Month in the Patent Office

Abstract

A seal for the canopy 13 of a pressurized cockpit consists of an inflatable tube 23 disposed in a channel 20a secured to the cockpit framing and having wall portions 21, 22, the arrangement being such that when inflated the tube bears against the wall 21 and forces a blade member 24a attached to the canopy into scaling contact with the wall 22. The latter is of curved cross‐section to provide a convex sealing surface, while a tube‐retaining flange 21a is formed at the tip of the wall 21. Expansion of the plastic canopy panel 13 relatively to the framing 126 results only in movement along the surface of the blade 24a, in which direction the blade is subject only to frictional constraint in the co‐acting channel. When the tube 23 is deflected the clearance between it and the blade 24a allows the canopy to be opened without causing rubbing between the tube and blade.

Citation

(1955), "Month in the Patent Office", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 27 No. 11, pp. 389-389. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb032629