Patent Publication Number: US-2005116090-A1

Title: Non-lethal nose cone design

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/355,541 entitled “Projectile Kinetic Energy Reduction System” filed May 6, 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates generally to the field of military projectiles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a non-lethal projectile nose cone design adapted for standoff delivery of non-lethal munitions.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      In recent years, the role of the military has evolved beyond its traditional battlefield mission. Troops are as likely to be deployed in response to political peacekeeping missions as they are for traditional combat. To accommodate these new missions, military weapons and tactics must evolve and be adapted for use in these new roles.  
      An example of where new weapons and tactics are necessary is in crowd control of hostile groups of non-combatants in areas under occupation by the military. For both political and safety reasons, the use of lethal force against civilians is allowed only as a last resort, typically only when there is an imminent risk of harm to military personnel. Even when the use of lethal force may be required, the military, political and social repercussions from such force may dissuade a commander from its application. Thus a wide number of traditional military weapons provided to deployed personnel cannot be used for crowd control missions.  
      Because the use of lethal force in maintaining control and order is obviously a last resort, a number of non-lethal alternatives have been suggested. One commonly suggested alternative includes the firing of non-lethal projectiles directly at targets, typically civilians, using hand-carriable guns or other launchers. While these projectiles can be used effectively, they all suffer the downside of requiring the military personnel to be in close proximity to the targets. As such, the military personnel are exposed to the risk of return fire.  
      One way to limit the exposure of military personnel to retaliatory attacks is to use currently deployed standoff delivery systems, such as mortars or artillery, to deliver a non-lethal projectile. The use of standoff delivery systems for attacking fixed and mobile targets on the battlefield is well known. The advantage of such systems is that they can be fired from locations removed from the actual battlefield thus eliminating the risk of line of sight return fire. Further, the element of surprise is established by delivering a munition to the target without notice.  
      Recently, these standoff delivery systems have been adapted to fire non-lethal munitions for use in crowd control or other situations in which the use of lethal force is undesirable. However, even the standoff systems have a downside in that the delivery vehicle itself may create a hazard as it falls to the earth. In conventional applications of a mortar or artillery round, the nose cone is shattered into fragments or shrapnel upon deployment of the payload. Thus there is a need for a standoff system in which both the crowd control munition and the delivery vehicle itself are used without lethal harm.  
      One non-lethal delivery method is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/355,541 entitled “Projectile Kinetic Energy Reduction System” which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in it entirety. There remains a need then to insure that the nose cone itself does not become a lethal weapon upon dispersal of its non-lethal cargo.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention comprises a non-lethal nose cone adapted for the delivery of non-lethal munitions with a projectile weapon. Generally, the non-lethal nose cone of the present invention is manufactured of materials, such as polymers and ceramics, selected for traits including high strength and uniformity when exposed to typical projectile firing conditions. The material selection avoids the conventional hazards of nose cone design wherein detonation of an internal charge disperses shrapnel. The non-lethal nose cone may also include a planned failure mode so that the nose cone opens in a petal like configuration upon impact of the internal munition.  
      Generally, the non-lethal nose cone of the present invention is intended for use with a projectile incorporating a projectile kinetic energy reduction system such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/355,541 entitled “Projectile Kinetic Energy Reduction System”. The projectile kinetic energy reduction system dramatically reduces the forward momentum of the projectile and then directs the descent at a non-lethal rate. The projectile kinetic energy system serves the dual-functions of assisting with ejection of a submunition through the non-lethal nose cone as well as reducing the fall rate of the projectile structure to non-lethal velocities of approximately less than 11 m/s (24.6 mph).  
      Generally, the non-lethal nose cone of the present invention is adapted for use with appropriate, standoff delivery systems. In a preferred embodiment, the non-lethal nose cone is configured with standard issue mortar, for example 81 mm and 120 mm mortars. In another embodiment, the non-lethal nose cone is configured for use with air delivery systems, such as projectiles delivered from airplanes or helicopters. In another embodiment, the non-lethal nose cone of the present invention can be adapted for use with standoff delivery systems including land or sea based artillery. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a non-lethal nose cone of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the non-lethal nose cone of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the non-lethal nose cone of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is an end view of the non-lethal nose cone of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional, side view of the non-lethal nose cone of  FIG. 1  attached to a projectile tube.  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a mortar round including the non-lethal nose cone of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the mortar round of  FIG. 6  at time of deployment of a kinetic energy reduction system.  
       FIG. 8  is a sectional side view of the mortar round of  FIG. 6  including a fully deployed kinetic energy reduction system.  
       FIG. 9  is a sectional side view of the mortar round of  FIG. 6  at time of nose cone extension.  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the mortar round of  FIG. 5  at time of deployment of a non-lethal munition.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention comprises a non-lethal nose cone adapted for the delivery of non-lethal munitions with a projectile weapon. Typical projectile nose cones are constructed to separate into many individual pieces upon a triggering event, with each individual piece having sufficient kinetic energy to cause bodily harm. The present invention provides a design to eliminate the lethal aspect of payload dispersal. Generally, the non-lethal nose cone of the present invention is manufactured of materials, such as polymers and ceramics, selected for traits including high strength and uniformity when exposed to typical projectile firing conditions as well as their ability to avoid becoming lethal shrapnel upon detonation of an internal charge for disbursing the non-lethal munitions through the nose cone.  
