Pneumatic sealing wall

A pneumatic sealing mechanism for sealing a movable wall to adjacent structures, comprising:

• an interior panel of the movable wall;
• an exterior panel of the movable wall superimposed with the interior panel and attached thereto;
• first and second sliding pads disposed between the interior panel and the exterior panel, the first and second sliding pads movable between a retracted state, where the first and second sliding pads are disposed entirely within the interior panel and the exterior panel, and an extended state, where the first and second sliding pads extend beyond respective opposite edges of the interior panel and exterior panel;
• a first airbag disposed adjacent the first sliding pad, the first airbag operable to push the first sliding pad to the extended state;
• a second airbag disposed adjacent the second sliding pad, the second airbag operable to push the second sliding pad to the extended state;
• and
• first and second resilient members resiliently urging respective first and second sliding pads into the retracted state, wherein the first and second airbags respectively counteract a resiliency of the first and second resilient members to extend respective first and second sliding pads into the expanded state.

A method for sealing a movable wall to an adjacent structure, the method comprising:

• moving a movable wall from a first position to a second position, the movable wall having:
• an interior panel;
• an exterior panel superimposed with the interior panel and attached thereto;
• a sliding pad disposed between the interior panel and the exterior panel, the sliding pad movable between a retracted state, where the sliding pad is disposed entirely within the interior panel and the exterior panel, and an extended state, where the sliding pad extends beyond an edge of the interior panel and exterior panel;
• and
• an airbag disposed adjacent the sliding pad, the airbag operable to push the sliding pad to the extended state;
• and
• extending the sliding pad from the edge to seal the movable wall with the adjacent structure.