US3150847A

US3150847A - Jet vest

Info

Publication number: US3150847A
Application number: US270476A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas M Moore; Herman F Beduerftig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-11-15
Filing date: 1963-04-03
Publication date: 1964-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 1981-09-29

Description

p 1964 T. M. MOORE ETAL 3,150,847

JET VEST Original Filed Nov. 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Thomas M. Moore I Hermon F. Beduerftig,

VENTORS. Q 7 Z EW 44 Md: -44, 9.9%. M

Sept. 29, 1964 T. M. MOORE ETAL JET VEST Original Filed Nov. 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .m m em w n u d M. w am mm .mu f 00 TH w mm mVQV mm mm awn Patented Sept. 29, 1964 3,150,847 JET VEST Thomas M. Moore, Huntsville, Ala., and Herman F. Beduerftig, 2304 Galatin St. SW., Huntsville, Ala.; said Moore assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Original application Nov. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 152,689. Divided and this application Apr. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 270,476

7 Claims. (Cl. 244-4) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to an anti-gravitational device, and more particularly to a portable propulsion system controlled by a user and hereinafter referred to as a jet vest.

The present application is a division of application Serial No. 152,689, filed November 15, 1961, in the name of Thomas M. Moore and Herman F. Beduerftig, entitled Jet Vest.

The need for a light weight, compact jet vest that can be easily controlled by the individual foot soldier has long been recognized. The predominant requirements of such a vest have been directed towards the establishment of a suitable design configuration to provide the necessary stability as well as the incorporation of adequate safety features. These requirements have been fulfilled by this invention. The stability requirement has been successfully met by designing a harness which fits around the users body. A pair of identical jet thrust nozzles are attached to the harness at each side of the users shoulders in such a way that the lifting force is applied through the center of gravity of the user. This arrangement has resulted in sufiicient stability to allow the operator freedom of movement of his upper body which can be utilized, to a limited extent, for directional control. Primarily, however, stability and control of the person is achieved through manual positioning of the two nozzles.

As a result of the increased firepower of modern warfare the present invention is designed to provide the combat soldier with greater mobility on the battlefield. The jet vest is designed to enable combat troops to overcome terrain obstacles such as rivers, broken ground, cliifs, and the like. The invention would have many other applications such as use in transporting individuals from ship to shore, ship to ship, and providing a means for low altitude bailout from low flying aircraft. It might also be used by skin divers or frogmen to propel these men from the surface of the water to a desired position ashore. The military value of the jet vest would also be of particular significance in the future with the anticipation of mans exploration on the moon where the gravitational field is approximately one sixth of that on the earth.

In the past aircraft, land vehicles and ships have been used in the transportation of troops. All these modes of transportation fail to satisfy the needs of the individual soldier on the battlefield. Thus, the jet vest is a special purpose device for unusual missions which cannot be performed by conventional means.

It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a device for enabling the combat soldier to scale cliffs, cross rivers, or overcome other terrain obstacles resulting in greater individual mobility.

It is another object of this invention to provide the combat soldier with a mode of transportation which will present a minimum target for enemy fire.

It is another object to provide a light and inexpensive device of the character described that will be fully etficient for its intended purpose.

It is a further object of this invention to develop thrust for the jet vest through the use of a rocket motor which has a high thrust per unit weight, quick, dependable starting, and a compact motor which does not require any large propellers operating at high rotational velocities.

According to the present invention the foregoing and other objects are attained by providing an anti-gravitational device in the form of a jet vest which is attached to a user of the device and which has controllable propulsion means attached thereto to provide forward and upward movement to the user.

A more detailed description of the invention follows, in conjunction with a drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the jet vest being used by a soldier.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the attitude and speed control box used with the jet vest.

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view of a portion of the propulsion system.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of the propulsion system.

