US 11,754,378 B1
Deployable flap for high-G maneuvers
Glenn Richard Thoren, Chelmsford, MA (US); William Whitcomb McFarland, Waltham, MA (US); Rebecca Ann DeFronzo, Salem, MA (US); Stephen Louis Bellio, Newton, MA (US); Jesse M. Carr, Cambridge, MA (US); Jeffery Brandon DeLisio, Arlington, MA (US); Gregory M. Fritz, Acton, MA (US); and Sean George, Boston, MA (US)
Assigned to THE CHARLES STARK DRAPER LABORATORY, INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed by THE CHARLES STARK DRAPER LABORATORY, INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed on Apr. 30, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/399,453.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/664,825, filed on Apr. 30, 2018.
Int. Cl. F42B 10/14 (2006.01)
CPC F42B 10/14 (2013.01) 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tail for a projectile, the tail comprising:
a body having a longitudinal axis; and
a steering assembly secured to the body, including:
a fixed flap having an inclined surface defined at a constant angle with respect to a surface of the body, the inclined surface extending from flush with the body at one end along the longitudinal axis of the body, and raised radially with respect to the body at another end, the fixed flap defining an opening within the inclined surface, and
a flap movable from a first position in which the flap does not extend radially beyond the inclined surface of the fixed flap and the flap is housed in the opening, to a second position in which the flap extends radially beyond the inclined surface of the fixed flap, and at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis; and
a flap release mechanism;
wherein an aft clearance portion of the surface of the fixed flap is located rearward of the flap along the longitudinal axis, the aft clearance portion spanning at least the width of the rearward end of the fixed flap along the lateral axis.