Pointing and steering lock system

Abstract

The invention relates to a pointing and direction-locking system (1) for a firing system comprising a base (11) for receiving the firing system, a male member (10) comprising a foot (102) of conical shape, the male member (10) being fixed to the base (11) and intended to cooperate by its foot (102) with a conical hole (200) of a female member (20) according to a pivot joint in order to form an interface (2), a pressure member (12) mounted movably in translation on the base (11) about an axis of translation (At), said pressure member (12) comprising a clear position in which it is intended to be at a distance from the female member (20) and a pressure position in which it is intended to exert pressure on the female member (20), and an actuating member (13) configured to move the pressure member (12) from one of its positions to the other position.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a pointing and direction locking system, in particular manual, in particular further adapted to a NATO standard interface according to standard AEP-4796.

[0002] In land operations, some weapon systems require aiming along three axes of movement before use: the tilt aiming, the elevation angle, and the direction aiming. Once determined, the various aimings are subsequently locked in position. These prerequisites particularly concern rocket launchers.

[0003] The aiming and locking of the elevation and the cant are traditionally carried out automatically and independently of the support on which the weapon system rests. However, the aiming and locking in direction are traditionally carried out with an interface dedicated to the support and / or with a dedicated support. Thus, these solutions, due to the complexity of their integration, are not interchangeable between different types of vehicles and cannot be quickly installed on another support.

[0004] In some cases, these solutions are not locked in position but only servo-controlled, in which case misalignment may be observed when using the firing system. In addition, these solutions are often automated and therefore require power sources, without which aiming and direction locking are not possible.

[0005] There is therefore a need for a pointing and direction locking system for a firing system that can be installed and uninstalled very quickly between different types of vehicles, that locks reliably when using the firing system, that does not require modification of the vehicle carrying the system, and that does not require a power source.

[0006] To this end, the invention relates to a pointing and direction locking system for a firing system comprising: a base intended to receive the firing system, a male member comprising a conical-shaped foot, and a pressure member mounted movable in translation on the base along a translation axis.

[0007] According to the invention, the male member is fixed to the base and intended to cooperate by its foot with a conical hole of a female member of a vehicle support according to a pivot articulation in order to form an interface.

[0008] The pressure member comprises a disengaged position in which it is intended to be at a distance from the female member and a pressure position in which it is intended to exert pressure on the female member.

[0009] The pointing and locking system further comprises an actuating member configured to move the pressure member from one of its positions to the other position.

[0010] The aiming and direction locking system is advantageously installed on a male member of an interface. In addition, the direction locking advantageously does not require any modification of the female member of said interface as well as of the support on which the interface will be intended to be installed. The system can therefore be mounted and dismounted from this support very easily and quickly by simple assembly and disassembly of the interface. The system of the invention can be advantageously installed on any vehicle comprising the female member of the interface. The locking in position is ensured by the pressure of the pressure member on the female member, which makes it possible to greatly reduce the risks of misaiming, or even avoid it, when using the firing system.

[0011] The interface to which the male and female parts belong is in particular a NATO standard interface according to the AEP-4796 standard. The wide use of such an interface allows the invention to be installed on a large number of different vehicles, without any modification to them.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the invention, the pressure member comprises a rigid part and a flexible part superimposed on each other along the translation axis (At), the rigid part being above the flexible part, the flexible part being able to compress in contact with the female member in the pressure position of the pressure member.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the invention, the pressure member is dimensioned to have a rest distance with the female member which is less than a distance between its two positions along the translation axis.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the base comprises at least one guide member cooperating with the pressure member and guiding it when moving from one of its positions to the other.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the system further comprises at least one holding member configured to hold the pressure member in one and / or the other of its positions.

[0016] According to one embodiment, said at least one holding member cooperates with said at least one guiding member.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the actuating member comprises a locking member and at least one operating member, the locking member cooperating with the pressure member and having an unlocking position and a locking position, the movement of the locking member from its unlocking position to its locking position causing the movement of the pressure member from its released position to its pressure position and vice versa.

[0018] In particular, the locking member is an eccentric comprising at least one cam mounted on a camshaft, said at least one cam comprising two flat surfaces corresponding to the two positions of the locking member.

[0019] In particular, said at least one cam has a circular shape off-centered relative to the camshaft and the two surfaces are tangent to this circular shape.

