Parachute canopy
AssigneeIrvin Industries Canada Ltd.
InventorsLorenz A. Palm, David B. Webb
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A parachute canopy formed of circumferential rings of stretch fabric which stretch in a circumferential direction only. The canopy is formed by a plurality of trapezoidal fabric panels. Subsets of these panels form a plurality of rings which extend from the crown to the skirt. The radially inboard rings are formed from the stretch fabric and are joined along their adjacent circumferential seams with a double row of zig-zag stitching. The radially outboard rings are of a non-stretch fabric such as nylon.
Claims8
A parachute having a canopy adapted to reduce opening forces at high speed without substantially increasing opening time at low speed, the canopy comprising:
- a plurality of circumferential rings extending from the crown to the skirt,
- a plurality of substantially trapezoidal panels arranged in each of said circumferential rings,
- at least a portion of said panels being formed of woven stretch fabric, said fabric in said panels having stretch yarn in a circumferential direction and non-stretch yarn in a radial direction so that the stretch characteristic of said stretch fabric panels is developed solely in a circumferential direction,
- said stretch fabric panels being located in at least two adjacent ones of the innermost ones of said rings.
- each of said panels in the one of said circumferential rings at said skirt being formed of non stretch fabric, and
- circumferentially extensible stitching means joining adjacent stretch fabric panels along their circumferential edges,
- said stretch fabric panels having a characteristic curve of air permeability versus dynamic air pressure that is concave up over a predetermined range of dynamic air pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.