Guided Missile Coil Unit Dry Housing for Underwater Launch
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing data conductor systems for guided missiles launching from submarines face reliability issues due to seawater exposure, leading to corrosion, deposits, and potential damage during underwater launches and storage, which can compromise the data cable's integrity during high-speed unwinding.
Innovation Solution
A coil unit integrating both the missile coil and platform coil within a housing that remains dry even when the launch platform is flooded, with a separable design and a flooding valve for controlled water ingress, ensuring the coils are protected from seawater and maintaining a data connection with the launch platform.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the data cable runs through the flooded launch tube during launch, then the missile can be launched from the torpedo tube, but the coil compartment becomes exposed to seawater causing corrosion and deposits that damage the cable
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two separate coils: a platform coil that remains on the launch platform and a missile coil that remains on the guided missile. This segmentation allows each coil to be protected in its respective environment, with the platform coil staying dry on the platform and the missile coil being protected within the missile's sealed compartment, eliminating exposure to seawater during launch and storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the separable connection between platform coil and missile coil) that allows the data connection to be established only when needed during launch, while keeping both coils protected from seawater exposure during storage and non-launch periods.
2Reliability
If the coil compartment is sealed to keep coils dry, then corrosion is prevented, but seawater pressure during launch can damage the cable
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the platform coil from the missile coil, the system eliminates the need for a pressurized sealed compartment during launch. The platform coil remains in the dry launch tube environment, while the missile coil is protected within the missile's own sealed compartment that travels with the missile, avoiding seawater pressure exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform coil is extracted from the missile assembly and left behind in the launch tube, removing it from the high-pressure seawater environment during launch, while only the missile coil remains with the missile in its protected compartment.
3Reliability
If the missile coil is kept dry during flooding, then corrosion is prevented, but the data cable cannot be laid in water from the launch platform
Solution Approach 1:
The data cable path is segmented into two parts: the platform coil that handles cable laying in water from the launch platform, and the missile coil that receives the cable connection. This allows the platform coil to be exposed to water during cable laying operations while the missile coil remains protected and dry within the missile.
Solution Approach 2:
The separable connection between platform coil and missile coil acts as an intermediary that allows the platform coil to perform cable laying in water while keeping the missile coil protected. The connection is established only when needed during launch, bridging the dry missile coil with the water-exposed platform coil.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a coil unit (18) for a guided missile (2) launched underwater from a launch tube of a launch platform (28), comprising a missile coil (40) for remaining in the guided missile (2) and a data conductor (36) wound onto the missile coil (40) and connected to the launch platform (28) for data transmission. To increase the unwinding reliability of the data conductor (36) from the missile coil (40), it is proposed that the coil unit (18) include a platform coil (32) wound with the data conductor (36) for remaining on the launch platform (28) after the launch of the guided missile (2), and a housing (48) that keeps both coils (32, 40) dry when the guided missile (2) is submerged in water.