FIGURE 5 is a view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 3.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a user 2, such as a combat soldier, is shown wearing a jet vest 1. The jet vest comprises a parachute type harness 3 which straps around the user as shown in the figure. A thin, lightweight metal plate 5 shaped to the contour of the users back is attached to the back of harness 3 by any suitable means such as rivets. This plate serves as a support for the propulsion system. The propulsion system includes an air pressure tank 9 connected to a fuel tank 7 containing highly concentrated hydrogen perox de.

The fuel tank is connected by a fuel line 25 to a central opening in a horizontally positioned, hollow bridge pipe 31. At the central opening in the bridge pipe the fuel line connects with a T pipe which divides line 25 into separate fuel lines 25:: and 25b which each lead to a catalyst chamber 60 rotatably mounted at the end of the bridge pipe. Bridge pipe 31 serves as a support for a pair of

jet nozzles

19, 20 which are threadably attached to the catalyst chambers 69 and also provides protection for fuel lines 25a, 25b.

A control box 33 having

handles

35, 36, and 37 is attached by suitable means to the front of the harness. Handle 35 is operatively connected by control wires 53a and 53b to one nozzle 20 to control the angular movement of said nozzle while handle 36 is operatively connected by

control wires

55a and 55b to nozzle 19 to control the angular movement of this nozzle. Handle 37 is operatively connected by control wire 51 to a throttle valve 15 to control the amount of thrust desired from the nozzles.

In FIGURE 2, a control box 33 is shown to be of hollow cylidnrical form divided by partitions 32 and 39 into three inner sections. A first hollow shaft 45 is rotatably mounted between one end of the control box and partition 32. An opening in the end of box 33 is provided so that shaft 45 may extend therethrough for attachment to handle 36. A pair of closely spaced securing

members

40, 42 are attached to shaft 45 and positioned apart so that in the position shown member 42 is at the top and member 40 is at the bottom of shaft 45.

Control wires

55a and 55b extend from nozzle i9, through a protective sheath 22 attached to bracket 64, through the control box opening 47 and attach to

members

40, 42 of shaft 45. A second shaft 43 extends through the center of handle 36, through hollow shaft 45 and partition 32, and is rotatably secured to partition 39. A handle 35, slightly smaller in diameter than handle 36, is attached to one end of shaft 43 and positioned outwardly adjacent to handle 36. A second pair of closely 3 spaced securing members 44 and 46 are attached to shaft 43 and also positioned 180 apart so that in the position shown member 46 is at the top and member 44 is at the bottom of shaft 43. Control Wires 53a and 53b extend from nozzle 20, through a protective sheath 24 attached to bracket 64, through the control box opening 48 and attach to members 44, 46 on shaft 43. A third shaft 41 is rotatably mounted between the other end of control box 33 and partition 39. An opening at the other end of box 33 is provided so that shaft 41 may extend therethrough for attachment to handle 37. A securing member 52 is centrally attached at the top of shaft 41. Control wire 51 is secured to member 52 so that when handle 37 is initially turned in either direction wire 51 will be tensioned. A guide member 50 is positioned above member 52 and wire 51 is led out of control box 33 through opening 49 and connected to throttle valve 15. By turning handle 37, the user can control the amount of fuel fed to catalyst chambers 69.

FIGURE 3 shows how nozzle 19 is mounted and controlled at the end of pipe 31. Nozzle 19 is threadably attached to catalyst chamber 60 which is a closed cylindrical member. Chamber 61) is rotatably secured to the end of pipe 31 by a screw 65 which engages with an annular slot 66 of pipe 31. As more clearly shown by FIG- URE 2,

wires

55a and 55b are inclosed by a hollow metal sheath 22 which is attached by a bracket 64 to bridge pipe 31. Wire 55b passes out the end of sheath 22, over a pulley 7 6 which is rotatably mounted on pipe 31, through a guide ring 61 attached to the top of bridge pipe 31 and is connected to securing member 62 which is disposed on the outside of member 60. Wire 55a passes out the end of sheath 22 over pulley 76 through ring 61 and is connected to securing member 68 which is disposed on the outside of member 60 opposite member 62. By turning handle 36 in one direction, wire 55a will tighten and wire 5512 will loosen to effect a rearward movement of nozzle 19, and by turning handle 36 in the other direction wire 55b will tighten and wire 55a will loosen to effect forward movement of nozzle 19. The total angular movement of the nozzle is approximately 15 in either direction. In a similar manner the forward and rearward movement of nozzle 20 is controlled by handle 35 and connecting wires 53a and 53b. Besides providing individual movement to

