Patent Application
20080067286
This description will be given with respect to the appended figures wherein;
With reference firstly to
As an indication, it is noted that the assembly 3 is intended to be surrounded by a pod (not shown), and that the mounting device 1 comprises a series of engine attachments (not shown) used to suspend the turboprop 2 under the mounting device, and more specifically under the rigid structure thereof.
In the entire description below, by convention, X refers to the direction parallel to a longitudinal axis 5 of the engine 2 which is also comparable to the longitudinal direction of the mounting device 1, Y to the direction oriented crosswise with respect to the aircraft and also comparable to the transverse direction of the mounting device 1 and the engine 2, and Z to the vertical direction or the height, these three directions being orthogonal with respect to each other. It is specified that the longitudinal axis 5 of the engine 2 is to be taken to be the longitudinal axis of the engine casing, and not the longitudinal axis of its propeller 7 (the blades of which are not shown).
In addition, the terms “front” and “rear” should be taken into consideration with respect to the direction of forward motion of the aircraft encountered following the thrust applied by the engines 2, this direction being represented schematically by the arrow 6.
In
Similarly, as the rigid structure 8 is similar to those encountered in the devices according to the prior art, and displaying in any case a specific and different design according to the type of engine to be suspended, it will not be described in more detail as a result.
However, the mounting means 10, located overall to the rear of the rigid structure 8, and more specifically at an under-wing caisson 12 in the case shown of a rigid turboprop structure, are specific to the present invention, and therefore will be presented in detail below.
As a general rule, the attachment means 10 consist of a front attachment 14, an intermediate attachment 15 and a rear attachment 16, the intermediate attachment 15 being positioned between the front and rear attachments 14, 16. As will be explained in detail below, the front attachment 14 connects an upper girder 18 of the under-wing caisson 12 of the rigid structure 8, to a front vertical girder 20 forming an integral part of the structure of the wing 4 and extending substantially along a main longitudinal direction or wing span (not shown) of said wing 4. The intermediate attachment 15 also connects the upper girder 18 of the under-wing caisson 12 to the front vertical girder 20 of the wing 4.
In addition, the rear attachment 16 connects a rear end of the upper girder 18 of the under-wing caisson 12, to a horizontal rib (not shown) substantially perpendicular to a main wing unit girder (not shown) forming an integral part of the structure of the wing 4.
As can be seen in
In this way, it can be seen that the half-attachment 14a firstly comprises an attachment arrangement 23 essentially comprising a fitting 24, preferentially a double fitting, attached to the girder 18 of the under-wing caisson 12. This fitting 24 extends substantially in a vertical plane oriented along the direction X, i.e. along a plane XZ, practically in the prolongation of a side panel 26 of the under-wing caisson 12. In addition, it is perforated with two through holes of parallel axes substantially oriented in a transverse direction Y of the aircraft, and each receiving a ball joint, respectively a first ball joint 25a and a second ball joint 25b as will be detailed subsequently with reference to
Two triangular shackles 30 and 32, preferentially identical and taking roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle, are respectively arranged on either side of this fitting 24, also substantially in the planes XZ. In this way, the external shackle 30 and the internal shackle 32 together form a pair of triangular shackles, wherein the shackles 30, 32 are parallel with each other. As such, it is specified that the pair of triangular shackles could also consist of double shackles, without leaving the scope of the invention.
In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the external shackle 30 is arranged such that one of its bases 30a is mounted on the fitting 24 of the arrangement 23, this base 30a being oriented substantially in the direction X. In this way, it can be understood that the shackle 30 is positioned such that it extends vertically upwards along the direction Z, from its base 30a, to a vertex 30b opposite this base 30a.
