The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 15, 1990
Filed:
May. 23, 1989
James J Childress, Federal Way, WA (US);
John Holtrop, Ridgecrest, CA (US);
The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
A plurality of resilient bladders filled with an inert gas line the walls of a fuel tank to protect fuel in the tank from explosion or leakage in the event that the tank is punctured by a ballistic projectile. The thickness of the bladders is controlled by a plurality of cords extending from one side of each bladder to the other. The inert gas is continuously supplied to the bladders so that the gas escaping from a puncture in a bladder prevents fuel from leaking from the tank through the puncture. During normal operation, the gas is vented into the tank to fill the ullage space of the tank with the insert gas. A conduit extends into the tank through the bladder. The walls of the bladder are sealed to each other around the conduit, thereby making it unnecessary to seal the walls of the bladder to the conduit.