Aeronautics and astronautics – Safety lowering devices – Parachutes
Patent
1998-03-20
2000-03-28
Poon, Peter M.
Aeronautics and astronautics
Safety lowering devices
Parachutes
F42B 1064, B64D 100, B64D 1734
Patent
active
060420561
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention is notably concerned with the field of releasing objects from all types of aircraft, aerostat or spacecraft, and principally about a control procedure for steering an air carrier.
The purpose of the invention is also a control system of an aircraft made of fabric, this being, for example, a fabric air carrier, a kite, balloon or hang glider.
Carrier systems like this are described in patent application n.degree.. DE 43 36 056 and in the Japanese patent n.degree.. JP5185993.
The latter patent describes methods of guiding a parachute towards a predetermined place carrying an electrical power supply, and a regulating circuit which is the length of each control unit shroud line. Each unit has an electric motor linked to a drum or a rack system which is itself linked to the unit, as well as a GPS type location system, and a microprocessor able to compare the parachute's position with a predetermined, pre-recorded trajectory, and in function of this comparison, to control or not the functioning of the electric motors.
This kind of apparatus works properly when the load release takes place at low altitude, for example at 1000 meters. However, for a given size, the higher altitude the release takes place, the more the performance of the apparatus deteriorates. In fact, when the release altitude is higher, the flight time is longer, and the quantity of energy required from the motor is greater. Besides, with the increase in altitude there is a drop in air temperature, reaching a value of around -50.degree. C. At lower temperatures, the efficiency of the supply, such as a battery, of an electric motor is affected. It is therefore necessary to increase the size of the batteries in the case of release at high altitude. In practical terms, for release at 10 000 meters, the mass of the batteries required for the flight can reach up to several hundred kilograms and their volume is obviously in consequence.
This therefore limits the quantity of freight which can be transported and/or requires the use of more resistant material and which is therefore heavy and expensive.
One of the aims of the invention is to correct these problems by proposing an air carrier steering control system, able to function using a source of energy with low mass at any release altitude envisaged.
According to the invention, a control device contains a source of energy, at least a control suspension unit, an activating element which operates the control suspension unit and a control switch for the activating element, and is characterised by the fact that the source of energy is a gas and the activating element is a pneumatic system.
Patent N.degree.. GB 2 240 954 describes a device controlling the position of the rudder units of a missile made up of an energy source with pressurized gas, at least one rudder, one pneumatic actuator operating on the rudder and which includes two chambers and two pistons connected at opposite ends of a lever attached to the rudder, and a circuit controlling the rudder position, made up of notably a rudder position gauge and a method of controlling the position of two valves, one connecting the source of energy and the chamber of the first piston to the chamber of the second piston and the other connecting the chamber of the second piston to the exterior.
The air carrier steering control devices described in the above mentioned patents act on the position of the rudders or on the length of the shroud lines and have the disadvantage of being sensitive to variations in direction and the strength of the wind and not being able to reduce automatically their influence leading to a measurable deviation from the trajectory of the craft compared with the intended trajectory.
Moreover, in the case of aircraft cited in the patent application DE 43 36 056, for their method of operation it is necessary to define, for each control suspension unit, a "zero" reference at which it is released in order either to avoid there being any slack, or to avoid the shroud line being permanently under tension. In addition to this,
REFERENCES:
patent: 2730317 (1956-01-01), Onanian
patent: 3146976 (1964-09-01), Houdou
patent: 3212730 (1965-10-01), Tschudy et al.
patent: 3433441 (1969-03-01), Cummings
patent: 4440366 (1984-04-01), Keeler et al.
patent: 5080305 (1992-01-01), Stencel et al.
Delegation Generale pour l'Armement
Palo Francis T.
Poon Peter M.
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