UNIVERSAL, HEAVY-DUTY SLING

• US 3,602,544 A
• Filed: 01/29/1969
• Issued: 08/31/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John Marsh
• Original Assignee: John Marsh
• Inventors: Marsh, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Aegerter, Richard E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Watts, Douglas D.
• Application Number:
  US04/794,904
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 294/74,78,67A,78,81,81SF,75,76,67 214/7 212/45,82 5/85,89
• US Class Current: 294/74
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 1/22 Taking-up articles from earth's surface
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 1/122 Sling or load protectors
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 1/18 Band-type slings

Abstract

An aerial recovery system for enabling a helicopter to transport a disabled aircraft has two slings, each having three separate bands, for cradling the disabled aircraft at spaced points along its fuselage. The bands of each sling are separately pivotally connected at each end side by side along the straight side of a D-shaped fitting through which a pin on the end of a spreader bar extends. A single hoisting band having its ends connected to the ends of the spreader bar passes through a self-locking, quickadjusting assembly including three staggered drums which enables the helicopter hoist cable, which is hooked to this assembly, to be shifted freely fore and aft of the disabled aircraft when the hoist cable is slack to locate the assembly relative to the center of gravity of the aircraft and which locks the hoisting band in this position when the latter is placed under tension.

Claims

1. In an aerial recovery system for enabling a helicopter to transport an aircraft, two slings each having a plurality of bands for cradling the aircraft at spaced points along its fuselage, means for equalizing the strain on the several bands including a D-shaped fitting at each end of both slings, means for separately pivotally connecting the bands of each sling in side-by-side relationship to the straight sides of said D-shaped fittings, and a hoist band assembly having a connection to a hoist hook including pins at its ends which extend through said D-shaped fittings and rest on the inner curved surfaces of the curved sides of the latter, said hoist band assembly including a self-locking quick-adjusting device having an eye for attachment of the hoist hook and having a plurality of rollers forming a labyrinth through which the band is threaded for permitting its adjustment along said hoist band when the latter is slack and for automatically locking it in adjusted position when the latter is taut.

2. The aerial recovery system of claim 1, in which the self-locking quick adjusting device includes an inverted U-shaped member having the eye at the top thereof and having the rollers mounted on pins which extend through the parallel depending sides of said member.

3. The aerial recovery system of claim 2 in which the self-locking quick adjusting device has at least one handle which can be readily grasped by a crewman to facilitate adjusting the device on the hoist band.

4. A sling for use in aerial recovery system for enabling a helicopter to transport an aircraft, said sling including a plurality of bands which lie in the same planes, means for equalizing the strain exerted on the several bands by the hoist cable including a D-shaped fitting at each end of said sling, means for separately pivotally connecting the bands of said sling in side-by-side relationship to the straight sides of said D-shaped fittings, the curved sides of said fittings having inner curved surfaces against which the lift forces are exerted, and connecting straps extended across and beyond the bands of the sling terminating in eyelets, said straps including two strips of webbing material, one behind and one in front of the bands of the sling, and means for connecting said strips while permitting said bands to slide individually through said straps.

5. The sling of claim 4, in which the means for connecting the strips includes lines of stitching through said strips which lie between and alongside said bands.

6. The sling of claim 4 in which positioning straps are provided which hook into the eyelets in the connecting straps at one of their ends and are secured at their other ends to aircraft structure.