WO2015194979A1

WO2015194979A1 - Conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy

Info

Publication number: WO2015194979A1
Application number: PCT/PL2015/000095
Authority: WO
Inventors: Włodzimeirz BUZIŃSKI; Sławomir KOMIOŁEK; Dariusz BANASZKIEWICZ; Jarosław GARSTKA
Original assignee: Air-Pol Spółka Z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością
Priority date: 2014-06-18
Filing date: 2015-06-17
Publication date: 2015-12-23

Abstract

This invention provides a conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy made of pieces of cloth of a varied air-permeability, delimited by an air- permeability boundary, where side edges of the gores are sewn together and attached via suspension cables to suspension belts of the parachute, characterized in that the canopy has two pairs, spaced apart by less than a half of the gores, of slits S1 and S2 as well as S3 and S4, to form left steering foils Al and A2 and right steering foils A3 and A4, where the slits S1and S2 as well as S3 and S4 extend from the lower edge of the canopy and terminate at the canopy cloth air- permeability boundary G and it has two pairs of free flaps B1and B2, each two gores wide, corresponding to the left steering foils A1 and A2 and right steering foils A3 and A4 sewn with the canopy solely with their short sides, where the canopy has, for the pair of left steering foils A1 and A2 and the pair of right steering foils A3 and A4, suspension cables N1 and N2 corresponding to centers of the free flaps B1 and B2, which are attached with their upper ends solely to these free flaps Bl and B2, and moreover to the free corners of the left steering foils Al and A2 and to the free corners of the right steering foils A3 and A4 upper ends of steering cords Ls1 and Ls2 are attached, where their lower ends are releasably attached in pairs to each of two parachute suspension belts Tn, and the steering cords Ls1 and Ls2 pass through passage rings C1 and C2, mounted to the lower corners of the free flaps Bl and B2, while the lower ends of each pair of the steering cords Ls1 and Ls2 terminate in loops p1 and p2, introduced into locking rings Pb, fixedly attached to the corresponding suspension belts Tn of the parachute.

Description

Conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy

This invention provides a conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy made of cloth of varied air permeability sewn together as triangular gores extending from the apex to the edge of the parachute.

During a parachute jump often a need appears - for example in view of a safe landing site - to change the direction of movement and to impart a kind of translational movement to the parachute.

A troop parachute is known which has a canopy of a shape similar to a sphere of an area of 83 m , made of strips of cloth sewn together in parallel. On the outer side of the canopy, straightening tapes are applied and sewn which tapes are arranged cross- wise and form a mesh on the surface of the canopy. At the lower edge of the canopy two radial slits are made, namely a front slit and a rear slit, 1,6 m long, for rotating the canopy, and the slits form an angle of 180° therebetween. To the left corner of the front slit and to the right corner of the rear slit, there is connected a left pair of suspension cables which are mounted to the left suspension belt of the parachute. To the right corner of the front slit and to the left corner of the rear slit there is connected a right pair of suspension cables which are mounted to the right suspension belt of the parachute. Such pairs of cables are connected to each other by means of an additional steering cord positioned within reach of the parachutist's hands. If the parachutist pulls the steering cable, he enlarges the slot in the canopy which imparts a rotational motion of the latter, but this does not cause any translational movement of the parachute, as a result of which the parachutist cannot move away from an obstacle. The canopy has an area of 83 m and a speed of descent of 5 m/s under the load of 120 kg. The ratio of the parachute load to the canopy area is 1,446 kg/m .

From the French patent specification F 2768398 a troop parachute is known where its canopy is built of a plurality of gores sewn together with their side edges. Lower ends of the seams on the gore side edges are connected by means of suspension cables to the parachutist. The canopy is equipped at the lower edge with an inflatable ring that enables activation of the parachute. The inflatable ring is inflated by a gas generator. The gores of the canopy have self-adjusting apertures to prevent tearing up of the canopy if the canopy is opened at a high speed and the pressure inside the canopy exceeds its mechanical strength. The self- adjusting apertures have a form of elastic slots that open under a predefined pressure. With the apertures and with the inflatable ring, the canopy opens even if the parachutist moves at the same speed with the airplane from which he has jumped. The parachutist is not able to steer the parachute.

