the stores carrier  108 . In use, the cocking cylinder is fitted over the rearward end of the carrier  108  until the internal threads in the cocking cylinder engage the external threads on the tabs  134   a  of the ejection plate  134 . A suitable tool (not shown) is then affixed to the lug  150  and the cocking cylinder is rotated, for example, in a clockwise direction. The co-action of the internal threads in the cocking cylinder and the external threads on the tabs  134   a  serve to move the ejection plate rearwardly toward the detent mechanism against the bias of the spring  136 . The cocking cylinder is rotated, as shown in  FIGS. 10B and 10C , until, as shown in  FIG. 10D , the cylindrical member  134   b  on the ejection plate  134  engages and moves past the forward end of the detent mechanism  138   a . The detent mechanism  138   a  is then activated so that the balls extend outwardly from the radial ports therein. The shoulder  134   c  then engages the balls to prevent the ejection plate from moving in a forward direction against the bias of spring  136 . The cocking cylinder  144  is then turned in the opposite direction to unthread it from the threaded tabs  134   a , thus removing the cocking cylinder from the stores carrier. 
         [0028]    The detent retaining mechanism contains an internal solenoid that expands the balls out of the radial apertures. This solenoid can be spring-loaded to keep it in place until activated by an external source. When the solenoid is activated by an external source, the balls in the detent device retract inwardly, releasing the ejection plate and causing the store  130  to be ejected from the stores carrier  108 . 
         [0029]    To retain the store  130  in the carrier  108  after the ejection mechanism has been cocked, and to provide electrical connections to the store  130  from the parent aircraft  14 , a radially extending electrical connector male end  160  is provided on the outer surface of the store  130  toward its rearward end or anywhere along its length. This connector  160  travels in a longitudinal channel  162  provided in the external surface of the store carrier  108 . An open slot  164  is provided at the rear end of the store so that when the store is in place against the cocked ejection plate  134 , the connector  160  is exposed. An electrical connector female end  166  is then positioned over the electrical connector male end  160  to provide electrical connectivity and to temporarily retain the store in place and prevent it from slipping out axially, should the carrier  108  be tipped in a downward and forward direction. The friction fit of the connector female end  166  over the connector male end  160 , however, is such that when the ejection mechanism is released and the plate  134  urges the store forward, the connector  166  rides upwardly on a pair of ramps  168  provided forward of the connector  166 , thus prying the connector female end  166  from the connector male end  160  and allowing the store to move forwardly and out of the carriage  108 . 
         [0030]    A safety pin  170  is also provided to prevent the ejection mechanism from operating prematurely. The pin is inserted in a diametric bore  172  in the carrier  108 . The bore  172  is situated just forward of the ejection plate when in a cocked position. When the carrier  108  is loaded in the subcarriage assembly and the aircraft is ready to deploy, the pin  170  may be removed to ready the ejection mechanism. 
         [0031]    While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.