GB2118498A

GB2118498A - Air-sea rescue apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2118498A
Application number: GB08310327A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerhard Sedlmayr
Original assignee: Autoflug GmbH
Current assignee: Autoflug GmbH
Priority date: 1982-04-16
Filing date: 1983-04-15
Publication date: 1983-11-02
Also published as: DE3213995A1; GB2118498B; DE3213995C2; GB8310327D0

Abstract

A rescue system for air emergencies, consisting of an ejector seat with a seat container (11) and a life raft (16), combined parachute, seat connection and attachment harness (14) packed therein, with at least one parachute packed in a casing, and an inflatable buoyancy member, a so-called life jacket (12), wherein between the life raft and the buoyancy member or harness there is provided a connecting line and alternatively a timing mechanism for the separation of the man from the seat container is provided, where if after baling out and separation of the man from the seat, the person is incapable of action or if any components are damaged, the system will operate automatically. For this, an automatically activated central unit (10) is proposed which is connected to the seat container (11) by an energy line (19) in order to initiate the separation of the man from the seat container and the inflation of the life raft, possibly in several stages, and furthermore is connected to the buoyancy member (12) via another energy line (21) in order to inflate this buoyancy member and is connected via a third energy line (23) to the closure (13) of the harness (14,15) in order to release the harness together with the parachute from the man, whilst at least one time control mechanism is provided to enable the parts of the system to be activated in the correct sequence. This has the advantage of substantially increasing the safety of the rescue operation. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Air-sea rescue apparatus This invention relates to a rescue apparatus for air emergencies, consisting of an ejector seat with a seat container and a life raft, combined parachute, seat attachment and harness equipment packed in said container, having at least one parachute packed in a case, and an inflatable buoyancy member, a so-called life-jacket, whilst between the life raft and the buoyancy member or harness there is provided a connecting line and alternatively a timing mechanism for the separation of the man from the seat container. The invention is intended primarily for use in aircraft which are equipped with ejector seats for rescuing the occupants.

When an air emergency occurs, the occupants can eject with their ejector seats (separation of seat from aircraft). After a certain period of time, the man is then automatically separated from the seat, the parachute is opened, and the escaping person floats down to earth, suspended from the parachute by a harness. The next task is to ensure that the person is safely rescued. There are two possibilities, namely landing on land or on water. Whereas rescue is comparatively simple in the former case, special provisions have to be made for rescue in the latter case. Since it is virtually impossible to tell on any flight whether an emergency will happen over land or sea, the people to be protected must always be equipped for both possibilities. This means that a buoyancy aid and a life raft together with other survival equipment must be provided.These are preferably stored in the seat container of the ejector seat which initially remains attached to the person after the separation of the man from the seat.

In the known rescue system of the type mentioned hereinbefore, the rescue operation after the separation of the man from the seat is supposed to proceed as follows: the person suspended from the parachute, e.g. the pilot of the crashed aircraft, releases the seat container from his harness at a height which he judges to be favourable, by pulling a handle. The seat container with the life raft packed in it falls down, thereby extending the life-raft connecting line which is attached to the pilot's life jacket. After this line has been fully extended, the jerk produced by the checking of the line first of all opens up the seat container and then activates the life raft which automatically inflates.

The seat container then falls away, whilst the life raft remains attached to the pilot via the life raft connecting line and inflates during the descent so that, if the pilot alights on water, the life raft is ready to act as rescue equipment. When the pilot then reaches the water, usually alongside the life raft, he activates his life jacket (buoyancy aid) and frees himself from the parachute at a moment which he judges to be favourable, by opening the central buckle of his body harness. He must then get into the life raft and close himself in; he will find food and medical rations, an emergency signal transmitter and so on in the life raft. All in all, this rescue system requires clear thought and conscious action on the part of the escaping pilot.

A rescue system has also been proposed wherein the separation of the man from the seat container is not effected manually but via a timing mechanism with a delay, this timing mechanism being triggered by the separation of the man from the seat. This automatic separation of man from seat container may be advantageous since, when landing on solid ground, the seat container may cause injury to the person. However, if a person bales out over the sea and expects to alight on water, the inflation of the life raft during the descent by parachute may have advantages in terms of time.

Automatically inflatable life jackets and life rafts are also known, in which the valves required may be activated by contact with water.

