GB562808A - Improvements in or relating to cockpit hoods - Google Patents

Abstract

562,808. Cockpit hood fastenings. BOOTH, J. H., BOOTH, J. I., and PERFECTA MOTOR EQUIPMENTS, Ltd. Nov. 29, 1941, No. 15396. [Class 44] [Also in Group XXXIII] A cockpit hood is mounted on guide rails at the sides of the cockpit which are releasable together with the hood in either the closed or open positions of the latter.. Means may also be provided for raising and lowering the guide rails to unseal and seal the joint between the cockpit and hood. In one form, the guide rails 56 are mounted each on two pins 57, Figs. 7 and 8, carried eccentrically upon the flanged ends 59 of pins 60 passing through members 69 which are normally secured within recesses in the upper surface of a bracket 25. The members 69 have trunnions engaging U -shaped slots in the bracket 25 and have projections 70 engaging beneath the upper flange of the bracket. Bolts 77, Fig. 4, normally secure the forward ends of the members 69. Secured to the forward pin 60 on each side of the cockpit is an arm 62 fitted with a handle 66 slidable on the arm against a.spring 63, so that a projection 68 on the handle may be engaged with or disengaged from either of two locking-notches 79 on a plate 80 rigid with the member 69, the two locked positions corresponding to the uppermost and lowermost positions of the rail 56. The hood comprises a transparent portion 48 secured at its longitudinal edges to channel members 54 each having secured near its forward end a bracket 81 embracing the rail 56, and at its rear end a bracket 82, Fig. 8, having forward and rear projections engaging respectively the upper and lower edges of the rail 56. The lower flange 55 of the channel member 54 is pressed against a sealing strip 37 when the rail 56 is lowered, arched forward and rear frames 50, 52 being simultaneously pressed against sealing strips 37 on the edges of the cockpit opening. When the rails 56 are raised, the hood can be slid back, the brackets 82 engaging extension rails 89 fixed to the outside of the cockpit and in line with the rails 56 when the latter are raised. The hood can be secured in various positions by bolts 93 engaging notches 33 in the top flange 27 of the brackets 25. The bolts 93 are linked to forked members 103 having pins 105 engaged by cam surfaces on the ends of an inverted U-shaped lever 107 pivoted at 106 to each side of the forward frame of the hood. Should the hood be jettisoned while it is slid back, the brackets 82 disengage themselves from the rail extensions 89 as the hood tilts backwards. The bolts 77 for releasing the members 69 are linked to levers 116 which are in turn linked to arms 123 on a U-shaped lever 120 pivoted at 122 to the cockpit frame and provided with a handle 121. To enable the lever to be actuated from the outside, a cam 129 bearing against a plate 130 on the lever 120 is mounted on a shaft 125 extending to the outside of the cockpit where it can be turned by a tommy-bar. A simplified form also is described in which the sealing strips are omitted and the rails are not adjustably mounted. In this form the bolts 93 engage notches in the upper edges of the rails. To seal the gaps where the rails 56 cross the rear sealing strips, blocks 88 surrounding the rails bear against the strips 37. According to the Provisional Specification, the bolts for releasing the guide rails are withdrawable by a loop of cable extending across the upper front part of the cockpit and accessible from outside through an opening normally closed by a flush plate pivoted within it.