FR2821397A1 - Articulation and direction control of aerodynamic wing comprises elastic articulation leaf rotated by activator connected to wing by elastic leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

The wing (3) is articulated on an aerodynamic surface (2) by means of an elastic articulation leaf (7A). It is rotated by an activator (4) connected to the wing by an elastic leaf connecting part (11).

Description

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 The present invention relates to a device for articulation and control of the orientation of a flap mounted mobile in rotation on an aerodynamic surface, such as an airplane wing, rotary wing blade, horizontal or vertical tail, missile control surface or drone, etc., both along the trailing edge and along the leading edge of this aerodynamic surface.

 It is known that the known articulation and orientation control devices of this type comprise a rotation shaft and / or bearings to articulate the flap on said aerodynamic surface and a hydraulic or electric jack mounted on the latter to actuate the - said shutter. These known devices make it possible to obtain a well-defined position for the shutter, but they have the disadvantage of being heavy and bulky, of requiring precise machining and complex and expensive maintenance. In addition, they have a functional clearance resulting in very localized wear in dynamic operation. Finally, the friction they oppose to their command varies depending on whether their operation is static or dynamic: this friction, which may be acceptable in static, can become excessive if the shutter is subjected to a large centrifugal field - which is the case for flaps mounted on helicopter blades - so it is then necessary to provide very powerful controls.

 The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks.

 To this end, according to the invention, the articulation and control device in orientation of a flap mounted movable in rotation on an aerodynamic surface, said device comprising a fixed part integrated in

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ladite surface aérodynamique et une partie mobile intégrée audit volet mobile et articulée à ladite partie fixe pour pouvoir tourner par rapport à cette dernière, est remarquable en ce qu'il comporte : - au moins une lame élastique d'articulation allongée, dont les bords lon- gitudinaux opposés sont respectivement solidaires de ladite partie fixe et de ladite partie mobile, ladite lame élastique d'articulation pouvant fléchir longitudinalement entre lesdits bords longitudinaux ; - au moins un actionneur incorporé à ladite partie fixe et apte à engendrer une force dont la ligne d'action est au moins sensiblement orthogonale à la longueur de ladite lame élastique d'articulation ; et - au moins un organe de liaison reliant ledit actionneur à ladite partie mo- bile pour transmettre à cette dernière ladite force engendrée par ledit actionneur, ledit organe de liaison étant : tel que l'emplacement auquel il est relié à ladite partie mobile est dé- calé, orthogonalement à ladite lame élastique d'articulation, d'un bras de levier par rapport au bord par lequel cette dernière est reliée à la- dite partie mobile, de sorte que ladite force engendre un moment de rotation fléchissant ladite lame élastique d'articulation longitudinale- ment entre ses bords latéraux en provoquant la rotation de ladite par- tie mobile par rapport à ladite partie fixe ; et . apte à accompagner, sans la gêner, la rotation de ladite partie mobile par rapport à ladite partie fixe.

said aerodynamic surface and a movable part integrated into said movable flap and articulated to said fixed part in order to be able to rotate relative to the latter, is remarkable in that it comprises: - at least one elastic blade of elongated articulation, the edges of which are long - Opposite gitudinals are respectively integral with said fixed part and said movable part, said elastic hinge blade being able to flex longitudinally between said longitudinal edges; - At least one actuator incorporated into said fixed part and capable of generating a force whose line of action is at least substantially orthogonal to the length of said elastic hinge blade; and - at least one connecting member connecting said actuator to said movable part to transmit to the latter said force generated by said actuator, said connecting member being: such that the location to which it is connected to said movable part is de - wedged, orthogonal to said elastic hinge blade, with a lever arm relative to the edge by which the latter is connected to said mobile part, so that said force generates a moment of rotation bending said elastic blade d 'articulation longitudinally between its lateral edges by causing the rotation of said movable part with respect to said fixed part; and. able to accompany, without hindering, the rotation of said movable part relative to said fixed part.

 Thus, thanks to the present invention, an articulation device is obtained without friction or play, of low mass, of simple assembly and easy maintenance. In addition, especially in the case where said aerodynamic surface is a rotary blade, the device according to the present invention is insensitive to the effects of centrifugal force, since the latter is applied to a monolithic articulation, formed by said blade articulation elastic. It also makes it possible to obtain, for said

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 mobile part, large angular amplitudes of rotation with small displacements of the actuator. Such a phenomenon of amplification of movement can be adjusted by adjusting said lever arm.

par une lame élastique, apte à transmettre ladite force engendrée par ledit actionneur, ladite lame élastique de transmission ayant des bords opposés respectivement solidaires dudit actionneur et de ladite partie mobile et pouvant fléchir entre lesdits bords opposés pour accompagner, sans la gêner, la rotation de ladite partie mobile par rapport à ladite partie fixe. Advantageously, said connecting member also consists

by an elastic blade, capable of transmitting said force generated by said actuator, said elastic transmission blade having opposite edges respectively integral with said actuator and said movable part and capable of bending between said opposite edges to accompany, without hampering, the rotation of said movable part relative to said fixed part.