In this way, in the vicinity of each of the two vertexes (not referenced) associated with this base 30a, a through hole 36a, 36b is produced, oriented along the direction Y. In the same way, the internal shackle 32 is arranged in the same way as that of the external shackle 30, i.e. one of its bases 32a is mounted on the fitting 24, and this base 32a is oriented substantially along the direction X. As a result, in this case also, a through hole (not visible in
To provide the connection between the pair of shackles and the fitting 24, the half-attachment 14a comprises two shafts 40a, 40b substantially oriented along the direction Y, and arranged in the same horizontal plane XY. In fact, the front shaft 40a, preferentially a double shaft, passes successively through the through hole 36a of the external triangular shackle 30, one of the two through holes produced in the fitting 24 and more specifically the ball joint 25a housed in this orifice, along with one of the two through holes of the internal triangular shackle 32. Similarly, the rear shaft 40b, preferentially also a double shaft, passes successively through the through hole 36b of the external triangular shackle 30, the other of the two through holes produced in the fitting 24 and more specifically the ball joint 25b housed in this orifice, and the other of the two through holes of the internal triangular shackle 32.
Moreover, the half-attachment 14a is fitted with another fitting 44 oriented in a vertical plane XZ and taking the form of a rib of the structure of the wing 4, said rib 44 being attached to the girder 20 as is clearly visible in
To attach the pair of triangular shackles onto said fitting 44, the external shackle 30 comprises a through hole 48 oriented along the transverse direction Y, said hole 48 being produced in the vicinity of the vertex 30b opposite the abovementioned base 30a. Similarly, the internal shackle 32 comprises a through hole (not visible in
As mentioned above, the half-attachment 14b will not be described in more detail, in that only the length along the direction X of its fitting 54 inserted between the girder 20 and the pair of triangular shackles is different with respect to the length along the direction X of the fitting 44 of the half-attachment 14a. Naturally, this is explained by the positioning of the girder 20 of the wing 4, which is located in an inclined vertical plane with respect to a plane YZ.
Again with reference jointly to
In the vicinity of a lower end (not referenced) of the front shackle 62, a through hole oriented along the direction X is produced. Similarly, the rear shackle 64 is arranged identically to that of the front shackle 62, i.e. along the vertical direction Z. Here again, a through hole oriented along the direction X is produced, in the vicinity of the lower end of said rear shackle 64.
To provide the connection between the pair of shackles and the fitting 56, the rear attachment 16 comprises a lower shaft 72 oriented along the direction X. This lower shaft 72, preferentially a double shaft, then phases successively through the through hole of the front shackle 62, the through hole produced in the fitting 56, and the through hole of the rear shackle 64.
Moreover, the rear shackle 16 is provided with another fitting 76 oriented overall in a vertical plane YZ and extending upwards by a horizontal plate 78, said plate 78 being attached to the horizontal rib substantially perpendicular to the main girder of the wing 4. As a result, the fitting 76 passes through a lower wing surface coating 22 of the wing 4, or is mounted on said coating 22 in conjunction with the horizontal rib.
In a lower part, said fitting 76 is perforated with a single through hole, oriented along the direction X of the aircraft. To attach the pair of shackles on said fitting 76, the front shackle 62 comprises a through hole oriented along the direction X, said hole 82 being produced in the vicinity of an upper end (not referenced) of said front shackle 62. Similarly, the rear shackle 64 comprises a through hole oriented along the direction X, said hole 84 being produced in the vicinity of an upper end (not referenced) of said rear shackle 64. With such an arrangement, an upper shaft 86, arranged above the shaft 72 and being preferentially a double shaft may then provide the connection between the pair of shackles and the fitting 76, by passing successively through the through hole of the front shackle 62, the through hole of the fitting 76, and the through hole of the rear shackle 64.