nozzles

19 and 20 for attitude control it is well within the scope of this invention to have the nozzles move simultaneously in the same or in opposite directions. Thus, by means of a locking pin (not shown) handles 35 and 36 could be locked together so that by turning handle 35 in one direction nozzles 19 and 20 would simultaneously move forward and my turning handle 35 in the

opposite direction nozzles

19 and 20 would simultaneously move rearward. Through the use of additional control wires it would require no more than mechanical skill to design a means by which

nozzles

19 and 20 could move in opposition simultaneously. That is, by turning handle 35 in one direction nozzle 19 would move forward and nozzle 26 simultaneously rearward at the same angular speeds. Conversely, by turning handle 35 in the opposite direction nozzle 19 would move rearward and nozzle 20 simultaneously forward at the same angular speeds.

FIGURE 4 shows a diagrammatic view of the propulsion system used with the jet vest. A thin metal plate 5 serves as a support for air pressure tank 9 which is connected to fuel tank 7 by a metal conduit 23. The tanks m'e secured to plate 5 by brackets 4. A shut off valve 11, which is located in conduit 23 adjacent the air pressure tank, is followed by a pressure regulator valve 13 which is preset to feed the desired amount of air pressure to the fuel tank. A second metal conduit or fuel line 25 connects the fuel tank to catalyst chambers 60. A throttle valve 15 is positioned in conduit 25 to control the amount of fuel fed to catalyst chambers 60 positioned at the ends of pipe 31. The catalyst, which decomposes the highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, may be in the form of an impregnated carrier stone containing permanganate or in the form of activated silver screens. After decomposition, the superheated steam and gaseous oxygen exhaust through

nozzles

19 and 20 to provide for upward and forward movement of the user. It should be noted that fuel line enters at the center of bridge pipe 31 in order to provide equal distribution of fuel to lines 25a and 25b on each side of pipe 31 and thus effect equal thrust from

nozzles

19 and 20.

FIGURE 5 shows control wires a and 55b passing through guide ring 61 which is attached to pipe 31, around chamber 69, and connected to securing members 68 and While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An anti-gravitational device for a user comprising a parachute type harness carried by the user; a metal plate attached to the back of said harness; a pair of interconnecting tanks secured to said metal plate, one of said tanks containing fuel and the other of said tanks containing a source of pressurized air for pressurizing said fuel tank; a bridge pipe secured to said metal plate and extending therefrom in laterally opposite directions; a pair of gas generators each secured at the opposite ends of said bridge pipe; means connecting said fuel tank to said gas generators for flow of said fuel thereto for generation of the gas; a pair of nozzles each respectively secured to said gas generators and disposed for expulsion of said gas therefrom; flow control means mounted between said fuel tank and said gas generators to control flow of fuel thereto; means for attitude and speed control of said device including a container having three handles externally positioned at the ends of said container, two of said handles operatively connected to said nozzles to provide attitude control of said device, the remaining one of said handles operatively connected to said flow control means for actuation thereof to vary the amount of fuel flow to i said gas generators and thus control the speed of said device.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said tanks are interconnected by a conduit having a pressure regulator therein to provide the desired amount of air pressure exerted on the tank containing the fuel.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said means connecting said source of fuel to said gas generators includes a second conduit enclosed in said bridge pipe and extending therewith in laterally opposite directions for communication with each of said gas generators, a central opening positioned at the center of said pipe, said second conduit connecting said source of fuel through said flow control means to said central opening.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said source of fuel consists of highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein an impregnated stone catalyst for decomposing said hydrogen peroxide is disposed in said second conduit.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said flow control means comprises a throttle valve disposed intermediate said source of fuel and said second conduit and operatively connected to said remaining one of said handles for actuation thereby to control flow of fuel to said gas generators.

