JPS5885796A - Pay load carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a payload or equipment carrier for depositing on a transport device. The carrier Fi of this invention is universally used in aircraft, especially as a carrier of one or more air-launched missiles, air-to-air missiles or 9-air-launched missiles used in ground and sea combat operations, land-based and other military payloads, including canister-loaded missiles for deployment in the maritime domain, deployable or deployable electronic counting and measuring equipment, sensor packages, small unmanned aerial vehicles, rescue equipment, supplies and other operational support equipment, etc. . Accordingly, the air-launched missile (LM) is one particular payload of rounding the description herein, and the invention may be used with all other payload and carrier delivery devices not expressly noted herein. You should understand that this is a book with a lot of meaning.

With the advent of MULMs, there has been a growing need for a useful aircraft capable of releasing one or more MULMs. Of course, military aircraft form the centerpiece of useful military transport equipment. However, it is desirable to increase the number of useful ALM carrier aircraft beyond military aircraft. To this end, it has been considered that non-military or civilian aircraft can be used as LM carriers if they can be temporarily converted into a configuration suitable for military purposes. (
This temporary conversion is hereinafter referred to as a ``reversible conversion'').

The idea behind this reversible conversion is that aircraft configured and operated as Civil Air Transport II (Passenger, Cargo, or Combined) are subject to non-returnability of their structure, avionics, or other fundamental elements. It can be used without modification. Similarly, military aircraft (e.g. patrol, reconnaissance, transport or tanker) that were not initially designed as LM mediums may also have limited functionality due to their structure, avionics or other fundamental elements being unrecoverable. It can be used without any modification. According to another aspect of this concept, an aircraft can essentially be restored to its original shape 11 after temporary military use without major refitting, apart from the damage caused during military operations.

With minimal modification, it will have the same functional effects and chronicity as it did before its period of military use.

The reversible conversion is unsatisfactory from the point of view of the flight results obtained and the structural changes required;
This has never been practical. Some convertible configurations usually create excessive fluid drag or add more stress or fatigue than the original design allows. Other conversion forms are characterized as WIO structural damage or external carry.

Internal carry configurations generally require reinforcing the floor on which the carp load is carried and modifying the car fr or other outlet through which the sails are loaded onto the floor and released during flight. The missile must be launched preferably in its longitudinal direction along the flight direction. This creates significant stress and flight dynamics problems in commercial passenger paper aircraft. Load floor reinforcement and launch aperture structural modifications are generally costly not only due to direct cost, but also because the aircraft is not in commercial use during the modifications, resulting in lost revenue.

As a result of the additional reinforcement, over an extended period of peace prior to actual military use (presumably the length of the aircraft's operational life), the user will incur a permanent payload penalty and therefore the user will suffer a corresponding loss of income. This also requires unfavorable compensation for privileges through direct payments or control decisions.

In the external carry configuration, the payload package, such as a missile or canister, is attached to the outside of the aircraft. In this case, of course, fluid resistance and aeroelastic stability issues become important considerations. Generally, structural modifications require the provision of hard points or mounting posts to which loads can be attached. With fluid resistance, this fairing must be installed at the structural focal point of the aircraft. Furthermore, other forms of undesirable carriers, such as the one-time structural changes described above that result in loss of payload costs and profitability, are
A rotating rack such as that used on military aircraft is an aerodynamically shaped 94-piece carried on a single focal point formed on one of the civilian aircraft features. (The primary design purpose was to carry a spare engine.)

However, there is a limit to the weight of military payload that can be carried under these conditions.

The present invention provides a payload carrier removably mounted on a selected vehicle having a body with a transverse profile within a predetermined width profile, the carrier being joinable to and around the exterior of the vehicle body. a guide device, and a payload positioning device operatively connected to the guide device for moving the payload article to a payload ejection stage where the payload article is released relative to the body circumference;
The cough guide device includes a device adapted to the cross-sectional profile of the body to apply a compressive force around the body to maintain the guide device in its fixed position.

