A maintenance port cover assembly that meets the sealing requirements of the watertight compartment of a pontoon.

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of amphibious aircraft float-mounted watertight compartments, specifically a maintenance access cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment. It includes: a maintenance access cover structure, a frame assembly structure, a watertight bulkhead structure, and quick-release watertight fasteners. The maintenance access cover structure consists of a cover skin, a Y-shaped rubber component, a groove, and reinforcing components, and is located on the outer side of the float-mounted watertight compartment, serving as an opening for maintenance access to the float. Simultaneously, a quick-release watertight bulkhead structure is arranged at the center of the end frame between the watertight compartments, serving as a maintenance passage between the compartments. The maintenance access cover and the watertight bulkhead are connected to their respective frame structures using the same type of watertight fasteners, allowing for quick access to the enclosed watertight compartment for maintenance work using a single tool. The watertight bulkhead structure is arranged in blocks, allowing for overall disassembly and removal to the outside of the float, or partial disassembly, to meet the operational space requirements of different maintenance tasks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of amphibious aircraft float watertight compartment design, specifically a maintenance cover assembly that meets the sealing requirements of float watertight compartments. Background Technology

[0002] The floats of amphibious aircraft, because they come into contact with water or even submerge during takeoff and landing, require extremely high watertightness for the maintenance access panels located on their sides. Traditional land-based aircraft access panel sealing designs are no longer sufficient to meet this requirement. In designing these access panels, the industry prioritizes ease of maintenance while ensuring reliable sealing. Multiple access panels are typically installed on the side of a large float. This design is particularly suitable for quickly reaching designated locations during maintenance inside the float. Generally, when detecting a fault in a specific area of ​​the float, simply opening the access panel for that area allows direct access to the interior without the need for long-distance movement within the float. While this method is more convenient, it places extremely high demands on the sealing performance of all access panels. With the increasing market demand for amphibious aircraft, their sizes are growing, and the floats that provide buoyancy and lateral stability for takeoff and landing are also becoming increasingly larger. The need for multiple watertight compartments within the floats makes the arrangement of these compartments a key technology in their structural design. The watertight partition is the sealing interface between watertight compartments and is made of reinforced aluminum alloy. The maintenance access cover and watertight partition must meet the requirements for rapid maintenance while ensuring airtightness. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a maintenance cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight pontoon compartment, has good sealing performance, and can meet the requirements for rapid maintenance inside the watertight compartment.

[0004] A maintenance access cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment in a pontoon includes: a maintenance access cover structure, a frame assembly structure, a watertight partition structure, and sealing fasteners; the maintenance access cover structure is installed on the outside of the frame assembly structure by the sealing fasteners; the watertight partition structure is disposed in a single watertight compartment channel of the pontoon, and the watertight partition structure divides the channel into several maintenance work zones.

[0005] The maintenance cover structure consists of a cover skin, a Y-shaped rubber component, a slot, and a reinforcing rib; the slot adopts a C-shaped structure; the reinforcing rib has an L-shaped structure; the reinforcing rib and the slot are respectively fixed on the cover skin, and the straight section of the base of the Y-shaped rubber component is fixed in the slot; the upper end of the Y-shaped rubber component forms a contact seal with the mouth frame limiting component of the mouth frame assembly structure;

[0006] When it is necessary to enter the watertight compartment of the pontoon for maintenance work, first remove the connecting bolts on the outer surface of the maintenance port cover structure, then remove the maintenance port cover as a whole, enter the watertight compartment, and then, depending on the area to be maintained, select and remove the connecting bolts on the watertight bulkhead structure of the adjacent watertight compartment, remove the watertight bulkhead in sections or as a whole, and enter the adjacent watertight compartment; after the maintenance work is completed, exit the corresponding watertight compartment, first install the connecting bolts between the watertight bulkhead and the end frame, after completing the watertight bulkhead installation, exit the pontoon, and then install the connecting bolts on the maintenance port cover structure and the port frame combination structure to complete the maintenance port cover structure installation.

