The Boeing Company

Mitchell Mellor

Justin D Cottet

Michael Allan Long

Richard B Odell

Leanne M Campbell

Gregory J Vering

Gabriela K Defrancisci

Aaron P Knock

Michael L Drake

George Sonnenburg

Brian M Hansen

Christopher Mark Alley

Frank M Yourkowski

Christopher A Reitz

Christopher M Alley

A landing gear including an outer cylinder, a shock strut assembly, and a passive shrink mechanism. The outer cylinder is coupled to a frame of an aircraft about a trunnion axis of rotation. The shock strut assembly is coupled to the outer cylinder for reciprocation along a longitudinal axis of the outer cylinder. The passive shrink mechanism includes: a first shrink link member coupled to the outer cylinder, a second shrink link member coupling the first shrink link member to the shock strut assembly, a crank member coupled to the outer cylinder, a first connecting link coupling the crank member to a walking beam of a landing gear retract mechanism, and a second connecting link coupling the crank member to the first shrink link member. The passive shrink mechanism is passively extended and shortened through actuation of the landing gear retract mechanism with deployment and retraction of the landing gear.

Landing gear shrink link mechanism

A shrink mechanism for use with a landing gear of an aircraft. The landing gear includes an outer cylinder rotatably coupled to a frame of an aircraft about a trunnion axis of rotation and a shock strut assembly movably coupled to the outer cylinder so as to reciprocate along a longitudinal axis of the outer cylinder. The shrink mechanism incudes a first shrink link member pivotally coupled to the outer cylinder, a second shrink link member coupling the first shrink link member to the shock strut assembly, a crank member pivotally coupled to the outer cylinder, a drive member coupling the crank member to a walking beam of a landing gear retract mechanism, and a driven member coupling the crank member to the first shrink link member.

A rotary actuator for a hinged panel assembly, e.g., of a fixed-wing aircraft, includes ball bearings, an outer cylinder, a piston, and an inner shaft. The outer cylinder admits fluid pressure from a fluid pressure supply. The piston is circumscribed by the outer cylinder. The piston, outer cylinder, and ball bearings collectively forming an outer ball screw. The piston translates along a longitudinal center axis in response to the fluid pressure. The inner shaft is circumscribed by the piston, with the inner shaft, piston, and ball bearings collectively forming an inner ball screw that is concentric with the outer ball screw. The ball screws form an interlaced ball circuit with one or more shared ball paths. Piston translation rotates the piston and inner shaft, and to thereby recirculates the ball bearings between the outer ball screw and the inner ball screw through the interlaced ball circuit.

Recirculating ball screw rotary actuator

A landing gear including a shock strut assembly including an outer cylinder coupled to an airframe, a wheel movably coupled to the outer cylinder so as to reciprocate substantially along a longitudinal axis of the outer cylinder, and a shrink mechanism including a pivot arm pivotally coupled to the shock strut assembly, a drive member coupling the pivot arm to a landing gear retract mechanism, a driven member coupled to the pivot arm, a first shrink link member coupled to the pivot arm by the driven member, and a second shrink link member coupled to the first shrink link member and to the shock strut assembly. Rotation of the pivot arm by the drive member, effects a folding movement between the first shrink link member and the second shrink link member, and the folding movement effects at least a retraction of the wheel relative to the outer cylinder.

Single axle, semi-levered landing gear with shortening mechanism

A landing gear including an outer cylinder rotatably coupled to a frame of an aircraft about a trunnion axis of rotation, a shock strut assembly movably coupled to the outer cylinder so as to reciprocate along a longitudinal axis of the outer cylinder, and a shrink mechanism including a first shrink link member pivotally coupled to the outer cylinder, a second shrink link member coupling the first shrink link member to the shock strut assembly, a crank member pivotally coupled to the outer cylinder, a drive member coupling the crank member to a walking beam (a.k.a. retract actuator beam) of a landing gear retract mechanism, and a driven member coupling the crank member to the first shrink link member.

