A retractable rigid-flexible coupled skin mechanism

Abstract

The present invention provides a retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism, comprising a multi-stage sliding ring capable of relative sliding, and a locking mechanism; the sliding ring is provided with a rigid sliding layer for filling the extension when the multi-stage sliding ring is axially moved and expanded, so as to resist external loads and heat; a flexible stretchable sealing layer is provided under the rigid sliding layer for deforming along with the rigid sliding layer so as to maintain a sealed state during the entire deformation process; the locking mechanism comprises a locking bolt, a locking nut, and a locking cylindrical boss, and each stage of the sliding ring is connected by a locking bolt and a locking nut; the locking cylindrical boss is connected to adjacent sliding rings for limiting the minimum displacement distance of adjacent sliding rings to limit the minimum compression position of the mechanism; the sliding ring is provided with a large hole to prevent interference with the locking bolt. The present invention adopts the principle of sliding, which can ensure that the variant aircraft can fly in the optimal aerodynamic state, has only one degree of freedom, is simple to control, and has a locking mechanism with reliable performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of variant aircraft skins, and in particular relates to a retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism. Background Art

[0002] Traditional aircraft are designed according to specific flight missions, and their fixed wing shape is usually only optimized for a specific design point. Flight parameters change continuously during flight, and the geometric shape of the wing is not optimal in most cases. Morphing aircraft can change their aerodynamic layout according to the external flight environment to achieve the most optimized flight goal. Deformable skin material is one of the key technologies for realizing wing-morphing aircraft. How to achieve axial extension and deformation following the morphing aircraft, achieve support, insulation, and sealing before and after the extension and deformation, achieve motion limitation during the skin deformation process, increase reliability, achieve multi-stage extension and deformation of the skin, make the deformation process stable and reliable, and facilitate the aircraft to obtain the optimal aerodynamic performance are technical problems that need to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a retractable rigid-flexible coupled skin mechanism, which adopts the sliding layer principle and is sealed by wrapping a flexible stretchable layer. It can be combined with a circular cross-section variant head cone to achieve telescopic movement, and by establishing a locking mechanism, it can be locked at the telescopic limit position, making the performance more reliable.

[0004] The present invention provides a retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin structure, which is a circular cross-section skin structure and is used to be installed at both ends of the outer cross-section of the extended part of the deformable aircraft. It includes multiple stages of relatively slidable sliding rings and a locking mechanism.

[0005] The slip ring is provided with a rigid slip layer for compensating for the extension when the multi-stage slip ring is axially moved and expanded, so as to resist external loads and heat; a flexible stretchable sealing layer is provided below the rigid slip layer for deforming along with the rigid slip layer to maintain a sealed state during the entire deformation process;

[0006] The locking mechanism includes a locking bolt, a locking nut, and a locking cylindrical boss. The sliding rings of each level are connected by the locking bolt and the locking nut, wherein one end of the locking bolt is fixed to the sliding ring of the previous level; the other end of the locking bolt is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, so that the adjacent sliding ring can slide on the locking bolt and the extreme expansion position is limited by the length of the locking bolt; the locking cylindrical boss is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, and is used to limit the minimum displacement distance of the adjacent sliding rings to limit the minimum compression position of the mechanism; the sliding ring is dug with a large hole to prevent interference with the locking bolt.

[0007] Furthermore, the slip ring includes a primary slip ring, a secondary slip ring, a tertiary slip ring, a quaternary slip ring, a quintuple slip ring, a sixth slip ring, and a seventh slip ring that are connected in sequence, and each slip ring is expanded and closed layer by layer.

[0008] Furthermore, the rigid slip layer includes a rigid innermost slip layer, a rigid middle slip layer, and a rigid outermost slip layer. The rigid innermost slip layer, the rigid middle slip layer, the rigid outermost slip layer and the flexible stretchable sealing layer form a four-layer rigid-flexible coupling structure.

