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Schemkes, Randolph

Curry, James M.

Randolph Schemkes

James Curry

James M Curry

A plug door assembly for a pressurized aircraft is provided. The door assembly includes a surround and a door, and connector assemblies along the edges that act to transfer in-place stresses directly across the fuselage opening via the door, as well as stops that react redial loads generated by cabin pressure. The door assembly obviates the need for a separate frame to transmit stresses around the perimeter of the fuselage opening.

Aircraft plug door with in-plane load transfer capacity and methods of use

A plug door assembly for a pressurized aircraft is provided. The door assembly includes a surround and a door, and connector assemblies along the edges that act to transfer in-plane stresses directly across the fuselage opening via the door, as well as stops that react radial loads generated by cabin pressure. The door assembly obviates the need for a separate frame to transmit stresses around the perimeter of the fuselage opening.

Apparatus for transferring cargo between upper and lower decks of an aircraft. A lift platform receivable in a through opening in the upper deck is raised and lowered by a mechanism using a cable and linear actuator, such as a ball screw. The entirety of the mechanism may be housed in a structure that forms a divider within the aircraft, such as a horizontal deck, vertical bulkhead, or the lift platform itself, thus saving valuable interior volume of the aircraft. Also provided is a recess formed in the lower deck that receives the lift platform. A translating floor assembly mounted in the recess includes transversely extending deck segments that are displaceable between a raised configuration level with the lower deck, and a lowered configuration that clears the recess to receive the lift platform. Installed tracks guide the deck segments between the raised and lowered configurations.

Compact cargo lift for commercial aircraft

A cargo storage and handling system for aircraft. A rack assembly mounts in an upper portion of the fuselage to form a cargo area in the upper lobe thereof. The rack includes a series of frames that are suspended from pre-existing attachment points for luggage bins. Cargo rails mounted on the frames support containers for movement through the upper lobe cargo area. Cargo may be raised to the upper lobe cargo area from the main deck of the aircraft using a lift apparatus. The lift apparatus includes a platform that is raised/lowered by a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism being mounted to/or enclosed within a barrier between the cargo and personnel areas of the aircraft, such as a 9G Barrier. A cover apparatus closes a cargo hole in the main deck of the aircraft for personnel safety. The cover apparatus includes a plurality of the elongate plate members that are mounted to underfloor portions of the seat tracks of the main deck of the aircraft so as to be selectively extensible/retractable into and out of the opening.

System for overhead storage of cargo containers in upper lobe of aircraft

An apparatus for transferring cargo between an upper, passenger deck and a lower, cargo deck of an aircraft. A lift platform raises palletized cargo from the lower deck through an opening formed in the upper deck. The drive mechanism is housed entirely within the lift platform itself. The platform is stabilized by flanking, scissors-action leg assemblies, that nest alongside the platform when stowed. The platform is stowed in the raised position, within the opening formed in the upper deck. Locking assemblies attach the lift platform to the sides of the opening so that the platform becomes a load-bearing structural component of the upper deck when stowed. A recess is formed in the lower deck for receiving the lift platform when lowered. A translating floor assembly having folding floor sections lowers to clear the recess, and then raises to define a floor surface over the opening when the lift platform is not in use.

Growing community of inventors

Snohomish, WA, United States of America

Randolph Schemkes