US2526903A - Bomb sway brace - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 24, 1950 RUPPERT 2,526,903

BOMB SWAY BRACE Filed June 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Gustave J. Ruppert INVENTOR.

' MTENT ATTORNEY Oct. 24, 1950 G. J. RUPPERT BOMB SWAY BRACE Filed June 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 X.) 37 v 3 4o Gustave J. Rupperi INVENTOR.

ATENT ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 2 950 UNITED STATES OFFICE Gustave J. Ruppert, Los AngelesgCalif assignor to North American Aviation, Inc.

Application June 16, 1943, Serial ivd'sazsz Claims. 1 7

The present invention relates enerally to aircraft ordnance and more particularly to improvements in retractable sway braces for use with aircraft-carried bombs and the like.

In the suspension of bombs and similar disposable loads from aircraft, it is desirable to provide suitable chocks or sway braces to steady the bombs while they are being carried in flight to the point at which they are released. Numerous sway brace means have heretofore been proposed and used but most have met with objections from various standpoints in respect to their structure, arrangement, servicing or faulty-operation. Certain of these prior installations were retractable but were of a rotary type which did not permit of ready or extensive adjustment of the brace nor were the bombs capable of convenient installation. The present invention is directed to an improved chock or sway braceconstruction and arrangement which incorporates the desirable features not fully heretofore attained, is relatively simple in construction while eflicient and foolproof in its operation.

The present invention embodies a plurality of adjustable resiliently biased brace elements interconnected to each other and having means by which the resilient biasing of the braces is cocked automatically by the loading or attachment of the bomb and the braces are automatically retracted upon release of the bomb without requiring the attention of the bombardier or other operator. This improved arrangement permits the complete retraction of the sway braces as soon as they are no longer required such that their exposure to the airstream and the drag caused thereby is reduced to a minimum. In the present arrangement the braces are rectilinearly movable and permit more rapid and convenient loading of the bombs while accommodating a much wider range of bomb sizes. It is, accordingly, a major object of the presen invention to provide a sway brace or chock installation for a bomb rackor suspension'unit in which the sway brace is automatically and fully retractable as soon as the bomb or otherload is released. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an installation which forms an integral part of the armament equipment as contrasted with prior yoke type sway braces and other temporarily installed auxiliary means which have been employed in the past.

It is a further object to provide an improved installation of the present type which is automatically self-cocking and which is not objectionable from the aerodynamic standpoint in that the ziinpro'ved sway brace does not remain in'an exposed position after the bombs have been released.- -A further objectresides in the 'provision of sway braces which form an integral part of the installation and do not require"jettisoning or the additional of complicated additional mechanism or 'ele'ctrical circuits. A further ob ject resides in abrace unit which is movable in a rectilinear directionand in an improved arrange ment' of the mechanismcomprising the auto matically-retractable assembly.

Otherobjects-and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the 'art after" reading the present description when' studied in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming apart hereof, in which: w

"Fig. l shows the forward portion of an airplane'wing having a bomb rack installation to which an improved form of the present sway brace mechanism been applied;

Fig. 2 is a sectionalelevation taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; and a Fig. ,3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of one of the sway braces shown in Figs. 1 and 2; with the latching mechanism located for purposesof clarification.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 5 represents the forward portion of an airplane wingrhaving a-leading edge spar 6 and having suspended therefrom a bomb rack 1 of conven tional form. A bombis indicated by the numeral 8; having'its suspension eyes 9 engaged by the releasable hook elements In of the bomb'rack' mechanism: 1; For purposes of installing the.

improved retractable sway brace mechanism, the

wing 5 is provided'with additional internal structure inthe form of the spanwise channels 6a, 512,?

6d and 6e, whichare'spaced ba'ck-to-back in for ward" and rear "pairs with similar interco'stal channel members 5 extending between these pairs in a chordwise direction adjacent the lower surface of the wing. 1 The cliordwise channels-6c are more widelyspaced in the spanwise direction than the pairs of forward and rear channels are spaced' 'chordwise andthe-chan'nels 6c are dis--- pbsdwiththeirbacks or web portions facing outwardly; Between the channels 60 is a further pair of'centrally disposed and more closely spaced channels 6 f which-extend from the upper to the lower surfac'eof the wing and are disposed backto-back withgtheir flanges extendin outwardly.