[0007] Furthermore, the Y-shaped rubber component has an irregular structure, including a flat bottom section and two flanges of different lengths connected to the flat section at different angles; the inclination direction of the two flanges is towards the gap formed by the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure; the compression of the Y-shaped rubber component is not less than the gap between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure when the connecting bolts are not tightened; when the connecting bolts are tightened, the two flanges of different lengths form a contact surface with the frame limiting component, forming two independent watertight boundaries.

[0008] Furthermore, a groove is provided in the middle of the side of the flat bottom section of the Y-shaped rubber part that contacts the bottom of the slot. During the extrusion of the Y-shaped rubber part's edge strip, the flat bottom section adapts to structural deformation under the constraint of the slot.

[0009] Furthermore, among the two flanges of different lengths, the angle between the flange near the connection between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure and the bottom straight section is β1, and the angle between the flange away from the connection between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure and the bottom straight section is β2, where β1 > β2.

[0010] Furthermore, β1 = 30°, β2 = 60°.

[0011] Furthermore, the mouth frame assembly structure consists of 4 side frames and corresponding side frame connectors, 4 outer frame connectors and limiting members; the side frame connectors and corner boxes are used to connect the side frames together to form the mouth frame assembly; the mouth frame assembly is connected to the surrounding structure of the pontoon through the outer frame connectors, so as to integrate the mouth frame load into the entire pontoon structure, and the limiting members are fixed on the mouth frame assembly.

[0012] Furthermore, the frame assembly structure includes: upper and lower frame sides, left and right frame sides; and corresponding upper and lower frame side connectors, left and right frame side connectors, all of which adopt L-shaped beams with a certain width cross section; the left and right frame side connectors are respectively connected to the longitudinal (consistent with the aircraft's heading) components of the float; the upper and lower frame side connectors are respectively connected to the transverse components of the float.

[0013] Furthermore, the perimeter of the watertight partition structure is covered with a compressible sealing strip of a certain width and thickness; the width covers the width of the pre-embedded sealing fastener, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the maintenance port cover panel but less than the thickness of the frame.

[0014] The sealing bracket nut and matching bolts embedded in the watertight compartment end frame are used to connect the watertight partition structure and the watertight compartment end frame.

[0015] Furthermore, the watertight partition structure comprises a watertight partition, an L-shaped reinforcing rib, and a sealing support plate nut.

[0016] Furthermore, the need to access adjacent watertight compartments after entering the interior of a single watertight compartment of the pontoon from the outside through the maintenance cover structure is achieved by disassembling the watertight bulkhead structure located at the center of the end frame of the watertight compartment.

[0017] Beneficial technical effects: The maintenance cover assembly proposed in this invention, which meets the requirements of the watertight compartment of the pontoon, differs from the traditional design of multiple maintenance covers on the pontoon by using a single maintenance cover. This significantly reduces the difficulty of the sealing design and also reduces the overall design weight, making it more suitable for maintenance in special scenarios. More importantly, regarding the sealing design of the maintenance cover, this invention uses an irregular sealing element between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure. This can fully utilize external water pressure to enhance the sealing performance between the two, and the greater the external water pressure, the better the sealing performance. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the maintenance cover assembly structure of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the mouth frame and the mouth cover of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the watertight partition structure, its segments, and cross-sections of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the inner structure of the cover for the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the installation process of the maintenance cover of the present invention;

[0023] Among them, the maintenance cover structure 1, the frame assembly structure 2, the watertight partition structure 3, the cover skin 11, the Y-shaped rubber part 12, the slot 13, the reinforcing rib 14, the cover connecting bolt 15, the watertight partition 31, and the L-shaped reinforcing rib 32. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Please see Figures 1 to 3 As shown, a maintenance port cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment for a pontoon includes: a maintenance port cover structure 1, a port frame assembly structure 2, a watertight partition structure 3, and sealing fasteners.

[0026] As an improvement to the invention, the two-frame assembly structure includes: multiple pre-embedded sealing plate nuts, the distribution of which on the frame can be adjusted as needed; the frame is made of aluminum alloy sheet metal bending, with pre-embedded sealing plate nut fasteners on the inner side; frame connectors and corner boxes are used to connect the frames together to form a frame assembly; the frame assembly is connected to the surrounding structure of the pontoon through the outer frame connector, integrating the frame load transfer into the entire pontoon structure; the bolts at the edge of the maintenance cover are opened using a general-purpose tool to achieve the overall separation of the maintenance cover structure 1 and the frame assembly structure 2.

