US1621421A - Apparatus for lighting the landing place from aerial craft - Google Patents

Description

. 1,621,421 March 15 1927. M KUNZER v APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING THE LANDING PLACE FROM AERIAL CRAFT Filed Dec.ll, 1925 f, A iinzef' "want n Patented Mar. 15, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,621,421 PATENT OFFICE.

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Application filed December 11, 1925, Serial No.

In many cases aerial crafts are obliged to land in the dark on a ground wholly unknown. The landing must be effected in some'mfnutes and it is therefore very important to light up the landing place from the aerial craft in the space of a few seconds in order to let the pilot of the craft recognize the nature of the ground above which he is moving.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for lighting in an eifect-ive manner a landing place when said apparatus is ejected from an air craft passing over the country. To this end the apparatus comprises a folded parachute which is unfolded at a predetermined time while l'ghting a rocket or lumi nous bomb attached to the apparatus. Pref-. erablythe center of gravity of the apparah s is very little above the luminous charge so that this latter is always at the bottom while the apparatus is falling. The parachute is attached at the top of the apparatus.

The annexed drawing represents a working example of the apparatus according to the present invention. a

Fig. 1 is a vertical section,

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a detail view.-

The apparatus comprises an outer shell 81 having a shape best adapted for overcoming the atmospheric resistance. This shell is divided into a number of chambers separated by partition walls 82, 83 and '84. An open cylinder 183 placed above the wall 82 encloses a folded parachute 184 which is attached to the upper edge of the shell by the ropes 85. A helical spring 86 arranged at the bottom of said cylinder carries a piston 87 and after having been bout is adapted to eject the parachute.

A rod 187 fast to the piston provided with a hook 88 projects downwards from below said piston and forms the means for maintaining the spring in a bent state and the piston ready for ejecting the parachute. When spring 86 is in an unbent state piston on line IIII 87 magbe pressed down by means of a knob 90- an rod' 187 may be thrust through the a turn given to piston opening 89 until by 87 hook 88 has clasped the wall 82.

The chamber between the walls 82 and 83 contains a clockwork whereof'only the rincipal parts the barrel 91 and the regulator 74,833, and in Switzerland November 4, 1925.

92 are represented. -The',arbor of the barrel means of a crank 96 moving on a graduation- 97 on a plate 200 of the clockwork. Owing connection between the arbor of the barrel and the shaft of the crank 96 the bending of the spring in the barrel is depending upon the position of the crank on the graduation to a bevel gear 98 establishing the working which will'determinc also the time of ejecting the parachute which will take place when said cranks have assumed again their zero position. After the clockwork has been set going and the stop 198 has released the plate 99 the crank 94 as well as'the crank 96 will tend to assumeagain their initial position of 'zero. Said stop 198 is operated by hand and may be constructed as shown. Itserves' as a safety device against accidents due to careless handling while the apparatus is not in use. When .the apparatus is taken into use said stop 198 is removed after having adjusted the crank 96.

The space between the walls 83 and 84 is filled with a heat-insulating, fire-proof substance 100 and is arranged above the chamber 101 containing a flare body. When this charge is lighted the luminous vapours will escape through the slots 102 The lighting charge communicates through a canal 104 across the insulating substance with a tube 103 provided with a' cartridge primer 105 which can be fired by a hammer 106. This hammer can be cooked by means of a lever 107 extended to the outside of plate 200. A helical tension spring fast to plate 110 is attached to the lever'107 which is linked to the striking arm of the hammer and pivoted within a slot of plate 200. The cocked ham- 'mer is maintained in its position by means of lever 111. This lever is pivoted on a vertical pin fast to plate 110 and is kept by means of a curved arm and under the eifect of a spring not shown in slidin contact with the cylindrical surface of the arrel 91. The other arm is shaped like'a hook 108 and extends "into the path of the tail end of-hamcocked position. The cylindrical mer 106 which is pivoted on a standard 115. Said tail end of the hammer is curved in such a way that when the hammer is cocked by raising its striking arm by means of lever 107 the hook 108 snaps over said tail end of the hammer and maintains it in its surface of the barrel is also swept by a finger 115 at the end of an arm 116 fast to the barrels axle. When the crank 96 which is the controlling means of the apparatus has returned to its zero position and when the parachute has been ejected trom the cylinder 183 then also arm 116 will have reached its initial position and finger 115 will have met with and have passed the curved end of lever 111. This lever will be swung out thereby and hook 108 will be-withdrawn from the tail end of hammer 106 which will strike down on the cartridge primer and will fire the flare body within chamber 101, hook 108 will release the hammer 106 which under the efiect of spring 109 strikes the cartridge primer and lights the lighting charge.

Tube 103 is mounted on a small slide 113 which can be reached through a door 114. If this slide according to Fig. 2 is pushed to the right tube 103 its cap will be withdrawn out of reach of hammer 106. In this position-not only canal 104 is shut but any undesired firing of the cap is made impossible.

Ifthe apparatus is not in use the parachute is held down inside of cylinder 183 by two arms 120 hinged within slots to the walls of said cylinder. In the drawing one arm is shown in an upright and the other arm in 9. turned down position. Instead of being arranged so as to operate simultaneously the ejecting of the parachute and the firing of the charge could be arranged to operate at difierent times. Also the means employed could be other than those shown. Thus an aerial propeller or turbine could be employed which would operate a certain time before the firing woul do so. Also the cartridge priming could be mountedon a disk which would be turned by the aerial propeller attached to the apparatus before its ejection and would turn so as to operate the firing after a certain height of fall.

Also an electric battery could be provided inside of the apparatus and the current be employed for creatin a spark for firing the lighting load. T e chamber 101 containing the lighting load could also be arranged so that it would, when fired, be separated from the apparatus and would drop first quite independently from the other parts. The lighting charge would then be dropped and burn in the free air.

With such an apparatus it is possible to reach a determined height in a very short time, to unfold there the parachute in order to slaken the velocity of fall and'to light the lighting charge simultaneously or somewhat before. By such a proceeding the apparatus floats at the proper distance from the country which is to be lit up and allows thereby to have in a few minutes a prospect of the conditions of the landing.

' What we claim is:

In an apparatus for lighting the landing place from aerial crafts the combination of an open cylinder turned upwards and an outer shell attached to said cylinder so as to form a chamber underneath said cylinder,'a folded parachute sheltered within said cylinder and attached to said shell, an eecting device for the parachute constitute of a spring operated piston, a clock work contained within said hamber and a flare body suspended at the bottom of said shell, a firing device comprising a, cocked hammer and a cartridge fprimer at an effective distance from said are and a releasing mechanism consisting of cranks controlled by said clockwork and adapted to release the spring operated piston and the cooked hammer of i the firing device.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature,

MARCEL KUNZER.

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