CN113530373B

CN113530373B - Door locking device and cockpit door assembly with same

Info

Publication number: CN113530373B
Application number: CN202110795172.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李松泽; 赵许微; 金日浩; 罗林; 李宇东
Original assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Current assignee: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-14
Filing date: 2021-07-14
Publication date: 2022-04-29
Anticipated expiration: 2041-07-14
Also published as: CN113530373A

Abstract

The invention relates to a door lock device and a cockpit door assembly with the same. A door latch apparatus for an aircraft cockpit door assembly comprising: a locking mechanism including a latch assembly and an actuation mechanism that actuates the latch assembly, wherein the latch assembly is configured to move between a locked position and an unlocked position, and a lock slot configured to engage the locking mechanism to effect locking; wherein the latch assembly includes first and second interlocking latch members, the first latch member configured to be movable in a first direction, the second latch member configured to be movable in a second direction at an angle to the first direction, the first latch member having a bolt portion received into the lock slot, the actuating mechanism configured to actuate the second latch member in the second direction. With the door lock device according to the invention, a reduction in the overall weight of the door assembly is achieved without an increase in the overall width of the door assembly and while meeting the ballistic requirements.

Description

Door locking device and cockpit door assembly with same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cockpit door for use in an aircraft, and more particularly to a door lock device for use in a cockpit door of an aircraft.

Background

Since the 911 event, the FAA issued amendments 25-106, adding the FAR25.795 clauses which stipulate the need to resist forced entry by unauthorized personnel, to resist penetration by firearms and explosive device fragments. When the CCAR25 part is revised for the fourth time, the CCAR25.795 clause is added, and the requirement of the clause content for the cockpit door to have certain bulletproof performance becomes an important factor of current cockpit door design consideration.

Fig. 8 illustrates a typical cockpit door assembly of the prior art. The door assembly 10 'includes a door panel 20', which door panel 20 'is capable of opening or closing relative to the pillar 30'. A door lock device is used to effect locking of the door assembly 10'. The door latch apparatus generally includes a locking mechanism 52 'installed in the door panel 20' and a locking groove 51 'provided in the pillar 30'.

In order to meet the provisions related to the bulletproof performance, the cockpit door is designed according to the bulletproof requirement, and the door plate mainly comprises a high polymer material with the bulletproof performance and a cellular board. The outer surface of the door panel is also covered with decorative materials. However, the decorative material and the cellular board do not substantially contribute to bulletproof property, and therefore, the bulletproof property of the door panel of the cockpit door is determined by the property of the bulletproof polymer material of the door panel. The pillars in the cockpit door structure assembly are usually made of metal plates (such as steel plates or titanium plates) and have high anti-elastic performance. According to the current research, the bullet can slide from the edge due to insufficient rigidity of the edge of the high polymer material with the bulletproof performance, the bulletproof performance is practically not provided, and a metal reinforcing plate needs to be additionally adopted to perform edge reinforcement on the door plate of the cockpit. Therefore, the opening of the door panel is reinforced by the metal plate, but if the opening of the door panel is larger, the amount of the metal plate added for reinforcing the periphery is larger, so that the weight of the door panel is heavier.

For a door lock assembly for a cockpit door, it is conventional for the door lock to be mounted on the door body with the lock slot mounted in the pillar, see fig. 8. For this reason, the door panel, especially the bulletproof polymer material layer therein, needs to be locally opened, and is reinforced by adding a metal reinforcing plate at the edge of the opening. The existing scheme causes the opening area of the door plate to be large, and the reinforced metal plate is heavy, thereby influencing the overall weight of the cabin door assembly. Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements to door assemblies in existing aircraft.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a door latch device for an aircraft cockpit door assembly comprising: a locking mechanism comprising a latch assembly and an actuation mechanism that actuates the latch assembly, wherein the latch assembly has a locked position and an unlocked position, and a lock slot configured to engage the locking mechanism to effect locking; wherein the latch assembly includes first and second interlocking latch members, the first latch member configured to be movable in a first direction, the second latch member configured to be movable in a second direction that is at an angle to the first direction, the first latch member having a latch tongue received into the latch slot, the actuating mechanism configured to actuate the second latch member in the second direction.

According to one aspect of the invention, the first latch member is connected to the second latch member by an interlock mechanism configured to translate movement of the first latch member in the first direction to movement of the second latch member in the second direction.

