CN113501126A

CN113501126A - Flap support device for aircraft

Info

Publication number: CN113501126A
Application number: CN202110578421.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 彭国辉; 袁坚锋; 陈炎; 董萌; 毛艺皓
Original assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Current assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-26
Filing date: 2021-05-26
Publication date: 2021-10-15
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-26
Also published as: CN113501126B

Abstract

The invention provides a flap support device. The flap support device includes: a slide rail assembly having a slide rail main body forming a guide surface, the guide surface being formed in the slide rail main body, the guide surface being formed in conformity with a movement trajectory of the flap; and a ball head assembly including a ball head received in the slide rail body for movement along the guide surface, wherein the slide rail assembly is further provided with an articulation mechanism for pivotally connecting the slide rail body, the articulation mechanism defining an articulation axis about which the slide rail body rotates to provide lateral freedom of the slide rail body. By adopting the flap supporting device, the slide rail assembly and the rolling ball head which can be rolled and can adjust the extending amount are connected through the hinge mechanism, and the slide rail assembly and the rolling ball head can provide other constraints for the flap except for the lateral direction and the movement direction of the flap together, so that the support is provided for the flap on the premise of not obstructing the movement of the flap, and the vibration of the flap is obviously reduced.

Description

Flap support device for aircraft

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of fuselage structures for aircraft, in particular to flap support devices for connecting wings and flaps.

Background

A flap is a type of airfoil-shaped movable device mounted on the edge portion of a wing of an aircraft. Various types of flap supports have been developed to allow for movable attachment of the flap to the wing.

For large-scale airplanes, the flap is generally supported and mounted by two sets of moving mechanisms, and the two sets of moving mechanisms are respectively arranged near the positions of 25% and 75% of the flap span length. The two sets of motion mechanisms are respectively arranged, when the flap is put down, two ends of the flap are suspended, and when airflow flows through the flap, the two ends of the flap are easy to generate obvious vibration. Consequently, for large aircraft with larger flap span lengths, especially for wide body passenger aircraft, it is often necessary to restrain the ends of the flaps, otherwise the effects of the vibrations caused by the airflow are more pronounced, and severe vibrations cause discomfort to the passengers and the crew, and may even lead to structural damage.

Chinese patent application publication CN102046466A proposes a flap support assembly for an aircraft which may be mounted at the end of a flap, the support assembly comprising a guide defining a two-dimensional path, a cylindrical bearing follower having a longitudinal axis, and a spherical bearing coupling one end of a shaft with the bearing follower such that the bearing follower is rotatable relative to the shaft about the longitudinal axis of the bearing follower as the bearing follower travels along the guide, the spherical bearing also being capable of rotating the shaft about the central angle of the spherical bearing such that the flap supported by the assembly is free to move in multiple directions.

However, the flap support assembly is not only a multiple of parts and a complex structure, but also the freedom of movement of its supporting flap is limited by the spherical bearing.

Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements in existing flap supports to provide a support that does not affect flap movement and that suppresses end vibration.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, the invention provides a flap support arrangement for an aircraft, comprising: a slide rail assembly having a slide rail body forming a guide surface formed therein, the guide surface accommodating a motion trajectory of a flap; and a ball head assembly including a ball head received in the slide rail body for movement along the guide surface, wherein the slide rail assembly is further provided with an articulation mechanism for pivotally connecting the slide rail body, the articulation mechanism defining an articulation axis about which the slide rail body rotates to provide lateral freedom of the slide rail body.

