Abstract:
An improved pack for parachutes for powered parachute aircraft breaks down to lie flat against the ground providing a staging area for folding the parachute and full access to the parachute to remove entrapped air. Flaps of the pack fold up around the parachute to create an enclosure. The pack may include attached bungee cords for tying it to the frame of the cockpit and may be part of a kit including line socks and frame attachment hooks.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application is based on provisional application No. 60/351,021 filed Jan. 23, 2002 and claims the benefit thereof.  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to aircraft using a parachute as a wing (“powered parachute”) and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for storing the parachute “wing” of a powered parachute.  
           [0003]    A powered parachute is a flexible wing aircraft using a parachute to provide a lifting surface. A cockpit, suspended below the wing by multiple, flexible lines, supports a motorized propeller that provides forward thrust. The parachute wing is made up of multiple cells open along the wing&#39;s leading edge to receive air that inflates the cells holding the parachute in the proper airfoil shape. Parachutes range in size from 400-550 square feet being approximately fourteen feet from front to back and thirty-seven feet wide.  
           [0004]    At the beginning of a flight, the parachute is placed flat on the ground behind the cockpit which rests on wheels. As the cockpit moves forward driven by the propeller, the parachute wing “kites up” and begins to take the shape of an airfoil. Once the wing is fully inflated, additional cockpit speed allows the parachute to lift the cockpit up off the ground.  
           [0005]    Landing is accomplished by reducing the propeller thrust allowing the cockpit to descend to a runway. As the cockpit comes to a rest, the parachute settles on the ground behind the cockpit.  
           [0006]    During times when the powered parachute is not in use, the parachute must be folded and stored. Proper protection of the parachute and the lines connecting it to the cockpit is necessary to prolong the useful life and to ensure safe operation of the powered parachute.  
           [0007]    The parachute is typically stored in an envelope-shaped bag. Such storage is difficult because of the tendency of the zero-porosity parachute material to retain air and thus to balloon up inside the bag as the bag is stuffed.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides an improved storage system for the parachute of a powered parachute. The system uses a storage pack that may be unfolded into a flat sheet providing complete access to the parachute as it is bundled in the center of the sheet. The storage pack is then assembled about the parachute by means of fasteners on edges of the sheet. This greater accessibility to the parachute during the storage process allows improved removal of entrapped air. Further, the wrapping action simplifies the storage process.  
           [0009]    Specifically, the present invention provides a parachute pack for powered parachutes comprising a sheet of flexible material that in a first state is openable to lie flat against a ground surface and sized to receive a parachute thereupon. Fasteners positioned near edges of the sheet allow the edges of the sheet to be drawn over a received parachute in a second state, to enclose the parachute; the fasteners interconnecting to releasably retain the edges to each other.  
           [0010]    Thus, it is one object of the invention to provide an improved protective storage pack for a parachute of a powered parachute. By allowing the storage pack to be broken down to a flat sheet, the time and effort required to pack the parachute is minimized.  
           [0011]    The fasteners may be hook and loop fasteners.  
           [0012]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a flexible fastener compatible with the sheets and unlikely to damage the parachute.  
           [0013]    At least a portion of the fasteners may be placed on a surface of the sheet lying next to the ground when the sheet is in the opened state.  
           [0014]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to minimize the chance of the fasteners from snagging material on the ground.  
           [0015]    The fasteners may provide a range of connection points to allow a volume enclosed by the sheet in the second state to be varied.  
           [0016]    Thus it is another object of the invention to both provide a pack that is suitable for a variety of different parachutes and that allows cinching of the pack as air is removed from the parachute.  
           [0017]    The edges of the sheet may extend in four pairwise opposed flaps and the fasteners may be positioned on edges of the flaps.  
           [0018]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a design that is efficient in its use of material and that eliminates the interference of bunching of the sheet as the flaps are drawn about the parachute.  
           [0019]    The sheet may be a gas permeable fabric.  
           [0020]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide for a path of moisture escape from the stored parachute.  
           [0021]    The sheet may include attached straps sized to retain the enclosed parachute when the parachute is wrapped in the sheet and to hold the enclosed parachute to a structure of the cockpit.  
           [0022]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a method of storing the wrapped parachute in a fixed location on the cockpit to prevent damage to the parachute.  