According to another aspect of the invention, the interlocking member includes a link or cam member disposed between the first and second latch pieces.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the actuation mechanism comprises: a spring connected to and operable to move the second latch member, the spring having a deformed state in which the latch assembly is in the unlatched position and a natural state in which the latch assembly is in the latched position; and an electromagnetic actuator arranged to actuate the second latch member.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, one end of the spring is fixed to a first end portion of the second latch member, and the other end of the spring is fixed to a housing of the door lock apparatus; the electromagnetic actuator includes a movable push rod arranged to act upon a second end of the second latch member opposite the first end.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the latch assembly further includes a first sleeve disposed over the first latch member and a second sleeve disposed over the second latch member, the first sleeve and the second sleeve being secured to the housing of the locking mechanism.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the actuating mechanism further comprises a manual actuating portion attached to or integrally formed with the second latch member or the first latch member.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a cockpit door assembly for an aircraft comprising: a door panel; the door plate can be opened and closed relative to the upright post; and a door lock device according to aspects of the present invention; the upright post is provided with a locking mechanism accommodating cavity, the door plate forms the lock slot hole, the locking mechanism is installed in the locking mechanism accommodating cavity of the upright post, and the lock slot is arranged in the lock slot hole. The volume of the lock slot hole is smaller than that of the accommodating cavity of the locking mechanism.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the door panel includes a polymer material having an anti-spring property and a honeycomb panel, the pillar is made of a metal material, and a peripheral wall of the slot hole is provided with a metal plate.

By adopting the door lock device provided by the invention, the overall weight of the cabin door assembly can be reduced on the premise of meeting the bulletproof requirement, and the overall width of the cabin door assembly does not need to be increased.

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 schematic plan view of a cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a door panel employed in the cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of a locking mechanism employed in the cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking mechanism is in an unlocked state.

Fig. 4 shows another schematic view of the locking mechanism employed in the cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking mechanism is in a locked state.

Fig. 5 shows another schematic view of a locking mechanism employed in a cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking mechanism is in an electromagnetic actuator unlocked state.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of a door lock device employed in the cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of the manual control of the door lock device employed in the cockpit door assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a prior art cockpit door assembly.

List of reference numerals

10, 10' cockpit door assembly

20 door panel

21 observation hole

22 pressure relief escape plate

30, 30' column

31 first honeycomb panel

32 bulletproof polymer material plate

33 second cellular board

34 decorative layer

50 door lock device

51, 51' lock groove

52 locking mechanism

521 first latch member

522 second latch member

210 bolt part

523 spring

524 connecting rod

525 electromagnetic actuator

251 push rod

526 first sleeve

527 second sleeve

55 handle part

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. 1 shows a cockpit door assembly 10 equipped with a door lock device 50 according to the present invention. The cockpit door assembly 10 mainly comprises a door panel 20 of the cockpit door, which door panel 20 is a movable member, and a pillar 30, which pillar 30 is a fixed part constituting a door frame of the cockpit door, to which door frame one side of the door panel 20 is mounted by means of, for example, a hinge, so that the door panel 20 can be opened or closed with respect to the pillar 30. The cockpit door assembly 10 is further provided with a door locking device 50 for locking the door panel 20 in the closed position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the door panel 20 further includes a viewing hole 21 and a pressure relief escape panel 22. The viewing aperture 21 in the door panel 20 is typically located at an elevation convenient for visual observation by an adult, and a pilot in the cockpit can view the conditions in the cockpit through the viewing aperture 21 when desired. The pressure relief escape plate 22 is usually disposed below the door panel 20, and the pressure relief escape plate 22 is configured to be separated from the door panel 20 when a set pressure threshold is reached in the cabin under special conditions, so as to implement a pressure relief escape function.

In order to meet the design standard, the door panel 20 is made of a polymer material having an anti-elastic property, such as PE or Kevlar, and a honeycomb material. In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the door panel 20 includes four layers: a first honeycomb panel 31, a bulletproof polymer material panel 32, a second honeycomb panel 33, and a decorative layer 34. The ballistic resistant polymeric material sheet 32 is sandwiched between the first cellular board 31 and the second cellular board 33, and the decorative layer 34 may cover one or both sides of the exterior of the door panel 20. For openings in the door panel 20, such as sight holes and pressure relief escape panel holes, the perimeter of the holes is reinforced with sheet metal to ensure sufficient edge stiffness of the ballistic resistant polymer material to resist bullets.

In the preferred embodiment, the pillar 30 is made of a metal plate, such as a steel plate or a titanium plate, and the three-dimensional body made of the metal plate has high bulletproof performance.

As shown in fig. 1, the door lock device 50 includes a lock groove 51 and a lock mechanism 52, wherein the lock mechanism 52 includes a latch assembly and an actuating mechanism for moving the latch assembly, and the lock groove 51 is configured to engage with the latch assembly to achieve locking. The latch assembly is a movable member disposed within the housing of locking mechanism 52 and is configured to move between a locked position, wherein door panel 20 cannot be opened, and an unlocked position, wherein door panel 20 can be opened relative to body 30.

