초록 ▼

A nacelle for an engine has outer and inner cowl doors that are independently rotatable about offset hinge lines. A connection device is provided for selectively connecting the outer and inner cowl doors so as to cause them to open simultaneously. The inner cowl door is arranged to rotate by a great

A nacelle for an engine has outer and inner cowl doors that are independently rotatable about offset hinge lines. A connection device is provided for selectively connecting the outer and inner cowl doors so as to cause them to open simultaneously. The inner cowl door is arranged to rotate by a greater angle than the outer cowl door so as to improve access to the engine for maintenance purposes.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A nacelle for an engine, comprising: an outer cowl door pivotally rotatable about a first hinge line;an inner cowl door pivotally rotatable about a second hinge line, the second hinge line being positioned radially inwardly of the first hinge line; anda connector selectively connecting the outer

1. A nacelle for an engine, comprising: an outer cowl door pivotally rotatable about a first hinge line;an inner cowl door pivotally rotatable about a second hinge line, the second hinge line being positioned radially inwardly of the first hinge line; anda connector selectively connecting the outer and inner cowl doors together, wherein when connecting the outer and inner cowl doors together, the connector causes the outer cowl door and inner cowl door to rotate simultaneously about their respective first and second hinge lines,wherein a first perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in a closed position, andwherein a second perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in the fully opened position, the second perpendicular distance being less than the first perpendicular distance. 2. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer and inner cowl doors are hinged to the nacelle for independent rotation relative thereto. 3. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second hinge lines are offset from each other. 4. A nacelle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first hinge line is substantially parallel to the second hinge line. 5. A nacelle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first and second hinge lines are substantially parallel to a central axis of the nacelle. 6. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein: in the closed position the connector does not connect the inner and outer cowl doors together; andin the fully open position the connector connects the inner and outer cowl doors. 7. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer and inner cowl doors are rotatable between closed and fully open positions and wherein the angle of rotation of the inner cowl door between the closed and fully open positions thereof is greater than the angle of rotation of the outer cowl doors between the closed and fully open positions thereof. 8. A nacelle as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the fully open position of the outer and inner cowl doors, the inner cowl door is at least partially nested within the outer cowl door. 9. A nacelle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connector is arranged to maintain the second perpendicular distance less than the first perpendicular distance when the cowl doors are in the fully open position. 10. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first end of the connector is connectable to one of the inner and outer cowl doors by means of a first articulation and wherein a second end of the connector is connectable to the other of the inner and outer cowl doors by means of a second articulation. 11. A nacelle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first end of the connector is fixed to one of the inner and outer cowl doors by means of the first articulation, and wherein the second end of the connector is detachably connectable to the other of the inner and outer cowl doors by means of an articulated attachment. 12. A nacelle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first and/or second articulation comprises one of a ball joint, rose joint or universal joint. 13. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the connector connects the inner and outer cowl doors, the arrangement substantially defines an articulated, four-bar linkage comprising the cowl doors, the connector and a portion of the nacelle. 14. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner cowl door comprises a portion of a core cowl for at least partially surrounding a core of an engine housed in the nacelle. 15. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer cowl door comprises a thrust-reverser portion of the nacelle. 16. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector is movable between a stowed position and a deployed position in which the connector connects the outer and inner cowl doors. 17. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector has a variable-length. 18. A nacelle as claimed in claim 17, wherein the connector is extensible and movable between a first, reduced length, position and a second, extended length, position. 19. A nacelle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the connector is arranged to connect the inner cowl door to the outer cowl door such that movement of the connector between the second position and the first position permits the inner cowl door to rotate relative to the outer cowl door such that a perpendicular distance between the cowl doors reduces. 20. A nacelle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the connector is lockable in at least one of the first and second positions. 21. A nacelle as claimed in claim 20, wherein the connector is lockable in a position between the first and second positions. 22. A nacelle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the connector is biased towards one of the first and second positions. 23. A nacelle as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the outer cowl door comprises an upper edge and a lower edge, the first hinge line being in proximity to the upper edge of the outer cowl door; andthe inner cowl door comprises an upper edge and a lower edge, the second hinge line being in proximity to the upper edge of the inner cowl door,wherein the connector connects the outer cowl door to the inner cowl door in proximity to their respective lower edges. 24. A nacelle as claimed in claim 23, wherein the connector is pivotally connectable to respective lower edges of the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door. 25. A method of accessing an engine housed in a nacelle having outer and inner cowl doors, the method comprising: partially opening at least one outer cowl door through rotation about a first hinge line;connecting the at least one outer cowl door to the at least one inner cowl door;while connected, rotating the at least one inner cowl door about a second hinge line while the at least one outer cowl door is stationary; androtating the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door simultaneously about their respective first and second hinge lines,wherein a first perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in a closed position, andwherein a second perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in the fully opened position, the second perpendicular distance being less than the first perpendicular distance. 26. A method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising opening the at least one outer cowl door by rotation through a first angle of rotation and opening the at least one inner cowl door by rotation through a second angle of rotation that is greater than the first angle of rotation. 27. A method as claimed in claim 25, comprising carrying out the opening and connecting steps simultaneously. 28. A method as claimed in claim 25, wherein opening the at least one outer cowl door comprises rotating the at least one outer cowl door about the first hinge line and wherein opening the at least one inner cowl door comprises rotating the at least one inner cowl door about the second hinge line, the first and second hinge lines being offset from each other. 29. A method as claimed in claim 25, comprising: unlatching the outer cowl door and rotating it through a first angle to a partially open position;unlatching the inner cowl door and coupling a connector between the inner cowl door and the outer cowl door;opening the inner cowl door by rotation through a second angle that is greater than the first angle; androtating the outer cowl door to a fully open position whereby the connector couples the movement of the outer cowl door with the inner cowl door, causing the cowl doors to open simultaneously. 30. A nacelle for an engine, comprising: an outer cowl door;an inner cowl door; anda variable-length connector selectively connecting the outer and inner cowl doors together,wherein the connector is arranged to connect the inner cowl door to the outer cowl door such that movement of the connector between a lengthened position and a reduced-length position permits the inner cowl door to rotate relative to the outer cowl door such that a perpendicular distance between the cowl doors reduces,wherein a first perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in a closed position, andwherein a second perpendicular distance is defined between the outer cowl door and the inner cowl door when in the fully opened position, the second perpendicular distance being less than the first perpendicular distance.