Flexible enclosure housing for inflatable evacuation equipment

Abstract

An inflatable emergency equipment system includes an enclosure with a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state. A non-rigid material at least partially defines the housing and may physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework. In some cases, the non-rigid material may at least partially conform to a shape of the packed inflatable emergency equipment.

Description

FLEXIBLE ENCLOSURE HOUSING FOR INFLATABLE EVACUATIONEQUIPMENTFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The field of the invention relates to inflatable evacuation equipment, such as but not limited to inflatable evacuation equipment for an aircraft, and more particularly to enclosures for housing such inflatable evacuation equipment.BACKGROUND

[0002] Inflatable evacuation equipment is commonly provided on aircraft for providing means for rapid evacuation from the aircraft in the event of an emergency. Such inflatable evacuation equipment may include, but is not limited to, slides, slide / rafts, ramps, slide / ramps, helicopter floats, and life rafts. While some inflatable evacuation equipment may be installed or stowed within an interior of the aircraft, it is common to also install inflatable evacuation equipment on the exterior of the aircraft so as to not occupy usable space within a cabin of the aircraft. In such cases, the inflatable evacuation equipment is installed within an enclosure having a housing, a flange, and a door. The inflatable evacuation equipment may be provided within the housing, and the flange is provided to install the housing flush with the aircraft fuselage or wing. The door is installed on the enclosure once the inflatable evacuation equipment is packed into the housing.

[0003] Traditionally, the housing of the enclosure has been constructed from a rigid material, such as a composite material, and has a complex shape following the contours and spaces in the inner framework of the aircraft fuselage. Such structures may be difficult and time-consuming to manufacture due to the geometry and physical requirements of the housing. The complex geometry of such housings also commonly requires additional provisions or equipment to ensure the evacuation equipment is properly ejected from the enclosure housing during deployment. The rigid material used to construct the housing furthermore adds significant weight, often making up more than half of the weight of the enclosure.SUMMARY

[0004] The terms “invention," “the invention,” “this invention" and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.

[0005] According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, an inflatable emergency equipment system includes an enclosure with a flange and a housing. The flange is provided for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft, and the housing is provided for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state. In certain embodiments, a non- rigid material at least partially defines the housing.

[0006] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an inflatable emergency equipment system includes an enclosure with a flange for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft and a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state. In various embodiments, a compliant material at least partially defines the housing and may at least partially conform to a shape the packed inflatable emergency equipment.

[0007] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an inflatable emergency equipment system includes an enclosure with a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state. In some embodiments, a non-rigid material at least partially defines the housing and may physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework.

[0008] Various implementations described herein can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which cannot necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The specification makes reference to the following appended figures, in which use of like reference numerals in different figures is intended to illustrate like or analogous components.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an inflatable emergency equipment system for an aircraft according to embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing of an enclosure of the inflatable emergency equipment system of FIG. 1 according to embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another housing of an enclosure of the inflatable emergency equipment system of FIG. 1 according to embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another housing of an enclosure of the inflatable emergency equipment system of FIG. 1 according to embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Described herein are inflatable emergency equipment systems and methods for storing inflatable emergency equipment on an exterior of an aircraft. In various embodiments, the inflatable emergency equipment systems described herein include an enclosure having a housing that is at least partially (and optionally completely) a flexible, compliant, and / or non- rigid material (collectively referred to herein as “non-rigid material"). In certain embodiments, the housings described herein may be able to conform to contours or shapes of folded and compressed inflatable equipment while preventing the inflatable equipment from contacting interior components of the aircraft framework. In some embodiments the housing may be completely constructed from the non-rigid material. In other embodiments, the housing may be partially constructed from the non-rigid material. In such embodiments, the housing may include local areas of rigid material and / or relatively rigid material compared tothe non-rigid material. The housing with areas of non-rigid material and relatively rigid material may provide a housing with non-uniform rigidity or flexibility and / or other profiles of rigidity or flexibility as desired. The systems and methods described herein may provide a simplified housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state providing weight savings, reduced manufacturing time, and reduced manufacturing costs compared to traditional rigid housings. In various embodiments, the enclosures with the housings described herein may meet and / or exceeds the requirements according to TSO-C69c from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), entitled EMERGENCY EVACUATION SLIDES, RAMPS, RAMP / SLIDES, AND SLIDE RAFTS and published August 18, 1999 (“TSO- C69c”) (incorporated herein by reference) and / or TSO-C70b from the FAA, entitled LIFE RAFTS and published August 4, 2014 (“TSO-C70b”) (incorporated herein by reference). Various other benefits and advantages may be realized with the systems and methods described herein, and the aforementioned benefits and advantages should not be considered limiting.