The present invention also provides a method for converting an aircraft into a LM carrier aircraft, which method comprises securing a guide track system to the fuselage of the aircraft essentially by applying a circumferential compressive force thereto; The payload positioning device is positioned on the cough guide device, and a large number of LMs are squarely aligned and supported in the longitudinal axis direction of the fuselage, and the LMs are aligned around the fuselage.
to an ejection station where the aircraft is released so that the aircraft can be converted into a LM carrier and restored to its previous condition without essentially changing the fuselage or components. .

More particularly, the present invention provides a carrier that conforms to the outer carrier profile carried by an aircraft in which one or more LMs can be reversibly converted to military use. As a result, any aircraft of suitable payload capacity can be converted back into a military payload P or M+M carrier using the present invention to provide acceptable flight performance with minimal modification. After military operations, aircraft are returned to civilian use. Accordingly, the present invention provides for the use of national commercial airliners, military transport aircraft, and other useful aircraft as military payload carriers, KALM carriers. The invention also provides the possibility of converting military aircraft designed for other uses into LM carriers in a reversible manner.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier includes one or more adaptable guide tracks fixed to the fuselage of the aircraft at spaced intervals along its length under tension. . An endless telescopic positioning chain is provided inside each track and can move freely around the fuselage, independent of the exact formation of the fuselage cross-section or its deformation under flight loads.

The positioning chain may be motor driven and positioned such that the payload packages attached thereto can be moved from an initial position along the circumference of the fuselage to an ejection (launch) position sequentially or in an arbitrarily selected order. Due to ALM installation, many:
A number of missiles are introduced around the fuselage, aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, supported at each end by two spaced guide tracks and associated positioning chains. Enclosing a permanent or throwable fairing or carrier moderates the additional fluid resistance created by the additional payload. If necessary, excess structural loads can be absorbed by inversion struts in the fuselage. According to another aspect of the present invention for partial LM attachment, additional LMs are introduced into externally attached channels or reload tracks. If missile size permits, missiles introduced into the interior can be loaded into the exterior channel by means of a transfer device installed in the curved door.

These and other IPs of the invention! fI111 Objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Similar parts in the figures are designated by like reference numerals.

Referring to Figure 1, LM it onto a jet transport aircraft.
One or more carriers of the invention are provided that reversibly convert into carriers. In the example shown in FIG. 1, two carriers 6 and 2 are separably provided in the fuselage of the aircraft in front of the wings 21. FIG. 16 shows a similar aircraft with a single forward carrier and an aft reload assembly, which will be described shortly. Carriers 6 and 8 of FIG. 1 are essentially the same, so only carrier 6 will be described in detail hereinafter.

next#! With reference to Figures 1 and 2, carrier 6 is
The conveyor assembly includes a pair of parallel endless conveyor assemblies 10 and 12 spaced apart along the length of a body 18 by a distance corresponding to the length of the conveyor assembly. These conveyor assemblies extend around the circumference of the body 18 along its longitudinal axis in a lateral force direction. Assembly 10
and 12 are the same, and therefore only assembly 10 will be described in detail hereinafter, with like parts of assembly 12 being designated by the same reference numerals as previously discussed.

Next, the conveyor assembly 1G shown in FIGS. 2 to 6
, the conveyor assembly 10 is constructed from a partial guide track (indicated generally at 24) that supports and guides an endless positioning chain 34 of sufficient length to encircle the fuselage 18. The track 19 is also constituted by a number of elongated guide track sections 20 fixed end to end by connecting links 24.26 and contraction couplings 28.30. Connector 2
8.3G is retractable and tension is applied to part 20, torso 1s
24 to maintain the track 19 in an operationally compatible position (the track portion will be described in more detail below).

Referring to FIG. 3, the chain 3'4 is made up of a number of elongated p-do bearing members 58 connected to each other at opposite ends by connecting links 60. The guide track section guides the chain along a curved channel in which the chain is laterally restricted and is free to move in the 8H direction. To this end, the track portion 20 is constructed with upright side walls 62.6 terminating in lips 66.68.
64 included. These lips overlap the edges of the chain 34 and hold it within the channel.

Of course, the chain is not constrained during movement between the ends of adjacent track sections shown in FIG. 2, but has sufficient lateral stiffness so that it does not align during these pauses in movement.

