LERNER & GREENBERG OBTAINS PATENT FOR IMPENETRABLE COCKPIT DOOR
Article Date: 1-6-2004

Loren Donald Pearson, patent attorney with Lerner & Greenberg, P.A., has obtained a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for a unique cockpit door that protects pilots from unwanted visitors, bullets or other projectiles.

The inventor, Mark B. Raczkowski of Coconut Creek, Fla., said existing cockpit doors are deliberately permeable because air must pass between the cabin and the pilot compartment to neutralize sudden changes in air pressure. His invention, a door made of curved, overlapping, parallel strips that can be steel, plastic or any other hard material provides a solid barrier while allowing air to pass through. It can be locked from the inside and features a peephole and shielded window for food and beverage to be passed into the cockpit.

Raczkowski said he got the idea while watching the U.S. Senate hearings on airline safety after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A lifelong engineer and inventor, he set about researching how a stronger door could be created that would shield the pilots but allow air pressure to be regulated throughout the plane.

It took him about a week to come up with the concept of the curved, lockable door and another two weeks to search for competing patents. He filed his patent application on Oct. 25, 2001, about five weeks after the terrorist attacks, but “came to us after he ran into some difficulties with the patent examiner,” Pearson said.

“It was a pretty straightforward patent but he needed our help to present it and emphasize the improvements,” Pearson said.

Raczkowski said each door will cost between $5,000-$10,000, including installation. “I am currently seeking an interested party, which could be an airline, an aircraft manufacturer or an airline subcontractor,” he said. “If this project is treated seriously, as it should be, production could start in a few months.”

Lerner & Greenberg, P.A. advises clients in key issues of intellectual property law, such as patents, trademarks, unfair competition, licensing, trade secrets, international patents and dispute resolution, as well as issues concerning the Internet and domain names. Ranked among the top patent firms in the country by Intellectual Property Today magazine, Lerner & Greenberg is based in Hollywood, Fla. You can learn more about the firm at www.patentusa.com.