7. An anti-gravitational device for a user comprising a parachute type harness for support of the user, a thin metal plate attached to the back of said harness, a pair of tanks secured to said plate, one of said tanks containing a source of pressurized air, the other of said tanks containing highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, a conduit connected between said tanks and having a pressure regulator therein to provide the desired amount of pres- 5 surized air to said tank containing the hydrogen peroxide, a bridge pipe horizontally secured to the top of said plate, a central opening located at the center of said pipe, a second conduit connected between said central opening and said tank containing the hydrogen peroxide, a throttle valve disposed in said second conduit to control the flow of hydrogen peroxide to said bridge pipe, a pair of chambers disposed at the end of said bridge pipe and having an impregnated stone catalyst therein for decomposing said hydrogen peroxide, a pair of fuel lines connected at said central opening and extending through said bridge pipe to each of said chambers; a pair of jet nozzles, one of said nozzles connected to one of said chambers and the other of said jet nozzles connected to the other of said chambers; said pipe serving to support said nozzles and to protect said fuel lines; a horizontally positioned cylindrical container attached to the front of said harness, said container being divided by partitions into sections, one section having a longitudinal shaft rotatably mounted between one of said partitions and one end of said container, a handle connected to said shaft on the outside of said container, a first control wire operatively connected from said shaft to said throttle valve so that the user may move the handle to vary the amount of fuel entering said catalyst chambers, the other section having shaft means rotatably mounted and extending between said one partition and the other end of said container, and second and third handles connected to said shaft means on the outside of said container, control wires operatively connected from said shaft means to each of said nozzles so that the user may move the second and third handles to provide for attitude control.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,864,361 Johnson Dec. 16, 1958 3,021,095 Moore Feb. 13, 1962 3,098,625 Thielman July 23, 1963

Claims

1. AN ANTI-GRAVITATIONAL DEVICE FOR A USER COMPRISING A PARACHUTE TYPE HARNESS CARRIED BY THE USER; A METAL PLATE ATTACHED TO THE BACK OF SAID HARNESS; A PAIR OF INTERCONNECTING TANKS SECURED TO SAID METAL PLATE, ONE OF SAID TANKS CONTAINING FUEL AND THE OTHER OF SAID TANKS CONTAINING A SOURCE OF PRESSURIZED AIR FOR PRESSURIZING SAID FUEL TANK; A BRIDGE PIPE SECURED TO SAID METAL PLATE AND EXTENDING THEREFROM IN LATERALLY OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS; A PAIR OF GAS GENERATORS EACH SECURED AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BRIDGE PIPE; MEANS CONNECTING SAID FUEL TANK TO SAID GAS GENERATORS FOR FLOW OF SAID FUEL THERETO FOR GENERATION OF THE GAS; A PAIR OF NOZZLES EACH RESPECTIVELY SECURED TO SAID GAS GENERATORS AND DISPOSED FOR EXPULSION OF SAID GAS THEREFROM; FLOW CONTROL MEANS MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID FUEL TANK AND SAID GAS GENERATORS TO CONTROL FLOW OF FUEL THERETO; MEANS FOR ATTITUDE AND SPEED CONTROL OF SAID DEVICE INCLUDING A CONTAINER HAVING THREE HANDLES EXTERNALLY POSITIONED AT THE ENDS OF SAID CONTAINER, TWO OF SAID HANDLES OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID NOZZLES TO PROVIDE ATTITUDE CONTROL OF SAID DEVICE, THE REMAINING ONE OF SAID HANDLES OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID FLOW CONTROL MEANS FOR ACTUATION THEREOF TO VARY THE AMOUNT OF FUEL FLOW TO SAID GAS GENERATORS AND THUS CONTROL THE SPEED OF SAID DEVICE.