The present invention relates generally to seating for the crew of an aircraft or spacecraft and more particularly to an adjustable attenuation frame for a seating system.
Advancements in space travel have made manned space flights more realistic for a larger variety of people. In the past, space missions had crewmember sizes that were much more generic. For example, in the past the crew size was always three and the astronauts were all of relatively the same size and weight. The attenuation system in a space re-entry vehicle was not designed to deal with large differences in weight. In the space shuttle, there are individual seats and attenuation is mitigated with landing gear struts. However, there is a need for an attenuation system for a space re-entry vehicle that is capable of providing the same level of protection for a much wider variety of crewmembers and sizes.
In space travel today and as it is expected to change in the future, crewmembers are becoming more varied and people of many shapes and sizes need to be accommodated. Crew seats need to conform to crew sizes ranging from the smallest possible, for example a 5th percentile Japanese female in shirt sleeves, to the largest possible, such as a 95th percentile American male in an inflated space suit.
Crewmember comfort is of course a concern. But more importantly, the support and safety of the crewmembers throughout take-off, flight, and landing are the most critical of concerns. Support of the crewmember in the seat during take-off, flight, and landing are a critical concern for manned space travel, especially when commercial space travel is on the brink of becoming more mainstream. Crewmember support is especially important during launch, re-entry and landing phases of the flight when the forces on crewmembers are the greatest.
An attenuation system is used to absorb forces that the space re-entry vehicle crew seats are subject to during take-off, re-entry and landing. However, in the past, attenuation frames have a fixed tension setting for a known crew size and the tension is not adjustable to accommodate any variations. That is the system is capable of absorbing shock for a predetermined, or fixed, weight of the crewmembers.
Seat design for manned space travel has become more important as the shapes and sizes of crewmembers become more varied. Members of a crew can range in size from a single, fifth percentile Japanese female to four ninety-fifth percentile American males. Therefore, an attenuation system must be capable of handling weights ranging from about 100 pounds to 1000 pounds and result in no personal injuries to any crewmember upon a hard landing. The adjustable attenuation system provides the same level of protection for a single small crewmember as for a full crew of four large crewmembers.
A bench seating system capable of carrying one or more crewmembers of varying size and shape is provided. The bench seating system has an attenuation system that is adjustable to accommodate a large range of crewmembers and crewmember sizes. The tension in the attenuation system is adjustable at any time prior to take-off and during a flight mission, to accommodate a range of crewmembers from one small crewmember to four large crewmembers.
The attenuation system is comprised of a system of struts, either hydraulic or pneumatic, attached to a frame that supports the bench seat and the tension in the struts is adjusted either manually, or automatically to accommodate the crew. A first setting is made prior to launch of the spacecraft depending on the parameters of the crewmembers, and the setting can be changed as desired during the mission, should the parameters of the crewmembers change for return in that vehicle.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the description that follows, and may be realized by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described some embodiments thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The at least one seat 14 is shown in
The attenuation system 10 is set to a predetermined tension using the control 24. The control sends the right amount of fluid, either oil for a hydraulic system, or air for a pneumatic system, through the tubing system 22 to the plurality of struts 16.
It is desirable to have as few struts 16 as possible in order to minimize the weight carried by the spacecraft. The number of struts 16 shown in
As discussed above, the adjustability of the attenuation system can be controlled by a hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical system. The control 24 can be either a manual dial setting, or it may be automated, for example controlled by a computer system (not shown). Prior to launching the spacecraft, the ground crew makes an initial adjustment to the attenuation system. The adjustment setting depends on the number of crewmembers and their weight range. This initial setting need not be changed unless a different crew is returning in the re-entry vehicle.
In one embodiment, the crew can easily make adjustments by selecting from one of a plurality of predetermined pre-set ranges prior to descent. For example, the pre-set ranges may be set to one of six selections. A first setting is for a single, small crewmember weighing from ninety to one hundred twenty five pounds. A second setting is for one large and one medium, or two small crewmembers whose combined weight totals one hundred twenty five to two hundred fifty pounds. A third setting is for two large crewmembers, one large and one medium crewmember, or one large and one small crewmember whose combined weight totals from two hundred fifty pounds to four hundred fifty pounds. A fourth setting is for various combinations of large, medium and small crewmembers whose combined weight totals from four hundred fifty to six hundred fifty pounds. A fifth setting is for various combinations of large, medium and small crewmembers whose combined weight totals from six hundred fifty to eight hundred fifty pounds. A sixth setting is for four large crewmembers whose combined weight totals from eight hundred fifty pound to one thousand pounds.
The attenuation system 10 is capable of handling weight ranging from ninety pounds to one thousand pounds and adjusts to protect any combination of crewmembers adequately without personal injuries upon a hard landing.
The seat 14 is suspended from the attenuation system 10 by the frame 12 and it is considered to be floating, or able to move freely in response to movement of the struts 16. The struts absorb the shock of an impact and based on the tension setting at the control 24, the seat 14 will move accordingly and avoid any direct impact to the crewmembers.
The pivotal engagement allows the attenuation system 10 to move as necessary and absorb the impact of a hard landing. The suspended bench seat 14 can move vertically and avoids any of the impact directly. Therefore, the crewmembers are well protected from injury. The tension setting of the attenuation system 10 will be adjusted depending on the weight of the crew.
The frame 12, as shown in
The struts 16 will vary in size and number as necessary for the vehicle the attenuation system is being designed for. The six struts 16 shown in
The tubing system 22 interconnects the struts 16 and feeds the air or fluid necessary to adjust the tension in the struts 16. In the embodiment shown in
The control 24 is used to set and adjust the tension in the struts 16 by way of the tubing system 22. The control 24 can be adjusted manually, as by a dial turned to a specific setting by the ground crew, or the crewmembers of the mission. It is also possible that the control 24 is automated and is set and adjusted by computer control.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that there has been brought to the art a new and improved attenuation system for seating in a re-entry space vehicle. It is to be understood that the preceding description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative of some of the many specific embodiments that represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Clearly, numerous and other arrangements would be evident to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under NASA Contract No. NAS8-01099 and is subject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (72 Stat.435:42 U.S.C.2457.)