Hybrid anchor rail for aircraft floor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11945569-B2
Application number	US-202217586134-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 27, 2022
Priority date	Jan 29, 2021
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

An anchor rail for an aircraft floor includes an upper flange with a guideway and two flange wings. The rail is formed of a beam and of an anti-corrosion protection. The beam is formed at least of a body made from a first material and defining the lower stiffening structure and an upper platform. The anti-corrosion protection wholly covers an upper face of the upper platform and therewith constitutes the upper flange of the rail, thus layered. The anti-corrosion protection is at least formed of a protective sheet made of a second material more resistant to corrosion than the first material and selected from a metal and a fiber-reinforced plastic composite material. Such a rail exhibits good corrosion resistance for modest cost.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An anchor rail for an aircraft floor, comprising:
an upper flange comprising a guideway configured for anchoring fixing elements, and two flange wings arranged one on each side of the guideway configured to support floor panels; and
a lower stiffening structure connected to the upper flange, and comprising:
a beam formed at least of a body composed of a first material and defining the lower stiffening structure and an upper platform; and
an anti-corrosion protection wholly covering an upper face of the upper platform so the anti-corrosion protection and the upper platform together constitute the upper flange of the rail, the anti-corrosion protection being at least formed of a substantially hard and rigid solid metal protective sheet positioned on the upper platform, the protective sheet composed of a second material more resistant to corrosion than the first material and extending continuously from one lateral free end of one of the flange wings to a lateral free end of the other flange wing and by which the protective sheet covers a bottom and two mutually opposite side walls of the guideway.

2. The rail of claim 1 , at least one of:
(a) wherein the first material is aluminum or an aluminum alloy; and
(b) wherein the second material is selected from titanium, a titanium alloy, or a stainless steel.

3. The rail of claim 1 , wherein the beam comprises an anti-corrosion coating which covers an entirety of the body of the beam, and by which the anti-corrosion coating is interposed between the body of the beam and the anti-corrosion protection at the upper flange.

4. The rail of claim 1 , wherein the anti-corrosion protection comprises a tack coat layer interposed between at least part of the protective sheet and at least part of the upper platform of the beam.

5. The rail of claim 1 , wherein at least a lateral edge of the upper platform of the beam is protected against the ingress of corrosive fluids between the upper platform and the anti-corrosion protection layer by a sealant arranged:
either in a space formed between the anti-corrosion protection and the upper platform, as a result of the lateral edge forming a rounded portion at a junction between the upper face of the platform and a corresponding edge face of the platform, or forming a rounded portion over an entirety of an edge face of the platform;
or in a form of a deposit of material added to a flat edge face formed jointly by the lateral edge of the upper platform and a corresponding lateral edge of the anti-corrosion protection;
or in a form of a deposit of material which is added to a flat edge face formed at least by the lateral edge of the upper platform and which extends as far as an underside face of a lateral edge of the protective sheet of the anti-corrosion protection which extends as an overhang beyond the flat edge face.

6. The rail of claim 1 , wherein the upper platform has at least one lateral edge forming a rounded portion at a junction between the upper face of the platform and a corresponding edge face of the platform, the rounded portion being covered by a turned-over edge of the anti-corrosion protection layer.

7. The rail of claim 1 , wherein the upper platform of the beam and the anti-corrosion protection have at least a pair of aligned respective orifices together defining a through-passage extending through the upper flange of the rail for a fastener.

8. The rail of claim 7 , comprising an anti-corrosion protection bushing housed at least in the orifice of the upper platform of the beam and delimiting at least a segment of the through-passage.

9. An aircraft floor comprising panels and at least one rail of claim 1 of which the flange wings of the upper flange support the panels.

10. An aircraft comprising at least one aircraft floor of claim 9 and at least one fixing element anchored in the guideway of the rail.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas

Inventors

• Vassilakakis Giuseppe

Classifications

• B64C1/20 Primary

  specially adapted for freight · CPC title

• B64D11/0696

  Means for fastening seats to floors, e.g. to floor rails · CPC title

• C23C30/00

  Coating with metallic material characterised only by the composition of the metallic material, i.e. not characterised by the coating process (C23C26/00, C23C28/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• C23F11/185

  Refractory metal-containing compounds · CPC title

• B64D9/003 Primary

  Devices for retaining pallets or freight containers · CPC title