A 's' waybrace latch actuating arm I l, pivotally mounted at. lz, prov idesfameans to conditiontlie' latchingmechanism and to prepare the retract ing mechanism for the sway braces. When the arm II is moved forwardly to the position indicated at IIA, the interconnecting link I3 moves the lever I4 placing the spring I5 under tension. A lever I8 is mounted on the shaft I! to which the lever I4 is also attached. Rotation of the spanwise shaft I! and the lever I6 will serve to compress the spring I8, mounted on the rod I9, and disposed between the flange a and the collar 2I. The rod I9 is pivotally connected to the upper terminal of the lever I6 and at its opposite end the rod I9 slidably engages the upturned flange 28a of the forward latch plate element 20, being provided with a terminal collar, as shown in Fig. 3, which will not pass through the opening in the flange 20a.

The shaft I! is journalled for rotation within the bearing blocks IIa which are supported upon the top flanges of the intercostal channels 60 and the spring extended relationship of the rod I9 and the flange 20a of the latchplate 20 provides a lost-motion means, or provision for overriding movement of the rod I 9 with respect to the flange 20a, thus providing automatic means for accommodating different cooked or bomb-contacting positions of, the arm II due to various size bombs. Two such arms I3 extend upwardly from the shaft I! to accommodate two similar latch units 28 which form the forward pair of sway brace units which are. inclined such thatthe axes of the braces converge downwardly in the region of the bomb 8, as shown in Fig. 2.

A pair of shorter arms 22 are also fixedly attached to the shaft I! and extend downwardly therefrom, being pivotally'connected to; the rearwardly extending interconnecting links 23. The latter are in turn pivotally connected to themtermediate portion of the arms24 which are pivotally mounted at their lower terminals at the pivot 25 to the wing structure. The upper terminal of each arm 24 is pivotally connected to a rod element 26 provided with a co-axial spring 21 similar to the abovementioned rodsand springs I8 and I9. The latter pair of rods Z-Gare slidably associated with the rear latch.plateelements 28,

being slidable through the upturned flange 2.8a thereof whereupon rearwardi movement of the rod 26 and its attached collar 29 causes compression of the spring 21 against .theflange 28a. The

rod 25 is prevented by an enlargedterminal portion from passing through the opening in the flange 2811 when the rod is moved in the opposite direction. The rear pair oflatch plates 28 are similarly outwardly inclined to accommodate the angle at which the rear sway braces are also inclined.

The latch plate elements 2Ilare-slidable within the blocks or cap assemblies 30 which-are='threadedly mounted upon theupper ends of the supporting base elements 32. The latter are disposed between the forward pair of channel members 6a and 6b to which they are fastened by the bolts 32a, the assemblies 30-32 being inclined along the axes of'theforward sway brace posts 34. A similar pair of blocksorcap elements 3| are threadedly attached to theupper terminals of the supporting base elements 33, which are similarly attached to-the rear channels 6d and 66 by the bolts 33a. These rear units '3I--32 are also similarly inclined to converge downwardly along the axes of the rear. sway-brace posts 35.

Fig. 3 which is an enlargedsectional view of the forward lefthand sway brace unit 34, as shown inthe left side of the View in Fig. 2, with the exception that the latch plate element.20 has. been rotated through to the left side of Fig. 3 for convenience in showing its latching relationship. The sway brace post 34 is slidably mounted within the support base 32 and is shown in this figure in its extended position in which it engages the outer surface of the casing of the bomb 8. The upper end of the tubular post 34 is engaged by the inner end 20b of the latch plate 20 which slidably operates within a slot in the cap 30. The abovementioned compression spring I8 tends to urge the latch plate 20 at all times into its retaining position with respect to the post member 34.

A retracting spring 3! is secured to the upper end of a threaded rod 38 which is adjustably positioned in the lower end of a post 34 and is maintained in its adjusted position by a suitable lock nut or similar device. The upper end of the retaining spring 31 is attached to the fitting 6g which is fixedly attached to the inside of the upper surface of the wing, 5.. A chain or other retaining means 40 is also attached to the fitting 69 at its upper terminal, and, at its lower end is attached to the threaded, member 38- to'limit the downwardly extended movement of the sway brace post 34 and. prevent its dropping clear through th pporting, or; guide base element 32.

