Wing structure

Abstract

A wing structure mounted to a main wing of an aircraft, having a front side and a rear side opposite each other, comprising: an upper wing surface and a lower wing surface opposite each other wherein leading edges of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface at the front side are spaced apart from each other and trailing edges of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface at the rear side are joined together; the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface are flexible, the front edge of one of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface is fixed relative to the main wing, the wing structure further comprises a plurality of connecting structures located between the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface and used for connecting the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface, and at least one part of each connecting structure can be elastically deformed; and one or more actuation mechanisms mounted to the other of the upper airfoil and the lower airfoil. The upper wing surface and the lower wing surface are elastically supported by the connecting structure, so that the wing structure can be flexibly deformed during the overturning movement, and break points are avoided; meanwhile, the structure is simple, so that the overall weight of the wing structure is light.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of aircraft drag reduction design, and in particular to a wing structure. Background Art

[0002] Currently, aircraft wing structures, such as ailerons and trailing edge flaps, located at the trailing edge of the main wing, are typically rigid structures that do not deform during movement and rotate around a fixed rotation point. The leading edge of the aileron is designed as a cylindrical surface centered on the rotation axis. This ensures that the distance between the leading edge of the aileron and the trailing edge of the upper and lower panels of the aileron compartment remains constant during aileron movement, facilitating the overlap and sealing between the upper and lower panels of the aileron compartment and the upper and lower aileron surfaces. However, after aileron movement, a kink is formed between the aileron surface and the aileron compartment surface, making the wing surface appearance no longer smooth and continuous, thereby reducing the aircraft's aerodynamic efficiency.

[0003] There are wing structures using flexible skins, particularly aileron structures. These structures consist of a caisson, a stringer, an aileron consisting of two separate parts with independent rotation axes, a fixed rib connected to the wing at both ends, roller clutch mechanisms above and below the rib, and a pair of flexible skins. These structures use an aileron activation mechanism to deform based on standard aileron traction using aircraft controls. However, these structures are rigid mechanical structures and cannot achieve the goal of flexible deformation to eliminate kinks.

[0004] There are also wing structures with variable camber. This wing structure mainly includes a flexible trailing edge structure and a leading edge rigid section covered by a flexible skin. The flexible trailing edge structure is composed of multiple rigid sections hinged in sequence, and together with the leading edge rigid section, it forms a structure similar to a dinosaur tailbone. The upper and lower wing surfaces of the flexible trailing edge structure are provided with alloy wires along the chord direction of the airfoil. When the shape memory alloy wire group on the upper wing surface of the flexible trailing edge structure is heated, its length shortens, and the entire flexible trailing edge structure deforms upward, and vice versa, it deforms downward, thereby achieving the purpose of eliminating the inflection point. However, this wing structure uses heating and cooling the shape memory alloy wire group to drive the deformation of the flexible trailing edge structure, and its controllability is lower than that using mechanical control or circuit control; and the use of multiple independent components increases the weight of the components, which is not conducive to lightweight processing of the aircraft.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved wing structure that can solve the above-mentioned problems and defects in the prior art. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a wing structure which can be deformed in motion and maintain a smooth shape without inflection points, and has the characteristic of being lightweight.

