US3247350A - Control switch for antenna float with actuating system - Google Patents

Description

April 19, 1966 D. G. DAVIS 3,247,350

CONTROL SWITCH FOR ANTENNA FLOAT WITH ACTUATING SYSTEM Original Filed March 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. DONALD 6. DAVI5 D- G. DAVIS April 19, 1966 CONTROL SWITCH FOR ANTENNA FLOAT WITH ACTUATING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Criginal Filed March 9, 1961 IIIIIIII,

INVENTOR. DAVl DONALD G United States Patent ()flice 3,247,350 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 3,247,350 CONTROL SWITCH FOR ANTENNA FLOAT WITH ACTUATING SYSTEM Donald G. Davis, Northridge, Calif., assignor to Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., Santa Monica, Calif.

Original application Mar. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 94,569, new

Patent No. 3,112,447, dated Nov. 26, I963. Divided and this application May 1, 1963, Ser. No. 280,763

4 Claims. (Cl. 200161) This application is a division of application Serial No. 94,569, filed on March 9, 1961.

This invention relates generally to signalling means normally carried on the person of an aircraft occupant but which may be mounted to an aircraft, missile nose cone, a travelling vehicle or a package or pod to be recovered, such means being effective to emit radio frequency signals that help locate the person, vehicle or package when it comes to rest either on a body of water or on the land, to enable search or rescue parties to quickly and accurately locate the object when it has come to rest.

More particularly, this invention relates to a novel switch structure which is especially useful and operatively effective in an antenna float actuating system such as is described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 94,569, filed March 9, 1961, for Antenna Float With Actuating System, now Patent No. 3,112,447.

In subsistent devices of this general class, it is necessary, upon its landing, or coming to rest for the bailed-out occupant or vehicle or package to proceed or to be manipulate'd as follows: (I) manually assemble and erect an antenna and then (2) manually actuate a transmitter, that is, tap out emergency radio signals on the transmitter.

The present invention provides an improved device of this general class that includes means carried by the object being searched for, which means has, in its assemblage a landing parachute, a portion of said means attached to a parachute riser for deploying a float carrying an antenna connected to a transmitter, in turn connected to a battery, all being carried in a simple support means, such as a vest worn by the crewman in addition to the usual parachute. Upon performing a simple triggering action, namely, deploying the parachute, the device automatically both .erects and supports or floats an assembled, but theretofore collapsed, antenna and automatically initiates the radiation of emergency signals from the now upright antenna.

In order to achieve these and other ends, the present invention, in one embodiment, comprises a fabric or textile vest, or the like, the vest including three pockets. In a first one of these pockets there is securely mounted an adequate, though compact, electric battery or mercury cell which, upon the parachutes triggering the unit, energizes a small but adequate radio transmitter carried in a second pocket in the vest. The third vest pocket contains a normally compactly collapsed antenna mounted in this collapsed condition at least partially inside a normally collapsed automatic antenna float and antenna erector. This float, when inflated, has a buoyance adequate to maintain it upright in water. It also possesses a sufficient amount of rigidity, or self-sustentation, in reference to center of gravity location, to assume an erect, or substantially erect, attitude and to hold the extended antenna substantially erect when the device is resting upon land, thereby to increase radio frequency radiation efliciency and range.

The float, in a currently-preferred form, consists of a bag made of pneumatic life-preseiver material. The bag can be of a frusto-conical shape when inflated and to visually aid in locating it, is of a flame-red color. It is automatically inflated by a conventional compressed CO cartridge automatically actuated by a standard automatic inflator. A 243 megacycle coaxial antenna is housed in the float, both normally being in collapsed condition. The coaxial antenna has portions extending through tubing-openings in the top and bottom of the float. In order to prevent damage to the float upon water landing, a sufficiently long lead cable extends from the vest and battery to the fioats bottom and connects to the antenna,

