Month in the Patent Office

To delay the full opening of a parachute after initial deployment, the skirt is provided with one or more reefing lines 20 formed with looped ends 22 which engage over a rod 16 forming part of a spring loaded time delay mechanism 13 carried on the parachute canopy 10 by a mounting plate 14. The outer end of the rod is guided by a plate 17, spaced from the mechanism 13 to accommodate the loops 13 and the rod is drilled at 18 for a locking pin 19 secured by a lan‐yard 23 to one of the rigging lines 11. When the parachute is launched tensioning by the load of the rigging lines withdraws pin 19, permitting mechanism 13 to retract rod 16 and free lines 20, thus permitting full deployment of the parachute. Two mechanisms 13 may be arranged diametrically opposite on the skirt.