Opposite folding system of folding rudder sheet mechanism
By designing a folding rudder mechanism with opposing folding systems, and utilizing the opposing folding of the upper and lower folding rudders and torsion spring drive, the automatic deployment and locking of the aircraft's rudders is achieved. This solves the problem of large space occupation by rudders in existing technologies, and improves space utilization and structural reliability.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511051921.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-14
AI Technical Summary
Existing aircraft control blades do not have wingspan folding capabilities, resulting in large space requirements, inconvenience in storage and transportation, and susceptibility to external environmental influences.
A folding rudder mechanism with opposing folding systems was designed. The automatic unfolding and locking of the rudder rudder is achieved by the opposing folding of the upper and lower folding rudder ...
It achieves automatic deployment and locking of the rudder blades without increasing the overall size, improving space utilization, adapting to different shapes and sizes, and featuring a simple structure and high versatility.
Smart Images
Figure CN120942544A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention discloses a folding rudder mechanism with opposing folding systems, belonging to the field of space technology. Background Technology
[0002] Controllers and control blades are crucial components of precision navigation. Control blades generate additional aerodynamic forces, creating flight control forces to ensure the aircraft flies along a predetermined course. Because aircraft are affected by various factors during flight, their flight paths inevitably change. Therefore, the deflection of control blades is essential to adjust the aircraft's direction, attitude, altitude, and speed. With the development of modern aerospace technology, new requirements have been placed on control blade structure. For miniaturized aircraft, control blades occupy a large amount of space relative to the aircraft itself and their performance is easily affected by the external environment. Therefore, the deployment and retraction of control blades significantly impacts aircraft performance. Currently, most aircraft control blades in China lack wingspan folding functionality and also suffer from drawbacks such as large space requirements, high storage space demands, and inconvenience in storage, transportation, and launch. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide a folding control blade structure to address these issues. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The technical problem solved by this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system, which can reduce the space occupied by the aircraft as a whole due to the integrated rudder, and can also automatically unfold and reliably unfold into place during flight.
[0004] The technical solution of the present invention is: a folding rudder mechanism with opposing folding systems, including an upper folding rudder and a lower folding rudder; the upper and lower folding rudders are symmetrically installed on the upper and lower ends of the same side of the outer frame of the rudder compartment, and the upper and lower folding rudders realize opposing folding around the folding rotation axis of the rudders; after folding, the lower folding rudder is on the inside, the upper folding rudder is on the outside and presses down on the lower folding rudder on the inside, and is installed into the launch box in this state; inside the launch box, the outer side of the upper folding rudder contacts the inner wall of the launch box, and the aircraft slides along the box wall during launch. During this process, the rudder unfolds by the inner wall of the launch box. After being launched out of the box, the two folding rudders unfold and lock under the force of the torsion spring.
[0005] The upper folding rudder blade includes: a rudder blade root front end, a rudder blade root rear end, a rudder blade tip, a front pin cover, a middle pin cover, a rear pin cover, a support member, a front pivot, a rear pivot, a front pin, a middle pin, a rear pin, a front positioning pin, a rear positioning pin, a compression spring, and a torsion spring.
[0006] The front end and rear end of the rudder root are connected by a convex-groove joint; two oblique tapered pin holes are opened on the front end of the rudder root, and one oblique tapered pin hole is opened on the rear end of the rudder root; the compression springs are respectively installed in the openings for spring installation on the front pin, middle pin, and rear pin; the front pin, middle pin, and rear pin are respectively installed in three pin holes on the tip of the rudder; they are pressed by the front pin cover, middle pin cover, and rear pin cover to ensure that they do not come out, and to ensure that the three pins slide smoothly without jamming inside the slide groove;
[0007] Two torsion springs are respectively installed on the front pivot and the pivot, with the two ends of the torsion springs respectively locked at the tip and root of the rudder blade; the root of the rudder blade includes the front end and the rear end of the rudder blade root.
[0008] The rudder root has mounting holes at the front and rear ends, located on the rudder root's folding and rotation axis. The front and rear locating pins pass through the front and rear ends of the rudder root respectively and are installed in the corresponding pin holes on the front and rear shafts. The support is installed on the tip of the rudder and has internal threads. The front shaft is screwed into the front end of the rudder root. The rear shaft is screwed into the rear end of the rudder root and the tip of the rudder in sequence and finally fixed in the support.