[0020] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a direction pointing and locking system as defined above and a support comprising a female member having a conical hole, the male member of the direction pointing and locking system and the female member forming an interface, the male member being inserted into the conical hole of the female member. Brève description des figures

[0021] The invention will be better understood from reading the following description given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings in which: There Figure 1 represents an isometric view of a support on which is mounted a pointing and direction locking system according to the invention. The Figure 2 represents a sectional view of the figure 1 according to section plane A. The Figure 3 represents two isometric views (A and B) of the pointing and locking system in the direction of the Figure 1 . There Figure 4a represents a sectional view of the pointing and locking system in the direction of the Figure 1 fitted into a female organ of an interface. The figure 4b represents a sectional view of the pointing and locking system in the direction of the Figure 1 nested in a locked configuration. Description détaillée de l'invention

[0022] The following embodiments are examples. Although the description refers to one or more embodiments, this does not necessarily mean that each reference relates to the same embodiment, or that the features apply only to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined and / or interchanged to provide other embodiments.

[0023] The invention relates to a direction pointing and locking system 1. The system 1 is intended to receive a firing system (not shown) and has the function of allowing the latter to reversibly lock a direction pointing. As such, the system 1 comprises a direction pointing configuration in which it has free rotation around a pivot joint in order to select the desired direction pointing position, and a locked configuration in which it is fixed according to said pivot joint in order to lock the selected direction pointing position.

[0024] This pivot joint is formed by an interface 2 mounted on a vehicle support 3. The system 1, the interface 2 and the support 3 form an assembly 4 shown in the figure 1 . Said interface 2 comprises a male member 10 having a conical-shaped foot 102 which is inserted into a female member 20 comprising a corresponding conical hole 200. The male member 10 is held in position in the female member 20 by any means. In the example shown in figures 1 et 2 , the male member 10 is held in the conical hole 200 using a pin 21 cooperating with a circumferential groove 100 made in the foot 102 of the male member 10. Said pin 21 is inserted into an opening of the female cone 20 transverse to the conical hole 200. The male member 10 can also be held in the female member 20 by a claw or a blade.

[0025] Thus, the pointing and locking system 1 of the invention comprises a part of the interface 2, namely the male member 10, in order to be able to be installed on any support 3 equipped with the female member 20. This is why the interface 2 is in particular an interface commonly used on various types of vehicles, such as a NATO standard interface according to the AEP-4796 standard. The system 1 has the advantage of not modifying the female member 20, nor the support 3. In addition, the male member 10 can be modified in certain embodiments of the invention but only outside the foot 102, on parts not cooperating with the female member 20. Thus, the system 1 can be installed and uninstalled very easily and quickly by simple insertion / removal of the male member 10 from the female member 20 of the interface 2 and this for all the supports 3 on which the female member 20 is installed.

[0026] The conical foot 102 of the male member 10 is surmounted by a head 101 by which the male member 10 is fixed to a base 11. The fixing of the male member 10 on the base 11 can be carried out by any means. It is in particular carried out by screwing, for example using a screw 111 and a washer 112, as shown in the figure 2 . In this example, the head 101 of the male member 10 is inserted into a bore 113 of the base 11 and a screw 111 is screwed into a threaded hole of the head 101, the head of the screw 111 bearing on a washer 112 arranged at the upper surface 115 of the base 11 intended to be turned towards the firing system.

[0027] The base 11 and the male member 10 can be arranged with respect to each other at any angle. In particular, the base 11 and the male member 10 are arranged at an angle of 90 degrees.

[0028] The base 11 is intended to receive the firing system. For this purpose, the base 11 includes in particular arrangements intended for fixing the firing system. By virtue of its fixing to the male member 10, the base 11 is free to rotate around the axis A p of the pivot joint of the interface 2. It thus allows the user to point the weapon system in the direction, according to the infinite number of available positions. This freedom of rotation is nevertheless dependent on the configuration of the system 1, and is constrained by other elements of the system 1 described below.

[0029] Thus, the change of configurations of system 1 is achieved by the cooperation of two elements: a pressure member 12, blocking or releasing the pivot joint of the interface 2 depending on its position, and an actuating member 13, moving the pressure member 12 into one or other of its positions.

[0030] We will now turn to the figures 3 And 4 , which allow better visualization of the pressure member 12 and the actuating member 13 as well as their cooperation.

[0031] The pressure member 12 is mounted to move in translation on the base 11, in particular around the male member 10, and moves along the male member 10. The pressure member 12 therefore comprises an upper face 120 facing the base 11 and an opposite lower face 121 intended to be positioned facing the female member 20. The translation axis A t of the pressure member 12 is parallel, or even coincides as shown, with the axis of rotation of the pivot joint of the interface 2. The pressure member 12 extends in particular around the head 101 of the male member 10.

