Vehicle air lift rig

• US 5,143,326 A
• Filed: 08/05/1991
• Issued: 09/01/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army
• Inventors: Parks, Jeffery S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marmor, Charles A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mattix, Carla
• Application Number:
  US07/740,527
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• Field of Search: 244/118.1, 244/137.4, 212/146, 294/81.1, 294/904
• US Class Current: 244/137.4
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 1/22 Taking-up articles from earth's surface
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 1/20 specially adapted for handling vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 294/904 Vehicle carrier

Abstract

The invention is a rig useful in preventing relative movement between two hicles or other payloads suspended from a helicopter. The rig has two triangular plates which are in connection between the vehicles, the connection being loose before cables from the helicopter to the triangular plates are tensioned. When the helicopter rises, tension on the cables raises the triangular plates, thereby pivoting clevises which are engaged with the triangular plates and which are mounted on on the vehicles. The pivoting of the clevises draws the vehicles into tight abutment with abutment plates at the ends of the triangular plates so that the vehicles act as a single, more stable load. A cross member is connected both between the triangular plates and between the vehicles to inhibit relative lateral movement of the vehicles.

Claims

1. A rig for joining two payload items suspendable from an aircraft, the rig comprising:

two rig plates faced toward one another;

the rig plates defining engagement apertures and defining isthmus zones between the engagement apertures and opposed ends of the rig plates the isthmus zones each having a neck from which the isthmus zones diverge;

swingable means disposed at each of the opposed ends for connecting the rig plates to the payload items, the swingable means having movable members pivotably connected to the payload items;

wherein intermediate segments of the movable members travel along diverging portions of the isthmus zones as the rig plates rise, thereby drawing the payload items into contact with the opposed ends of the rig plates.

2. The rig of claim 1 wherein:

the swingable means includes a load clevis swingable about a swing axis in one payload item;

the one payload item has a load bearing surface disposed between the swing axis and an abutment surface on one of the opposed ends of each of the rig plates; and

the load bearing surface is drawn into face-to-face contact with one of the abutment surfaces when the rig plates are pulled.

3. The rig of claim 1 wherein each rig plate has:

a generally triangular apex;

two reinforcement plates sandwiching the apex therebetween;

a generally U-shaped segment pivotable about an axis passing through the apex and the reinforcement plates, the generally U-shaped segment having parallel legs closely and slidably straddling a sandwich formed by the apex and reinforcing plates.

4. The rig of claim 3 including a pair of cables connected between the U-shaped segment and the aircraft, at least one of the cables when tensioned having a cable axis passing through a first point at the sandwich and passing through a second point at the abutment surface.

5. An air lift rig for joining together two payload items suspendable from an aircraft, comprising:

upwardly pivotable load clevises mounted on the payload items;

two generally triangular plates, each triangular plate having a base, an apex and two legs extended from the base and joined at the apex;

abutment surfaces at opposite ends of the bases, one abutment surface faced toward one payload item, another abutment surface faced toward another payload item;

the triangular plates defining clevis engagement apertures at the ends of the bases and defining isthmus zones between the engagement apertures and the ends of the bases, the isthmus zones each having a narrowest width from which the isthmus zones diverge;

U-shaped portions of the load clevises passing through the clevis engagement apertures;

an apex clevis pivotally mounted at each of the apexes;

a pair of cables connected between each apex clevis and the helicopter;

a cross member connected to a first one of the load clevises, the cross member also connected to a second one of the load clevises, the cross member disposed diagonally with respect to the bases of the triangular plates.

6. The air lift rig of claim 5 further wherein:

one of the cables attached to each apex clevis is a forwardly extending cable and another of the cables attached to each apex clevis is a rearwardly extending cable, whereby horizontal components of the cables under tension exert a turning bias on the triangular plates;

the forwardly extending cable on one apex clevis is inboard of the rearwardly extending cable on the one apex clevis;

the rearwardly extending cable on another apex clevis is inboard of the forwardly extending cable on the other apex clevis;

whereby the triangular plates are biased in essentially the same angular direction so as to inhibit slack in connections of the cross member with the load clevises.

7. The rig of claim 5 wherein the cross member comprises;

a channel having a web and flanges integral with the web;

the web defining elliptical holes at either end of the cross member, a minor axis of the elliptical holes being larger than a cross section of a part of the U-shaped portion passing through the one of the elliptical holes, major axes of the elliptical holes being oriented lengthwise with respect to the cross member.

8. The rig of claim 7 including a shanked member connected between the flanges, a portion of the shanked member being equidistant from one end of the cross member with an elliptical hole peripheral segment nearest the one end.

9. The rig of claim 5 wherein the cables are tensionable, one of the cables when tensioned having an axis aligned with a line passing through a first point at one end of one leg and passing through a second point at another end of the one leg.

10. An air lift rig for joining together two vehicles suspendable from a helicopter, comprising:

upwardly pivotable load clevises mounted on the vehicles;

two generally triangular plates, each triangular plate having a base, an apex and two legs extended from the base and joined at the apex;

abutment plates at opposite ends of the bases, one abutment plate faced toward a bearing face on one vehicle, another abutment plate faced toward a bearing face on another vehicle;

the triangular plates defining clevis engagement apertures at the opposite ends and defining isthmus zones between the engagement apertures and the ends, the isthmus zones each having a narrowest width from which the isthmus zones downwardly diverge;

portions of the load clevises passing through the clevis engagement apertures;

an apex clevis pivotally mounted at each of the apexes;

a pair of cables connected between each of the apex clevises and the helicopter, the axis of a tensioned cable passing through a first point at one end of the one leg and passing through a second point at another end of the one leg;

a cross member connected to a first one of the load clevises, the cross member also connected to a second one of the load clevises, the cross member disposed diagonally with respect to the bases of the triangular plates;

the triangular plates loosely connected to the vehicles when the cables are not under tension but are tightly connected to the vehicles when the cables are under tension.