An important aspect of the invention is that the guide track portion is sufficiently telescopic to the outer portion of the fuselage to conform to the contours of the base portion of the aircraft fuselage. As a result, the guide track sections are attached to the aircraft fuselage at different locations exhibiting various curvatures and are attached to different aircraft. Additionally, the single orbital section is sufficiently telescopic to allow the shape of the torso to change in response to changes in flight stress without creating excessive localized pressure paths. For this purpose, the track section includes a lateral lower 0 of C-shaped profile which terminates in a spout 72 formed in the side wall 62.64 and extending transversely to the lip 66.6B. The slit 72 has sufficient width and is positioned so that the orbital portion faces outward from its mouth or torso, so that the orbital portion can bend and stretch in the radial direction to take the width of the curve. K. Therefore, the trajectory sum obtained is rigid under longitudinal and lateral forces, but bends under radial forces. It is shown.

i.e. essentially corresponds to the free upright state with the smallest radius of curvature under unloaded conditions (symbol MU) and the slight radius of fuselage curvature shown here 1,000 times larger than in (A). and the maximum curvature radius II (labeled C) where the conveyor assembly 10 is exposed to maximum bending load in the horizontal direction. With this construction, the track section assumes a radius of curvature that corresponds to the radius of curvature of the lower portion of the barrel when it is subjected to an appropriate tension applied along its length.

The guideway is constructed of a suitable material, such as aluminum, having the desired bending stiffness and load-bearing properties.

Therefore, by applying sufficient tension to the interconnected track sections using connections 28 and 30, it grips the outside of the body 1s to create sufficient frictional forces, both axially and circumferentially. It is possible to prevent the mutual movement of the guide track 19 with respect to the body. However, if this condition is not satisfied, i.e. if the bonding force is insufficient to prevent such mutual movement under conditions of permissible ambient forces, the semi-permanent adhesive material 13 may be It can be applied between the raceway surface and the body skin. The effectiveness of this adhesive is increased by a substantial factor, the bonding force or gripping force between the guide track and the shell skin. Due to comparable bonding forces, this allows for a reduction in annulus (peripheral) tension and further reduces the radial compression exerted on the fuselage. The adhesive is preferably semi-permanent so that the guide track can be removed with relatively low separation forces after the military purpose has been completed. The adhesive is then sanded or washed to restore the fuselage to its original condition.

Dynamic loads resulting from said radial compressive forces and gravity and additional static loads offset by inertial forces acting on the paid packages and other components making up the draw of the conveyor assembly; It is necessary to reinforce the torso on the inside. Referring to FIG. 10, an extensible radial column 50
are connected between the longitudinal strut beam 52 and the aircraft floor structure 54 to provide additional support for radial loads without creating excessive forces acting on the floor structure.

A further peripheral support 56 can also be provided by the beam 52 as shown. In many practical ALM carrier applications, such reinforcement is not necessary. Of course,
If used, the reinforcement must be configured to allow assembly, tensioning, disassembly, and disposal of one payload carrier without modification of the original aircraft structure.

Next, # from Figure 7! Referring to Figure 9, orbits 19 and 19'
and individually connected positioning chains 84 and 34' are provided on the exterior of the fuselage 18 and support the ends of the lumen LM. Supports 36 and 36' are assembled to each chain s4 and 34' to support both ends of the ram LM. Figure 8 and #! As shown in FIG. 9, a large number of MU LMs (MU LM1-10) are supported in parallel along the longitudinal axis of the body 18 as a MU LM carrier for a large number of MU LMs. Individual drive motor 44.4
@ connects to these chains and drives them in unison. In this example, these motors are electric and are connected to the chain 19.19' by - power transmission devices fli70.71.
connected to. In operation #IhK, these motors move the chain a predetermined distance in unison and hold the chain at a selected command position tK. The motor moves the chain in two directions or continuously to bring the selected LM or other payload item to a firing position, in this example located adjacent to the underside or spar of the fuselage 18. (MULMiQ is located at the firing position shown in Figure 9). The ALM is launched by releasing it from the support 36, 36' and allowing it to fall from the aircraft. It is also possible to use a suitable launcher to deliver the ALMK force and initially release it from the aircraft. Therefore, the four ALMs can be fired in a predetermined order, or selected MLMs can be fired in any order. Of course, by controlling the release of the ALM occupying the firing position, it is also possible to move the MLM beyond the firing position and place a subsequent ALM or other bayed item. Of course, the previous ALM will later move forward to the launch position [K
It can be returned.

