Telescoping Secondary Barrier Gate for Flight Deck Door Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft flight deck doors lose protective anti-intrusion/anti-penetration benefits during transitions, making the flight deck vulnerable during opening and closing, and current security measures are either costly, time-consuming, or impact cabin space.
Innovation Solution
A secondary barrier system with a telescoping structure that can be deployed and stowed within the aircraft, minimizing space impact, and includes a rotatable and extendable secondary barrier gate that can be mounted to the ceiling or within the crown area, using foot portions and latches for secure deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a secondary barrier gate is deployed to block access to the flight deck during door transitions, then flight deck security is improved, but cabin space and aisle width are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary barrier gate is mounted to the ceiling structure above the aisle rather than occupying floor space, allowing it to deploy vertically downward to block the flight deck door while minimizing impact on aisle width and cabin floor space. This dimensional repositioning resolves the contradiction by maintaining security functionality without sacrificing usable cabin area.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier gate is designed to be dynamically deployable and stowable, transitioning between a horizontal retracted position (when not needed) and a vertical deployed position (when security is required). This dynamic capability allows the barrier to occupy minimal space during normal operations while providing full security coverage when activated, resolving the space versus security contradiction.
2Area of stationary object
If a telescoping structure is used for the secondary barrier gate, then the barrier can be compactly stowed minimizing space impact, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping structure employs nested tubular members where one tube is inserted within another, allowing the barrier to compress to a compact size when retracted. This nesting arrangement achieves space-efficient stowage while using relatively simple concentric cylindrical geometry, mitigating the complexity increase through intuitive mechanical design.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier structure is segmented into multiple telescoping sections that can extend and retract independently, allowing the overall length to be adjusted based on deployment needs. This segmentation enables compact stowage of long barrier sections by breaking them into nested segments, reducing the stowed footprint while maintaining the capability to span the required distance when deployed.
3Area of stationary object
If the secondary barrier gate is mounted to the ceiling or crown area, then cabin floor space is preserved, but installation complexity and structural modification requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is designed to interface with existing aircraft ceiling structures and crown areas using universal attachment mechanisms that can accommodate various aircraft types. By leveraging existing structural elements rather than requiring custom-built mounting solutions, the system achieves ceiling mounting benefits while minimizing installation complexity and structural modification requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A secondary barrier system for an aircraft includes a secondary barrier gate including a telescoping structure is disclosed. The secondary barrier gate may include a plurality of crossmembers, and at least one of the plurality of crossmembers may include a panel treatment. The secondary barrier gate is rotatable between a stowed position and a deployed position and extendable between a retracted length and an extended length. The secondary barrier gate is securable in the stowed position and the deployed position. The secondary barrier gate may be rotatably mounted to a ceiling or within a crown area of the aircraft. The secondary barrier system may also include a stowage latch actuatable to selectively release and/or secure the secondary barrier gate from/in a stowed position and a deployment latch actuatable to selectively release and/or secure the secondary barrier gate from/in one of a retracted length or an extended length.