[0027] Please see Figures 4 to 5 As shown,

[0028] Add here for Figure 4-5 The arrangement and structure of the float should be explained in detail, especially the positional relationships and sealing interfaces. The composition of the maintenance passage and the sealing structure should be clearly explained, as this relates to the innovation of the invention, namely, how to achieve the sealing of the external maintenance port cover of the float and the accessibility of the internal structure for maintenance.

[0029] The working principle of this structure:

[0030] Traditional float designs typically involve placing a sufficient number of access panels on the outer surface of the float, such as 15 panels between 16 frames, to meet maintenance needs at different locations. While this design allows direct access to the required maintenance location and makes entering and exiting the float more convenient, it places a significant strain on the structural weight. Furthermore, because the outer surface of the float is in direct contact with the outside environment, its sealing performance is crucial, requiring reliable sealing of multiple maintenance access panels. In certain special scenarios, such as when the aircraft is on the water and requires temporary maintenance, opening one maintenance access panel can allow external water to directly enter the float, potentially filling the entire float, making maintenance extremely inconvenient in such situations.

[0031] The cover arrangement involved in this invention simplifies the number of external cover arrangements, retaining only one maintenance cover 1 that can enter the cylinder body. The interior is arranged in sections according to the number of watertight compartments. At the same time, a watertight baffle structure 3 is arranged at the web position of the end frame (watertight frame) of the watertight compartment. Considering the space problem of internal operation, it is designed in sections. The watertight baffle structure after being divided into sections can be moved to the outside of the cylinder body through the maintenance cover 1.

[0032] The maintenance access cover located in the middle section of the pontoon, due to its largest cross-sectional size and convenient access, and connecting the front and rear sections of the pontoon, is defined as the "main passage". The left and right end frames of the watertight compartment in the middle section correspond to the rear and front sections of the pontoon, respectively, and are only opened when maintenance work is required in the front and rear sections, and are defined as the "secondary passage". This division method is particularly beneficial for maintenance in special scenarios. When the aircraft is on the water and encounters an emergency requiring maintenance, only the maintenance access cover in the middle is opened. Although external water may enter the pontoon, the watertight baffle structure 3 arranged on both sides of the "main passage" can effectively prevent water from filling the entire pontoon. The amount of water in the "main passage" is relatively controllable and will not have a significant impact on the maintenance inside the pontoon.

[0033] Opening of the main channel:

[0034] (1) By hand or with the help of a general-purpose Phillips screwdriver, unscrew the bolt 15 at the edge of the maintenance port cover, remove the maintenance port cover structure as a whole, and enter the individual watertight compartment to complete the maintenance work.

[0035] Opening of secondary channels:

[0036] After entering the main passage, depending on the maintenance task requirements, choose to open the bolts on one side of the watertight compartment end frame or simultaneously open the bolts on both sides of the watertight partition edge, remove the watertight partition, and enter the corresponding watertight compartment.

[0037] After the maintenance work is completed, place the watertight baffle in the corresponding watertight chamber end frame position and reinstall it using general tools; maintenance personnel exit the watertight chamber and reinstall the maintenance port cover structure.

[0038] 2. Maintenance of the cap sealing process:

[0039] For the cap installation process, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 5 As shown, during the installation and maintenance of the cover to the frame, as the bolts are gradually tightened, the ends of the Y-shaped rubber parts 12 installed inside the slot 13 gradually come into contact with the frame limiting parts 29. At this time, the gap H between the cover and the frame is defined as the initial compression amount. As the bolts on the cover are tightened, the two edges of the Y-shaped rubber parts 12 are gradually squeezed and deformed by the frame limiting parts. The two edges of different lengths form a contact surface with the frame limiting parts, forming two independent watertight boundaries.

