| US 7,547,865 B2 | ||
| Optical element mount and method thereof for a gun-launched projectile | ||
| Gary H. Johnson, Tucson, Ariz. (US); Douglas M. Beard, Tucson, Ariz. (US); John A. Thomas, Tucson, Ariz. (US); and Rene D. Perez, Tucson, Ariz. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Raytheon Company, Waltham, Mass. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 11, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/761,155. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0302905 A1, Dec. 11, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. F42B 15/01 (2006.01); F42B 15/10 (2006.01); F41G 7/00 (2006.01); F42B 15/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 244—3.1 [244/3.15; 244/3.16; 244/117 R; 244/119; 244/121; 359/894; 359/896] | 27 Claims |
| 1. A gun-launched projectile for use in a high G environment, comprising:
a gun-launched projectile having a central axis along the length of the projectile; and
an optical assembly on the projectile having an optical axis that is approximately parallel to the central axis at launch,
said assembly including,
an optical element formed from a brittle material, said optical element comprising a forward facing surface, S1, an aft facing surface, S2, such that the diameter of S2 is smaller than the diameter of S1, with an outer tapered surface connecting S1 and S2;
an optical seat having a complementary tapered surface around a clear optical aperture formed therethrough and configured
to engage the outer tapered surface of said optical element; and
a flexible material between the mating surfaces of the optical element and the optical seat that supports the optical element
in an initial unstressed position, said optical assembly configured to react to the inertial load upon launch to deform the
flexible material and drive the optical element into the seat thereby producing both a bending moment that places S2 under tensile stress and a force normal to the outer tapered surface that places S2 under compressive stress that at least partially offsets the tensile stress and to react to the removal of the inertial load
to return the optical element to the initial unstressed position.
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