An integrated aircraft refueling light

Abstract

The application provides an integrated aircraft refueling lamp, and belongs to the technical field of illumination design of an aircraft in-flight refueling system, and specifically comprises a shell assembly, a light source assembly, a driving assembly and a light source regulator, the shell assembly comprises a shell and first and second cavities arranged in the shell, the light source assembly is arranged in the first cavity, the driving assembly and the light source regulator are arranged in the second cavity, the light source assembly, the driving assembly and the light source regulator are sequentially connected, the light source assembly is provided with a refueling probe illumination mode and a conical sleeve floodlight illumination mode, the driving assembly is used for dividing voltage and controlling constant current, and the light source assembly is used for stabilizing input voltage when light intensity is changed. Through the processing scheme, the airborne equipment has the advantages of light weight, integration, low cost and simple control.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of lighting design technology for aircraft aerial refueling systems, and more particularly to an integrated aircraft refueling lamp. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing demands of combat readiness, aircraft ranges needed to be extended. Since the debut of the first American aerial refueling tanker in 1923, aerial refueling technology has developed unprecedentedly. When nighttime aerial refueling is required, aerial refueling lights become extremely urgent and necessary. When the aircraft is positioned for refueling docking, the aircraft drogue floodlight illuminates the drogue up to 15 meters from the top of the refueling probe, ensuring the receiver aircraft pilot can directly see the refueling drogue illuminated by the light for docking. The refueling probe light illuminates the refueling probe nozzle and drogue during the final engagement of the probe and drogue, ensuring the receiver aircraft pilot can directly see the probe illuminated by the light. Previously, aircraft refueling required two types of lights: a refueling probe light and a refueling area light, used to illuminate the refueling probe and the refueling area (including the drogue), respectively. However, these two lights added weight to the aircraft, occupied excessive installation space, increased control complexity and cost, and reduced reliability. Therefore, it is essential to develop a refueling light that combines both functions. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the present application provides an integrated aircraft refueling light, which at least partially solves the problems of large aircraft weight and complex control caused by the separate design of the refueling plug light and the refueling area light in the prior art.

[0004] This application provides an integrated aircraft refueling light, installed on the refueling probe light telescopic bracket of a receiving aircraft. The integrated aircraft refueling light includes a housing assembly, a light source assembly, a drive assembly, and a light source adjuster. The housing assembly includes a housing and a first cavity and a second cavity disposed within the housing. The light source assembly is disposed within the first cavity, and the drive assembly and the light source adjuster are disposed within the second cavity. The light source assembly, drive assembly, and light source adjuster are connected sequentially. The light source assembly has a refueling probe illumination mode and a cone-shaped floodlight illumination mode. The drive assembly is used for voltage division and current control to maintain a constant current. The light source assembly is used to stabilize the input voltage when the light intensity is changed.

[0005] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the light source assembly includes a glass screen, a TIR lens, and a light source printed circuit board connected in sequence. The surface of the glass screen is coated with an infrared cutoff film. A cone-shaped floodlight is provided in the middle area of ​​the light source printed circuit board. Multiple oil receiving tube lights are provided around the light source printed circuit board, and a concealed mode light source is provided between adjacent oil receiving tube lights. The TIR lens includes a cone-shaped floodlight lens disposed opposite to the cone-shaped floodlight and an oil receiving illumination lens disposed opposite to the oil receiving tube light.

[0006] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the surface of the oil-receiving illumination lens is provided with a beaded surface, which is used to ensure the uniformity of light distribution; the surface of the cone-shaped floodlight lens is provided with a prism, which is used to ensure the deflection angle of the light.

[0007] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the edge of the glass screen is provided with an annular groove, and a sealing ring is provided in the groove.

[0008] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the housing includes a bottom surface, a top surface A, and sides B, C, and D, with sides C and D arranged opposite to each other. Surface A is a spatial quadrilateral, and sides B and C are perpendicular to the bottom surface. With the bottom surface as a reference zero surface, the line-plane angle α between the left side of surface A and the bottom surface is 18° to 20°, and the line-plane angle β between the right side of surface A and the bottom surface is 8° to 10°.

[0009] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the C-side, the D-side, and the bottom surface all have heat sinks, and the heat dissipation grooves formed by the heat sinks on the C-side, the D-side, and the bottom surface are all parallel to the A-side.

[0010] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, a front end cover is provided on surface A, the front end cover is located on the first cavity and the front end cover is conformal to surface A; a rear end cover is provided on the second cavity.

[0011] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the driving component and the light source regulator convert the external input voltage into a PWM control signal with a fixed frequency and varying duty cycle through a pulse width modulation circuit, and adjust the output current by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM.

[0012] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, the light source assembly further includes a fixing plate, and the TIR lens is mounted in the first cavity through the fixing plate.

