Airplane side rod load device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of aircraft cockpit side lever devices, in particular to an aircraft side lever loading device which comprises an outer frame, a handle, a shifting block, a rotating shaft, a bearing and a loading unit. The outer frame is a rectangular frame with openings in the upper and lower ends; two bearings are symmetrically mounted on the side wall of the outer frame; two ends of the rotating shaft are connected with the two bearings, the middle of the rotating shaft is a cube, and a shifting block and a handle are sequentially mounted above the cube; the shifting block is a rectangular block, a wide boss is arranged on one side of the rectangular block, and a narrow boss is arranged on the side, away from the rectangular block, of the wide boss; one end of the rotating shaft penetrates through the bearing and extends to the outer side of the outer frame; the narrow boss pokes the load unit to rotate around the rotating shaft under the driving of the handle so as to apply force feedback to the handle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of aircraft cockpit side rod devices, in particular to an aircraft side rod load device. Background Art

[0002] The load device is an essential component of the side stick equipment in the aircraft cockpit. Its main function is to provide the pilot with control force feedback and to return the control equipment to zero position from any position when there is no artificial control force. The load device can also provide the pilot with a certain starting force limit. When the control force exceeds a certain threshold, the control displacement will be generated and the displacement signal will be output to the flight control computer to control the movement of the aircraft control surface. In addition, the starting force provided by the load device can also avoid the unexpected movement of the aircraft side stick due to inertia in a vibration or acceleration environment.

[0003] As the development of aircraft and low-altitude aircraft gradually tends to be miniaturized and lightweight, the volume space of aircraft cockpit equipment is also compressed. The load mechanism of the existing aircraft side rod is usually a double compression spring series structure. This structure requires an outer cylinder as a support to ensure the stability of the compression spring, which is not conducive to miniaturization design. Secondly, since there is usually a tolerance of about 10% in the production of springs, the two compression springs of the conventional load mechanism may have poor consistency, resulting in inconsistent control forces of the aircraft side rod in the positive and negative directions of the same axis, such as inconsistent force sense when pushing forward and pulling backward. Finally, the double compression springs of the load mechanism are installed inside the cylinder, which is not easy to disassemble and has poor maintainability. When disassembling, due to the pre-tightening force of the compression spring, it is easy to cause injuries to the operator. Summary of the invention

[0004] Purpose of the invention: In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the load mechanism, such as the disadvantage of miniaturization, poor consistency, and poor maintainability, an aircraft side rod load device is proposed.

[0005] Technical solution:

[0006] An aircraft side rod load device, comprising: an outer frame, a handle, a shift block, a rotating shaft, a bearing and a load unit;

[0007] The outer frame is a rectangular frame with openings at the upper and lower ends, and two bearings are symmetrically installed on the side walls of the outer frame;

[0008] The two ends of the rotating shaft are connected to two bearings, the middle of the rotating shaft is a cube, and the shift block and the handle are installed on the cube in sequence;

[0009] The shifting block is a rectangular block, one side of the rectangular block is provided with a wide boss, and the side of the wide boss away from the rectangular block is provided with a narrow boss;

[0010] One end of the rotating shaft passes through the bearing and extends to the outside of the outer frame, and a load unit is installed thereon; the narrow boss drives the load unit to rotate around the rotating shaft under the drive of the handle, thereby applying force feedback to the handle.

[0011] Further, the load unit includes: an inner bracket assembly, an outer bracket assembly, a round nut, a force sensing assembly, and a stopper;

[0012] The middle parts of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are sleeved on one end of the rotating shaft extending out of the outer frame through a bearing sleeve;

[0013] The lower ends of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are respectively connected to the force sensing assembly;

[0014] The upper ends of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are respectively in contact with the two end surfaces of the narrow boss of the shifting block;

[0015] The stopper is installed on the outer frame and is located below the rotating shaft. The stopper is used to block the inner bracket assembly or the outer bracket assembly from rotating so as to prevent the two from rotating at the same time.

