Patents by Inventor Hannes Erben

Hannes Erben has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6736353
    Abstract: A channel profile extends above a door of an aircraft over the width of the door opening and is connected with the aircraft fuselage. When the door is open, the channel profile collects liquid (e.g. rain) flowing down from above the door, and diverts it next to the door opening. To reduce the air flow resistance arising during flight operation, with the door (2) in its closed position, the channel profile (3, 30) is retracted and enclosed behind the outer skin (6) or a flange of the door (2) in a dead space (11) between the upper edge of the door (2) and a frame (4) arranged above the door opening. When the door is opened, the channel profile extends into an outwardly protruding position on spring-loaded guides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Hannes Erben
  • Patent number: 6655634
    Abstract: An airplane door is swivellably disposed on a supporting arm, the supporting arm being swivellably disposed on an opening frame of a fuselage, and including a driving device for lifting and lowering the door and another driving device for swivelling the door and the supporting arm. During the movement of the lifting or lowering of the door, the transmission line of the driving device for the swivelling is uncoupled so that it is not unnecessarily mechanically stressed and a jamming of the transmission line therefore basically does not occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alexander Engleder
  • Patent number: 6619591
    Abstract: A method and an arrangement for adjusting a door-side safety device of an airplane door is provided to further improve the ergonomics for the operation of the door. A safety shaft of a safety device arranged on the door side can be adjusted by a coupling device by a driving device arranged on the frame side between the locked condition and the secured locked condition. The safety shaft arranged on the door side is coupled by way of a coupling device arranged between the door and the frame with the driving device arranged on the frame side and connected by way of the operating shaft. This arrangement allows an operation of the door in the cabin interior by an operating element which is arranged on the frame side next to the door opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alexander Engleder
  • Patent number: 6547185
    Abstract: In a door closing procedure, an aircraft passenger door is pivoted from an open position to a pivoted-in position, shifted to a closed position, locked into a locked condition, and then secured into a secured locked condition. A control method and arrangement for controlling the closing procedure includes sensors that respectively each sense the completion of a respective allocated one of the steps of the closing procedure, and then responsively initiate the next following step of the procedure. The closing procedure is carried out in an automatic sequential step-wise manner using a simple robust arrangement, without requiring a computer control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Pascal Laurent
  • Publication number: 20020139898
    Abstract: A method and an arrangement for adjusting a door-side safety device of an airplane door is provided to further improve the ergonomics for the operation of the door. A safety shaft of a safety device arranged on the door side can be adjusted by a coupling device by a driving device arranged on the frame side between the locked condition and the secured locked condition. The safety shaft arranged on the door side is coupled by way of a coupling device arranged between the door and the frame with the driving device arranged on the frame side and connected by way of the operating shaft. This arrangement allows an operation of the door in the cabin interior by an operating element which is arranged on the frame side next to the door opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Applicant: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alexander Engleder
  • Publication number: 20020139897
    Abstract: An airplane door is swivellably disposed on a supporting arm, the supporting arm being swivellably disposed on an opening frame of a fuselage, and including a driving device for lifting and lowering the door and another driving device for swivelling the door and the supporting arm. During the movement of the lifting or lowering of the door, the transmission line of the driving device for the swivelling is uncoupled so that it is not unnecessarily mechanically stressed and a jamming of the transmission line therefore basically does not occur.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Applicant: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH.
