Raytheon Company

Trent N Henderson

E Russ Althof

Christopher E Toal

Robert J Di Tolla

Andrew Nicholas Concilio

Robert J Hanold

Stephen K Bliss

Andrea Toso

A bladder external to a fuel tank of a vehicle that allows an operational range of the vehicle to be increased. Preferably the bladder is external to the rest of the vehicle and the vehicle is an aircraft. The external bladder allows fuel in the fuel tank to expand and contract without requiring additional space within the vehicle, thus allowing more fuel mass to be held by the vehicle and a smaller vehicle profile that is more aerodynamically efficient. More preferably, the bladder is disconnectable from the rest of the vehicle to allow increasing of aerodynamic efficiency and weight reduction during use.

External-bladder fuel system fluidly connectable to a fuel tank to receive excess

A cam-lock fastening system is designed to accommodate a tolerance stackup to fasten a pair of rigid structures. A spring allows some longitudinal motion of the pin that would not be accommodated by the rigid structures or metal cam-lock and pin. The spring-loaded pin is also suitably designed to produce a preloaded structural joint that is between specified minimum and maximum loads for any tolerance stackup that is within specification. The fastening of the structures requires no manual adjustment of the pin, and facilitates blind connection of a high-fidelity electrical connector. Further, the described cam-lock fastening system is designed for high performance applications requiring preload forces in the thousands of pounds per square inch.

Longitudinal, tolerance-mitigating cam-lock fastening system

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Trent N Henderson