Parachute canopy
AssigneeIrvin Fallskarms AB
InventorHarald V. G. Astrand
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A parachute canopy having at least one steering aperture created in a gore, which aperture is generally closed by air pressure urging the material from which the gore is formed into a closed relationship with the parachute canopy but which is relatively exposed to permit air flow therethrough by the operation of pull lines which are attached to the gore and may be used to urge the gore inwardly of the canopy in order to control the direction of descent.
Claims6
A generally circular parachute canopy having inner and outer surfaces defined by a plurality of radially extending gores which are assembled in edge to edge relationship along radially extending joints the improvement comprising an elongated radially extending slit formed along at least a portion of one of the gores contiguous to the joint with an adjacent gore, said at least one of the gores having a free edge portion along said slit which edge portion is selectively removable with respect to said adjacent gore, an air-pervious material attached to the outer surface of the canopy and extending over the entire length of said slit, and pull means attached adjacent to said free edge of said one of the gores and extending from the inner surface of the canopy to a point remote from said slit whereby said one of said gores is normally retained in a closed position with respect to said adjacent gore closing said slit therebetween as a parachute is in use but being selectively openable by exerting a downward force on said pull means thereby separating said free edge of said one of the gores from said adjacent gore thereby forming an air opening therethrough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.