The invention realizes movable support between the two components by adopting the joint of the ball head component and the guide rail surface of the slide rail component, thereby being suitable for correspondingly connecting the wing flap and the wing, and the hinge mechanism which is pivotally connected with the slide rail body provides lateral freedom for the slide rail body, thereby releasing the movement of the ball head and avoiding the position of the slide rail body from obstructing the movement of the ball head.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the slide rail main body has a first end and a second end in an extending direction of the guide surface, and a hinge mechanism is provided at the first end, the hinge mechanism including: a pivot disposed at the first end, the pivot defining the hinge axis; and an attachment for rotatably mounting the relative pivot.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a rail portion defining the guide surface; and a first baffle portion and a second baffle portion, the first baffle portion and the second baffle portion having openings; wherein the first and second baffle portions are respectively fixed to opposite side surfaces of the slide rail portion to non-detachably hold the ball head between the first and second baffle portions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the rail portion has an upper wall portion and a lower wall portion, the guide surface is formed between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion, and the width of the opening of the first baffle portion and the second baffle portion is smaller than the width distance between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, in the above slide rail main body, a plurality of slide rail portion protruding pieces are provided on outer surfaces of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion opposite to the guide rail surface, a plurality of shutter portion protruding pieces are provided on the first shutter portion and the second shutter portion, and the slide rail portion protruding pieces and the shutter portion protruding pieces are fastened together by fastening members while being positioned correspondingly.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the ball assembly of the flap support has a base fixedly connected to the wing or flap and a ball head rollably engaged into the slide rail body of the slide rail assembly, and the ball head assembly further comprises a length adjustment device for adjusting the amount of extension of the ball head relative to the base.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the ball assembly of the flap supporting apparatus further comprises a connecting member connected between the base and the ball, wherein the ball-protrusion adjusting means comprises a thread formed at one end of the base and a mating thread formed at an end of the connecting member.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the ball head assembly further comprises a connecting member connected between the base and the ball head, a rolling member being provided between the ball head and an end of the connecting member, wherein the rolling member comprises an inner race and an outer race and rollers arranged between the inner race and the outer race, and the inner race of the rolling member is fixed to the end of the connecting member and the outer race of the rolling member is fixed to the ball head.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the guide rail of the slide rail assembly has a two-dimensional curved surface adapted to the movement trajectory of the flap, the hinge axis extending parallel to a plane in which the two-dimensional curved surface lies.

With the flap support arrangement according to the invention, the ball head assembly is configured to be fixedly connected to the wing of the aircraft, and the glide track assembly is connected to the end of the flap of the aircraft by means of the attachment. Alternatively, the glide track assembly may be hingedly attached to the wing by means of an attachment, while the base of the ball head assembly is fixedly mounted on the flap.

By adopting the flap supporting device, the slide rail assembly and the rollable ball head which are connected through the hinge mechanism provide other constraints for the flap except for the lateral direction and the motion direction of the flap together, and the support is provided for the flap on the premise of not obstructing the motion of the flap, so that the vibration of the flap is obviously reduced.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a part of a wing and a flap attached by a flap support according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a further perspective view of a part of a wing and a flap attached by means of a flap support according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a flap support according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a ball head assembly of the flap support apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the ball assembly of the flap support according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a slide rail assembly of the flap support apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a slide rail body of a slide rail assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 7A, 7B and 7C show schematic plan views of the ball head movement trajectory of the flap support according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

List of reference numerals

1 flap support device

10 ball head assembly

11 base

111 base part

112 connecting rod

12 connecting piece

13 ball head

131 shoulder portion

14 rolling element

15 nut

16 nut

20 slide rail assembly

21 slide rail part

211 upper wall part

212 lower wall part

213 guide surface

214 tab

30 hinge mechanism

31 Pivot

32 attachment piece

33 Flange

22 first baffle plate part

23 second baffle part

60 wing

Flap 70

Detailed Description

The present invention is further described in the following description with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein the details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, but it is apparent that the present invention can be embodied in many other forms different from those described herein, and it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in many different forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a flap supporting arrangement 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The flap supporting apparatus 1 mainly includes a ball assembly 10 and a slide rail assembly 20. The flap support device 1 according to the present invention can support the end of the flap 70, and the ball head assembly 10 can move along the path provided by the track assembly 20 by the cooperation of the ball head assembly 10 and the track assembly 20, so as to implement the retraction and extension of the flap 70 relative to the wing 60 in the wing assembly. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, ball head assembly 10 is fixedly attached to wing 60 and glide track assembly 20 is fixedly attached to flap 70, or vice versa.

Fig. 4 and 5 show a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of the ball head assembly 10. In the preferred embodiment, the ball head assembly 10 generally includes a base 11, a connecting member 12, and a ball head 13 that are assembled together to form the length adjustable ball head assembly 10.

