Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D10/00—Flight suits

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for protecting the human body from acceleration effects, such as those that occur when flying, for example in high-performance aircraft, when changing direction, according to the preamble of patent claim 1.
• Such devices in particular protective suits, have become known. They generally protect the human body from acceleration forces directed downwards in the current local Z axis, so-called + G Z - acceleration forces. In modern high-performance aircraft, extreme accelerations of up to +9 G z can occur over long periods and with high onset rates. All known protective suits work on the principle that either the external pressure around the body of the wearer or the tension in the fabric of a tight-fitting suit is increased. In both cases, this results in increased internal pressure in the blood vessels of the lower parts of the body, which reduces the sagging of the blood in the legs and prevents a dangerous drop in blood pressure in the head.
• the object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a device for protection against the effects of the acceleration forces, such as occur, for example, when flying changes of direction in high-performance aircraft, in advance in the current and local Z-axis, which compared to the prior art Technology has improvements in comfort and a simplified construction.
• the instantaneous local Z-axis denotes an axis pointing independently of the absolute position of the wearer of the device, essentially to the spine of the wearer, parallel to the body trunk towards the head.
• FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an acceleration protection device in a schematic illustration
• FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of an acceleration protection device in a schematic representation
• FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a fluidic sleeve, as used in FIG. 2, a as an isometric view, b in longitudinal section in the deactivated state, c as a plan view in deactivated state, d in longitudinal section in the pressurized state, e as a plan view in the pressurized state,
• FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a second exemplary embodiment of a fluidic sleeve in an isometric representation
• 5 shows a schematic representation of a third exemplary embodiment of a fluidic sleeve in an isometric representation
• FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of a fluidic sleeve of FIG. 3 placed around a body part in longitudinal section, a in the deactivated state b in the activated state,
• FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a fluidic sleeve in longitudinal section
• FIG. 8 shows a schematic illustration of a fifth exemplary embodiment of a fluidic sleeve with a piston-cylinder arrangement as an actuator in cross section
• FIG. 9 shows a schematic representation of a sixth exemplary embodiment of a sleeve which is shortened by means of a linear actuator
• FIG. 10 shows a seventh exemplary embodiment of a cuff, in a schematic plan view
• FIG. 11 shows a schematic illustration of an eighth exemplary embodiment of a cuff in cross section, a in the deactivated state b in the activated state,
• FIG. 12 shows a schematic representation of a control and regulating system for operating cuffs according to the invention
• FIG. 13 shows a third exemplary embodiment of an acceleration protection device, with amplification of the hydrostatic pressure at upper arm height, in a schematic illustration, 14 shows a schematic representation of the functional principle of the third exemplary embodiment,
• FIG. 15 shows a schematic illustration of a ninth exemplary embodiment of a cuff in cross section, a in the deactivated state b in the activated state.
• FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an acceleration protection or anti-G device according to the invention, one side of the carrier in FIG. 1 being additionally equipped with protection devices on an arm and a lower leg to illustrate various possibilities.
• the inventive idea of the present invention consists in constricting the body areas below the cuff 1 with the help of tight-fitting cuffs 1 with a shortenable inner circumference when critical G z acceleration forces occur, in order to prevent the blood from flowing off into lower-lying parts of the body.
• the blood pressure at head level which is decisive for the oxygen supply and thus for preventing a G-LOC, can drop less quickly.
• the venous blood is prevented from flowing back into the legs, and if the cuff 1 is sufficiently narrowed, the inflow or outflow of arterial blood into the constricted areas is also prevented.
• Such cuffs 1, as shown in FIG. 1, are placed, for example, in the waist region and / or as far up as possible on both thighs.
• the cuff 1 in the waist region should be positioned above the pelvis in order to be able to develop the desired constriction effect without being hampered by the pelvic bones.
• the cuffs 1 can be worn individually and independently of one another. However, it is more practical to integrate the cuffs 1 into a piece of clothing, for example in underwear or overalls. As a result, the Anti-G cuffs 1 can be put on easily and are always correctly positioned.
• a cuff 1 around the waist with two cuffs 1 around the thigh in a combination, for example similar to a seat belt for sports climbers.
• the cuffs 1 are connected to one another by means of straps or straps, are thereby held in the desired position, and can be slipped on like a pair of shorts.
• Further possibilities are known to the person skilled in the art as to how such cuffs 1 can be integrated into existing clothing or how to wear them as comfortably as possible above or below the clothing. The various design options are therefore not discussed further here. It is important that the sleeves 1 do not slip so much that their correct and complete clamping action is impaired and that the pinching takes place at the desired point.
