Shroud driven deployable flight surfaces and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11274907-B2
Application number	US-202016860530-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2020
Priority date	Apr 28, 2020
Publication date	Mar 15, 2022
Grant date	Mar 15, 2022

Abstract

A nose or tail assembly for a flight vehicle is provided in which the deployment of the canards or fins is driven by energy imparted by the shroud when it is released. A tip section is rotatably coupled to a base, and both are stowed in a volume between the shroud and nose/tail assembly. As the shroud is released, a drive feature engages the tip section to rotate and join the base to form a complete canard or fin. This eliminates the need for storing the canards or fins in or wrapped around the body and eliminates the need for a complex deployment mechanism occupying an internal volume of the body. Although viable for all sizes of flight vehicles, the shroud-driven deployment system scales to very small diameter vehicles in which internal volume is not available to store either flight surfaces or deployment mechanisms.

First claim

We claim:

1. A flight vehicle, comprising:
a body;
a tapered section positioned fore or aft of the body;
a shroud including a plurality of segments that define an external volume between the tapered section and the shroud, said segments detachably mounted for in flight release;
a base mounted on the tapered section within the external volume;
a tip section rotatably attached to the base at a pivot point, said tip section positioned forward of the base within the external volume in a stowed position; and
a drive feature on an interior surface of one of the segments of the shroud, said drive feature positioned forward of the pivot point adjacent an edge of the tip section in the stowed-position, said drive feature responsive to in flight release of the shroud to engage the edge and rotate the tip section to a deployed position such that the base and tip section form a complete flight surface.

2. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the body has a diameter of 3 inches or less.

3. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the base, tip section and drive feature only occupy the external volume in the stowed position without any penetration of the tapered section.

4. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the drive feature disengages the edge of the tip section prior to formation of the complete flight surface.

5. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the drive feature contacts and slides along the edge of the tip section as the tip section rotates.

6. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein in the stowed position the drive feature is positioned between the pivot point and a longitudinal axis of the body.

7. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the base includes a clevis that includes first and second side members that define a slot such that the tip section rotates on the pivot point into the slot between the first and second side members to form the completed flight surface, said first and second side members forming a portion of both a leading and a trailing edge and a portion of top and bottom surfaces of the complete flight surface.

8. The flight vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the slot is tapered to form an interference fit with the tip section.

9. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a span of the complete flight surface exceeds the span of either the base or the tip section and extends outside the volume.

10. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the segments of the shroud are configured to pivot away from the flight vehicle and release.

11. The flight vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the shroud includes an air intake that provides pressure to pivot the segments away from the flight vehicle.

12. The flight vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the tapered section is a nose cone assembly having an internal volume that includes a guidance system adjacent the base and tip section in the external volume.

13. A nose assembly for a flight vehicle, comprising:
a nose cone;
a shroud including a plurality of segments that define an external volume between the nose cone and the shroud, said segments detachably mounted for in flight release;
a base mounted on the nose cone within the external volume;
a tip section rotatably attached to the base at a pivot point such that the tip section moves between a stowed position within the external volume forward of the base and a deployed position such that the base and tip section form a complete canard; and
a drive feature on an interior surface of one of the segments of the shroud such that the drive feature moves from a stowed position forward of the pivot point adjacent an edge of the tip section to engage and rotate the tip section to its deployed position.

14. The nose assembly of claim 13 , wherein the body has a diameter of 3 inches or less.

15. The nose assembly of claim 13 , wherein the drive feature contacts and slides along the edge of the tip section as the tip section rotates and disengages the edge of the tip section prior to formation of the complete canard.

16. The nose assembly of claim 13 , wherein the base includes a clevis that includes first and second side members that define a slot such that the tip section rotates on the pivot point into the slot between the first and second side members to form the complete canard, said first and second side members forming a portion of both a leading and a trailing edge and a portion of top and bottom surfaces of the complete canard.

17. The nose assembly of claim 13 , wherein the segments of the shroud are configured to pivot away from the nose cone and release.

18. A method of deploying a flight surface on a flight vehicle, said flight vehicle including a body, a tapered section positioned fore or aft of the body, and a shroud including a plurality of detachable segments that define an external volume between the tapered section and the shroud, the method comprising:
attaching a base to the tapered section within the external volume;
rotatably coupling a tip section to the base at a pivot point,
stowing the tip section within the external volume forward of the base in a stowed position;
mounting a drive feature on an interior surface of one of the segments of the shroud forward of the pivot point adjacent an edge of the tip section in the stowed-position; and
detaching the shroud segments in flight such that the drive feature engages the edge and rotates the tip section about the pivot point into a deployed position such that the base and tip section form a complete flight surface.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the body has a diameter of 3 inches or less.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the drive feature contacts and slides along the edge of the tip section as the tip section rotates and disengages the edge of the tip section prior to formation of the complete flight surface.

21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the base includes a clevis that includes first and second side members that define a slot such that the tip section rotates on the pivot point into the slot between the first and second side members to form the completed flight surface, said first and second side members forming a portion of both a leading and a trailing edge and a portion of top and bottom surfaces of the complete flight surface.

22. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
configuring the segments of the shroud to pivot away from the nose cone and release.

Assignees

• Raytheon Co

Inventors

• Merems Paul A
• Olsen Shane

Classifications

• F42B10/20 Primary

  deployed by combustion gas pressure, or by pneumatic or hydraulic forces · CPC title

• F42B10/14 Primary

  using fins spread or deployed after launch, e.g. after leaving the barrel · CPC title