초록 ▼

A fin locking mechanism for locking in place, and subsequently unlocking fins for installation on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins. Where the fins are mounted to a crank arm, there is a locking detent, with a locking notch, integral to the crank arm. A spring loaded locking pl

A fin locking mechanism for locking in place, and subsequently unlocking fins for installation on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins. Where the fins are mounted to a crank arm, there is a locking detent, with a locking notch, integral to the crank arm. A spring loaded locking plunger has an end which fits into the locking notch. The locking plungers are mounted into the assembly housing locking plunger channels. A base plate is spaced from the locking detent such that when one end of the locking plunger is fitted into the locking notch, the other end of the locking plunger is slidably pressed against the base plate by the spring loading, and the locking plunger is relatively perpendicular to the base plate. The base plate also has a plurality of locking plunger recesses, wherein when one end of the locking plunger resides in the locking plunger recesses, the other end of the locking plunger will not reach the locking notch and therefore the fins will be unlocked. A support plate is mounted to the assembly housing, and the base plate is rotateably mounted to the support plate. A rotational loading mechanism rotationally loads the base plate to force the base plate to rotate relative to the support plate to a position where the fins are unlocked. A rotational lock locks the base plate in a rotationally loaded position by extending into a rotational lock recess on the base plate. Thus, when the fins are locked, an end of the locking plunger is slidably pressed on the base plate, and when the rotational lock is released, the base plate rotates and the locking plunger slides over it until the locking plungers recesses are moved under the locking plungers, wherein the locking plungers are forced into the locking plunger recesses by the spring loading, thus moving the other end of the locking plunger out of the locking notch, unlocking the fins.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A method for locking fins and subsequently unlocking fins, on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins, wherein said fin movement is controlled by a crank arm, which is in turn controlled by an actuator, comprising; locking said crank arm to prevent rotation in any direc

We claim: 1. A method for locking fins and subsequently unlocking fins, on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins, wherein said fin movement is controlled by a crank arm, which is in turn controlled by an actuator, comprising; locking said crank arm to prevent rotation in any direction by a crank locking mechanism external to said actuator, releasing said crank locking mechanism when desired upon firing said missile or during free missile flight. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said crank arm has a locking detent integral to said crank arm, wherein said crank locking mechanism comprises a housing holding a locking plunger wherein said locking plunger is extended into said locking detent. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said locking plunger is supported by a base plate. 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said locking plunger is slidably supported by said base plate. 5. A method for locking fin and subsequently unlocking fins, on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins, wherein said fin movement is controlled by a crank arm, which is in turn controlled by an actuator, comprising: locking said crank arm by a crank locking mechanism external to said actuator, wherein said crank arm has a locking detent integral to said crank arm, wherein said crank locking mechanism comprises a housing holding a locking plunger wherein said locking plunger is extended into said locking detent, wherein said locking plunger is slidably supported by a base plate by a ball bearing recessed in said locking plunger, releasing said crank locking mechanism when desired. 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said locking plunger has a first end and a second end, wherein said first end is slidably supported by said base plate, and said second end is forced into said locking detent by spring loading on said locking plunger. 7. The method of claim 3, wherein said base plate has a plurality of locking plunger recesses, wherein said base plate is spaced from said locking detent such that when said looking plungers are supported in said locking plunger recesses, said locking plunger does not engage said crank arm locking detents, and when said locking plungers are supported by said base plate other than at said locking plunger recesses, said locking plungers engage said locking detent. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said locking plunger has a first end and a second end, wherein said first end is slidably supported by said base plate, and said second end is forced into said locking detent by spring loading on said lacking plunger and wherein said locking mechanism further comprises a support plate mounted to said housing, wherein said base plate is rotateably mounted on said support plate. 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the crank locking mechanism is released by rotating said base plate relative to said support plate until said locking plungers are in said locking plunger recesses, thus disengaging said locking plungers from said locking detent. