Ammunition articles comprising light-curable moisture-preventative sealant and method of manufacturing same

• US 7,032,492 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2003
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beacon Adhesives, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Milton S. Meshirer
• Inventors: Meshirer, Milton S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Corone, Michael J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAYES, BRET C
• Application Number:
  US10/662,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20050056183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 86/43
• US Class Current: 86/43
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 33/001 Devices or processes for assembling ammunition, cartridges or cartridge elements from parts
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 35/00 Testing or checking of ammunition apparatus for measuring the energy of projectiles G01L5/14
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 5/025 characterised by the dimension of the case or the missile

Abstract

A process for manufacturing an ammunition article, including: (a) providing a cartridge including a projectile disposed in a casing and presenting a joint between the projectile and the casing; (b) applying to the joint a sealingly effective amount of a light-curable sealant composition; and (c) exposing the applied sealant composition to curingly effective light. The resulting ammunition article is sealed at the projectile/casing joint against moisture incursion, and such article is amenable to high-speed, high-volume production by the method of the invention.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing an ammunition article, comprising:

(a) providing a cartridge including a projectile disposed in a casing and presenting a joint between the projectile and the casing;

(b) applying to the joint a sealingly effective amount of a light-curable sealant composition, wherein the light-curable sealant composition (i) is not capillarily active at the joint, (ii) has a viscosity in a range from about 75 to 1000 centipoise at 25°

C., and (iii) is UV-curable in exposure to ultraviolet radiation, curingly effective light therefor, within a time period of from about 0.01 to about 0.5 second, wherein a force of between 45 and 200 pounds is required to be applied to separate said projectile from said casing after cure of the light-curable sealant composition, and wherein the light-curable sealant composition is not anaerobically curing; and

(c) exposing the applied sealant composition to curingly effective light comprising said UV radiation for a time period of from about 0.01 to about 0.5 second.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein applying to the joint the sealingly effective amount of the light-curable sealant composition involves relative motion of the cartridge and an applicator dispensing the light-curable sealant composition to the joint.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein the cartridge is motively translated in relation to the applicator.

4. The process of claim 2, wherein the applicator is motively translated in relation to the cartridge.

5. The process of claim 2, wherein the applicator comprises an application device selected from the group consisting of syringe pump dispensers, roller coaters, doctor blades, needle dispensers, and liquid-fed transfer devices.

6. The process of claim 2, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a liquid sealant and the applicator comprises a liquid-fed transfer device selected from the group consisting of liquid-fed brushes, sponges, swabs, pads, and cuffs, coupled in dispensing relationship with a reservoir for supply of the liquid sealant.

7. The process of claim 1,

wherein applying to the joint the sealingly effective amount of the light-curable sealant composition involves relative motion of the cartridge and an applicator dispensing the light-curable sealant composition to the joint,

wherein the applicator comprises a needle dispenser, in combination with a wiper element as a follower behind the needle dispenser, arranged to exert a squeegee action on sealant dispensed from the needle dispenser and to remove excess applied sealant, and

wherein the applied sealant composition is non-capillarily active at the joint.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein the curingly effective light comprises ultraviolet light.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the ultraviolet light has a wavelength in a range of from about 220 to about 375 nanometers.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein the curingly effective light is supplied by a source including a light-generating component selected from the group consisting of lamps, LEDs, photoluminescent media, down-converting and up-converting materials that respond to incident radiation in one electromagnetic spectral regime and responsively emit radiation of a longer or shorter wavelength, respectively, electrooptical generators, and lasers.

11. The process of claim 1, wherein the sealant composition after exposure to a curingly effective actinic radiation, does not fluoresce.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a photocurable resin selected from the group consisting of unsaturated polyesters, epoxies, (meth)acrylates, urethane (meth)acrylates, (meth)acrylic ester monomers, oligoester acrylate-based compounds, epoxy acrylate-based compounds, polyimide-based compounds, aminoalkyd-based compounds, and vinyl ether-based compounds.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a photocurable resin selected from the group consisting of bisphenol epichiorohydrin epoxy resins, acrylic resins, urethane acrylate resins, acrylated polyester resins, and cycloaliphatic epoxides.

14. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a photocurable resin and a photoinitiator therefor.

15. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a formulation selected from the group consisting of free-radical curable acrylate resin-based formulations, and cationically curable epoxy-based formulations.

16. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a free-radical curable acrylate resin-based formulation.

17. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a catianically curable epoxy-based formulation.

18. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a monomeric diluent.

19. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a neat formulation of resin and photoinitiator.

20. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a dye.

21. The process of claim 1, wherein the light-curable sealant composition comprises a photoinitiator in a concentration not exceeding 5% by weight, based on total weight of the composition.

22. The process of claim 1, wherein after exposure to the curingly effective light, the projectile is separable from the casing by a tensile force that is no more than 10% greater than a tensile force required to separate the projectile from the casing when the light-curable sealant composition is absent.

23. The process of claim 1, wherein after exposure to the curingly effective light, the projectile is separable from the casing by a tensile force that is no more than 5% greater than a tensile force required to separate the projectile from the casing when the light-curable sealant composition is absent.

24. An ammunition article made by the process of claim 1 including a projectile mounted in a cartridge casing presenting a projectile/casing interface, with the interface sealed by a light-cured sealant composition.