The lower end of thethreaded rod 38 is provided with a semi-spherical ball terminal 3811 which engages a similar semi-spherical or socket space on the inside of the; universal pad element 39, which contacts the;.casing, of the bomb. The semi-circular ball and; socket contact provided between the elements, 38 and 39ipermitsuthe ready adjustment of the relative relationship. such that the pad element 39 may besaidto be mounted in a semi-universal manner. .The pad element 39 is retained on the terminal, 381% by means of i a threaded lock nut or cap 39a. As indicated in the construction lines inuthis figure, the pad element 39 is retracted (when thelatch 20 is withdrawn and the spring 31 retractsthe post 34 and its threaded rod terminal 38) such that it is substantially flush with the undersurfa'ceofthe wing 5, to the position at 39A.

As the bomb 8 is hoisted into the position shown in Fig. 1, the latch actuating. arm H is moved forwardly into the position indicated'by'thelconstruction lines IIA. This1servesto ready-orcondition the latching mechanismby-rearward'pull on the link I3 and' the concurrentcounterclock wise movement of the shaft I lrurging the latches 20 and 28 toward their respectiveksway brace posts 34 and 35. The conditioningior'readying of the mechanism is maintained by contactxof the outer terminal of the arm II- with the casing of the bomb 8 as it is placed inaits'position-upon the bomb rack hooks I0;. -When the' bomb'is in position and is supported on the-hooks. of thesbomb rack, the individual" swaycbrace post:units-tmay' be drawn down from their retractedipositions shown in Figs. '1 and 2, to their:fully*extended positions in which they will-be retained: by engagement of the latch plates 20 and 28'w'itli the-upper-iends of the respective posts 3.4'and 35;as shown-indetail in Fig. 3. Each'of thesway brac'e" posts-may then be individually adjusted to it's required length for proper engagement: ofthe; respective pad with the bombcasez -When the-bombis re* leased, the latch actuating-aria I-I is-rrotated'in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in" Fig.- 1 under the influence of the'tensionispring I5, which rotates the arms. I4. and lies wellas the attached shaft,I1 in a clockwise. direction-withdrawing the latches .2Iland128 from ,the "respective =cap elements 30 and 3| by .pullingeaupon'the respective rods I9 and 26; permitting the sway brace posts 34 and 35 to be drawn rectilinearly upward under the influence of the springs 31. As the retracting movement. is completed, the arm ll moves rearwardly, its articulated portion being broken by the coil spring I lb such that its main portion lies fiat against the wing undersurface and the pads are drawnupwardly out of the airstream into a substantiallyflush relationship with the undersurface of the wing -in which they offer a minimum of resistance to the flight of the airplane.

While there has been shown and described a single bomb sway brace assembly of four (4) sway brace units, it will be understood that each assembly may consist of a greater or lesser number of sway brace units depending upon the size of the bomb or other load'ite'm which is carried; and also that a single airplane'may beequipped with a plurality of the assemblies which have been shown and may be located beneath the fuselage or other portions of the airplane, as well as under the wings. Other forms and modifications of the present invention, both with respect to its general arrangement and the details of its respective parts, which may occur to those skilled in the art after reading the present description and drawings, are intended to come within the scope and spirit of this invention as more particularly defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an aircraft, means for releasably supporting a bomb from the aircraft, brace means movably supported upon the aircraft for engagement with the bomb, resilient means urging the retraction of said brace means, means for latching said brace means against said resilient means intheextendedpositionofsaidbracemeans,andactuating means operatively [connected to said brace means and said latch means arranged to engage said bomb and to cause unlatching of said latch means and retraction of said brace means by said resilient means upon release of the bomb from the aircraft.

2. In an aircraft, a bomb rack for releasably supporting a bomb on the aircraft, brace means guided for rectilinear movement from the aircraft for steadying engagement with the bomb, resilient means urging disengagement of said brace means, a latch for holding said brace means against said resilient means, and mechanism operatively connected to said latch for said brace means arranged to engage said bomb in its supported position and to initiate rectilinear retraction of said brace means by tripping said latch upon release of said bomb from the aircraft.