[0040] In typical cap design, sealing tape is used as a sandwich structure between the cap and the frame. It is laid on the mating surface of the cap or frame, and the openings for the connecting bolts pass through the sealing tape. During bolt installation and tightening, the sealing tape is compressed and deformed, filling the gaps to achieve a seal. This design can meet the sealing requirements of conventional caps. However, with the increase in the number of cap disassemblies, the sealing tape, especially around the openings, is prone to cracks or gaps, leading to leaks. The sealing tape needs to be replaced periodically to restore its condition.

[0041] The sealing element involved in this invention, such as Figure 4 As shown in section AA, the innovative design features compared to traditional sealing structures are:

[0042] 1) Instead of applying the seal to the mating surface between the cap and the frame, the seal is installed as a whole in the slot of the cap. A separately designed frame retainer fits the seal to form a sealing interface, and the bolt connection to the cap is independent. This avoids damage to the seal caused by bolt holes, and repeated cap disassembly and reassembly have no impact on the seal, thus improving its service life.

[0043] 2) The float is used in an environment where it is submerged in water. With the cap closed, the water pressure acts on the seal along the normal direction of the cap. The compression deformation of the seal moves in a direction that is conducive to sealing, thus achieving a self-sealing effect.

[0044] 3) Y-shaped sealing strip design. Traditional cap positions use L-shaped or convex seals. These cross-sectional seals have a large support reaction force, resulting in excessive pre-tightening force during cap installation, which is wasteful for cap structures with relatively small load-bearing capacity. This invention designs the sealing strip in a Y-shape, retaining sufficient rigidity at the bottom while reducing the contact stress on the cap. It also effectively forms two sealing interfaces, enhancing sealing performance. The Y-shaped sealing strip consists of two strips of different lengths and angles, with both strips inclined towards the gap formed by the cap and frame assembly. With this design, when the connecting bolts are tightened, the two strips bend and deform along the contact surface of the frame limiter under external pressure, ensuring that the bending direction faces the gap between the cap and frame assembly, preventing external water from entering. Under pressure, the water pressure can be effectively utilized. This pressure acts on the bent and deformed flange, making the contact between the flange and the frame limiting component tighter. At the same time, the lower end of the Y-type seal is a straight section, which is limited by the groove of the C-type structure. When the Y-type seal is compressed and deformed, its water-facing surface facing the gap formed by the maintenance cover structure and the frame combination structure always presents an arc shape. The water pressure acts on the upper and lower arc surfaces, further pressing the upper and lower ends of the Y-type seal into a tighter contact with the contact component. In this way, even when the external water pressure is higher, the water pressure is fully utilized to reliably ensure the sealing performance.

[0045] 4) When designing rubber seals, the initial compression value is usually considered in conjunction with factors such as material and hardness. Considering the irregularity of Y-type seals, the sealing structure of this invention transforms the initial compression design of the Y-type seal into the height design of the mouth frame limiting member, i.e., H (initial compression value) = H1 (height of the stop member from the mouth cover) - H2 (height of the Y-type seal). If, due to design requirements, the material or hardness is changed, there is no need to change the cross-sectional dimensions; only the dimensions of the mouth frame limiting member need to be changed to meet the design requirements. This reduces costs.

[0046] The implementation method of the float connection structure of the large amphibious aircraft of the present invention is as follows: When it is necessary to enter the watertight compartment of the float for maintenance work, first remove the connecting bolts on the outer surface of the maintenance port cover structure, then remove the maintenance port cover as a whole, enter the watertight compartment, and then, depending on the area to be maintained, select and remove the connecting bolts on the watertight bulkhead structure of the adjacent watertight compartment, remove the watertight bulkhead in sections or as a whole, and enter the adjacent watertight compartment; after the maintenance work is completed, exit the corresponding watertight compartment, first install the connecting bolts between the watertight bulkhead and the end frame, after completing the installation of the watertight bulkhead, exit the float, and then install the connecting bolts on the maintenance port cover structure and the port frame combination structure to complete the installation of the maintenance port cover structure.

