초록 ▼

An aircraft comprising: a flight control surface and a rigid hinged panel both pivotably coupled to a wing; a drive linkage which links the flight control surface to the panel so that rotation of the former drives rotation of the latter, the drive linkage comprising first and second links, a first j

An aircraft comprising: a flight control surface and a rigid hinged panel both pivotably coupled to a wing; a drive linkage which links the flight control surface to the panel so that rotation of the former drives rotation of the latter, the drive linkage comprising first and second links, a first joint which pivotably couples the first and second links to each other, and a second joint which pivotably couples the first link to the flight control surface; and a cam track structure mounted to the wing, the cam track structure comprising first and second cam surfaces having extra run-out space at both ends thereof to prevent jamming. At least one of the links comprises a weakened portion which is designed to fail when a structural overload is produced due to jamming. Additional features can be added to the mechanism to block, shield, and shed other obstruction avenues.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An aircraft comprising: an airfoil-shaped body;a flight control surface coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and comprising a leading edge;a flaperon catcher fitting comprising a flaperon catcher rib attached to the leading edge of the flight control surface and a pair of flaperon catcher plates at

1. An aircraft comprising: an airfoil-shaped body;a flight control surface coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and comprising a leading edge;a flaperon catcher fitting comprising a flaperon catcher rib attached to the leading edge of the flight control surface and a pair of flaperon catcher plates attached to the rib by at least one fusing fastener designed to shear when a structural overload is produced due to jamming;a panel coupled to the airfoil-shaped body;a hinge attached to the panel;a drive linkage which couples the rib of the flaperon catcher fitting to the hinge, wherein the drive linkage comprises a first joint rotatably coupled to the hinge, a second joint, a third joint rotatably coupled to the flaperon catcher plates, first and second links having respective first ends rotatably coupled to the first joint and respective second ends rotatably coupled to the second joint, third and fourth links having respective first ends rotatably coupled to the second joint and respective second ends rotatably coupled to the third joint;an actuator pivotably coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and to the flight control surface, the flight control surface moving relative to the airfoil-shaped body in response to a force applied by the actuator;a cam track structure mounted to the airfoil-shaped body, the cam track structure comprising first and second cam surfaces; andan actuator relief valve that prevents the actuator from generating load greater than a relief valve setting,wherein a structural fuse capability of the fusing fasteners is set higher than an actuator capability at the relief valve setting, wherein the second and third joints of the drive linkage are trapped in the first and second cam surfaces respectively of the cam track structure, and wherein each of the first through fourth links comprises first and second link segments fastened together by first and second fusing fasteners which are designed to fail when a structural overload is produced due to jamming, whereby upon such failure the first and second link segments are free to rotate about the respective joints to which they are coupled so that the first and second link segments become misaligned. 2. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein the cam track structure comprises a shroud feature that extends into a space between the plates. 3. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein extra run-out space is provided at both ends of the first cam surface. 4. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second links comprises a respective extended rub plate attachment tab, further comprising respective rub plates attached to the respective extended rub plate attachment tabs and in contact with the cam track structure adjacent the first cam surface. 5. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein the second joint comprises a roller bearing comprising crowned rollers which are narrower than the width of the first cam surface. 6. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second joints comprise respective fasteners which each have dual retention features by the use of a self-locking castellated nut with a cotter pin. 7. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, wherein the flight control surface is a flaperon. 8. The aircraft as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fusing fasteners which fasten the flaperon catcher plates to the flaperon catcher rib. 9. An aircraft comprising: an airfoil-shaped body;a flight control surface coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and comprising a leading edge;a flaperon catcher fitting comprising a flaperon catcher rib attached to the leading edge of the flight control surface and a pair of flaperon catcher plates attached to the rib by at least one fusing fastener designed to shear when a structural overload is produced due to jamming;a panel coupled to the airfoil-shaped body;a hinge attached to the panel;a drive linkage which couples the rib of the flaperon catcher fitting to the hinge, wherein the drive linkage comprises a first joint rotatably coupled to the hinge, a second joint, a third joint rotatably coupled to the flaperon catcher plates, first and second links having respective first ends rotatably coupled to the first joint and respective second ends rotatably coupled to the second joint, third and fourth links having respective first ends rotatably coupled to the second joint and respective second ends rotatably coupled to the third joint;an actuator pivotably coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and to the flight control surface, the flight control surface moving relative to the airfoil-shaped body in response to a force applied by the actuator;a cam track structure mounted to the airfoil-shaped body, the cam track structure comprising first and second cam surfaces; andan actuator relief valve that prevents the actuator from generating load greater than a relief valve setting, wherein a structural fuse capability of the fusing fasteners is set higher than an actuator capability at the relief valve setting,the second and third joints of the drive linkage are trapped in the first and second cam surfaces respectively of the cam track structure,extra run-out space is provided at both ends of the first and second cam surfaces, andeach of the first through fourth links comprises first and second link segments fastened together by first and second fusing fasteners which are designed to fail when a structural overload is produced due to jamming, whereby upon such failure the first and second link segments are free to rotate about the respective joints to which they are coupled so that the first and second link segments become misaligned. 10. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, wherein the cam track structure comprises a shroud feature that extends into a space between the plates. 11. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, wherein each of the first and second links comprises a respective extended rub plate attachment tab, further comprising respective rub plates attached to the respective extended rub plate attachment tabs and in contact with the cam track structure adjacent the first cam surface. 12. The aircraft as recited in claim 11, wherein the rub plate attachment tabs extend to include shroud features which prevent an object from becoming trapped between the rub plate attachment tabs and the first cam surface during rotation of the first link about the second joint. 13. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, wherein the first joint comprises a roller bearing comprising crowned rollers which are narrower than the width of the first cam surface. 14. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, wherein the first and second joints comprise respective fasteners which each have dual retention features by the use of a self-locking castellated nut with a cotter pin. 15. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, wherein the flight control surface is a flaperon. 16. The aircraft as recited in claim 9, further comprising a plurality of fusing fasteners which fasten the flaperon catcher plates to the flaperon catcher rib. 17. An aircraft comprising: an airfoil-shaped body;a flight control surface pivotably coupled to the airfoil-shaped body;a panel pivotably coupled to the airfoil-shaped body;a drive linkage which links the flight control surface to the panel so that rotation of the flight control surface drives rotation of the panel, the drive linkage comprising first and second links, a first joint which pivotably couples the first and second links to each other, and a second joint which pivotably couples the first link to the flight control surface;an actuator pivotably coupled to the airfoil-shaped body and to the flight control surface, the flight control surface pivoting relative to the airfoil-shaped body in response to a force applied by the actuator; andan actuator relief valve that prevents the actuator from generating load greater than a relief valve setting,wherein at least one of the first and second links comprises first and second link segments fastened together by first and second fusing fasteners which are designed to fail when a structural overload is produced due to jamming, and wherein a structural fuse capability of the fusing fasteners is set higher than an actuator capability at the relief valve setting. 18. The aircraft as recited in claim 17, further comprising a cam track structure mounted to the airfoil-shaped body, the cam track structure comprising first and second cam surfaces, wherein the first and second joints of the drive linkage are trapped in the first and second cam surfaces respectively of the cam track structure.