[0032] The translational movement of the pressure member 12 defines two positions: a disengaged position in which the pressure member 12 does not cooperate with the female member 20 ( figure 4A ), and a pressure position in which it presses on the periphery of the conical hole 200 of the female member 20 by its lower face 121 ( figure 4B ). Thus, the passage from the released position to the pressure position brings the pressure member 12 closer to the free end of the foot 102 of the male member 10. According to one embodiment, as shown, the pressure member 12 is in contact with the base 11 in its released position. In the pressure position, the pressure exerted by the pressure member 12 on the female member 20, by the friction forces that it causes, hinders the free rotation of the male member 10 around the axis A p and therefore of the base 11. The pressure member 12 can in particular be dimensioned so that in its released position, its lower surface 121 is flush with the female member 20. This configuration makes it possible to gain in reactivity for the passage from the released position to the pressure position.In particular, the pressure member 12 is sized so that the distance between its lower surface 121 and the female member 20 is less than or equal to 1 cm, in particular less than 5 mm, when the system 1 is mounted on the female member.

[0033] When the pressure member 12 is in its released position, the user is free to move the male member 10 around the axis A p of the pivot joint of the interface 2, in order to adjust the pointing in direction. The system of the invention 1 advantageously makes it possible to choose an infinite number of positions for pointing in direction, insofar as the rotation of the male member 10 is free. When the user has selected a pointing position in direction, he moves the pressure member 12 into its pressure position using the actuating member 13, as will be seen in detail later. In this position, the friction forces exerted on the female member 20 are such that the user is not able to manually move the male member 10 according to the pivot joint of the interface 2.The pressure member 12 is notably configured so that the friction forces prevent the firing system from being misaligned during its use, in order to allow a sequence of shots.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the pressure member 12 comprises a rigid part 122 and a flexible part 123 fixed together in a superimposed manner along the translation axis A t with the flexible part 123 below the rigid part 122. The fixing of the two parts 122, 123 can be carried out by any means and in particular by gluing. In this embodiment, the lower part 121 belongs to the flexible part 123 and the upper surface 120 belongs to the rigid part 122. In particular, the flexible part 123 is made of a material which crushes when it is compressed against the female member 20 (as shown in figure 4B ), allowing the contact surface and therefore the friction forces to be increased. For this reason, the flexible part is made of silicone or nitrile. The rigid part is made of a material with high resistance over time, such as steel, particularly hardened steel.

[0035] The movement of the pressure member 12 is notably carried out along at least one guide member 114 fixed in the base 11 or made of the same material as the base 11, and notably in the form of a rod. In the example shown in figures 3 And 4, several guide members 114 are present and correspond to stop screws. According to one embodiment of the invention, the guide members 114 extend parallel to the male member 10. When they are fixed to the base 11, the guide members 114 are fixed by any means, in particular by stamping, by screwing or by gluing. The distribution of the guide members 114 around the male member 10 is in particular adapted to allow uniform pressure of the pressure member 12 in the pressure position. The pressure member 12 comprises in particular sliders 124 cooperating with the guide members 114.

[0036] The guide members 114 may in particular comprise a stop defining the released position and / or at least one stop defining the pressure position of the pressure member 12.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the system 1 further comprises at least one holding member 14, making it possible to retain the pressure member 12 in one and / or the other of its positions. Said at least one holding member 14 therefore assists the actuating member 13 in the execution of its functions. Said holding member 14 is in particular a reversible elastic member. Said at least one holding member 14 cooperates in particular with the guide member(s) 114. Said at least one holding member 14 is in particular configured to push the pressure member 12 towards the base 11, so as to retain the pressure member 12 in its released position. This holding is done in particular against gravity. Said at least one holding member 14 is in particular a helical spring or a Belleville washer in particular arranged around the guide member(s) 114, which makes it possible to reduce the size.The guide member(s) 114 may in particular comprise a stop serving as a support for said holding member(s) 14, as shown in . figures 4A et 4B .

[0038] When said at least one holding member 14 retains the pressure member 12 in its released position, the pressure member 12 is by default in its released position, allowing the user to only have to engage the pressure position of the pressure member. Furthermore, the disengagement of the pressure position, in this case, causes an automatic return of the pressure member 12 to its released position, which allows for increased responsiveness.

