Supervisor Chip Timing Windows for Fuzing Event Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timing circuits in fuzing systems for weapons lack the precision and stability needed to accurately verify the timing between critical events, such as a weapon's thermal battery activation and umbilical severance, within predetermined windows, which can lead to improper arming or safety conditions.
Innovation Solution
The use of supervisor chips, capacitors, and latches to create a timing window, where a Start Signal initiates a timing window that is monitored by a Windowed Signal to determine if a second event occurs within a predetermined timeframe, employing commercial-off-the-shelf chips like Maxim's MAX6898AALT, MAX6897AALT, and MAX16026 to ensure precise timing despite temperature variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing timing circuits are used in fuzing systems, then the device complexity is reduced, but the timing precision and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The timing circuit is segmented into multiple independent supervisor chips, each responsible for generating specific timing signals. This segmentation allows each chip to be optimized for precision while maintaining overall system manageability despite increased component count.
Solution Approach 2:
Supervisor chips serve as intermediary components between the power supply and the timing logic. These chips provide standardized, precise timing windows that mediate between raw power fluctuations and the critical arming/safety logic, improving timing stability without requiring complex custom circuitry.
2Reliability
If existing timing circuits are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The supervisor chips perform multiple functions: voltage monitoring, timing window generation, and signal synchronization. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, improving reliability through better integration while maintaining ease of manufacture through use of standardized multi-functional parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The circuit uses temperature-compensated timing windows and adjustable delay parameters in the supervisor chips to maintain timing stability across varying environmental conditions. This parameter optimization ensures reliable operation without requiring complex environmental control systems.
3Measurement precision
If timing precision is improved using supervisor chips, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple supervisor chips are merged into a coordinated timing system where their outputs are logically combined to generate the final timing window. This merging approach achieves high precision through redundant verification while keeping individual component complexity low and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The supervisor chips perform preliminary timing verification before the final arming decision is made. By pre-establishing accurate timing references and validation windows in advance, the system achieves high measurement precision without requiring complex real-time calculation circuits.
Data Source
AI summary
Timing circuits including supervisor chip(s), capacitors, and latches. The supervisor chip(s) and capacitors cooperate to generate an electrical signal (window signal) having a high logic state when the window is open. The latches are used to determine whether an event of interest occurred while the window was open using the generated window signal and an electrical signal asserted upon occurrence of the event of interest.