Patent ID: 8640993

Claim:
A parachute assembly for slowing the descent of an object in flight, said parachute assembly comprising: a canopy having a peripheral skirt portion; and a plurality of suspension lines attached at the upper ends thereof to said peripheral skirt portion and converging downwardly to a corresponding number of attachment points located along an upper hemisphere of a ball, wherein said attachment points are substantially equidistantly spaced apart and thereby facilitate a substantially equidistant spacing of said plurality of suspension lines, wherein each of said attachment points defines an opening to an interior channel extending from said opening to a central chamber located near a geometric center of said ball, wherein each of said interior channels is sized and shaped to receive at least one of said plurality of suspension lines, and wherein said assembly further comprises a common shaft extending from said central chamber to a shaft opening located on an outer surface of said ball, wherein said common shaft is sized and shaped to receive a bundle comprising substantially all of said plurality of suspension lines.