US 12,442,622 B1
Variable payload launch device
Michael Anderson, Colorado Springs, CO (US); Grant Appel, O'Fallon, IL (US); Seth Konig, El Dorado Hills, CO (US); George Gardner, Butler, MO (US); Shawn Mathis, Waco, TX (US); William Yates, Columbia, SC (US); John Olson, Lakeville, MN (US); and Hugh Briggs, Colorado Springs, CO (US)
Assigned to United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (US)
Filed by Government of the United States, as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (US)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/331,369.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/440,519, filed on Jan. 23, 2023.
Int. Cl. F41B 3/02 (2006.01); F41H 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC F41H 7/005 (2013.01) [F41B 3/02 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for automatic projectile delivery, the device comprising:
a base and a launch assembly operably connected thereto;
the base comprising a frame and at least one stanchion upstanding from the frame for supporting the launch assembly;
a fore panel and an aft panel longitudinally opposed thereto;
at least one rail extending between the fore panel and the aft panel and holding the fore panel and aft panel in fixed relationship the launch assembly being articulable relative to a support surface;
a carriage having a sled supported by the at least one rail to be longitudinally translatable, the carriage being spring biased towards the fore panel and having a bucket separable from the sled and configured to receive a projectile therein and launch a projectile therefrom;
a screw, the screw being longitudinally parallel and being operably connected to the carriage whereby rotation of the screw imparts longitudinal retraction to the carriage as determined by a remote user;
a launch motor adapted to impart rotation to the screw to cause longitudinal movement of the carriage in response to the rotation of the screw; and
at least one rotatable tab for holding the sled in a predetermined longitudinal position between the fore panel and the aft panel and upon release allowing the bucket to advance forward under the spring bias to thereby launch a projectile therefrom.