Abstract:
A flight training hood that can be collapsed for compact storage. A spring member can quickly restore the flight training hood to its pre-collapsed position ready for use.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to collapsible hoods for use in IFR flight training. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    In order to be Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) certified, pilots must train under IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions). IMC describes weather conditions that normally require pilots to fly primarily by reference to instruments. 
         [0005]    During IFR training, IMC flight conditions are simulated. This typically includes exercises that restrict student vision to instruments. However, since peripheral vision can interfere with such training, and since human instinct will inevitably drive students to look up or outward away from a cockpit instrument panel during training, view limiting devices are commonly employed. 
         [0006]    Common view limiting devices include IFR training hoods. Some typical hoods include a head band portion used to retain the hood on a student&#39;s head, and a large bill that extends outward above the student&#39;s eyes. A surface of the bill may be curved downward on either side to aid in further blocking side peripheral vision. Also, some hoods have drape portions that extend downward on each outer side of the hood to help block side peripheral vision. 
         [0007]    Because such hoods need to have large surface area to be effective, they are often bulky and cumbersome to store. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Various embodiments of the present invention comprise a flight training hood having a bill portion that extends outward over a student&#39;s eyes, with one or more spring components and non-rigid view obstructing material, and a holding member, such as a flexible elastic headband, for retaining the flight training hood on a head of a user during flight training. The non-rigid view obstruction material can be, without limitation, nylon or fabric, and the spring component can be an elongated spring extending proximate at least a portion of a perimeter of the view obstruction material. The bill, or view obstruction member, can be easily collapsed by being twisted and folded a plurality of times to form looped overlapping portions for storage. A spring bias of the view obstruction member can quickly restore the view obstruction member to its extended position ready for use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a simplified perspective view of an embodiment of a flight training hood of the present invention, showing the hood worn by a user. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 1 , removed from the user&#39;s head of  FIG. 1 , and showing an embodiment of a headband for the flight training hood having end portions with hook and loop fasteners. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 2  (without showing the headband or view obstruction drapes for purposes of clarity), after having been twisted in the directions of arrows “A” and “B” of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 3 , after having been twisted in the directions of arrows “C,” “D,” “E,” and “F” of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 4 , after having right side loop portion  32  partially folded rearward in the direction as shown by arrows “G” of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 5 , after having the right side loop portion  32  of  FIG. 5  further folded rearward until it overlaps the left side loop portion  30  behind it. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 6 , with a left side of the loop portion  30  (last shown in  FIG. 6 ) now being twisted in the directions of arrows “K” and “L” to reveal an opposite side surface of the view obstruction material and to form a second stage left side loop  34  as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 7 , with a second stage left side loop  34  having been formed from twisting loop  30  in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 8 , as collapsed through the steps illustrated in  FIGS. 2-9 , and after the second stage left side loop  34  has been folded rearward in the direction or arrow “M” in  FIG. 8  against the back surface of the loop  30 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the flight training hood of  FIG. 9 , also illustrating an embodiment of a non-rigid storage case for the flight training hood, in which the flight training hood can be stored to hold the hood in a collapsed position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. However, upon reviewing this disclosure one skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. In other instances, well-known structures associated with springs have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of the embodiments of the invention. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of the flight training hood  2  of the present invention, having drapes  4  that can hang downward from a bill  13  of the flight training hood  2 . The flight training hood  2  can be worn by a user  11  as illustrated with a headband portion  6  being used to retain it on the head of the user  11  during training. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  shows the flight training hood  2  of  FIG. 1  (without the drapes  4  being illustrated, for purposes of clarity) removed from the user. Headband portions  6  are shown with end portions  8 ,  8 ′ having respective hook and loop fastener elements for quick coupling of end portions  8 ,  8 ′. Various other manners for removably attaching the end portions  8 ,  8 ′ of the headband  6  are also contemplated for the present invention, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. In other embodiments, the headband  6  can be a continuous looped headband without end portions. Also, in some embodiments of the present invention, the headband  6  is made of elastic material that can be stretched to accommodate different users. 
         [0022]    In  FIG. 2 , a bill band  10  is shown to contain an elongated spring  12 , such as, for example, without limitation, an elongated flat spring strip. In various embodiments of the present invention, the spring  12  extends throughout the entire perimeter of the bill  13 , within bill band  10 . That is, for example, the bill band  10  can be made of nylon or reinforced fabric, and can be formed in wrap-around fashion stitched at an inner edge perimeter thereof to form an inner chamber in which the spring  12  is contained. The materials of construction described are not intended to be limiting. 
         [0023]    Also, a non-rigid view obstructing surface  15  can extend, or stretch, between the inner perimeter portions of the bill band  10 , and the view obstructing material  15  can have upper surface  14 , and a lower surface  16  (seen in  FIGS. 3-10 ). The view obstructing surface can also be, for example, nylon or fabric. 