 Of course, the device according to the present invention operates regardless of the nature - traction or thrust - of the force generated by said actuator: only the direction of rotation of the movable part changes. However, in particular in the case where said connecting member is an elastic blade, it is preferable for said actuator to generate a tensile force, since said elastic transmission blade is, by nature, more capable of transmitting significant tensile forces than in compression.

 Said elastic hinge blade can be formed by at least two elastic blade elements arranged in alignment, but spaced from one another in the central part of said device, providing a central space between them, said connecting member then being disposed in said central space.

 In a first embodiment, when said actuator is stopped and generates no force, the device according to the invention occupies a rest position for which said elastic hinge blade and said elastic transmission blade are flat, parallel and spaced from each other.

 However, in a second embodiment, in such a rest position of the actuator, said elastic hinge blade is

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 flat, while said elastic transmission blade comprises, on the one hand, two opposite parallel rectilinear edges spaced from one another, respectively integral with said actuator and said movable part, and, on the other hand, a portion central which is inclined relative to said elastic hinge blade and which crosses the plane of the latter.

 Of course, such rest positions are determined by the complete relaxation of said elastic hinge blade and said elastic transmission blade.

que d'articulation, du bord de cette dernière et du bord de la lame élastique de transmission. It will be noted that the direction of rotation of the mobile part of the device, and therefore of said flap, depends not only on the fact that said actuator exerts a push or a pull, but also on the relative arrangement, on said mobile part and orthogonally to the plane of said elastic blade

that of articulation, of the edge of the latter and of the edge of the elastic transmission blade.

From the above, it can therefore be seen that, thanks to the present invention, it is possible to transform a linear displacement of small amplitude into an angular displacement of consequent amplitude, the direction of said linear displacement and of said angular displacement being able to be independently chosen one the other.

 In the case where the flap must be able to be controlled in rotation in both directions, the articulation and orientation control device according to the present invention may comprise: - an elastic articulation blade; - two similar actuators; and - two connecting members respectively connecting said actuators to said movable part to transmit to the latter one or the other of said forces generated by said actuators, said connecting members being arranged on either side another of said elastic blade of articulation.

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 Preferably, said connecting members are arranged symmetrically to one another with respect to said elastic hinge plate.

 The figures of the appended drawing will make it clear how the invention can be implemented. In these figures, identical references designate similar elements.

 Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of an embodiment of the hinge and control device in flap orientation, according to the present invention.

 Figure 2 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the device of Figure 1.

 Figures 3 and 4 are respectively sections along lines III-III and IV-IV of Figure 2, further illustrating the integration of said device in an aerodynamic surface and in the associated flap.

 Figures 5 and 6 are views, on a larger scale, of the right part of Figure 4, illustrating the operation of the device according to the present invention.

 Figure 7 illustrates, in a view similar to Figure 4, an alternative embodiment of the device according to the present invention.

 Figures 8 and 9 are views, on a larger scale, of the right part of Figure 7, illustrating the operation of the device shown in this latter figure.

 The articulation and orientation control device for a flap mounted on an aerodynamic surface, shown in the figures and in accordance with the present invention, comprises a fixed part 1A, intended to be integrated into an aerodynamic surface 2 and a movable part 1 B, intended to be integrated in a flap 3 movable in rotation relative to said aerodynamic surface 2. In the figures, the aerodynamic surface 2 and flap 3 are shown in phantom. For example, the joining of said fixed 1A and mobile 1B parts, respectively in said

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 aerodynamic surface and in the flap 3, is produced by means of profiles L.

 The fixed part 1A has the general shape of a flattened parallelepiped box, provided with a fixed frame B surrounding an actuator 4, for example of the piezoelectric type, of which only a small part is visible in the figures. As for it, the mobile part 1B has the shape of a bar, one of the straight edges 5 of which is arranged parallel to one of the straight edges 6 of the fixed part 1A, through which the actuator 4 is accessible. .

 The fixed part 1 A and the movable part 1B are connected to each other by an elastic hinge blade 7, formed by two elongated elements 7A and 7B, aligned with each other, but spaced apart. one from the other in the central part of said parts 1A and 1 B, providing a central space between them 8. Each of the elastic blade elements 7A, 7B has opposite longitudinal edges 9,10, respectively integral with said fixed part 1 A and of said movable part 1 B, by embedding in said straight edges opposite 5 and 6, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3,4 and 7.

 Thus, the two elements 7A and 7B form an elastic blade 7 which can flex between its opposite longitudinal edges 9, 10, that is to say between the edges 5 and 6 opposite the fixed and mobile parts 1A and 1B, forming an articulation between said parts 1A and 1 B.