[0013] According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of this application, both the cone-shaped floodlight and the oil probe light are LED lights.

[0014] Beneficial effects

[0015] The integrated aircraft refueling light in this embodiment integrates the functions of the aircraft drogue floodlight and the refueling probe light, meeting the requirements of lightweight, integrated, low-cost, and simple control of airborne equipment. The integrated LED aircraft refueling light, based on the traditional single-unit refueling plug lighting and refueling area lighting, adopts an integrated design of the refueling probe lighting and drogue floodlight light sources. Through spatial configuration, the shell component structure is compact, meeting the performance requirements of the refueling light, reducing the aircraft's weight, and simplifying the control method.

[0016] The external input voltage is converted into a PWM control signal with a constant frequency and varying duty cycle by a light source regulator through a pulse width modulation circuit. By adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM, the output current is adjusted to regulate the current input to the driver and the luminous flux of the LED chip. Ultimately, the pilot can adjust the brightness of the LED aircraft refueling light by rotating a knob on the control panel, so that the light can meet the pilot's visual needs in different situations and optimize human-machine interaction. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an integrated aircraft refueling lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the light source assembly of an integrated aircraft refueling lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is an axonometric view of the housing assembly of an integrated aircraft refueling lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the illumination cone of an integrated aircraft refueling light according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the TIR lens beam illumination of an integrated aircraft refueling lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] In the diagram: 1. Housing assembly; 1-1. Housing; 1-2. Front cover; 1-3. Rear cover; 2. Light source assembly; 2-1. Glass screen; 2-2. Sealing ring; 2-3. Fixing plate; 2-4. TIR lens; 2-5. Light source printed circuit board; 3. Drive assembly; 4. Light source adjuster. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this application. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. This application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] It should be noted that various aspects of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are described below. It will be apparent that the aspects described herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any particular structure and / or function described herein is merely illustrative. Based on this application, those skilled in the art will understand that one aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. Additionally, this device and / or method can be implemented using structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein.

[0027] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of this application. The drawings only show the components related to this application and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0028] Furthermore, specific details are provided in the following description to facilitate a thorough understanding of the examples. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the described aspects can be practiced without these specific details.

[0029] This application provides an integrated aircraft refueling light, mounted on the refueling probe light telescopic bracket of the receiving aircraft. It integrates the functions of an aircraft drogue floodlight and a refueling probe light, and is designed according to the lighting standard requirements for refueling probe lights of receiving aircraft in GJB2020A-2012. The following refers to... Figures 1 to 5 Provide a detailed description.

[0030] In this embodiment, the integrated aircraft refueling light includes a housing assembly 1, a light source assembly 2, a drive assembly 3, and a light source regulator 4. The housing assembly 1 includes a housing 1-1 and a first cavity and a second cavity disposed within the housing 1-1. The light source assembly 2 is disposed within the first cavity, and the drive assembly 3 and the light source regulator 4 are disposed within the second cavity. The light source assembly 2, the drive assembly 3, and the light source regulator 4 are connected in sequence. The light source assembly 2 is used to stabilize the input voltage when the light intensity is changed. The drive assembly 3 is used to divide the voltage and control the current to be constant. The light source assembly 2 has a refueling probe illumination mode and a cone sleeve floodlight illumination mode. The light source assembly 2 adjusts the light so that the light can meet the visual needs of the pilot in different situations.

[0031] According to a specific implementation of the present application, the light source assembly 2 includes a glass screen 2-1, a TIR lens 2-4 and a light source printed circuit board 2-5 connected in sequence. The edge of the glass screen 2-1 is provided with an annular groove, and a sealing ring 2-2 is provided in the groove. In order to ensure sealing, a sealing ring 2-2 is provided on each side of the glass screen 2-1. The surface of the glass screen 2-1 is coated with an infrared cut-off film.

[0032] A cone-shaped floodlight is provided in the middle area of ​​the light source printed circuit board 2-5, and multiple oil receiving tube lights are provided around the perimeter of the light source printed circuit board 2-5, with concealed mode light sources between adjacent oil receiving tube lights. A TIR lens 2-4 is mounted on a protrusion inside the first cavity via a fixing plate 2-3. The TIR lens 2-4 includes a cone-shaped floodlight lens positioned opposite to the cone-shaped floodlight and an oil receiving tube light lens positioned opposite to the oil receiving tube light. The TIR lens 2-4 performs scientific secondary light distribution on the light emitted by the oil receiving tube light and the cone-shaped floodlight to achieve the required light intensity and illumination effect.

[0033] Furthermore, the surface of the oil-receiving illumination lens is provided with a beaded surface to ensure the uniformity of light distribution; the surface of the cone-shaped floodlight lens is provided with a prism to ensure the deflection angle of the light.