• the cuffs 1 that can be shortened with fluidic means in this example are pressurized hydrostatically, the pressure generated by the liquid column for actuating the cuff 1 also increasing with increasing G z loads.
• the liquid column is formed by means of flexible hoses 2 which are essentially inextensible in the transverse and longitudinal directions and a liquid reservoir 3 attached at the top.
• the maximum liquid column height h is achieved by placing the liquid reservoir (s) 3 in the shoulder area. This results in liquid column heights of around half a meter. If less pressure is sufficient for the narrowing of the cuffs 1, the liquid reservoir 3 can be attached further down, for example in the chest area.
• the parameters specific density p and viscosity of the liquid can also be adjusted by selecting different liquids.
• the product of p, G z (gravitational acceleration normal approx. 9.81 ms -2 ) and h gives the slope of the linear G z dependence of the pressure p in the liquid column, which is used to actuate one or more fluidic actuators to narrow the cuff is available.
• the cuffs 1 are integrated here as a possible example in a sleeveless and short-legged underwear combination 4, for example made of cotton or synthetic fibers.
• the cuff 1 around the waist can be opened for example by means of a buckle 5 over a zipper 6 for putting on and taking off.
• the cuff width, and thus the circulating tension of the cuff 1, can be adjusted to the physique and limb of the wearer by means of adjusting devices, for example by means of Velcro fasteners or buckle-strap combinations.
• the cuffs 1 In order for the cuffs 1 to interrupt the blood flow at the desired + G z load, at +1 G 2 they must have a circulating voltage which is dependent on p and h and the blood pressure of the wearer.
• This tension can be measured, for example, by means of tension sensors 16 integrated in the cuff 1. It is also expedient to provide the adjustment device for the cuff circumference with a dimension which makes it possible to find a once optimized setting and, if necessary, to adapt it to body mass and blood pressure using tables.
• a tension sensor 16 integrated into the cuff 1 for example a strain gauge, whose measured values can be output by an external output device, can also be helpful for setting an optimal length of the cuff 1.
• the cuffs 1 are themselves designed as fluidic muscles.
• the cuff 1 in the waist area is connected at the top with two separate, essentially inelastic tubes 2 with two liquid reservoirs 3 in the shoulder area and at the bottom with two further tubes 2 with the cuffs 1 in the thigh area.
• the liquid in the liquid reservoirs 3 serves to compensate for the increase in the liquid volume when the pressure in the cuffs 1 and hoses 2 increases, without the hydrostatically effective height of the liquid column h is significantly reduced.
• the cuff 1 essentially consists of a liquid-tight tubular bag 7 which can be filled with liquid via at least one valve 8 and placed under excess pressure.
• the bag 7 is made of little stretchable, flexible material, for example of aramid-reinforced plastic, and is divided in the longitudinal direction into several communicating chambers 9.
• the chambers are formed by linear non-positive connections 10 of the walls of the bag 7 in the transverse direction, for example by sealed darts or weld seams. However, the seams do not run over the entire width of the bag 7, so that the liquid can flow from one chamber 9 into adjacent chambers 9, and thus the same liquid pressure prevails in all chambers 9 of a cuff.
• the connection 10 can consist of several point-like or line-shaped connection points lying on a line, as shown in FIG. 5.
• 3a shows a first embodiment of the cuff 1 in the closed state in an isometric representation.
• 3b and 3d show the opened, longitudinally extended sleeve 1 in longitudinal section, and FIGS. 3c and 3e in plan view. 3d and 3e, the cuff 1 has been pressurized and consequently has a shortened length.
• the theoretical maximum shortening is 2 / ⁇ «64% of the length of the extended empty sleeve 1, assuming that the chambers take on a circular cylindrical shape when pressurized.
• the chambers 9 can be produced by sewing a textile tube, and then fluid-tight bubbles, which in contrast to the bag 7 can also be elastic, are inserted into the non-fluid-tight chambers 9.
• a constricting effect can take place instead of shortening the entire sleeve 1 by exerting pressure as a result of shortening only the inner circumference, or narrowing the inner diameter of the sleeve 1 while the outer diameter remains essentially the same.
• Such an effect is achieved, for example, by a sleeve 1, which is essentially made of inelastic material and on the inside of which flexible pressure chambers, for example hoses, which can be pressurized, are attached.
• Cuffs 1 with fluidic actuators can also be operated with compressible fluids, for example with compressed air, instead of hydraulically.
• Compressed air operated G suits are state of the art. Many aircraft are equipped with G z sensors and control and regulating electronics as well as compressors and pressure vessels to provide compressed air at higher G z loads and thus to operate compressed air G suits. With software adjustments to the control characteristics, these existing systems can be used to operate Anti-G sleeves 1 with compressed air.
