5996503

Claims

• What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is: 1. A reusable practice hand grenade, comprising: a housing defining at least one launch tube having a breech end and a muzzle end; at least one projectile loaded in said at least one launch tube between said breech end and said muzzle end; an obturator positioned in said at least one launch tube and abutting said at least one projectile, wherein a portion of said at least one launch tube extends beyond said obturator towards said muzzle end; a reservoir maintained in said housing for storing a gas under pressure, said reservoir having a seal; a rupturing device mounted in said housing for breaking said seal upon impact therewith, said rupturing device defining a channel through which said gas can flow from said reservoir to said breech end when said seal is broken; and a triggering mechanism coupled to said rupturing device for maintaining separation between said rupturing device and said seal until said triggering mechanism is activated, and for moving said rupturing device to impact said seal after said triggering mechanism is activated wherein said gas enters said breech end of said at least one launch tube to increase pressure on said at least one projectile sufficient to propel said at least one projectile and said obturator along said portion of said at least one launch tube and from said at least one launch tube. 2. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 1 wherein said at least one launch tube comprises a plurality of launch tubes, said hand grenade further comprising a manifold coupling said channel to each breech end of said plurality of launch tubes. 3. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 1 wherein said at least one projectile is a frangible projectile housing a marking agent. 4. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 1 wherein said gas is non-lethal. 5. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 1 wherein said triggering mechanism comprises: a spring-loaded ram coupled to said rupturing device, said spring-loaded ram having a spring-loaded position at which said rupturing device assumes a bias towards said seal and at which said separation is maintained between said rupturing device and said seal; a first locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for continuously maintaining said spring-loaded position until said first locking mechanism is manually disabled; and a second locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for temporarily maintaining said bias and said separation for a period of time after said first locking mechanism is manually disabled and said hand grenade is thrown, wherein said bias is allowed to move said rupturing device towards said seal for impact therewith after said period of time. 6. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 1 wherein said obturator is made of a deformable and resilient material. 7. A reusable practice hand grenade, comprising: a hand-held housing defining a plurality of launch tubes, each of said plurality of launch tubes having a breech end and a muzzle end; at least one projectile loaded in each of said plurality of launch tubes between said breech end and said muzzle end; an obturator positioned in each of said plurality of launch tubes and abutting said at least one projectile, wherein a portion of each of said launch tubes extends beyond said obturator towards said muzzle end; a reservoir for storing a gas under pressure, said reservoir having a seal; a manifold coupling said reservoir at said seal to each said breech end of said plurality of launch tubes; a rupturing device mounted in said housing for breaking said seal upon impact therewith, said rupturing device defining a channel through which said gas can flow from said reservoir into said manifold when said seal is broken; and a triggering mechanism coupled to said rupturing device for maintaining separation between said rupturing device and said seal until said triggering mechanism is activated, and for moving said rupturing device to impact said seal when said triggering mechanism is activated wherein said gas enters each said breech end of said plurality of launch tubes via said manifold to increase pressure on said at least one projectile sufficient to propel said at least one projectile and said obturator along said portion of said launch tube and from each of said plurality of launch tubes. 8. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 7 wherein said at least one projectile is a frangible projectile housing a marking agent. 9. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 7 wherein said gas is non-lethal. 10. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 7 wherein said triggering mechanism comprises: a spring-loaded ram coupled to said rupturing device, said spring-loaded ram having a spring-loaded position at which said rupturing device assumes a bias towards said seal and at which said separation is maintained between said rupturing device and said seal; a first locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for continuously maintaining said spring-loaded position until said first locking mechanism is manually disabled; and a second locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for temporarily maintaining said bias and said separation for a period of time after said first locking mechanism is manually disabled and said hand grenade is thrown, wherein said bias is allowed to move said rupturing device towards said seal for impact therewith after said period of time. 11. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 7 wherein said obturator is made of a deformable and resilient material. 12. A reusable practice hand grenade, comprising: a hand-held housing defining a central chamber therein; a plurality of launch tubes disposed in said housing and arranged radially around said central chamber, each of said plurality of launch tubes having a breech end and a muzzle end; at least one projectile loaded in each of said plurality of launch tubes between said breech end and said muzzle end; an obturator positioned in each of said plurality of launch tubes and abutting said at least one projectile, wherein a portion of each of said launch tubes extends beyond said obturator towards said muzzle end; a reservoir positioned in said central chamber for storing a gas under pressure, said reservoir having a seal; a manifold coupling said reservoir at said seal to each said breech end of said plurality of launch tubes; a rupturing device mounted in said housing for breaking said seal upon impact therewith, said rupturing device defining a channel through which said gas can flow from said reservoir into said manifold when said seal is broken; a spring-loaded ram coupled to said rupturing device, said spring-loaded ram having a spring-loaded position at which said rupturing device assumes a bias towards said seal and at which said separation is maintained between said rupturing device and said seal; a first locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for continuously maintaining said spring-loaded position until said first locking mechanism is manually disabled; and a second locking mechanism coupled to said spring-loaded ram for temporarily maintaining said bias and said separation for a period of time after said first locking mechanism is manually disabled and said hand grenade is thrown, wherein said bias is allowed to move said rupturing device towards said seal for impact therewith after said period of time. 13. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 12 wherein said at least one projectile is a frangible projectile housing a non-lethal marking agent. 14. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 12 wherein said compressed gas is non-lethal. 15. A reusable practice hand grenade as in claim 12 wherein said obturator is made of a deformable and resilient material.