Frangible Glass Grenade

Abstract

An improved munition and method for controlling riotous conditions; the iovement being the utilization of a frangible container for the munition.

Description

DEDICATORY CLAUSE

The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for The Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to an improvement in disseminating riot control chemical agents in grenades, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,421; the improvement being in the use of a frangible material in manufacturing the grenade case.

The problem which existed with the prior art grenades, such as the aforementioned U.S. Patent, was that the grenade could be picked up by one against whom the grenade was being used prior to dissemination of the grenade payload and thrown back to have the payload disseminated against the user. This was a particular problem with the prior art grenades when utilized for riot control purposes. My invention was conceived and reduced to practice to solve the above described prior art problem and to satisfy the long felt need for a grenade which could not be thrown back at the user.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a grenade which has a frangible case and which cannot be thrown back at the user.

Another object of my invention is to provide a grenade case which fragmentizes into pieces which will not cause injuries.

Other objects will be obvious from or will appear in the specification hereinafter set forth.

FIG. 1 is a view showing my grenade with the safety pin in position to prevent the striker means from striking the grenade case.

FIG. 2 is a view of the grenade shown in FIG. 1 with the safety pin removed .

My invention and FIGS. 1 and 2 will now be described in detail as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, my grenade consists of a frangible and sealed container 1 to contain the payload to be disseminated, such as lachrymatory material; a plunger means assembly shown at 2 having a head means 3 fixedly connected to shaft 4 at one end and diamond tip 5, as shown in FIG. 2, fixedly connected to the opposite end of shaft 4 and adjacent to container 1; plunger mounting means 6 fixedly connected to container 1 in any conventional manner, such as cementing; fins 7 fixedly connected to container 1 at the end opposite to the plunger mounting means, such as by cementing, to give aerodynamic stability to the grenade while in flight to the target area; and safety pin 8 to retain the plunger means assembly 2 in the position shown in FIG. 1 to prevent diamond tip 5 from striking container 1 prior to delivery of the munition to a target area. To deliver the payload, which can be selected within the skill of the art for any application of my invention, within container 1 to a target area, pin 8 is withdrawn from hole 9 in shaft 4; the grenade is thrown to the target area; diamond tip 5 is forced against container 1 when head 3 strikes the ground at the target area; a light scratch is placed on the frangible container 1 when diamond tip 5 strikes the container 1 which causes the container 1 to fragmentize into particles which have no sharp edges, such as the safety glass in automobile windshields when broken; and the payload within container 1 is disseminated at the target area site. Container 1 is manufactured of any glass which has been chemically treated in hot alkali metal bath to insure proper fragmentation and has properties such as 1.65 .times. 10.sup.3 psi at 25.degree. C strength to weight ratio modulus of rupture to specific gravity, 10.3 .times. 10.sup.6 psi at 25.degree. C Young's Modulus of Elasticity, 4.3 .times. 10.sup.6 psi at 25.degree. C shear modulus, 6.0 .times. 10.sup.6 psi bulk modulus, 40,000 psi modulus of rupture standard sandblast abrasion, 590 kg/mm.sup.2 (100 gm load) Knoop hardness, 2.46 gms/cc density, 880.degree. C softening point, and 583.degree. C strain point. While the utility of my invention is described as a grenade, my improved case can be used with other munitions, such as bullets or other missiles, used in special applications to avoid permanent injury. Also, while tip 5 is described as a diamond tip, any material can be used for tip 5 which is harder than and will scratch and fragmentize container 1.

It is obvious that other modifications can be made of my invention, and I desire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a munition adapted to deliver a payload to a target area having a plurality of components comprising a plunger assembly, a striker means, and a safety pin means; the improvement in combination with the components being a container means made of a frangible material and the striker means being a material which is harder than the container material, said frangible material being glass having a density of 2.46 gms/cc, a softening point at 880 .degree. C, and a strain point at 583.degree. C adapted to be fragmentized into particles having no sharp edges and to prevent wound injuries.

2. The munition of claim 1 wherein the munition is a grenade.

3. The munition of claim 1 wherein the glass has been chemically treated.

4. The munition of claim 3 wherein the chemical treatment is by hot alkali metal bath.

5. The munition of claim 1 wherein the glass has a 1.65 .times. 10.sup.3 psi at 25.degree. C strength to weight ratio modulus of rupture to specific gravity, a 10.3 .times. 10.sup.6 psi at 25.degree. C Young's Modulus of Elasticity, a 4.3 .times. 10.sup.6 psi at 25.degree. C shear modulus, a 40,000 psi modulus of rupture standard sandblast abrasion, and a 590 Kg/mm.sup.2 Knoop hardness.

6. The munition of claim 1 wherein the striker means material is a diamond.

7. The munition of claim 1 wherein the payload is a chemical agent.

8. A method of controlling riotous conditions by disseminating a chemical agent from a frengible container comprising the steps of removing a safety pin from a grenade having a frangible container, said frangible material being glass having a density of 2.46 gms/cc, a softening point at 880.degree. C, and a strain point at 583.degree. C adapted to be fragmentized into particles having no sharp edges and to prevent wound injuries; throwing the grenade to a riotous target area; striking the container with a striker means on impact of the grenade with a surface to cause the container to be scratched and fragmentized, the striker means being a material which is harder than the container material; fragmentizing the container into particles having no sharp edges to prevent wound injuries; and disseminating the chemical agent at the riotous target area.