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an aircraft 100 with an inflatable emergency equipment system 102 according to embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a fuselage 105 of the aircraft 100 may include a cavity 106 open to the exterior of the aircraft 100. The particular location of the cavity 106 on the fuselage 105 should not be considered limiting. Moreover, in additional and / or alternative embodiments, the cavity 106 may be defined on other exterior components of the aircraft 100, such as but not limited to a wing of the aircraft.

[0016] The inflatable emergency equipment system 102 generally includes an enclosure 108 for holding one or more pieces of inflatable emergency equipment 110 in a packed state. The inflatable emergency equipment 110 may be various inflatable emergency equipment as desired, such as but not limited to a slide, slide / raft, ramp, slide / ramp, helicopter float, and / or life raft. When assembled with the aircraft 100, the enclosure 108 may be positioned within the cavity 106. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the enclosure 108 includes an enclosure flange 112, a housing 114, and a door 116.

[0017] The housing 114 defines a receiving area 117 for receiving the packed inflatable emergency equipment 110 while also physically isolating the packed inflatable emergency equipment 110 from interior components of the aircraft 100 (e.g., aircraft framework components exposed within the cavity 106 and / or that the cavity 106 otherwise provides access to). As used herein, “physically isolating” refers to the ability of the housing 114 tokeep the inflatable emergency equipment 110 from contacting the interior components of the aircraft framework. The particular shape of the housing 114 and receiving area 117 illustrated in the figures should not be considered limiting.

[0018] The housing 114 is attached to the enclosure flange 112 such that the enclosure flange 112 defines an opening 119 to the receiving area 117. When installed on the aircraft 100, the enclosure flange 112 may be attached or otherwise supported on the aircraft 100 such that the enclosure flange 112 is generally flush with the surrounding exterior of the aircraft 100 and forms a part of the fuselage 105, and the housing 114 is generally within the cavity 106. The door 116 may be positioned within the enclosure flange 112 to close the opening 119. In certain embodiments, similar to the enclosure flange 112, the door 116 may be flush with the enclosure flange 112 and thereby flush with the surrounding exterior of the aircraft 100 and forming a part of the fuselage 105. The door 116 may be supported on the enclosure flange 112 using various mechanisms or techniques as desired. In various embodiments, the door 116 is supported on the enclosure flange 112 such that the door 116 is movable away from the opening 119 during an activation event for the inflatable emergency equipment 110, thereby allowing the inflatable emergency equipment 110 to be deployed from the housing 114.

[0019] The enclosure flange 112 and the door 116 may be constructed from various rigid and / or semi-rigid materials as desired and suitable for installation on the exterior of the aircraft 100. As non-limiting examples, the enclosure flange 112 and / or the door 116 may be constructed from materials such as a metal including but not limited to aluminum, aluminum alloys, steel, titanium, combinations thereof, and / or other metals, and / or rigid and / or semirigid composite materials such as resin matrix with carbon, glass, and / or aramid reinforcements, among others. In some embodiments, the enclosure flange 112 and the door 116 are constructed from the same material, although they need not be in other embodiments.

[0020] Compared to traditional approaches in which the housing 114 is a rigid structure, in various embodiments, the housing 114 includes a non-rigid material 118 at least partially defining the housing 114. The non-rigid material 118 at least partially defining the housing 114 thereby at least partially physically isolates the packed inflatable emergency equipment 110 from interior components of the aircraft framework.

[0021] The non-rigid material 118 may be various non-rigid, flexible, or compliant materials as desired, such as but not limited to a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film. In some non-limiting examples, the non- rigid material may include a substrate with a polyethylene (PE), ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), polypropylene (PP), polyester, polyamide (PA), aromatic polyamide, aramid, polyolefin, aromatic polyester, polyarylate, other liquid crystal polymers, nylon, combinations thereof, and / or other substrate materials for a high strength fabric or flexible composite material. In various embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 at least partially defining the housing 114 may be less rigid than the material of the enclosure flange 112 and / or the material of the door 116. In certain embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 at least partially defining the housing 114 may at least partially conform to a shape of the packed inflatable emergency equipment 110.