As shown in FIGS. 71-9, a fairing 48 is provided by tracks 19 and 19' and includes an aerodynamically shaped shell-shaped surface surrounding the LM.

As shown in FIG. 9, the fairing 48 is located at the firing position KQ.
It includes a firing door 49. These doors are opened to fire the ALM.

In order to convert a commercial aircraft into a LM carrier, the guide track section is firmly fixed at a suitable position around the outer surface of the aircraft fuselage and subjected to sufficient tension, so that the friction gripping force is applied to the outer skin of the aircraft. Given. Once the track is in position, the positioning chain is assembled in place. positioning,
When a motor is provided with appropriate hydraulic or electrical circuitry and a drive mechanism and receives an appropriate command signal, the positioning chain can move in either direction or stop at a particular display-position. The drive assembly is configured to maintain the mutual peripheral positions of two or more positioning chains belonging to the two or more reproducible guide tracks when driven by the positioning motor. An assembly comprising two or several movable positioning chains in a corresponding number of guide tracks now accommodates a payload package, which for the purposes of this description is associated with a generally cylindrical missile. . Next, the missile package is positioned around the fuselage and attached to the chain. Following these assembly operations, the returnable conversion is completed and the aircraft is ready to carry out its military use.

In normal military use, an aircraft flies to a launch area using its own control and communications equipment.

The electronic transmission signals stored in the missile that provide the missile's initiation commands, i.e., maneuvering, arming, and guidance information, are generated by appropriate military command and control system electronic communications equipment. The initiator is stored either directly in the missile or in an auxiliary facing device within the aircraft. The auxiliary facing device is housed within a removable pallet and connected to the payload prior to loading and removal.

A launch order is then generated by military command and control equipment, relayed directly to the missile via onboard communications equipment, or stored in the aviation sector via an inertia transmission transmitted to the aircraft crew. Released, it gives rise to the actual firing command. The missile to be launched is positioned so that it faces the launch door, and the missiles are fired until all carriers are emptied or until military orders change. After a missile launch, the aircraft returns to its original base or another base and is reloaded or reinstated. If the missile is not launched for some reason, it either returns to its home base or abandons Qin mid-flight.

Still referring to FIG. 7, the fairing 4 reduces drag at the cost of weight and cost. For long-range military operations, such as crossing the Atlantic, the drag reduction provided by fairings is often paramount. Drag reduction is not so necessary in short range situations or when aviation fuel replenishment is available. It is therefore possible to eliminate fairings altogether for actions that are not particularly concerned with drag, and to shape the guide track in such a way that it gives the dimensions of the aerodynamically desired profile in the longitudinal direction.

Referring to FIG. 17, an extendable fairing 48' may be used in place of the track-mounted fairing 411. In this case, after assembling the pay lead package to the positioning chain, the gap between the LM and the body and the LM
The space between M, Jt, is filled with a light weight early curing material, such as urethane foam. The exterior of this material is configured to form the desired aerodynamic shape and to be ruptured upon firing of one of the LMs. This tear can occur either throughout the fairing formed when the LM is launched, or along a mechanically weakened fault line that lags one or several missiles. The wires can be embedded in the molded fairing as shown in FIG. 17 so that when desired a tear occurs along a predetermined inner surface after passing the current through these wires. In the illustrated example, a portion of fairing 48' is torn and removed during injection of beam LM 10 (not shown), with the tear occurring along parallel fault lines formed by electrical wires 83. In an expendable fairing, of course, before and after partial launch of the missile, the action of the positioning motors ensures that the mutual movement of the LM in the circumferential direction does not significantly interact with the aircraft or missile motion and structure. After launch of the target or entire sail, it is important that the remaining portion of the molded fairing does not significantly degrade the drag action exerted on it.

