Title of Invention	AN INFLATABLE WORK SHELTER
Abstract	An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter (1) suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprises walls (2, 4) defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter the walls having ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split pine to having side edge faces (6), at least a portion of which side edge face, in use on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft to anchor the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.

Title of Invention

AN INFLATABLE WORK SHELTER

Abstract

An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter (1) suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprises walls (2, 4) defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter the walls having ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split pine to having side edge faces (6), at least a portion of which side edge face, in use on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft to anchor the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.

Full Text	The present invention relates to an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter for use in the maintenance of aircraft engines in the open. One of the major problems with aircraft engine maintenance is that very often the aircraft engine has to be repaired in situ. This may be because either there is no hangar space available, or, for example, the particular airline as is becoming the normal practice has flown their own maintenance crew out to maintain or replace the engine, whose own maintenance crew does not have covered facilities or hangars to store the aircraft for maintenance, or alternatively, the cost of such storage is prohibitive. There is thus a need for a temporary structure that would cover portion of the aircraft to at least encapsulate the engine pod below the wing to which it is attached giving sufficient covered spaced beneath the wing to allow the maintenance staff to work thereon in reasonable comfort. It has always been appreciated that it would be virtually impossible to build any temporary structure around and beneath the wing of the aircraft which would achiev this function because of the relatively high winds and adverse conditions encountered airports. The amount of damage that could be caused by such a structure being blown over or falling could be considerable. The damage might not alone be to the aircraft to which it was attached or mounted beneath, but to adjoining aircraft and even more importantly to personnel. Thus, it has been considered heretofore as being relatively impossible to provide such a structure. The problem has been appreciated particularly for construction projects that are being built under extremely adverse environmental conditions of, for example, building gas and oil pipelines across difficult terrain. It has been appreciated for many years that one - 2 - of the best ways of providing such protection is to use some type of inflatable portable structure or shelter which could be used by personnel working under such conditions. The advantage of this is that as the particular building or unit is constructed the shelter can be deflated and removed to another site. Indeed it has been known to provide such inflatable shelters for fishermen and some maintenance personnel. A typical example of such a structure is described in US Patent Specification No. 4192105 (Morgan). However, to provide such an enormous structure to enclose a whole aircraft would be virtually an impossible task and thus heretofore it has been considered that, even if temporary structures were required that inflatable shelters would be inappropriate in situations such as that envisaged above namely for the maintenance of aircraft engines in situ where shelter around the aircraft appears to make it totally impractical in use. The present invention is directed towards providing an inflatable shelts for mounting beneath the wing of an aircraft to at least encapsulate an engine pod, but also for mounting against or beneath another structure to enclose portion of it to provide protection from the environment for equipment and personnel when work is being carried out on the structure. Ideally such a shelter should also be capable of being used as a free standing enclosed shelter or building in its own right when not attached to another structure. Indeed the invention is also directed towards providing temporary structures generally. Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft - 3 - wing comprising walls defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter, the walls having a ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least a portion of which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft, or meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of said shelter whereby the shelter is caused to be anchored to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter. Further, the invention provides an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprising 10 walls defining an enclosure, at feast a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter, the wails having a ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least portion of which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of said shelter anchoring the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the 15 aircraft within the shelter. The advantage of this is that as well as the inflatable shelter only having to be sufficiently large to encapsulate the portion of the aircraft wing carrying the engine that it is desired to work on, it also has the advantage of using the structure to partially anchor it in position. By the spine engaging an embracing portion of the structure, the inflatable nature of the shelter ensures a close contact between the side edges of the 20 spine and the structure thus providing a seal preventing the ingress of dirt, moisture and other contaminants. Thus an enclosed shelter can be provided and if it is necessary to provide heating, air conditioning or the like within the shelter, this can be readily easily provided in an energy efficient manner. Ideally, portions of the side edge faces not engaging the exterior of the aircraft engage each other. -4- Idealfy the walls comprise a framework formed by inflatable interconnected frame members and a covering material attached thereto, the spine being provided by two adjacent facing bearing frame members. This particular structure is very useful as the facing bearing frame members will form a tight grip against the aircraft. Ideally, the spine member comprises a pair of arcuate elongate facing bearing frame members forming on inflation a structure receiving hole, the side faces being urged on inflation to contact the structure. This can be a particularly advantageous arrangement where, for example, an aircraft has an engine pod which is not, for example, suspended from the engine wing by a pylon but is in effect formed substantially integral with the wing. In this case it is necessary to inflate the structure so that it can encompass the whole of the engine pod and bear up against the underheath portion of the wing. This could be particularly important, for example, where the engine includes cowling of the gull-wing type which cowling when open lies along the underneath the wing; and thus the hole might have to be sufficiently large to accommodate not just simply the engine itself but also be sufficiently wide as to allow the cowling to lie within the shelter or alternatively for the structure to He or bear up against the underneath of the gull-wing cowling. Ideally each bearing frame member includes at least one hinge portion intermediate its length for limited pivotal movement about itself, The advantage of this is that the side edges of the spine will accommodate irregularities and changes in shape of