From the United States patent specification US 4834323 a parachute is known which is used mainly for transporting small loads such as arms or devices. The parachute canopy is built of gores of two lengths sewn together with their side edges. Longer gores are arranged with shorter gores in a manner so as the canopy, when spread on a surface, forms a shape of a cross. The canopy in the air has a substantially semicircular shape, and below each group of shorter gores an open section is formed that is delimited by side edges of the adjacent longer gores. The canopy is equipped with four open sections. The edge of the canopy is connected via suspension cables to the load being transported. This parachute is characterized by considerable stability. It has no maneuvering means. From the patent DE 4218557 a reserve parachute is known that has a substantially round canopy, when spread on a surface. It is cut out from a flat sheet of material. At the front of the canopy there is a V-shaped excision which forms in the canopy two semicircular front canopy foils which pass at the rear into a rear semi-elliptic or preferably semicircular rear foil. In the upper part of the canopy there is an air-permeable region. It has a shape of a wedge similar to an arrow head with its main tapering directed towards the rear part of the canopy along the canopy symmetry axis and with two minor tapers directed towards the front part of the canopy, to the individual front semicircular canopy foils. In several locations steering cords are attached to the edges of the rear foil which are tensioned by the parachutists so as to alter the air outflow from under the parachute canopy via the air-permeable region, and thus enable maneuvering of the parachute.

From the European patent document EP 195609 a parachute is known which has a canopy in a form of a dome, made of gores sewn together with their side edges. The gores are made of flaps sewn together. The parachute has a main suspension system, comprising a plurality of suspension cables of a substantially equal length and four maneuvering cords of a larger length than the suspension cables. Upper ends of the suspension cables are connected to the lower edge of the canopy, and the lower ends are connected to the suspension belts of the parachute arranged to be attached to the parachute harness. The canopy is provided with two or more venting segments being gores of a higher air permeability than the remaining gores in the canopy. The venting segments are arranged symmetrically relative to the canopy axis that extends through the apex thereof and they are equipped with maneuvering cords to enable the parachutist to steer the parachute to some slight extent during descending for landing.

It is the object of this invention to provide a solution to enable not merely turning of the parachute by any angle but also to impart a translational movement to it with the use of a possibly simple and reliable technical means. The main idea of a conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy according to the invention, where the canopy is made of pieces of cloth of varied air permeability, delimited by an air-permeability boundary, where the side edges of the gores are sewn together and connected by means of suspension cables to suspension belts of parachute, consists in that the canopy has, spaced apart by less than a half of the gores, two pairs of slits that form left steering foils and right steering foils. The slits extend from the lower edge of the canopy and terminate at the air-permeability boundary of the canopy cloth. The canopy has two pairs of free flaps, each two gores wide, corresponding to the left steering foils and the right steering foils, sewn together with the canopy solely with their short sides. The canopy has, for the pair of left steering foils and the pair of right steering foils, suspension cords corresponding to centers of the free flaps, that are attached by their upper ends solely to the free flaps. Moreover, to the free corners of the left steering foils and to the free corners of the right steering foils, upper ends of the steering cords are affixed, while lower ends thereof are releasably affixed in pairs to each of the two suspension belts of the parachute. The steering cords extend through passage rings affixed to lower corners of the free flaps, and the lower ends of each pair of steering cords terminate in loops inserted into locking rings fixedly attached to the corresponding suspension belts of the parachute.

Preferably, the multi-gore canopy has 32 gores and two pairs of slits that form left steering foils and right steering foils, spaced apart by 9 gores.

Also preferably, into the loops of the steering cords first loops of locking cords are inserted along with pins the ends of which are fixedly attached to second loops made at second ends of the locking cords.

In order to open the pair of right steering foils and left steering foils, it is sufficient for the parachutist to pull the pins out from the locking rings. The steering cords will become released but to an extent allowed by the length of the locking cord which is selected so as to ensure optimum deflection of the right steering foils and left steering foils. In order to make the canopy turn, the parachutist pulls out only one pin to open one pair of right steering foils or left steering foils. In order to stop rotational movement, the parachutist pulls out the second pin at the second suspension belt of the parachute, and this causes translational movement of the parachute in a direction established in the rotational movement. The pulled out pin stops at the locking ring within reach of the parachutist's hand. If the parachutist wishes to correct the direction of movement of his parachute, he pulls towards himself an appropriate pin to close the pair of right steering foils or left steering foils. This solution makes it possible to impart translational motion to the parachute, and what is more, in a desired direction, and as a result the parachutist may move away from a dangerous landing site. Furthermore, with this solution, the ratio of the parachute load of 165 kg to the canopy area of 110 m at the same speed of descent of 5 m/s is more advantageous and is 1,5 kg/m².

The object of this invention is illustrated in an embodiment in the drawing, where Fig. 1 shows a canopy full of air in a side view, illustrating a pair of left steering foils, Fig. 2 shows a front view of a knot for locking/releasing steering cords, positioned on a suspension belt of a parachute, Fig. 3 shows mounting of a ring for locking steering cords to a suspension belt of a parachute, in a front view, and Fig. 4 shows a scheme of arrangement of canopy gores in a top view.

