Patent Application
20050000595
The present invention relates to a container for receiving fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft.
It is a known fact that some aircraft, such as the F-16, eject fuel via a fuel outlet after the aircraft engine has been turned off. The fuel outlet is positioned at the bottom of the aircraft and opens into the environment. In order to prevent fuel from the fuel outlet falling on the ground and finding its way into the environment, ground crew place a receptacle on the ground under the fuel outlet of the aircraft before the engine of the aircraft is turned off. Following this, the ground crew signal to the pilot of the aircraft that he can turn off the engine of the aircraft. The fuel falls from the outlet into the receptacle, which is subsequently removed by the ground crew.
A drawback of this method is that there is a risk that not all the fuel will land in the receptacle and that fuel is thus spilled on the ground yet. It is difficult for the ground crew to determine the correct position for the receptacle, in particular in situations in which the wind gains a hold on the liquid falling into the receptacle. Furthermore, the wind may blow away drops of fuel, even if the main jet of the fuel does fall into the receptacle. In addition, the combustible fuel is exposed to the environment unprotected while falling and while present in the receptacle. Furthermore, there is a risk of the ground crew unintentionally being soiled by aircraft fuel. In practice this leads to the ground crew “forgetting” to place the receptacle under the aircraft, thus burdening the environment.
The object of the invention is to provide a container for the fuel from the fuel outlet, which container, possibly in preferred embodiments of the invention, overcomes the aforesaid drawbacks in whole or at least in part. This object is accomplished with the container according to the invention in that the container comprises means of attachment for effecting a detachable, liquid-tight coupling with the fuel outlet. By detachably coupling the container to the fuel outlet in a liquid-tight manner before the aircraft engine is turned off, the fuel flows directly from the fuel outlet into the container after the aircraft engine has been turned off. As a result, no fuel will find its way into the environment. In addition, the risks involved in exposing the environment to fuel and of personnel being soiled with fuel are thus eliminated.
The means of attachment preferably comprise a clamp coupling. A clamp coupling is easy to connect, providing a liquid-tight seal, and also easy to disconnect again after use.
It is advantageous if the container extends at least partially perpendicularly to the direction of outflow of the fuel from the fuel outlet of the aircraft in the coupled condition. In this way space is saved under the aircraft, so that it is possible to place the container even when bombs are suspended from the aircraft.
In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the container is provided with an overflow. Said overflow is preferably positioned so that it is located at the upper side of the container both in the coupled condition and in a vertically oriented condition. The overflow functions to release the pressure in the container that would increase during filling when a closed system is used, because the air that is present in the container can flow out freely. Another advantage of the presence of an overflow is the fact that, in the exceptional case that the container not sufficiently emptied between times, fuel can escape if the container threatens to be flooded. The positioning of the overflow ensures that fuel will only be injected into the environment through the overflow when a container is (almost) completely filled with fuel.
In another preferred embodiment, the container is provided with indicating means that are undetachably connected to the container. Said indicating means function to ensure that it will be clearly noticeable that such a container is connected to the aircraft. This is done in order to minimise the risk of the aircraft taking off while the container is still connected to the fuel outlet.
In one preferred embodiment, the container is mainly made of an antistatic material. Said material rules out the risk of the container being statically charged, which might lead to sparking. It will be apparent that sparking should be avoided in the presence of a combustible liquid.
Preferably, the container is substantially made of a plastic material. Plastic is easy and economical to process, and in addition it is possible to realise a weight-saving when plastic is used.
The present invention also relates to a method for receiving and discharging fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, characterized by:
By detachably coupling the container to the fuel outlet in a liquid-tight manner prior to turning off the aircraft engine, the fuel can directly flow from the fuel outlet into the container after the aircraft engine has been turned off. Once the fuel has flown into the container, the container can be disconnected from the fuel outlet in a simple manner, with the fuel remaining in the container and not being exposed to the environment. By transporting the fuel from the aircraft to a storage location for discharged fuel in the container, all the risks involved in transporting environmentally unfriendly and combustible fuel in an open receptacle are avoided during said transport as well. At the storage location, safety facilities may be present which ensure that the fuel is safely transferred from the container to a collecting reservoir. By using the present method, no fuel will find its way into the environment, and the risks involved in exposing fuel to the environment and of personnel being soiled with fuel are eliminated.
Preferably, the method further comprises the step of emptying the container each time it has been used. Mandatory emptying of the container each time it has been used prevents the container being filled with aircraft fuel to such an extent that the aircraft fuel will flow out of the container, for example via the overflow, and finding its way into the environment yet.
The invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, in which reference is made to the appended drawing, in which
Referring to
The container 1 is connected to the fuel outlet 30 by inserting the inlet 19 into the fuel outlet 30. Following that, the union 22 is turned a quarter turn, as a result of which the pressure ring 21 moves in the direction of the end of 19 of the container. This movement of the pressure ring 21 causes the rubber ring 20 to slide over the inclined part of the inlet 19, as a result of which the diameter of the rubber ring 20 increases and the rubber ring 20 clamps down on the inner side of the fuel outlet 30 of the aircraft. In this way a liquid-tight seal is realised between the container 1 and the fuel outlet 30.
After the container 1 as described above has been connected to the fuel outlet 30 of the aircraft, a signal is given to the pilot of the aircraft to turn off the engine of the aircraft. When the aircraft engine is turned off, about half a litre of fuel is ejected from the aircraft via the fuel outlet 30. The fuel flows into the reservoir 10 via the coupling piece 12, as a result of which air is driven from the container through the vent tube 14 and the vent hole 15, so that no pressure build-up can take place in the reservoir 10. When no fuel flows out of the fuel outlet 30 anymore, the container 1 is disconnected from the fuel outlet 30 by turning back the union 22 a quarter turn, causing the rubber ring 20 to take up the position as shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1023469 | May 2003 | NL | national |
