Hoist system

[57] ABSTRACT

A hoist system including elevated means having spaced contact points, carrier means disposed below the elevated means having similarly arranged contact points, cable means operatively interconnecting the contact points for carrying the carrier means below the elevated means, means for varying the effective length of the cable means disposed at a selected contact point, one end of the cable means being fixedly secured to a selected contact point and the opposite end thereof being operatively connected to the cable length varying means whereby upon operation of the cable length varying means the effective length of the cable means will be varied correspondingly to vary the vertical displacement of the carrier means relative to the elevated means.

Claims, 2 Drawing Figures

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PATENTED Μϊ 9 1972

3,661,415

SHEET 1 OF 2

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PATENTED HAY 91972

3,66.1.,415

SIIEEI 2 OF 2

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Frank H.Piase.cki ^GSOTA-j^'cUAAH-oQai η ¹ ATTORNEYS

3,661,415

HOIST SYSTEM

This invention relates to a hoist system and more particularly to a hoist system adapted for use with helicopters.

With the development of larger helicopters for transporting cargo, it has become desirable to devise a hoist system which is both compatible with the helicopter in flight and effective in quickly and reliably attaching, lifting and lowering, and detaching the cargo. In the prior art, there are various types of hoist systems which have been developed for use with helicopters. It has been found, however, that most of such systems are not entirely satisfactory in performance.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel hoist system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist system adapted for use with helicopters.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist system adapted for use with helicopters in flight.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist system for use with a helicopter in flight which is compatible with the flight operations of the helicopter.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist system for a helicopter having a configuration compatible with the helicopter in flight.

A still further object of flie present invention is to provide a novel hoist system for a helicopter having a minimum weight.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hoist system for a helicopter which is reliable in performance, and which requires minimum maintenance.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hoist system for a helicopter which provides maximum in flight safety.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved hoist system for a helicopter which permits the cargo to swing freely in pitch and roll but resists yaw.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist system for a helicopter which is comparatively simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and simple to operate.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains, from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Briefly described, the present invention relates to a hoist system particularly adapted for helicopters, generally including an elevated means having spaced contact points thereon, a pallet disposed below the elevated means having similarly spaced arranged contact points, a cable operatively interconnecting the contact points for carrying the pallet below the elevated means, a winch for the cable disposed at a selected contact point, one end of the cable being fixedly secured to a selected contact point and the opposite end thereof being operatively connected to the winch whereby upon operation of the winch the effective length of the cable will be varied correspondingly to vary the vertical displacement of the pallet relative to the elevated means. The spaced arrangements of the sets of contact points on the elevated means and the pallet permit the pallet to swing freely in pitch and roll but resists yaw which normally would transmit undesirable forces to a helicopter in flight.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a first embodiment of the invention. The embodiment generally includes a helicopter fuselage 10, a pallet 11 disposed below the fuselage, a cable 12 operatively interconnecting the helicopter fuselage and the pallet, and a winch 13 mounted on the fuselage. The bottom section of the fuselage is provided with four contact points disposed at the vertices of a rectangle. Mounted at the contact points on the fuselage section are a fixture 14, the winch 13 diagonally opposed relative to the fix25 ture 14, and diagonally opposed depending sheaves or pulleys 15 and 16, ^J . ,^The,^pa“^{et 11 is provided with a pair of} parallel side sections 17 and 18, interconnecting end sections 19 and 20, and an interconnecting intermediate section 21. The underside of the pallet 11 is provided with bumpers 22 through 25, which are adapted to be seated on the upper surface 26 of a cargo unit 27 to be hoisted. The cargo unit is adapted to be rigidly connected to the pallet 11 with the bumpers 22 through 25 firmly engaging the upper surface 26 thereof by means of a hook element 28 coimected to a strap portion 29 extending about the periphery of the cargo unit.

The pallet further is provided with four contact points disposed at the vertices of a rectangle. Mounted on such contact points are sheaves or pulleys 30 through 33. Preferably the rectangles defined by the sets of contact points on the’ fuselage and the pallet are of the same dimension, although the rectangle defined by the contact points on the fuselage may be larger than the rectangle defined by the contact points on the pallet.