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein said base plate further has a series of circumferential slots, wherein said base plate is rotateably mounted to said support plate by a bolt through said circumferential slots, wherein there is a clearance between said bolts and said circumferential slot, and further wherein said bolt passes through said base plate circumferential slot, and is threaded into said housing, and further wherein there are ball bearings between said plates to accommodate rotational motion. 11. The method of claim 10 wherein said base plate has circumferential grooves sized to fit said ball bearings, and wherein said support plate has corresponding circumferential grooves. 12. The method of claim 8 further comprising: rotating said base plate to a locking position; rotationally loading said base plate to return to a fin-unlocked position if released, and; maintaining said rotational loading by locking the position of said base plate relative to said support plate by a rotational locking mechanism, such that releasing said rotational locking mechanism will release said crank locking mechanism. 13. The method of claim 12 wherein said base plate further comprises a rotation locking recess, wherein said rotational locking mechanism comprises extending a rotational lock into said rotational lock recess. 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said rotational lock comprises a solenoid, which extends Into said rotational locking recess when not activated, and when activated, retracts to allow the rotationally loaded base plate to rotate relative to said support plate, thus allowing said locking plungers to fall into said locking plunger recesses, releasing said crank arm locking detent, thus unlocking the fins. 15. The method of claim 12 wherein said base plate is rotationally loaded by a spring. 16. The method of claim 12 further comprising fin re-locking steps, for placing the fins into a locked position once they have already been locked and then unlocked, further comprising the steps: manually lifting said locking plungers into said locking detents, and holding said locking plungers temporarily in this position using a temporary locking mechanism; rotating said base plate to a locking position; rotationally loading said base plate to return to a fin-unlocked position if released; locking the position of said base plate relative to said support plate in said locking position by a rotational locking mechanism; and releasing said temporary locking mechanisms. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein said temporary locking mechanism comprises a pin, a plunger manual locking slot on said locking plungers, end a housing manual locking slot on said housing, wherein said housing manual locking slot has a locking portion which is relatively parallel to said locking plunger, and a retaining portion, which is relatively perpendicular to said locking plunger, further wherein a pin inserted into said locking plunger manual locking slot through said housing manual locking slot locking portion may be used to manually lift said locking plunger second end into said locking detent, and further wherein said pin may then be moved to said housing manual locking slot retaining portion, wherein said pin will retain said locking plunger in said locking plunger detent until removed, and removal of said pin will release said temporary locking mechanism. 18. A fin locking mechanism for locking in place, and subsequently unlocking fins for installation on a missile having a plurality of otherwise moveable fins extending from an outer surface thereof, wherein the fins are mounted to a crank arm, wherein the crank arms are driven by an actuator assembly, which in turn drives the fins, comprising: a locking detent integral to said crank arm, wherein said locking detent has a locking notch; a locking plunger, which is spring loaded, wherein said locking plunger has a first end and an opposing second end, wherein said second end is of a size and shape to fit into said locking notch; an assembly housing, having locking plunger channels, wherein said locking plungers slide into said locking plunger channels, and wherein said locking plunger channels are of a size and shape such that when said locking plungers are in said locking plunger channels, said locking plunger first end and second end extend out of said locking plunger channels; a base plate, wherein said locking plunger first end is slideably supported on said base plate, wherein said base plate is spaced from said locking detent such that when said locking plunger second end is fitted into said locking notch, said locking plunger first end is pressed against said base plate by said spring loading, and said locking plunger is relatively perpendicular to said base plate, and further wherein said base plate has a plurality of locking plunger recesses, wherein when said locking plunger first end resides in said locking plunger recesses said locking plunger second end will not reach said locking notch and therefore the fins will be unlocked, further wherein said base plate has a rotation locking recess; a support plate which is mounted to said assembly housing, wherein said base plate is rotateably mounted to said support plate; a rotational loading mechanism for rotationally loading said base plate to force said base plate to rotate relative to said support plate to a position where the fins are unlocked; a rotational lock wherein said base plate rotational position is locked in a rotationally loaded position by extending said rotational lock into said rotational lock recess, wherein when said fins are locked, said locking plunger first end is pressed on said base plate, and when said rotational lock is released, said base plate rotates such that said locking plungers recesses are moved under said locking plungers, and