Lightweight Low-Profile Vent Systems for Aircraft Fluid Dispersion Tanks

A vent system for an aircraft that can disperse a fluid while in-flight, the aircraft includes a nose, a tail, and a cockpit with a windshield;

• the aircraft defining a roll axis, a pitch axis, and a yaw axis;
• the aircraft extending lengthwise along the roll axis in a forward direction from the tail to the nose, the aircraft extending widthwise along the pitch axis, the aircraft extending along the yaw axis in an upward direction from a lower portion of the aircraft to an upper portion of the aircraft, the cockpit being between the tail and the nose with respect to the roll axis;
• the roll axis, the yaw axis, and the pitch axis lying perpendicular to each other, the vent system comprising:
• a tank between the cockpit and the nose, the tank defining a chamber for containing the fluid;
• a gate valve assembly underneath the tank and in fluid communication with the chamber, the gate valve assembly includes a gate that is movable selectively to an open position to release the fluid from the tank and a closed position to retain the fluid within the tank;
• a vent at an upper portion of the tank and being above the gate valve assembly, the vent defining an aperture between the chamber and an outside atmosphere surrounding the aircraft, the vent including a vent member that is movable selectively to a sealed position and an unsealed position, the vent member blocking fluid communication through the aperture when the vent member is in the sealed position, the aperture placing the chamber in open fluid communication with the outside atmosphere when the vent member is in the unsealed position;
• a vent closure spring coupled to the vent member, the vent closure spring urging the vent member to the sealed position;
• and
• a slender member having a length and a width, the length being at least ten times greater than the width, the slender member coupling the vent member to the gate valve assembly such that the gate moving between the closed position and the open position causes the vent member to move respectively between the sealed position and the unsealed position, the vent closure spring holding the vent member at the sealed position when the gate is in the closed position, the slender member overpowering the vent closure spring to hold the vent member at the unsealed position when the gate is in the open position.

A vent system for an aircraft that can disperse a fluid while in-flight, the aircraft includes a nose, a tail, and a cockpit with a windshield;

• the aircraft defining a roll axis, a pitch axis, and a yaw axis;
• the aircraft extending lengthwise along the roll axis in a forward direction from the tail to the nose, the aircraft extending widthwise along the pitch axis, the aircraft extending along the yaw axis in an upward direction from a lower portion of the aircraft to an upper portion of the aircraft, the cockpit being between the tail and the nose with respect to the roll axis;
• the roll axis, the yaw axis, and the pitch axis lying perpendicular to each other, the vent system comprising:
• a tank between the cockpit and the nose, the tank defining a chamber for containing the fluid, the chamber experiencing a chamber pressure;
• a gate valve assembly underneath the tank and in fluid communication with the chamber, the gate valve assembly includes a gate that is movable selectively to an open position to release the fluid from the tank and a closed position to retain the fluid within the tank;
• a vent at an upper portion of the tank and being above the gate valve assembly, the vent defining an aperture between the chamber and an outside atmosphere surrounding the aircraft, the atmosphere being at an atmospheric pressure, the vent including a vent member that is movable selectively to a sealed position and an unsealed position, the vent member blocking fluid communication through the aperture when the vent member is in the sealed position, the aperture placing the chamber in open fluid communication with the outside atmosphere when the vent member is in the unsealed position;
• a vent closure spring coupled to the vent member, the vent closure spring urging the vent member to the sealed position;
• and
• a slender member having a length and a width, the length being at least ten times greater than the width, the slender member coupling the vent member to the gate valve assembly so as to provide the vent system with two modes of operation including:
• a) a first mode, wherein the vent member moves independent of the gate from the sealed position to the unsealed position in response to the chamber pressure decreasing a predetermined amount below the atmospheric pressure;
• and
• b) a second mode, wherein the vent member moves independent of the chamber pressure from the sealed position to the unsealed position in response to the gate valve assembly applying a predetermined amount of tension to the slender member.