Patent ID: 11926433
Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS LIMITED
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC B  E | IPC B  E

Claim 20:
21. An aircraft comprising:
a region of the aircraft to which access must be temporarily restricted;
a barrier that is movable between a closed position, in which access to the region of the aircraft is restricted by the barrier, and an open position, in which access to the region of the aircraft is unrestricted by the barrier; and
a time-delay latch for the barrier, the latch comprising:
a housing;
a fluid chamber contained within the housing for holding fluid within the fluid chamber;
a pin that extends through the fluid chamber and is axially movable within and through the fluid chamber from an unlatched position, in which the latch is disengaged from the barrier to allow movement of the barrier, to a latched position, in which the latch is engaged with the barrier to restrict movement of the barrier, and from the latched position to the unlatched position; and
a release frame movably secured within the housing;
wherein the release frame is configured, when the pin is in a latched position, to engage with the pin to prevent the axial movement of the pin and, when the pin is in an unlatched position, to disengage from the pin to allow the axial movement of the pin;
wherein the axial movement of the pin between the latched position and the unlatched position requires a prescribed duration of time to elapse; and
wherein the latch is configured such that axial movement of the pin between the unlatched position and the latched position occurs faster than the prescribed duration of time.