A canopy in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is composed of 32 gores sewn together. Each gore is sewn of flaps where the flaps from the canopy edge to an air-permeability boundary G are made of cloth with a lower air-permeability than the remaining ones. The canopy has two pairs, spaced apart by 9 gores, of adjacent slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4 extending from the edge of the canopy and terminating at the cloth air-permeability boundary G. These slits SI, S2, S3 and S4 result from the fact that the adjacent gores are not sewn together. The distance between the pars of slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4 is equal to two gores. As shown in Fig. 1, free flaps Bl and B2 that straighten the edge of the canopy for each two gores at the same side of the pair of slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4 are attached loosely to the canopy, which means that they are not sewn with their long sides to the lower edges of the right steering foils Al and A2 and left steering foils A3 and A4. Suspension cables Nl and N2, spaced apart from the slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4 by a width of a gore, are not attached to the corners of the gores but to the centers of the free flaps Bl and B2.

Upper ends of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 are mounted to the free ends of the right steering foils Al and A2 and the left steering foils A3 and A4, while the lower ends, as shown in Fig. 2, are releasingly mounted in pairs to each of the two suspension belts Tn of the parachute, and the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 extend through passage rings CI and C2, attached to lower corners of the free flaps Bl and B2.

Centers of the free flaps Bl and B2 are attached by stabilizing tapes Tsl and Ts2 to the canopy cloth air-permeability boundary G. They stabilize the shape of the canopy.

The suspension cables Nl and N2 are sewn to the centers of the free flaps Bl and B2. Releasable mounting of the lower ends of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 to the suspension belts of the parachute Tn is effected in a manner so that the lower ends of each pair of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 terminate in loops pi and p2 introduced into a locking ring Pb with fixed mounting M with a suitable suspension belt of the parachute Tn.

Into the loops pi and p2 of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 a first end of an additional locking cord Lb is introduced, said end being then connected to the locking cord Lb to form its first loop p3. Moreover, into the loops pi and p2 of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 a locking pin K is introduced one end of which is introduced into a second loop p4 formed earlier at the other end of the locking cord Lb. The loops p4 are fixedly attached to the pins K in a manner that they pass through openings O in the pins K. When the parachutist pulls the pins K out from the locking rings Pb the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 become released, but solely to an extent allowed by the locking cords Lb, the length of which is selected to ensure optimal deflection of the right steering foils Al and A2 and left steering foils A3 and A4. The pins K with the locking cords Lb attached thereto stop on the locking rings Pb and remain within the reach of the parachutist's hands who may pull them towards himself to set ajar or completely close the right steering foils Al and A2 and left steering foils A3 and A4 of the canopy.

Claims

1. Conical troop parachute with a multi-gore canopy made of pieces of cloth of a varied air-permeability, delimited by an air-permeability boundary, where side edges of the gores are sewn together and attached via suspension cables to suspension belts of the parachute, characterized in that the canopy has two pairs, spaced apart by less than a half of the gores, of slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4, to form left steering foils Al and A2 and right steering foils A3 and A4, where the slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4 extend from the lower edge of the canopy and terminate at the canopy cloth air-permeability boundary G and it has two pairs of free flaps Bl and B2, each two gores wide, corresponding to the left steering foils Al and A2 and right steering foils A3 and A4 sewn with the canopy solely with their short sides, where the canopy has, for the pair of left steering foils Al and A2 and the pair of right steering foils A3 and A4, suspension cables Nl and N2 corresponding to centers of the free flaps Bl and B2, which are attached with their upper ends solely to these free flaps Bl and B2, and moreover to the free corners of the left steering foils Al and A2 and to the free corners of the right steering foils A3 and A4 upper ends of steering cords Lsl and Ls2 are attached, where their lower ends are releasably attached in pairs to each of two parachute suspension belts Tn, and the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 pass through passage rings CI and C2, mounted to the lower corners of the free flaps Bl and B2, while the lower ends of each pair of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 terminate in loops JJI and p2, introduced into locking rings Pb, fixedly attached to the corresponding suspension belts Tn of the parachute.

2. Troop parachute according to claim 1 characterized in that the multi-gore canopy has 32 gores and the two pairs of slits SI and S2 as well as S3 and S4, that form left steering foils Al and A2 and right steering foils A3 and A4, are spaced apart by 9 gores.

3. Troop parachute according to claim 1 characterized in that into the loops JJI and Q2 of the steering cords Lsl and Ls2 there are introduced first loops g3 of the locking cords Lb and pins K the ends of which are fixedly attached to second loops Q4 made in second ends of the locking cords Lb.