[0039] The transition from the released position to the pressure position, and vice versa, of the pressure member 12 is driven by the actuating member 13. This actuating member 13 comprises a locking member 131, cooperating with the pressure member 12, and at least one operating member 132 that the user can operate to act on the locking member 131. Said at least one operating member 132 is in particular in the form of one or more handles 132. The locking member 131 comprises an unlocking position corresponding to the released position of the pressure member 12 and a locking position corresponding to the pressure position of the pressure member 12. The transition from one position of the locking member 131 to the other is achieved by the movement of said at least one operating member 132 actuated by the user.The locking member 131 is in particular housed in a housing 125, in particular an obviously, of the pressure member 12, with in particular an opening towards the base 11 for easy access to the mechanism in the event of handling.

[0040] According to a particular embodiment, the locking member 131 is an eccentric comprising at least one cam 133 mounted on a camshaft 134. Said at least one cam 133 cooperates in particular with a wall 126 in the housing 125 of the pressure member 12. The wall 126 may in particular be surmounted at least partially by a plate 127 made of a material making it possible to resist wear due to repeated friction of the cam 133. This type of material deforms little under stress and also has a good coefficient of friction. By way of example, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon will be mentioned.

[0041] Said at least one cam 133 has in particular an eccentric profile, so that a rotation of the cam 133 around the axis of the camshaft 134 causes an increase in pressure or a decrease in pressure against the wall 126. Thus, the increase in pressure pushes the pressure member 12 from its released position towards its pressure position and vice versa.

[0042] Said at least one cam 133 may comprise two flat surfaces, a first flat surface 135 and a second flat surface 136, corresponding respectively to the unlocking position and the locking position. These two flat surfaces 135, 136 ensure that the locking member 131 is held in position correctly. These two flat surfaces 135, 136 also allow the user to have haptic feedback of the correct positioning of the system 1 following the actuation of the actuation member 13. The two flat surfaces 135, 136 are arranged at a different distance from the camshaft 134. The two flat surfaces 135, 136 may be arranged at a different angle relative to the camshaft 134, in particular they may be arranged at 90 degrees to each other (as shown).They can alternatively be arranged with the same angulation relative to the camshaft 134, but be opposed by 180 degrees around the latter. As shown in . figures 4A et 4B , the cam 133 may have a circular shape off-centered relative to the axis of the camshaft 134, and the two flat surfaces 135, 136 may be tangent to the perimeter of the circular shape, in particular with an angulation between them of 90 degrees. In the example shown, the two flat surfaces 135, 136 meet at a rounded tip 137. The circular shape makes it possible to obtain a progressive increase / decrease in pressure which is exerted by the cam 133 on the wall 126 of the pressure member 12 according to the change of position, facilitating engagement and disengagement by the user.

[0043] The camshaft 134 is in particular a through shaft so that it extends on either side of the male member 10 and in particular of the pressure member 12, preferably at the level of the axis A p in order to uniformly distribute the pressure forces exerted by the cam(s) 133 on the pressure member 12. When several cams 133 are present, they are in particular distributed on either side of the male member in an equitable manner. As can be seen in the figure 3 , a handle 132 can in particular be fixed to each end of the camshaft 134.

[0044] We will now describe using the figures 4A et 4B an example of the kinetics of the transition of the pointing and locking system in direction 1 from its pointing configuration in direction to its locked configuration.

[0045] On the figure 4A , it can be seen that the male member 10 is inserted into the conical hole 200 of the female member 20, and fixed to the latter by a pin 21. The pressure member 12 is in its disengaged position, held here in contact with the base 11 by helical springs 14 bearing on stop screws 114 screwed into the base 11 and cooperating with slides 124 of the pressure member 12. A rest distance D r , visible in the medallion of the figure 4A , separates the flexible part 123 of the pressure member 12 and the female member 20, which leaves the male member 10 free to rotate around the axis A p . The cams 133 of the locking member 131 are in contact with the plate 127 of the pressure member 12 by their first surface 135. The helical springs 14 have in this embodiment a double action of keeping the pressure member 12 in pressure against the base 11 and in pressure against the first surface 135 of the cam 133. Due to the action of the helical springs 14, the pressure member 12 cannot pass into its pressure configuration without the actuation of the handles 132 of the actuating member 13. The pointing configuration of the system 1 is therefore stable in position here.

[0046] The change of configuration of the system 1 to its locked configuration is therefore done by moving the handles 132 around the axis of the camshaft 134. The direction of rotation of the camshaft 134 is here determined by the shape of the cams 133 which makes rotation around the circular part of the cams 133 easier and considerably increases the force to be provided by the rounded tips 137 of the latter.