 Furthermore, the actuator 4, integrated into the fixed part 1A, is connected to the movable part 1B, by a connecting member 11 disposed in the central space 8 and capable of transmitting to said movable part 1 B the force F generated by said actuator 4 orthogonally to the alignment of the elastic blade elements 7A, 7B. In the example shown in Figures 1 to 6, the connecting member 11 is constituted by an elastic transmission blade, of which opposite edges 12 and 13 are respectively secured, by

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 fitting, of said actuator 4 and of said movable part 1 B. Thus, the elastic blade 11 can flex between its opposite edges 12 and 13. In FIGS. 2 and 6, it has been assumed that the actuator 4 is capable of exerting, on the movable part 1B and via the elastic blade 11, a tensile force F.

orthogonalement auxdites lames 7 et 11, de la distance d par rapport à l'emplacement 10 auquel ladite lame élastique d'articulation est reliée à ladite partie mobile 1 B. Il en résulte que, lorsque l'actionneur 4 fonctionne, la force F engendre, grâce à l'existence du bras de levier d, un moment de rotation, qui fait fléchir la lame élastique d'articulation 7 longitudinalement entre ses bords latéraux encastrés 9 et 10, ce qui provoque la rotation de ladite partie mobile 1B et du volet 3 par rapport à la partie fixe 1 A, comme cela est représenté sur la figure 6. As can best be seen in FIG. 5, when the actuator 4 is at rest (that is to say exerts no tensile force F), the elastic hinge blade 7 and the elastic transmission blade 11 are flat, parallel and spaced from each other by a distance d, transversely to said blades 7 and 11. Thus, the location 13 to which said elastic transmission blade 11 is connected to the movable part 1 B is offset ,

orthogonally to said blades 7 and 11, by the distance d from the location 10 to which said elastic hinge blade is connected to said movable part 1 B. As a result, when the actuator 4 operates, the force F generates , thanks to the existence of the lever arm, a moment of rotation, which causes the elastic hinge blade 7 to flex longitudinally between its embedded lateral edges 9 and 10, which causes said movable part 1B and the flap to rotate 3 with respect to the fixed part 1 A, as shown in FIG. 6.

 Since the connecting member 11 is an elastic blade, it can, by bending between its lateral edges 12 and 13, accompany, without hindering it, the rotation of the movable part 1 B relative to the fixed part 1 A.

 Of course, the amplitude a of the angle which the movable part 1B rotates relative to the fixed part 1A, depends on the amplitude of the retraction of the edge 12, of the blade 11, connected to the actuator 4, this amplitude of retraction being of course variable as a function of the command (not shown) addressed to said actuator 4, as well as the level of flexibility of said blade 11.

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 Thus, thanks to the present invention, it is possible to communicate to the mobile part 1 B, and therefore to the flap 3, a plurality of angular values a, between the value 0 (FIG. 5) and a maximum value aM, defined in particular by the fatigue limit of said blade 11. Of course, stops (not shown) can be provided to mark these latter limit values.

 When the force F generated by the actuator 4 ceases, the movable part 1B (and therefore the flap 3) returns to its position of equilibrium in FIG. 5, by elastic relaxation of the blades 7 and 11.

 In the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 9, the planar elastic transmission blade 11 has been replaced by an elastic transmission blade 21 comprising, on the one hand, two opposite edges 21 A and 21B, straight, parallel and spaced apart. one from the other, respectively secured to the fixed part 1 A and the movable part 1B and, on the other hand, a central portion 21 C, which is inclined relative to the elastic hinge blade 7 and which crosses the plan of it.

 In this latter embodiment, the relative arrangement of the edges 10 and 21 B, on the movable part 1 B, is opposite to that of the edges 10 and 13 in FIGS. 4 to 6. Consequently, when the actuator 4 exercises the tensile force F on the shutter 3, by means of the elastic transmission blade 21, this shutter rotates in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 6.

 Thus, in the embodiments described above, the shutter 3 rotates either in one direction or in the other. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, the flap 3 can rotate in both directions.

 This last embodiment, which is of the type described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 and is, in a way, a duplication thereof, comprises:

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- la même lame élastique d'articulation allongée 7 dont les bords longitudinaux opposés 9, 10 sont respectivement solidaires de ladite partie fixe 1A et de ladite partie mobile 1B, ladite lame élastique d'articulation 7 pouvant fléchir longitudinalement entre lesdits bords longitudinaux 9, 10 ; - deux actionneurs 4. 1 et 4. 2, tous deux semblables à l'actionneur 4, juxtaposés et incorporés à ladite partie fixe 1A et aptes chacun à engendrer une force F dont la ligne d'action est au moins sensiblement orthogonale à la longueur de ladite lame élastique d'articulation 7 ; et - deux lames élastiques 11.1 et 11.2, toutes deux identiques à la lame élastique de transmission 11, reliant respectivement lesdits actionneurs
4.1 et 4.2 à ladite partie mobile 1B pour transmettre à cette dernière l'une ou l'autre desdites forces engendrées par lesdits actionneurs 4.1 et 4.2.

