초록 ▼

An aerial refueling boom may include a refueling boom assembly and a pivot assembly for attaching the aerial refueling boom to a tanker aircraft. The refueling boom assembly may include a main boom section and a hollow telescoping boom section. The hollow telescoping boom section is adapted to be mo

An aerial refueling boom may include a refueling boom assembly and a pivot assembly for attaching the aerial refueling boom to a tanker aircraft. The refueling boom assembly may include a main boom section and a hollow telescoping boom section. The hollow telescoping boom section is adapted to be moved between a retracted position within the main boom section and an extended position extending from the main boom section for in-flight refueling of an aircraft. The pivot assembly may include an aircraft attachment plate to attach the pivot assembly to the tanker aircraft and a refueling boom attachment plate to attach the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly. The pivot assembly may also include a plurality of actuators pivotably coupling the aircraft attachment plate to the refueling boom attachment plate.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An aerial refueling boom, comprising: a refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom assembly comprising:a main boom section; anda hollow telescoping boom section adapted to be moved between a retracted position within the main boom section and an extended position extending from the main boom sec

1. An aerial refueling boom, comprising: a refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom assembly comprising:a main boom section; anda hollow telescoping boom section adapted to be moved between a retracted position within the main boom section and an extended position extending from the main boom section for in-flight refueling of an aircraft;a pivot assembly for attaching the aerial refueling boom to a tanker aircraft, wherein the pivot assembly comprises:an aircraft attachment plate to attach the pivot assembly to the tanker aircraft;a refueling boom attachment plate at a forward end of the refueling boom assembly; anda plurality of actuators pivotably coupling the aircraft attachment plate to the refueling boom attachment plate, wherein each actuator includes a first end pivotably attached to the aircraft attachment plate and a second end pivotably attached directly to the refueling boom attachment plate at the forward end of the refueling boom assembly to pivotably attach the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly, and each actuator being independently controllable to vary a length of each actuator to provide multiple degrees of freedom of motion of the aerial refueling boom. 2. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, further comprising an offset adapter to provide a structural interface between the pivot assembly and the refueling boom assembly, wherein the offset adapter comprises a structure to allow the aircraft attachment plate to be attached substantially horizontally to the tanker aircraft. 3. The aerial refueling boom of claim 2, further comprising: a roller bearing to couple the refueling boom assembly to the offset adapter to allow the aerial refueling boom to rotate about a roll axis of the aerial refueling boom extending through a centerline of a longitudinal extent of the refueling boom; anda roller bearing actuator mechanically coupled to the roller bearing to rotate the aerial refueling boom about the roll axis of the aerial refueling boom. 4. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, wherein the plurality of actuators comprises six actuators to provide six degrees of freedom of motion of the aerial refueling boom and to eliminate a need for airfoil control surfaces being attached to the aerial refueling boom, wherein the length of each actuator is variable to provide movement of the refueling boom in both azimuth and elevation about a virtual pivot point. 5. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, wherein the main boom section comprises: a plurality of outer longitudinal stiffeners extending linearly along a length of the main boom section;a plurality of structural bulkheads positioned at predetermined locations along the length of the main boom section, each structural bulkhead including a center opening through which the telescoping boom section is moveable, and each of the plurality of outer longitudinal stiffeners being attached to each of the structural bulkheads; anda plurality of inner longitudinal stiffeners each extending linearly along the length of the main boom section, each inner longitudinal stiffener extending through the center opening of each structural bulkhead and being attached thereto. 6. The aerial refueling boom of claim 5, further comprising: a fuel tube inserted into the telescoping boom section, wherein the telescoping boom section is slidable along the fuel tube when the telescoping boom section is moved between the retracted and extended positions;a forward end bulkhead attached to the outer longitudinal stiffeners and the inner longitudinal stiffeners at an end of the main boom section proximate to the pivot assembly;a fuel fitting disposed in a center opening of the forward end bulkhead for receiving a fuel line from the tanker aircraft and for coupling the fuel line to the fuel tube. 7. The aerial refueling boom of claim 5, further comprising: a set of after rollers rotatably mounted to the main boom section proximate to an aft end of the main boom section, each of the set of after rollers being adapted for rolling contact against the telescoping boom section to support and align the telescoping boom section when the telescoping boom section is moved between the retracted and extended positions; anda set of forward rollers rotatably mounted to a forward end the telescoping boom section for riding against the inner longitudinal stiffeners when the telescoping boom section is moved between the retracted and extended positions. 8. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, further comprising: a motor and gearbox mounted to the main boom section; anda gear rack mounted to the telescoping boom section, wherein the motor and gearbox are mechanically coupled to the gear rack to move the telescoping boom section between the retracted and extended positions. 9. The aerial refueling boom of claim 8, wherein the telescoping boom section comprises a hexagonal exterior shape and the gear rack is mounted on one flat side of the telescoping boom section. 10. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, further comprising: a refueling nozzle attached to an aft end of the telescoping boom section, the refueling nozzle being adapted to releasably couple the telescoping boom section to an aircraft fuel receptacle for in-flight refueling of the aircraft; andan ice shield mounted to an aft end of the main boom section to protect the refueling nozzle when the telescoping boom section is in the retracted position. 11. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, further comprising: a refueling boom hoist mechanism to raise the refueling boom between a lowered position for in-flight refueling to a stowed position in event of a malfunction of the pivot assembly; anda streamlined aerodynamic fairing mounted on the main boom section and surrounding a connection of the refueling hoist mechanism to substantially minimize drag and any other adverse aerodynamic effects causable by the refueling boom hoist mechanism when in the lowered position for in-flight refueling. 12. The aerial refueling boom of claim 1, wherein the main boom section comprises a substantially triangular shaped cross-section along its longitudinal extent, the main boom section comprising: three outer longitudinal stiffeners extending linearly along a length of the main boom section, each outer longitudinal stiffener defining a vertex of the substantially triangular shaped cross-section of the main boom; anda plurality of substantially triangular shaped structural bulkheads positioned at predetermined locations along the length of the main boom section, each structural bulkhead including a center opening through which the telescoping boom section is moveable, and each of the outer longitudinal stiffeners being attached to a vertex of each structural bulkhead. 13. An aerial refueling boom, comprising: a pivot assembly for attaching the aerial refueling boom to a tanker aircraft;a refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom assembly comprising:a main boom section; anda hollow telescoping boom section adapted to be moved between a retracted position within the main boom section and an extended position extending from the main boom section for in-flight refueling of an aircraft, wherein the main boom section comprises:a plurality of outer longitudinal stiffeners extending linearly along a length of the main boom section;a plurality of structural bulkheads positioned at predetermined locations along the length of the main boom section, each structural bulkhead including a center opening through which the telescoping boom section is moveable, and each of the plurality of outer longitudinal stiffeners being attached to each of the structural bulkheads; andwherein the pivot assembly comprises:an aircraft attachment plate to attach the pivot assembly to the tanker aircraft; anda refueling boom attachment plate at a forward end of the refueling boom assembly;a plurality of actuators pivotably coupling the aircraft attachment plate to the refueling boom attachment plate, the plurality of actuators being pivotably directly attached to refueling boom attachment plate at the forward end of the refueling boom assembly to pivotably attach the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly. 14. The aerial refueling boom of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of inner longitudinal stiffeners extending linearly along the length of the main boom section, each inner longitudinal stiffener extending through the center opening of each structural bulkhead and being attached thereto. 15. The aerial refueling boom of claim 13, wherein the pivot assembly further comprises: wherein each actuator includes a first end pivotably attached to the aircraft attachment plate and a second end pivotably attached to the refueling boom attachment plate and each actuator being independently controllable to vary a length of each actuator to provide multiple degrees of freedom of motion of the aerial refueling boom. 16. The aerial refueling boom of claim 13, wherein the main boom section comprises a substantially triangular shaped cross-section along its longitudinal extent, the main boom section comprising: three outer longitudinal stiffeners extending linearly along a length of the main boom section, each outer longitudinal stiffener defining a vertex of the substantially triangular shaped cross-section of the main boom; anda plurality of substantially triangular shaped structural bulkheads positioned at predetermined locations along the length of the main boom section, each structural bulkhead including a center opening through which the telescoping boom section is moveable, and each of the outer longitudinal stiffeners being attached to a vertex of each structural bulkhead. 