AU2020200337B2 - Load-bearing platform for carrying military payloads - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY Carrier platform for carrying military payloads 5 A carrier platform for carrying at least one military payload is proposed, wherein the carrier platform is manufactured of a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Fig. 1 1/10 8 8 6 10 9 FIG. 1

Description

SUMMARY

Carrier platform for carrying military payloads

A carrier platform for carrying at least one military payload is proposed, wherein the carrier platform is manufactured of a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.

Fig. 1

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FIG. 1

CARRIER PLATFORM FOR CARRYING MILITARY PAYLOADS

This application is a divisional application of Australian patent application

2017271234 filed on 13 December 2018, which is the national phase application of PCT/EP2017/060489 filed on 3 May 2017, which claims the benefit of German provisional patent application 10 2016 109 727.6 filed on 25 May 2016, the disclo sures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a carrier platform for carrying military payloads such as missiles, tube weapons, laser weapons or sensors. Furthermore, the pre sent disclosure relates to a vehicle, in particular a military vehicle, with such a carrier platform, a method for manufacturing such a carrier platform, a system for carrying military payloads and a method for providing such a system.

Conventional carrier platforms for carrying military payloads are conventionally

manufactured of steel or aluminum. Disadvantageously, such conventional carri

er platforms manufactured of steel or aluminum are very heavy and therefore

unsuitable for use on lightweight carrier vehicles in general.

Against this background, there is provided an improved carrier platform.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as

"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated

element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the

exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or

steps.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which

has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed be fore the priority date of each of the appended claims.

According to a first aspect, a carrier platform for carrying at least one military payload is proposed, wherein the carrier platform is manufactured of a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, wherein the carrier platform is configured to carry at least one missile and/or at least one laser weapon as the at least one military payload, wherein the carrier platform has an azimuth module and an elevation module which is couplable with the azimuth module, wherein the azimuth mod ule is configured to carry the elevation module and to align the at least one mili tary payload in azimuth, and wherein the elevation module is configured to carry the at least one military payload and to align it in elevation.

The carrier platform being manufactured of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic has a significantly reduced weight compared to conventional carrier platforms made of steel or aluminum. This significant weight reduction of the proposed carbon fiber-reinforced plastic carrier platform makes it possible to deploy the carrier platform on lightweight carrier vehicles.

The carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic can also be referred to as carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) or as carbon. In particular, the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic is a composite material in which carbon fibers are embedded in a plastic matrix, for example made of epoxy resin. The carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic has the advantage of low mass and high stiffness at the same time.

Due to the high stiffness and rigidity and the high damping properties of the car bon, in the carrier platform resonance levels are reduced and thus higher stabili zation qualities are achieved. Due to the high chemical resistance and high corro- sion resistance of the carbon a large area of application for the carrier platform is possible without costly additional surface protection measures.

Furthermore, the very high fatigue resistance of the carbon allows for the carrier

platform a very long operating time in the field. Through a targeted selection and routing of the fiber material of the carbon, even under fire, tearing of the carrier platform on the projectile exit side is prevented.

Furthermore, the carbon used for the carrier platform has in addition to the low thermal expansion also a low electrical and thermal conductivity advantageously. For example, in the case of a carrier platform carrying a weapon, a longer one sided heat impingement does advantageously not lead to misalignment of the ax es LOS (Line-Of-Sight) and LOF (Line-Of-Fire) of the weapon.

The carrier platform may also be referred to as a weapon platform.

According to an embodiment, the carrier platform consists of the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic. In this embodiment, the carrier platform exclusively consists of carbon. This maximizes the advantages described above.

According to a further embodiment, the carrier platform is configured to carry at least one missile, at least one tube weapon, at least one laser weapon and/or at least one sensor device.

According to a further embodiment, the at least one sensor device has a camera, in particular a day-vision camera, a thermal imaging camera or a near-infrared camera. Also, other sensor devices or sensors, such as rangefinders, can advanta geously be mounted on the carrier platform.

According to a further embodiment, the carrier platform is configured to align the at least one military payload in azimuth and/or in elevation. In this way, advan tageously, the azimuth angle and the elevation angle of the military payload, such as a weapon, can be aligned.

