Patent Application
20210354836
The present disclosure relates generally to inflatable evacuation systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus used to reduce inflation failures during deployment.
Inflatable evacuation systems may be found on various structures, including aircraft, boats, offshore drilling platforms and the like. The systems are typically equipped with an inflatable device, such as, for example, an inflatable slide or an inflatable raft, configured to facilitate rapid evacuation of persons in the event of an emergency. The slides or rafts are typically stored in an uninflated condition on the structure—e.g., a commercial aircraft—to be evacuated in a location readily accessible for deployment.
For evacuation slides employed with aircraft, where it is necessary to evacuate the passengers and crew immediately, it is necessary to deploy the slides in the correct attitude under possibly adverse weather conditions including strong winds. In these weather circumstances, the slide may become twisted by the winds, rendering it unusable as a portion of the slide becomes skewed under the aircraft thereby preventing its proper deployment.
A restraint assembly for an evacuation slide having an inflatable tube that defines a head portion and a foot portion is disclosed. In various embodiments, the restraint assembly includes a first strap having a first end configured for attachment to the inflatable tube at a first location, intermediate the head portion and the foot portion, and a second end configured for attachment to the inflatable tube at a second location, proximate the foot portion; a second strap having a first end configured for attachment to the inflatable tube at a third location, distal of the second location, the second strap having a first aperture and a second aperture proximate a second end of the second strap, the second aperture spaced a first distance from the first aperture; a first loop configured for attachment to the inflatable tube at the second location and configured for threading through the first aperture; and a second loop configured for attachment to the inflatable tube at the second location and spaced the first distance from the first loop.
In various embodiments, the second loop has a length about equal to the first distance. In various embodiments, the first loop is configured for threading through the second loop. In various embodiments, a release pin is attached to the second end of the first strap. In various embodiments, the release pin is configured for threading through the first loop following the first loop being threaded through the second loop. In various embodiments, the first aperture is defined by a first grommet. In various embodiments, the second aperture is defined by a second grommet.
In various embodiments, the first location is spaced a second distance from the second location and the first strap defines a first strap length that is less than the second distance. In various embodiments, the third location is positioned on the foot portion. In various embodiments, the second strap defines a second strap length that is less than the first strap length.
An evacuation slide is disclosed. In various embodiments, the evacuation slide includes an inflatable tube that defines a head portion and a foot portion; a first strap having a first end attached to the inflatable tube at a first location, intermediate the head portion and the foot portion, and a second end attached to the inflatable tube at a second location, proximate the foot portion; a second strap having a first end attached to the inflatable tube at a third location, distal of the second location, the second strap having a first aperture and a second aperture proximate a second end of the second strap, the second aperture spaced a first distance from the first aperture; a first loop attached to the inflatable tube at the second location and configured for threading through the first aperture; and a second loop attached to the inflatable tube at the second location, the second loop spaced the first distance from the first loop.
In various embodiments, the second loop has a length about equal to the first distance. In various embodiments, the first loop is configured for threading through the second loop. In various embodiments, a release pin is attached to the second end of the first strap. In various embodiments, the release pin is configured for threading through the first loop following the first loop being threaded through the second loop. In various embodiments, the first aperture is defined by a first grommet. In various embodiments, the second aperture is defined by a second grommet.
In various embodiments, the first location is spaced a second distance from the second location and the first strap defines a first strap length that is less than the second distance. In various embodiments, the third location is positioned on the foot portion. In various embodiments, the second strap defines a second strap length that is less than the first strap length.
The foregoing features and elements may be combined in any combination, without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated herein otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of the disclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of the following description and accompanying drawings.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the following detailed description and claims in connection with the following drawings. While the drawings illustrate various embodiments employing the principles described herein, the drawings do not limit the scope of the claims.
The following detailed description of various embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way of illustration. While these various embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected, or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. It should also be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, references to “a,” “an” or “the” may include one or more than one and that reference to an item in the singular may also include the item in the plural. Further, all ranges may include upper and lower values and all ranges and ratio limits disclosed herein may be combined.