The known systems have the disadvantage that, if the person baling out is unable to make conscious decisions and if any parts of the system are damaged they will not function in the desired manner, with the result that the person will alight on water without being able to free himself from the harness and hence from the parachute, and without having any buoyancy aid or life raft. Such situations may arise in particular if the person is injured. This is where the invention aims to provide a remedy.

The aim of the invention is to provide a rescue apparatus for air emergencies which operates fully automatically, if the worst comes to the worst, to bring about the procedures required for rescue, i.e. it makes any conscious actions on the part of the person superfluous in this respect. However, it should not exclude the possibility of manual control of the rescue operation.

According to the invention there is provided air-sea rescue apparatus comprising an ejector seat container having a life raft, combined parachute, seat connection and attachment harness packed therein, with at least one parachute packed in a casing, and an inflatable buoyancy member, a so-called life jacket, whilst between the life raft and buoyancy aid or harness there is a connecting line and alternatively a timing mechanism for the separation of the man from the seat container is provided, in which there is provided an automatically activated central unit which is connected by an energy line to the seat container in order to initiate the separation of the man from the seat container and the inflation of the life raft, and is connected by another energy line to the buoyancy aid in order to inflate this buoyancy aid and is connected by a third energy line to the closure of the parachute body harness in order to separate this harness together with the parachute from the man, and at least one time control is provided in order to activate the parts of the system in a predetermined sequence.

One advantage of the invention is the considerable increase in the feeling of safety of the person who is to be saved and rescued, thereby avoiding, from the start, any mistakes after baling out which frequently increase the risks of accidents, since the person in question may have escaped but subsequently gets into new possibly fatal difficulties by taking the wrong action.

The drawings show some embodiments by way of example of the invention, which are described hereinafter. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the rescue system with its components, Figure 2 shows a circuit diagram of a central unit with a primary battery and sea water switch.

One essential component of the system is a central control unit 10, hereinafter referred to as a central unit or central sensor. This is a component which is adapted to release energy pulses, for example electrical signals or gas pressure surges. The central unit 10 may be activated in conventional manner by coming into contact with sea water, for example by means of a seat water battery, a sea water switch with a permanent battery or a sea water switch with a primary battery; the latter possibility is diagrammatically shown in Figure 2. The central sensor 10 may also contain a mechanical or chemical-physical timing mechanism.It is preferably releasably connected to the body harness of the person being rescued, but may also be housed in the seat container of the ejector seat; in the former case it is advisable for the energy lines to be constructed as gas pressure lines, whilst in the latter case they are preferably constructed as electrical lines.

The central sensor 10 controls a number of system components by activating and triggering these components. These components are a seat container 11, a buoyancy member or so-called life jacket 12 and a central belt buckle 13 of the associated combined harness, which is indicated only by four connecting belts 14 with insertable tongues 15 in the drawings.

Packed in the seat container 11 is an automatically inflated one-man life raft 16, which is releasably attached to the life jacket 12 buy a connecting line 17.

The life raft connecting line 17 contains a releasable coupling 18 which can be actuated manually.

The components 11, 12, 13 are connected to the central sensor 10 via the above-mentioned energy lines for carrying gas pressure or electric current.

These are either flexible hose lines or electrical cables. The gas pressure in the hose lines is required for a comparatively longer period in order to trigger the various successive functions, whereas in the electrical construction only a single pulse is required to trigger all otherfuntions. Therefore, if the energy lines are in the form of electrical cables the central sensor 10 may also be housed in the seat container 11, since this seat container is not separated from the man until the single electrical pulse has been emitted to the other components. From the point of view of construction, it is preferable to house the central sensor 10 in the seat container 11 rather than on the harness.

Between the central sensor 10 and the seat container 11 there is a line 19 in which a releasable coupling 20 is inserted. From the sensor 10 to the life jacket 12 there is a line 21 with a releasable coupling 22 and a line 23 extends to the central belt buckle 13.

The lines are suitably padded and protected to prevent kinks, for example by being fitted in the pilot's flying suit (not shown) or on the body harness. The releasable couplings 20, 22 are constructed so that they can be released by pulling in the longitudinal direction of the associated line.

The seat container 11 which houses the packaged life raft 16 and its supplies of survival equipment is also provided with a gas canister 24 and associated valve 25 for inflating the life raft 16. The valve 25 is activated by means of an electrical, pneumatic or pyrotechnic unit 26 which is controlled by the energy pulse passing through the line 19 and which opens the plug closure (not shown) of the container 11, via two cables, by pulling a pin out, on the one hand, and also pulls the release cable (not shown) out of the release head of the valve 25, on the other hand, thereby releasing the pin to puncture the membrane.