Base 11 forms an attachment 32 of ball head assembly 10 for fixed connection to wing 60 or flap 70. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the fixation of the base 11 relative to the wing 60 may be accomplished by a plurality of fasteners. The ball head 13 in the ball head assembly 10 is configured as a rolling connection of the ball head assembly 10 that is capable of rolling about a center line of rotation of the ball head 13 along a guide surface 213 provided by the slide rail assembly 20. A connecting member 12 is disposed between the base 11 and the ball 13 for connecting the two together and is configured to provide the ball assembly 10 with an adjustment means for adjusting the amount of protrusion of the ball 13 relative to the base 11.

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the base 11 of the ball head assembly 10 includes a base 111 and a connecting rod 112 integrally protruding outward from one surface of the base 111, and the connecting rod 112 is connected to the connecting member 12.

In the preferred embodiment, the ball head extension adjusting device is implemented by adopting a threaded structure, the end surface of the connecting rod 112 far away from the base 111 is recessed to form a threaded hole, the matching end part of the connecting piece 12 forms an external thread, the connecting rod 112 and the connecting piece 12 are connected through the threads, and the extension of the connecting piece 12 relative to the threaded hole on the end surface of the connecting rod 112 can be adjusted by rotating the connecting piece 12, so that the length of the whole ball head assembly 10 can be adjusted.

Further, preferably, a locking device (e.g., a fuse, a lock washer, etc.) may be provided to secure the amount of extension of the extension adjustment device by locking the relative positions of the locking link 12 and the link 112.

In the ball joint assembly 10, rolling means 14 are provided between the joint and the ball joint 13 to effect rolling of the ball joint relative to the joint. The rolling means 14 are preferably roller bearings. The roller bearing includes an inner race and an outer race and rollers disposed between the inner race and the outer race such that the inner race and the outer race are relatively rotatable by means of the rollers. The inner race of the roller bearing is secured to the attachment piece 12 by a nut 16, and in particular, the inner race of the roller bearing is fitted over an end portion of the attachment piece. The outer race of the roller bearing is fixed to the ball head 13, in particular by a nut 16 in a central through hole of the ball head, which is preferably a stepped hole, so that the ball head 13 can rotate freely around the connecting piece 12 on the end of the connecting piece 12 by means of the rolling parts 14. Further, a shoulder portion 131 is formed in the intermediate through hole of the ball head 13, and the outer ring of the rolling member 14 abuts against the shoulder portion 131, so that the shoulder portion 131 provides support for the outer ring of the rolling member 14.

It will be appreciated that in the preferred embodiment according to the invention, the use of rolling elements 14 effectively reduces wear of ball head 13 in guide surface 213, prevents jamming of ball head 13, and increases the service life and reliability of flap support 1.

The outer surface of the ball head 13 of the ball head assembly 10, which contacts the guide surface 213, is a spherical surface, and as can be seen from fig. 5, the spherical surface of the ball head 13 is rotationally symmetric about the central axis of the connecting member 15.

Fig. 6 shows an assembled state perspective view of the slide rail assembly 20 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of the slide rail body of the slide rail assembly 20. As shown in fig. 6, the glide track assembly 20 includes a glide track body forming a guide surface 213 for slidably engaging the ball assembly 10 and an attachment 32 pivotally mounted on the glide track body for attachment to the wing 60 or flap 70.

As shown in fig. 7, the rail main body is mainly composed of a rail portion 21 and a first stopper portion 22 and a second stopper portion 23 on opposite side surfaces of the rail portion 21. The slide rail portion 21 has upper and lower guide surfaces 213 formed in accordance with the movement locus of the flap 70. The guide surfaces 213 of the slide portion 21 are arranged in a two-dimensional movement path, and preferably, the guide surfaces 213 are each arc-shaped or C-shaped. It should be appreciated that the track surface 213 profile of track assembly 20 is precisely designed to track the movement of the ball head relative to flap 70 without impeding the movement of flap 70 and the track body.

More specifically, the rail portion 21 forms an upper wall portion 211 and a lower wall portion 212 along a guide surface 213, so that the guide surface 22 is formed at the center of the rail portion 21 by the lower surface of the upper wall portion 211 and the upper surface of the lower wall portion 212, and the rail portion 21 is laterally opened to receive the ball head 13 from the side.