17. An aerial refueling boom, comprising: a refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom assembly comprising:a main boom section; anda hollow telescoping boom section adapted to be moved between a retracted position within the main boom section and an extended position extending from the main boom section for in-flight refueling of an aircraft;a pivot assembly for attaching the aerial refueling boom to a tanker aircraft andan offset adapter at a forward end of the refueling boom assembly, the offset adapter providing a structural interface between the pivot assembly and the refueling boom assembly, wherein the offset adapter comprises a structure to allow the pivot assembly to be attached substantially horizontally to the tanker aircraft;wherein the pivot assembly comprises:an aircraft attachment plate to attach the pivot assembly to the tanker aircraft;a refueling boom attachment plate directly attached to the offset adapter at the forward end of the refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom attachment plate pivotably attaching the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly; anda plurality of actuators pivotably coupling the aircraft attachment plate to the refueling boom attachment plate, wherein each actuator includes a first end pivotably attached to the aircraft attachment plate and a second end pivotably attached to the refueling boom attachment plate and each actuator being independently controllable to vary a length of each actuator. 18. The aerial refueling boom of claim 17, further comprising a roller bearing to couple the refueling boom assembly to the offset adapter to allow the aerial refueling boom to rotate about a roll axis of the aerial refueling boom extending through a centerline of a longitudinal extent of the refueling boom. 19. The aerial refueling boom of claim 18 further comprising a roller bearing actuator mechanically coupled to the roller bearing to rotate the aerial refueling boom about the roll axis of the aerial refueling boom. 20. A method for in-flight refueling of an aircraft, comprising: pivoting a refueling boom assembly into a selected position for in-flight refueling of the aircraft;selecting the selected position for in-flight refueling by independently adjusting a length of each of a plurality of actuators of a pivot assembly attaching the refueling boom assembly to a tanker aircraft, wherein the pivot assembly comprises:an aircraft attachment plate to attach the pivot assembly to the tanker aircraft;a refueling boom attachment plate attached at a forward end of the refueling boom assembly, the refueling boom attachment plate attaching the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly, the plurality of actuators pivotably coupling the aircraft attachment plate to the refueling boom attachment plate, wherein each actuator includes a first end pivotably attached to the aircraft attachment plate and a second end pivotably attached directly to the refueling boom attachment plate at the forward end of the refueling boom assembly to pivotably attach the refueling boom assembly to the pivot assembly, and each actuator being independently controllable to vary a length of each actuator; andextending a hollow telescoping boom section from a main boom section of the refueling boom assembly, the hollow telescoping boom section comprising a refueling nozzle attached to an aft end of the telescoping boom section, the refueling nozzle being adapted to releasably couple the telescoping boom section to a fuel receptacle of the aircraft to be refueled in-flight. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of actuators comprise six actuators and wherein selecting the selected position for in-flight refueling comprises independently adjusting a length of the six actuators to provide six degrees of freedom of motion of the refueling boom assembly and to eliminate a need for airfoil control surfaces being attached to the refueling boom, wherein the length of each actuator is variable to provide movement of the refueling boom assembly in both azimuth and elevation about a virtual pivot point. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising rotating the refueling boom assembly about a roll axis of the refueling boom assembly extending through a centerline of a longitudinal extent of the refueling boom to provide an additional degree of freedom of motion of the refueling boom assembly. 23. The method of claim 20, wherein extending the hollow telescoping boom section comprises operating a motor and gearbox mounted to the main boom section to drive a gear rack mounted to the telescoping boom section, wherein the motor and gearbox are mechanically coupled to the gear rack to move the telescoping boom section between an extended position and a retracted position. 24. The aerial boom of claim 1, further comprising an offset adapter coupled to the forward end of the refueling boom, the refueling boom attachment plate being attached to a side of the offset adapter that extends from the forward end of the refueling boom.