[0016] Further, the inner bracket assembly includes: an inner bracket, an inner anti-backlash screw, and an inner anti-backlash nut;

[0017] The inner bracket has a first threaded hole at the upper end, a bearing mounting hole in the middle, and a first through hole at the lower end;

[0018] The internal anti-backlash screw is threaded in the first threaded hole and is locked by the internal anti-backlash nut; the position of the internal anti-backlash screw in the first threaded hole is adjusted so that the front end of the internal anti-backlash screw is in close contact with the narrow boss.

[0019] Further, the inner bracket assembly also includes: an inner force adjustment screw and an inner force adjustment nut;

[0020] A second threaded hole is provided below the bearing mounting hole of the inner bracket;

[0021] The internal force adjusting screw is threaded into the second threaded hole and is locked by the internal force adjusting nut;

[0022] The position of the inner force adjusting screw in the second threaded hole is adjusted so that the inner force adjusting screw is in close contact with the stopper.

[0023] Furthermore, the outer bracket assembly is the same as the inner bracket assembly, and the inner bracket and the outer bracket together form a clamp-shaped structure.

[0024] Further, the force sensing component is a spring component, including: a linear spring, a spring connector, and a hexagonal head pin;

[0025] Two ends of the linear spring are respectively connected with a spring joint, and the spring joint is connected and fixed with the through holes below the inner and outer brackets through a hexagonal pin.

[0026] Furthermore, the force sensing component is a damping component, including: a linear damper, a damper joint, and a hexagonal head pin.

[0027] Furthermore, the force sensing component is a damping component and a spring component, including: a linear damper, a damper street joint, a linear spring, a spring joint, and a hexagonal head pin.

[0028] Furthermore, the force sensing component is an electromagnetic locking valve.

[0029] Furthermore, a W-shaped groove is provided on the upper end surface of the outer frame panel on the side where the wide boss of the shift block is located;

[0030] The wide boss moves in the W-shaped groove, so that the wide boss is limited by the end faces on both sides of the W-shaped groove; the angle between the two side walls of the W-shaped groove is 40 degrees to 50 degrees.

[0031] Beneficial Effects

[0032] 1. The present invention provides a solution for a miniaturized and lightweight aircraft side rod load device;

[0033] 2. The operating limit force and starting force provided by the present invention can be adjusted online without removing the spring;

[0034] 3. The present invention avoids the operating gap in terms of structural principle;

[0035] 4. The present invention can ensure that the positive and negative control force senses of a single axis of the aircraft side stick are consistent;

[0036] 5. The spring device of the present invention can be quickly disassembled and assembled, which is convenient for maintenance; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an aircraft side rod load device;

[0038] Figure 2 It is a front view of an aircraft side rod load device;

[0039] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional view of an aircraft side rod load device;

[0040] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the parts of an aircraft side rod load device;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an aircraft side rod load device located at different control positions;

[0042] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the damping component in the second embodiment;

[0043] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the damping component in Embodiment 2 in different states;

[0044] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the combination of the spring component and the damping component in the third embodiment;

[0045] Among them: 1-handle, 2-shift block, 3-inner bracket, 4-inner anti-backlash screw, 5-inner anti-backlash nut, 6-outer bracket, 7-outer anti-backlash screw, 8-outer anti-backlash nut, 9-round nut and stop washer, 10-spring joint, 11-hexagonal head pin, 12-tension spring, 13-outer frame, 14-rotating shaft, 15-outer force adjusting screw, 16-outer force adjusting nut, 17-inner force adjusting screw, 18-inner force adjusting nut, 19-stopper, 20-short sleeve, 21-long sleeve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Embodiment 1

[0047] The present invention is an aircraft side rod load device for an aircraft side rod, such as Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the pilot pushes the handle to generate a control action, the handle 1, the shift block 2 and the rotating shaft 14 rotate around the bearing joint to Figure 5 Taking the negative operation shown in as an example, the shift block will push the outer anti-backlash screw 7 installed on the outer bracket 6, so that the outer bracket 6 rotates counterclockwise around the axis, while the inner bracket 3 will not produce a rotational action due to the blocking effect between the inner force adjustment screw 17 and the stopper 19. In this operating state, the angle between the two brackets will increase with the increase of the operating angle, so the distance between the spring fixing points at their ends will also increase, thereby stretching the tension spring 12 and generating a load force. In the positive operation, similarly, the structure will generate the same load force. Since the same stretching effect is generated on the same tension spring during positive and negative direction operations, the operating force sense is theoretically completely consistent.