         [0024]    In the following description of steps for collapsing an embodiment of the flight training hood  2  of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure that the steps described are not meant to be limiting or necessarily carried out in the particular order described. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the bill  13  of the flight training hood  2  is shown (i.e., the flight training hood  2  is shown without showing the headband  6  or the drapes  4 , for purposes of clarity) in a position after having been partially twisted about a longitudinal axis  17  of the bill  13 , in the directions of arrows “A” and “B” of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows a position of the bill  13  after having been further twisted in the directions of the arrows in  FIG. 3 . In particular, arrows “C” and “D” on a right side of the flight training hood  2 , and arrows “E” and “F” on a left side of the flight training hood  2 , represent simultaneous twisting motions that can be applied by hand to the flight training hood  2  to place it in the position shown in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , two loop portions are now visible from the twisting applied, namely, left loop portion  30  and right loop portion  32 , with each loop portion  30 ,  32  being defined by the bill band  10  (or spring  12  inside the bill band  10 ). Also, as viewed in  FIG. 4 , the left side portion has been twisted upward to expose the lower side surface  16  of the view obstruction material  15 , rather than the upper side surface  14  previously shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0027]    Arrows “G′” of  FIG. 4 , show a folding direction in which the right side loop portion  32  can be folded to bring the right side loop portion  32  behind the left side loop portion  30 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  shows right side loop portion  32  partially folded rearward and  FIG. 6  shows the bill  13  of the flight training hood  2  after the right side loop portion  32  of  FIG. 5  is further folded rearward until it overlaps the left side loop portion  30  behind it. 
         [0029]    Now referring to  FIG. 6 , a left side portion of the loop  30  (the left side loop  30  in  FIG. 5 ) can be twisted in the direction of arrows “I” and “J,” and then further in the directions of arrows “K” and “L” in  FIG. 7 , until upper surface  14  of the view obstruction material  15  is again visible as shown in  FIGS. 7 &amp; 8 , and until another left loop  34  is formed in the loop  30  (loop  30  was formerly referred to as the left side loop  30  above), as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0030]    As shown  FIG. 8 , the left loop  34  can now be folded rearward in the direction of arrow “M′” until the left loop  34  overlaps the loop  30  in  FIG. 9 , behind it (Arrow “M” shows a path of a point on the left loop as it is folded rearward in manner generally represented by arrows “M?). At this stage in  FIG. 9 , the front surface area represented by the perimeter of the bill  13  facing outward from the illustration can be, in some embodiments, about one third or less in area than the front surface area represented by the upper surface  14  of the view obstruction material  15  in  FIG. 2 . In this manner, the flight training hood  2  can be collapsed for compact storage. 
         [0031]    Also, as will understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure, when a user releases user applied tension against the flight training hood  2  during collapsing thereof, or after it is in the collapsed position of  FIG. 9 , the flight training hood  2  can automatically and quickly return to its extended position, or original shape, as shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 . This can be driven by a bias of the spring  12 . Furthermore, it is noted that drapes  4  and headband  6  have no rigidity in various embodiments of the present invention, and can thus be easily collapsed with the bill  13  of the flight training hood  2  to form the compact structure for storage in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0032]    In some embodiments of the present invention, a storage case  24  is provided for retaining the flight training hood  2  in a collapsed position, such as the collapsed position shown in  FIGS. 9 &amp; 10 . The storage case  24  can itself be made of non-rigid material, such as, for example, without limitation, nylon or fabric. In the illustrated embodiment in  FIG. 10 , the storage case  24  is made of stitched nylon and has a pocket configuration with opening  20 , and cover flap  22 . The collapsed flight training hood  2  can be placed in the body  18  of the storage case  24  and cover flap  22  can be folded over to close the opening  20 . In some embodiments of the present invention, the cover flap  22  can be secured against the case to hold it closed, using any of a variety of different securing devices, such as, for example, a hook and loop fastener, a button, or a latch (not illustrated in the drawings). In yet further embodiments of the present invention, the flight training hood  2  can be provided with integral securing devices for holding the flight training hood  2  in the collapsed position during storage. Examples of integral securing devices (not illustrated in the drawings) include separate hook and fastener devices, buttons or latch mechanisms. In some embodiments of the present invention, the end portions  8 ,  8 ′ of the headband  6  itself, can be wrapped about the collapsed flight training hood  2  and connected together in a fashion to secure the hood in a collapsed position, as will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. 
         [0033]    Although specific embodiments and examples of the invention have been described for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art after reviewing the present disclosure. The various embodiments described can be combined to provide further embodiments. The described devices and methods can omit some elements or acts, can add other elements or acts, or can combine the elements or execute the acts in a different order than that illustrated, to achieve various advantages of the invention. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. 
         [0034]    In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is determined entirely by the following claims.