Ejection seat

Details Ejection seat Ejection seat

2000-03-14

2001-10-30

Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)

Aeronautics and astronautics

Aircraft structure

Fuselage and body construction

C244S141000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06308917

ABSTRACT:

THIS INVENTION relates to an ejection seat and more particularly to an ejection seat having a blast protection system.
Ejection seats are commonly used in military aircraft where the risk of aircraft failure or combat damage is high. Ejection seats allow the aircrew to escape from stricken aircraft and typically provide a safe and reliable means of escape.
Ejection seats have long been fitted with arm and leg restraint systems which serve to secure the arms and legs of the aircrew in a safe position during ejection. During normal flight the aircrew's arms and legs must clearly be allowed to be free in order to control the aircraft. However, during ejection it is important to move the arms and legs of the aircrew into a safe position and secure the arms and legs into that position to avoid injuries which can be caused either by limbs flailing and hitting the side of the cockpit or as a result of the inertial forces which would be experienced by outstretched limbs. As the ejection seat leaves the aircraft, the occupant of the seat experiences wind blast due to the forward speed of the aircraft which will cause further limb flailing if the occupant's limbs are not restrained. As well as injuries to limbs, neck injuries are also a hazard. Thus, some ejection seats provide neck restraint systems which secure the head of the aircrew into a safe position during ejection.
One major disadvantage of presently available arm and leg restraint systems and neck restraint systems is that the aircrew are required to don or manually connect themselves to the restraint systems. The difficulty of this task is compounded by the fact that the aircrew are likely to be wearing cumbersome NBC protective clothing. Assistance is therefore usually required in order for the aircrew to be properly connected to the restraint system.
During ejection, the combination of the aircrew and the ejection seat does not present a very aerodynamic profile and therefore suffers from a fairly high coefficient of drag. Thus, the lower the mass of the occupant of the ejection seat, the greater the deceleration which will be experienced during ejection. For this reason, lower mass occupants cannot safely be ejected at high speeds and the escape envelope of higher mass occupants is limited.
It is an object of the present invention to seek to ameliorate or overcome the problems associated with aforementioned problems associated with ejection seats and restraint systems therefor.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides an ejection seat having a blast protection system comprising an inflatable curtain stowed on the ejection seat and deployable to at least substantially envelop an occupant of the seat.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3218103 (1965-11-01), Boyce
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patent: 5067671 (1991-11-01), McIntyre et al.
patent: 5301903 (1994-04-01), Aronne
patent: 5498022 (1996-03-01), Papandreou et al.
patent: 5676393 (1997-10-01), Rose

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