Aircraft Windshield Fastening Device for Reduced Post Width
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for installing aircraft windshield panes result in a reduction of the useful area and an increase in the thickness of the posts between panes, leading to a restricted field of vision for pilots due to the need for exterior window pane retainers that require multiple fastening lines on the fuselage.
Innovation Solution
A fastening device for aircraft windshield panes featuring window pane retainers with frames that have matching profiles on facing posts, allowing for a single fastening line and reduced post width, which reduces the bulk of the fasteners and aerodynamic turbulence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If exterior window pane retainers are used to install windshield panes from the outside, then the panes can be securely fastened to the fuselage frame, but the useful area of the pane is reduced and the posts between panes become thicker
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional installation approach by moving from exterior retention to interior retention. The window pane retainers are now installed from the interior side of the windshield assembly, allowing the fastening elements to be positioned on the inner surface rather than requiring external mounting brackets. This inversion eliminates the need for thick external posts and maximizes the visible glass area while maintaining secure fastening through interior mounting mechanisms.
2Strength
If multiple fastening lines are used on the uprights to secure adjacent panes, then the structural integrity is maintained, but the field of vision of the pilots is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple fastening lines into a single integrated fastening line. By positioning the window pane retainers on the interior side, adjacent panes can be secured along a common fastening line that runs through the interior mounting structure. This consolidation reduces the number of visible fastening elements and thins the posts between panes, thereby expanding the pilots' field of vision while maintaining structural integrity through the unified fastening system.
3Reliability
If thick posts are used between windshield panes to accommodate multiple fastening lines, then the retainers can be securely mounted, but the aerodynamic turbulence and noise increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the fastening system from a two-dimensional external mounting approach to a three-dimensional interior mounting approach. By relocating the retainers to the interior side and utilizing the depth dimension of the windshield assembly, the system accommodates secure mounting without requiring thick external posts. This dimensional shift creates a sleeker exterior profile that reduces aerodynamic turbulence and noise while maintaining reliable retainer mounting through interior fastening mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A fastening device for at least one pair of window panes, especially aircraft windshield window panes, each having a window pane retainer equipped with a frame that is applied to the borders of receptacle openings for the window panes, wherein the frames have a pair of posts facing one another provided with matching profiles that can mate the aforementioned posts, one inside the other, in a fastening line of the window pane retainer on the common border to the openings that receive the pair of panes.