Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Barrier or major section mounted for in situ repositioning;...
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-14
2004-08-31
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Barrier or major section mounted for in situ repositioning;...
C052S073000, C052S127200, C182S036000, C014S069500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06782665
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of maintenance docks for aircraft and similar large elongated vehicles.
2. Background Art
To be able to carry out maintenance and painting work on aircraft, maintenance docks are used which include working floors carried by a frame, from which floor workers have access to the exterior of the aircraft. To carry out work, these maintenance docks are typically erected in such a way as to be adjacent to the outer skin of the aircraft. The docks have in each case openings through which the wings of the aircraft pass. To be able to dock and undock the aircraft without dismantling the dock it has already been proposed to arrange the frame of the dock so as to be displaceable in a lateral direction on the floor of the maintenance hangar (EP 0 568 543 A1).
This manner of enabling docking and undocking presupposes, however, that the hangar is large enough to allow a correspondingly large lateral displacement of the dock. The hangar must, therefore, be wider than the wingspan of the largest aircraft to be serviced by at least twice the transverse dimension of the dock units erected on each side of the fuselage. For practical embodiments of dock units, this dimension is approx. 10 m. For the time needed for docking and undocking—which is short in comparison to the time for the work at the dock (a few days for minor maintenance and a few months for the D check)—the maintenance hangar must, therefore, be built significantly larger than is necessary for its actual purpose.
A larger maintenance hangar means not only higher construction costs but also higher continuous operating costs. For example, in hangars in which aircraft are painted an unnecessarily large volume of air must be maintained at drying temperature over relatively long periods. In addition, to ensure the laminar airflow used for drying freshly painted aircraft greater expenditure is needed in larger hangars.
The heating costs and the costs for maintaining clean air and air disposal are also increased.
In addition, in the case of some existing hangars it would be desirable to be able to service aircraft with still larger wingspans without reconstruction of the hangar.
It is, therefore, the object of the invention to specify a maintenance dock for aircraft in which docking and undocking is possible without transverse displacement of the dock units beyond the wingtips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved according to the invention by a maintenance dock having a frame (
22
) which carries at least one working floor and is supported in an unchangeable manner at one end (
18
) and an outer end of which rests on a floor (
36
) via an outer support (
42
), characterized in that the frame (
22
) is supported on the floor (
36
) via at least one further, inner support (
44
) and the outer support (
42
) and the further, inner supports (
44
) are movable between a prop position in which they engage supportingly against the frame (
22
) and a clearance position in which they open a passage (
38
) between the frame (
22
) and the floor (
36
).
Common to the various embodiments of the invention is the idea of removing for a short time a support supporting the frame of a dock unit on the erection surface and thereby producing in the area of this support a temporary passage for the wing of an aircraft. In this time, the frame is supported on the erection surface by a different measure, which according to one embodiment is a further, inner support and according to another embodiment is a suspension arrangement.
Because the time for docking and undocking is short and because, in order to dock and undock the aircraft, any especially heavy equipment and local material stores located in the dock unit can be removed, the further, inner support or suspension arrangement need not be designed especially strong or engage at precisely the same point on the frame as the outer support which normally supports a front section of the frame.
According to the invention, therefore, a passage for the aircraft wing is created for a short time for docking and undocking. The dock unit thus in a sense climbs over the wing of the moving aircraft. Where a dock unit rests on the erection surface via a multiplicity of supports the appropriate supports, in so far as they are located in the path of the wings of the aircraft to be maintained, can all be made movable, a passage which moves along with the aircraft wing being created between the underside of the dock frame and the erection surface by pulling up a support or a group of supports in each case. It is self-evident that, in the case of a multiplicity of such supports, the change in the loading of the dock frame caused by moving one of the supports from the prop position supporting the frame to a clearance position creating said passage is proportionally smaller.
The solution according to the invention can be used equally for docking an aircraft in the forward direction (nose in) and in the reverse direction (tail in).
Because the maintenance dock according to the invention can remain standing during docking and undocking, all the line connections between the dock unit and the hangar can also remain unchanged (electric leads, fluid lines, ventilation shafts and so on). This simplifies and shortens the process of docking and undocking.
Because no dead spaces which serve only to accommodate the dock unit during docking and undocking have to be provided in the maintenance hangar when using the dock unit according to the invention, considerable savings can be made in the construction, maintenance and operating costs of the maintenance hangar. Aircraft whose wingspans are only slightly shorter than the clear width of the hangar itself can be maintained in existing maintenance hangars.
In the claims and in the present description, directional indications relating to the maintenance hangar and to the direction of movement of the aircraft during docking and undocking are used. Maintenance hangars have large doors through which the aircraft are towed into and out of the hangar. Where these doors are located is “outside”. An opposite wall of the maintenance hangar in which storage rooms, workshops and offices are usually arranged is located “inside”. The direction perpendicular (from “outside” to “inside”) to the wall containing the door is the direction in which a dock unit placed beside the aircraft extends. This direction corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. “Above” and “below” correspond to normal linguistic usage.
For each of the dock units, “inward” means the side facing towards the aircraft while “outward” means the side facing away from the aircraft.
Transverse means perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dock or to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
Advantageous refinements of the invention are specified in the subsidiary claims.
Having supports which are adjustable in the vertical direction is especially advantageous with regard to space utilization. The displaceable supports occupy the same space in both working positions when seen from above.
In one embodiment of the invention, the vertically adjustable support is attached to the frame. Such a refinement of the invention has the advantage that no constructional alterations to the hangar are necessary. A dock unit according of such an embodiment can be installed without difficulty in existing maintenance hangars.
In one embodiment, at least one of the supports is retractable into the floor. Such a refinement of the invention has the advantage that the dock frame does not need to carry the adjustable supports and the drives acting on them.
In one such embodiment, the free end face of the supports which are retractable into the floor are flush with the floor in the fully retracted state. In such a case, a continuous flat floor area of the maintenance hangar can be ensured by complete retraction of the vertically movable supports into the erection surface.
In another embodiment of the invention, at least one of the supports is movable
Friedman Carl D.
King & Jovanovic, PLC
McDermott Kevin
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