This text deals with a system for fixing an insulation blanket to an aircraft panel, and an associated method.
Some aircraft panels are covered with a heat insulation blanket to block the radiation from a neighboring heat source. Other insulation properties, notably acoustic, may also be desired. These blankets usually contain fibers or other insulating wadding material between two metal sheets. They are usually attached by points to the panel by the system shown in
Buttons 8 are placed on the blanket 2 over the openings 5, and a loop of wire 9 is engaged in the eyelet 7 and through two holes 10 in the button 8 so that it ends appear on the surface of the blanket 2 where they are then twisted together to close the loop 9. It then becomes impossible to pull the button 8 off, and the blanket 2 stays in place on the panel 1.
It is not easy to manipulate the loops 9 inside the openings 5 if the openings are narrow and deep, and it is especially difficult to engage them in the eyelets 7. It is for this reason that it is usual to begin with the loops 9 and introduce them through the eyelets 7, before putting the blanket 2 in position and finally fitting the buttons 8 by inserting the ends of the loop 9 through the holes 10 before closing the loop 9. But this method is still difficult and slow, and necessitates the use of relatively long loops 9; in order to allow the loops 9 and staples 6 to be assembled together through the openings 5, the blanket surfaces must be small; and it is often impossible to repair a defective fixing point, with the blanket 2, if a new loop 9 cannot be inserted into the eyelet 7.
The subject of the invention is a system for fixing a heat insulation blanket to an aircraft panel that is to be protected, comprising: an opening passing through the blanket and ending in an eyelet; a button pierced by two holes and covering the opening; and a loop of wire passing through the holes, assembled onto the button and inserted underneath the button; which system is characterized in that it comprises a hook which is fixed to the panel by a base, rises into the opening of the blanket toward the button, and then bends back toward the panel, ending in a free end at a distance toward the panel and from the base, and in that the loop occupies the curved end of the hook fixed to the panel, forming a housing. This system is much easier to assemble than the previous system and is not difficult to repair after the blanket has been installed.
The following figures serve as a foundation for the detailed description of the invention and will assist in understanding its various aspects:
Referring to
The value of the invention will become clearer in the course of the commentaries on the method of assembly. In contrast to current practice, it becomes possible to start by placing the blanket 2 on the panel 1, with the hooks 12 in the openings 5, and then lower the loops 9 through the eyelets 21 into the openings 5, as it is sufficient to move them sideways in order to get them into the housings 17 via the gaps 16, without having to deform or turn them, whereas this was necessary previously in order to lower one end of the loop 9 into the staple 6 before it could be threaded back up through the blanket 2 in the restricted space of the openings 5. The button 8 can be lowered onto the openings 5 when the loops 9 have been installed in the hooks 12, and, as before, the ends of the loop are inserted through the holes 10 and joined together to close the loop 9.
As will be appreciated, this fixing system lends itself easily to repair by replacing the damaged loop 9 with another loop. Also, in a variant of the method illustrated in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0112132 | Sep 2001 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FR02/03184 | 9/18/2002 | WO |