Referring to
Referring now to
The restraint assembly 220 includes a first strap 230 defining a first strap length and a second strap 232 defining a second strap length. The first strap 230 has a first end 234 attached to the inflatable tube 212 at a first location 235 intermediate a head portion (e.g., the first or proximal end 116) and a foot portion 218 (e.g., the second or distal end 118) and a second end 236 attached to the inflatable tube 212 at a second location 237 proximate the foot portion 218. In various embodiments, the first end 234 is attached to the inflatable tube 212 via a first patch 238 that is bonded to the inflatable tube 212 via an adhesive. Similarly, the second end 236 is attached to the inflatable tube 212 via a second patch 239 that is bonded to the inflatable tube 212 via an adhesive. The second strap 232 has a first end 233 attached to the inflatable tube 212 at a third location 241 at the foot portion 218 and a second end 243 that remains free and not attached to the inflatable tube 212. In various embodiments, the first end 233 is attached to the inflatable tube via a third patch 245 that is bonded to the inflatable tube 212 via an adhesive.
Referring more particularly now to
During the packing process, the evacuation slide 210 is first z-folded at a z-fold location 223 proximate the second patch 239. Z-folding the evacuation slide 210 enables the second end 236 of the first strap 230 to reach the second end 243 of the second strap 232. Further, the z-folding is typically employed to accommodate the first strap length being less than a second distance, defined as the length between the first location 235 and the second location 237 when the evacuation slide is laid out in a completely unfolded state. Next, the first loop 246 and the second loop 248 are threaded, respectively, through the first grommet 242 and the second grommet 244. Once the first loop 246 and the second loop 248 are threaded through the first grommet 242 and the second grommet 244, the first loop 246 is then threaded through the second loop 248, as illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The restraint assembly for the evacuation slide described above enables controlled deployment in various environmental conditions, particularly where strong winds are encountered during an evacuation from an aircraft. As noted above, locating a restraint assembly on each of the inflatable tubes of the evacuation slide provides a symmetrical dual action restraint system that enables greater control of the unfolding process of the evacuation slide during deployment, ensuring the evacuation slide deploys in a symmetrical fashion—e.g., without twisting, where one inflatable tube deploys at a different rate than another inflatable tube. The restraint assembly offers reduced complexity and, therefore, fewer required steps during a packing or folding process and the design provides a greater level of mistake-proofing. Further, the design of the restraint assembly facilitates use on both inflatable tubes, rather than left and right assemblies that may have different structures to accommodate use on left and right-sided inflatable tubes. The use of grommets also provides less friction against the loops as does current designs having multiple connected fabric loops.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Different cross-hatching is used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials.
Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “various embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments.
Numbers, percentages, or other values stated herein are intended to include that value, and also other values that are about or approximately equal to the stated value, as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art encompassed by various embodiments of the present disclosure. A stated value should therefore be interpreted broadly enough to encompass values that are at least close enough to the stated value to perform a desired function or achieve a desired result. The stated values include at least the variation to be expected in a suitable industrial process, and may include values that are within 10%, within 5%, within 1%, within 0.1%, or within 0.01% of a stated value. Additionally, the terms “substantially,” “about” or “approximately” as used herein represent an amount close to the stated amount that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the term “substantially,” “about” or “approximately” may refer to an amount that is within 10% of, within 5% of, within 1% of, within 0.1% of, and within 0.01% of a stated amount or value.
Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
Finally, it should be understood that any of the above described concepts can be used alone or in combination with any or all of the other above described concepts. Although various embodiments have been disclosed and described, one of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the principles described or illustrated herein to any precise form. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Provisional Patent Application No. 63/023,595, filed May 12, 2020 and titled “SYMMETRICAL DUAL ACTION RESTRAINT,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63023595 | May 2020 | US |