[0022] FIGS. 2-4 illustrate non-limiting examples of the non-rigid material 118 at least partially defining the housing 114. FIGS. 2-4 are for illustrative purposes only, and in other embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 may be utilized in other arrangements, configurations, etc. to at least partially define the housing 114.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 completely defines the housing 114, or, stated differently, the non-rigid material 118 defines the entire housing 114. In such embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 defining the entire housing 114 may provide an enclosure 108 with the most pliable and / or conformable receiving area 117 for receiving the packed inflatable emergency equipment 110 while physically isolating the inflatable emergency equipment 110 from the interior components of the aircraft framework.

[0024] In other embodiments, and as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the entire housing 114 need not be the non-rigid material 118, and the housing 114 may have a non-uniform rigidity. In some embodiments, the housing 114 may be further defined by one or more supplemental materials 120 that are relatively rigid compared to the non-rigid material 118. The supplemental material 120 may be various materials as desired, including non-rigid materials, semi-rigid materials, and / or rigid materials. In certain embodiments, the supplemental material 120 may be a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film. In some embodiments, the supplemental material 120 may have a rigidity greater than that of the non-rigid material 118 and less than a rigidityof fee enclosure flange 112 and / or fee door 116, although it need not be in other embodiments.

[0025] The supplemental material 120 may be provided in various locations and / or patterns relative to the non-rigid material 118 to define the housing 114. As a non-limiting example, and referring to FIG. 3, the supplemental material 120 may form a housing skeleton 122 and the non-rigid material 118 may form a liner 124. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the finer 124 is illustrated within the housing skeleton 122 (e.g., the liner 124 forms an inner-most portion of the housing 114), although in other embodiments, the housing skeleton 122 may be within the liner 124 (e.g., the housing skeleton 122 may form an inner-most portion of the housing 114). In yet other non-limiting examples, the non-rigid material 118 may be a plurality of panels attached between portions of the housing skeleton 122 and / or to span openings defined by the portions of the housing skeleton 122. As another non-limiting example, and referring to FIG. 4, the supplemental material 120 may be one or more battens 126 integrated wife and / or removable from the non-rigid material 118. In yet another non-limiting example, fee housing 114 may incorporate fee supplemental material 120 wife fee non-rigid material 118 such that fee supplemental material 120 contains and / or positions fee inflatable emergency equipment 110 in an appropriate shape and / or orientation. In a further non-limiting example, fee housing 114 may be a composite of fee non-rigid material 118 and fee supplemental material 120. As an example, the housing 114 may include reinforcement materials (e.g., carbon, glass, aramid, etc.) at desired locations and infused wife resin on a mold to create rigid sections and contours of fee housing 114 that are integral wife think and flexible sections where stiffness is not needed. Various other combinations and / or arrangements of the supplemental material 120 and / or the non-rigid material 118 may be implemented as desired.

[0026] Moreover, in embodiments wife a plurality of locations of supplemental material 120, such as but not limited to FIG. 4, fee supplemental material 120 in one location (e.g., a comer of fee housing 114) need not necessarily have fee same rigidity as the supplemental material 120 in another location (e.g., a side wall of the housing 114). In yet other embodiments, the non-rigid material 118 and fee supplemental material 120 may be arranged such that the housing 114 has symmetrical or asymmetrical rigidity. As non-limiting examples, fee non-rigid material 118 and fee supplemental material 120 may be provided such feat, in a lateral direction, opposing sides of fee housing 114 have fee same flexibility orone side of the housing 114 has increased flexibility compared to the other side of the housing 114. In certain embodiments, portions of the housing 114 with locally increased rigidity and / or locally increased flexibility may be defined based on positioning relative to other interior components of the aircraft framework.

[0027] A collection of exemplary embodiments is provided below, including at least some explicitly enumerated as an “Illustration” providing additional description of a variety of example embodiments in accordance with the concepts described herein. These illustrations are not meant to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the disclosure not limited to these example illustrations but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of the issued claims and their equivalents.

[0028] Illustration 1. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, the enclosure comprising: a flange for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft; and a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a non- rigid material at least partially defines the housing.

[0029] Illustration 2. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the inflatable emergency equipment comprises a slide, slide / raft, ramp, slide / ramp, helicopter float, or life raft.

[0030] Illustration 3. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the non-rigid material defines the entire housing.

[0031] Illustration 4. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the flange is a material that is more rigid than the non-rigid material of the housing.

[0032] Illustration 5. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the non-rigid material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

[0033] Illustration 6. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the housing comprises ahousing skeleton and a liner, wherein the non-rigid material forms the liner, and wherein a material of the housing skeleton is more rigid than the non-rigid material.

