Parachute Harness Strap with Quick-Release Shackle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current parachute rigging systems fail to securely attach additional bags or equipment to parachutists during jumps while allowing for efficient removal post-landing, leading to excess weight and cumbersome transitions to ground operations.
Innovation Solution
A strap system featuring a shackle and webbing with load loops and a quick-release mechanism, allowing secure attachment and rapid disengagement of bags from a parachute harness, with adjustability for different sizes and types of equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a parachute drop bag is used to secure equipment to the parachutist, then the equipment can be securely attached during the jump, but the parachutist must carry additional weight and perform unpacking operations after landing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential attachment function from the bulky parachute drop bag, using a minimalistic strap system with shackle and webbing that achieves secure equipment attachment without the unnecessary weight of a complete PDB system. The strap isolates the critical function (securing equipment) from the extraneous components (bag structure, packing materials).
Solution Approach 2:
The strap system is designed to be discarded or left behind after the parachute jump, eliminating the need for the parachutist to carry and repack the equipment after landing. The lightweight strap can be abandoned rather than recovered, unlike the traditional PDB which must be repacked for reuse.
2Reliability
If a parachute drop bag is used to secure equipment, then equipment can be attached during the jump, but the transition to ground operations becomes cumbersome due to unpacking requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the attachment function from the complex PDB system, leaving only the essential strap components that can be quickly detached. This eliminates the unpacking operation and allows the parachutist to transition directly to ground operations without handling equipment packed in a bag.
Solution Approach 2:
The strap system segments the attachment function from the equipment container, allowing the equipment to be attached directly to the harness via the strap without requiring a intermediate bag structure. This segmentation enables rapid detachment and transition to ground operations.
3Reliability
If traditional parachute rigging systems are used, then equipment can be attached to the parachutist, but the systems are not designed for rapid disengagement after landing
Solution Approach 1:
The strap system incorporates dynamic characteristics through the shackle mechanism that allows easy engagement during the jump but rapid disengagement after landing. The webbing and loading loops are designed to maintain secure attachment under dynamic loading conditions while enabling quick release when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The strap system is pre-configured with the shackle and webbing arrangement that enables rapid disengagement without requiring complex unpacking operations. The preliminary setup of the strap system allows for quick equipment removal after landing, eliminating time-consuming unpacking procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A strap that may be used to secure equipment (e.g., a bag) to the parachute harness of a parachutist. The strap may provide adjustability of an effective strap length to assist in positioning the suspended equipment relative to the parachutist. The strap may include quick-release features that allow the suspended equipment to be quickly and easily disengaged (e.g., once the parachutist has landed). In turn, a transition to ground operations in which the equipment is in use may occur quickly and without heavy rigging or additional containers for stowing the equipment during the jump. In turn, the strap may be carried with the parachutist during ground operations without significant additional weight.