the structure against which it is mounted thus providing an even closer contact between the side edges of the spine and the structure than if no hinges were provided. -5- In one embodiment of the invention, each bearing frame member comprises a plurality of separate frame members interconnected by extension sheet material to permit extension of the peripheral dimensions of the spine portion to accommodate the structure. Again the advantage of this is that, as will often be the case, the structure to which the shelter is being attached will be relatively large and thus the spine opening might not of itself be sufficient to encapsulate the portion of the structure. This will allow greater flexibility in mounting. in one embodiment of the invention, the spine is provided by a pair of sets of elongate frame members, each set comprising at least two substantially parallel frame members terminating in free ends, each free end forming a side edge face, the frame members of each set being arranged so that a side edge face of one frame member of one set faces a side edge face of a frame member of the other set. The advantage of this construction is that the spine forming frame members will, as it were, bead tightly against the aircraft to accommodate irregularities in the wing and engine pod support, thus providing further anchorage and sealing of the side edges of the spine against the aircraft. ideally, the spine is located at the uppermost portion of the shelter when inflated whereby on being placed beneath an aircraft wing and inflated the shelter will contact the structure underneath of the wing and force the side edge faces apart to encompass the engine and a portion of the aircraft. Ideally, the shelter comprises elongate frame members of substantially tubular flexible material and having on the exterior thereof anchorages, and a connecting means for securing in line anchorages together to varying the length of the frame member. The advantage of this is that it is possible to accommodate different heights of plane wing. -6- Ideaily the side edges of the spine incorporate a resilient material which resilient material is preferably a foamed plastics material. It will be appreciated that sealing the side edges of the spine against the aircraft will be advantageous. In one embodiment of the invention, peripherally arranged extension walls of flexible material are provided to accommodate different heights of aircraft above the ground, it will be appreciated that, for example, if the shelter according to the present invention is used with various aeroplanes that by virtue of the different constructions of airplane that the height of the airplane wing above the ground will vary and thus the shelter may have to accommodate many sizes and heights of airplane engine above the ground. By providing, as it were, planar walls on the lower poition of the shelter, it is possible to accommodate such height variations. Ideally the side walls incorporate contaaners for ballast anchoring material which generally will be water. This is particularly advantageous because as well as anchoring the shelter against the structure by means of the spine and its side walls gripping the structure, further anchorage is provided. This will be particularly important where it would not be possible to, for example, insert anchorage spikes or the like into the ground to secure the shelter in position. In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided connections on the exterior thereof., for connection to stay wires. This can be particularly advantageous in situations where high winds can be encountered as is often the case in airports. The stay wires can be anchored, for example, by any suitable weights on a runway such as sandbags. -6A- One of the major advantages of the shelter according to the present invention is that the inflatable shelter can be placed beneath, for example, the engine pod, inflated until the spine is directly below the engine pod so that the spine will then engage the pod and on further inflation will slide as it were around the pod to engage over the engine pod on portion of the wing structure. While in many instances a certain amount of manipulation of the shelter around the engine pod may be necessary it will not always be the case and indeed it is envisaged that one person could inflate the shelter and anchor it securely against an aircraft engine pod, the shelter being effectively self locating. In one embodiment of the invention, it is envisaged that it would be advantageous to provide a plurality of deflation valves adjaceht the spine. Since the shelter will encompass and lie over in many instances considerable portions of the wing of the aircraft, a problem could arise on deflation in that the shelter would collapse on top of the wing with portions of it still inflated and be prevented from deflation by pressure, as it were, from the wing bearing against it. It is thus envisaged that additional deflation valves may be required and indeed it is envisaged that such deflation valves may be remotely operated. In one embodiment of the invention, the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and a spine extending from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wail for an aircraft wing to project therethrough- This is a particularly suitable construction for use with engine pods and aeroplanes where the engine pod is substantially flush with the aeroplane wing. Further, in one embodiment, the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and a spine extending -6B- from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wall for said aircraft wing to project therethrough. Further, wherein said spine comprises a pair of frame members that contact one another on inflation and wherein there is provided a lower frame member below one of said pair of frame members the lower frame member contacting the exterior of the aircraft, on inflation. ? ? v Detailed Description of the Invention The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an -9- in a deflated condition beneath the engine pod 11 and is gradually inflated until the bearing frame members 4 impinge against the bottom of the pod 11. It will be appreciated therefore that the bearing frame members moving apart open the spine 5 to allow it subsequently bear by its side edges 6 against the. narrow pylon 17. While this suggests that the frame member 2 will by inflation position itself over the engine pod, this may not always be the case and it will be appreciated that a certain amount of manipulation may be required. However, most of the shelter can be inflated to be substantially in position before manipulation is required. Further inflation [see Fig. 2b ] causes the ridge members 4 to move apart in the direction of the arrows A, while still contacting the pod 11. Further inflation of the framework 2 causes the ridge members 4 to rise above the pod 11 and to then under the natural resilience of the framework to move inwards in the direction of the arrows B [see Fig, 2 c ] to engage against the pylon 17. The engine pod 11 is now encapsulated within the framework 2 and the covering can be placed on the framework 2 as illustrated in Fig. 2(d) if not already in situ. Generally on deflation the shelter 1 will cottage, however in many instances it might collapse and not deflate. It is unlikely that it would happen in, for example, the situation envisaged in Fig. 2 but it is always a possibility. Where the shelter lies over a considerable amount of the structure then it is possible on deflation that air would still be trapped in the upper portions of the shelter adjacent the spine and thus further deflation would be required. Thus the use of deflation valves such as illustrated could be important it is also envisaged that such deflation valves could be remotely operated by use of suitable battery powered, for