[0009] Furthermore, the locking bolts include a first-level locking bolt, a second-level locking bolt, a third-level locking bolt, a fourth-level locking bolt, a fifth-level locking bolt, and a sixth-level locking bolt, wherein the first-level sliding ring and the second-level sliding ring are connected by two pairs of the first-level locking bolts, and the same applies to the others.

[0010] Furthermore, the locking nut includes a first locking nut, a second locking nut, and a third locking nut. The first locking nut and the second locking nut are used to fix one end of the locking bolt on the slip ring; the third locking nut is used to limit the maximum displacement distance of the slip ring.

[0011] Further, the locking cylindrical boss includes a first locking cylindrical boss, a second locking cylindrical boss, a third locking cylindrical boss, a fourth locking cylindrical boss, a fifth locking cylindrical boss, and a sixth locking cylindrical boss, and the first locking cylindrical boss, the second locking cylindrical boss, the third locking cylindrical boss, the fourth locking cylindrical boss, the fifth locking cylindrical boss, and the sixth locking cylindrical boss are respectively connected to the first-level sliding ring, the second-level sliding ring, the third-level sliding ring, the fourth-level sliding ring, the fifth-level sliding ring, and the sixth-level sliding ring.

[0012] Furthermore, the sliding ring is provided with small holes for installing locking bolts of various levels and for assembly with the variant aircraft.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0014] 1. The present invention includes a multi-stage skin sliding structure, each stage is connected by bolts, which can not only slide relative to each other but also limit the maximum distance of expansion to achieve axial extension deformation following the variant aircraft.

[0015] 2. The present invention includes a three-layer sliding structure, three rigid layers, and a flexible stretchable layer wrapped underneath, which can achieve support, heat insulation and sealing before and after expansion and contraction deformation.

[0016] 3. The present invention includes a locking device for skin extension and locking, which can achieve movement limitation during skin deformation and increase reliability.

[0017] 4. The present invention realizes multi-stage telescopic deformation of the skin with a reasonable layout connection, ensuring a stable and reliable deformation process, which is conducive to the aircraft obtaining the best aerodynamic performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 This is a diagram of the overall unfolded structure of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a diagram of the overall closed structure of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the locking mechanism of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a detailed diagram of the bolt structure of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the rigid-flexible sliding layer of the retractable rigid-flexible coupled skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the sliding deployment sequence of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a detailed structural diagram of the sliding layer of the retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] Numbers in the figure:

[0026] 1. First-level sliding ring; 2. Second-level sliding ring; 3. Third-level sliding ring; 4. Fourth-level sliding ring; 5. Fifth-level sliding ring; 6. Sixth-level sliding ring; 7. Seventh-level sliding ring; 8. First-level locking bolt; 9. Second-level locking bolt; 10. Third-level locking bolt; 11. Fourth-level locking bolt; 12. Fifth-level locking bolt; 13. Sixth-level locking bolt; 14. First locking cylindrical boss; 15-Flexible stretchable sealing layer; 16. First locking nut; 17. Second locking nut; 18. Third locking nut; 19. Large hole; 20. Small hole; 21. Rigid innermost sliding layer; 22. Rigid middle sliding layer; 23. Rigid outermost sliding layer; 24. Second locking cylindrical boss; 25. Third locking cylindrical boss; 26. Fourth locking cylindrical boss; 27. Fifth locking cylindrical boss; 28. Sixth locking cylindrical boss. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the various embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but it should be noted that these embodiments are not limitations of the present invention, and any equivalent transformations or substitutions in functions, methods, or structures made by ordinary technicians in this field based on these embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] This embodiment provides a retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin structure, which is a circular cross-section skin structure for installation at both ends of the outer cross-section of the extended portion of the deformable aircraft, and includes multiple stages of relatively slidable sliding rings and a locking mechanism;

[0029] The slip ring is provided with a rigid slip layer for compensating for the extension when the multi-stage slip ring is axially moved and expanded, so as to resist external loads and heat; a flexible stretchable sealing layer is provided below the rigid slip layer for deforming along with the rigid slip layer to maintain a sealed state during the entire deformation process;

