Panel assembly for converting passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorChunlei Liu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A panel assembly for an aircraft can include a composite material skin with a cargo opening sized to receive cargo into the fuselage of the aircraft and to remove the cargo from the fuselage of the aircraft. The panel assembly can include curved panel edge frames coupled with the outer skin and disposed on opposite lateral sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin. Upper and lower sill beams can be disposed on opposite upper and lower sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin. The upper and lower sill beams each can be coupled with the panel edge frames. The upper and lower sill beams can be coupled with curved aircraft frames that are disposed inside the fuselage of the aircraft to secure the outer skin to the aircraft at a panel opening in the fuselage of the aircraft.
Claims20
A panel assembly for an aircraft, the panel assembly comprising:
- an outer skin formed from a composite material and configured to form an outer surface of a portion of a fuselage of the aircraft, the outer skin including a cargo opening sized to receive cargo into the fuselage of the aircraft and to remove the cargo from the fuselage of the aircraft;
- curved panel edge frames coupled with the outer skin and disposed on opposite lateral sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin;
- and
- upper and lower sill beams disposed on opposite upper and lower sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin, the upper and lower sill beams each coupled with the panel edge frames, wherein the upper and lower sill beams are configured to also be coupled with curved aircraft frames that are disposed inside the fuselage of the aircraft to secure the outer skin to the aircraft at a panel opening in the fuselage of the aircraft.
A method for providing a panel assembly for an aircraft, the method comprising:
- forming an outer skin of an aircraft from a composite material, the outer skin formed to have a shape of a portion of an outer surface of a fuselage of the aircraft, the outer skin formed to include a cargo opening sized to receive cargo into the fuselage of the aircraft and to remove the cargo from the fuselage of the aircraft;
- attaching curved panel edge frames to the outer skin with the panel edge frames disposed on opposite lateral sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin;
- and
- attaching upper and lower sill beams to the panel edge frames with the upper and lower sill beams disposed on opposite upper and lower sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin, the upper and lower sill beams each attached with the panel edge frames, wherein the upper and lower sill beams are positioned to also be attached with curved aircraft frames that are disposed inside the fuselage of the aircraft to secure the outer skin to the fuselage at a panel opening in the fuselage.
A panel assembly for converting a passenger aircraft to a freighter aircraft, the panel assembly comprising:
- an outer skin having a curved shaped to replace a removed portion of a fuselage of the passenger aircraft, the outer skin including a cargo opening sized to transfer cargo into and out of the fuselage;
- elongated edge frames coupled with the outer skin and on opposite first and second sides of the cargo opening in the outer skin;
- an upper sill beam set disposed on a third side of the cargo opening in the outer skin, the upper sill beam set including parallel upper sill beams connected with the edge frames and shaped to be coupled with elongated aircraft frames to secure the outer skin to the fuselage;
- and
- a lower sill beam set disposed on a fourth side of the cargo opening in the outer skin, the lower sill beam set including parallel lower sill beams connected with the edge frames and shaped to be coupled with the aircraft frames to secure the outer skin to the fuselage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.