example, electronic equipment, It is envisaged that as well as erecting the framework first and then placing the cover on top of the framework the cover may be placed or loosely affixed to portions of the framework -9A- 2 prior to assembly. The advantage of this is that for example a cover could be affixed to each longitudinal frame member 3 by an adhesive or other attachment and then as the temporary structure is inflated the cover would gradually be stretched. Additionally, in operation, instead of inflating the framework 2 around the engine -12 - Referring now to Fig. 10, there is illustrated an alternative construction of shelter indicated generally by the reference numeral 80. In this embodiment, there is provided a spine which is formed from a pair of arcuate elongate facing bearing members, not shown, which together form on inflation a structure receiving hole 81 having side edge faces 82. On the exterior of the shelter 80 are provided anchorage hooks 83. The anchorage hooks 83 can be used to connect stay wires 84 thereto which stay wires 84 can be anchored on the ground by, for example, sandbags 85. This would be particularly advantageous in high wind conditions. The hole 81 will be particularly suitable for use with structures where it is not possible for the shelter to dose in on itself to encapsulate portion of the structure therein. A typical example of this would be where the aircraft being enclosed does not have a narrowing portion or neck behind it suitable for anchorage of the shelter. Certain aeroplanes have their engines flush with the wings which engines are often covered by gull-wing type doors which doors open out to bear often closely against the underneath of the wing. In such situations it would not be possible for a shelter according to the present invention to be anchored behind the engine pod as such but the shelter will have to impinge probably against the underneath of the wing or, indeed, maybe against the open gull-wing door Referring now to Figs. 11 to 15 inclusive, there is illustrated a shelter which is only illustrated fully in Fig, 15 and is indicated in this drawing by the reference numeral 90. The shelter 90 comprises a framework indicated generally by the reference numeral 91 which is normally almost completely covered by a flexible covering material 92, again, only illustrated in Fig. 15. The shelter 90 and framework 91 are illustrated in some of the drawings mounted on an aircraft 94 having a wing 95 mounting an engine pod 96 which is substantially flush therewith. -12A- The framework 91 comprises two longitudinal elongate bearing frame members 100 forming portion of a spine 101 shown closed, additional elongate frame members 102, transverse frame members namely upper transverse frame members 104, intermediate transverse frame members 103, base transverse frame members 106, upright transverse frame members 107, inner upright frame members 108 and additional reinforcing strut frame members 109. -15-I CLAIM: 1. An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprising walls defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter, the walls having a ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least a portion of which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft, or meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of said shelter whereby the shelter is caused to be anchored to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter. 2. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1, wherein those portions of the side edge faces not engaging the exterior of the aircraft engage each other. 3. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the walls comprise a framework formed by inflatable interconnected frame members and a covering material attached thereto, the spine being provided by two adjacent facing elongate bearing frame members. 4. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the spine comprises a pair of arcuate elongate facing bearing frame members forming on inflation a structure receiving hole, the side faces of the hole being urged on inflation to contact the structure. 1. 16 5. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein each elongate bearing frame member is provided with at least one hinge portion intermediate its length for limited pivotal movement about itself. 6. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of claims 3 to 5 wherein each elongate bearing frame member comprises a plurality of separate frame members interconnected by flexible extension sheet material to permit extension of the peripheral dimensions of the spine portion to accommodate the structure. 7. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the spine is provided by a pair of sets of elongate frame members, each set comprising at least two substantially parallel frame members terminating in free ends, each free end forming a side edge face, the frame members of each set being arranged so that a side edge face of one frame member of one set faces a side edge face of a frame member of the other set. 8. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the spine is located at the uppermost portion of the shelter when inflated whereby on being placed beneath an aircraft wing and inflated the shelter will contact the structure underneath of the wing and force the side edge faces apart to encompass the engine and a portion of the aircraft. 5. 17 9. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim incorporating elongate frame members of substantially tubular flexible material and having on the exterior thereof anchorages, and a connecting means for securing in line anchorages together to varying the length of the ,frame member. 10. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the side edges of the spine incorporate a resilient material. 11. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 10 wherein the resilient material is a foamed plastics material. 12. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding, claim wherein peripherally arranged extension walls of flexible material are provided to accommodate different heights of aircraft above the ground. 13. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the side walls incorporate containers for ballast anchoring material. 14. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ballast anchoring material is water. 11. 18 15. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein connectors are provided on the exterior thereof for connection to stay wires. 16. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein there are a plurality of deflation valves adjacent the spine. 17. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and wherein said split spine extends from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wall for said aircraft wing to project therethrough. 18. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter according to any preceding claim, whenever said spine comprises a pair of frame members, that contact one another on inflation and wherein there is provided a lower frame member below one of said pair of frame members the lower frame member contacting the exterior of the aircraft, on inflation. 19. A method of maintaining an aircraft engine, including the steps of inflating temporary aircraft work shelter, as claimed in any preceding claim, over the engine and working on the engine from within the shelter. An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter (1) suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprises walls (2, 4) defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter the walls having ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split pine to having side edge faces (6), at least a portion of which side edge face, in use on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft to anchor the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.