A plurality of pairs of protruding pieces 214 are further provided on the outer surfaces of the upper and

lower wall portions

211 and 212, and each protruding piece 214 is provided with a through hole for inserting a fastener. Preferably, the tabs 214 on the outer surfaces of the upper and

lower wall portions

211, 212 are symmetrically arranged.

Accordingly, the

baffle portions

22 and 23 have shapes corresponding to the rail portion 21, respectively, and the

baffle portions

22 and 23 have an opening formed in the middle thereof corresponding to the contour shape of the guide surface 213 formed in the rail portion 21, but the upper and lower widths of the opening are smaller than the width distance between the guide surfaces 213 opposed to the upper and lower. The

baffle portions

22 and 23 are also integrally formed with corresponding tabs, the position and shape of which correspond to the tabs 214 on the slide rail portion 21, each of which also has a through hole.

As shown in fig. 6, after the

flap portions

22 and 23 are attached to both sides of the rail portion 21, respectively, the

flap portions

22 and 23 can be fixed with the rail portion 21 by passing bolts through holes formed in the tabs on the flap portion and the rail portion 21. The

openings

221 and 231 of the

apron portions

22 and 23 are fitted in correspondence with the guide rail of the slide rail portion 21 at the location 213, but since the width of the

openings

22 and 23 is smaller than the distance between the upper and lower guide surfaces, the

apron portions

22 and 23 form respective stop flanges along the guide surface 213 after installation, so that the ball head can be stopped in the slide rail portion 21 so as not to be able to disengage from the guide surface 213, but to allow freedom of movement along the movement trajectory and at an angle to the guide surface.

Further, at one end of the rail portion 21 of the rail main body along the movement locus, the rail portion 21 of the rail main body is formed with a hinge mechanism 30, and the hinge mechanism 30 attaches the wing 60 or the flap 70 with the attachment 32 provided thereto. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6, the hinge mechanism 30 defines a pivot shaft 31, and the pivot shaft 31 is mounted in upper and lower flanges 33 integrally extending from the ends of the upper wall portion 211 and the lower wall portion 212 of the slide rail portion 21. The attachment member 32 has a through hole matching with the pivot shaft 31, the through hole can be sleeved on the pivot shaft 31, and the attachment member 32 is disposed between the upper flange 33 and the lower flange 33, so that the attachment member 32 and the slide rail body have a relative rotation movement relationship.

As can be appreciated from FIG. 1, hinge mechanism 30 provides a hinge axis of rotation of the track body relative to attachment 32, i.e., relative to attached flap 70, which is generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of flap 70. In the case where the slide rail body defines a guide surface having a two-dimensional movement trajectory, the hinge axis is substantially parallel to a plane in which the two-dimensional movement trajectory lies.

With this hinge mechanism 30, when flap 70 is moved laterally, track assembly 20 can swing about the hinge axis, thereby releasing the lateral freedom of track assembly 20 and preventing track assembly 20 from jamming when flap 70 is moved.

Hereinafter, the operation of the flap supporting apparatus 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1, fig. 2, and fig. 7A to fig. 7C. Ball head assembly 10 and glide track assembly 20 are coupled to flap 70 and wing 60, respectively, as shown in fig. 1 and 2. in an embodiment in accordance with the invention, ball head assembly 10 is fixedly coupled to wing 60 and glide track assembly 20 is fixedly coupled to flap 70.

With the ball 13 engaged to the guide surface 213 of the slide rail assembly 20, by rotating the connection 12, the amount of protrusion of the ball 13 relative to the base 11 can be adjusted to compensate for manufacturing assembly errors, so that the base 11 and the attachment 32 can be suitably connected to the wing 60 and the flap 70, respectively.

During the process of deploying and retracting flap 70, flap drive mechanism (not shown) drives flap 70 to move, and flap 70 drives slide rail assembly 20 to move, and ball 13 of ball assembly 10 rolls along guide surface 213 of slide rail assembly 20, thereby playing a supporting role during the motion of flap 70. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7A, the ball 13 is located at a first end of the movement path formed in the slide rail portion 21, i.e., an end near the hinge mechanism 30, with the flap 70 in the retracted position as shown in fig. 2. As flap 70 is moved outwardly relative to wing 60 as a result of the flap drive mechanism actuation, ball head 13 rolls along guide surface 213 of guide track portion 21 toward the second end as shown in fig. 7B, at which time slide assembly 20 is supported by ball head 13 as flap 70 is moved outwardly until ball head 13 moves to the second end of guide surface 213 away from the hinge mechanism as shown in fig. 7C.