A timing mechanism 27 belonging to the component may be provided, for example in the form of a cartridge 27. Moreover, the seat container 11 is also provided with a manual release mechanism which is indicated in Figure 1 by two handles 28. The arrow 29 symbolises the inflation and release of the life raft 16.

The buoyancy member acting as a buoyancy aid or life jacket 12 also contains, in conventional manner, a gas canister 30, an associated valve 31 and a manual release mechanism 32. The valve 31 is arranged so that it can also be activated by an energy pulse from the line 21, with the result that the life jacket 12 can be controlled by the central sensor 10. The life raft connecting line 17 is attached at a suitable reinforced fixing point 33 on the life jacket 12.

The central belt buckle 13 of the body harness with its attachment belts 14,15 is also constructed and arranged for automatic release by an energy pulse passing through the line 23. For this purpose, the buckle contains, for example, a central main pin (not shown) which moves a locking disc into which the belt tongues 15 are hooked. The main pin may be moved both by manual turning and pressing on the disc 34 of the buckle 13 in order to open the buckle, and also automatically by spring force or gas pressure. The main pin may be provided with a piston, the pin guide being in the form of a cylinder.

The gas pressure is converted by the piston into kinetic energy which releases the iocking disc.

Lifting mechanisms with pistons and cylinders (not shown) may also be provided in the components 11 and 12 in order to trigger the functions accordingly.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the central unit 10 with a primary battery 35 and sea water switch 36, wherein a capacitor 37 is provided as a delay member between these two components and parallel to the primary battery 35. Electrical energy produced by the primary battery 35 when required ignites three cartridges 40, via electrical lines 38,39, and these cartridges 40 in turn activate associated automatic release mechanisms 41 which correspond, for example, to the components 26, 31 and 35 in Figure 1.

The primary battery 35 has the advantage that it does not deliver any power until it has been activated. It is an inert battery the electrolyte of which is mounted outside the battery cells. When required, the electrolyte is loaded extremely rapidly into the pre-charged cells, thus activating the battery for discharging. Only a single discharge is envis aged, and the current released may be comparatively high. The electrolyte filling is stored in a cushion next to the battery cells. The cushion may be burst by means of pressure and the filling is forced into the cells. This happens within about 50 ms, after which the primary battery is capable of delivering 30 V for about 5 s.

The pressure required (arrow 42) to burst the electrolyte cushion may be introduced mechanically, by the force produced during separation of the seat from the aircraft and of the man from the seat, by the timing mechanism for the separation of the man from the seat container or by the braking impact of the seat container 11 on the life raft connecting line 17 during descent.

In operation, the rescue system for air emergencies shown in Figure 1 functions as follows: the aircraft is on the point of crashing and the pilot saves himself by baling out with the ejector seat. After he has baled out, the man is separated from the seat and the parachute opens. For some reason, the pilot is not in a position to initiate the separation of man from seat container manually, or else the automatic initiation of this separation procedure fails. The man floats down over the sea by parachute and alights on the water without having been able to free himself from the seat container. The central sensor 10 is then activated by the sea water and first triggers the separation of the man from the seat container, i.e.

the seat container 11 is uncoupled from the body harness but remains attached to the person via the life raft connecting line 17 which is attached to the life jacket 12. After a short time delay, compared with the release of the seat container 11, the life jacket 12 is activated and inflated via the line 21 so that the pilot floats on his back in the prescribed position and can breathe safely. After another time delay, again initiated by the central sensor 10, the belt buckle 13 is activated and automatically opened so that the connecting belts 14 are free and the body harness together with the parachute attached thereto fall away from the person and are carried away. At the same time or after a slight delay, finally the seat container 11 opens and the life raft 16 inflates and, as a result of the inflation, comes out of the seat container 11.This stage of the rescue operation is caused by the unit 26 in the seat container 11 which contains another timing mechanism (not shown) which is also activated via the energy line 19. The pilot can then pull the life raft 16 towards himself using the line 17 and can then climb in. The rescue operation, as far as it can be actuated by the system, is thus at an end. The pilot then has to wait to be found in his life raft. To aid the search, he will find smoke cartridges, coloured flares and the like in the life raft.

