Special receptacle or package – Shock protection type – For an egg – fruit – or vegetable
Patent
1996-01-11
1998-07-14
Sewell, Paul T.
Special receptacle or package
Shock protection type
For an egg, fruit, or vegetable
206219, 2065244, B65D 2508, B65D 8102
Patent
active
057790523
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatus for and a method of dropping supplies from aircraft. It relates particularly to the dropping of relief supplies in the form of for example, food, fuel medical supplies or the like, into areas where such supplies are required.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
As a result of extensive news coverage, most people are familiar with the problems of delivering relief supplies to those in need. Typically, supplies are got to starving populations by road convoy or by air-dropping supplies into the surrounding area.
In many cases, however, road access is just not possible which means that supplies must be delivered by air if they are to reach those in need at all. Conventionally, dropping supplies from an aircraft involves either delivering bulk loads by parachute from air-drop altitudes or flying low over the drop zone and allowing the bulk aid packages to fall to the ground from the aircraft under gravity.
There are many problems associated with both of these methods of dropping supplies. There is a particular danger of injury to persons in the area into which the supplies are dropped. There is also often a loss of goods supplied due to heavy packages breaking open on impact, and an administrative burden on the ground of ensuring the equitable apportionment of the aid from such bulk loads of supplies and many deserving cases never receive the aid at all.
Furthermore, supplies dropped by parachute are dropped from aircraft flying relatively high above the ground. The drop height is usually also increased if there is a danger of ground attack. As a result of the height above ground from which such bulk loads are dropped, inaccuracies in the position at which these loads reach the ground can result.
So, in summary, present methods of aid distribution from the air suffer from one or more of the following drawbacks: need, or worse still, falling into the wrong hands;
The object of the present invention is to address the problems associated with conventional methods of dropping supplies from aircraft, and avoid the risk to the delivery aircraft of low level drops in hostile environments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air-drop carton assembly for use in distributing sachets, comprising a plurality of the sachets, a base with upstanding edge portions, and at least one containing wall shaped to be retained releasably on the base about the sachets, so that separation of the base and the wall causes dispersion of the sachets.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of distributing a plurality of individual packages comprising providing a carton assembly having a base with upstanding edge portions and at least one containing wall shaped to be retained releasably on the base about the packages, filling the carton at least partially with the packages, and ejecting the carton assembly from an aircraft over a target zone so that the carton assembly disintegrates and disperses the packages over the target zone, the packages then falling individually to the ground.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a sachet comprising at least one compartment having flexible walls of sheet material, the sachet being filled or part-filled with particulate material and having a ratio of size and shape to weight selected to cause the sachet to fall sufficiently slowly when dropped to prevent bursting thereof on impact with the ground.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a front view of an empty sachet, in accordance with the third aspect of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the sachet of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a front view of the sachet of FIG. 1 filled with a granular food;
FIG. 4 shows a side view of the sachet of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows yet another sachet in accordance with the third aspect of the invention
REFERENCES:
patent: D134061 (1942-10-01), Salfisberg
patent: 2125318 (1938-08-01), Salfisberg
patent: 2534010 (1950-12-01), Frye
patent: 2791324 (1957-05-01), Knoop et al.
patent: 3797727 (1974-03-01), Doening et al.
patent: 5267663 (1993-12-01), Dykhouse
Aitken Larry James
Coetzee Etienne Eugene
Desselss Neville Martin
Kleynhans Herman J.
Manson Brent Aubrey
Aitken Larry James
Sewell Paul T.
Stashick Anthony
Woodford Geoffrey Reason
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