[0034] In one embodiment, the cone-shaped floodlight is configured with a single LED light in friendly mode. This single LED light, after being refracted by TIR lenses 2-4 and the prism above them, undergoes secondary light distribution to become a regular beam of light with a specific angle of refraction, illuminating the aircraft's cone. The refueling probe light is configured with four LED lights in friendly mode. These four LED lights, after being refracted by TIR lenses 2-4 and the beaded surface above them, become a regular beam of light with uniform spot size, illuminating the aircraft's refueling probe.

[0035] In one specific embodiment, to ensure the lighting effect, the housing assembly 1 is designed to include a bottom surface, a top surface A, and side surfaces B, C, and D. Surfaces C and D are positioned opposite each other, and the opposite side of surface B is the area where the second cavity is located. As shown in the figure, surfaces A, B, C, and D enclose the area where the first cavity is located. Surface A is a spatial quadrilateral, and surfaces B and C are perpendicular to the mounting bottom surface. Taking the bottom surface as the reference zero surface, the line-plane angle α between the left side of surface A and the bottom surface is 18° to 20°, and the line-plane angle β between the right side of surface A and the bottom surface is 8° to 10°. Adjusting the α and β angles can change the illumination effect of the refueling lamp and alter the glare level under different operating conditions. When α approaches 20° and β approaches 8°, the illumination effect on the irradiated object is better, and glare to the pilot can be effectively avoided due to the reflection of light from the aircraft's metal surface. The distance between the intersection of the left and right sides of the A-side and the bottom surface determines the distance between the light-emitting surface of the refueling lamp and the irradiated object. The light cone formed within the two angle ranges can meet the actual use requirements while avoiding glare. The A-side formed in this way ensures the performance illumination requirements of the integrated aircraft refueling lamp and conforms to ergonomics.

[0036] Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, surface A is a spatial quadrilateral, and the dihedral angle formed by surface A and surface C is 96°18′, and the dihedral angle formed by surface A and surface B is 108°48′; with the bottom surface as the reference zero surface, the line-plane angle between the left side of surface A and the bottom surface is 20°, and the line-plane angle between the right side of surface A and the bottom surface is 8°. Surface A formed in this way ensures the performance illumination requirements of the integrated aircraft refueling light.

[0037] In this embodiment, the inclined angles of surfaces A, B, and C on the housing 1-1, and the inclined design of the sides of surface A and the bottom surface, ensure that the light can illuminate the aircraft's refueling area; for example... Figure 3As shown, the dark-colored large light cone represents the theoretical light cone A required by the standard, the light-colored large light cone represents the designed main light beam B, and the light-colored small light cone represents the designed secondary light beam C. The main light beam B can illuminate the cone tube 15m away from the top of the refueling probe, thus achieving the function of an aircraft cone sleeve floodlight. The secondary light beam C can illuminate the refueling probe nozzle and cone sleeve during the final engagement between the refueling probe nozzle and the cone sleeve, thus illuminating the refueling probe and achieving the function of a refueling probe light.

[0038] Furthermore, heat sinks are present on the C-side, D-side, and bottom-side, and the heat sinks on the C-side, D-side, and bottom-side form heat dissipation grooves that are parallel to the A-side, ensuring the maximum heat dissipation area and optimal heat dissipation effect.

[0039] In one embodiment, the housing assembly 1 further includes a front cover 1-2, which is located on the first cavity and conforms to surface A, and a rear cover 1-3 is provided on the second cavity.

[0040] Specifically, the front cover 1-2 is installed on the first cavity of the housing 1-1 by screws, and the two corners of the second cavity are provided with protrusions, which limit the rear cover 1-3.

[0041] In one embodiment, the drive component 3 and the light source regulator 4 convert the external input voltage into a PWM control signal with a fixed frequency and varying duty cycle through a pulse width modulation circuit. By adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM, the output current is adjusted, ultimately enabling the pilot to adjust the brightness of the LED aircraft refueling light on board by rotating a knob on the control panel.

[0042] Specifically, during nighttime in-flight refueling, the pilot needs to locate the relative positions of the refueling probe and the refueling port within the area illuminated by the refueling lights. By operating the knobs on the aircraft control panel, the pilot can better adapt to the emitted light, enabling more precise in-flight refueling. One end of the light source regulator 4 connects to an external socket, and the other end connects to the drive assembly 3, which in turn connects to the light source assembly 2. When the light intensity does not meet the pilot's requirements, the pilot controls the input voltage of the light source regulator 4 by adjusting the knobs on the control panel. The light source regulator 4 converts the changed input voltage into a PWM control signal with varying duty cycle, thereby adjusting the input current of the drive assembly 3. Simultaneously, it performs voltage and current stabilization to ensure the stability of the light source's emission from the light source assembly 2. Ultimately, the changed current is input to the light source assembly 2, and the light intensity adjusts accordingly to meet the pilot's required light intensity.