Full Text

The present invention relates to an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter for use in the maintenance of aircraft engines in the open.
One of the major problems with aircraft engine maintenance is that very often the aircraft engine has to be repaired in situ. This may be because either there is no hangar space available, or, for example, the particular airline as is becoming the normal practice has flown their own maintenance crew out to maintain or replace the engine, whose own maintenance crew does not have covered facilities or hangars to store the aircraft for maintenance, or alternatively, the cost of such storage is prohibitive. There is thus a need for a temporary structure that would cover portion of the aircraft to at least encapsulate the engine pod below the wing to which it is attached giving sufficient covered spaced beneath the wing to allow the maintenance staff to work thereon in reasonable comfort.
It has always been appreciated that it would be virtually impossible to build any temporary structure around and beneath the wing of the aircraft which would achiev this function because of the relatively high winds and adverse conditions encountered airports. The amount of damage that could be caused by such a structure being blown over or falling could be considerable. The damage might not alone be to the aircraft to which it was attached or mounted beneath, but to adjoining aircraft and even more importantly to personnel. Thus, it has been considered heretofore as being relatively impossible to provide such a structure.
The problem has been appreciated particularly for construction projects that are being built under extremely adverse environmental conditions of, for example, building gas and oil pipelines across difficult terrain. It has been appreciated for many years that one