      As depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a non-lethal nose cone  100  of the present invention comprises a nose cone body  102  having a generally, circular cross-section radiused from an abutment ring  104  to a tip  106 . Projecting from abutment ring  104  is an internal projection surface  108 . Nose cone body  102  is generally hollow and defines an internal nose cone volume  110 . Typically, internal nose cone volume  110  is sized to accommodate an electronic payload control  112 . In addition, molded within internal nose cone volume  110  is a circumferential fuse circuit cavity  120  for placement of a fuse device.  
      Generally, nose cone  100  is comprised of a polymeric or ceramic material selected for its ability to withstand launch induced stresses while also limiting the potential for the creation of shrapnel during a munition deployment. For example, nose cone  100  can be comprised of polymeric materials including polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , nose cone body  102  can have a smooth, uninterrupted surface. Alternatively, as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , nose cone body  102  can have a plurality of spaced apart, longitudinal grooves  114  extending from a cone section  116  to an intermediate section  118 . Grooves  114  can be formed a variety of ways including scoring of the completed body or molded during production of the nose cone body  102 . In an alternative embodiment, grooves  114  can also be molded or scored on an inside surface of nose cone body  102 . In addition, when the nose cone body  102  is comprised of a fiber matrix composite, a design incorporating a specific orientation of fibers or fiber binding material creates pre-designed failure areas.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 5, 6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9  and  10 , nose cone  100  is adapted for use in assembling a projectile  122 . Generally, projectile  122  comprises features and characteristics representative of a non-lethal projectile design. Typically, projectile  122  comprises a projectile fuselage  124  and a projectile deceleration assembly  126 . In a preferred embodiment, projectile deceleration assembly  126  is a wing based system as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/355,541 entitled “Projectile Kinetic Energy Reduction System” which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in it entirety. Alternatively, projectile deceleration assembly  126  could be selected from parachute based systems and airbrake devices.  
      As depicted in  FIG. 9 , projectile fuselage  124  is comprised of a nose cone  100 , a payload body  128  and a tail  130 . Payload body  128  includes a forward section  132  and an aft section  134 . Forward section  132  of fuselage  124  has an internal diameter dimensioned such that is can slide over and encompass an exterior diameter of aft section  134  as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . Aft section  134  includes a rear flanged surface  140  to interface with a rear wall  142  of forward section  132 . Aft section  134  further includes a wing mounting portion  144  disposed forward of tail  130 .  
      As depicted in  FIG. 5 , the interior diameter of forward section  132  allows for insertion of the internal projection surface  108  such that abutment ring  104  is in contact with a front wall  136  of forward section  132 . Typically, internal projection surface  108  and forward section  132  include mating screw thread attachment means allowing the nose cone  100  to rotatably attach to projectile fuselage  124 . When joined, nose cone body  102  extends slightly beyond front wall  136  defining a retaining recess  138  for restraining wing tip  148 .  
      In a preferred embodiment, projectile deceleration assembly  126  comprises a plurality of wings  146  evenly spaced about projectile fuselage  124 . Generally, wings  146  are hingedly attached to wing mounting portion  144 . Wings  146  include wing tips  148  dimensioned to fit within the retaining recess  138  prior to deployment. In alternative embodiments, projectile deceleration assembly  126  can comprise assemblies which similarly function to quickly decelerate the projectile  122  below lethal velocities of approximately 11 μm/s (24.6 mph). As such, projectile deceleration assembly  126  can comprise a parachute assembly, airbrake devices or other deceleration techniques.  
      In operation, projectile  122  is most typically configured as a mortar round for use with conventional 81 mm and 120 mm mortars. Once a mortar team has received firing orders, sighted the mortar and been given the order to fire, the projectile  122 , as depicted in  FIG. 6 , is launched. The projectile  122  travels in a ballistic trajectory toward the target.  
      As projectile  122  approaches the target, a deployment charge within fuselage  124  is triggered. The timing of the deployment charge can be based on an internal timer, position information, or uplinked command from a ground or airborne command center. The deployment charge initiates the deceleration of the projectile  122  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Projectile deceleration assembly  126  extends wings  146  from a stored to a deployed position as shown in  FIG. 8  causing projectile  122  to rapidly decelerate from a ballistic trajectory to a free fall trajectory. Wings  146  then begin to spin up due to the free fall velocity in an autogyro mode, creating sufficient drag so that the descent is limited to a non-lethal velocity of less than 11 μm/s (24.6 mph).  
      As shown in  FIG. 9 , the combination of forces provided by the deployment charge and full extension of the projectile deceleration assembly  126  causes the payload to be propelled forward through the spaced apart, longitudinal grooves  114  on nose cone  100 . The payload ejection sequence occurs rapidly such that the payload is ejected on the same arcuate path of travel as the projectile  122  prior to deployment of the projectile deceleration assembly  126 . After the payload has been expelled, projectile  122  falls to the ground at a non-lethal velocity due to the lift characteristics provided by projectile deceleration assembly  126 .  
      Although various embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed here for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that a variety of changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated without departing from either the spirit or scope of the present invention.