US2804903A

US2804903A - Protective cover for a jet engine

Info

Publication number: US2804903A
Application number: US615438A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Davies
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-10-11
Filing date: 1956-10-11
Publication date: 1957-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 1974-09-03

Description

p 1957 G. A. DAVIES PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 4 Filed 001.. 11, 1956 INVEYNTOR.

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Sept. 3, 1957 G. A. DAVIES PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 061.- ll, 1956 64.1 M c n,

i 7' Tat/V5 X5 p 1957 G. A. DAVIES PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 11, 1956 INVENTOR.

G'OBGE A fiV/[S BY wbvLL- United States Patent '5 PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE George A. Davies, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application October 11, 1956, Serial No. 615,438

4 Claims. (Cl. 150-52) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266') The invention described herein may be manufactured and. used by or for the United States Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a protective cover for a jet engine and, more particularly, to a transparent cover of substantially impervious material for a jet engine.

In shipping a jet engine, it is desired to protect the engine from dust and corrosion, for example, and from contact damage. Another problem in shipping jet engines is that they have a tendency to seep or drip the preservative compounds and lubricative oils and fuels to some degree. These residual wastes tend to contaminate the area in which the jet engine is transported or stored. In shipment of jet engines, there is a tendency by some of the handlers not to realize the fragile nature of the jet engine whereby parts of the engine are damaged due to this lack of knowledge of the person handling the jet engine because the handler is not able to see the fragile parts unless the cover is transparent. The present invention satisfactorily solves these problems by employing an impervious and transparent cover.

In shipping jet engines, it is desirable to mount the engine on some kind of a stand such as an air lift dolly, for example. Such mounting of a jet engine produces a problem of leakage through. the cover where the mounting apparatus passes therethrough. The present invention satisfactorily solves this problem by employing a unique type of gasket sealing. means.

An object of this invention is to provide a readily affixed protective cover for jet engines during shipment and storage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective cover that permits quick inspection of the product therein without removal of the cover.

A further object of this invention is to provide a protective cover that requires less preparation of the product for shipment within the cover.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a protective cover for jet engines that may be reused.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a protective cover having a minimum weight for a jet engine.

Other objects of this invention will be readily perceived from the following description.

This invention relates to a protective cover for a jet engine or the like comprising a transparent substantially impervious material surrounding the engine. The cover is sealed by slideable sealing means. The cover has a plurality of openings therein for the passage of a mounting apparatus for the engine. Suitable gasket means surround each of the openings and cooperate with the mounting apparatus to seal each of the openings.

The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodi ment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the protective cover of the present invention;

2,804,903 Patented Sept. 3, 1957 ICC,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along. the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4- is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the protective cover of the present invention employed with a jet engine and its mounting apparatus;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the Zipper of the pres ent invention; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the gasket structure of the present invention shown with a mounting apparatus for a jet. engine.

Referring to the drawings and particularly Fig. 1, there is shown a protective cover 10 made of a transparent substantially impervious material. Any plastic material, which is capable of being heat sealed, may be employed such as polyvinyl chloride, for example. It will be understood that only half of the cover 10 is shown in Fig. 1 since the cover 10 is folded along its edge 11. The cover 10 includes a plurality of sheets joined together by employing double seams that are heat sealed together as shown at 19 in Fig. l.

The ends of the cover 10 are sealed together by suitable slideable sealing means such as a Zipper 12. As shown in Fig. 4, the Zipper 12 includes two overlapping interlocking

portions

14 and 15, which cooperate to seal the cover 10. The Zipper 12 includes a fastener 16 that joins the interlocking

portions

14 and 15 together. The interlocking

portions

14 and 15 are made of the same material as the cover 10 and heat sealed thereto as seen. at 17 and 18, respectively, in Figs. 4 and 6.

In order to inclose a jet engine 20 within the cover 10,, it is necessary to provide a plurality of gasket means 21 and 21a to permit the passage therethrough of portions of a mounting apparatus 22 for the jet engine 20 without permitting any leakage between the interior of the cover and the exterior thereof.

As shown in Fig. 2, the gasket means 21 includes an annular member 23 secured to each side of the cover 10 (see Fig. 2). The annular member is preferably made of leather though other suitable material may be employed provided that the material of the annular member 23 is coated with a material that permits the member 23 to adhere to the cover 10. In the preferred example, the annular member 23 is coated with vinyl since the inaterialof the cover 10 is preferably polyvinyl. chloride. An envelope 24, which is made of the same material as the cover 10, incloses the annular member 23 and is heat sealed to the cover at 25. A second envelope 26, which is of the same material as the first envelope 24 and the cover 10, incloses the annular member 23 and the first envelope 24 and is heat sealed to the cover 10 at a plurality of points 27. As is evident from Fig. 2, the second envelope 26 surrounds both of the gasket means 21 since the location of the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 is adjacent the edge 11 of the cover 10.

