Stowage Container Breach Detection Indicator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stowage container closures for aircraft life vests require time-consuming and costly inspections to detect breaches, and maintenance of replacement closures is necessary, which is inefficient and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A container assembly with a movable barrier and indicator system that changes visibility states to indicate whether the container has been breached, allowing for rapid visual inspection and eliminating the need for replacement closures, as the indicator remains in the breached state until reset by authorized personnel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a frangible closure is used to seal the stowage container, then the container can be securely sealed and tamper-evident, but the inspection process becomes time-consuming and requires manual contact with each closure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color change principles through the use of an indicator that changes its visual state (from hidden to visible, or from one color to another) to indicate whether the container has been opened. This allows inspectors to quickly identify breached containers from a distance without manual contact, resolving the contradiction between reliable tamper detection and time-consuming inspection.
2Reliability
If frangible closures are used to seal the container, then tamper evidence is provided, but replacement closures must be maintained in inventory and replaced after each inspection
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator system is self-resetting through the normal operation of the container. When the container is closed, the indicator automatically returns to its original hidden state, eliminating the need for replacement closures. The system serves itself by using the container's own closing action to reset the indicator, thereby eliminating the need for maintenance inventory.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator is recovered and reused automatically with each container closing operation. Instead of being discarded after one use like a frangible closure, the indicator is reset into its original position and appearance, allowing indefinite reuse and eliminating the need for continuous replacement with new closures.
3Measurement precision
If visual inspection of closures is performed to detect breaches, then tamper evidence can be identified, but the process requires close examination and manual contact with each closure
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator provides a clear visual distinction between sealed and opened states through its position change (hidden versus visible through the window). This maintains high detection accuracy while dramatically simplifying the inspection operation, as inspectors can identify breached containers from a distance without manual contact or close examination.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator moves from a hidden dimension (inside the container or obscured) to a visible dimension (through the window on the exterior). This spatial transition provides clear breach detection accuracy while allowing inspection from a distance, eliminating the need for close examination and manual contact.
Data Source
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AI summary
A stowage container including a barrier such as a door or access panel and a breach detector for monitoring and/or detecting a breach of the barrier. The breach detector includes an indicator assembly having a slot that can be positioned between, and defined by, a front panel and a back panel of the barrier, and an indicator within the slot. The indicator assembly further includes a retainer that maintains the indicator in a first state when the barrier is in a first position (e.g., closed or sealed) and which releases the indicator into a second state when the barrier moves from the first position to a second position (e.g., open or breached). Upon returning the barrier to the first position, the indicator remains in the second state until the indicator reset to the first state.