Patent ID: 7278416

Claim:
A pneumatic sonobuoy launcher adapted for simultaneously storing, and sequentially and independently launching, at least two sonobuoys, the sonobuoys launcher comprising: a barrel including a barrel wall having an inside surface extending longitudinally between a closed back end and an expulsion end and defining an interior projectile-guiding channel, the channel being adapted to slidably receive and store plural, serially arranged sonobuoys each of which sonobuoys, when in a stored position, occupies a distinct region of the channel separated by an interval of space from at least one other region within the barrel, the plural sonobuoys including a rearwardmost sonobuoy stored closest to the expulsion end of the barrel and a forwardmost sonobuoy stored closet to the expulsion end of the barrel; an expulsion-gas delivery system including at least one valve selectively connectable into fluid communication with an expulsion-gas supply and pneumatically switchable from at least (i) a first gas-channeling state in which expulsion gas introduced through the valve from the expulsion-gas supply is directed through a first outbound conduit having a distal end in fluid communication with a first interval between sonobuoys to (ii) a second gas-channeling state in which expulsion gas introduced into the valve from the expulsion-gas supply is directed through a second outbound conduit having a distal end in fluid communication with at least one of (a) a second interval located to the rear of the first interval and (b) a location within the channel behind the rearwardmost sonobuoy; and a switching-gas channeling system including a feedback conduit for communicating pneumatic back pressure created upon the pneumatic expulsion of a sonobuoy to at least one of the at least one switchable valves in order to switch that valve from the first gas-channeling state to the second gas-channeling state.