3. In an aircraft, means for releasably supporting a bomb from the aircraft, a sway brace rectilinearly supported upon the aircraft for engagement with the bomb, actuating arm means pivotall mounted upon the aircraft operatively connected to said sway brace, retracting means connected to said sway brace, and detent means operatively connected to said actuating arm means arranged to permit retraction of said sway brace by said retracting means upon release of the bomb from the airplane structure.

4. In combination with an airplane structure, a bomb releasably supported from said structure, brace means carried by said structure arranged to prevent swaying of said bomb, said brace means arranged for rectilinear movement from a retracted position within the airplane structure to an extended position in the airstream in which :11: bra'c'es saidbomb against swaying; re-

sillent'means urging-disengagement of said'brace -means, alatch 'for holding said brace means against said resilient means, and automatic means engageable'with said bomb and connected to said latch'means for resiliently retracting said brace means upon release of said bomb'from said structure.

- 5. In an ordnance installation for an aircraft wing, means for releasably supporting a bomb therefrom, brace means extendable from said wing for engagement with said bomb in its operative position, resilient means urging the retraction'of said brace means into said aircraft by said resilient means until said latch means is tripped assaidbomb is released from said aircraft wing.

6. In an ordnance installation for an aircraft.

means for releasably supporting a bomb from said aircraft, brace means longitudinally extendable from said aircraft for engagement with said bomb in its operative position, resilient means urging the retraction of said brace means into said aircraft, a detent for retaining said brace means in its extended operative position in which it engages said bomb, overriding means for maintaining said detent in its engaged position in which it maintains the extended position of said brace means, actuating means pivotally mounted upon the aircraft in engagement with said bomb in its supported position, and further resilient means connected to said actuating means arranged to impart rotation to said actuating means about its pivotal mounting initiated by release of said bomb for the operation of said overriding means, the disengagement of said detent and the retraction of said brace means by said first resilient means.

7. In combination with an aircraft structure, a

bomb releasably supported from said structure,

-' brace means carried by said structure for engagement with said bomb, said brace means arranged for automatic movement from an extended position in the airstream in which it braces said bomb against swaying to a retracted position within the aircraft structure, actuating means engaging said bomb in its supported position for retaining said brace means in its extended position, and automatic means operatively connected to said brace means and said actuating means arranged for the automatic retraction of said brace means upon release of said bomb from said structure.

8. In an automatically retractable bomb chock, v

mounting means for said chock including a guide portion and resilient means engaging said chock for drawing said chock into its retracted position, latching means engaging said guide portion for holding said chock in its operative position against the influence of said resilient means, and an actuating element operatively. associated with said latching means engageable with a bomb for, retaining said chock in its latched operative position and arranged to trip said latch for the automatic retraction of said chock through said guide portion by said resilient means as said actuating element is released by the dropping of the bomb.

9. In an aircraft, mean for releasably supporting a bomb from the aircraft, a sway brace movably supported upon the aircraft for engagement with the bomb, resilient means urging said ease -e03 sway brace into a retractedpositionciiiseneaged from the bomb, latch means normally retaining said sway brace in its extended bomb-engaged position against the influence of said resilient means, and a spring-pressed element -movab1y supported on the aircraft in engagement with said latch means deflectable by the bomb in the extended position of said sway brace into a spring-pressed position in which said latch means maintains said sway brace in extended bombengaged position, said spring-pressed element movable under the influence of said spring upon release of the bomb into an oppositely'defiected position in which said latch means is tripped and said sway brace is retracted under the influence of said resilient means.

10. A bomb sway brace retracting mechanism of the type set forth in claim 9 characterized by the inclusion of a lost-motion means operatively interconnected between said latch means and'said 20 -defiec'tabie rsprinigepressed eleiflent arfan'gedfito permit .th'e over-ridin'g movement 'of said lostmotion means beyond "a predeterihined latched position of said latchmahs as said "deflectable element may be moved to various positions by engagement with bombs of different sizes.

"GUSTAVE J. RUPPERT.

REFERENCES CITED The fonowmgreferemes are of record in the file (if this patent:

iifiiTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,528, 942 Mose'r Mai. 10, 1925 2,010,511 Crawford Aug-Q6, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3658;085 "Great Britain'; Mar. 3, 1932

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