In order to install the door-lock apparatus 50, it is necessary to provide accommodation spaces in the door panel 20 and the pillar 30, respectively, to receive the locking groove 51 and the locking mechanism 52, respectively. In order to reduce the size of the opening in the door panel 20 as much as possible, in particular, as shown in fig. 1 and 6, the locking groove 51 of the door lock device 50 is provided in the door panel 20, and the locking mechanism 52 is provided in the pillar 30.

The opening in the door panel 20 in which the lock groove 51 is disposed has a smaller size than the lock mechanism accommodating chamber in the pillar 30 in which the lock mechanism 52 is disposed. The periphery of the opening of the door panel 20, in which the locking groove is disposed, is reinforced by a metal plate to increase the bulletproof performance of the edge of the opening. The metal plate is, for example, a steel plate or a titanium plate. With the solution according to the invention, the area of the perimeter of the corresponding hole to be reinforced with sheet metal can be significantly reduced, and the amount of sheet metal to be used is correspondingly reduced, thus reducing the overall weight of the door panel 20.

The space of aircraft is usually narrow and for this reason the width of the door assembly 10 allowed is limited. For ease of passage, the door panel 20 should be made as wide as possible and the posts 30 should be as narrow as possible. In order to be able to mount the locking mechanism 52 in the column 30 with a limited width, the invention proposes a locking mechanism 52 of the vertical arrangement type, and the locking mechanism 52 will be described in detail below.

Fig. 3, 4 and 5 show a schematic view of a locking mechanism 52 employed with the cockpit door assembly 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, 4 and 5, in the latch assembly according to the preferred embodiment, the latch assembly includes a first latch member 521 and a second latch member 522, the first latch member 521 and the second latch member 522 move in two directions that are angled to each other, and the movement direction therebetween can be switched by an interlocking member connected therebetween.

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first 521 and second 522 latch members are connected by a linkage 524. The first latch member 521 is movable in a first direction in a horizontal direction and the second latch member 522 is movable in a second direction in a vertical direction, and a first end of a link 524 is connected to the first latch member 521 and a second end of the link 524 is connected to the second latch member 522.

Fig. 3 shows the locking mechanism 52 in an unlocked position, in which the locking tongue 210 of the first latch member 521 is retracted into the locking mechanism 52, i.e., into the cavity of the stud 30, and fig. 4 shows the locking mechanism 52 in a locked position, in which the locking tongue 210 of the first latch member 521 extends out of the locking mechanism 52, i.e., out of the stud 30, in a position to engage the locking slot 51. In the unlocked position, the linkage 524 is disposed obliquely with respect to both the first latch member 521 and the second latch member 522, and in the locked position, the linkage 524 is substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the first latch member 521.

In other alternative embodiments, the interlocking member may also adopt other structures, such as a cam mechanism that is connected to the first latch piece 521 and the second latch piece 522 and can convert the vertical movement of the second latch piece 522 into the horizontal movement of the first latch piece 521.

Further, the actuating mechanism in the locking mechanism 52 includes a spring 523 and an electromagnetic actuator 525, and the cooperation of the two components realizes the action of the first latch member 521 and the second latch member 522.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, one end of the spring 523 is fixed to a first end portion of the second latch member 522, for example, to an upper end of the second latch member 522, and the other end of the spring 523 is fixed to the inside of the housing of the door lock apparatus 50. Fig. 3 and 5 show a compressed state in which the spring 523 is compressed by force, in which the spring 523 is compressed by the manual force or the force of the electromagnetic actuator 525 acting on the second latch member 522, and fig. 4 shows a natural state of the spring 523 in which no force acts on the spring 523 and the spring 523 is restored from the compressed state to its natural state. The length of the spring 523 in the natural state is longer than that of the spring 523 in the compressed state, so that when the spring 523 is switched from the compressed state to the natural state, the spring 523 pushes the second latch member 522 to move in the vertical direction, the vertical movement of the second latch member 522 is converted into the movement of the first latch member 521 in the horizontal direction through the connecting rod 524, and finally the latch part 210 is moved out of the locking mechanism 52 and is in a lockable position.

As shown in fig. 3, a second end portion of the electromagnetic actuator 525, which faces the second latch member 522 (a vertically lower end of the second latch member), is disposed inside the housing of the door lock device 50. The electromagnetic actuator 525 is a component whose operation is controlled by an electric signal. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the electromagnetic actuator 525 is de-energized and is in a deactivated state, and the movable push rod of the electromagnetic actuator 525 is in a retracted state, pushing is not applied to the second latch member 522. As shown in fig. 5, the electric surface of the electromagnetic actuator 525 is in an actuating state, wherein the push rod 251 is in a pushing-out state, the push rod 251 acts on the second latch member 522 to move it in a vertical direction against the spring 523 of the spring 523, so as to pull the latch tongue portion 210 of the first latch member 521 back to the latch mechanism 52. The opening and locking of the door assembly 10 can be achieved by on-off control of the electromagnetic actuator 525.

