Aircraft Barrier Delay Unlocking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft barrier systems are cumbersome and lack a lightweight solution to delay an attacker's entry into a secured area when the cockpit door is temporarily opened, compromising passenger space and safety.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft barrier system with a locking device featuring a latching clamp and a release mechanism that delays the transition from a locking to an unlocking state, providing a predefined delay of 5 to 25 seconds, allowing sufficient time to secure the cockpit door and evacuate the secure area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a second barrier is provided within the passenger cabin to delay attacker entry, then safety is improved, but the space available for seating and passenger purposes is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier system is integrated into the existing cockpit door structure, with the barrier being stored within a recess or compartment formed by the door assembly. When deployed, the barrier extends from the door structure to block the opening, utilizing the door's own space rather than requiring separate cabin space.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier is designed to be deployed in a direction perpendicular to the door plane, extending into the cabin space only when needed. This allows the barrier to provide protection without permanently occupying cabin volume, as it can be retracted or folded away when not in use.
2Reliability
If a slidable separation means is used as a second barrier, then safety is improved, but the device becomes bulky and cumbersome to open
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier is designed as a separate, removable component that can be quickly deployed from its storage position within the door structure. Rather than being a fixed slidable mechanism, the barrier can be extracted and positioned to block the opening, simplifying the opening operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier is pre-positioned within the door structure in a compact storage configuration, ready for rapid deployment. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for complex sliding mechanisms during the emergency opening process, allowing for quick manual deployment when needed.
3Ease of operation
If the latching clamp immediately transitions from locking to unlocking state, then ease of operation is improved, but safety is compromised as there is insufficient time to secure the cockpit door
Solution Approach 1:
When the barrier is opened, the release mechanism is pre-configured to automatically engage and initiate the delayed unlocking sequence. This preliminary action ensures that the delay function is activated without requiring additional manual intervention, maintaining ease of operation while enhancing safety.
Solution Approach 2:
A release mechanism acts as an intermediary between the barrier opening action and the latching clamp unlocking. This intermediate component introduces the time delay function, allowing the barrier to open easily while preventing immediate access to the cockpit by delaying the latching clamp's transition to the unlocked state.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft barrier system separating, within an aircraft, a secure area from a passenger cabin of the aircraft, comprises a barrier installed inside the passenger cabin and configured to move between an open position and a closed position, a latch mounted to the barrier, and a locking device comprising a latching clamp configured to lock the latch when the barrier is in the closed position. The aircraft barrier system further comprises a release mechanism configured to move the latching clamp from a locking state locking the latch to an unlocking state releasing the latch, wherein the release mechanism is further configured to delay the moving of the latching clamp from the locking state to the unlocking state. Also, an aircraft area and an aircraft having such aircraft barrier system.