- The same elastic blade of elongated articulation 7 whose opposite longitudinal edges 9, 10 are respectively integral with said fixed part 1A and said movable part 1B, said elastic hinge blade 7 being able to flex longitudinally between said longitudinal edges 9, 10 ; - two actuators 4. 1 and 4. 2, both similar to the actuator 4, juxtaposed and incorporated into said fixed part 1A and each capable of generating a force F whose line of action is at least substantially orthogonal to the length said elastic hinge blade 7; and - two elastic blades 11.1 and 11.2, both identical to the elastic transmission blade 11, respectively connecting said actuators
4.1 and 4.2 to said movable part 1B to transmit to the latter one or the other of said forces generated by said actuators 4.1 and 4.2.

 In addition, the elastic transmission blades 11.1 and 11.2 are arranged on either side of the elastic articulation blade 7, for example symmetrically with respect to the latter.

 Thus, from the above, it will easily be understood that the actuators 4.1 and 4.2 are respectively capable of rotating the shutter 3 in the opposite direction and in the clockwise direction.

 Of course, the rotation in both directions of the flap 3 could also be obtained by duplicating the actuators 4 and the transmission blades 21 of the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 9.

Claims (9)

 CLAIMS 1. Articulation and control device for orienting a flap (3) mounted mobile in rotation on an aerodynamic surface (2), said device comprising a fixed part (1 A) integrated into said aerodynamic surface (2) and a mobile part (1 B) integrated into said mobile volt (3) and articulated to said fixed part (1A) in order to be able to rotate relative to the latter, characterized in that it comprises: - at least one elastic blade of elongated articulation (7) whose opposite longitudinal edges (9,10) are respectively integral with said fixed part (1 A) and said movable part (1 B), said elastic hinge blade (7) being able to flex longitudinally between said longitudinal edges (9.10); - at least one actuator (4) incorporated into said fixed part (1A) and capable of generating a force (F) whose line of action is at least substantially orthogonal to the length of said elastic hinge blade (7); and - at least one connecting member (11,21) connecting said actuator (4) to said movable part (1 B) to transmit to the latter said force generated by said actuator (4), said connecting member being : . such that the location (13, 21 B) to which it is connected to said movable part (1 B) is offset, orthogonally to said elastic hinge blade (7), by a lever arm (d ) relative to the edge (10) by which the latter is connected to said movable part (1 B), so that said force generates a moment of rotation bending said elastic hinge blade (7) longitudinally between its lateral edges by causing said movable part (1B) to rotate relative to said fixed part (1A); and able to accompany, without hampering, the rotation of said movable part (1B) relative to said fixed part (1A). <Desc / Clms Page number 11>  2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said connecting member (11, 21) consists of an elastic blade, capable of transmitting said force (F) generated by said actuator (4), said elastic transmission blade ( 11,21) having opposite edges (12, 13-21 A, 21 B) respectively integral with said actuator (4) and said movable part (1B) and capable of bending between said opposite edges to accompany, without hampering, the rotation of said movable part (1 8) relative to said fixed part (1A).  3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said elastic hinge blade (7) is formed by at least two elastic blade elements (7A, 7B) arranged in alignment, but one apart on the other in the central part of said device by providing between them a central space (8), and in that said connecting member (11,21) is disposed in said central space (8).  4. Device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that, when said actuator (4) generates no

 force, said elastic hinge blade (7) and said elastic transmission blade (11) are plane, parallel and spaced from each other.  5. Device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that, when said actuator (4) generates no force, said elastic hinge blade (7) is flat, while said elastic transmission blade ( 21) comprises, on the one hand, two opposite rectilinear edges, parallel and spaced from one another (21A, 21B), res-

 pectively integral with said actuator (4) and said movable part (1B), and, on the other hand, a central portion (21 C) which is inclined relative to said elastic hinge blade (7) and which crosses the plane of the latter. <Desc / Clms Page number 12>  6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said actuator (4) exerts, via said connecting member, a tensile force (F) on said movable part (1 B).  7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said actuator (4) is of the piezoelectric type.  8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises: - an elastic hinge blade (7); - two similar actuators (4.1, 4.2); and - two connecting members (11.1, 11.2) respectively connecting said actuators to said movable part (1 B) to transmit to the latter one or the other of said forces generated by said actuators, said connecting members (11.1 , 11.2) being arranged on either side of said elastic hinge blade (7).  9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that said connecting members (11.1 and 11.2) are available

 sés symmetrically to each other with respect to said elastic hinge blade (7).