As illustrated in the drawing, the cable 12 is provided with one end thereof rigidly secured to the fixture 14, a segment 34 extendmg downwardly and reeved around the lower end of sheave 30, a segment 35 extending transversely and reeved around the lower end of sheave 31, a segment 36 extending upwardly and reeved around the upper end of sheave 16, a section 37 extending diagonally and reeved around the upper end of sheave 15, a segment 38 extending downwardly and reeved around the sheave 33, a segment 39 extending transversely and reeved around the lower end of sheave 32, and a segment 40 extending upwardly and being operatively secured to a winding drum 41 mounted on an output shaft 42 of the winch 13.

Preferably, the winch 13 is hydraulically operated, although it may also be electrically or pneumatically operated. A suitable control system is contemplated for the winch 13 to operate the hoist system from a control console on board the helicopter. It will be appreciated that by operating the winch 13, the effective lengths of cable segments 34, 36, 38 and 40 can be varied correspondingly to vary the vertical displacement of the pallet 18 relative to the bottom section of the helicopter fuselage.

During normal flight operations, the cable 12 is taken in, so that the pallet 18 is disposed either within a suitable opening in the bottom section of the fuselage, or against the bottom section of the fuselage. Whenever it is desired to hoist a cargo unit 27, the helicopter is maneuvered into a hovering position directly above the cargo unit. The winch 13 is then operated to lower the pallet onto the upper surface 26 of the cargo unit provided with a connecting strap 29. As the pallet is lowered onto the cargo unit, ground personnel may easily guide the pallet onto position on the upper surface 26 of the cargo unit so that the bumpers 22 through 25 are seated on the upper surface 26 and the hook element 28 is properly aligned to hook onto the upper transverse portion of the strap 29. As soon as the pallet is properly seated on the upper surface of the cargo unit and the hook element 28 is connected to the strap 29, the winch 13 is operated to take in the cable 12, thus lifting the pallet and cargo unit together. The spaced arrangements of the contact points on the helicopter fuselage and the pallet, interconnected by the cable segments, permit the cargo unit to swing in pitch and roll, but operate to resist yaw. Such feature prevents undesirable forces produced by the movement of the cargo unit 27 from being transmitted to the helicopter. The helicopter can either remain in a hovering condition until the cargo unit is hoisted to the helicopter fuselage, or may resume forward or vertical flight propulsion as desired, without experiencing any disturbing forces produced by the cargo unit. Eventually, the cargo unit is hoisted either within a suitable opening in the helicopter fuselage, or against the bottom section of the fuselage, to provide a compatible configuration for flight. The hook 28 is of the quick-releasable type, so that the cargo load can be

3,661,415 dropped quickly in the event of flight emergency. This type of hook may be of any suitable conventional type.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is illustrated a second embodiment of the invention. The hoisting system disclosed in FIG. 2 generally includes a helicopter fuselage 43,a pallet 44, a winch 45, a cable 46 operatively interconnecting the bottom section of the fuselage and the pallet 44, and a second winch 47 provided with a strap 48 which is secured to the pallet 44. Similar to the arrangement as described in connection with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the bottom section of the helicopter fuselage is provided with four contact points disposed at the vertices of a rectangle. Mounted on the bottom section of the fuselage at the contact points are a connecting fixture 50, the winch 45 diagonally opposed relative to the fixture 50, and a pair of diagonally opposed sheaves or pulleys 51 and 52.

The pallet substantially has a rectangular configuration including parallel side sections 53 and 54 interconnecting intermediate section 54α and interconnecting end sections 55 and 56. The underside of the pallet is provided with bumpers 57 through 60 which engage the upper surface 61 of the cargo unit when the pallet is positioned on the cargo unit. The pallet also is provided with four contact points disposed at the vertices of a rectangle. Sheaves or pulleys 62 through 65 are ₂5 mounted on the pallet at the contact points thereof.

The cable 46 operatively interconnects the four contact points on the helicopter fuselage and the four contact points on the pallet, having one end thereof connected to the fixture 50, a segment 66 extending downwardly and reeved around 30 the lower end of sheave 62, a segment 67 extending transversely and reeved around the lower end of sheave 63, a segment 68 extending upwardly and reeved about the upper end of sheave 52, a segment 69 extending diagonally and reeved around the upper end of sheave 51, a segment 70 extending 35 downwardly and reeved around the lower end of sheave 65, a segment 71 extending transversely and reeved around the lower end of sheave 64, and a segment 72 extending upwardly and being operatively connected to a winding drum 73 mounted on the output shaft 74 of the winch 45.