A modified drive assembly is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. In this assembly, the motor is secured to essentially two payp-p packages and mounted on the positioning chain 34. A powerful reduction gear train 86 drives a constant rack 88 from a powered motor 84 to form a portion of a compliant guide track 90 (see FIG. 15). Motor I
An I2° gear train 84 and rack 96 are coupled to parallel guide tracks 98. These motors work in unison,
A force is applied on the racks 88 and 96 to drive the positioning chain against its respective guide track.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, when the payload package is relatively small, more than one guide track can be used under the same fairing. As shown in Figures 11 and 5.12, two chain tracks can be used for the pay lead package, such as the LM provided on the auxiliary reinforcing structure 10, or as shown in Figure 6. With an intermediate track serving both ξsiles assembled along the same generatrix of the fuselage,
It is a personal choice whether to use more than one orbit. This idea can be extended to cover the above coupling to serve two or more missiles located along the same busbar. No matter how many guide trajectories serve a given carrier, the positioning motors may of course be mechanically or electrically matched so that the relative positions of all missiles are preserved during the circumferential movement of the positioning chain.

Referring to FIG. 16, a single forward carrier (80) may be preloaded with a new LM carried externally on the fuselage 18. For this purpose, outer tubes, tracks or channels are installed along one or several fuselage generatrixes. These channels or loading tracks are used to store and axially move missiles or other solar load packages of the type and type described above.

An exemplary assembly of the loading track, transfer mechanism, payload package and aerodynamic fairing surface and dorsal loading arrangement 82 located on the upper side of the fuselage is shown in FIG. In this example, construct 82 is carrier 800
Located on three adjacent indicator fuselages.

Missile or other payload package is on carrier 80
When launched, the missile or payload stored in the dorsal loading body 82 moves axially forward through tubes 84, 86, 88 to reload. The positioning chain stops in the position required for this purpose and the tube 84, s
Accommodates one, two or three new piles from s, ss. After receiving the three new missiles, the chain rotates and advances to three designated positions for additional loading. This loading operation is repeated until all MLM positions are occupied with new missiles or there is no more missile supply to load.

For use on aircraft with forward cargo doors, the first
A first carrier can be provided in front of the torso, as shown by carrier 8 in the figure. To reload this carrier, missiles or payload packages are transferred from inside the aircraft through a curved door to carrier 8 and then aft along an outer loading trajectory generally similar to structure 82 and 11'iJ.

In this case, the carrier 8 does not need to be faired and the loading track requires a minimum of fairings. Carrier 8 remains empty until the aircraft approaches the delivery location;
At that point the carrier is loaded and when using only one forward carrier, a storage tank or movable ballast is loaded forward of the fuselage to maintain flight balance and automatically repositions when the missile is expended. Must. If the fuel tanks are expended and the plane must return to base without firing its missiles, some inertial ballast is required to achieve proper balance. Of course, similar balancing techniques can be used when using only one forward carrier.

While one preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, variations will become apparent to those familiar with the art of stroke counting. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments shown and described herein, but the true scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an aircraft equipped with two carriers according to the present invention, with carriers provided in front and behind the wings, Figure 2 is a cutaway perspective view of the front carrier of Figure 1, and Figure 6 is the figure 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guide track portion of one of the carriers and the associated positioning chain;
The figure is #! Rear view of the guide track in Figure 4 - 1 Figure 6 is an enlarged view of one end of the guide track in a different position but similar to Figure 5; Figure 7 is an enlarged view of one end of the guide track with fairing, A perspective view of the front carrier of FIG. 1 supporting the
is a cross-sectional view along line 8-8# in Figure 7. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view along line 9-9m in Figure 8.
-10t, Figure 11 is a side view of the deformed payload support, Figure 12 is an end view of the support in Figure 11, Figure 13 is a side view of the second deformed payload support, and Figure 14. is a perspective view substantially similar to FIG. 7 and a modified chain drive assembly; FIG. 15 is an enlarged cutaway perspective view of the guide track of the assembly of FIG. 14; and FIG. Figure 17 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 of an aircraft with a fairing (fairing not shown for reasons of compatibility); Figure 9 1 of the forward carrier with ring
This is a cutaway cross-sectional view similar to that of Habo. 6.8: Payload carrier, 10.12: Conveyor assembly (guide equipment f), 18: Chest (vehicle body), 19: Guide track, 20: Guide track portion, 34: Positioning device, 48: Fairing. Representatives: Asamura and 4 people