[0007] According to the present invention, a wing structure is provided, which is mounted to an aircraft's main wing and has opposing front and rear sides. The wing structure comprises: an upper wing surface and a lower wing surface facing each other, wherein the leading edges of the upper and lower wing surfaces located on the front side are spaced apart from each other, while the trailing edges of the upper and lower wing surfaces located on the rear side are connected together; both the upper and lower wing surfaces are flexible, and the leading edge of one of the upper and lower wing surfaces is fixed relative to the main wing. The wing structure also comprises: a plurality of connecting structures disposed between and connecting the upper and lower wing surfaces, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of connecting structures is elastically deformable; and one or more actuating mechanisms mounted to the other of the upper and lower wing surfaces. With this arrangement, the upper and lower wing surfaces are elastically supported by the connecting structures, thereby enabling flexible deformation during the wing structure's rollover motion, thereby avoiding the formation of kinks. Furthermore, the simple beam-skin structure contributes to the overall low weight of the wing structure.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an actuation mechanism includes an actuator and an attachment hingedly connected to the actuator, wherein the actuator includes a fixed portion fixed to a main wing of an aircraft, and a movable portion capable of translational and telescopic movement relative to the fixed portion in a heading direction, wherein the movable portion is hingedly connected to the attachment, and the attachment is fixed to the upper wing surface or the lower wing surface. Specifically, the attachment includes a rigid strip extending in a spanwise direction, the rigid strip being fixedly connected to a leading edge of the upper wing surface or the lower wing surface.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the leading edge of the upper wing is fixed to the main wing of the aircraft, and the leading edge of the lower wing is installed with the actuating mechanism.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the connecting structure includes a plurality of elastic beams and at least one rigid beam, wherein the plurality of elastic beams can be elastically deformed during the flipping of the wing structure and are arranged in a first area close to the front side of the wing structure, while the at least one rigid beam does not deform during the flipping of the wing structure and is arranged in a second area close to the rear side of the wing structure.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the first region and the second region are continuous with each other, and the projected length of the wing structure along the heading direction is L. The first region extends at least L / 2 from the front side of the wing structure in the heading direction, and the second region extends at most L / 2 from the rear side of the wing structure in the opposite direction of the heading direction. This arrangement can prevent the range of the rigid beam from being too large, thereby preventing the upper and lower wing surfaces from being able to provide sufficient elastic support, resulting in deformation with a kink point during the wing structure's rolling motion.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of elastic beams and the at least one rigid beam are arranged parallel to each other.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the cross-sectional shape of the elastic beam is a zigzag shape, while the cross-sectional shape of the rigid beam is a straight shape extending in a vertical direction.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the deformable wing structure is capable of moving under the action of an actuating mechanism and remaining stationary in one of an upturned state, a normal state and a downturned state, wherein the rear side of the wing structure is higher in the vertical direction when in the upturned state than when in the normal state, and the rear side of the wing structure is lower in the vertical direction when in the downturned state than when in the normal state, and wherein the upper and lower surfaces of the wing structure remain bent and extended without inflection points in any of the upturned state, the normal state and the downturned state.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the upper leading edge of the upper wing surface and the lower leading edge of the lower wing surface are spaced apart by a certain distance in the vertical direction, wherein the distance between the two gradually decreases along the span direction, or the distance between the two remains unchanged along the span direction.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a deformable wing structure is disposed at a trailing edge portion of a main wing of an aircraft.

[0017] The wing structure of this utility model utilizes upper and lower wing surfaces that can flexibly deform during movement. Multiple elastic beams capable of elastic memory deformation are disposed between the upper and lower wing surfaces to separate them. As the wing structure deforms under the action of an actuating mechanism, these elastic beams deform vertically to varying degrees, allowing the wing structure to reach a predetermined upward or downward position while maintaining a smooth, unbroken extension of both the upper and lower wing surfaces. This wing structure is simple in construction and lightweight, achieving a lightweight aircraft wing.

[0018] This summary is provided to introduce concepts in a simplified form that will be further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference may be made to the following description of exemplary embodiments considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the specific embodiments depicted therein and are not necessarily to scale. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 It is a side view of the wing structure of a preferred embodiment of the utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 Schematic side views of the structure in an upturned state, a normal state, and a downturned state; and

[0022] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional view partially showing the wing structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Reference Signs List

[0024] 100 Wing structure

[0025] 101 front

[0026] 102 rear side

[0027] 1 Upper wing surface

[0028] 11 Upper wing leading edge

[0029] 12 Upper wing trailing edge

[0030] 2 Lower wing surface

[0031] 21 Lower wing leading edge

[0032] 22 Lower wing trailing edge

[0033] 3 Connection structure

[0034] 31 elastic beam

[0035] 32 Rigid Beam

[0036] 4 Actuating mechanism

[0037] 41 Actuator

[0038] 411 fixed part

[0039] 412 moving parts

[0040] 42 accessories

[0041] 5. First Area

[0042] 6 Second Area

[0043] X heading direction

[0044] Y span direction

[0045] Z vertical direction

[0046] A1 Upward direction

[0047] A2 Downward direction

[0048] l1 Course length of the first area

[0049] l2 Course length of the second area

[0050] l3 Heading length of the wing structure

[0051] h is the vertical distance between the leading edge of the upper wing and the leading edge of the lower wing DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The following description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings shows specific embodiments in which the present invention can be put into practice. The embodiments are intended to fully describe the various aspects of the present invention in detail so that those skilled in the art can implement the present invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following description of the specific embodiments should not be considered restrictive. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims and the full range of equivalents covered by the claims. The same reference numerals are used throughout all drawings and the specific embodiments to refer to the same or similar parts.