According to a further embodiment, the carrier platform has an azimuth module and an elevation module which is couplable with the azimuth module, wherein the azimuth module is configured to carry the elevation module and to align the at least one military payload in azimuth, and wherein the elevation module is configured to carry the at least one military payload and to align it in elevation. Due to the high temperature stability and the modularity of the coupling between the azimuth module and the elevation module, the elevation module can be re placed without readjustment in the field.

According to a further embodiment, the azimuth module is configured to align the at least one military payload in azimuth with an azimuth angle between 0° and 360. Consequently, the respective military payload can be rotated N times about 360°.

According to a further embodiment, the elevation module is configured to align the at least one military payload in elevation with an elevation angle between -15° and + 70.

According to a further embodiment, both the azimuth module as well as the ele vation module consist of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.

According to another embodiment, the azimuth module has: - a carrier unit for carrying the elevation module, - a coupling unit for electrically coupling the elevation module,

- a drive and drive electronics for moving the azimuth module in azimuth,

- an angle sensor for measuring a current azimuth angle, and/or

- a control device for controlling the carrier platform.

According to another embodiment, the elevation module has:

- a carrier unit for carrying the at least one military payload,

- a coupling unit for electrically coupling the azimuth module,

- a drive and drive electronics for moving the carrier unit in elevation, and/or

- an angle sensor for measuring a current elevation angle.

According to a second aspect, a vehicle with a carrier platform as described above

for carrying at least one military payload is proposed. The vehicle is for example

a car, a truck, a tank or a ship.

According to a third aspect, a method for manufacturing a carrier platform for

carrying at least one military payload, wherein the carrier platform is manufac

tured of a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, wherein the carrier platform is config

ured to carry at least one missile and/or at least one laser weapon as the military

payload, wherein the carrier platform has an azimuth module and an elevation

module which is couplable with the azimuth module, wherein the azimuth mod

ule is configured to carry the elevation module and to align the at least one mili

tary payload in azimuth, and wherein the elevation module is configured to carry

the at least one military payload and to align it in elevation.

According to a fourth aspect, a system for carrying N military payloads is pro

posed, comprising:

a plurality of elevation modules manufactured of carbon-fiber-reinforced

plastic, wherein each of the plurality of elevation modules carries a number M of

military payloads, where M< N, the number M including at least one missile or

one laser weapon as the military payload, and a single azimuth module manufactured of the carbon-fiber-reinforced plas tic, which is couplable with each of the plurality of elevation modules and is con figured to carry at a point of time exactly one of the plurality of elevation mod ules, wherein the azimuth module is configured to align the M military payloads of the carried elevation module in azimuth, and wherein the elevation module is configured to align the M military payloads in elevation.

According to a fifth aspect, a method for providing a system for carrying N mili

tary payloads is proposed. The method comprises the following steps:

providing a plurality of elevation modules manufactured of carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic such that each of the plurality of elevation modules carries a

number M of military payloads, where M< N, the number M including at least

one missile or one laser weapon as the military payload, and is configured to

align the M military payloads in elevation,

providing a single azimuth module manufactured of the carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic such that it is couplable with each of the plurality of elevation

modules, wherein the azimuth module is configured to align the M military pay

loads of the carried elevation module in azimuth, and

coupling the provided azimuth module at a point in time with exactly one

of the plurality of elevation modules.

The embodiments and features described for the proposed device apply corre

spondingly to the proposed method.

Further possible implementations also comprise not explicitly mentioned combi

nations of features or embodiments described above or below with regard to the

embodiments. In this case, the skilled person will also add individual aspects as

improvements or additions to the respective basic form.

Further advantageous embodiments and aspects are subject- matter of the de pendent claims as well as the embodiments described below. The following ex planation provides more detail by means of preferred embodiments with refer ence to the enclosed figures.

Fig. 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of an azimuth module of a carrier platform for carrying military payloads;

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the embodiment of an azimuth module according to

Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the embodiment of an azimuth module according to

Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a front view of a first embodiment of an elevation module of a car

rier platform for carrying military payloads;

Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the first embodiment of an elevation module ac

cording to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows a side view of the first embodiment of an elevation module accord

ing to Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 shows a front view of a second embodiment of an elevation module of a

carrier platform for carrying military payloads;

Fig. 8 shows a plan view of the second embodiment of an elevation module ac

cording to Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 shows a side view of the second embodiment of an elevation module ac cording to Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 shows a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for

providing a system for carrying N military payloads.

In the figures, the same or functionally identical elements have been given the same reference numerals, unless stated otherwise.

