ELECTRICAL CONNECTS FOR CHARGE DISTRIBUTION APPLIQUE
First Claim
1. A system for protecting a structure from static charge buildup comprising:
- a first conductive appliqué
attached to a surface of a structure;
at least one other conductive appliqué
attached to said surface of said structure; and
at least one electrical connector connecting said at least one other conductive appliqué
to said first conductive appliqué
, charge in each said at least one conductive appliqué
passing to said first conductive appliqué
through said at least one electrical connector.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lightning strike protection system for protecting composite structures, an improved lightning strike appliqué (LSA) for such a lightning strike protection system, and a method of protecting composite structures, such as an aircraft fuselage. The LSA is electromechanically connected to adjacent conductive surfaces, e.g., by a fuzz button or a wire bond inserted in the bottom of the LSA. An adjacent conductive surface may be another LSA, a lightning diverter overlay, or a current return network. Charge, e.g., from a lightning strike to the LSA, flows to the conductive layer through the electromechanical connector.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for protecting a structure from static charge buildup comprising:
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a first conductive appliqué
attached to a surface of a structure;at least one other conductive appliqué
attached to said surface of said structure; andat least one electrical connector connecting said at least one other conductive appliqué
to said first conductive appliqué
, charge in each said at least one conductive appliqué
passing to said first conductive appliqué
through said at least one electrical connector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of providing connectivity in an electric shield on a surface of a structure, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) opening vias through an adhesive layer and a dielectric layer of a conductive appliqué
;b) inserting an electrical connector in opened vias; and c) applying said conductive appliqué
to said surface of said structure, said conductive appliqué
being applied to overlap an exposed conductive surface of a conductive layer in another conductive appliqué
, said electrical connector connecting said conductive appliqué
to said conductive layer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An improved lightning strike appliqué
- (LSA), the LSA comprising;
an adhesive layer; a dielectric layer on said adhesive layer; a conductive layer on said dielectric layer, an exterior side for receiving lightning strike current; and a topcoat layer on said exterior side of said conductive layer; the improvement comprising; a channel within the adhesive layer and dielectric layer and exposing an interior side of said conductive layer, and a conductive material within the channel mechanically contacting said interior side, wherein a conductive path is provided between said interior side of the conductive layer and any surface to which the LSA is applied. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
- (LSA), the LSA comprising;
Specification