[0043] The aircraft refueling light of this application is an accessory to the aircraft's external lighting system. Its function is to enable the pilot to see the refueling probe illuminated by the floodlight and to illuminate both the refueling probe nozzle and the cone sleeve during the final engagement of the nozzle and the cone sleeve. It is mounted on a telescopic bracket for the refueling probe light. The working principle is as follows: after connecting to 28VDC, the driver assembly regulates the input voltage, and the light emitted by the LED chips (cone sleeve floodlight and refueling probe light) is refracted by a TIR lens to obtain the desired beam.

[0044] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An integrated aircraft refueling light mounted on a telescoping boom of a receiving aircraft refueling probe light, characterized by, The integrated aircraft refueling lamp comprises a shell assembly, a light source assembly, a driving assembly and a light source regulator, the shell assembly comprises a shell and first and second cavities arranged in the shell, the light source assembly is arranged in the first cavity, the driving assembly and the light source regulator are arranged in the second cavity, the light source assembly, the driving assembly and the light source regulator are sequentially connected, the light source assembly is provided with a refueling probe lighting mode and a cone sleeve floodlight lighting mode, the driving assembly is used for dividing voltage and controlling constant current, and the light source assembly is used for stabilizing input voltage when light intensity is changed; the driving assembly and the light source regulator convert external input voltage into PWM control signals with constant frequency and changing duty cycle through a pulse width modulation circuit, and the change of output current is adjusted by adjusting the duty cycle of PWM; when the light intensity does not meet the demand of pilots, the pilots control the input voltage of the light source regulator by adjusting the knob on the control panel, the light source regulator converts the changed input voltage into PWM control signals with changing duty cycle, and then adjusts the input current of the driving assembly while stabilizing voltage and current. The shell comprises a bottom surface, an A surface located at the top, and B, C and D surfaces located at the sides, and the C and D surfaces are oppositely arranged; the A surface is a spatial quadrilateral, the B and C surfaces are perpendicular to the bottom surface, and the line-surface angle α between the left side of the A surface and the bottom surface is 18-20°, and the line-surface angle β between the right side of the A surface and the bottom surface is 8-10°, and the angles α and β are adjusted to change the illumination effect of the refueling lamp and the degree of glare in different working conditions; the face angles of the A surface and the B and C surfaces on the shell are inclined, and the two sides of the A surface are inclined to the bottom surface, so that the illumination range of light can illuminate the refueling area of the aircraft, and the light comprises a main beam B and a secondary beam C, the main beam B illuminates the cone sleeve 15 m away from the top end of the refueling probe, so as to achieve the function of the aircraft cone sleeve floodlight, and the secondary beam C illuminates the refueling probe and the cone sleeve during the last engagement of the refueling probe nozzle and the cone sleeve, so as to achieve the function of the refueling probe lamp.

2. The integrated aircraft refuel light of claim 1, wherein, The light source assembly comprises a glass screen, a TIR lens and a light source printed board which are sequentially connected, the surface of the glass screen is coated with an infrared cutoff film, the middle region of the light source printed board is provided with a cone sleeve floodlight, the periphery of the light source printed board is provided with a plurality of refueling probe illuminating lamps, and a concealed mode light source is arranged between adjacent refueling probe illuminating lamps, and the TIR lens comprises a cone sleeve floodlight lens arranged opposite to the cone sleeve floodlight and a refueling illuminating lens arranged opposite to the refueling probe illuminating lamp.

3. The integrated aircraft refueling light of Claim 2, wherein, The surface of the refueling illuminating lens is provided with a bead surface for ensuring the uniformity of light distribution, and the surface of the cone sleeve floodlight lens is provided with a prism for ensuring the deflection angle of light.

4. The integrated aircraft refueling light of claim 2, wherein, The edge of the glass screen is provided with an annular groove, and a sealing ring is arranged in the groove.

5. The integrated aircraft refueling light of claim 1, wherein, The C face, the D face and the bottom face are provided with fins, and the fins of the C face, the D face and the bottom face form a fin surface parallel to the A face.

6. The integrated aircraft refueling light of claim 1, wherein, The A face is provided with a front end cover, the front end cover is located on the first cavity and the front end cover is conformal with the A face; the second cavity is provided with a rear end cover.

7. The integrated aircraft refueling light of Claim 2, wherein, The light source assembly further comprises a fixing plate, and the TIR lens is installed in the first cavity through the fixing plate.

8. The integrated aircraft refueling light of Claim 2, wherein, The cone sleeve floodlight and the oil receiving probe illuminating lamp are both provided as LED lamps.

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