The intermediate attachment 15 in turn essentially comprises a connecting rod 88 absorbing the stresses applied along the direction Y, said connection rod 88 being located in a vertical plane YZ, and preferentially arranged along said transverse direction Y or slightly inclined with respect to said direction Y. As represented in
In addition, the intermediate attachment 15 is equipped with a lower fitting 90 attached to the girder 18 of the under-wing caisson 12, the fitting 90 being perforated with a through hole (not referenced) oriented along the direction X. A first end 88a of the connecting rod 88 is thus mounted in a hinged manner on said fitting 90, via a shaft 92 oriented along the direction X. In addition, the intermediate attachment 15 is equipped with an upper fitting 94 attached to the girder 20 of the structure of the wing 4, the fitting 94 being also perforated with a through hole (not referenced) oriented in the direction X. A second end 88b of the connecting rod 88 is then mounted in a hinged manner on said fitting 94, via a shaft 96 oriented along the direction X.
In this isostatic arrangement of the present invention, the longitudinal stresses (thrust, reversing gears) are transmitted via the front attachment 14. The transverse stresses are transmitted by the intermediate attachment 15, while the stresses along the vertical direction simultaneously pass through the front attachment 14 and the rear attachment 16. It is noted that with such a configuration, the longitudinal stresses transit directly via the ribs 44 and 54 of the structure of the wing 4, these ribs 44 and 54 being located generally to the rear with respect to the half-attachments 14a, 14b.
Moreover, the moment along the longitudinal axis is absorbed in the vertical direction by both half-attachments 14a, 14b of the front attachment 14, and the moment along the transverse axis is also absorbed in the vertical direction by the assembly formed by the front 14 and rear attachments 16. Finally, the moment along the vertical axis is absorbed in the longitudinal direction by both half-attachments 14a,14b of the front attachment 14.
With reference to
In this way, the arrangement 23 comprises the fitting 24 perforated at the front with a first orifice 102a of an axis 104a parallel with the direction Y, and perforated at the rear with a second orifice 102b of an axis 104b also parallel with the direction Y. As mentioned above, the orifice 102a is traversed by the first ball joint 25a, such that a shoulder 106a provided at one of the ends of an external ring 108a of said ball joint 25a is pressing against an external lateral surface 110 of the perforated fitting 24. More specifically with reference to
Similarly, the orifice 102b is traversed by the second ball joint 25b, such that a shoulder 106b provided at one of the ends of an external ring 108b of said ball joint 25b is resting against the external lateral surface 110 of the perforated fitting 24, a clamping nut (not visible) being in turn mounted on the other end of the ring 108b, to rest against the internal lateral surface 112.
As can be seen more clearly in
In fact, the attachment arrangement 23 also comprises a first anti-rotation system 122a and a second anti-rotation system 122b used to lock the ball joints 25a, 25b respectively in their respective orifices 102a, 102b.
Overall, the first system 122a comprises a main plate 124a pressing against the external lateral surface 110 and therefore located substantially in a plane XZ, said plate 124a comprising an orifice 130a centred on the axis 104a and traversed by the external ring 108a of the ball joint 25a. In addition, this plate of a substantially circular shape and of a thickness of approximately 2 mm is preferentially made of titanium.
One of the specificities of the present invention lies in the fact that it comprises tappets 132 each cooperating with one of the notches 120 provided on the external ring 108a. More specifically, in this first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the four tappets 132 comprised by the plate 124a are made of one piece therewith and arranged so as to be spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the orifice 130a wherein they protrude, radially inwards.
Similarly, the second system 122b comprises a main plate 124b pressing against the external lateral surface 110 and located in the same plane XZ as that of the plate 124a, said plate 124b comprising an orifice 130b centred on the axis 104b and traversed by the external ring 108b of the ball joint 25b. In addition, in this case also, the plate of substantially circular shape and of a thickness of approximately 2 mm is preferentially made of titanium.
Moreover, it comprises tappets 132 each cooperating with one of the notches 120 provided on the external ring 108b, the four tappets 132 consisting of one piece with the plate 124b and arranged so as to be spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the orifice 130b inside which they protrude, radially inwards.
In this first preferred embodiment, the main plates 124a, 124b consist of one piece and are joined by an intermediate portion 128 of reduced cross-section. In this way, a part 126 is provided consisting of a single piece incorporating the two plates 124a, 124b, their tappets 132, and the intermediate joining portion 128, said part roughly taking the shape of a figure of eight along the direction X, pressing against the external lateral surface 110 of the fitting 24.
