AU648307B2 - Cartridge mine - Google Patents

Description

-I AUSTRALIA

P/

P/0/011 PATENTS ACT 1952 Form COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: 48 307 Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Ncme of Applicant: MARK ROBERT TRIST Address of Applicant: BOX 60 POST OFFICE EAGLE HEIGHTS Q 4271 Actual Inventor: MARK ROBERT TRIST Address for Service: BOX 60 POST OFFICE EAGLE HEIGHTS Q 4271 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: CARTRIDGE

MINE

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- Note: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica t/pe face, in an area not exceeding 25 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good qulity and it is to be inserted inside this form.

14599/78-L Printed by C. J. THOsmSON. Commonwealth Government Printer. Canberra i; 1.

CARTRIDGE MINE.

This invention relates to improvements in land mines by the use of a rimmed or rimless small arms centrefire ammunition cartridge as the explosive component in a buried land mine, which may be used in both antipersonnel and anti-vehicle roles.

The mine is so designed that, when sufficient downward pressure is exerted on the top of the mine, the firing spring detonates the primer and cartridge, causing the projectile or explosive blast to be directed upwards to damage or destroy that object which exerted the downward pressure.

Problems which exist with the use of 'conventional' mines and 'conventional' mine laying operations, include:- Size, weight and cost of mines.

Storage and transport of mines.

Common availability of explosive components.

Requirement for special tools, stores and training.

Simplicity and ease of use.

Safety.

Detectability and resistance to adverse environmental conditions.

Resistance to misuse.

Scope for mechanical laying.

Wounding effect.

The problems listed above have been addressed and alleviated by this invention as follows c i- 2.

Since the explosive component is a standard rimmed or rimless small arms live centrefire cartridge, which forms the personal weapons ammunition supply carried by all infantry soldiers, problems ka) to inclusive are considerably reduced.

As each mine is supplied empty, complete with simple diagrammatic instruction sheet and laying tool (which is not essential) and the mine is no more difficult to use than a rifle, problems to inclusive are also ccnsiderably reduced.

Regarding problem above, since the mine is made almost entirely of plastic, detectability, by both manual and electronic means is greatly reduced. The only metal parts present when the mine is laid and armed are the firing spring and the small arms cartridge itself.

Also, because of the weather resistant nature of both the cartridge and the plastic mine, the effect of adverse environmental conditions is minimised.

Regarding problem the design of this mine is such that it can be loaded only when the firing spring is isolated from the source of its actuation, which is the inside face of the bottom cap.

Addressing problem this mine lends itself, by virtue of its compact size, shape and simplicity, to mechanical minelaying operations.

Regarding problem a wounded soldier places a far greater strain on the resources of an enemy force than one who is dead. This mine, when detonated, will almost certainly cripple, but is unlikely to kill, its EL~~ 3 victim. This feature makes the mine more militarily effective than a mine which is designed merely to kill The essential technical teatures of this invention are to be read in conjunction with the drawing and the operating instructions included herewith. In the drawing: the mine is made of moulded plastic in the form of a tubular sleeve of specifled inside and outside diameters and length, closed with a removable plastic caf) at the top and a removable plastic cap at the bottom Within the sleeve is an integral collar against which the base of the cartridge must rest when inserted through the top of the sleeve Incorporated into the sides of the sleeve, and as part of the sleeve, at equidistant intervals are four elongated inverted U shaped tongues (6) fitting flush with the internal and external walls of the sleeve, with the exceptions of features and (8) below. These tongues are captive at the bottom and free at the top. The inside upper face of each of the tongues is moulded into a wedge shaped restraining lug As the base of the cartridge is pushed downwards past the lugs to rest on the abovemenLioned collar, (4) the free end of each tongue is pressed outwards by the pressure of the cartridge rim against the restraining lugs When the base of the cartridge comes to rest against the collar the four resilient tongues force the restraining lugs into the groove recessed into the wall of the cartridge directly above the cartridge rim,thereby holding the cartridge firmly in the i' C 4 correct position within the sleeve On the upper outside face of each tongue directly opposite each restraining lug is a small hemispherical protrusion, being part of, and no wider than, the tongue When, during the process of arming the mine, the bottom cap is pushed upwards over the bottom end of the sleeve, contact between the inner face of the bottom cap and the aforesaid protrusions causes the upper or free end of each tongue to be pressed inwards, thereby forcing the restraining lugs on the inside of each tongue more firmly into the groove directly above the rim of the cartridge thereby locking the cartridce still more firmly in the corr, ct 100 position inside the sleeve. (1) Located in the sleeve (1 at a specified distance below the collar is the firing spring which consists of a hemispherical metal firing pin permanently attached to the centre of a metal diaphragm or conical metal coiled spring. The sleeve projects past the point at which the firing spring is moulded into the sleeve, and extends approximately one third of the depth of the firing spring thus ensuring both the security of the firing spring and its freedom of travel.

110 The firing spring is fabricated with four integral metal tabs,(16) each of which occupies one eighth of the circumference of the sleeve The width of these tabs (16) is exactly the same as the thickness of the walls of the sleeve and they are equally spaced around the circumference of the firing spring For greater strength, the tabs (16) of the firing spring are offset equally to the abovementioned tongues Two diametrically opposed circular apertures 120 are located in the sleeve directly above and across the middle of two opposing metal tabs (16) for the purpose of admitting a metal safety pin. (11) When the safety pin (11) is in place, and the sleeve is fully home in the bottom cap the inside base of the bottom cap just touches the lower most part of the firing spring in its unfired position.