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a paid carrier that is removably attached to a selected transportation device and has a main body with a cross-sectional outer shape within a predetermined outer shape, a guide device and a payload positioning device operatively coupled to the vending guide device to move the payload article relative to the body periphery to a payload launch station where the payload article is released; A carrier that is adaptable to the cross-sectional contour of the body and includes a device for applying a compressive force around the body to maintain the guide device in its fixed position. 2. The carrier according to claim 1, wherein the guide device includes a nine conveyor assembly made of a guide track device surrounding the furnace body, and the payload positioning device is positioned around the main body by the track device. A carrier comprising an endless chain that is movably guided and wrapped.In the carrier according to claim 2, the guide track device has a plurality of elongated guide track sections and a wrinkled section whose ends abut each other. and a device for identifying under a tensile load sufficient to impart a compressive force to the carrier. 4. Scope of permission requirements In the carrier described in item 3, each track portion has a continuous inner surface in contact with the outside of the main body, and a continuous inner surface that extends from the surface to limit the chain and extend along the peripheral path. a lateral restriction device for moving the track portion, the restriction device including a plurality of mouths spaced apart along the length of the track portion;
The carrier wherein the track portion is bendable so that the surface conformably joins with the exterior of the body when the track portion is subjected to the tensile load. 5. In the carrier according to claim 2, the conveyor assembly is provided by a transport device and acts between the transport device and the scissor chain to move the chain relative to the gorge track device. In the carrier containing the device, a scissors conveyor assembly is provided on the carcass chain and acts between the chain and the cough guide track device to convey the scissors chain. A carrier that holds a device that moves against a scissors track device. 2. Any one of claims 2 to 6
In the carrier described in paragraph 1, the guide system includes nine two conveyor assemblies, each made from a guide track system surrounding the aircraft fuselage, and the payload positioning system is guided by a guide track system that surrounds the aircraft's fuselage. A carrier comprising an endless chain that moves about the circumference of the fuselage and a device provided by the chain to support an end of an air-launched missile (LM). 8. A carrier according to any one of claims #11 to 7, wherein a fairing device is operatively coupled to the guide device and the scissor payload positioning device to surround the payload article. carriers including; 94! 9. A carrier according to claim 8, wherein the fairing device comprises a material forming an aerodynamic surface and scissors for removing a portion of the surface adjacent to the tow launch station when the payload article is released and travels. 10.4IFF A carrier according to claim 9, wherein the fairing device includes an aerodynamic shell provided by the guide device. 11. Scope of % Permission Requirement In any of the carriers described in IJJl from paragraphs 1 to 10, the payload positioning device provided by the outside of the fuselage, for positioning the payload article, is loaded, and A carrier containing supporting equipment in position to be moved to a nuclear launch station by. 12. In a removable outer payload carrier that reversibly converts the aircraft into a MuLM carrier aircraft, a guide device joins the aircraft fuselage around its periphery, and a number of MuLMs are arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. the guide system and a payload positioning system movably operatively connected thereto to move the 417M about the fuselage circumference to the launch station where the MLM is released; Adapts to the cross-sectional shape and applies compressive force around the torso,
A carrier including a device for holding the guide device in its fixed position. 1'5. A method of converting an aircraft into a LM carrier aircraft, the method comprising: locating a guide track system around the aircraft fuselage by applying a circumferential compressive force; and attaching a payload positioning device to the guide system. supporting a number of MLMs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage so that they can be moved to a launch station where the ALMs are released relative to the fuselage periphery, thereby converting the aircraft into a MLM carrier and transporting the fuselage or A method that allows the construct to be restored to its previous state without changing it. 1411FFIFl Scope of Claim The method of claim 13, wherein a layer of adhesive is applied to the body of the aircraft and the guide track system is fixed thereto.