In preparing the device for use, the deflated float is packed in the third pocket and secured therein with four closure-flaps held closed with a suitable nylon cord laced through all flaps. There is an inflator switch for triggering the inflator, but this switch is normally held open by a tie-off cord anchored at one end to the vest. The flap-lacing cords and the switch tie-off cord both pass through a conventional reefing-cutter including a built-in time delay mechanism. The cutter is at-. tached to the top of the third pocket in such a position as to be actuated by one fork of a bifurcated cord passing therefrom to a parachute riser so that the deployment of the parachute effects severing of both cords passing through the cutter. As a consequence, at the end of a four-seconds time delay, the float inflating mechanism operates to urge the expanding float out of the third pocket, the flap-lacing cord of which has now also been severed by the reefing cutter. The transmitter is also activated by the parachutes deployment. The antenna is extended by the full inflation of the float and hangs from the vest by its four-feet long lead cord. Because of its truncated'conical shape and the weight of the inflator unit on its bottom, the float will, upon coming to rest, either on water or on level ground, remain substantially upright, thus maintaining the radiating portion of the erected antenna in substantially the optimum, or near-vertical, position. Preferably, the inflator switch includes a safety pin, as does the reefing cutter, which prevent inadvertent actuation of the mechanism during assembly and maintenance operations. They are removed nonmally just before bailing out. The switch tie-off ,cord portion that passes through the reef: ing cutter is tied to a grommeted tab on the vest and the one end of the switch is abutted against, or placed in juxtaposition to a cord-access grommet on the top edge of the float pocket. The flaps-lacing cords ends are tied together.

This embodiment of the inventive concepts is illus strated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinafter, in detail, but only in order to render the invention more concrete and not by way of limitation. The invention itself is as, and of the scope, defined in the sub-joined claims.

In these drawings,

FIG. 1 is perspective, or pictorial, three-quarters front view of a crewman wearing a vest of the present invention with actuator connections between certain components of the vest and a point on a parachute harness riser;

FIG. 2 is perspective front view of the crewman wearing a parachute over the vest shown in FIG. 1, with the float pocket open, with the antenna float out of its pocket, inflated, and with the antenna erected;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the inflated float and the erected antenna, and also shows the float-inflator unit in end view;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the float, indicating the switch, switch restraining, or tie-off cord, and other components of the inflator circuitry and, in broken lines, the contents of the inflator, as well as an emergency lever-type manual actuator for the inflator; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the delayedaction reefing cutter for cutting the switch restraining cord and for contemporaneously cutting the lacing holding the pocket-flaps closed;

FIG. 6 is a view of the float pocket with its flaps open, showing the arrangement of the normally collapsed float, the normally collapsed antenna and the electric lead therefrom to the radio frequency transmitter;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the float pocket, minus its contents and with the flaps partially open, illustrating the arrangement of the flap lacing, and showing the bight in the center of the lacing cord which passes through the reefing cutter;

FIG. 8 illustrates the closed float-pack in combination with the reefing cutter; and

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the inflatoractuating switch.

There is depicted in the drawings a construction for automatically activating an antenna float, erecting a transmitting antenna, initiating the emission of'signals from a radio frequency beacon-transmitter, and maintaining the float upright on land or water, without any manipulation thereof being required on the part of the bailed out crewman.

These means are shown in the present embodiment as carried by, encompassed in, or attached to, a light but durable textile vest 10 which, since it is not noticeably heavy, may be worn at all times during flight by the crewman.

In the rear portion of the vest there are two pockets, a first pocket 9 encasing a mercury battery 11 and the second pocket 13 housing a radio frequency signal transmitter 18. The radio circuit is a one-way only circuit or beacon system, since it does not include a radio receiver.

The battery 11 is connected to the transmitter by a conductor 12 routed through the vest behind the back of the crewman and the radio transmitter is connected to the float in pocket 16 by lead 24.

Two of the vital elements of the invention, the antenna and its float or erector, are carried in this pocket 16 on the front of the airman. The pocket is rectangular with four flaps 17 laced together by a nylon cord 84. Cord 84 includes a bight 85 which passes through a reefing cutter 30, the construction of which is hereinafter described. The reefing cutter 30 is conditioned by withdrawal of safety pin 35 and actuated by the pull on 203 one of the furcations, or portions b of a bifurcated cord 15 when the parachute deploys and extends the parachute riser to which bifurcated cord 15 is attached by a snap-hook 14. The severed lacing is pushed out of the flaps by the. inflating float 2-1 when 21 expandingly ejected itself from pocket 16.