- 2 -
of the best ways of providing such protection is to use some type of inflatable portable structure or shelter which could be used by personnel working under such conditions. The advantage of this is that as the particular building or unit is constructed the shelter can be deflated and removed to another site. Indeed it has been known to provide such inflatable shelters for fishermen and some maintenance personnel. A typical example of such a structure is described in US Patent Specification No. 4192105 (Morgan). However, to provide such an enormous structure to enclose a whole aircraft would be virtually an impossible task and thus heretofore it has been considered that, even if temporary structures were required that inflatable shelters would be inappropriate in situations such as that envisaged above namely for the maintenance of aircraft engines in situ where shelter around the aircraft appears to make it totally impractical in use.
The present invention is directed towards providing an inflatable shelts for mounting beneath the wing of an aircraft to at least encapsulate an engine pod, but also for mounting against or beneath another structure to enclose portion of it to provide protection from the environment for equipment and personnel when work is being carried out on the structure.
Ideally such a shelter should also be capable of being used as a free standing enclosed shelter or building in its own right when not attached to another structure.
Indeed the invention is also directed towards providing temporary structures generally. Statements of Invention
According to the invention there is provided an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter
suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft

- 3 -
wing comprising walls defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter, the walls having a ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least a portion of which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft, or meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of said shelter whereby the shelter is caused to be anchored to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.
Further, the invention provides an inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprising 10 walls defining an enclosure, at feast a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter, the wails having a ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least portion of which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of said shelter anchoring the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the 15 aircraft within the shelter. The advantage of this is that as well as the inflatable shelter only having to be sufficiently large to encapsulate the portion of the aircraft wing carrying the engine that it is desired to work on, it also has the advantage of using the structure to partially anchor it in position. By the spine engaging an embracing portion of the structure, the inflatable nature of the shelter ensures a close contact between the side edges of the 20 spine and the structure thus providing a seal preventing the ingress of dirt, moisture and other contaminants. Thus an enclosed shelter can be provided and if it is necessary to provide heating, air conditioning or the like within the shelter, this can be readily easily provided in an energy efficient manner.
Ideally, portions of the side edge faces not engaging the exterior of the aircraft engage each other.

-4-
Idealfy the walls comprise a framework formed by inflatable interconnected frame members and a covering material attached thereto, the spine being provided by two adjacent facing bearing frame members. This particular structure is very useful as the facing bearing frame members will form a tight grip against the aircraft.
Ideally, the spine member comprises a pair of arcuate elongate facing bearing frame members forming on inflation a structure receiving hole, the side faces being urged on inflation to contact the structure. This can be a particularly advantageous arrangement where, for example, an aircraft has an engine pod which is not, for example, suspended from the engine wing by a pylon but is in effect formed substantially integral with the wing. In this case it is necessary to inflate the structure so that it can encompass the whole
of the engine pod and bear up against the underheath portion of the wing. This could be particularly important, for example, where the engine includes cowling of the gull-wing type which cowling when open lies along the underneath the wing; and thus the hole might have to be sufficiently large to accommodate not just simply the engine itself but also be sufficiently wide as to allow the cowling to lie within the shelter or alternatively for the structure to He or bear up against the underneath of the gull-wing cowling.
Ideally each bearing frame member includes at least one hinge portion intermediate its length for limited pivotal movement about itself, The advantage of this is that the side edges of the spine will accommodate irregularities and changes in shape of the structure against which it is mounted thus providing an even closer contact between the side edges of the spine and the structure than if no hinges were provided.