[0030] The locking mechanism includes a locking bolt, a locking nut, and a locking cylindrical boss. The sliding rings of each level are connected by the locking bolt and the locking nut, wherein one end of the locking bolt is fixed to the sliding ring of the previous level; the other end of the locking bolt is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, so that the adjacent sliding ring can slide on the locking bolt and the extreme expansion position is limited by the length of the locking bolt; the locking cylindrical boss is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, and is used to limit the minimum displacement distance of the adjacent sliding rings to limit the minimum compression position of the mechanism; the sliding ring is dug with a large hole to prevent interference with the locking bolt.

[0031] The main body of the mechanism is composed of seven levels of relatively sliding skin sliding rings, which can move axially and expose the sliding layer when unfolded. The sliding and locking between the seven sliding rings are completed by the locking mechanism, which can ensure that the surface before and after sliding is filled with rigid skin, and at the same time avoid interference between the sliding of adjacent rings. The locking mechanism is composed of a locking bolt, a locking nut and a locking cylindrical boss. The maximum expansion position is limited by the locking bolt and the locking nut, and the minimum compression position is limited by the locking cylindrical boss of the adjacent sliding ring, so as to realize variant locking under high load of the skin. One end of the locking bolt is fixed to one side of the sliding ring by the locking nut, and the other end is not fixed to the adjacent sliding ring, so that the adjacent sliding rings can slide relative to each other. At the same time, the length of the locking bolt also limits the extreme position of expansion, ensuring that the outer surface is supported by the rigid sliding layer when expanding. At the same time, it can also be in the minimum closed state, such as Figure 2As shown, no collision of the outer surface will occur. In the fully compressed state, the outer surface is basically in a smooth state. When unfolded, there will be a height change of about 2mm. Combined with the effect of extension on the aerodynamic effect, the overall aerodynamic drag reduction effect is better, so the fluctuation in the height direction is ignored. In the sliding and unfolding state, there will be many gaps that need to be sealed. The flexible stretchable sealing layer tightly attached to the lower surface of the rigid sliding layer can meet the sealing requirements before and after deformation. The mechanism is a circular cross-section skin structure with the upper and lower ends respectively fixed to the two ends of the outer cross-section of the extended part of the variant aircraft. The movement is synchronized with the extension of the variant aircraft, which is simple and reliable. The surface before the skin is stretched is relatively smooth. After the sliding is stretched, the sliding layer fills the extension amount, and there will be small fluctuations, but the overall aerodynamic and drag reduction effects are better, which is conducive to the variant aircraft to adapt to more complex aerospace environments.

[0032] Ginseng Figures 1 to 7 As shown, the slip ring includes a first-level slip ring 1, a second-level slip ring 2, a third-level slip ring 3, a fourth-level slip ring 4, a fifth-level slip ring 5, a sixth-level slip ring 6, and a seventh-level slip ring 7, which are connected in sequence. The outer surface of the multi-level slip ring is cylindrical, and each cross section is circular, which can match the axial extension and deformation of the circular cross-section variant aircraft. The slip rings of each level are expanded and closed layer by layer, and the closed state is as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the expansion order is as follows Figure 6 As shown in the figure, each level of slip ring is expanded and closed layer by layer. The first level slip ring is fixed at 1, and the expansion order is the seventh level slip ring 7, the sixth level slip ring 6, the fifth level slip ring 5, the fourth level slip ring 4, the third level slip ring 3, and the second level slip ring 2. They are locked in the locking position, and then drive the next level of slip ring to expand, completing the expansion and closing step by step.