Cord 15 is bifurcated and one fork 15a extends from the riser to the transmitter to activate the transmitterantenna unit, while the other fork 15b extends to the reefing cutter, as aforementioned. The transmitter 18 is automatically energized when the cord 15 and the fork 15a are pulled, through an extension of the parachute riser.

In FIG. 6, the collapsed, packed float 21 is shown in the opened pocket, along with a four foot long electrical lead 24 from the vest to the float. The length of lead is desirable to, among other advantages, prevent excessive loads being exerted on the lead to antenna to float connections during water landing wherein the parachutist erecting the antenna which is normally coiled in its anu housed in the float pocket. Since the base of the frustoconical float is wider than the top thereof and since this base bears heavy adjuncts that lower the center of gravity of the inflated float, the latter will tend to remain substantially upright when resting on water or on more or less level ground.

A lead conductor 24 extends from beacon transmitter 18 through the pocket 16 and to the antenna mounted in the float. The extended antenna 26 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The float is automatically inflated, after the deploying parachute has actuated the reefing cutter 30 as described below, by means including an electric switch 34 normally held in an open position by detent means including a tie-off cord 28. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 8 and 9 this tieoff cord at one end is anchored restrainingly in the electric switch of FIG. 9, the opposite end passing transversely through an aperture 200 in the reefing cutter 30 shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8 and thence through a grommet 64 in a tab 106 on a flap 17, this end of the cord being tied or otherwise anchored to said tab. As shown in FIG. 5, the cutter 30, which is a conventional device described and published in the catalog, published in 1960, by Ordnance'Associates, Inc., 855 El Centro Street, South Pasadena, California, includes a casing 20-1 encompassing a blade 102 for severing the bight of cord84 and also cord 28 passing transversely therethrough via aperature 200. The blade 102 is. actuated by an explosive cartridge 92, fired by a firing pin 94 normally held back against the action of a spring 96 by means of a pin 203 exerting pressure against a ball 32 and detent 33. The 'cutter is anchored by a spring type lock ring 29 in a metal bracket 31 which is sewn to the extended back of the pocket 16. When the pin 2% is pulled, the pressure against the ball 32 and detent 33 is released and spring 96 propels the firing pin 94 into activating contact with cartridge 92. This cartridge, after a 4-second delay, in turn fires, and propels the blade 102 through bight 85 and cord 28, severing them and thereby opening flaps 17 and closing switch 34. A safety pin 35 passing through hole and locking the firing pin 94, is provided to prevent inadvertent firing during assembly of the float and pocket. This pin is removed after assembly and prior to issue of the entire system for use or at least before actual use of the system.

The novel switch 34, being now closed, supplies current from mercury battery 76 to the explosive charge in the squib 68, axially moving the firing pin 74. The explosion of the squib forces pin 74 into the puncturable gas seal wall 72 of the capsule 42 containing compressed carbon dioxide, wherefrom CO expands into the float through port 210 and inflates it.

The switch 34, in detail, comprises a casing or shell 44, terminal posts 46, 47 for conducting the current from mercury battery 76, normally open contact 48, a springpropelled contact closer 50 in the form of a generally cylindric plunger having a concave flared inner end 52, as shown, and an apertured outer end abutted against a coiled spring 62. The casing is provided with a threaded end plug having an axial bore thcrethrough. A portion of one end of cord 28 passes through the bore and through spring 62, its inner end having a ball-detent 205 seated in the outer end of 50 so that the tie-off cord 28 normally holds the contact-closer 50 away from the switch-contacts, which are insulated at 58 from the casing. Casing 44 has safety pin holes 56 through the sides to accommodate a safety pin (not shown) which engages the closer 50 while the distal end of 28 is being secured.

The distal end of the tie-01f cord 28 passes through a lateral aperture 200 in the reefing cutter 30, 200 being provided to properly place in severable position both the tie-off cord 28 and the bight 85 of the package lacing 84, both of which pass through the reefing cutter. From the reefing cutter, 28 passes through a grommet 64 secured to the adjacent flap 17 by means of a tab 106. This distal end of 28 is secured to the grommet by means of a tie-ofi? in the form of an eyelet loop, 66.