[0053] In this document, the direction X refers to the heading direction, which is from the front side of the wing structure to the rear side thereof, in particular Figure 1 The direction from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the lower wing surface of the aircraft is the same as the direction from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the lower wing surface. When the aircraft is in flight, the airflow flows through the wing structure along the heading direction X; the direction Y refers to the span direction, which is the direction along the front side of the wing structure, especially the length of the leading edge of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface. More generally, the span direction Y refers to the direction from the wing root to the wing tip of the main wing of the aircraft and perpendicular to the heading direction X; the direction Z refers to the vertical direction, which is perpendicular to the heading direction X and the span direction Y. These three directions X, Y, and Z are orthogonal to each other. In addition, the directional terms such as "upper" and "lower" in this article are relative to the wing structure placed in the horizontal plane (such as Figure 1 The vertical direction Z is defined when placing the

[0054] Figure 1 and Figure 3 The wing structure 100 of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown as a whole. The wing structure 100 can be installed on the main wing of an aircraft, especially on the trailing edge of the main wing, and used as a component such as an aileron or a trailing edge flap. As shown in the figure, the wing structure 100 has a front side 101 and a rear side 102 opposite to each other, and the overall outer profile tapers from the front side 101 to the rear side 102. The wing structure 100 is installed on the main wing of the aircraft at its front side 101, and performs displacement movement at its rear side 102 to achieve an upturned state, a normal state, and a downturned state ( Figure 2 shown).

[0055] The wing structure 100 comprises an upper wing surface 1 and a lower wing surface 2 facing each other, wherein both the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 have leading edges 11, 21 located at the front side 101 of the wing structure 100 and trailing edges 12, 22 located at the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100. Figure 1 As shown, the upper wing leading edge 11 and the lower wing leading edge 21 are separated by a distance h along the vertical direction Z, while the upper wing trailing edge 12 and the lower wing trailing edge 22 are connected together. Both the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 are made of flexible materials, allowing them to bend and deform during the movement of the wing structure 100. "Flexible" means that the material can bend and bend, but can be supported by the connecting structure to maintain a continuous curved surface shape. For example, metal plates or polymer materials can be used. In addition, the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface can also be constructed as assembled wing surfaces with a specific structural form to achieve the purpose of bending and deforming during the movement of the wing structure 100.

[0056] To support the tapered overall profile, the wing structure 100 further includes multiple connecting structures 3 between the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2. At least a portion of the multiple connecting structures 3 is elastically deformable. Thus, when the wing structure 100 moves and remains in an upturned or downturned state, the distance between the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 changes accordingly due to the deformation of the connecting structures 3, thereby allowing the outer profile of the wing structure 100 to bend and deform while maintaining a smooth, free-of-breaks profile. When the wing structure 100 returns to its normal state, the connecting structures 3 return to their initial configuration, causing the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 to deform and return to the original tapered shape of the wing structure 100.

[0057] Specifically, the multiple connecting structures 3 include multiple elastic beams 31 and at least one rigid beam 32. The elastic beams 31 are capable of elastically deforming during the wing structure 100's rollover and returning to their natural initial state when no external forces are applied. The rigid beams 32 do not deform during the wing structure 100's rollover, maintaining their natural contour. The wing structure 100 has a heading length l3, specifically, a projected length L along the heading direction X. The wing structure 100 includes a first region 5 near its front side 101 and a second region 6 near its rear side. The first region 5 and the second region 6 are continuous with each other. The first region 5 extends from the front side 101 of the wing structure 100 along the heading direction X and has a heading length l1. The second region 6 extends from the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100 in the opposite direction of the heading direction X and has a heading length l2. The heading length l1 of the first region 5 is at least half of the heading length l3 of the wing structure 100, that is, l1 is not less than L / 2; accordingly, the heading length l2 of the second region 6 is l3-l1, which is at most L / 2.

[0058] During the rollover motion of the wing structure 100, the portion of the wing structure 100 near its front side 101 deforms significantly, while the portion near its rear side 102 deforms minimally. Therefore, the elastic beams 31 are arranged in the first region 5 near the front side 101 of the wing structure 100, leveraging their elastic deformation properties to enable smooth, seamless bending of the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2. The rigid beams 32 are arranged in the second region 6 near the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100, leveraging their rigidity to maintain the overall stability of the rear outer contour of the wing structure 100. Of course, it is also conceivable to configure the entire connecting structure 3 as elastic beams 31, thereby providing the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2 with even greater flexibility in deformation.

[0059] In addition, the arrangement of the elastic beams 31 in an area occupying at least half of the entire wing structure 100 ensures that the number and arrangement area of ​​the elastic beams 31 are sufficient to enable the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 to bend smoothly without inflection points with the help of the elastic support of the elastic beams 31 when the wing structure 100 flips over, while avoiding the arrangement area of ​​the rigid beams 32 being too large so that the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 will have inflection points on their outer surfaces due to the rigid support of the rigid beams when the wing structure 100 flips over.

[0060] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the elastic beams 31 and the rigid beams 32 are spaced apart along the heading direction X and arranged parallel to each other, and each preferably extends along the span direction Y. The cross-sectional shape of the elastic beams 31 is preferably a zigzag shape, such as a wave shape or a C shape, to facilitate elastic deformation during the rollover of the wing structure 100; the cross-sectional shape of the rigid beams 32 is preferably a straight shape extending along the vertical direction Z to more firmly maintain the outer contour of the portion of the wing structure 100 near the rear side 102. It should be noted that the term "zigzag" as used in the present invention is opposite to "straight," indicating that the elastic beams 31 are shaped as non-straight, and that the curvature of each portion of their cross-section is continuous without any inflection points.

