Method for simulating the danger posed by hand grenades or mines to participants in a military exercise

• US 6,450,817 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2000
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: EADS Deutschland GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Dornier GmbH (Government of France)
• Inventors: Deinlein, Rudolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US09/601,175
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 434/11-27, 463/16, 463/22, 463/30, 463/47, 463/51, 273/148.B, 273/372, 102/293, 102/334, 102/335, 102/355, 102/401-407, 102/410, 102/411, 102/427, 102/498, 102/702, 455/39, 455/73, 455/500, 455/517, 324/258, 324/326, 324/327, 324/345, 89/11.1, 89/11.3, 89/410.1, 340/326, 340/568.1, 446/398, 446/401, 446/405, 446/473
• US Class Current: 434/11
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/26 Teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying shooting games A63F9/02; light- or radiation-emitting guns F41A33/02; targets therefor F41J; responders, transponders for radar, sonar, lidar G01S13/767, G01S15/74, G01S17/74

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for simulating the danger posed by mines or hand grenades to one or several participants in a military exercise. At least one weaponry simulator simulating a mine or a hand grenade and the sensor devices allocated to the individual participants are used and the effect of mines or hand grenades is simulated by transmitting data between the weaponry simulator and the sensor devices of the participants. According to the invention, data is transmitted through two-way radio communication between the weaponry simulator and the sensor devices of the individual participants. Radio transmission from the individual sensor devices of the participants to the weaponry simulator is carried out in the near field zone of the transmitting and receiving antennae involved. Such transmission serves to confine the effective area of the mines or hand grenades while the radio transmission from the weaponry simulator to the sensor devices of the individual participants serves to confirm or verify that the mines or hand grenades have hit a target.

Claims

1. A method for simulating an offensive effect of mines or hand grenades to at least one participant in a military exercise, using at least one weaponry simulator for simulating mines or hand grenades, and participant sensor systems which are assigned to individual participants, said method comprising:

simulating effects of the mines or hand grenades by two-way radio transmission of data between the at least one weaponry simulator and participant sensor systems, including

communicating an effective range limitation of the mines or hand grenades by radio transmission to the at least one weaponry simulator from the participant sensor systems, in a near field range of transmitting and receiving antennas of the at lest one weaponry insulator and the participant sensor systems; and

confirming a hit by the mines or hand grenades by radio transmission from the weaponry simulator to participant sensor systems;

wherein radio transmission from the at lest one weaponry simulator to participant sensor systems is performed in a very high frequency or ultra high frequency range.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

radio transmission from participant sensor systems to the at least one weaponry simulator is performed in a medium wave or long wave frequency range.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein radio transmission from the at least one weaponry simulator to individual participant sensor systems is performed in a VHF or UHF frequency range.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein magnetic antennas are used for transmitting and receiving in the near field range.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein two-way transmission between the at least one weaponry simulator and participant sensor systems is performed by:

repeatedly transmitting the participant identification by participant sensor systems;

the at least one weaponry simulator receiving the participant identification, with establishment of transmission between a particular participant sensor system and the at least one weaponry simulator being considered as triggering the at least one weaponry simulator and as a hit of the particular participant sensor system;

the at least one weaponry simulator transmitting the weaponry simulator identification as well as the participant identification of the particular participant sensor system to the particular participant sensor system;

the particular participant sensor system receiving the weaponry simulator identification as well as of the participant identification of the particular participant sensor system; and

registering such receipt as a hit.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein two-way transmission between the at least one weaponry simulator and a participant sensor system is performed by:

the at least one weaponry simulator transmitting the weaponry simulator identification;

a participant sensor system receiving the weaponry simulator identification;

the participant sensor system transmitting the participant identification;

the at least one weaponry simulator receiving the participant identification, establishment of transmission being treated as a hit of the transmitting participant sensor system by the receiving weaponry simulator;

the weaponry simulator transmitting the participant identification to the participant sensor system; and

a participant sensor system receiving the participant identification and registering such receipt as a hit.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein transmission of the participant identification by the participant sensor system and the receipt of the participant identification by the participant sensor system take place substantially simultaneously.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein when multiple participant sensor systems receive a weaponry simulator identification from a triggering weaponry simulator, a sequence in which the multiple participant sensor systems transmit their participant identification to the weaponry simulator is determined randomly.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein after receiving a weaponry simulator identification, the particular participant sensor system carries out a check to determine whether a hit of an assigned participant is permitted because of the type of the triggering weaponry simulator, and if the result is negative, does not carry out further process steps.