Air Drop Platform Alignment Device
OwnerStephen T. Parkinsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air drop platform alignment device employs an anchor which is attached to a platform. A release mechanism is triggerable during aerial delivery to release the anchor from the platform. The anchor functions to rotate the platform so that it is aligned in a direction away from the cross-wind prior to landing, thereby decreasing the likelihood that the platform will roll over. The release mechanism may be automatically triggered by opening a parachute attached to the platform, by the platform reaching a pre-established altitude, by triggering from a remote device or by a timer at a pre-established time. The anchor, in one embodiment, is configured to dig into the ground, and in another embodiment, is configured to drag across the ground prior to impact of the platform on the ground.
Claims17
An air drop platform alignment device for use during an aerial delivery from an aircraft, said alignment device comprising:
- an anchor attached to an alignment point of a platform by a tether;
- and
- a release mechanism triggerable to release the anchor from the platform;
- wherein during aerial delivery, the release mechanism is triggered to release the anchor and cause the platform to align in a non-cross wind direction prior to a landing of the platform.
A method of aligning a platform during an aerial delivery comprising:
- connecting an anchor to the platform;
- stowing the anchor in a releasable receptacle;
- extracting the platform from an aircraft;
- releasing the receptacle to eject the anchor from the platform so that the anchor makes a ground impact prior to the platform;
- and
- aligning the platform away from a cross-wind direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.