[0047] The movement of the handles 132 will cause the cams 133 to rotate, which will press on the plates 127 and force the helical springs 14 to tension. This action will result in the pressure member 12 moving along the translation axis A t along the stop screws 114 in the direction of the female member 20, until it reaches its pressure position.

[0048] The rest distance D r is less than or equal to a distance D p , visible in the medallion of the figure 4B , separating the two positions of the pressure member 12. To the extent that the dimensions of the male member and the female member are known, the pressure member can be sized to adapt the difference between the distance D r and the desired distance D p. When the distance D r is less than D p , the pressure member 12 comes into contact by its flexible part 121 with the female member 20 before reaching its pressure position. To the extent that the male member 10 is blocked in the female member 20 via the pin 21, the continued rotation of the handles 132 will not result in a rise of the system 1 relative to the female member 20, but in the crushing of the flexible part 121, increasing the friction forces between the pressure member 12 and the female member 20.

[0049] When the second flat surface 136 comes into contact with the plate 127, the pressure member 12 has reached its pressure position, and the system 1 is in its locked configuration. The system 1 is maintained in this configuration by the action of the helical springs 14 which causes pressure of the pressure member 12 against the second surface 136 of the cam 133, stabilizing the system 1 in this position. The helical springs 114 therefore have in this embodiment a dual function of maintaining the pressure member 12 in the released position and in the pressure position.

[0050] The return to the pointing configuration of the system 1 is achieved by a rotation in the opposite direction of the handles 132, releasing the second surface 136 of the pressure member 12. The helical springs pushing the pressure member 12 towards its released position, this will allow a mechanically assisted return of this action, reducing the effort required by the user.

Claims

1. Directional aiming and locking system (1) for a firing system comprising: - a base (11) intended to receive the firing system, - a male member (10) comprising a conical-shaped foot (102), and - a pressure member (12) mounted to move in translation on the base (11) along a translation axis (A t ), the pointing and locking system being characterized in thatthe male member (10) is fixed to the base (11) and intended to cooperate by its foot (102) with a conical hole (200) of a female member (20) of a vehicle support (3) according to a pivot articulation in order to form an interface (2), said pressure member (12) comprising a disengaged position in which it is intended to be at a distance from the female member (20) and a pressure position in which it is intended to exert pressure on the female member (20), the pointing and locking system further comprising an actuating member (13) configured to move the pressure member (12) from one of its positions to the other position.

2. Pointing and locking system (1) according to claim 1, in which the pressure member (12) comprises a rigid part (122) and a flexible part (123) superimposed on each other along the translation axis (A t), the rigid part (122) being above the flexible part (123), the flexible part (123) being able to compress in contact with the female member (20) in the pressure position of the pressure member (12).

3. Pointing and locking system (1) according to claim 2, in which the pressure member is dimensioned to have a rest distance (Dr) with the female member (20) which is less than a distance between its two positions (Dp) along the translation axis (A t ).

4. Pointing and locking system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the base (11) comprises at least one guide member (114) cooperating with the pressure member (12) and guiding it when moving from one of its positions to the other.

5. Pointing and locking system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising at least one holding member (14) configured to hold the pressure member (12) in one and / or the other of its positions.

6. Pointing and locking system (1) according to claims 4 and 5, wherein said at least one holding member (14) cooperates with said at least one guiding member (114).

7. Pointing and locking system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the actuating member (13) comprises a locking member (131) and at least one operating member (132), the locking member (131) cooperating with the pressure member (12) and having an unlocking position and a locking position, the movement of the locking member (131) from its unlocking position to its locking position causing the movement of the pressure member (12) from its released position to its pressure position and vice versa.

8. Pointing and locking system (1) according to claim 7, wherein the locking member (131) is an eccentric comprising at least one cam (133) mounted on a camshaft (134), said at least one cam (133) comprising two flat surfaces (135, 136) corresponding to the two positions of the locking member.

9. Pointing and locking system according to claim 8, wherein said at least one cam (133) has a circular shape off-centered relative to the camshaft (134) and the two surfaces (135, 136) are tangent to this circular shape.

10. Assembly (4) comprising a direction pointing and locking system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 and a support (3) comprising a female member (20) having a conical hole (200), the male member (10) of the direction pointing and locking system (1) and the female member (20) forming an interface (2), the male member (10) being inserted into the conical hole (200) of the female member (20).

Images