[0048] The present invention is composed of a group of mechanisms that rotate around a central axis. The handle 1, the shift block 2 and the shaft 14 are connected and fastened by screws. Specifically, the screws pass through four through holes on the handle 1 and the shift block 2, and then connect and cooperate with the threaded holes on the shaft 14. The connection of the three can be regarded as a whole. A three-step shaft extends from one side of the shaft 14 (see Figure 3), and a boss extends out from the opposite side. The boss and the first step of the stepped shaft cooperate with the inner ring of the deep groove ball bearing, and the outer ring of the deep groove ball bearing cooperates with the two bearing chambers on the inner wall of the outer frame 13. This structure enables the handle 1, the shift block 2 and the rotating shaft 14 to be connected to the outer frame 13 and rotate freely around the bearing joint, forming a degree of freedom of the aircraft side rod. The above mechanism is the basic structure for forming a degree of freedom of the aircraft side rod. On this basis, the stepped shaft on one side of the rotating shaft 14 passes through the bearing hole on one side of the outer frame 13. The second step is used to isolate the moving part from the frame 13 to ensure a safe distance between the moving part and the fixed part. The third step is used to arrange and install the spring load device.

[0049] The spring load device is composed of the main parts such as the inner and outer brackets, the tension spring, the shift block, the stop block, etc. The structure of the shift block 2 is a "convex" shaped plate, one side of which extends out of the shift block structure as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown in part 2. The block 19 is a fan-shaped block structure, which is fixed to the outer frame 13 by two screws. The inner bracket 3 and the outer bracket 6 both have a bearing chamber structure, each of which cooperates with the outer ring of a deep groove ball bearing, and then cooperates with the rotating shaft 14 through the inner ring of the bearing to form a bracket structure that can rotate around the axis. When the inner bracket 3 and the outer bracket 6 are installed on the stepped shaft of the rotating shaft 14, the axial spacing between the two brackets is ensured by a short sleeve 20 to prevent the inner and outer brackets from interfering with each other when rotating around the axis. At the very end of the stepped shaft of the rotating shaft 14, a round nut and a stop washer 9 are used to fix all parts on the rotating shaft, and a long sleeve 21 is used to ensure the axial spacing to prevent the outer bracket 6 from colliding and interfering with the stop washer when rotating. The sleeve here not only plays the role of isolating the moving parts, but also plays the role of axial positioning, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, on the stepped shaft of the rotating shaft 14, from the inside to the outside are the second step of the stepped shaft of the rotating shaft 14, the inner ring of the bearing of the inner bracket 3, the short sleeve 20, the inner ring of the bearing of the outer bracket 6, the long sleeve 21, the round nut and the locking washer 9.

[0050] The tension spring 12 is connected to the spring joint 10 through the spiral groove on the spring joint. This connection method is simple, easy to assemble, and has the ability to prevent loosening in principle. The spring joint 10 consists of a steel structure with a spiral groove and a spherical bearing, which is fastened to the end of the bracket through a hexagonal pin 11 and a self-locking nut. The hexagonal pin 11 passes through the inner ring of the spherical bearing and the through hole at the end of the bracket to connect the two. The spring joint structure is connected to the outer ring of the spherical bearing and is connected to the spring through the spiral groove, so that there is a degree of freedom of rotation around the axial direction at the spring joint. The degree of freedom brought by the use of the spherical bearing here has the beneficial effect of eliminating the centering error at both ends of the tension spring caused by assembly and machining errors, and avoiding unnecessary lateral internal stress inside the tension spring.