           [0023]    The flexible sheet may be part of a kit including socks comprising tubular sleeves of flexible material separable along their length by a releasable fastening means and sized to substantially cover lines attaching the parachute to the cockpit.  
           [0024]    Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a complete system for storing and protecting the parachute and its lines when the powered parachute is being stored.  
           [0025]    The kit may further include straps sized to hold the stored parachute to the structure of the cockpit. The kit may also include rigid hooks sized to engage a strut of the cockpit to provide attachment points for at least one releasable strap.  
           [0026]    It is thus another object of the invention to provide for storage of the parachute in a position other than the seat so as to provide improved access to the seat during taxiing and the like.  
           [0027]    The present invention is particularly useful with a method of packing the parachute in which the parachute is collected by collecting the parachute along an axis extending from a front of the parachute to a back of the parachute and fan-folding the rolled parachute on the sheet to reduce its front to back dimensions. The open construction of the present pack allows a single individual to fold the parachute and compress air from the folds upon the protective surface of the unfolded sheet.  
           [0028]    These particular objects and advantages may apply to only some embodiments falling within the claims and thus do not define the scope of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a powered parachute showing the parachute wing inflated and supporting the cockpit;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cockpit and parachute wing on the ground with the parachute wing arranged behind the cockpit and next to the storage pack according to a preferred packing method;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIGS. 3 and 4 are simplified diagrams showing a fan folding of the parachute of FIG. 2 by a single individual after collecting of the parachute in a row;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cockpit of FIG. 2 with the parachute as stored in the storage pack of the present invention and attached to structure of the cockpit also showing positioning of the parachute lines in protective socks;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 6 is a side elevational cross-section of the folded parachute of FIG. 5 showing its retention by a bungee cord, a second strap, and a hook fitting on a horizontal strut of the cockpit;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the hook of FIG. 6;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of a line sock such as may be part of the present invention;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the storage pack in a flattened configuration; and  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view along lines  10 - 10  through FIG. 9. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0038]    Referring now to FIG. 1, a powered parachute  10  includes a parachute  12  having a leading edge  14  and a trailing edge  16 . Extending from the leading edge  14  to the trailing edge  16  are fabric cells having vertical Mylar stiffeners  89  open at the leading edge  14  and closed at the trailing edge  16  so as to capture air and to provide the parachute  12  with a desired aerodynamic shape.  
         [0039]    A series of lines  20  connect points on the parachute  12  to left and right support cables  22  and  24 , respectively. The support cables  22  and  24  are attached to corresponding outriggers  26  extending from the left and right of the cockpit  28 . The cockpit  28  provides a seat  30  for the pilot (not shown), a set of wheels  32  for taxiing and, a rear mounted motor and pusher propeller the latter having a propeller guard  37  and providing propulsion for the powered parachute  10 .  
         [0040]    Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 9, when the cockpit  28  is on the ground, for example after landing, the parachute  12  will generally have fallen upside down with the open cells of the leading edge  14  to the back. If not, the parachute  12  may be arranged in this position in preparation for folding.  
         [0041]    The storage pack  38  of the present invention may then be positioned on the ground between the cockpit  28  and the parachute  12 . Initially, the storage pack  38  is in an unfolded state providing an essentially planar sheet lying flat against the ground. A generally square center portion  40  of the unfolded storage pack  38  attaches at its four edges to four corresponding flaps  42   a,    42   b,    42   c  and  42   d  so that flaps  42   a  and  42   c  pairwise opposite to each other from left to right and flaps  42   b  and  42   d  pairwise opposite to each other from front to back. The flaps  42   a,    42   b,    42   c  and  42   d  are trapezoidal having their longer base abutting the edges of the center portion  40  and their narrower bases removed therefrom. The center of the square center portion  40  may be marked with a panel  46  to aid in the packing process as will be described. The corners of the square center portion  40  include darts or notches (not shown) that when sewn gather the material of the square center portion  40  into a shallow tray (shown in FIG. 10) having upward edges that are substantially lower than the height of the parachute  12  when the parachute  12  is bundled on the square center portion  40 . The upward edges of the tray allow the square center portion  40  to lie substantially flat against the ground and the tray edges have a length  33  of about a third of the length of the flaps  42  and substantially less than half the flap length.  
         [0042]    The storage pack  38  is preferably constructed from a flexible material, preferably a fabric.  
