DESCRIPTION

The object of the present invention is a launching device of hand bombs or grenades provided with a system which allows different modes of activation of the hand bomb.

More particularly the invention relates to the device for launching hand bombs which is the object of Italian patent application no. 102015000017964 filed on May 26 2015 in the name of the same Applicant, the content whereof is incorporated in full herein by means of reference, device which has been improved to allow different possibilities of activation of the hand bomb. The device according to the aforesaid Italian patent application comprises a tubular body carrying at one end a widened interchangeable head for the housing of the hand bomb carried by a gripping and retaining member which can have different appearance and dimension, mounted on a hollow cylindrical stick with an optional additional explosive charge, if required by military tactical needs, a watertight threaded cap closing the widened head. At the other end of the tubular body a compressed air tank is attached, whose discharge, controllable by means of a handle with trigger made integral with the tubular body, produces the launching from a distance of the assembly of hand bomb and cylindrical stick with additional charge. In modern military and warfare techniques the classic activations of the hand bomb with standard delay or percussion following impact with the target are considered limiting, the need often arising to activate the hand bomb in situations other than those cited.

The object of the invention is in fact that of providing such a device for launching hand bombs which allows different modes of activation of the same.

Another object of the invention is that of providing such a launching device for hand bombs which is quiet, compact, reliable and simple to use. Yet another object of the invention is that of adapting the launching device of the aforementioned Italian patent application to different modes of activation of the hand bomb by means of an additional detonation unit of the modular type, which does not substantially alter the structure of the launching device.

These and other objects are achieved by the invention which has the features of the appended independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed by the dependent claims.

Substantially the invention relates to a device for launching hand bombs carried by a gripping and retaining member mounted on a substantially cylindrical stick, housing one or more explosive charges, comprising a tubular body holding at one end a widened head, apt to house, respectively, said cylindrical stick and said gripping member, with the bomb, and at the other end a tank of compressed air, whose discharge can be controlled by a handle with trigger, in which said hollow cylindrical stick, on the opposite side from the gripping member, is made integral an multimodal detonation module. Further features of the invention will be made clearer by the following detailed description, referred to a purely non-limiting example thereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a median sectioned view of a bombs launching device according to the invention, complete with additional detonation unit or module attached to the support handle or hollow stick of the hand bomb;

Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a plan view and a longitudinal sectioned view of a hand bomb with relative support hollow stick and additional detonation module;

Figure 4 is a sectioned view of only the additional detonation module;

Figure 5 is a schematic view of a transmitter unit which can be used with the multimodal launching device according to the invention.

Refemng to Figure 1, the device for launching hand bombs according to the invention has been denoted as a whole by reference numeral 1 and comprises a tubular body or rod 30, having two end shanks 32, 33 threaded externally, on which a widened head 34 closed frontally by a screw cap 35 and a tank of compressed air (nitrogen) 36 are screwed respectively.

The tubular body 30 holds a pair of handles 40, 41, of which the front one 40 closer to the widened head 34 is only used as a grip, while the other handle 41, on the side of the compressed air tank 36, holds a trigger 45 which controls the discharge of the compressed gas in the tank 36. A hand bomb 10, which only by way of example in the accompanying drawings is shown as spherical in shape, is carried by a gripping and retaining member 11 provided with a threaded shank 16 (see in particular Figure 3) which screws internally to the open end of a hollow stick 20, whose other end 21 is closed.

The hollow stick 20 can also be used for a manual launch of the bomb 10 and is filled with explosive charges 22 (compounds of various kind and type) apt to increase the offensive power of the bomb. According to the invention, on the side of the closed end 21 of the hollow stick 20 an additional detonation module or unit 50 is mounted which will be described in greater detail here below, having an externally threaded shank 51, apt to screw internally to an extension of the hollow stick 20 beyond said closed end 21. The assembly shown in Figures 2 and 3, made up of the hand bomb 10, the hollow stick 20 and the additional detonation module 50 are housed in the launching device as shown in Figure 1. More particularly the hollow stick 20 and the additional detonation module 50 are housed in the tubular body 30, with the detonation module 50 arranged in proximity of the compressed air tank 36, while the hand bomb 10 is housed in the widened head 34.

Naturally the hollow stick 20 can have different dimensions. For the case shown in Figures 2 and 3, wherein two explosive charges 22 are provided, the length of the prototypes made is 254 mm for a diameter of 32 mm. Other prototypes have been made of a length that is exactly half, i.e. 127 mm, with only one of the explosive charges 22 shown in Figure 3.

The tubular body 30 of the launching device can be correspondingly adapted to the length of the hollow stick 20 complete with additional detonation module 50, or can be maintained of the standard length by appropriately filling the empty space of the tubular body 30 in the case of use of sticks of smaller length.

