Patent ID: 7963482

Claim:
A cabin door assembly for operational engagement with the fuselage of a pressurized aircraft which comprises: an upper door half having a waist section bound by an upper mid edge, with the waist section abutting a tapered section, and with the tapered section extending from the waist section to an upper end edge; a lower door half having a waist section bound by a lower mid edge, with the waist section abutting a tapered section, and with the tapered section extending from the waist section to a lower end edge; and an activator mounted on the fuselage and attached to the upper door half and to the lower door half for concertedly moving the door halves between a closed configuration wherein the respective tapered sections are sealed to the fuselage and the respective mid edges are sealed to each other for pressurization of the aircraft, and an open configuration wherein the door halves extend from their respective end edges and outwardly from the fuselage to allow for aircraft ingress and egress; wherein the fuselage defines a longitudinal axis and wherein the activator comprises an upper drive mechanism that is attached to the upper end edge of the upper door half and a lower drive mechanism that is attached to the lower end edge of the lower door half; wherein each drive mechanism comprises: a cross bar defining a bar axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, with said cross bar being mounted to the respective door half; and a means for rotating the cross bar about the bar axis and conveying the cross bar along a path to move the respective door half between its closed configuration and its open configuration.