[0051] During initial assembly, the tension spring 12 is in an initial non-stretched state. In order to make the structure have a certain starting force, the tension spring 12 needs to be stretched to a certain initial displacement during installation so that it has a certain tension during installation. Therefore, an outer force adjustment screw 15, an outer force adjustment nut 16, an inner force adjustment screw 17, and an inner force adjustment nut 18 are respectively installed on the inner and outer brackets. Figure 2 As shown. The internal and external force adjustment screws can fine-tune the initial tension of the tension spring 12 after it is installed into the internal and external brackets in a non-stretched state, while the traditional load mechanism needs to pre-compress the spring to a specific length so that it has a certain amount of compression before being installed into its housing. From the assembly process, the present invention can complete the pre-stretching of the spring without additional equipment or tooling, which is simpler than the load mechanism. After the force value of the tension spring 12 is adjusted to within the specified range, the external force adjustment nut 16 and the internal force adjustment nut 18 are used to tighten the force adjustment screw to prevent loosening, forming a double nut anti-loosening structure with the threads of the internal and external brackets themselves.

[0052] Once assembled, the spring load function can be realized, such as Figure 5 As shown, taking the positive operation as an example, the handle 1 rotates clockwise and drives the shift block 2 to rotate clockwise around the axis of the rotating shaft 14 (hereinafter referred to as the axis). At this time, the shift block structure extending from the side of the shift block 2 pushes the inner anti-backlash screw 4 to rotate clockwise around the axis and drives the inner bracket 3 to rotate. When the axis of the bracket 3 rotates clockwise, the tension spring 12 will be stretched to generate tension, causing the outer bracket 6 to have a tendency to rotate clockwise. However, since the stopper 19 blocks the clockwise rotation of the outer force adjustment screw 15 around the axis, the rotation of the outer bracket 6 is also blocked. Therefore, when operating in the positive direction, the inner bracket 3 rotates clockwise and the outer bracket 6 is stationary. The distance between the two spring joints 10 will be stretched, thereby the tension spring generates tension. This tension increases with the increase of the operating angle, that is, a load effect is generated. The principle is the same during negative operation.

[0053] The present invention also has a backlash elimination structure design. After the above-mentioned starting force value adjustment is completed during assembly, the 4-inner backlash elimination screw and the 7-outer backlash elimination screw are screwed in until they contact the shift block 2 and generate a certain tightening force, thereby eliminating the backlash. After the backlash elimination is completed, the 5-inner backlash elimination nut and the 8-outer backlash elimination nut are used to tighten the backlash elimination screws to prevent loosening.

[0054] The present invention innovatively changes the commonly used double compression spring structure of the load mechanism into a single tension spring structure in the structure, and has the beneficial effect that: compared with other existing technologies, the use of a single tension spring instead of a double compression spring structure does not require an outer cylinder as a support to ensure stability, which not only reduces the number of parts and the complexity of the structure, but also reduces the volume of the structure, which is conducive to the miniaturization of the side rod as a whole, and can also reduce the weight of the structure, reduce the rotational inertia of the mechanism, and improve the dynamic performance of the side rod. In addition, when the single tension spring structure is used, when operating in the positive and negative directions of the same axial direction, the same tension spring generates the load force, which can fully ensure the consistency of the operating force.

[0055] Embodiment 2

[0056] The spring joint 10 and the tension spring 12 are replaced with a linear damping assembly, and the spring force can be replaced with a damping force when the handle 1 is pushed and pulled forward and backward. Figure 6 When the handle is pushed or pulled, the action of stretching the damping component is generated, and the damper generates a damping force which is fed back to the pilot through the handle. The action diagram is as follows: Figure 7 shown.

[0057] Embodiment 3

[0058] The inner bracket 3 and the outer bracket 6 are installed with a spring that is extended and a set of through holes are set. A linear damping component can be installed at the same time as the spring component is installed. When the handle 1 is pushed and pulled forward and backward, the damping force and the spring feedback can be felt at the same time. The structure is as follows: Figure 8 shown.