[0033] Ginseng Figure 5 As shown, the rigid slip layer includes a rigid innermost slip layer 21, a rigid middle slip layer 22, and a rigid outermost slip layer 23. The rigid innermost slip layer 21, the rigid middle slip layer 22, the rigid outermost slip layer 23 and the flexible stretchable sealing layer 15 form a four-layer rigid-flexible coupling structure. In this way, when the slip ring is in the unfolded state, the outer surface always has the rigid innermost slip layer 21, the rigid middle slip layer 22, and the rigid outermost slip layer 23 to resist external loads and heat. At the same time, there is a certain gap after unfolding, and the flexible stretchable layer 15 is used to ensure sealing. In the fully unfolded state ( Figure 1 ), due to the different heights of the rigid innermost slip layer 21, the rigid middle slip layer 22, and the rigid outermost slip layer 23, the outer surface will have certain small fluctuations within 2 mm, and in the fully closed state, the outer surface is almost smooth. Regardless of the unfolded or closed state, the rigid surface can bear external loads and heat insulation, and because it is wrapped by the stretchable sealing layer 15, it can also meet the sealing requirements.

[0034] Ginseng Figure 7As shown, because the slip layers on each level of slip ring are the same, we only show the details of one slip layer on each level of slip ring. It can be seen that the shape of each slip layer is different, and the adjacent slip layers are not at the same height, such as the rigid innermost slip layer 21, the rigid middle slip layer 22, and the rigid outermost slip layer 23 (the upper and lower layers need to be divided into three layers, such as the rigid outermost slip layer 23 on the first-level slip ring, the rigid outermost slip layer connected on the second-level slip ring, and the innermost slip layer 21 on the first-level slip ring and the rigid middle slip layer 22 on the third-level slip ring. They are superimposed on each other, which can meet the needs of both movement and support of the outer surface during expansion). This can solve the problem of movement interference and keep the expansion relatively closed.

[0035] The locking bolts include primary locking bolts 8, secondary locking bolts 9, tertiary locking bolts 10, quaternary locking bolts 11, quinary locking bolts 12, and quinary locking bolts 13. The primary and secondary slip rings are used as an example, and the same applies to the other types. The primary slip ring 1 and the secondary slip ring 2 are connected by two pairs of primary locking bolts 8. When the locking bolts are in the closed position, large holes 19 are dug in adjacent locations to prevent movement interference, and the positions are symmetrical.

[0036] The locking nuts include a first locking nut 16, a second locking nut 17, and a third locking nut 18. The first and second locking nuts 16, 17 are used to secure one end of the locking bolt to the slip ring 1; the third locking nut 18 is used to limit the maximum displacement of the slip ring. By securing the bolt 8 to the primary slip ring 1 with the first and second locking nuts 16, 17, the adjacent secondary slip rings 2 can move relative to each other, while the third locking nut 18 limits their maximum displacement.

[0037] The locking cylindrical boss includes a first locking cylindrical boss 14, a second locking cylindrical boss 24, a third locking cylindrical boss 25, a fourth locking cylindrical boss 26, a fifth locking cylindrical boss 27, and a sixth locking cylindrical boss 28. The first locking cylindrical boss 14, the second locking cylindrical boss 24, the third locking cylindrical boss 25, the fourth locking cylindrical boss 26, the fifth locking cylindrical boss 27, and the sixth locking cylindrical boss 28 are respectively connected to the first-level slip ring 1, the second-level slip ring 2, the third-level slip ring 3, the fourth-level slip ring 4, the fifth-level slip ring 5, and the sixth-level slip ring 6, and are symmetrical left and right and up and down, and can limit the minimum displacement distance of adjacent slip rings.

[0038] The slip ring has small holes 20 for installing locking bolts at various levels and for assembly with the deformable aircraft. Among them, a part of the small holes 20 is used to connect the locking bolts of adjacent slip rings, and the small holes 20 of the slip rings at the upper and lower ends are also used for connection with the surface of the deformable aircraft.

[0039] This retractable rigid-flexible coupled skin mechanism utilizes the principle of sliding, enabling both the telescopic deformation of a morphing aircraft and the support and thermal insulation of the outer skin surface, ensuring the aircraft can fly in an aerodynamically optimal state. The skin structure has only one degree of freedom, offering simple control and reliable performance with a locking mechanism. Because it can be designed with different telescopic ratios, it can also be used in telescopic mechanisms.

