The Boeing Company

Other

Mcdonnell Douglas Corporation

E. D. Industries, Inc.

Eugene Arthur Myers

Nancy L Wood

Roger W Engelbart

Edward E Feikert

Brian Keith Malin

Kondala R Saripalli

Terry Lynn Versheldon

Richard D Lawson

A method and apparatus for ultrasonic inspection. The ultrasonic inspection apparatus comprises ultrasonic transducers, a body, a set of engagement members and a set of ports. The ultrasonic transducers are at a position generally adjacent to a surface of an object. The body has a contact surface capable of contacting the surface and is capable of holding the set of ultrasonic transducers. The engagement members are connected to the body for engagement with the surface. The engagement members are flexibly bendable and are conformed to contours across the surface to form a coupling region within the body. The set of ports deliver a coupling material to the coupling region. The engagement members, when in contact with the surface of the object, cause a seal to retain an amount of the coupling material within the coupling region sufficient to couple the ultrasonic transducers to the surface.

Conformable ultrasonic array apparatus

The invention is a truck bed cover made from thermoplastic material. The top of the truck bed cover has a relatively smooth appearance. The underside of the bed cover comprises a support structure utilizing at least one 'X'-type support. In the preferred embodiment, four 'X'-type supports are utilized. A typical bed cover typically weighs less than 75 pounds for greater ease of handling, without loss of structural support strength over fiberglass covers from loads placed on the top of the bed cover.

Truck bed cover

Apparatus and methods for adjustably supporting probes are disclosed. In one embodiment, a sensor support assembly includes a base member adapted to be positioned proximate to and move along a surface of a material, the base member including a first outwardly projecting engagement member and a second outwardly projecting engagement member spaced apart from the first engagement member, and a support member coupled to the base member and including a boss adapted to engage a probe, wherein the first and second engagement members are adapted to engage the surface and to maintain a stand-off distance between the probe and the surface.

Apparatus and methods for adjustably supporting probes

A method for detecting substructure includes the steps of: nondestructively scanning an assembly using a substructure scanning system including a precision motion carriage and a nondestructive scanning sensor, positioning the assembly under the substructure scanning system, positioning the scanning sensor on the outer skin, moving the scanning sensor over the outer skin with the precision motion carriage, locating the substructure through the outer skin, and controlling an assembly process using the location of the substructure. By using the method of the present invention substructure features may be located through an outer skin with sufficient accuracy to control assembly operations and to meet engineering tolerances. The method for precisely detecting substructure using precision eddy current scanning may be used for, but is not limited to, the location of substructure features, such as edges of flanges, machined steps, or tooling holes, covered by outer mold line skins of an aircraft airframe.

Method for detecting substructure

The invention is a truck bed cover made from thermoplastic material. The top of the truck bed cover has a relatively smooth appearance. The underside of the bed cover comprises a support structure utilizing at least one &ldquo;X&rdquo;-type support. In the preferred embodiment, four &ldquo;X&rdquo;-type supports are utilized. A typical bed cover typically weighs less than 75 pounds for greater ease of handling, without loss of structural support strength over fiberglass covers from loads placed on the top of the bed cover.

An inspection apparatus and associated method includes a sensor housing defining an internal cavity in which a sensor is at least partially disposed for inspecting the surface of a structural part and for detecting defects in the surface and the substructure of the part. The inspection apparatus includes a plurality of compliant fibers extending outwardly from a first end of the sensor housing and circumferentially about an opening defined by the first end of the sensor housing. The compliant fibers support the sensor housing above the surface of the part and maintain the sensor in a predetermined position relative to the surface of the part. The plurality of compliant fibers are adapted to flex laterally to accommodate obstructions on the surface of the part, such as raised fasteners, doublers or lap joints while maintaining the sensor in the predetermined position relative to the surface of the part. Consequently, the sensor can continue to acquire accurate signals which indicate the presence of structural defects in the surface and the substructure of the part as the inspection apparatus moves over the obstructions which protrude upwardly from the surface of the part.

Method and apparatus for inspecting a structural part having surface

A nozzle is adapted to receive an ultrasonic transducer. The nozzle includes a cylindrical plenum chamber. An annular passageway circumscribes the plenum chamber. A porous material forms the annular walls of the plenum chamber and separates the plenum chamber from the passageway. The plenum chamber fluidly communicates with the passageway through the porous material. The passageway fluidly communicates with a supply line that, in turn, fluidly communicates with a pump that supplies water. The plenum chamber has a circular exhaust orifice for the exhaust of water from the nozzle. The plenum chamber contains an unobstructed forming space to facilitate the forming of ultrasonic waves. The diameter of the plenum chamber divided by the diameter of the exhaust orifice is a quotient of at least three. The periphery of the exhaust orifice is an edge formed by the intersection of two concentric surfaces of revolution, each of which is symmetrical about the centerline of the plenum chamber and lies at a respective angle with respect to the centerline.

Growing community of inventors

St. Charles, MO, United States of America

Eugene Arthur Myers