As shown in fig. 4, since the second latch member 522 and the electromagnetic actuator 525 are disposed in the vertical direction in the pillar 30 and above and below the first latch member 521, respectively, the moving direction of the push rod 251 as an acting part in the electromagnetic actuator 525 is not parallel to the moving direction of the first latch member 521, i.e., is in a straight line, and is disposed at an angle in two directions, preferably, the two directions are perpendicular to each other. The transverse width of the locking mechanism 52 can therefore be limited to a small size, so that an arrangement of the locking mechanism 52 in a narrow upright 30 can be achieved, which is very advantageous for use in an aircraft cabin.

In other alternative embodiments, the orientation of the arrangement of the electromagnetic actuator and the second latch member 522 may vary, for example, with the electromagnetic actuator being located above the upright and the second latch member 522 being located below the upright.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 6, in order to restrict the movement of the first and

second latch members

521 and 522, the door-lock apparatus 50 includes a first sleeve 526 and a second sleeve 527, as shown in fig. 6. The first latch member 521 is received within the first sleeve 526 and the second latch member 522 is received within the second sleeve 527, the first sleeve 526 limiting movement of the first latch member 521 to horizontal movement and the second sleeve 527 limiting movement of the second latch member 522 to vertical movement. The first and

second sleeves

526, 527 may be formed within the body of the door latch mechanism 50 or integrally formed with the body of the door latch mechanism 50.

Fig. 7 illustrates a manual control mechanism to which the second latch member 522 is adapted. As shown in fig. 7, the second latch member 522 includes a handle portion 55 that projects outside of the post 30. The handle portion 55 may be integrally formed with the second latch member 522 or may be a separate component secured to the second latch member 522. When desired, the latch assembly can be moved to the locked position by manually moving the handle portion 55 so that the latch portion 210 is in the locked position.

In other alternative embodiments, it should be understood that handle portion 55 may also be attached to first latch member 521 as a manual actuation portion, opening the door latch mechanism by directly moving first latch member 521. The shape of the manual actuation portion can also be set according to the actual application needs.

With the door lock device according to the invention, a reduction in the overall weight of the door assembly is achieved without an increase in the overall width of the door assembly and while meeting the ballistic requirements.

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 door latch apparatus for an aircraft cockpit door assembly comprising:

a locking mechanism including a latch assembly and an actuation mechanism that actuates the latch assembly, wherein the latch assembly is configured to move between a locked position and an unlocked position, an

A locking slot configured to engage with the locking mechanism to effect locking;

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

the latch assembly includes first and second interlocking latch members, the first latch member configured to be movable in a first direction, the second latch member configured to be movable in a second direction that is angled with respect to the first direction, wherein the first and second directions are non-parallel,

the first latch member has a latch tongue portion received into the latch groove,

the actuating mechanism is configured to actuate the second latch member in the second direction,

the first latch member is connected to the second latch member by a linkage mechanism configured to translate movement of the second latch member in the second direction to movement of the first latch member in the first direction when the actuation mechanism actuates the second latch member.

2. The door lock device according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking member includes a link or a cam member disposed between the first latch piece and the second latch piece.

3. The door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said actuating mechanism comprises:

a spring connected to and operable to move the second latch member, the spring having a deformed state in which the latch assembly is in the unlatched position and a natural state in which the latch assembly is in the latched position; and

an electromagnetic actuator arranged to actuate the second latch member.

4. The door latch mechanism according to claim 3, wherein one end of said spring is fixed to a first end of said second latch member, and the other end of said spring is fixed to a housing of said door latch mechanism;

the electromagnetic actuator includes a movable push rod arranged to act upon a second end of the second latch member opposite the first end.

5. The door latch assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first sleeve disposed over said first latch member and a second sleeve disposed over said second latch member,

the first sleeve and the second sleeve are secured to a housing of the locking mechanism.

6. The door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the actuating mechanism further comprises a manual actuating portion attached to or integrally formed with the second latch member or the first latch member.

7. A cockpit door assembly for an aircraft, comprising:

a door panel;

the door plate can be opened and closed relative to the upright post;

the door lock device according to any one of claims 1 to 6;

the door panel is characterized in that the upright post is provided with a locking mechanism accommodating cavity, the locking mechanism is arranged in the locking mechanism accommodating cavity of the upright post, and the locking groove is formed in the door panel.

8. The cockpit door assembly of claim 7 wherein said locking slot has a volume less than a volume of said locking mechanism receiving cavity.

9. The cockpit door assembly of claim 8, wherein said door panel comprises a polymer material having an anti-elastic property and a honeycomb plate, said pillar is made of a metal material, and a periphery of said locking groove is reinforced by a metal plate.