Patent Application
20240083102
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The disclosure relates to liner installation devices and more particularly pertains to a new liner installation device for properly installing fuel cell liners in an aircraft. The present invention discloses a liner installation device that is used during installation of fuel cell liners in an aircraft. The liner installation device holds the fuel cell liners in position as they are glued to stringers.
The prior art relates to liner installation devices, which may comprise bladders used to install liners within pipes. Related prior art comprises bladders for use in manufacturing of fuel tanks, insulated water heaters, tires, and other molded products. The prior art does not teach a liner installation device for use during installation of fuel cell liners in an aircraft.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a bladder, which is flexible. A connector is attached to the bladder and is configured to selectively connect to a source of pressurized gas so that the bladder is in fluidic communication with the source of pressurized gas. The bladder is configured to be selectively inflated from a collapsed state to an expanded state. In the collapsed state, the bladder is insertable into a cavity in a hull of an aircraft. The cavity is defined by a plurality of stringers that is lined with a plurality of fuel cell liners. In the expanded state, the bladder is sized and shaped substantially complementarily to the cavity. The bladder is configured to be inflated to exert a force upon the fuel cell liners to maintain the fuel cell liners in position as adhesive, which is positioned between the fuel cell liners and the stringers, cures. The bladder is configured to be deflated and removed from the cavity, positioning a user to install a fuel cell in the cavity.
Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a method of utilizing the bladder to exert a force upon the fuel cell liners to maintain the fuel cell liners in position as adhesive, which is positioned between the fuel cell liners and the stringers, cures.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The fuel cell liner installation device 10 also may comprise a relief valve 28, which is attached to the bladder 12 and configured to release gas upon a preset pressure, for example, 50 psi, being reached in the bladder 12. The relief valve 28 prevents the bladder 12 from becoming over pressurized. The present invention also anticipates a pressure regulator, which is positioned inline between the source of pressurized gas 16 and the bladder 12, to maintain a substantially constant pressure within the bladder 12, for example, 25 psi.
The bladder 12 is configured to be selectively inflated from a collapsed state to an expanded state, as shown in to the right and to the left in
In the expanded state, the bladder 12 is sized and shaped substantially complementarily to the cavity 30. The bladder 12 is configured to be inflated to exert a force upon the fuel cell liners 38 to maintain the fuel cell liners 38 in position as adhesive, which is positioned between the fuel cell liners 38 and the stringers 36, cures. The bladder 12 is configured to be deflated and removed from the cavity 30, positioning a user to install the fuel cell 40 in the cavity 30.
The fuel cell liner installation device 10 enables a method of installing fuel cell liners and a fuel cell 42, as shown in
An attachment step 54 of the method 42 entails attaching the connector 14 to the source of pressurized gas 16 so that the bladder 12 is in fluidic communication with the source of pressurized gas 16. An inflation step 56 entails inflating the bladder 12 to an expanded state. The bladder 12 is sized and shaped substantially complementarily to the cavity 30. A pressure step 58 entails allowing the bladder 12 to exert a force upon the fuel cell liners 38 to maintain the fuel cell liners 38 in position. A curing step 60 entails allowing the adhesive to cure. A deflation step 62 entails deflating the bladder 12 and removing it from the cavity 30. An installation step 64 entails installing the fuel cell 40 in the cavity 30.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