• the cuffs 1 are supplied directly with compressed air, and the liquid reservoir 3 is omitted.
• FIGS. 4 and 5 show further exemplary embodiments for the connections 10.
• the passages required in line-shaped connections 10 for pressure equalization between the chambers 9 can, as shown in FIG. 4, be arranged alternately on both sides.
• connection 10 shows some further possible examples for the configuration of the connection 10 on a sleeve 1. All intermediate stages are conceivable from a connection 10 consisting of several point-like connections lying on a line to a continuous line-shaped connection 10 with at least one passage and according to the invention, as long as the function of the cuff 1 as a fluidic muscle is ensured.
• FIG. 6a and 6b show the functioning of the cuff 1 shown in FIG. 3 when it is wrapped around a body part.
• Fig. 6a shows the cuff 1 in the unpressurized and Fig. 6b in the pressurized state.
• Shown schematically in the cross section of the body part are blood vessels 11, which are pressed together when the cuff 1 is shortened in FIG. 6b, as a result of which the blood circulation is hindered or prevented.
• FIG. 7 shows a fluidic sleeve 1 with only one large chamber 9.
• a sleeve 1 generates a greater circulating tension in the sleeve 1 than a plurality of small chambers 9 with correspondingly smaller diameters at the same pressure of the pressure fluid contained.
• FIG. 8 shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of a cuff 1.
• This example works with any linear actuator 12 according to the prior art.
• a hydraulically or pneumatically operated actuator with piston 13 and cylinder 14 is shown as an example. Piston 13 and cylinder 14 are shown in section.
• a tension element 15 By means of a tension element 15, the piston 13, which moves in the cylinder 14 when subjected to pressure, shortens the cuff 1.
• Many variants are known to the person skilled in the art how the cuff 1 can be shortened by means of an actuator 12, for example also of any electrical actuator.
• Such a cuff 1 can also be actuated hydrostatically, analogously to FIG. 2.
• a cuff 1 according to the invention can also be manufactured using shortenable fibers, for example made of electrostatic material.
• FIG. 9 shows a sixth exemplary embodiment of a cuff 1 in a side view, wherein the actuator 12 can be any linear actuator, for example an electric motor-driven one.
• FIG. 10 shows a seventh exemplary embodiment of a cuff 1 as an example of further possible mechanical configurations of the shortening mechanism of the cuff 1.
• a tension sensor 16 for example a strain gauge, is attached to the cuff 1.
• Such a tension sensor 16 can be incorporated into all sleeves 1 according to the invention, in order to be able to detect and measure the state or the tension of the sleeve 1 in the case of an electronically controlled and regulated acceleration protection device, and the desired one in accordance with an occurring G z load To induce blood circulation suppression. Furthermore, as mentioned above, such a tension sensor 16 can also be used to adapt the tension of the cuff 1 to the body mass of the wearer when the device is tightened. For the proper functioning of the cuff 1, it must have a certain basic tension in the basic state, that is to say with 1 G acceleration due to gravity.
• the voltage sensor 16 can also consist of a simple mechanical dynamometer and can be combined with a display and a scale.
• 11a, b show an eighth exemplary embodiment of a cuff 1 in a schematic representation in cross section. This embodiment works on a different principle than the previous ones.
• the internal pressure in the constricted body part is not achieved by pulling the cuff 1 together, but rather by increasing the pressure in a pressure chamber 25, for example a flexible hose, attached to the inside of an essentially inelastic band 24 by means of a longitudinal connection 26.
• 11a shows the cuff 1 with a flat-pressed pressure chamber 25 without a constricting effect
• FIG. 11b shows the cuff 1 with a pressurized pressure chamber 25 and thus a shortened inner circumference of the cuff 1.
• the electronic control and regulating device can be designed as a component that can be worn on the body or as a module that is permanently installed in the cockpit.
• a G z sensor 17 supplies a programmable arithmetic unit 18 with the current acceleration data in the Z direction.
• the computing unit 18 can additionally be supplied with measurement data from a tension sensor 16 about the tension state of the cuff 1 and / or with additional flight status data, such as, for example, the stick position, foot pedal position and flight speed.
• the latter flight status data can serve to anticipate occurring G z acceleration peaks at an early stage in order to enable the anti-G cuffs 1 to have an undelayed protective effect.
• the computing unit 18 has an interface 19, via which an external computer can be connected. On the one hand, this enables loading of new or modified programs or data tables and on the other hand the external logging and recording of measurement and operating parameters of the acceleration protection device. There are lines 20 through which the measurement data and control commands can be transported. The data transmission can be carried out, for example, by means of a bus system.