The time delays provided in actuating the components 11, 12, 13 are preferably produced by means of suitably designed propellant charges in cartridges of pyrotechnic units which are ignited by electrical current pulses proceeding from the central sensor 10. Variations are possible, in that not all the procedures of the rescue programme need be automatic, controlled by the central sensor 10; it is also possible for only some of the functions to be controlled centrally whilst the remaining functions are activated manually or automatically but separately.The essential point is that the design of the system must give the person rescued every opportunity of completing the rescue operation successfully up to the moment of entering the life raft 16, and for this purpose he should have all the necessary measures available to him, whether he is conscious or unconscious, even if some components fail as a result of damage.

Safety can be further increased by providing two central units 10 of substantially identical construction which are connected to the components downstream thereof, namely the seat container 11, buoyancy member 12 and belt buckle 13, via separate energy lines, the responsive sensitivities of the two central units being made either redundant or set to different triggering factors, for example barometric pressure on the one hand and sea water on the other.

If the central unit 10 shown in Figure 2 consists of a primary battery 35 and sea water switch 36 and the pressure on the electrolyte cushion in the primary battery is triggered in the direction of arrow 42 by mechanical means, for example by the forces produced during the separation of the seat from the man, so that the primary battery 35 is activated at this moment, the duration of the development of current produced in the battery would be too short to initiate the above-mentioned release operations after the pilot has hit the water. To remedy this there is the capacitor 37 which is charged by the activated primary battery and is only discharged after the pilot has alighted on water, by means of the sea water switch 36, which ignites the cartridges 40 and sets the automatic devices 41 operating, so as to initiate the functions in the correct sequence.

The features of the object of this application which appear in the preceding specification, in the claims, in the abstract and in the drawings may be essential to the realisation of the invention with its various embodiments either individually or in any desired combination with one another.

Claims

1. Air-sea rescue apparatus comprising an ejector seat container having a life raft, combined parachute, seat connection and attachment harness packed therein, with at least one parachute packed in a casing, and an inflatable buoyancy member, a so-called life jacket, whilst between the life raft and buoyancy aid or harness there is a connecting line and alternatively a timing mechanism for the separation of the man from the seat container is provided, in which there is provided an automatically activated central unit which is connected by an energy line to the seat container in order to initiate the separation of the man from the seat container and the inflation of the life raft, and is connected by another energy line to the buoyancy aid in order to inflate this buoyancy aid and is connected by a third energy line to the closure of the parachute body harness in order to separate this harness together with the parachute from the man, and at least one time control is provided in orderto activate the parts of the system in a predetermined sequence.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the central unit is arranged to be activated by contact with water.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the central unit is arranged to be activated by the difference in heat between the body heat of a human and a maximum ambient heat.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the central unit is designed to be activated both automatically and also manually in accordance with certain desired functions.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, in which the central unit actuates the components connected in series by means of electric current the energy lines being constructed as electrical cables.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which the central unit is arranged in the seat container.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, in which the central unit activates the elements connected in series by means of gas pressures the energy lines being constructed as hoses.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which the central unit is attached to the body harness.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the hoses are attached to the body harness.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which the components connected downstream of the central unit namely the seat container buoyancy aid and harness buckle are designated to be releasable by means of the gas forces produced by pyrotechnic units, whilst the ignition of the pyrotechnic units can be initiated by means of electrical current and the time sequence of the operations triggered by the ignition can be controlled by pyrotechnic measures.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the components downstream of the central unit, namely the seat container buoyancy aid and belt buckle, are actuated directly by the gas pressure produced in the central unit, since the elements have actuating pistons guided in suitable cylinders, the drive members of which initiate the components as required.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the central unit is attached to the body harness so as to prevent water from getting in.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 7, in which readily releasable couplings are inserted in the energy lines between the central unit and the components in question.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, in which the releasable couplings are constructed to be releasable by pulling in the direction of the line.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which the central unit is constructed as a sensor, e.g. as a sea water battery or sea water switch with a permanent battery, for generating the energy pulses required.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15, in which the central unit is constructed as a primary battery which can be activated by sea water.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, in which the primary battery has a timing delay mechanism connected in parallel therewith.

18. Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims 1, in which the components connected downstream of the central unit each comprise additional automatic releasing means.

19. Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the components connected downstream of the central unit each comprise additional manual releasing means.

20. Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which two central units of substantially identical construction are provided and are connected, by means of separate energy lines, to the components downstream thereof, namely the seat container, buoyancy aid, belt buckle, whilst the responsive sensitivities of the two central units are set to respond to different triggering factors, for example barometric pressure on the one hand and sea water on the other hand.

21. Air-sea rescue apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.