-5-
In one embodiment of the invention, each bearing frame member comprises a plurality of separate frame members interconnected by extension sheet material to permit extension of the peripheral dimensions of the spine portion to accommodate the structure. Again the advantage of this is that, as will often be the case, the structure to which the shelter is being attached will be relatively large and thus the spine opening might not of itself be sufficient to encapsulate the portion of the structure. This will allow greater flexibility in mounting.
in one embodiment of the invention, the spine is provided by a pair of sets of elongate frame members, each set comprising at least two substantially parallel frame members terminating in free ends, each free end forming a side edge face, the frame members of each set being arranged so that a side edge face of one frame member of one set faces a side edge face of a frame member of the other set. The advantage of this construction is that the spine forming frame members will, as it were, bead tightly against the aircraft to accommodate irregularities in the wing and engine pod support, thus providing further anchorage and sealing of the side edges of the spine against the aircraft.
ideally, the spine is located at the uppermost portion of the shelter when inflated whereby on being placed beneath an aircraft wing and inflated the shelter will contact the structure underneath of the wing and force the side edge faces apart to encompass the engine and a portion of the aircraft.
Ideally, the shelter comprises elongate frame members of substantially tubular flexible material and having on the exterior thereof anchorages, and a connecting means for securing in line anchorages together to varying the length of the frame member. The advantage of this is that it is possible to accommodate different heights of plane wing.

-6-
Ideaily the side edges of the spine incorporate a resilient material which resilient material is preferably a foamed plastics material. It will be appreciated that sealing the side edges of the spine against the aircraft will be advantageous.
In one embodiment of the invention, peripherally arranged extension walls of flexible material are provided to accommodate different heights of aircraft above the ground, it will be appreciated that, for example, if the shelter according to the present invention is used with various aeroplanes that by virtue of the different constructions of airplane that the height of the airplane wing above the ground will vary and thus the shelter may have to accommodate many sizes and heights of airplane engine above the ground. By providing, as it were, planar walls on the lower poition of the shelter, it is possible to accommodate such height variations.
Ideally the side walls incorporate contaaners for ballast anchoring material which generally will be water. This is particularly advantageous because as well as anchoring the shelter against the structure by means of the spine and its side walls gripping the structure, further anchorage is provided. This will be particularly important where it would not be possible to, for example, insert anchorage spikes or the like into the ground to secure the shelter in position.
In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided connections on the exterior thereof., for connection to stay wires. This can be particularly advantageous in situations where high winds can be encountered as is often the case in airports. The stay wires can be anchored, for example, by any suitable weights on a runway such as sandbags.

-6A-
One of the major advantages of the shelter according to the present invention is that the inflatable shelter can be placed beneath, for example, the engine pod, inflated until the spine is directly below the engine pod so that the spine will then engage the pod and on further inflation will slide as it were around the pod to engage over the engine pod on portion of the wing structure. While in many instances a certain amount of manipulation of the shelter around the engine pod may be necessary it will not always be the case and indeed it is envisaged that one person could inflate the shelter and anchor it securely against an aircraft engine pod, the shelter being effectively self locating.
In one embodiment of the invention, it is envisaged that it would be advantageous to provide a plurality of deflation valves adjaceht the spine. Since the shelter will encompass and lie over in many instances considerable portions of the wing of the aircraft, a problem could arise on deflation in that the shelter would collapse on top of the wing with portions of it still inflated and be prevented from deflation by pressure, as it were, from the wing bearing against it. It is thus envisaged that additional deflation valves may be required and indeed it is envisaged that such deflation valves may be remotely operated.
In one embodiment of the invention, the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and a spine extending from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wail for an aircraft wing to project therethrough- This is a particularly suitable construction for use with engine pods and aeroplanes where the engine pod is substantially flush with the aeroplane wing.
Further, in one embodiment, the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and a spine extending

-6B-
from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wall for said aircraft wing to project therethrough.
Further, wherein said spine comprises a pair of frame members that contact one another on inflation and wherein there is provided a lower frame member below one of said pair of frame members the lower frame member contacting the exterior of the aircraft, on inflation.
? ? v
Detailed Description of the Invention
The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an

