1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to folding fin assemblies for airborne or waterborne vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Control surfaces, such as fins, wings, or the like, are often used to control the trajectory of an airborne or waterborne vehicle, such as a rocket, missile, torpedo, or the like. It is often desirable to fold such control surfaces prior to deploying the vehicle, so that the vehicle occupies a smaller volume in a launch tube or a barrel. Once deployed from the launch tube or barrel, however, the control surfaces are unfolded to operational configurations, so that the vehicle's trajectory may be controlled.
It is very desirable to maximize the amount of propellant and/or payload of such a vehicle. The vehicle's radial diameter, however, is limited to an inner diameter of the launch tube or barrel from which the vehicle is deployed. Conventional folding control surface assemblies typically use torsion springs to bias the control surfaces from folded, stowed configurations to unfolded, operational configurations. Such torsion springs, however, are bulky and, thus, significantly contribute to the radial diameter of the vehicle. Accordingly, torsion springs occupy volumes within the launch tube or barrel that could more beneficially be occupied by increased propellant and/or payload of the vehicle.
There are many designs of folding control surface assemblies well known in the art, however, considerable shortcomings remain.