It is understood that the arrangement 23 is assembled firstly by positioning the single part 126 correctly against the perforated fitting 24, so as to align the plate orifices 130a, 130b respectively with the orifices 102a, 102b of the fitting 24. In this respect, to perform and retain this positioning, it is possible to use assembly means of the part 126 on the perforated fitting 24, said means possibly taking the form of a simple bolt 134 passing for example through the intermediate portion 128 as illustrated in
The ball joints 25a, 25b are then inserted into their respective housings along the direction Y, with their external rings 108a, 108b successively passing through the plate orifices 130a, 130b and the fitting orifices 102a, 102b. This insertion is performed with an angular alignment of each of the external rings 108a, 108b suitable for obtaining an automatic engagement of the tappets 132 in their respective notches 120 provided on the shoulder 106a, 106b of the ring concerned.
Finally, when the shoulder 106a, 106b has come into contact with the external lateral surface 110, the clamping nut 118 is screwed onto the opposite end of the ring 108a, 108b, so as to complete the assembly of the attachment arrangement 23. The screwing may be performed without it being necessary to have the shoulder 106a, 106b cooperate with a rotation locking tool of the corresponding external ring 108a, 108b with respect to the perforated fitting 24, given that this function is now fulfilled entirely by the part 126.
In
In this way, it can be seen that a single part 126 is still provided to form both anti-rotation systems 122a, 122b with tappets 132, the only noteworthy difference with the part 126 of the first preferred embodiment lying in the design of said tappets 132. In fact, the tappets 132 comprised by the main plates 124a, 124b are no longer designed so as to protrude radially inwards in the plate orifices 130a, 130b, but so as to protrude from an external surface (not referenced) of the main plate concerned, said external surface being opposite an internal surface (not referenced) pressing against the perforated fitting 24.
This configuration is provided for due to the fact that the part 126 is assembled with the fitting 24 by pinching the main plate 124a between the shoulder 106a and the external lateral surface 110 of said perforated fitting 24, and by pinching the main plate 124b between the shoulder 106b and the external lateral surface 110 of the perforated fitting 24. As a result, it is no longer necessary to provide for assembly means 134 as described in the first preferred embodiment.
It is specified that while the tappets 132 are preferentially produced from the external surface of the plates 124a, 124b without entering the inside the plate orifices 130a, 130b, they are nevertheless provided sufficiently close to these orifices 130a, 130b such that, during the insertion of the ball joints 25a, 25b in the orifices 102a, 102b, an automatic engagement of the tappets 132 is obtained in their respective notches 120 provided on the shoulder 106a, 106b of the external ring concerned. In this respect, it is noted that the insertion is completed when said shoulder 106a, 106b makes contact with the external surface of the part 126, given that the pinching required for same no longer results in the shoulder 106a, 106b being brought into contact with the external lateral surface 110 of the fitting 24.
Finally, as can be seen in
In
In this way, it can be seen that a part 126 consisting of one piece is still provided to form the main plates 124a, 124b of the two anti-rotation systems 122a, 122b, one of the noteworthy differences with the part 126 of the previous preferred embodiments lying in the fact that these plates 124a, 124b no longer incorporate the tappets 132 in a single part.
In fact, the first system 122a also comprises a secondary plate 140a pressing against the external surface of the main plate 124a, and assembled therewith using conventional means such as rivets. This plate 140a, also located substantially in a plane XZ, comprises a secondary plate orifice 142a centred on the axis 104a and traversed by the external ring 108a of the ball joint 25a. In addition, this plate of a substantially circular shape and of a thickness of approximately 2 mm is preferentially made of titanium. Therefore, in this third embodiment, the specificity consists of providing for said secondary plate 140a comprising tappets 132 each cooperating with one of the notches 120 provided on the external ring 108a. More specifically, the four tappets 140a consist of one piece with same, and are arranged so as to be spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the orifice 142a wherein they protrude, radially inwards.