[0009] The front pin, middle pin, and rear pin are of different sizes, with the middle pin being the largest and the rear pin being the smallest.
[0010] The front, middle, and rear pins are rectangular tapered pins with draft angles at the ends and taper along both the flight and span directions to ensure proper positioning and maintain maximum load-bearing capacity during installation.
[0011] The tapered pin hole, as well as the front pin, middle pin, and rear pin, each have four faces. The two opposite faces are at an angle. The angles of the two faces along the heading direction are 10°, and the angles of the two faces along the span direction are 26°, ensuring that the tapered pin and the pin hole can be firmly locked and do not wobble in both the heading and span directions after they are engaged.
[0012] Grooves for installing torsion springs are provided at the front end of the rudder root, the rear end of the rudder root, and the tip of the rudder, ensuring that the torsion springs do not protrude from the aerodynamic envelope of the rudder after installation.
[0013] When installing torsion springs, install them in opposite directions at the corresponding grooves at the front end of the rudder root, the rear end of the rudder root, and the tip of the rudder to ensure that there is no interference after the rudder is folded into place.
[0014] In terms of structure, the lower folding rudder and the upper folding rudder are identical except that the front end of the rudder root and the rear end of the rudder root in the lower folding rudder and the upper folding rudder are symmetrical to each other.
[0015] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are:
[0016] 1. This invention divides the integrated rudder blade into a fixed part and a folding part, and uses a rotating shaft + torsion spring drive to enable the rudder blade to rotate axially.
[0017] 2. The locking mechanism of this invention is in the form of a spring pin. When the rudder blade rotates to the correct position, the spring pin automatically locks, and the folded rudder blade continues to work as an integrated rudder blade.
[0018] 3. This invention can adapt to any shape and size requirements by changing the structure of the fixed part and the folding part. The mechanism occupies a small volume, has a simple structure, has little impact, and is highly versatile.
[0019] 4. The upper rudder blade is folded by squeezing the lower rudder blade, which occupies little space and has a large folding angle. When constraining, only the outer upper rudder blade is constrained, resulting in high space utilization. Attached Figure Description
[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall external structure of the present invention.
[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the front view of the folding rudder.
[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the back of the folding rudder.
[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the folding rudder.
[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the front end structure of the rudder blade root.
[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the rear end structure of the rudder blade root.
[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the folding rudder.
[0027] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the main structure of the folding rudder. Detailed Implementation
[0028] The invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0029] like Figure 1As shown, a folding rudder mechanism with opposing folding systems includes an upper folding rudder and a lower folding rudder. Both the upper and lower folding rudders are mounted on the rudder housing. The upper folding rudder is mounted facing upwards, and the lower folding rudder is mounted on the same side facing downwards. The rudders fold towards each other through the upper and lower folding rudders. After folding, the lower folding rudder is on the inside, and the upper folding rudder is on the outside and presses down on the inner lower folding rudder. This is how the rudder is installed into the launch box. Inside the launch box, the outer side of the upper folding rudder contacts the inner wall of the launch box. During launch, the aircraft slides along the box wall. During this process, the deployment of the rudders is restricted by the inner wall of the launch box. After launch, the two rudders are deployed and locked under the force of torsion springs.
[0030] like Figure 2-6 As shown, the upper folding rudder includes: rudder root front end 1, rudder root rear end 2, rudder tip 3, front pin cover 4, middle pin cover 5, rear pin cover 6, support 7, front pivot 8, rear pivot 9, front pin 10, middle pin 11, rear pin 12, front positioning pin 14, rear positioning pin 15, compression spring 16, and torsion spring 17;
[0031] The front end 1 of the rudder root and the rear end 2 of the rudder root adopt a boss-groove type fit. The rear end 2 of the rudder root has a rectangular boss on the mating surface that mates with the front end 1 of the rudder root. Each side of the boss has tolerance requirements to ensure that the front end 1 of the rudder root and the rear end 2 of the rudder root do not wobble after being connected, thus ensuring the overall rigidity of the rudder.
[0032] The front end 1 of the rudder root and the rear end 2 of the rudder root adopt a boss-groove type fit. The reason is that if it is machined as a whole, it will consume a lot of work and time. By changing to separate machining, the machining difficulty can be effectively reduced and the overall integrity can be guaranteed by precision matching, which can significantly reduce the machining cost.