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alexander Engleder
  • Patent number: 6457674
    Abstract: A door, especially an aircraft door, is first closed, for example manually. Then the door is first latched by a latching mechanism and locked by a locking mechanism. The latching mechanism and the locking mechanism are operatively connected through respective force transmitting couplings to a common drive in such a way that the latching mechanism is first moved to establish a latching position. Then, with a delay, the locking mechanism is moved into a locking position by the same drive to establish a latched and locked position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alfred Hohl, Thomas Tendyra
  • Patent number: 6378806
    Abstract: A door for an enclosed space under pressure, such as an aircraft cabin, has redundant door stops secured to the door edges and cooperating with redundant frame stops secured to a door frame in an aircraft body. The door stops and the frame stops are arranged in pairs. A first pair of stops is effective under normal operating conditions to keep the door in a sealed position in the door frame. A second pair which is not transmitting any loads under normal operating conditions, becomes effective immediately when one and/or both stop components of the first pair fails. For this purpose the stop member and stop element forming the second pair are normally spaced from each other by a gap that is small enough to close instantly in response to failure of the first pair of stops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Hannes Erben
  • Publication number: 20020014557
    Abstract: In a door closing procedure, an aircraft passenger door is pivoted from an open position to a pivoted-in position, shifted to a closed position, locked into a locked condition, and then secured into a secured locked condition. A control method and arrangement for controlling the closing procedure includes sensors that respectively each sense the completion of a respective allocated one of the steps of the closing procedure, and then responsively initiate the next following step of the procedure. The closing procedure is carried out in an automatic sequential step-wise manner using a simple robust arrangement, without requiring a computer control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Publication date: February 7, 2002
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Pascal Laurent
  • Publication number: 20020000493
    Abstract: A door, especially an aircraft door, is first closed, for example manually. Then the door is first latched by a latching mechanism and locked by a locking mechanism. The latching mechanism and the locking mechanism are operatively connected through respective force transmitting couplings to a common drive in such a way that the latching mechanism is first moved to establish a latching position. Then, with a delay, the locking mechanism is moved into a locking position by the same drive to establish a latched and locked position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2001
    Publication date: January 3, 2002
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Alfred Hohl, Thomas Tendyra
  • Patent number: 6168114
    Abstract: In a door system for a passenger aircraft, a door panel is mounted on an aircraft structure so that it can pivot around at least one pivot axis and the door panel is movably guided at the end of the inward pivoting movement on a lifting movement path that runs essentially in conformance with the aircraft outside contour and runs transversely to the pivoting direction. Interengaging elements on the door frame and door panel are engaged in the completely closed position, moved out of shapewise engagement in an opposite lifting direction at the beginning of the opening process. The lifting movement takes place in a manner which is favorable for installation and is not prone to problems, while retaining an essentially horizontal pivoting movement path relative to the aircraft structure in such fashion that the pivot axis of the door panel is supported on the door frame with tilting position control and at the end of opening lifting movement, moves into essentially vertical alignment relative to the door frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Hannes Erben
  • Patent number: 6116542
    Abstract: In a door system for a passenger aircraft, a door panel is mounted on an aircraft structure so that it can pivot around at least one pivot axis and the door panel is movably guided at the end of the inward pivoting movement on a lifting movement path that runs essentially in conformance with the aircraft outside contour and runs transversely to the pivoting direction. Interengaging elements on the door frame and door panel are engaged in the completely closed position, moved out of shapewise engagement in an opposite lifting direction at the beginning of the opening process. The lifting movement takes place in a manner which is favorable for installation and is not prone to problems, while retaining an essentially horizontal pivoting movement path relative to the aircraft structure in such fashion that the pivot axis of the door panel is supported on the door frame with tilting position control and at the end of opening lifting movement, moves into essentially vertical alignment relative to the door frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Hannes Erben
  • Patent number: 5667169
    Abstract: A door system, particularly for a passenger plane, includes bearing and guiding device which operates between the door leaf and the door frame, as well as a lifting device which is arranged between the bearing and guiding device and the door leaf. The lifting device moves the door leaf at the end of the closing movement transversely to the moving path (B) of the guiding device with a form-locking engagement with door-frame-fixed receiving elements into the completely closed position and, at the start of the opening operation, in the opposite lifting direction (A) out of the form-locking engagement. The lifting device contains lifting kinematics for the control of the door blade lifting movement and an assigned lifting drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1997
    Assignee: Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Hannes Erben, Wolfgang Buchs