The gasket means 21a of Fig. 3 has a plurality of annular members 23a, preferably three in number, on each side of the cover 10. It will be understood that when the cover is un-Zipped that the side of the cover 10 not seen in Fig. 1 also has three annular members 23a thereon. The gasket means 21a of Fig. 3 is formed similar to the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 in that it has a first envelope 24a heat sealed at 25a to the cover 10 and a second envelope 26a inclosing the first envelope 24a and an an nular member 23a heat sealed to the cover 10 at a plurality of points 27a.

As shown in Fig. 7, the gasket means 21a readily permits a mounting bolt 28 of the mounting apparatus 22 to pass through the cover 10 without leakage between The mounting apparatus 22 includes a rubber portion 29 having a metallic plate 36 secured thereto against which the gasket means Zia bears after the bolt 23 is passed through: the opening in the annular member 23a. -A bracket 31 of the jet engine 2i is then secured to the mounting bolt- 28 by a nut 32. Thus, it will be seen that the gasket means 21a permits the jet engine 20 to be inclosed within the cover 10 while the mounting apparatus 22 is outside of the cover 10 without any leakage'between the interior of the cover 10 and the exterior thereof.

It will be understood that the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 is employed to seala portion of the mounting apparatus, which is employed for stabilizing the jet engine 20, adjacent the front end of the jet engine 20. Since the stabilizing portion is disposed beneath the jet engine 20, such is not shown in Fig. 5 as is one of the brackets 31 of the jet engine 20 and the gasket means 21a of Fig. 3.

However, the sealing arrangement of the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 with a bolt of the mounting apparatus 22 passing'therethrough is exactly the same as that of the gasket means 21a, as shown in Fig. 7.

Considering the operation of the present invention, the protective cover 10 has its gasket means 21 and 21a passed over the mounting bolts of the mounting apparatus 22 and then the jet engine 29 is mounted on the mounting apparatus 22. and secured thereto through the bracket 31 and the nuts 32. The Zipper 12 is then closed whereby a protective cover, which is sealed against the elements of the atmosphere, is provided for the jet engine. An advantage of the present invention is that it allows free visibility of the product during moving and storage for quick inspection without removal of the cover. Another advantage of the present invention is that it does not seep residual fluids and lubricants that bleed from the engine at all times. The cover allows more damage-free movement because it permits the freight handler to visualize how damage-sensitive the engine is due to the transparent cover and the freight handler thereby handles the engine with inore care. A further advantage of this invention is that it is less expensive than prior protective covers. Since the engine preparation for movement under this cover has fewer requirements than previously used cover-requirements, there is a reduction in the installation time and the maintenance preparation time. A still further advantage of this invention is that it may be reused a number of times without any extensive repair expense. Still another advantage of this invention is that it may be used to protect the product for a short period of storage.

. For purposes of exemplification, a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described ac- 4 I cording to the best present understanding thereof. However, it will be apparent that changes and modifications in the arrangement and construction of the parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A protective cover for a jet engine or the like comprising a transparent substantially impervious material surrounding the engine, a slideable sealing means to seal the cover, a gasket member secured to each side of the material of the cover, each of said members having an opening therein for the passage of a mounting apparatus for the engine, a first envelope having the same material as the cover inclosing each of the members and heat sealed to the cover, and a second envelope having the same material as the cover inclosing the first envelope and heat sealed to the cover.

2 A protective cover having sealing gasket means including an annular member secured to each side of the cover, a first envelope inclosing each of the members and sealed to the cover, and a second envelope inclosing the first envelope and sealed to the cover, said first envelope and said second envelope having the same material as the cover.

3. A protective cover comprising'a transparent substantially impervious material, a gasket member secured to each side of the material of the cover, each of said members having an opening therein for the passage of a mounting bolt or the like, a first envelope having the same material as the cover inclosing each of the members and heat sealed to the cover, and a second envelope having the same material as the cover inclosing the first envelope and heat sealed to the cover.

4. Means for completely enveloping and substantially hermetically sealing an aircraft engine or the like within a protective cover while supported on an external ground supporting frame bolted to the engine mounting pads comprising a transparent envelope of substantially impervious flexible material inclosing the engine, slideable sealing means for sealing the cover, and patches of compressible gasket material secured to the envelope and adapted to be positioned between the engine mounting pads and the external supporting structure, said gasket patches and said envelope having registering openings therethrough for the passage of mounting bolts therethrough, said gasket patches when compressed completely sealing the envelope adjacent the mounting bolts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,017 Feasey Sept. 6, 1955