[0034] Illustration 7. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the liner is within the skeleton.

[0035] Illustration 8. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the skeleton is within the liner.

[0036] Illustration 9. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the housing further comprises one or more battens, and wherein a material of the battens is more rigid than the non-rigid material.

[0037] Illustration 10. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the non-rigid material defines at least one flexible portion of the housing, and wherein the housing further comprises at least one rigid portion with a rigidity greater than that of the at least one flexible portion.

[0038] Illustration 11. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the housing comprises at least one area with locally increased rigidity and at least one area with locally increased flexibility.

[0039] Illustration 12. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the housing has a non-uniform rigidity.

[0040] Illustration 13. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the non-rigid material is configured to physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework.

[0041] Illustration 14. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising a door supported within the flange and configured to enclose the packed inflatable emergency equipment within the housing.

[0042] Illustration 15. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, tire enclosure comprising: a flange for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft; and a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a compliant material at least partially defines the housing and is configured to at least partially conform to a shape of the packed inflatable emergency equipment.

[0043] Illustration 16. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the compliant material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

[0044] Illustration 17. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, a semi-rigid or rigid material at least partially defines the housing with the compliant material, the semi-rigid or rigid material having a rigidity greater than that of the compliant material.

[0045] Illustration 18. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, the enclosure comprising a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a non-rigid material at least partially defines the housing and is configured to physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework.

[0046] Illustration 19. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the non-rigid material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

[0047] Illustration 20. The inflatable emergency equipment system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, a semi-rigid or rigid material at least partially defines the housing with the non-rigid material.

[0048] The subject matter of embodiments is described herein with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps orarrangement of elements is explicitly described. Directional references such as “up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “front,” and “back,” among others, are intended to refer to the orientation as illustrated and described in the figure (or figures) to which the components and directions are referencing. In the figures and the description, like numerals are intended to represent like elements. As used herein, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes singular and plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0049] All ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein. For example, a stated range of “1 to 10” should be considered to include any and all subranges between (and inclusive of) the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginning with a minimum value of 1 or more, e.g., 1 to 6.1, and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less, e.g., 5.5 to 10.

[0050] The above-described aspects are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure. Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, as well as in the claims that follow, they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for the purposes of limiting the described embodiments, nor the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMSThat which is claimed is:

1. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, the enclosure comprising: a flange for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft; and a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a non-rigid material at least partially defines the housing.

2. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the inflatable emergency equipment comprises a slide, slide / raft, ramp, slide / ramp, helicopter float, or life raft.

3. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the non-rigid material defines the entire housing4. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the flange is a material that is more rigid than the non-rigid material of the housing.

5. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the non-rigid material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

6. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a housing skeleton and a liner, wherein the non-rigid material forms the liner, and wherein a material of the housing skeleton is more rigid than the non-rigid material.

7. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 6, wherein the liner is within the skeleton.

8. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 6, wherein the skeleton is within the liner.

9. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the housing furflier comprises one or more battens, and wherein a material of the battens is more rigid than the non-rigid material.

10. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the non-rigid material defines at least one flexible portion of the housing, and wherein the housing further comprises at least one rigid portion with a rigidity greater than that of the at least one flexible portion.

11. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises at least one area with locally increased rigidity and at least one area with locally increased flexibility.

12. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the housing has a non- uniform rigidity.

13. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, wherein the non-rigid material is configured to physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework.

14. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 1, further comprising a door supported within the flange and configured to enclose the packed inflatable emergency equipment within the housing.

15. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, the enclosure comprising: a flange for mounting the enclosure on an exterior of an aircraft; and a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a compliant material at least partially defines the housing and is configured to at least partially conform to a shape of the packed inflatable emergency equipment.

16. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 15, wherein the compliant material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

17. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 15, a semi-rigid or rigid material at least partially defines the housing with the compliant material, the semi-rigid or rigid material having a rigidity greater than that of the compliant material.

18. An inflatable emergency equipment system comprising an enclosure, the enclosure comprising a housing for retaining inflatable emergency equipment in a packed state, wherein a non-rigid material at least partially defines the housing and is configured to physically isolate the packed inflatable emergency equipment from interior components of an aircraft framework.

19. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 18, wherein the non-rigid material comprises a high strength fabric or flexible composite material, a textile or nonwoven fabric, or a high strength film.

20. The inflatable emergency equipment system of claim 18, a semi-rigid or rigid material at least partially defines the housing with the non-rigid material.

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