The carrier platform 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 9 for carrying military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 comprises an azimuth module 6 as well as an elevation module 7. For this pur pose, Figs. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of an azimuth module 6. Figs. 4 to 6 show a first embodiment of an elevation module 7 and Figs. 7 to 9 show a second em bodiment of an elevation module 7.

Thus, Figs. 1 to 9 show two exemplary possibilities for forming a carrier platform 1. According to the first possibility, the carrier platform 1 comprises the azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 and the elevation module 7 of Figs 4 to 6. According to the second possibility, the carrier platform 1 comprises the azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 and the elevation module 7 of Figs. 7 to 9.

All the azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 as well as the elevation module 7 of Figs. 4 to 6 as well as the elevation module 7 of Figs. 7 to 9 are manufactured of a car bon-reinforced plastic, hereinafter also short carbon. In particular, the carrier platform 1 exclusively consists of carbon.

Now, in detail to the embodiment of the azimuth module 6 of the carrier platform 1 for carrying military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 according to Figs. 1 to 3. For this pur pose, Fig. 1 shows a front view, Fig. 2 shows a plan view and Fig. 3 shows a side

view of the azimuth module 6. The azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 is configured to carry the elevation module 7 and to align the military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 in az imuth. In particular, the azimuth module 6 is configured to align the military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 in azimuth with an azimuth angle between 0° and 3600. In other words, the azimuth module 6 can be rotated as often as desired by 360°.

This is illustrated by the double arrow in Fig. 2. Al denotes the azimuth axis in

Figs. 1 and 2, about which the azimuth module 6 is rotatable for aligning the mil

itary payloads 2, 3, 4, 5.

As particularly illustrated in Fig. 1, the azimuth module 6 comprises a carrier

unit 8 for carrying the elevation module 7. The carrier unit 8 can also be referred

to as an interface module or interface for the elevation module 7. Moreover, the

azimuth module 6 comprises a coupling unit (not shown) for electrically coupling

the elevation module 7. In addition, the azimuth module 6 comprises a drive 9

and drive electronics 10 for moving the azimuth module 6. Furthermore, the azi

muth module 6 may include an angle sensor for measuring a current azimuth

angle and a control device for controlling the entire carrier platform 1 (not

shown). In addition, Fig. 1 shows an interface 11 to the vehicle, on which the car

rier platform 1 can be mounted.

As already explained above, Figs. 4 to 6 show a first embodiment of an elevation

module 7 of the carrier platform 1 for carrying military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5. The

first embodiment of the elevation module 7 of Figs. 4 to 6 carries as military pay

loads a number of missiles 3 as well as a number of cameras 5, which are ar

ranged on a sensor carrier 15. The elevation module 7 of Figs. 4 to 6 is couplable

to the carrier unit 8 of the azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 via an interface device

16. The elevation module 7 of Figs. 4 to 6 comprises a carrier unit 12 for carrying

the military payloads 3, 5 and a coupling unit (not shown) for electrically cou

pling the azimuth module 6. Moreover, the elevation module 7 comprises a drive

13 for moving the carrier unit 8 in elevation. The elevation angle is denoted with

1U

A2 in Figs. 4 to 6. Furthermore, the elevation module 7 comprises a spring hous ing 14.

As already explained above, the second embodiment for an elevation module 7 is

shown in Figs. 7 to 9. In this purpose, Fig. 7 shows a front view of the second em bodiment of the elevation module 7, Fig. 8 shows a plan view and Fig. 9 shows a side view.

The essential difference of the second embodiment of the elevation module 7 compared to the first embodiment of Fig. 4 lies in the military payloads, which are carried by the respective elevation module 7. In the second embodiment of Figs. 7 to 9, the elevation module 7 carries two missiles 2, a laser weapon 4 and a plurality of sensor devices 5. In particular, the sensor devices 5 comprise camer as, for example thermal cameras, day-vision cameras or near-infrared cameras.

As a result that the azimuth module 6 of Figs. 1 to 3 is couplable with different elevation modules 7, like for example according to the first embodiment of Figs. 4 to 6 or the second embodiment of Figs. 7 to 9, a system for carrying N military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 is created. Depending on the application, the user or operator can mount different military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 on the elevation module 7, there by forming different elevation modules 7. Depending on the application, the op erator can select one of the elevation modules 7 and can mount it on the azimuth module 6. For example, it is conceivable to equip an elevation module 7 with a missile and an electrical sensor, to equip another elevation module 7 with a laser weapon, for example, with 10 kW and a missile. It is also possible to equip an el

evation module 7 with a missile and a viewing device or cameras. Furthermore, it

is possible to equip an elevation module 7 with a missile, a viewing device and a

tube weapon. Such elevation modules 7 then form with the azimuth module 6 a

weapon station as a carrier platform 1. However, it is also possible to form a car- rier platform 1, in which only military sensors or sensor devices are used as mili tary payloads.