The interconnecting section 54α of the pallet is provided with a quick-release hook 75 which is adapted to hook onto a strap 76 or other suitable connecting device on the cargo unit, thus detachably securing the cargo to the underside of the pallet.

The winch 47 also is mounted to the bottom section of the helicopter fuselage, so that the strap 48 will be disposed centrally relative to the contact points on the helicopter fuselage. The lower end of the strap 48 is provided with a hook 77 or other suitable connector, which is adapted to be connected to a fixture 78 rigidly mounted on the interconnecting section 54α of the pallet. The upper end of the strap 48 is operatively connected to a winding drum 79 mounted on the output shaft 80 of the winch 47. The output shaft 80 of the winch 47 is elongated and journaled at its outer end in a depending bracket 81 secured to the helicopter fuselage. The axes of the output shafts 74 and 80 are substantially parallel and provided with sheaves 82 and 83 which are interconnected with a drive belt 84 to provide synchronous drive between the output f.n shafts of the winches 45 and 47.

Upon operation of the winches 45 and 47, the lengths of the strap 48 and the cable segments 66, 68, 70 and 72 will vary to vertically displace the pallet and the attached cargo unit, as an integral unit, relative to the helicopter fuselage.

The unloaded pallet 44 normally is carried in a suitable opening in the bottom section of the fuselage or against the bottom section of the fuselage during conventional flight maneuvers. Whenever it is desired to pick up a cargo unit 49, the helicopter is maneuvered into a hovering position above 70 the cargo unit. When helicopter is properly aligned over the cargo unit as determined by ground crew personnel, the winches 45 and 47 are operated to lower the pallet 44 with the releasable hook element 75 onto the upper surface 61 of the cargo unit. As the pallet and hook are moved adjacent the 75 cargo unit, the ground crew personnel will manually connect the hook 75 to the strap 76, and thus secure the pallet on the upper surface 61 of the cargo unit so that the bumpers 57 through 60 engage the upper surface 61.

When the pallet 44 has been firmly secured to the cargo unit, the ground crew personnel may signal the helicopter pilot to actuate the winches 45 and 47 to take in the cable 46 and strap 48. As the winches 45 and 47 operate to lift the pal, let and cargo unit as an integral assembly, the drives of the output shafts 74 and 80 are synchronized by the drive belt 84. Thus, the load being lifted is distributed between the strap 48 and the cable sections 66, 68, 70 and 72.

The winches 45 and 47 continue to be operated until the cargo unit is lifted either within an appropriate opening in the fuselage, or against a bottom section of the fuselage, providing a compatible configuration for flight maneuvering. As provided in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, the arrangement of contact points and interconnecting cable segments permits the cargo unit 49 freedom of movement in pitch or roll but provides resistance in yaw.

The winches 45 and 47 preferably are hydraulically operated from the control console within the helicopter. It is possible, however, that such winches also can be either electrically or pneumatically operated.

To lower and deposit the cargo units in either of the aforementioned embodiments of the invention, the procedure as described for attaching and lifting the cargo essentially is reversed. It thus will be seen that the hoisting system of the present invention provides a simple construction which can easily be attached to or detached from a cargo unit, can be readily lifted or lowered without adversely affecting the flight characteristics of the helicopter and may be positioned either within or against the helicopter fuselage either in the loaded or unloaded condition to provide a compatible configuration for the aircraft in flight.

It further will be seen that the hook 75 can be quickly released to detach the cargo unit from the pallet in the event of a flight emergency. Both of the hooks 28 and 75 described in the aforementioned embodiments of the invention can be released either by personnel on board the helicopter, by suitable remote controls or by ground personnel. Furthermore, the hook release mechanism can be either power or manually operated.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be evident that there are a number of changes, adaptations and modifications of the present invention which come within the province of those skilled in the art. However, it is intended that all such 1 variations not departing from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely by the appended claims.