A method for operating a landing gear. The method includes extending an actuator to apply a force to a crank link of a toggle lock mechanism causing a mechanical unlocking of a second lock link from a fully extended position, retracting the actuator to rotate the toggle lock mechanism about a toggle lock pivot axis of a first lock link, causing rotation of the second lock link that is rotatably coupled to the first lock link so that the second lock link folds relative to the first lock link in a second rotation direction, and a toggle link of the toggle lock mechanism rotates relative to the second lock link, in the first rotation direction opposite the second rotation direction, to rotate the second lock link to a fully retracted position of the second lock link relative to the first lock link.

Method for operating a landing gear and an aircraft including the landing gear

A semi-levered landing gear including a shock strut configured for coupling to an airframe of an aircraft, a truck lever being rotatably coupled to the shock strut, a tension link assembly having a tension link assembly first end, a tension link assembly second end and at least one tension link assembly rotation axis, the tension link assembly first end being coupled to the shock strut, and the tension link assembly second end being coupled to the truck lever, and a positioning mechanism configured for coupling to one or more of the airframe and the shock strut and being coupled to the tension link assembly, wherein the tension link assembly is configured to rotate the truck lever about the truck pivot axis of rotation between a truck lever extended position and a truck lever stowed position.

A landing gear lock assembly includes a first lock link, and a second lock link, a first end of the second lock link being rotatably coupled to the second end of the first lock link so that the first and second lock links unfold relative to each other in a first rotation direction. A toggle lock mechanism has a crank link and a toggle link rotatably coupled to each other, the toggle link being rotatably coupled to the second lock link, and the crank link being rotatably coupled to the first lock link so that the toggle link rotates relative to the second lock link, in a direction opposite the first rotation direction, to rotate the second lock link to a fully extended position relative to the first lock link. Rotation of the toggle link mechanically locks the second lock link in the fully extended position.

Landing gear toggle lock mechanism

A method of positioning landing gear of an airplane is provided that includes providing the landing gear including a shock strut, a truck beam operatively pivotally connected to the shock strut, first and second interconnected links operatively connected to the truck beam and a third link extending between the shock strut and the first and second links with the third link pivotally connected to the second link at a third pivot. When the landing gear is commanded to a lowered position, the third pivot is positioned in a first position to support a taxi mode, a take-off mode and a landing mode if the landing gear is operational and in a second position to support an alternate landing mode if the landing gear is not fully operational. When the landing gear is commanded to a raised position, the third pivot is in the second position to support a stow mode.

Method of positioning landing gear

A semi-levered landing gear is provided that includes a shock strut, a truck beam pivotally connected to the shock strut and a semi-levered landing gear mechanism including at least three links configured to angularly orient the truck beam and a truck pitch actuation system operatively connected to at least one of the three links. The landing gear mechanism may be configured to cooperate with an extension of a shock strut by positioning the truck pitch actuator in a retracted position, thereby positioning a forward end of the truck beam in a raised position relative to the aft end of the truck beam. The landing gear mechanism may also be configured to cooperate with a retraction of the shock strut into the wheel well by extending the truck pitch actuator to position a forward end of the truck beam in a lower position relative to the aft end of the truck beam.

Semi-levered landing gear and associated method

The invention relates to mechanisms for reducing heat generation in a pivot joint, and to methods for their use. The mechanism may be designed to average relative velocities of a pin with respect to velocities of first and second members joined by the pin. The mechanism may comprise at least one linked member adapted to rotate the pin simultaneously with respect to both the first and second members. In such manner, the heat generated in the joint may be reduced, thereby decreasing the likelihood of failure of one or more of the joint's parts.

Mechanism for reducing heat generation in a joint

A system and method is provided for directing a separation sequence of structural components, such as, for example, aircraft landing gear components, during an overload condition. This system and method may be used to stop a component in rotation and thereby allow the component to fail in a predictable and controllable manner. This system and method may be used on any type of device that utilizes components that rotate relative to one another and/or that has components that rotate during an overload condition.

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Bothell, WA, United States of America

Mitchell Mellor