         [0043]    Referring still to FIGS. 2 and 9, the distal edges of flaps  42   a  and  42   b  hold panels  48  providing hook portions of a hook and loop fastener such is sold under the trade name of Velcro™. The panels  48  holding the hook portions are on the “parachute side” of the storage pack  38  normally away from the ground to keep them from picking up debris.  
         [0044]    Correspondingly, the distal edges of flaps  42   d  and  42   c  hold panels  50  providing the loop portions of the hook and loop fasteners. The panels  50  holding the loop portions are on the “ground side” of the storage pack  38  normally toward the ground. The loop portions extend a length along the flaps  42   c  and  42   d  between their distal and proximal edges to provide a plurality of locations at which the hook portions of the panels  48  may attach. This allows a cinching of storage pack  38  as will be described and the accommodation of parachutes  12  folding to different sizes or different folding techniques. The length of the flaps  42   a,    42   b,    42   c  and  42   d  at their bases is longer than the sides of the sewn square center portion  40  (as shortened by the sewn darts) so that corners  41  of the flaps overlap each other at the corners of the square center portion  40  by about eight inches providing ample room for adjustment of the volume of the storage pack  38  for accommodation of different sizes of parachutes  12  and further ensuring overlap in the corner base edges of the flaps to ensure the parachute  12  does not protrude from the pack  38  corners. These edges, although overlapping, are not sealed and thus allow moisture to escape from the parachute  12 .  
         [0045]    The ground side of the storage pack  38  also includes lifting straps  52  attached to the material of the storage pack  38  by sewn panels as is understood in the art and bungee cords  54  attached to flap  42   b  and extending between the base out of the flap  42   b  to provide for a securing of the completed pack to the cockpit  28  as will be described further below. Attachment loops  53  are provided in the square center portion  40  for attachment of the storage pack  38  to the structure of the powered parachute  10  as will be described.  
         [0046]    Referring now to FIG. 2, after storage pack  38  is positioned between the cockpit  28  and the parachute  12 , a number of different packing techniques may be used. In a first technique, the parachute  12  is rolled from left and right edges to center as indicated by arrows  56  to gather it into a row extending along an axis  58  between the leading edge  14  and trailing edge  16  of the parachute  12 . When this process is complete, this relatively narrow row of parachute  12  will be positioned near the storage pack  38  for fan folding as will be described. The parachute  12  should be compressed to be 2-3 feet wide at this point.  
         [0047]    In a second method of packing the parachute  12 , the person packing the parachute  12  centers his or herself at the leading edge  14  and without moving gathers every second open cell by grabbing the lines  20  attached to the leading edge  14  of the parachute  12  about six inches from the fabric of the parachute  12 . After doing so, the Mylar stiffeners  89  (shown in FIG. 1) of the cells should hang parallel to each other. The lines  20  are then pulled back to stretch out the parachute  12  and tied together either with a separate strap or with a loose overhand knot to keep the Mylar stiffeners  89  parallel.  
         [0048]    The now parallel Mylar stiffeners are the last portion of the parachute  12  to be “folded” into the pack. This method greatly reduces the amount of crumpling to the Mylar stiffeners as compared to stuffing the Mylar stiffeners into an envelope-shaped bag. After the open cell (stiffeners  89 ) lines are tied together, the trailing edge  16  is gathered together, about two to three feet wide, ready for fan folding.  
         [0049]    Larger parachutes  12  may be first folded along a left to right axis  70  and then the process described above may be performed.  
         [0050]    For either of these methods, after the parachute  12  is gathered in this row, line socks  60  are placed over the lines  20  to protect them. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 8, the line socks  60  are commercially available tubes of fabric about ten feet long and sized to allow the lines  20  and support cables  22  and  24  to fit therein. Two line socks  60  are used, one for support cable  22  and its associated lines  20  and one for support cable  24  and its associated lines. The line socks  60  have longitudinal seams  62  separable by a zipper or hook and loop fasteners or the like allowing them to receive the lines  20  and support cables  24  without disconnection of the support cables  22  and  24  from the cockpit  28 . After the trailing edge  16  of the parachute  12  is pulled onto the center of the storage pack  38  and the line socks  60  are laid along the parachute row and extend over the storage pack  38  extending off the storage pack  38  toward the cockpit  28  over the corners of the center portion  40 .  
