Evacuation system packing device

Abstract

A method and apparatus for packing an aircraft evacuation slide is disclosed. The apparatus includes a bottom plate for receiving a section of the aircraft evacuation slide and a top plate configured to apply a pressure and or temperature to the received section to form a fold in the received section. The apparatus is provided in a substantially open configuration and a section of the aircraft evacuation slide is placed on the first plate. The apparatus is closed to sandwich the section of the aircraft evacuation slide between the first plate and the second plate to create a fold useful for packing the aircraft evacuation slide. The compression also may remove wrinkles, thereby allowing the aircraft evacuation slide to be packed into a smaller space.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for packing an aircraft evacuation slide/slide-raft, comprising:
 providing a packing apparatus having a first plate and a second plate coupled to the first plate, in a substantially open configuration;   placing a section of the aircraft evacuation slide on the first plate;   placing the packing apparatus in a closed configuration to sandwich the section of the aircraft evacuation slide between the first plate and the second plate to create a fold in the section for packing the aircraft evacuation slide.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising heating at least one of the first plate and the second plate in the closed configuration to remove wrinkles in the section. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein removing the wrinkles in the section increases a packing density of the aircraft evacuation slide. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first plate is coupled to the second plate at an extendable hinge, further comprising providing the first plate substantially parallel to the second plate when the packing apparatus is in the closed configuration by extending the extendable hinge. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising altering a surface area of at least one of the first plate and the second plate to accommodate a dimension of the section. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises using a handle to open and close the packing apparatus. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising coupling the first plate to the second plate using at least two hinges. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus for packing an aircraft evacuation slide, comprising:
 a bottom plate for receiving a section of the aircraft evacuation slide;   a top plate configured to apply a pressure to the received section to form a fold in the received section that is used to pack the aircraft evacuation slide; and   a hinge configured to move the top plate relative to the bottom plate to open and close the apparatus.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a heating element in at least one of the bottom plate and the top plate configured to heat the received section to remove wrinkles in the received section. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the heating element heats both the top plate and the bottom plate. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein removing the wrinkles in the received section increases a packing density of the slide once packed. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the hinge further comprises an extendable portion that extends to provide the top plate substantially parallel to the bottom plate when the apparatus is in a closed configuration. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein a dimension of the surface area is adjustable to accommodate a dimension of the received section. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a handle to facilitate opening and closing of the apparatus. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the hinge further comprises at least two hinges. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 8  further comprises a roller for transport of the apparatus. 
     
     
         17 . A method of increasing a packing density of an aircraft evacuation slide, comprising:
 placing a section of the aircraft evacuation slide on a surface of a first plate;   applying a pressure to the section using a second plate on top of the first plate to remove a wrinkle in the section.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising heating the first plate and the second plate to remove the wrinkle. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising using the first plate and the second plate to create a fold at a selected location in the section of the aircraft evacuation slide for packing the aircraft evacuation slide. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the first plate and the second plate are coupled by an extendable hinge, further comprising extending the hinges so that the first plate and the second plate are substantially parallel when the second plate is placed on top of the first plate.