Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Coated or impregnated woven – knit – or nonwoven fabric which... – Two or more non-extruded coatings or impregnations
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-19
2002-01-08
Lam, Cathy (Department: 1775)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Coated or impregnated woven, knit, or nonwoven fabric which...
Two or more non-extruded coatings or impregnations
C442S117000, C442S180000, C442S304000, C442S317000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06337294
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of stretchable fabrics and more particularly to an elastic ground plane and method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Continuous moldline technology using reinforced elastomers presents an opportunity to improve upon many of the performance characteristics of aircraft and missiles.
FIG. 1
shows a side view of a rod reinforced elastomer of the prior art.
FIG. 2
is a top view of the rod reinforced elastomer of FIG.
1
. The rod reinforced elastomer
10
has a pair of rod blocks
12
. A plurality of rods
14
anchored to one of the pair of rod blocks
12
slide inside an elastomer panel
16
. The rod reinforced elastomer
10
is capable of both elongation and deflection, as shown in FIG.
3
. The rod reinforced elastomer has resting length
22
that can be stretched to an elongated length
24
and deflected a distance
26
. These products can be used in applications such as control surfaces and in expandable bays to provide cleaner airflow and reduced drag. However, these products so far have been limited to nonmetallic elastomeric compounds that provide little to no protection against electromagnetic interference (EMI). EMI can cause aircraft instruments to malfunction and can result in navigational errors and even the loss of the aircraft.
Conventional EMI shields have been designed as highly conductive metal strips, sprays, and panels that do not possess the ability to flex or elongate repeatedly without material degradation. Recent advances have produced foils that allow a continuous metallic surface with the ability to flex to various shapes. Unfortunately, these foils are limited to applications where elongation is less 10%.
Thus there exists a need for a material that can easily and significantly elongate in all directions, is highly conductive in all states of elongation, can withstand repeated elongations with no degradation in shielding effectiveness or material properties, is thin and light weight, and which is tough enough to withstand severe aerospace environments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An elastic ground plane that overcomes these and other problems has an environmental coating attached to a surface of a fabric having a plurality of fibers. A conductive substance is applied to the fabric to coat the fabric.
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Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Lam Cathy
The Boeing Company
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