The ball 13 provides a constraint to the glide track assembly 20 for movement in a direction perpendicular to the guide surface 213 during movement of the ball assembly 10 relative to the glide track assembly 20. On the other hand, when there is a lateral component of the movement of flap 70, the slide body can oscillate about the hinge axis, releasing the lateral constraint of flap 70.

Therefore, with the flap support arrangement 1 according to the invention, a high-pair movement with points rolling on a spatial curve is achieved with the rolling elements 14 nested inside the ball head 13 and combined with the two-dimensionally curved guide surface of the pivotable slide rail body which is adapted to the movement track of the flap.

The slide rail assembly 20 and the rollable ball 13 connected by the hinge mechanism 30 provide other constraints for the flap 70 besides lateral movement and the movement direction of the flap 70, provide support for the flap 70 on the premise of not obstructing the movement of the flap 70, and greatly reduce the vibration of the flap 70, especially the end of the flap.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in terms of the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the invention, and variations and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification of the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention are within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention, unless the technical essence of the present invention departs from the content of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flap support arrangement for an aircraft, the flap support arrangement comprising:

a slide rail assembly (20) having a slide rail body forming a guide surface, the guide rail being formed in the slide rail body, the guide surface accommodating a motion trajectory of the flap; and

a ball head assembly (10) including a ball head received in the slide body for movement along the guide surface;

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the flap support apparatus also includes a hinge mechanism (30) having a pivot connection with the slide rail body, the hinge mechanism defining a hinge axis about which the slide rail body rotates to provide lateral freedom of the slide rail body.

2. The flap support according to claim 1, wherein the rail body has a first end and a second end in the extension direction of the guide surface,

the hinge mechanism (30) includes:

a pivot (31) disposed at the first end, the pivot defining the hinge axis; and

an attachment (32) for rotatably mounting the relative pivot.

3. The flap support arrangement of claim 1, wherein the slide rail body includes:

a rail portion (21) defining the guide surface; and

a first baffle portion (22) and a second baffle portion (32) each having an opening;

wherein the first and second baffle portions are respectively fixed to opposite side surfaces of the slide rail portion to non-detachably hold the ball head between the first and second baffle portions.

4. The flap support according to claim 3, characterized in that the rail part has an upper wall part (211) and a lower wall part (212), the guide surface (213) being formed between the upper wall part and the lower wall part,

the width of the openings of the first baffle portion and the second baffle portion is smaller than the width distance between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion.

5. The flap support arrangement of claim 4, wherein a plurality of rail portion tabs are provided on outer surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions opposite the guide surface, and a plurality of flap portion tabs are provided on the first and second flap portions, the rail portion tabs and the flap portion tabs corresponding in position and being fastened together by fasteners.

6. The flap support arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the ball head assembly has a base (12) which is fixedly connected to the wing or flap and a ball head (13) which is rollably engaged into the slide rail body of the slide rail assembly, and in that the ball head assembly further comprises a length adjustment device for adjusting the extension of the ball head relative to the base.

7. The flap support arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the ball head assembly further comprises a connecting piece (12) which is connected between the base and the ball head,

wherein the ball head protrusion amount adjusting means includes a screw hole formed at the base and a matching screw portion formed at an end of the connecting member.

8. The flap support arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the ball head assembly further comprises a connecting piece (12) which is connected between the base and the ball head, between which end part a rolling part (14) is provided,

wherein the rolling component comprises an inner race and an outer race and rollers disposed between the inner race and the outer race, and the inner race of the rolling component is secured to the end of the connector and the outer race of the rolling component is secured to the ball head.

9. The flap support arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide surface of the slide rail assembly (20) forms a two-dimensional curved surface adapted to the movement trajectory of the flap, the hinge axis extending parallel to a plane in which the two-dimensional curved surface lies.

10. The flap support arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the ball head assembly is configured to be fixedly connected to a wing (60) of the aircraft, the glide track assembly (20) being connected to an end of a flap (70) of the aircraft by means of the attachment.