[0033] Two oblique tapered pin holes are opened on the front end 1 of the root of the rudder blade. The pin hole is characterized by having four faces, with two opposite faces each at an angle. The angle of the two faces along the heading is 10° and the angle of the two faces along the span is 26°, ensuring that the tapered pin can be firmly locked in both the heading and span directions without shaking.
[0034] A tapered pin hole is opened on the rear end 2 of the root of the rudder blade. The pin hole is characterized by having four faces, with two opposite faces each at an angle. The angles of the two faces along the heading are 10° and the angles of the two faces along the span are 26°, ensuring that the tapered pin can be firmly locked in both the heading and span directions without shaking.
[0035] After the front end 1 of the rudder root and the rear end 2 of the rudder root are fixed together, they have three tapered pin holes to cooperate with the three tapered pin holes on the tip 3 of the rudder, ensuring that the folding rudder mechanism is sufficiently reliable.
[0036] The assembly sequence of the three pins is as follows: the compression spring 16 is installed into the openings on the front pin 10, the middle pin 11, and the rear pin 12 for installing springs. Then, the front pin 10, the middle pin 11, and the rear pin 12 are all spring pins, which are installed in the three rectangular pin holes on the tip 3 of the rudder blade near the rudder blade folding and rotating shaft. The front pin cover 4, the middle pin cover 5, and the rear pin cover 6 are used to press them together to ensure that they do not come out, so as to ensure that the pins slide smoothly inside the groove without jamming.
[0037] The front end 1, rear end 2, and tip 3 of the rudder blade root have grooves for installing torsion springs. Their function is to ensure that the torsion springs do not protrude from the aerodynamic envelope of the rudder blade after installation.
[0038] The tip of the rudder blade 3 has three connecting holes for engaging with the front end of the rudder blade root 1, the rear end of the rudder blade root 2, and the rotating shaft.
[0039] like Figure 7 As shown, the front rotating shaft 8 passes through the first two connecting holes of the rudder root front end 1 and the rudder tip 3, and is divided into a shaft hole mating section and a threaded connection section. A through clearance groove is provided on the rotating shaft to avoid the tapered pin. The rear rotating shaft 9 passes through the tail connecting hole of the rudder root rear end 2 and the rudder tip 3, and is divided into a shaft hole mating section and a threaded connection section. A through clearance groove is provided on the rotating shaft to avoid the tapered pin.
[0040] Torsion spring 17 is installed on the front shaft 8 and the rear shaft 9, with its two ends respectively locked into the grooves on the tip 3 and the front end 1 of the root of the rudder. When installing the torsion spring, it should be installed in opposite directions at the corresponding grooves on the front end 1 of the root of the rudder, the rear end 2 of the root of the rudder, and the tip 3 of the rudder. This installation method will prevent interference when the rudder is folded into place.
[0041] The front pin 10, middle pin 11, and rear pin 12 are rectangular tapered pins with draft angles at the ends. They taper along both the heading and spanwise directions to ensure reliable positioning and maximum load-bearing capacity during installation. The three pins differ in size due to their different positions and load capacities. The middle pin is the largest because it is near the pressure center of the rudder plate. The front pin is slightly smaller than the middle pin, and the rear pin is the smallest because it experiences the least stress, has the weakest structural strength, and is in a limited space. The three pins share the characteristic of having four faces, with two opposite faces each forming an angle. The angles along the heading are 10°, and the angles along the spanwise are 26°, ensuring a secure and stable lock-in in both the heading and spanwise directions after the tapered pin mates with the pin hole.
[0042] The front end 1 and rear end 2 of the rudder root are also provided with shaft mounting holes, which are located on the rudder root folding and rotation axis. The front positioning pin 14 and the rear positioning pin 15 pass through the front end 1 and the rear end 2 of the rudder root respectively, and are installed in the pin holes on the front shaft 8 and the shaft 9 respectively. The support 7 is installed on the tip 3 of the rudder root, and the support 7 has internal threads. The front shaft 8 is screwed into the front end 1 of the rudder root. The rear shaft 9 is screwed into the rear end 2 and the tip 3 of the rudder root in sequence and finally fixed in the support 7.
[0043] In addition, the folding system of the present invention also includes a rudder shaft clamping block 13, which is located on both sides of the rudder shaft during installation and is fixed by screws to clamp the rudder shaft from both sides to ensure that the rudder blade is fixed firmly and reliably.
[0044] The lower folding rudder blade and the upper folding rudder blade contain the same types of parts, and the front end of the rudder blade root and the rear end of the rudder blade root in the lower folding rudder blade and the upper folding rudder blade are symmetrical parts to each other.
