Advanced aircrew protection system

An advanced aircrew protection system for wearing on the body and head of a person and having therefore upper and lower torsos as well as a generally upper and lower parts, comprising:

• a rigid helmet,
• shell having a face opening,
• a faceplate coupled with respect thereto for movement between an elevated inoperative position and a lowered operative position in gas-tight sealed engagement with said opening to form a helmet enclosure, said faceplate having a transparent visor,
• an oral nasal mask attached to said faceplate adapted to seal the nose and mouth of the wearer from the remainder of the helmet enclosure,
• a partial pressure suit for covering the upper and lower torsos of the body of the aircrew, said suit comprising
• an outer garment having upper and lower torso portions which cover the body from the ankles to the neck and wrists,
• said outer garment being made of a flexible fabric which is constructed of materials rendering the outer garment non-stretchable and having portions for covering the upper and lower torsos to serve as a restraint layer,
• an inner garment made of flexible fabric made of materials rendering the same impermeable to fluids,
• means made of a flexible and impermeable fabric forming bladders over selected portions of the upper and lower torsos of the body,
• connecting means communicating with said bladders for receiving fluid under pressure,
• means for providing fluid at a first predetermined pressure to the bladders of the lower torso,
• means for independently supplying pressurized fluid to said helmet and to the oral nasal mask and bladders of the upper torso, and
• a neck shroud secured at its upper edge to the lower edge of the helmet shell and extending downwardly into a neck opening at the top of the suit and into and around the upper part of the suit whereat it is retained by pressure transfer from the tension of the suit, said shroud being in communication with the helmet to receive fluid therefrom for pressurizing the neck of the wearer so as to maintain the pneumatic pressure in the helmet assembly.

An integrated aircrew protection system, comprising,

• a partial pressure suit for covering the body including an outer garment made of flexible inelastic material,
• said suit further including an upper bladder mounted in the suit and interposed between the outer garment and the wearer's chest and arms,
• said suit further including a lower bladder mounted in the suit and interposed between the outer garment and the wearer's abdomen, legs, and feet,
• said upper and lower bladders having inner and outer fluid impermeable walls sealed together about the periphery so that, when filled with pressurized fluid, each bladder expands to put mechanical pressure on the said portion of the wearer's body by decreasing the available space within the inelastic outer garment and the body whereby said suit is operated at partial pressure,
• a helmet assembly including a helmet and an oral nasal mask,
• a flexible neck shroud for attaching the helmet assembly and the suit together and including a diaphragm for sealing the helmet at the neck from the suit and the helmet assembly from ambient conditions, so that said helmet and shroud defines a first volume with said oral nasal mask defines a second volume,
• means for connecting said first volume to air under a first pressure,
• means for connecting said oral nasal mask and upper bladder together to a common source for providing breathing air under a second pressure,
• means for connecting said lower bladder to a source of air under a third pressure, and
• means for independently controlling said first, second, and third pressures on schedules dependent upon accelerations and ambient pressure.

An integrated aircrew protection system, comprising,

• a partial pressure suit for covering the body including
• an outer garment made of flexible inelastic material, and
• an inner liner of air impermeable material extending throughout the extent of the upper and lower portions of the suit
• said liner providing cold water body protection and a chemical barrier throughout the extent of the upper and lower portions of the suit,
• said suit further including an upper bladder mounted in the suit and interposed between the outer garment to cover the wearer's chest and to surround the arms,
• said upper bladder being formed by air impermeable walls sealed about a periphery so that, when filled with pressurized fluid, said bladder expands to put mechanical pressure on the said portion of the wearer's body by decreasing the available space within the inelastic outer garment and the upper body,
• gloves with bladders and with release couplings for pneumatically joining the gloves to the upper bladder,
• means provided within the upper portion of the suit for providing ventilation air to the wearer's body,
• said suit further including a lower bladder mounted in the suit and interposed between the outer garment and the wearer's abdomen, surrounding the legs, and covering portions of the feet,
• said lower bladder having being formed by lower air impermeable walls sealed together about a periphery so that, when filled with pressurized fluid, each lower bladder expands to put mechanical pressure on the wearer's body by decreasing the available space within the inelastic outer garment and the lower body;
• a helmet assembly including
• a rigid shell portion covering the majority of the wearer's head and an
• a oral nasal mask with a face seal for fitting over the wearer's nose and mouth;
• a flexible neck shroud formed of flexible material having an upper portion coupled to the bottom of the helmet and a lower portion extending downwardly therefrom within the suit assembly and sealing at a point along the wearer's neck and also including an elastic diaphragm secured around the neck for sustaining a separate pressure within the helmet assembly independent of the pressure within the suit assembly so that said helmet and shroud define a first volume separate from a second volume within said oral nasal mask;
• means for connecting said first volume to air under a first pressure;
• means for connecting said first volume to air under a first pressure;
• means for connecting said oral nasal mask and upper bladder together to a common source for providing breathing air under a second pressure;
• means for connecting said lower bladder to a source of air under a third pressure;
• and
• control means for independently controlling said first, second, and third pressures on schedules dependent upon accelerations and ambient pressure,
• said control means including a breathing regulator for sensing low pressure and for supplying a flow of pressurized oxygen to the upper portion of the suit assembly and to the nose and mouth assembly when said low pressure condition exists, and an anti-gravity valve for providing of pressure to the lower portion of the suit assembly upon the occurrence of a high gravity condition.

An advanced, integrated aircrew protection system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to sustain a full pneumatic pressure within the helmet adjacent to the head of the wearer;
• said helmet assembly including an oral nasal mask said mask defining a breathing volume at the nose and mouth separate from the remainder of said helmet and means to provide a fluid supply from a second pneumatic pressure means to within the mask and to selected upper parts of the body of a wearer, the helmet also having means to movably couple the mask with respect to the remainder of the helmet between an inoperative position and an operative position;
• a suit assembly adapted to sustain a partial pressure adjacent to selected portions of the body of the wearer;
• a first pneumatic pressure means for supplying a fluid under a first pressure to selected lower parts of said suit assembly;
• a neck shroud coupled between with the helmet assembly the suit assembly,
• said shroud being constructed to pneumatically isolate said full pressure helmet assembly from said partial pressure suit assembly;
• and
• second pneumatic pressure means for independently supplying pressurized fluid to the helmet assembly and to selected other portions of said suit assembly, and
• a control assembly including first control means to activate said first pneumatic pressure means in response to a high gravity situation as a function of the extent of the high gravity, second control means to activate the second pneumatic pressure means in response to a low pressure situation as a function of the extent of such low pressure, and third control means operatively coupling the first and second control means.