[0047] The above specific embodiments or examples are only used to explain the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Parts not described in detail are considered as conventional technical means in the art. Those skilled in the art should understand that, based on the design concept of this application, it is possible to make adaptive modifications to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or to make equivalent substitutions for some or all of the technical features. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A maintenance access cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment for a pontoon, characterized in that, include: Maintain the cover structure, frame assembly structure, watertight partition structure, and sealing fasteners; The maintenance port cover structure is installed on the outside of the port frame assembly structure by sealing fasteners; the watertight baffle structure is set in a single watertight compartment channel of the float, and the watertight baffle structure divides the channel into several maintenance work zones; The maintenance cover structure consists of a cover skin, a Y-shaped rubber component, a slot, and a reinforcing rib; the slot adopts a C-shaped structure; the reinforcing rib has an L-shaped structure; the reinforcing rib and the slot are respectively fixed on the cover skin, and the straight section of the base of the Y-shaped rubber component is fixed in the slot; the upper end of the Y-shaped rubber component forms a contact seal with the mouth frame limiting component of the mouth frame assembly structure; The Y-shaped rubber component has an irregular structure, including a flat bottom section and two flanges of different lengths connected to the flat section at different angles; the two flanges are inclined towards the gap formed by the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure; the compression of the Y-shaped rubber component is not less than the gap between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure when the connecting bolts are not tightened; when the connecting bolts are tightened, the two flanges of different lengths form a contact surface with the frame limiting component, forming two independent watertight boundaries; In the two flanges of different lengths, the angle between the flange closer to the connection between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure and the bottom straight section is β1, and the angle between the flange farther from the connection between the maintenance cover structure and the frame assembly structure and the bottom straight section is β2, where β1 > β2; The watertight partition structure is surrounded by a compressible sealing strip of a certain width and thickness; the width covers the width of the pre-embedded sealing fastener, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the maintenance cover structure but less than the thickness of the frame. The sealing bracket nuts and matching bolts embedded in the watertight compartment end frame are used to connect the watertight bulkhead structure and the watertight compartment end frame; When it is necessary to enter the watertight compartment of the pontoon for maintenance work, first remove the connecting bolts on the outer surface of the maintenance port cover structure, then remove the maintenance port cover as a whole, enter the watertight compartment, and then, depending on the area to be maintained, select and remove the connecting bolts on the watertight bulkhead structure of the adjacent watertight compartment, remove the watertight bulkhead in sections or as a whole, and enter the adjacent watertight compartment; after the maintenance work is completed, exit the corresponding watertight compartment, first install the connecting bolts between the watertight bulkhead and the end frame, after completing the watertight bulkhead installation, exit the pontoon, and then install the connecting bolts on the maintenance port cover structure and the port frame combination structure to complete the maintenance port cover structure installation.

2. The maintenance access cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight pontoon compartment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom straight section of the Y-shaped rubber part has a groove in the middle of the side that contacts the bottom of the slot. During the extrusion of the Y-shaped rubber part's edge strip, the bottom straight section adapts to structural deformation under the restriction of the slot.

3. A maintenance access cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight pontoon compartment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mouth frame assembly structure consists of 4 side frames and corresponding side frame connectors, 4 outer frame connectors and mouth frame limiting components; the side frame connectors and corner boxes are used to connect the side frames together to form the mouth frame assembly; the mouth frame assembly is connected to the surrounding structure of the pontoon through the outer frame connectors, so as to integrate the mouth frame load into the entire pontoon structure, and the mouth frame limiting components are fixed on the mouth frame assembly.

4. A maintenance port cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment for a pontoon as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The frame assembly structure includes: upper and lower frame sides, left and right frame sides; and corresponding upper and lower frame side connectors, left and right frame side connectors, all of which adopt L-shaped beams with a certain width cross section; the left and right frame side connectors are respectively connected to the longitudinal members of the buoy; the upper and lower frame side connectors are respectively connected to the transverse members of the buoy.

5. A maintenance port cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment for a pontoon as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The watertight partition structure consists of a watertight partition, an L-shaped reinforcing rib, and a sealing support plate nut.

6. A maintenance port cover assembly that meets the requirements of a watertight compartment for a pontoon as described in claim 1, characterized in that, After entering the interior of a single watertight compartment of the buoy from the outside through the maintenance access cover structure, the need to enter the adjacent watertight compartment is achieved by disassembling the watertight bulkhead structure located at the center of the end frame of the watertight compartment.

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