[0045] All structural components in the folding rudder structure remain within the envelope, with no component protruding from the rudder's aerodynamic envelope. This maximizes the preservation of the rudder's aerodynamic shape and enables it to reliably and efficiently complete the folding and unfolding task.
[0046] The contents not described in detail in this specification are common knowledge to those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system, characterized in that, It includes an upper folding rudder and a lower folding rudder; the upper folding rudder and the lower folding rudder are symmetrically installed on the upper and lower ends of the same side of the outer frame of the rudder compartment, and the upper and lower folding rudders achieve folding around the folding rotation axis of the rudder; after folding, the lower folding rudder is on the inside, the upper folding rudder is on the outside and presses down on the lower folding rudder on the inside, and is installed into the launch box in this state; inside the launch box, the outer side of the upper folding rudder contacts the inner wall of the launch box, and the aircraft slides along the box wall during launch. During this process, the rudder unfolds by the inner wall of the launch box. After being launched out of the box, the two folding rudders unfold and lock under the force of the torsion spring.
2. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper folding rudder blade includes: rudder blade root front end (1), rudder blade root rear end (2), rudder blade tip (3), front pin cover (4), middle pin cover (5), rear pin cover (6), support member (7), front pivot (8), rear pivot (9), front pin (10), middle pin (11), rear pin (12), front positioning pin (14), rear positioning pin (15), compression spring (16), and torsion spring (17); The front end (1) of the rudder root and the rear end (2) of the rudder root are connected by a convex-groove joint; two oblique tapered pin holes are opened on the front end (1) of the rudder root, and one oblique tapered pin hole is opened on the rear end (2) of the rudder root; the compression spring (16) is respectively installed in the openings for installing the spring on the front pin (10), the middle pin (11), and the rear pin (12). The front pin (10), the middle pin (11), and the rear pin (12) are respectively installed in the three pin holes on the tip (3) of the rudder. They are pressed by the front pin cover (4), the middle pin cover (5), and the rear pin cover (6) to ensure that they do not come out, so as to ensure that the three pins slide smoothly in the groove without jamming. Two torsion springs (17) are respectively installed on the front shaft (8) and the shaft (9), and the two ends of the torsion springs (17) are respectively locked on the tip (3) and the root of the rudder; the root of the rudder includes the front end (1) and the rear end (2) of the rudder root. The front end (1) and rear end (2) of the rudder root are also provided with shaft mounting holes, which are located on the rudder folding and rotation axis. The front positioning pin (14) and the rear positioning pin (15) pass through the front end (1) and rear end (2) of the rudder root respectively, and are installed in the pin holes on the front shaft (8) and shaft (9) respectively. The support (7) is installed on the tip (3) of the rudder and has threads inside. The front shaft (8) is screwed into the front end (1) of the rudder root. The rear shaft (9) is screwed into the rear end (2) and tip (3) of the rudder root in sequence and finally fixed in the support (7).
3. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The front pin (10), middle pin (11), and rear pin (12) are of different sizes, with the middle pin (11) being the largest and the rear pin (12) being the smallest.
4. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The front pin (10), middle pin (11), and rear pin (12) are rectangular tapered pins with draft angles at the ends and taper along the heading and span, ensuring that they can be positioned and maintain maximum load-bearing capacity during installation.
5. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The tapered pin hole, as well as the front pin (10), middle pin (11), and rear pin (12), each have four faces. The two opposite faces are at an angle. The angles of the two faces along the heading are 10°, and the angles of the two faces along the span are 26°, ensuring that the tapered pin and the pin hole can be stably locked and do not wobble in both the heading and span directions after they are engaged.
6. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The front end (1), rear end (2), and tip (3) of the rudder blade root are all provided with grooves for installing torsion springs, ensuring that the torsion springs do not protrude from the aerodynamic envelope of the rudder blade after installation.
7. The folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The torsion spring (17) is installed in opposite directions at the corresponding grooves at the front end (1), rear end (2), and tip (3) of the rudder blade root to ensure that there is no interference after the rudder blade is folded into place.
8. A folding rudder mechanism opposing folding system according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, In terms of structure, the lower folding rudder and the upper folding rudder are identical except that the front end of the rudder root and the rear end of the rudder root in the lower folding rudder and the upper folding rudder are symmetrical to each other.