said locking plungers are forced into said locking plunger recesses by said locking plunger spring loading, thus moving said locking plunger second end out of said locking notch, thus unlocking the fins. 19. The fin locking mechanism of claim 18 wherein said locking plunger first end is slideably supported by a ball bearing recessed into said first end. 20. The fin locking mechanism of claim 18 wherein said base plate further has a series of circumferential slots, wherein said base plate is rotateably mounted to said support plate by a bolt through said circumferential slots, wherein there is a clearance between said bolts and said circumferential slot and further by a nut mounted on said bolt, wherein there is a clearance between said nut and said base plate, and further wherein there are a plurality of ball bearings between said base plate and said support plate to accommodate rotational motion. 21. The fin locking mechanism of claim 20 wherein said base plate further has circumferential grooves sized to fit said ball bearings, and wherein said support plate has corresponding circumferential grooves. 22. The fin locking mechanism of claim 18 wherein said rotational lock comprises a solenoid, wherein said solenoid extends into said base plate rotation locking recess, such that when said solenoid extends into said rotation locking recess, said base plate does not rotate relative to said support plate, and when said solenoid is activated and retracted from said rotation locking recess, said base plate rotates in the direction of the rotational loading relative to the support plate. 23. The fin locking mechanism of claim 18 wherein said rotational loading mechanism comprises a spring. 24. The fin locking mechanism of claim 18 wherein said locking plunger further has a plunger locking slot, and said assembly housing has a corresponding housing manual locking slot, wherein said housing manual locking slot has a locking portion, which is relatively parallel to said locking plunger, and a retaining portion, which is relatively perpendicular to said locking plunger, further wherein a pin inserted into said locking plunger manual locking slot through said housing manual locking slot locking portion may be used to manually lift said locking plunger second end into said locking detent, and further wherein said pin may then be moved to said housing manual locking slot retaining portion, wherein said pin will retain said locking plunger in said locking plunger detent until removed, and removal of said pin will release said locking plungers, such that said locking plungers can be placed in their locked position after installation of said fin locking mechanism on a missile. 25. A fin control section assembly, for control of missile fins, for mounting directly onto a missile, comprising: a fin actuator and driving assembly; and, a fin locking assembly, wherein said fin locking assembly is a unit such that said fin locking assembly may be mounted to said fin actuator assembly in one piece such that said fin locking assembly/fin actuator and driving assembly combination may be mounted to the missile as one piece, and further wherein the fins may be locked after mounting of said fin control section assembly to said missile, wherein the fins are mounted to a crank arm, wherein the crank arms are driven by said fin actuator and driving assembly, which in turn drives the fins, wherein said fin locking assembly comprises: a locking detent integral to the crank arm, wherein said locking detent has a locking notch; a locking plunger, which is spring loaded, wherein said locking plunger has a first end and an opposing second end, wherein said second end is of a size and shape to fit into said locking notch; an assembly housing, having locking plunger channels, wherein said locking plungers slide into said locking plunger channels, and wherein said locking plunger channels are of a size and shape such that when said locking plungers are in said looking plunger channels, said locking plunger first end and second end extend out of said locking plunger channels; a base plate, wherein said locking plunger first end is slideably supported on said base plate, wherein said base plate is spaced from said locking detent such that when said looking plunger second end is fitted into said locking notch, said locking plunger first end is pressed against said base plate by said spring loading, and said locking plunger is relatively perpendicular to said base plate, and further wherein said base plate has a plurality of locking plunger recesses, wherein when said locking plunger first end resides in said locking plunger recesses said locking plunger second end will not reach said locking notch and therefore the fins will be unlocked, further wherein said base plate has a rotation locking recess; a support plate which is mounted to said assembly housing, wherein said base plate is rotateably mounted to said support plate; a rotational loading mechanism for rotationally loading said base plate to force said base plate to rotate relative to said support plate to a position where the fins are unlocked; a rotational lock wherein said base plate rotational position is locked in a rotationally loaded position by extending said rotational lock into said roalational lock recess, wherein when said fins are locked, said locking plunger first end is pressed on said base plate, and when said rotational lock is released, said base plate rotates such that said looking plungers recesses are moved under said locking plungers, end said locking plungers are forced into said locking plunger recesses by said locking plunger spring loading, thus moving said locking plunger second end out of said locking notch, thus unlocking the fins.