Similarly, the second system 122b also comprises a secondary plate 140b pressing against the external surface of the main plate 124b, and assembled therewith using conventional means such as rivets. This plate 140b, also located substantially in a plane XZ, comprises a secondary plate orifice 142b centred on the axis 104b and traversed by the external ring 108b of the ball joint 25b. In addition, this plate of a substantially circular shape and of a thickness of approximately 2 mm is preferentially made of titanium. Here again, the secondary plate 140b comprises tappets 132 each cooperating with one of the notches 120 provided on the external ring 108a, the four tappets 132 comprised by the plate 140a consisting of one piece therewith, and arranged so as to be spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the orifice 142b wherein they protrude, radially inwards.
In this way, in this third preferred embodiment, the tappets 132 are still comprised by the main plates 124a, 124b, but consist of a single part with their respective secondary plates 140a, 140b wherein the orifices 142a, 142b are traversed by the shoulders 106a, 106b coming to a stop against the external surface of the part 126.
In fact, here again, it is ensured that the part 126 comprising in a fixed manner the two secondary plates 140a, 140b equipped with tappets 132 is itself assembled with the fitting 24 by pinching the main plate 124a between the shoulder 106a and the external lateral surface 110 of said perforated fitting 24, and by pinching the main plate 124b between the shoulder 106b and the external lateral surface 110 of the perforated fitting 24.
As a result, in this case, it is no longer necessary to provide for the assembly means 134 as described in the first preferred embodiment, which particularly makes it possible to reduce the assembly time and costs of the attachment arrangement 23.
In the three preferred embodiments described above, the two anti-rotation systems 122a, 122b are arranged on the shoulder side 106a, 106b of the external rings of the ball joints 108a, 108b.
In a fourth preferred embodiment, the two anti-rotation systems 122a, 122b are arranged on the side opposite the shoulder side 106a, 106b, i.e. on the threaded side of said external rings of the ball joints 108a, 108b, cooperating with the nuts 118.
With reference to
More specifically, the main plates 124a, 124b of the first and second anti-rotation systems 122a, 122b are each pinched between the surface 112 of the fitting 24, and one of the two clamping nuts 118.
Moreover, as can be seen clearly in
Preferentially, the main plate 124a of the first anti-rotation system 122a comprises additional tappets 136 spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the main plate orifice 130a from which they protrude radially outwards, said tappets 136 being intended to cooperate with notches 138 provided on the associated clamping nut in order to lock it in rotation. Similarly, the main plate 124b of the second anti-rotation system 122b also comprises additional tappets 136 spaced circumferentially with respect to each other around the main plate orifice 130b from which they protrude radially outwards, said tappets 136 also being intended to cooperate with notches 138 provided on the associated clamping nut in order to lock it in rotation.
Naturally, said tappets 136 may also consist of one piece with the part 126 held in position only by pinching, which is then solely capable ensuring the locking in rotation of the two external ball joint rings, and the prevention of loosening of the two nuts.
Naturally, various modifications may be made for those skilled in the art to the invention described above, as non-limitative examples only. In this respect, it is particularly possible to specify whether the engine assembly 3 is in a suitable configuration for it to be suspended under the aircraft wing unit, this assembly 3 could also come in the form of a different configuration enabling it to be mounted above said wing unit, or on a rear part of the fuselage of said aircraft.
Moreover, while all the triangular shackles 30 and 32 of the mounting device 1 have been described as extending vertically upwards, from one of their bases to the vertex opposite said base, said triangular shackles of the device may alternatively still extend vertically, but from one of their bases to the vertex opposite said base downwards. In such a case, the attachment arrangement according to the present invention is no longer on the lower fitting 24 as presented above, but on the upper fittings 44, 54 modified so as to comprise two orifices of substantially parallel axes for the assembly of the base of the triangular shackles 30, 32.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06 53848 | Sep 2006 | FR | national |