         [0051]    Referring now to FIG. 3, with the parachute  12  and line socks  60  in position, the person  63  packing the parachute, by pulling at successive locations of the parachute  12  from the trailing edge  16  and alternately kneeling on those portions previously gathered, may fan fold the parachute  12  onto the opened material of the storage pack  38 . Note in this process, the material of the storage pack  38  protects the parachute  12  from abrasive materials on the ground.  
         [0052]    During the fan folding, the person  63  doing the packing may rock back and forth repeatedly kneeling on each new fan fold to squeeze out the air toward the open ends of the cells toward the leading edge  14 .  
         [0053]    Referring to FIG. 2, when this process is complete, flaps  42   a  and  42   c  are pulled about the parachute  12  as tightly as possible. Then the flaps  42   b  and  42   d  are pulled tightly about the flaps  42   a  and  42   c  and contained parachute  12 . The flaps  42  are held to each other by the fastener panels  48  and  50 . The flaps  42  overlap to prevent any direct contact between the hook and loop material and the parachute  12  when the parachute  12  is enclosed in the storage pack  38 .  
         [0054]    The storage pack  38  may then be picked up by straps  52  and carried around to either side of the cockpit  28 .  
         [0055]    Referring now to FIG. 5, when the storage pack  38  is placed on the right side of the cockpit  28 , the left line sock  60  can be placed beneath the propeller guard  37 . The storage pack  38  then may be hung, using metal hooks  80 , on a horizontal strut  72  being in this case a portion of the outrigger  26  to allow the seat  30  to be used for a second passenger. The right sock  60  may be stuffed into the storage pack  38  or placed on top of the storage pack  38  to be held by bungee cords  54 .  
         [0056]    Referring momentarily to FIG. 8, and FIG. 5, an elastic bungee cord  74 , having a hook  76  on one end and a fabric patch on the other, may be attached to the lower sock  60  allowing the sock  60  to be attached to the structure of the cockpit  28  to prevent looseness in the sock  60  that would allow it to be caught or dragged on the ground. The particular location for the point of attachment of the bungee cord  74  to the sock  60  may be determined by the user based on the particular structure of the powered parachute  10 . The fabric patch of the bungee cord  74  may be initially attached to the sock  60  by means of safety pins and later sewn in place. Areas of sharpness in the structure of the cockpit  28  over which the sock  60  passes may be padded with foam and tape or the like.  
         [0057]    Referring flow to FIGS. 6 and 7, a metal hook  80  having an arcuate portion  82  may fit over the strut  72  to provide end loops  84  and  86  serving as attachment points for the attachment loops  53  and bungee cord  54  used to restrain the storage pack  38 . End loops  86  of hooks  80  may engage one pair of the attachment loops  53  (depending on the height of support desired). As shown in FIG. 6, the attachment loops  53  are affixed to straps  88  which may pass down and around the remainder of the storage pack  38  to distribute the forces of suspension over the material of the storage pack  38 . The end loops  84  of hooks  80  may engage with corresponding hooks of one end of the bungee cords  54  whose other ends are restrained by knots  85  in the bungee cords  54  catching corresponding metal loops  87  sewn to the material of the storage pack  38 . The bungee cords  54  may thereby secure storage pack  38  and parachute  12  to the strut  72 . The hooks on the bungee cords  54  and straps  88  are preferably non-scratching, for example, nylon, and provide provisions for adjustment of the length of the bungee cord  54  as is well understood in the art.  
         [0058]    The pack  28  can be stored either in the back seat  30  of the cockpit  28  or hung from a strut. When stored in the back seat, the bungee  54  with hooks  55  on each end, must be able to stretch a great length at low pressure so that the bungee hooks  55  can reach attachment point on the cockpit  28 . When the pack  38  is hung from a strut  72 , the bungee  54  must stretch a shorter distance at high pressure to securely hold the pack  38  to the strut  72 . The knot  85  in the middle of the bungee  54 , along with the metal loop  87 , allows bungee  54  to perform both functions with little or no adjustment to the overall length of bungee  54 . When the bungee hooks  55  are released from either storage method, they automatically retract under bungee cover  59  for storage. This packing system has no loose bungee hooks or straps. All are built into the pack  38 .  
         [0059]    It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.