[0040] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and non-restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations that come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism, characterized in that: Its structure is a circular cross-section skin structure, which is used to be installed at both ends of the outer cross-section of the extended part of the variant aircraft, and includes multiple stages of relatively slidable sliding rings and a locking mechanism; The slip ring is provided with a rigid slip layer for compensating for the extension when the multi-stage slip ring is axially moved and expanded, so as to resist external loads and heat; a flexible stretchable sealing layer is provided below the rigid slip layer for deforming along with the rigid slip layer to maintain a sealed state during the entire deformation process; The locking mechanism includes a locking bolt, a locking nut, and a locking cylindrical boss. The sliding rings of each level are connected by the locking bolt and the locking nut, wherein one end of the locking bolt is fixed to the sliding ring of the previous level; the other end of the locking bolt is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, so that the adjacent sliding ring can slide on the locking bolt and the extreme expansion position is limited by the length of the locking bolt; the locking cylindrical boss is connected to the adjacent sliding ring, and is used to limit the minimum displacement distance of the adjacent sliding rings to limit the minimum compression position of the mechanism; the sliding ring is dug with a large hole to prevent interference with the locking bolt.

2. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slip ring comprises a first-level slip ring (1), a second-level slip ring (2), a third-level slip ring (3), a fourth-level slip ring (4), a fifth-level slip ring (5), a sixth-level slip ring (6), and a seventh-level slip ring (7) which are connected in sequence, and each level of the slip ring is expanded and closed layer by layer.

3. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rigid slip layer comprises a rigid innermost slip layer (21), a rigid middle slip layer (22), and a rigid outermost slip layer (23); the rigid innermost slip layer (21), the rigid middle slip layer (22), the rigid outermost slip layer (23), and the flexible stretchable sealing layer (15) form a four-layer rigid-flexible coupling structure.

4. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The locking bolts include a first-level locking bolt (8), a second-level locking bolt (9), a third-level locking bolt (10), a fourth-level locking bolt (11), a fifth-level locking bolt (12), and a sixth-level locking bolt (13), wherein the first-level sliding ring (1) and the second-level sliding ring (2) are connected by two pairs of the first-level locking bolts (8), the second-level sliding ring (2) and the third-level sliding ring (3) are connected by two pairs of the second-level locking bolts (9), the third-level sliding ring (3) and the fourth-level sliding ring (4) are connected by two pairs of the third-level locking bolts (10), the fourth-level sliding ring (4) and the fifth-level sliding ring (5) are connected by two pairs of the fourth-level locking bolts (11), the fifth-level sliding ring (5) and the sixth-level sliding ring (6) are connected by two pairs of the fifth-level locking bolts (12), and the sixth-level sliding ring (6) and the seventh-level sliding ring (7) are connected by two pairs of the sixth-level locking bolts (13).

5. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The locking nut comprises a first locking nut (16), a second locking nut (17), and a third locking nut (18); the first locking nut (16) and the second locking nut (17) are used to fix one end of the locking bolt on the slip ring; the third locking nut (18) is used to limit the maximum displacement distance of the slip ring.

6. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The locking cylindrical boss comprises a first locking cylindrical boss (14), a second locking cylindrical boss (24), a third locking cylindrical boss (25), a fourth locking cylindrical boss (26), a fifth locking cylindrical boss (27), and a sixth locking cylindrical boss (28); the first locking cylindrical boss (14), the second locking cylindrical boss (24), the third locking cylindrical boss (25), the fourth locking cylindrical boss (26), the fifth locking cylindrical boss (27), and the sixth locking cylindrical boss (28) are respectively connected to the first-level sliding ring (1), the second-level sliding ring (2), the third-level sliding ring (3), the fourth-level sliding ring (4), the fifth-level sliding ring (5), and the sixth-level sliding ring (6).

7. The retractable rigid-flexible coupling skin mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sliding ring is provided with small holes (20) for installing locking bolts of various levels and for assembling with the variant aircraft.

Images