The float-infiator group 28, as shown in FIG. 4, is a conventional compressed gas inflator, the terminal plate, squib and battery of which are described and published in the 1960 catalog of Iayel Products Co., Gardena, California. The CO cartridge itself is a conventional compressed gas punctura-ble infiator cartridge described and published in the 1960 catalog of Kidde Manufacturing Co., Belleville, New Jersey and identified as Mil-C- 00601A. It includes a compressed CO capsule 42 having an easily puncturable lower wall 72 co-axially adjacent to a firing pin unit 74 made up of a hollow cylindric pin, pointed at its upper end and slidably encasiug a squib, 68 composed of an electrically ignitable explosive. The explosive is ignited by a current emanating from a mercury battery 76 connected in a circuit including the terminals 46 and 47 of switch 34 so that when the reefing cutter severs the tie-01f cord 28, the switch closes and current passes from the mercury battery 76 through conductor path 41 and binding post 83 (in terminal box 38). This current is conducted through the switch and passes through conductor path 40 to post 79 and via path 43 to the explosive 68. The resultant expansion of gases in 74 forces the firing pin 74 through wall 72 and the pressurized CO passes through aperture 210 into the collapsed packet float, thus expanding it and forcing it out of the now open pocket, the flaps 17 of which have been opened by severance of the lacing bight 85. As later explained, the expansion of the floats top and bottom surfaces away from each other, substantially rectilinearizes, or erects, as shown in FIG. 3, the flexible antenna theretofore coiled inside it in the position shown in FIG. 6. Conductors 40 and 43 from the switch and from the squib, respectively, tie to binding post 79 on the terminal plate of the inflator unit. Conductor 43a leads from the squib to post 81 and thence to the battery 76 through conductor 4 1a which ties to post 81.

To meet the contingency that, for some abnormal reason, the electrical components of the squib firing mechanism may become inoperative, a conventional, handlever type manual firing arrangement 78 is provided and may be employed to puncture the CO capsule by manual levering of the firing pin 74 through the puncturable wall of the CO capsule with consequent inflation of the float. Cord 78a is connected at one end to the lever 78, and has at the other end a knob 78b which can be manually grasped for pulling the lever 78.

The inflated float is shown in FIGS. 2

central section, it is a frustum of a cone.

In FIG. 7, the lacing arrangement for the float-containing pocket is shown. A nylon line 84 is passed as shown through grommets 86 arranged as shown, with a bight 85 passing through 290 in the cutter. The line 84 is pulled tight to close the flaps and the two ends 87 and 88 united by knotting, the bight 85 of the line still passing through the cutter adjacent to the blade.

The operation of the device will have become apparent from the foregoing description.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be perceived by those skilled in this art that various refinements and ramifications in the specific embodiment disclosed may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the sub-joined claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a switch comprising: v

a substantially hollow, elongate casing generally open at first and second ends thereof;

a pair of elongate, normally separated contacts extending axially within the first end of said casing,

Y and 3 as com-' prising a conoidal figure of revolution; that is, in vertical said contacts being each longitudinally resilient and laterally deflectable with respect to the length thereof;

binding post means respectively securing axially outer end portions of each of said contacts to sides of said casing near the first end thereof, the axially inner end portions of each of said contacts being laterally displaced inwardly away from said casing;

a cont-acts connector means slidably mounted for axial movement in said casing towards and away from the axially inner end portions of said normally separated contacts, said contacts connector means having an electrically conductive end portion for contacting the axially inner end portions of said contacts and being conically recessed to engage and deflect the axially inner end portions of said contacts laterally towards each other when said contacts connector means is in the contacts-connecting posi- 1 tion whereby said contacts are electrically connected together;

a closure mounted to the second end of said casing;

a compression spring interposed axially between said contacts connector means and said closure; and

means having a detent portion engaging said contacts connector means and normally holding the same axially away from the axially inner end portions of said contacts against the bias of said spring in a first condition, said means for engaging and holding said contacts connector means being operable to a second condition wherein said contacts connector means is released and said spring urges said contacts connector means into contacts-connecting position with respect to the axially inner end portions of said contacts.

