US 12,187,407 B2
Aircraft including a fuselage and a panel removably fixed to the fuselage with the aid of fixing means
Anthony Mertes, Toulouse (FR); and Patrick Lieven, Toulouse (FR)
Assigned to Airbus Operations SAS, Toulouse (FR)
Filed by Airbus Operations SAS, Toulouse (FR)
Filed on Jun. 19, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/337,139.
Claims priority of application No. 2206106 (FR), filed on Jun. 21, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0406476 A1, Dec. 21, 2023
Int. Cl. B64C 1/14 (2006.01); B64C 1/12 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 1/12 (2013.01) [B64C 1/1446 (2013.01); B64C 1/1461 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage including an opening and comprising a skin and beams fixed to an interior face of the skin, wherein each beam is interrupted at one end at an edge of the opening, and wherein for each beam that is interrupted at the edge of the opening another beam is aligned with said beam and interrupted at an opposite edge of the opening forming a pair of aligned beams,
a removable panel including a skin and beams fixed to an interior face of the skin, wherein for each pair of aligned beams of the fuselage a beam of the removable panel extends between the two beams of the pair and each end of the beam of the removable panel faces an end of a beam of the pair, and
fixing means for removably fixing the end of said beam of the fuselage and the end of said beam of the removable panel, said fixing means provided at the end of at least one beam of the fuselage facing an end of a beam of the removable panel, wherein the fixing means include:
a male fitting that includes a shoe fixed to the end of the beam of the removable panel and a male element fastened to the shoe that includes a base surface and three lateral surfaces that all extend from the base surface in the same direction and in different planes,
a female fitting that includes a shoe fixed to the end of the beam of the fuselage and a receptacle fastened to the shoe and in which the male element is accommodated and that includes a base surface bearing against the base surface of the male fittings and for each lateral surface of the male element a lateral surface faces said lateral surface of the male element,
a bearing system, for each lateral surface of the male element, fastened to the lateral surface of the receptacle corresponding to the lateral surface of the male element, wherein the bearing system includes a bearing surface and an adjustment system configured to move said bearing surface and to immobilize it in position, and
a bolt that includes an externally threaded shank and a nut fastened to the female fitting, wherein each base surface includes a bore for the passage of the externally threaded shank and where the bolt sandwiches the two base surfaces.