The bottom cap fits closely over the sleeve (1) and its length is such that, when the safety pin (11) is in place, the top of the bottom cap covers, and forms 130 a weatherproof seal over, the tongues. (6) In order to facilitate safe removal and replacement of the bottom cap for the purposes of arming the mine, or inspecting the position of the firing spring, (9) two diametrically opposed vertical safety pin slots (12) are located in the sides of the bottom cap. The distance between the bottom of the safety pin aperture in the sleeve and the bottom of the firing spring is equal to the distance between the bottom of the aforementioned safety pin slots (12) and the inside base 140 of the bottom cap The purpose of the top cap is to prevent the entry of foreign matter into the mine, and to provide a secure stable surface to transfer to the firing spring the downward force which actuates the mine. The wall of the top cap shall be of such length that, when the tip of the cartridge is touching the upper inside face 6 of the top cap the sides will project downwards sufficiently far to allow the cartridge to be easily removed from the mine.

150 The safety pin (11) performs two safety functions.

One is to prevent the firing spring from coming into contact with the primer of the cartridge and the second is to prevent the firing spring from being inverted by immobilising the bottom cap. The safety pin (11) is provided with a long cord lanyard in order to facilitate its removal when arming the mine.

A further safecy feature is provided in the form of a plastic shipping plug (15) which occupies the space normally occupied by the cartridge thereby preventing 160 premature loading of the mine, and also prevents the firing spring from becoming blunted should the safety pin (11) be accidentally dislodged, and the mine actuated.

SEQUENCE OF OPERATION.

When the mine has been laid and armed in accordance with the operating instructions attached hereto, the mine functions as follows 1. When downward pressure is applied to the top cap, the top cap and the sleeve which is enclosed by the 170 top cap, are both forced downwards inside the bottom cap.

2. As a result of this action, the firing spring is forced against the inner horizontal face of the bottom cap. As further pressure is applied to the top cap, the firing spring compresses to a point at which it reverses its angle (or convolutes).

The energy suddenly released by this action causes 7 the firing pin to be propelled upwards, forcefully 180 striking and detonating the primer in the base of the cartridge, causing the cartridge to explode, thus forcing the bullet or explosive charge upwards through both the top cap and the object which exerted the initial downward pressure referred to in heading above.

To assist in the understanding of the mine, operating instructions are included herewith: OPERATING INSTRlCTIONS.

The procedures for loading, laying, arming, neutralising 190 and disarming the Cartridge Mine are as follows SAFETY CHECKS Immediately upon receipt, the following safety checks are to be carried out on each mine: Remove and replace the safety pin. (11) DO NOT use force.

If the pin does not move freely, this indicates that the mine is faulty. DO NOT use the mine report it to the appropriate authority.

Remove the bottom cap, check that the firing spring is in the unfired (convex) position, and replace the 200 cap Remove the top cap,(2) check that the shipping plug is in place, and replace the cap.

LOADING:

Remove and retain the bottom cap, ensure that the diaphragm is in the unfired (convex) position, and that the safety pin is in place. Remove and retain both top cap and shipping plug. Insert a cartridge of the correct calibre into the sleeve, and firmly push it 8 downwards as far as possible, while grasping the sleeve 210 at the level of the safety pin. A "click" noise indicates that the cartridge is in the correct position. Replace both caps.

The mine is now loaded.

LAYING:

ENSURE THAT THE LAYING TOOL IS VERTICAL.

When preparing a hole in loose or sandy soil, thoroughly soaking the spot where the mine is to be laid, may assist o n 00 a in the formation of a usable hole.

o 0 Prepare a hole of the correct depth with the Laying Tool 220 Gently insert the mine into the hole, safety pin lowermost, with the eye of the safety pin horizontal and pointing into the slot, (See Fig. 5) while grasping the lanyard (11) and Arming Spike (14).

0,,ou The mine is now laid.

0000 S0 ARMING: oo 0 WARNING: AT NO TIME ALLOW ANY PART OF YOUR BODY TO PASS ABOVE THE MINE.

With the Arming Spike provided, gently pull the safety 0 o0000 pin out of the mine by inserting the tip of the spike 230 into the eye of the safety pin, and slowly pulling the pin out horizontally.

WARNING: DO NOT USE FORCE. IF THE SAFETY PIN DOES NOT MOVE FREELY, THIS INDICATES THAT THE MINE IS FAULTY.

NEUTRALISE AND DISARM THE MINE (SEE BELOW) AND REPORT IT TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY.

Withdraw the safety pin from the slot by its lanyard and retain it. Gently fill in the slot, and camouflage the mine.

I 9 The mine is now armed.

240 NEUTRALISING: uncover the top cap and remove it from the mine.

Grasp the sides of the cartridge, and gently remove the mine from the hole. Replace the safety pin.

The mine is now neutralised.

DISARMING:

Remove the bottom cap (if required) and the cartridge.

Replace the shipping plug and both caps.

The mine is now disarmed.

A_

L c -~F REFERENCE POINTS.

SLEEVE

TOP CAP BOTTOM CAP

COLLAR

CARTRIDGE

TONGUE

RESTRAINING LUG

PROTRUSION

FIRING SPRING SAFETY PIN APERTURE (11) METAL SAFETY PIN, LANYARD ARMING SPIKE 1,12) SAFETY PIN SLOT (13) LAYING TOOL (14) ARMING SPIKE SHIPPING PLUG (16) TAB o A