Patent ID: 6892985

Claim:
A store ejection system for mounting a jettisonable store, the store ejection system using a gas as the source of energy and the transfer mechanism and comprising: an on-board pressure vessel of pressurized non-pyrotechnic gas for providing the source of energy and the transfer mechanism; a releasable valve configured to hermetically seal the pressure vessel, the releasable valve having an adjustable valve member adapted to be adjusted from a closed position to an open positions thereby releasing the gas from the vessel; an actuation system comprising an accumulator configured to be fluidly connected to the pressure vessel to receive and store the gas from the pressure vessel, a dump valve for controlling a flow of gas from the accumulator, and a controller for actuating the dump valve to an open position in response to a control signal to jettison the store; a pneumatically-driven jettison mechanism for releasably retaining the store, the jettison mechanism fluidly connected to the dump valve such that actuating the dump valve to the open position releases the pressurized gas in the accumulator to flow to the jettison mechanism, thereby actuating the jettison mechanism to jettison the stote; and a valve actuator configured to receive a signal from the controller and adjust the valve member from the closed position to the open position in response to the signal from the controller after the pressure vessel is installed in the system such that the releasable valve hermetically seals the pressure vessel until the pressure vessel is installed in the system and the controller issues the signal to the valve actuator.