Aircraft black box
First Claim
1. A commercial aircraft having a black box comprising a flight data recorder connected to suitable acquisition units for recording information required for crash investigation purposes inside a container, wherein:
- the aircraft comprises a crash detection device;
the black box is installed in a suitable location for being ejected outside the aircraft in a crash event through a duct having its exit in a fuselage area where the ejected black box would not impact on the aircraft;
the aircraft also comprises ejection means, controlled by a black box ejection control unit connected to said crash detection device, for ejecting the black box through said duct, when an impending crash is detected by said crash detection device;
said duct is an exhaust duct of an aircraft air conditioning system located in the rear part of the commercial aircraft and having its exit in the fuselage area subjected to negative aerodynamic pressure on the duct exit;
the black box is installed over a frangible area of said exhaust duct; and
said ejection means are suitable for breaking or displacing said frangible area to allow that the black box falls into the exhaust duct.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Commercial aircraft (11) having a black box (41) comprising a flight data recorder (49) connected to suitable acquisition units (13, 14, 15) for recording information required for crash investigation purposes inside a container (43), wherein the aircraft (11) comprises a crash detection device (17); the black box (41) is installed in a suitable location for being ejected outside the aircraft in a crash event through a duct (21, 31) having its exit in a fuselage area where the ejected black box (41) would not impact on the aircraft; the aircraft (11) also comprises ejection means (23, 33), controlled by a black box ejection control unit (19) connected to said crash detection device (17), for ejecting the black box (41) through said duct (21, 31), when an impending crash is detected by said crash detection device (17).
11 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A commercial aircraft having a black box comprising a flight data recorder connected to suitable acquisition units for recording information required for crash investigation purposes inside a container, wherein:
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the aircraft comprises a crash detection device; the black box is installed in a suitable location for being ejected outside the aircraft in a crash event through a duct having its exit in a fuselage area where the ejected black box would not impact on the aircraft; the aircraft also comprises ejection means, controlled by a black box ejection control unit connected to said crash detection device, for ejecting the black box through said duct, when an impending crash is detected by said crash detection device;
said duct is an exhaust duct of an aircraft air conditioning system located in the rear part of the commercial aircraft and having its exit in the fuselage area subjected to negative aerodynamic pressure on the duct exit;
the black box is installed over a frangible area of said exhaust duct; and
said ejection means are suitable for breaking or displacing said frangible area to allow that the black box falls into the exhaust duct. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeAirbus Operations SL (Airbus SE)
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Original AssigneeAirbus Operations SL (Airbus SE)
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InventorsFolch Cortes, Diego, Martino Gonzalez, Esteban, Guinaldo Fernandez, Enrique, Vinue Santolalla, Eduardo, Goya Abaurrea, Pablo
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Primary Examiner(s)Nguyen, John Q
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Assistant Examiner(s)Stroud, James E
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Application NumberUS13/041,749Publication NumberTime in Patent Office862 DaysField of Search701/35, 701/14, 455/94, 455/95, 455/96, 455/97, 455/98, 102/339, 102/348, 244/1.R, 244/137.1US Class Current701/14CPC Class CodesB64D 2045/0065 Black boxes, devices automa...B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or prot...