The additional detonation module 50, shown in greater detail in Figure 4, comprises a body in engineering plastic material with high strength and cylindrical in shape with knurled outer surface for better grip. Starting from the shank 51 of screwing to the end of the hollow stick 20, inside of said body of the module 50 an explosive charge 60 is contained for the detonation of the compounds 22 contained in the hollow stick 20 and of the hand bomb 10. The possible empty space between the explosive charge 60 and the closed end part 52 at the shank 51 is filled with a spacer in polyurethane 53 to increase the detonating effect.

The explosive charge 60 is internally hollow and incorporates a micro-resistor 61 which, when crossed by current, becomes red hot, triggering a micro-detonator 62 in mercury fulminate or another primer which, in turn, makes the hollow charge 60 detonate and, subsequently, triggering the detonation of the explosive charges 22 and of the bomb 10. Upstream of the hollow charge 60 a trivalent or trimodal electronic circuit 70 is placed for the activation of the micro-detonator 62, connected with electrical conductors 71 to the resistor 61. The trimodal electronic circuit 70, which has the function of independent detonator/primer of the bomb 10, is designed to operate in different modes:

a) Activation of detonation by means of percussion/impact of the hand bomb on the ground or against a solid or semisolid obstacle (when the hand bomb is not provided with a percussion detonator). This mode is always active by default so that if another mode is not selected or if for any reason a detonation should not occur, an inertia switch causes the detonation of the bomb following an impact.

b) Activation of the detonation by means of timed control independently of the timing of the hand bomb (which normally is 4-5'), In this case the timing is preferably 10 to 35', although a different time span can also be chosen. This timer can be set by means of a trimmer which can be actuated for example by means of the tip of a screwdriver through a hole provided in the body of the module 50. The timing, which is normally set at a time greater than the time of flight of the bomb, allows in any case the detonation thereof if for any reason the explosion should not occur after impact.

c) Activation by means of radio pulse, which triggers the immediate detonation of the micro charge through an "overhead shrapnel" effect. For this mode on the electronic circuit 70 a receiver aerial is provided, schematically denoted by the numeral 72 in Figure 4, apt to receive a pulse from a remote control, as will be seen in greater detail here below. Upstream of the electronic circuit 70 a battery group 80 is provided, apt to feed the electronic circuit 70 by means of conductors 81 and to trigger the detonation. The module is completed by a safety pressure switch 90 which activates the electronic circuit 70, changing state, only after the compressed air jet coming from the tank 36 has expelled the hand bomb - hollow stick 20 - module 50 assembly, with a safety delay of about 5'.

The additional detonation module 50 therefore comprises substantially three blocks: an explosive block 2 comprising the hollow charge 60 with detonator 62;

an electronic control block 3;

a power block 4 comprising the battery group 80 and the pressure switch 90.

The non-limiting dimensions of the module 50 are: length 75 mm, diameter 32 mm, corresponding to the diameter of the hollow stick 20.

The module 50, on the side opposite to the shank 51, is closed by a screw cap 54 with a central hole 55 for the passage of the compressed air.

Activation by means of radio pulse takes place by means of a transmitter unit which can be a common remote control for domotics operating on preset frequencies and also a terminal/cell phone, on the frequency of cell phones 900-1800-1900-2100 MHz, also programmable with NFC (near field communication) technology.

This transmitter unit has been shown at an extremely schematic level in Figure 5 and denoted by reference numeral 100. It comprises an on-off slide micro-switch 101, slightly recessed in the wall of the casing so as to be able to be actuated only intentionally, by means of a pointed object. This is done for safety reasons, to avoid accidental actuation of the remote control especially when the operator is in the field. A standby pressbutton switch 102 is then provided, which can only be actuated when the main switch 101 is in the "on" state, which serves to activate the transmitter 100, a condition which can be indicated for example by the lighting of a micro-led 103.

A further pushbutton 104 allows selection of the radio-pulse function or the timer function, indicated by further leds 105, 106. The double function is operated by a slide selector micro-switch 107.

Naturally what is illustrated in relation to the transmitter unit 100 is purely by way of an example, with the possibility of having other functions, according to needs.

The functioning of the improved launching device according to the invention takes place in the following way:

by actuating the trigger 45, after having removed the front cap 35, the compressed air contained in the tank 36 is discharged, which expels the assembly made up of the hand bomb 10, of the hollow stick 20 and of the additional detonation module 50. With a delay of 5', the pressure switch 90 changes state and activates the electronic circuit 70, which according to the mode wherein it has been set, i.e. receiving a radio pulse of the transmitter unit 5 while the bomb is in flight, or at the expiiy of the timing set, powers the micro-resistor 61 which increases in temperature, up to incandescence, triggering the micro-detonator 62 which detonates the hollow charge 60 and, in a chain, the explosive charges 22 in the hollow stick 20 and the hand bomb 10.

From what has been disclosed the advantages of the invention appear clear, which allows different modes of activation of a hand bomb, as well as the traditional ones, thus meeting the various needs which may arise on a battle field.

Naturally the invention is not limited to the pailicular embodiment previously described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but numerous detailed changes may be made thereto, within the reach of the person skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention itself as defined by the appended claims.