Test stop assembly for oxygen box door

Closure fasteners – Bolts – Sliding

Patent

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Details

292DIG65, 292201, E05C 308

Patent

active

045181799

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION



TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an assembly for testing the emergency oxygen system of an aircraft and, more especially, to an improved test stop assembly for facilitating the periodic testing of oxygen box doors. The present test stop assembly provides three modes of operation--a normal mode permitting the oxygen box door to be opened in the event of emergency conditions on the aircraft, a test mode which allows the oxygen box door to be opened only partially in order to test for proper operation thereof, and a reset mode for returning the actuator for the oxygen box door to its appropriate configuration following a test.


DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

Commercial aircraft are equipped with oxygen supply systems to be used by passengers under certain emergency conditions which have the potential of ocurring during flight. Conventionally, each seating row within the passenger compartment of an aircraft is provided with a so-called oxygen box, housing individual masks for the passengers occupying the respective seats associated with the system and a suitable supply of oxygen to those masks. The entire box is closed from the seating area by a door latched for pivotal disengagement upon actuation by a control system or a member of the flight crew; whereupon the door opens allowing the masks to drop and permitting oxygen to flow therethrough.
While the conventional oxygen supply system for commercial aircraft is a relatively straightforward assembly, many subleties attend its proper operation. For example, it is desirable to prevent passenger access to the system during normal flight conditions, yet the system must remain in a constant state of readiness should the need for its use arise. Periodic testing to insure such readiness is a mandated requirement somewhat antagonistic to the objective of individual inaccessibility. One approach to testing is simply actuation of the oxygen box array within the craft via the control system at appropriate intervals. However, the disadvantage of that type of direct approach is the collateral requirement of manually resetting each of the masks and oxygen box doors once the testing is complete. This can be both a time-consuming and tedious endeavor when one considers the numbers of oxygen box doors within even a single, large commercial aircraft, compounded by the frequency of testing and the number of aircraft involved. In an effort to obviate partially those drawbacks, several shortcuts have been adopted. For example, elastic cords or tape have been utilized to prevent complete opening of the oxygen box doors upon a test, permitting only partial opening to observe the proper actuation of the latching and release mechanisms. While this overcomes the need to reinsert masks within the oxygen box compartment itself, nonetheless the need to reset each actuator mechanism remains a significant task.
A commercial device has been introduced to improve upon the facility of testing oxygen box doors without the need to restort to elastic straps or masking tape in an effort to retard complete opening during a testing mode. That stop assembly is comprised of a reciprocable, rotatable stem having an offset test stop head at the distal end thereof. The head is usually in the form of a rectangular member mounted to the end of the stem in an offset fashion. The stem is secured by a mounting fixture within the oxygen box with the test head projecting downwardly into an aperture in the oxygen box door. The aperture is likewise generally rectangular having only a slightly oversized dimension as respects that of the test head. In normal operation, the test head resides within the aperture flush or generally flush with the face of the door to prevent passenger manipulation thereof. However, when a test of the system is required, a flat instrument may be inserted to engage a flange on the test head, draw the stem downwardly and rotate the same to present the stop member beneath the oxygen box door and, by virtue of the offset disposition of the stop head and

REFERENCES:
patent: 2047401 (1936-07-01), Whitted
patent: 2592274 (1952-04-01), Groeger
patent: 3677591 (1972-07-01), Waldo
patent: 3942828 (1976-03-01), Bourrie et al.

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