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in a deflated condition beneath the engine pod 11 and is gradually inflated until the bearing frame members 4 impinge against the bottom of the pod 11. It will be appreciated therefore that the bearing frame members moving apart open the spine 5 to allow it subsequently bear by its side edges 6 against the. narrow pylon 17. While this suggests that the frame member 2 will by inflation position itself over the engine pod, this may not always be the case and it will be appreciated that a certain amount of manipulation may be required. However, most of the shelter can be inflated to be substantially in position before manipulation is required. Further inflation [see Fig. 2b ] causes the ridge members 4 to move apart in the direction of the arrows A, while still contacting the pod 11. Further inflation of the framework 2 causes the ridge members 4 to rise above the pod 11 and to then under the natural resilience of the framework to move inwards in the direction of the arrows B [see Fig, 2 c ] to engage against the pylon 17. The engine pod 11 is now encapsulated within the framework 2 and the
covering can be placed on the framework 2 as illustrated in Fig. 2(d) if not already in situ.
Generally on deflation the shelter 1 will cottage, however in many instances it might collapse and not deflate. It is unlikely that it would happen in, for example, the situation envisaged in Fig. 2 but it is always a possibility. Where the shelter lies over a considerable amount of the structure then it is possible on deflation that air would still be trapped in the upper portions of the shelter adjacent the spine and thus further deflation would be required. Thus the use of deflation valves such as illustrated could be important it is also envisaged that such deflation valves could be remotely operated by use of suitable battery powered, for example, electronic equipment,
It is envisaged that as well as erecting the framework first and then placing the cover on top of the framework the cover may be placed or loosely affixed to portions of the framework

-9A-
2 prior to assembly. The advantage of this is that for example a cover could be affixed to each longitudinal frame member 3 by an adhesive or other attachment and then as the temporary structure is inflated the cover would gradually be stretched.
Additionally, in operation, instead of inflating the framework 2 around the engine

-12 -
Referring now to Fig. 10, there is illustrated an alternative construction of shelter indicated generally by the reference numeral 80. In this embodiment, there is provided a spine which is formed from a pair of arcuate elongate facing bearing members, not shown, which together form on inflation a structure receiving hole 81 having side edge faces 82. On the exterior of the shelter 80 are provided anchorage hooks 83. The anchorage hooks 83 can be used to connect stay wires 84 thereto which stay wires 84 can be anchored on the ground by, for example, sandbags 85. This would be particularly advantageous in high wind conditions. The hole 81 will be particularly suitable for use with structures where it is not possible for the shelter to dose in on itself to encapsulate portion of the structure therein. A typical example of this would be where the aircraft being enclosed does not have a narrowing portion or neck behind it suitable for anchorage of the shelter. Certain aeroplanes have their engines flush with the wings which engines are often covered by gull-wing type doors which doors open out to bear often closely against the underneath of the wing. In such situations it would not be possible for a shelter according to the present invention to be anchored behind the engine pod as such but the shelter will have to impinge probably against the underneath of the wing or, indeed, maybe against the open gull-wing door
Referring now to Figs. 11 to 15 inclusive, there is illustrated a shelter which is only illustrated fully in Fig, 15 and is indicated in this drawing by the reference numeral 90. The shelter 90 comprises a framework indicated generally by the reference numeral 91 which is normally almost completely covered by a flexible covering material 92, again, only illustrated in Fig. 15. The shelter 90 and framework 91 are illustrated in some of the drawings mounted on an aircraft 94 having a wing 95 mounting an engine pod 96 which is substantially flush therewith.

-12A-
The framework 91 comprises two longitudinal elongate bearing frame members 100 forming portion of a spine 101 shown closed, additional elongate frame members 102, transverse frame members namely upper transverse frame members 104, intermediate transverse frame members 103, base transverse frame members 106, upright transverse frame members 107, inner upright frame members 108 and additional reinforcing strut frame members 109.

