Resin infused transparent skin panel and method of making same
A transparent skin panel for use in a mobile platform having a plurality of metal sheets. A fiber reinforced resin at least partially surrounds the plurality of metal sheets. The fiber reinforced resin is transparent. A cutout is formed within each of the plurality of metal sheets, which is filled by the transparent resin during the manufacturing process. The cutout corresponds to a window in the transparent skin panel. The transparent skin panel thus eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy frame structure that has traditionally been employed on aircraft, and which has heretofore limited the size of windows used on an aircraft. The present invention thus enables larger windows to be incorporated on aircraft without increasing the weight or cost associated with such windows.
1. A light weight aircraft fuselage skin panel having an array of integrated optically clear single pane window assemblies, the skin panel comprising:
one metal sheet having a central cutout portion and a perimeter portion having a plurality of spaced apart perforations;
a fiber reinforced preform disposed against the one metal sheet, the fiber reinforced preform extending continuously across one dimension of the metal sheet such that fibers of the fiber reinforced preform reinforce the skin panel along a periphery of the central cutout portion;
a portion of the metal sheet at least partially covering the preform and forming a portion of an outer surface of at least one of the window assemblies; and
a resin filling the cutout portion saturating the preform and filling the perforations in the metal sheet to form an unitary optically clear fiber reinforced window assembly having an optically transparent skin panel portion exhibiting a resin bonded integrated structure that substantially reduces a weight of said optically clear, fiber reinforced window assembly.
2. The skin panel of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second metal sheet covering the opposite side of the preform forming a portion of the outer surface of the at least one window assembly having an integrated metal-preform-metal cross section construction.
3. The skin panel of claim 2 , further comprising:
a second fiber reinforced preform disposed against a second metal sheet; and
a third metal sheet disposed between the first and second metal sheets and forming a portion of the at least one window assembly having an integrated metal-preform-metal-preform-metal cross section.
4. The skin panel of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least two window panes longitudinally spaced apart.
5. A light weight aircraft fuselage skin panel having an array of integrated, optically clear single pane window assemblies, the skin panel comprising:
a first metal sheet having a plurality of central cutout portions, each said cutout portion having a perimeter portion;
each said perimeter portion having a plurality of spaced apart perforations spaced circumferentially therearound;
a fiber reinforced preform disposed against the first metal sheet, the fiber reinforced preform extending continuously across one dimension of the first metal sheet such that fibers of the fiber reinforced preform reinforce the skin panel along each said perimeter portion of each said central cutout portion;
a portion of the first metal sheet at least partially covering the fiber reinforced preform and forming a portion of an outer surface of each said window assembly; and
an optically transparent resin filling each of the central cutout portions and saturating the fiber reinforced preform, and filling the perforations in each said perimeter portion of the first metal sheet, to form an integrated, unitary skin panel having a plurality of optically clear, fiber reinforced window assemblies longitudinally spaced apart from one another that substantially reduces a weight of said skin panel while providing a needed level of structural strength.