Patent GB-754331-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to containers for attachment to aircraft
Inventor: CHAPLIN HERBERT EUGENE
IPC: B64D37/12
Filed: 1952-05-12
Abstract: 754,331. Dropping from aircraft. FAIREY AVIATION CO., Ltd. June 19, 1953 [May 12, 1952], No. 12016/52. Class 9(2) A container for attachment to an aircraft includes a support for carrying a number of sonobuoys mounted on it about an axis and means for turning the support about the axis so as tc bring any desired sonobuoy into a release position in which the container is formed with an opening for the passage of the sonobuoys and the support carries at least one door which registers with the opening in a position of the support intermediate between those in which the sonobuoys are in the release position. The container may comprise three units, a forward unit 10, Fig. 1, designed tc accommodate a radar scanner, a middle unit 12 which accommodates four sonobuoys 13, 14. 15 16, and a rear unit 17 which may simply serve as an aerodynamic fairing or may be used for storage. The three units 10. 12, 17 are detachably secured together so that each may be replaced by other similar units containing different equipment and in addition the front and rear units 10 and 17 can be secured together direct for applications where sonobuoys are not required. The middle compartment 12 comprises an outer casing 18 provided with a slot 19 (Figs. 2 and 3) of sufficient width to allow a sonobuoy to pass through it and a support 20 for the sonobuoys mounted to rotate under the control of an electric motor 21. The rotating support comprises a number of spokes 28, Fig. 3, extending between adjacent sonobuoys and carrying at their ends partcylindrical doors 29 arranged to close the opening 19 when the support is rotated through 45 degrees from positions in which a sonobuoy is opposite the opening. As shown in Fig. 2, the doors 29 are radially movable relative to the spokes and provided with springs 28<SP>1</SP> urging them outwards and rollers 29<SP>1</SP> running on guides serving to keep them retracted clear of the casing at all positions except when adoor registers with the opening 19, when it is allowed to be projected by the springs flush with the outside surface of the casing. At the edges of the opening 19 the guides are curved to form cam tracks for the rollers 29<SP>1</SP> to retract them as the door rotates from the position in which it registers with the opening 19. Fig. 6 shows a diagram of a control circuit for positioning and releasing the sonobuoys and is common for six containers containing in all 24 sonobuoys. A twenty-four position preselector 30 is connected to a gap switch 39 in each container which rotates with the support for the sonobuoys. When the preselector is set to a particular number the motor 21 is energized through the gap switch and the scnobuoys rotate until the selected one is in the release position, and the gap of the switch 29 is then opposite the contact so that the motor 21 stops rotating. In addition, for ground servicing, each container is provided with a fourway preselector switch 69 which enables the motor 21 to be energized through the gap switch to enable the support for the sonobuoys to be rotated to any desired position. The mechanism for releasing a sonobuoy comprises a release button switch 62 through which the supply can be connected to a rotary selector switch 63 mounted to be rotated with the carrier 20. The rotary selector switch has four contacts 64 leading respectively to four release solenoids 65 and arranged so that current will be supplied to a particular solenoid only when the corresponding sonobuoy is opposite the onening 19 of the container. Specification 754,429 is referred to.