In Fig. 10, a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for providing

a system for carrying N military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 is shown.

The embodiment of Fig. 10 comprises the following method steps S1 to S3:

In step S1, a plurality of elevation modules 7 manufactured of carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic (carbon) are provided such that each of the plurality of eleva

tion modules 7 carries a number M of military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5, where M < N,

wherein the respective elevation module 7 is configured to align the M military

payloads 2, 3, 4, 5, which are carried by it, in elevation.

In step S2, a single azimuth module 6 manufactured of the plastic fiber rein

forced plastic is provided such that it is couplable with each of the plurality of

elevation modules 7. In this case, the azimuth module 6 is configured to align the

M military payloads 2, 3, 4, 5 of the carried elevation module 7 in azimuth.

In step S3, the provided azimuth module 6 is coupled at a determined point of

time with exactly one of the plurality of elevation modules 7, so that a carrier

platform 1 - as shown in Figs. 1 to 9 - is manufactured.

Although the present invention has been described by means of embodiments, it

can be modified in many ways.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 carrier platform

2 missile 3 missile 4 laser weapon 5 sensor device 6 azimuth module 7 elevation module 8 carrier unit of the azimuth module 9 drive of the azimuth module 10 drive electronics of the azimuth module 11 interface to the vehicle 12 carrier unit 13 drive of the elevation module 14 spring housing 15 sensor carrier 16 interface device Al azimuth axis A2 elevation axis S1 method step S2 method step S3 method step

Claims (9)

1. System for carrying N military payloads, comprising:

a plurality of elevation modules manufactured of carbon-fiber-reinforced

plastic, wherein each of the plurality of elevation modules carries a number M of

military payloads, where M< N, the number M including at least one missile or

one laser weapon as the military payload, and

a single azimuth module manufactured of the carbon-fiber-reinforced plas

tic, which is couplable with each of the plurality of elevation modules and is con

figured to carry at a point of time exactly one of the plurality of elevation mod

ules, wherein the azimuth module is configured to align the M military payloads

of the carried elevation module in azimuth, and wherein the elevation module is

configured to align the M military payloads in elevation.

2. System according to claim 1,

wherein,

the number M further includes at least one tube weapon and/or at least one sen

sor device as the military payload.

3. System according to claim 2,

wherein,

the at least one sensor device has a camera, in particular a day-vision camera, a

thermal imaging camera or a near-infrared camera.

4. System according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

wherein,

the azimuth module is configured to align the at least one military payload in

azimuth with an azimuth angle between 0° and 360°, and wherein the elevation module is configured to align the at least one military payload in elevation with an elevation angle between -15° and + 70.

5. System according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, both the azimuth module as well as each one of the plurality of elevation modules consist of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.

6. System according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

the azimuth module has: - a carrier unit for carrying the elevation module, - a coupling unit for electrically coupling the elevation module

, - a drive and drive electronics for moving the azimuth module in azimuth, - an angle sensor for measuring a current azimuth angle, and/or - a control device for controlling the carrier platform.

7. System according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, each one of the plurality of elevation modules has: - a carrier unit for carrying the at least one military payload, - a coupling unit for electrically coupling the azimuth module ,

- a drive and a drive electronics for moving the carrier unit in elevation, and/or - an angle sensor for measuring a current elevation angle.

8. Vehicle with a system for carrying N military payloads according to one of claims 1 to 7.

9. Method for providing a system for carrying N military payloads, comprising:

providing a plurality of elevation modules manufactured of carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic such that each of the plurality of elevation modules carries a

number M of military payloads, with M< N, the number M including at least

one missile or one laser weapon as the military payload, and configured to align

the M military payloads in elevation,

providing a single azimuth module manufactured of the carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic such that it is couplable with each of the plurality of elevation

modules, wherein the azimuth module is configured to align the M military pay

loads of the carried elevation module in azimuth, and

coupling the provided azimuth module at a point in time with exactly one

of the plurality of elevation modules.