• the acceleration protection device requires further components, such as, for example, a compressor, a pressure vessel, pressure lines, a distribution unit for the pressure fluid. For the person skilled in the art, these parts result from the state of the art and from his general specialist knowledge, and therefore the details of the various design options will not be discussed further here.
• FIGS. 13 and 14 show a third exemplary embodiment of an acceleration protection device according to the invention. Since the height difference between shoulder and upper arm is small and consequently only allows a small hydrostatic pressure, it is necessary to increase the hydrostatic pressure p u in the cuff 1 on the upper arm.
• This reinforcement can be achieved, for example, by means of a double-acting hydraulic piston-cylinder arrangement 21, which is positioned in the region of the waist or thigh, and by using two liquids 22, 23 of different densities with specific densities pi and p 2 .
• the liquid reservoir 3 on the shoulder is filled with the heavier liquid 22, which generates a hydrostatic pressure p d in the piston-cylinder arrangement 21.
• the second, lighter liquid 23 fills the tubes 2 and the cuff 1 in the upper arm area and primarily has the task of passing on the hydrostatic pressure to the cuff 1 placed around the upper arm as unreduced as possible by self-induced hydrostatic effects.
• an incompressible fluid with the lowest possible specific density is used.
• the specific densities of the liquids can be varied in accordance with the actual heights hi and h 2 in order to achieve the pressures required to pinch off the blood vessels both at the upper arm and at the thigh.
• the following calculation example is intended to illustrate the principle.
• the following applies: ⁇ x gh x p 2 gh 2 + p u (3)
• the piston-cylinder arrangement 21 can, for example, also be replaced by a liquid-tight elastic membrane in a container, which separates the liquids of different densities 22, 23 from one another and enables pressure equalization between the two liquids 22, 23.
• a pressure boost in hydrostatically operated sleeves 1 is to provide the double-acting piston-cylinder arrangement 21 with different piston effective areas, which leads to a pressure gain proportional to the ratio of the two piston effective areas. If the effective piston area on the side of the fluidic actuator is, for example, half as large as the effective piston area, the pressure is doubled.
• the perforated part of the bag 7 on the side facing the body can have a ventilation effect on the covered body parts. The liquid excreted by the body evaporates permanently and can be removed by the air flow. This increases the comfort of the device and reduces the formation of wet welds in the area of the cuff 1, which is made of airtight material and therefore not breathable.
• FIGS. 15a and 15b show schematic representations of a ninth exemplary embodiment of a cuff 1.
• FIG. 15a shows a section through a cuff 1 enclosing a body part in the deactivated state and FIG. 15b in the activated state.
• the cuff 1 has means, at least one press unit 27, for localizing at determinable locations exert increased pressure on the enclosed body part.
• Such an embodiment is useful for parts of the body which have important blood vessels 11 near the surface.
• blood vessels 11 can be pressed in in a targeted manner in this way without the trachea being completely pinched off at the same time.
• a press unit 27 is fastened, for example on the side of the cuff 1 facing the body.
• This press unit 27 can be made both from solid, essentially non-deformable material and from elastic material.
• the pressing unit 27 can be designed and adapted to the physique of the wearer in such a way that the blood flow suppressing effect is optimal.
• the shapes are not limited to those shown in FIG. 15. It is conceivable that the length of the cuff 1 remains unchanged, and only the pressing unit 27 presses more or less strongly against the body by actively changing its geometry. This change in the contact pressure can be triggered both mechanically and fluidically.
• the contact pressure can be released mechanically, for example, by means of an actuator integrated in the pressing unit 27, this actuator being able to enlarge the extent of the pressing unit 27 and thus pressing it against the body.
• the contact pressure can be increased, for example, by designing the press unit 27 entirely or partially as a pressurizable cavity 28 made of flexible material, and increasing the volume of this cavity 28 and thus the volume of the entire press unit 27 when pressurized, thereby locally increasing the press unit 27 is pressed onto the body part. It is contained in the inventive concept to combine the special features of the various exemplary embodiments mentioned above into further variants.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Measuring Pulse, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure Or Blood Flow (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)

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• 2005
  • 2005-06-13 BR BRPI0512221-0A patent/BRPI0512221A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2005-06-13 KR KR1020067025645A patent/KR20070042919A/ko not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-06-13 EP EP05746818A patent/EP1755949A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-06-13 CA CA002566624A patent/CA2566624A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-06-13 WO PCT/CH2005/000330 patent/WO2005123505A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 2005-06-13 US US11/629,260 patent/US20070293715A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2006
  • 2006-11-13 IL IL179213A patent/IL179213A0/en unknown

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