Aeronautics and astronautics – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-26
2001-01-23
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3644)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Miscellaneous
C244S121000, C150S166000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176450
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to aircraft. More particularly, this invention relates to a protective mat for an aircraft.
BACKGROUND
Aircraft must be serviced from time to time, when they breakdown or for periodic maintenance. As aircraft are worked on, mechanics must pay attention not only to the service work they perform, but also to the parts and surfaces of the aircraft. If the mechanic is not careful to avoid certain areas on an aircraft, damage may result. Damage from a paint scratch to a structural failure could be caused by the mechanic. This is especially so when a mechanic performs regular periodic maintenance on an aircraft.
When aircraft mechanics attempt to provide a makeshift barrier between themselves and the aircraft to prevent accidental damage, they encounter a number of problems caused by using a barrier material that is not suited for the job of protecting an aircraft from the mechanic. Often, simple blankets are used as a barrier between a mechanic and an aircraft. These blankets are not effective for a number of reasons. The blanket size can be too big or too small relative to the surface to be protected. If too big, the blanket can act as an impediment to the mechanic's work, slowing him down and/or creating a safety hazard for the mechanic by snagging tools or becoming entangled in an aircraft's working parts. If a blanket is too small, then not enough protection is afforded the aircraft, and misplaced tools could foul operating surfaces and other critical operating parts.
One of the most serious and common problems associated with using simple blankets as barriers occurs when a blanket is thrown over aircraft surfaces that have various load bearing capabilities at different locations on those surfaces. Aircraft have a number of large flat surfaces upon which mechanics may stand in order to gain access to and work on the aircraft's engines, rudders and other systems vital to its proper and safe operation. Flat aircraft surfaces such as engine fairings, wings and tails generally have portions of their surfaces which may safely bear a mechanic's weight. More importantly, the above mentioned surfaces all have portions which may not safely bear a mechanic's weight. These areas are designated with a “no-step” or similar indication.
Furthermore, the various flat surfaces on a specific make and model of aircraft, e.g., an engine fairing or wing on a Cessna Citation, are differently shaped from the analogous flat surfaces on another make and model of aircraft, e.g., an engine fairing or wing on a Piper Cherokee. To compound the problem, the “no-step” areas on each surface vary according to the make and model of aircraft.
When simple blankets are used as a protective barrier between the mechanic and the aircraft, the “no-step” indication is obscured so that a mechanic has nothing to rely on other than memory to tell him which areas of the flat surface are safe to bear weight upon. One misstep by the mechanic using a simple blanket for protection may lead to a structural failure that may be expensive to fix and potentially dangerous to the aircraft's passengers if the failure goes unnoticed and not corrected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective mat for aircraft surfaces, the mat being placed upon these surfaces to indicate which portions of the surface may safely bear weight without damaging the aircraft.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a protective mat with indicia specific to the make and model of an aircraft, and that aircraft's flat surface the mat is used to protect.
These and other objectives of the invention are achieved by providing, in preferred form, a protective mat made from a resilient non-slip material. The material is cut to a configuration that conforms to a specific flat surface for a make and model of an aircraft. Each mat is also marked to indicate step
o-step areas for that aircraft.
Each mat cut to conform to a specific type of aircraft and that aircraft's specific flat surface is marked with “no-step” area indicia so that when a mat is correctly positioned over the aircraft's flat surface the indicia identify the portion or portions of that flat surface which may not safely bear weight. Because each mat is not only surface specific, but also aircraft make and model specific, the mat is shaped to make it easier to correctly position the mat on each surface to be protected with the “no-step” area indicia on the mat overlaying the “no-step” area indicia on the aircraft's flat surfaces with which it is used.
The objectives and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed description.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 339560 (1993-09-01), Byrd
patent: 2526389 (1950-10-01), Montefalco
patent: 2807564 (1957-09-01), Mitchell
patent: 3044516 (1962-07-01), Stoll
patent: 3720181 (1973-03-01), Elkins
patent: 4598883 (1986-07-01), Suter
patent: 4606516 (1986-08-01), Willison
patent: 5067667 (1991-11-01), Shivers
patent: 5240759 (1993-08-01), Layton
patent: 5443870 (1995-08-01), Lurie et al.
patent: 5611501 (1997-03-01), Crandley
patent: 5845873 (1998-12-01), Millard
Dinh Tien
I.L.Y.P. Sales, Inc.
Poon Peter M.
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
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