2. A switch as defined in claim 1 wherein said spring is helically wound and longitudinally disposed in said casing, said closure defining an axial hole therethrough, and said means for engaging and holding said contacts connector means includes cordlike means having a detent portion engaging said contacts connector means and which extends longitudinally through said helically wound spring and the hole in said closure whereby said cordlike means is tensioned to hold said contacts connector means normally away from the axially inner end portions of said contacts.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a switch comprising:

a substantially hollow, elongate casing generally open at first and second ends thereof;

a pair o-felongate, normally open contacts extending axially within the first end of Said casing, said contacts being each longitudinally resilient and laterallydefiectable with respect to the length thereof;

binding post means respectively securing axially outer end portions ofeach of said contacts to sides of said.,casing,nearthe:fir t end thereof, the axially inner, end portions of: each of said contacts being laterally. displaced inwardly away from said casing;

a contacts closer;me-ans;slidably mounted for axial movement in said casing towards and away from the axially inner end portions of said normally open contacts, said contacts closer means having an electrically conductive end portion for contacting the axially inner end portions of said contacts and being conically recessed to engage and deflect both of the axially innerend portions of said contacts laterally towards each other when in the contacts-engaging position;

a closure mounted to the second end of said casing,

said closure defining an axial hole therethrough;

a compression spring interposed axially between said contacts closer means and said closure, said spring being helically wound and longitudinally disposed in said casing;

a severable cord having a detent portion engaging said contacts closer means, said cord extending longitudinally through said spring and the hole in said closure and normally placed in tension to hold said contacts closer means normally away from the 5 axially inner end portions of said contacts against the bias of said spring; and means for severing said cord to allow said spring to urge said contacts closer means into engagement with the axially inner end portions of said contacts whereby said contacts are electrically connected together. 4. A switch as defined in claim 3 including a safety pin, 'and wherein said casing defines a hole at a predetermined axial position therein whereby said pin is inserted into said hole to engage said contacts closer 15 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Blodge'tt' 200-l61 McWilliarns 200-153 Istrati et al. 200-161 X Dickinson 200161 Ratcliif 20052 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. H. A. LEWITTER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN APPARATUS OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, A SWITCH COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY HOLLOW, ELONGATE CASING GENERALLY OPEN AT FIRST AND SECOND ENDS THEREOF; A PAIR OF ELONGATE, NORMALLY SEPARATED CONTACTS EXTENDING AXIALLY WITHIN THE FIRST END OF SAID CASING, SAID CONTACTS BEING EACH LONGITUDINALLY RESILIENT AND LATERALLY DEFLECTABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE LENGTH THEREOF; BINDING POST MEANS RESPECTIVELY SECURING AXIALLY OUTER END PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID CONTACTS TO SIDES OF SAID CASING NEAR THE FIRST END THEREOF, THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID CONTACTS BEING LATERALLY DISPLACED INWARDLY AWAY FROM SAID CASING; A CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTED FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT IN SAID CASING TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF SAID NORMALLY SEPARATED CONTACTS, SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS HAVING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE END PORTION FOR CONTACTING THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACTS AND BEING CONICALLY RECESSED TO ENGAGE AND DEFLECT THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACTS LATERALLY TOWARDS EACH OTHER WHEN SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS IS IN THE CONTACTS-CONNECTING POSITION WHEREBY SAID CONTACTS ARE ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER; A CLOSURE MOUNTED TO THE SECOND END OF SAID CASING; A COMPRESSION SPRING INTERPOSED AXIALLY BETWEEN SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS AND SAID CLOSURE; AND MEANS HAVING A DETENT PORTION ENGAGING SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS AND NORMALLY HOLDING THE SAME AXIALLY AWAY FROM THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACTS AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID SPRING IN A FIRST CONDITION, SAID MEANS FOR ENGAGING AND HOLDING SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO A SECOND CONDITION WHEREIN SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS IS RELEASED AND SAID SPRING URGES SAID CONTACTS CONNECTOR MEANS INTO CONTACTS-CONNECTING POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIALLY INNER END PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACTS.

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