The Boeing Company

Donald R Noble

Michael Anthony Fleming

Alex Maraghe

Kurt Poechlauer

Richard J Ulman

Robert A Kasper

George Fd Lingard

A door assembly for covering an opening (12) formed in the body (26) of an aircraft including a door (10) with two gooseneck hinge arms (28) are rotatably connected at one end to the aircraft body above the door opening and rotatably connected at their other end to the door. An actuator (30) is provided to pivot the hinge arm about its rotatable connection to the body. Two mounting panels (106) are located between the two gooseneck hinge arms. A torque tube (104) is supported by the door and rotates by turning an interior door handle (100) that is located between the two mounting panels. The door assembly further includes a latching assembly (32), hinge guide assembly (34), and frame guide assembly (36) that cooperate to give the door a desired motion. The latching, hinge guide, and frame guide assemblies each include various rollers that engage with tracks. In operation, the torque tube (104) is rotated to cause the door (10) to move from a closed position to an open position in which the shape and orientation of the latching assembly (32), the hinge guide assembly (34), and the frame guide assembly (36) cause the upper edge of the door to initially move inward and downward relative to the body opening (12) while the lower door edge initially moves outward and downward relative to the body opening (12).

Plug-type overwing emergency exit door assembly

A handle assembly for controlling an aircraft door latch mechanism so that the door can be opened or closed from either inside or outside the aircraft. The assembly includes an inner shaft that is connected to the latch mechanism so as to control the opening and closing of the door, and an outer shaft that overlaps the inner shaft and that can be telescopically extended away from inner shaft. An inside handle is attached to the inner shaft so as to rotate the shaft. Rotation of the outer shaft is controlled by an outside handle attached thereto. An inner clutch half is attached, by splines, to the inboard end of the outer shaft. An outer clutch half is attached, by splines, to the outboard end of the inner shaft. The clutch halves are normally spaced away from each other. When the outside handle and the outer shaft are extended, the clutch halves interlock so that the shafts will rotate in unison. An actuator disarming assembly with a translating pivoting crank is attached to the outer shaft. When the outside handle and the outer shaft are extended, the crank pivots to cause the disarming mechanism to disarm any actuator that may be attached to the door. This prevents inadvertent triggering of the actuator when persons outside the aricraft are trying to open the door.

Handle assembly for an aircraft door or the like

A door latching and lifting mechanism for use on an aircraft as an escape hatch. The door (10) is an upwardly opening plug-type door. Its latching mechanism (12) consists of a torque tube (80) and handle (90), both of which are carried by the door (10). Pulling on the handle (90) rotates the tube (80) and causes door latch pins (113) to retract, thus releasing the door (10). A preloaded lift spring (48), connected to the door (10) by an overhead cable (18), automatically pulls the door upwardly as soon as the pins (113) retract.

Upwardly opening plug-type door for use as an over-wing emergency hatch

A hatch assembly for closing an overwing emergency exit opening formed in the body of an aircraft. The hatch (10) includes a plug-type hatch frame (24) and a pair of hinge arms (36) providing swinging movement of the hatch between a closed position and a fully open position that is spaced above and outboard of an opening (12) in the body (14) of an aircraft. Triggering movement of either an internal handle (62) or an external (106) disengages a latch (126) operable when the hatch is in the closed position, thereby placing the hatch in an unlatched condition. Further movement of either handle causes a pair of compression springs (50) coupled to the hinge arms to automatically drive the hatch slightly inward and upward from the closed position to an intermediate lifted position to clear a stop mechanism (32 and 34), and then outward to the open position. Because the components of the hatch are located substantially within the space between an outer skin (18) of the aircraft and an interior cabin liner (20 ), the passenger headroom area and the overhead storage bins (22) are not violated.

Growing community of inventors

Issaquah, WA, United States of America

Donald R Noble