Emergency cargo extraction parachute jettison system

Abstract

The invention is a control system for the emergency jettison of a cargo container extraction parachute from a cargo container within an aircraft, the aircraft having a plurality of cargo containers onboard that are ejectable in sequence. In detail, the system includes a load transfer coupling coupled to each extraction parachute for releasing the extraction chute from the cargo container upon receipt of electrical power. A first circuit is coupled to the load transfer coupling, the first circuit for providing the electrical power to the load transfer coupling of the next ejectable cargo container upon receiving an actuation signal to release the extraction parachute. A second circuit is used to sense when each of the plurality of cargo containers has been ejected from the aircraft and to provide the cargo container ejection signal to the first circuit upon the cargo container being ejected from the aircraft. The actuation signal is provided to the first circuit if the ejection signal is not received within a specific time after initiation of the cargo ejection sequence. A third circuit is used to manually provide the actuation signal to the first circuit providing immediate jettison of the extraction parachute.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.