-15-I CLAIM:
1. An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter suitable for use in the, in situ,
maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprising walls
defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a
free standing shelter, the walls having a ground engaging base and an upper
portion terminating in a split spine having side edge faces, at least a portion of
which side edge faces, in use, on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft, or
meet to enclose a wing of the aircraft such that said wing projects through walls of
said shelter whereby the shelter is caused to be anchored to the aircraft while
enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.
2. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1,
wherein those portions of the side edge faces not engaging the exterior of the
aircraft engage each other.
3. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1 or 2,
wherein the walls comprise a framework formed by inflatable
interconnected frame members and a covering material attached thereto, the
spine being provided by two adjacent facing elongate bearing frame members.
4. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the spine comprises a pair of arcuate elongate facing
bearing frame members forming on inflation a structure receiving hole, the side
faces of the hole being urged on inflation to contact the structure.
1.
16
5. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 3 or 4
wherein each elongate bearing frame member is provided with at least one
hinge portion intermediate its length for limited pivotal movement about itself.
6. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of claims
3 to 5 wherein each elongate bearing frame member comprises a plurality of
separate frame members interconnected by flexible extension sheet material to
permit extension of the peripheral dimensions of the spine portion to
accommodate the structure.
7. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 1 or 2,
wherein the spine is provided by a pair of sets of elongate frame members,
each set comprising at least two substantially parallel frame members terminating
in free ends, each free end forming a side edge face, the frame members of each
set being arranged so that a side edge face of one frame member of one set faces
a side edge face of a frame member of the other set.
8. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim wherein the spine is located at the uppermost portion of the shelter when
inflated whereby on being placed beneath an aircraft wing and inflated the
shelter will contact the structure underneath of the wing and force the side edge
faces apart to encompass the engine and a portion of the aircraft.
5.
17
9. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim incorporating elongate frame members of substantially tubular flexible
material and having on the exterior thereof anchorages, and a connecting means
for securing in line anchorages together to varying the length of the ,frame
member.
10. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim wherein the side edges of the spine incorporate a resilient material.

11. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 10
wherein the resilient material is a foamed plastics material.
12. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding,
claim wherein peripherally arranged extension walls of flexible material are
provided to accommodate different heights of aircraft above the ground.
13. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim wherein the side walls incorporate containers for ballast anchoring
material.
14. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in claim 13,
wherein the ballast anchoring material is water.
11.
18
15. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim wherein connectors are provided on the exterior thereof for connection to
stay wires.
16. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any preceding
claim wherein there are a plurality of deflation valves adjacent the spine.
17. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the shelter walls comprise four upstanding substantially
rectangular side walls and a flat covering wall providing a roof and wherein said
split spine extends from one side wall across the roof to the opposite side wall for
said aircraft wing to project therethrough.
18. The inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter according to any preceding
claim, whenever said spine comprises a pair of frame members, that contact one
another on inflation and wherein there is provided a lower frame member below
one of said pair of frame members the lower frame member contacting the
exterior of the aircraft, on inflation.
19. A method of maintaining an aircraft engine, including the steps of inflating
temporary aircraft work shelter, as claimed in any preceding claim, over the
engine and working on the engine from within the shelter.
An inflatable temporary aircraft work shelter (1) suitable for use in the, in situ, maintenance of aircraft engines mounted on an aircraft wing comprises walls (2, 4) defining an enclosure, at least a portion of the walls being inflatable to provide a free standing shelter the walls having ground engaging base and an upper portion terminating in a split pine to having side edge faces (6), at least a portion of which side edge face, in use on inflation, engage the exterior of the aircraft to anchor the shelter to the aircraft while enclosing the engine and part of the aircraft within the shelter.

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Patent Number

201755

Indian Patent Application Number

IN/PCT/2001/00334/KOL

PG Journal Number

07/2007

Publication Date

16-Feb-2007

Grant Date

16-Feb-2007

Date of Filing

23-Mar-2001

Name of Patentee

NAGLE IAN GERARD

Applicant Address

LACKIN HOUSE, MIDDLE GLANMIRE ROAD, CORK, CO.CORK

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	NAGLE IAN GERARD	LACKIN HOUSE, MIDDLE GLANMIRE ROAD, CORK, CO.CORK

PCT International Classification Number

E 04 H 15/38

PCT International Application Number

PCT/IE99/00101

PCT International Filing date

1999-09-27

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	S980796	1998-09-25	Ireland