[0059] Embodiment 4

[0060] The spring connector 10 and the tension spring 12 are replaced with an electromagnet. When the electromagnet is energized and attracted, the lower ends of the inner bracket 3 and the outer bracket 6 are tightened. At the same time, the upper ends of the inner and outer brackets will also clamp the two end surfaces of the narrow boss of the shift block 2. At the same time, due to the blocking effect of the block 19, the forward and backward push and pull action of the handle will be locked, and the handle will be locked in the neutral position all the time, which can be used to realize the side stick handle anchoring function during automatic flight driving of the aircraft.

Claims

1. An aircraft side rod load device, characterized in that: include: Outer frame, handle, shift block, shaft, bearing and load cell; The outer frame is a rectangular frame with openings at the upper and lower ends, and two bearings are symmetrically installed on the side walls of the outer frame; The two ends of the rotating shaft are connected to two bearings, the middle of the rotating shaft is a cube, and the shift block and the handle are installed on the cube in sequence; The shifting block is a rectangular block, one side of the rectangular block is provided with a wide boss, and the side of the wide boss away from the rectangular block is provided with a narrow boss; One end of the rotating shaft passes through the bearing and extends to the outside of the outer frame, and a load unit is installed thereon; the narrow boss drives the load unit to rotate around the rotating shaft under the drive of the handle, thereby applying force feedback to the handle.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The load unit includes: an inner bracket assembly, an outer bracket assembly, a round nut, a force sensing assembly, and a stopper; The middle parts of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are sleeved on one end of the rotating shaft extending out of the outer frame through a bearing sleeve; The lower ends of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are respectively connected to the force sensing assembly; The upper ends of the inner bracket assembly and the outer bracket assembly are respectively in contact with the two end surfaces of the narrow boss of the shifting block; The stopper is installed on the outer frame and is located below the rotating shaft. The stopper is used to block the inner bracket assembly or the outer bracket assembly from rotating so as to prevent the two from rotating at the same time.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner bracket assembly includes: an inner bracket, an inner anti-backlash screw, and an inner anti-backlash nut; The inner bracket has a first threaded hole at the upper end, a bearing mounting hole in the middle, and a first through hole at the lower end; The internal anti-backlash screw is threaded in the first threaded hole and is locked by the internal anti-backlash nut; the position of the internal anti-backlash screw in the first threaded hole is adjusted so that the front end of the internal anti-backlash screw is in close contact with the narrow boss.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The inner bracket assembly also includes: an inner force adjusting screw and an inner force adjusting nut; A second threaded hole is provided below the bearing mounting hole of the inner bracket; The internal force adjusting screw is threaded into the second threaded hole and is locked by the internal force adjusting nut; The position of the inner force adjusting screw in the second threaded hole is adjusted so that the inner force adjusting screw is in close contact with the stopper.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The outer bracket assembly is the same as the inner bracket assembly, and the inner bracket and the outer bracket together form a clamp-shaped structure.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The force sensing component is a spring component, including: a linear spring, a spring connector, and a hexagonal head pin; Two ends of the linear spring are respectively connected with a spring joint, and the spring joint is connected and fixed with the through holes below the inner and outer brackets through a hexagonal pin.

7. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The force sensing component is a damping component, including: a linear damper, a damper joint, and a hexagonal head pin.

8. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The force sensing component is a damping component and a spring component, including: a linear damper, a damper street joint, a linear spring, a spring joint, and a hexagonal head pin.

9. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The force sensing component is an electromagnetic locking valve.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A W-shaped groove is provided on the upper end surface of the outer frame panel on the side where the wide boss of the shifting block is located; The wide boss moves in the W-shaped groove, so that the wide boss is limited by the end faces on both sides of the W-shaped groove; the angle between the two side walls of the W-shaped groove is 40 degrees to 50 degrees.

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