Parachute apparatus and nondestructive method of testing same

Claim 2

A nondestructive method for testing breaking strength degradation of parachute components formed of a textile material said method comprising; combining with a small section of said textile material a dyestuff having a known color variation characteristic when exposed to sunlight, determining the degree of degradation by said detected color variation.

Claim 3

A nondestructive method of testing the breaking strength degradation of a parachute component formed of a textile material of a type substantially resistant to degradation by environmental exposures other than sunlight energy, the method comprising: subjecting the textile of a particular parachute component to destructive testing for determining a degree of degradation acceptable for the particular textile material used in said component to be tested, exposing said particular textile material to sunlight, determining from said exposure the specific amount of energy required to degrade said particular textile material to said acceptable degree, selecting a dyestuff of a particular color and having visually detectable color variation when exposed to said specific amount of energy, combining said dyestuff with at least a section of said particular parachute component to be tested, and comparing the color of said particular component section after said exposure with said particular initial color for determining the degree of degradation.

Claim 4

A nondestructive method of testing the breaking strength degradation of a parachute component formed of a textile material of a type substantially resistant to degradation by environmental exposures other than sunlight energy, the method comprising: subjecting the textile of a particular parachute component to destructive testing for determining a degree of degradation acceptable for the particular textile material used in said component to be tested, exposing said particular textile material to sunlight, determining from said exposure the specific amount of energy required to degrade said particular textile material to said acceptable degree, selecting a dyestuff of a particular color and having visually detectable color variation when exposed to said specific amount of energy, combining said dyestuff with at least a section of said particular parachute component to be tested, and comparing the color of said particular component section after said exposure with said particular initial color for determining the degree of degradation.

Claim 5

The method of claim 2 wherein said component initially is fabricated of interwoven fibers at least a portion of which are dyed with said dyestuff for providing said component with a colored section at the time of said fabrication.

Claim 6

The method of claim 3 wherein said dyestuff is a combination of an ultra-violet sensitive dye with an ultra-violet resistant dye, said combination producing an initial color different from either of said dyes and being capable of a visible color change upon exposure to said specific amount of energy, said color change being produced by a color variation in said ultra-violet sensitive dye, whereby said degree of degradation is determinable by said color change.

Claim 7

The method of claim 3 wherein said component is formed with at least two sections each of substantially the same initial color, each of the sections being formed with a different dyestuff for producing said color, one of said different dyestuffs being ultra-violet sensitive and the other being ultra-violet resistant whereby said degree of degradation is visually detectable by comparing said section colors after exposure to said sunlight energy.

Claim 8

The method of claim 3 wherein said component is formed with at least two sections, each of said sections being formed with a different dyestuff, one of said dyestuffs being ultra-violet resistant and having a particular color, and the other of said dyestuffs being ultra-violet sensitive and being characterized by the fact that its exposure to said specific amount Of energy produces a color variation resulting in a color match with said particular color of said one dyestuff.

Claim 9

Parachute apparatus including: a component formed of a woven nylon-type textile, an ultra-violet sensitive dyestuff combined with at least a small section of said component, said dyestuff being of a particular color and having a visually detectable color variation when exposed to a specific amount of sunlight energy capable of degrading the breaking strength of said textile a minimum acceptable degree.

Claim 10

Parachute apparatus including: a component formed of a woven nylon-type textile, an ultra-violet sensitive dyestuff combined with at least a small section of said component, said dyestuff being of a particular color and having a visually detectable color variation when exposed to a specific amount of sunlight energy capable of degrading the breaking strength of said textile a minimum acceptable degree.

Claim 11

The parachute apparatus of claim 7 wherein said component initially is fabricated of interwoven fibers at least a portion of which are dyed with said dyestuff to provide a section colored with said particular color.

Claim 12

The parachute apparatus of claim 7 wherein different dyestuffs are combined one with one section of the component and another with another section; said dyestuffs having substantially the same initial color, said dyestuffs having differing degrees of sensitivity to sunlight energy whereby degradation of breaking strength is detectable by color variations produced upon exposure to said energy.

Claim 13

The parachute apparatus of claim 6 wherein said dyestuff is a combination of an ultra-violet sensitive dye with an ultra-violet resistant dye, said combination producing an initial color different from either of said dyes and being capable of a visible color change upon exposure to said specific amount of energy, said color change being produced by a color variation in said ultra-violet sensitive dye, whereby said minimum degree of degradation is determinable by said color change.

Claim 14

The parachute apparatus of claim 7 wherein said section of the parachute is a separate piece of textile which is attached to the parachute.