[0061] One or more of the leading edges 11 or 21 of the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2 of the wing structure 100 are fixed to the aircraft's main wing, while the other of the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2 is equipped with one or more actuators 4. When the wing structure 100 needs to flip, the actuators 4 propel the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2, causing the lower and upper surfaces 2 and 1 to rotate about the lower and upper leading edges 21 and 11, respectively. This, in turn, causes the upper and lower surfaces 1 and 2 to deform and bend adaptively, enabling the entire wing structure 100 to flip and remain stationary in an upturned, normal, or downturned state. In this preferred embodiment, the upper leading edge 11 of the upper surface 1 is fixed relative to the aircraft's main wing, while the lower surface 2 has the actuators 4 installed at its lower leading edge 21.

[0062] Taking this preferred embodiment as an example, the actuation mechanism 4 comprises an actuator 41 mounted in the aircraft's main wing and an attachment 42 mounted to the lower wing's leading edge 21. Specifically, the actuator 41 comprises a fixed portion 411 secured to the aircraft's main wing and a movable portion 412 capable of translational and telescopic movement relative to the fixed portion 411 along a heading direction X. The attachment 42 is preferably formed as a rigid strip extending along a spanwise direction Y and attached to the lower wing's leading edge 21. The movable portion 412 is hingedly connected to the attachment 42, but alternative embodiments may also envision a fixed connection between the two. With this arrangement, when the movable portion 412 of the actuator 41 moves along the heading direction X, it, via the attachment 42, drives the lower wing surface 2 in the same direction X. The upper wing surface 1 is connected to the lower wing surface trailing edge 22 via its upper wing surface trailing edge 12, so that movement of the lower wing surface 2 along the heading direction X causes the upper wing surface trailing edge 12 to tilt upward or flex downward. Because the upper wing surface 1's upper wing leading edge 11 is fixed to the aircraft's main wing, the upper wing surface 1 tends to rotate about its upper wing leading edge 11, causing the wing structure 100 to tilt upward in an upward tilt direction A1 to reach an upward tilt state, or tilt downward in a downward tilt direction A2 to reach a downward tilt state. Furthermore, thanks to the connection structure 3 disposed between the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2, particularly the elastic support provided by the elastic beam 31, the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 always maintain a smooth and kink-free state during movement and deformation.

[0063] In an alternative embodiment, it is also conceivable to arrange the actuating mechanism 4 on the upper wing leading edge 11, while the lower wing leading edge 21 is fixed to the main wing of the aircraft. In addition, if the span length of the wing structure 100 is long, multiple actuating mechanisms 4 can be provided to ensure that the wing structure 100 can be effectively driven to perform the flipping motion.

[0064] Figure 2 The figure shows the three different states of the wing structure 100, namely the upturned state, the normal state and the downturned state. Among them, the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100 is the highest along the vertical direction Z when in the upturned state, which can be used to increase the resistance or spoiler when the aircraft is landing; the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100 is the lowest along the vertical direction Z when in the downturned state, which can be used to increase the lift when the aircraft is taking off; the rear side 102 of the wing structure 100 is in the normal state (middle position) among the three states along the vertical direction Z when in the normal state, avoiding increasing the flight resistance when the aircraft is in flight. Figure 2 It is clearly shown that when the wing structure 100 is in any of the flipped-up state, the normal state and the flipped-down state, the upper wing surface 1 and the lower wing surface 2 thereof are kept curved and extended without any inflection points.

[0065] like Figure 2As shown, the upper wing leading edge 11 and the lower wing leading edge 21 are separated by a distance h along the vertical direction Z. When the wing structure 100 is applied to a large aircraft, the main wing of the large aircraft tapers greatly along the span direction Y, so the distance h can be correspondingly set to gradually decrease along the span direction Y. When the wing structure 100 is applied to a small aircraft, the main wing of the small aircraft tapers less along the span direction Y, and to reduce costs, it is also possible to consider setting the distance h to be constant along the span direction Y.

[0066] The wing structure of this utility model uses elastic beams that can elastically deform during the movement of the wing structure to support the flexible upper and lower wing surfaces. This allows the wing structure to maintain a smooth and continuous outer surface without any kinks during both upward and downward movements. Furthermore, the wing structure of this utility model adopts an inner frame-skin construction, resulting in a relatively light overall weight. Therefore, the wing structure of this utility model solves the problem of kinks in the wing surface that affect the aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft in the prior art without increasing the weight of the components.

[0067] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," "having," or any further variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such method, article, or apparatus.

[0068] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and non-restrictive. Those skilled in the art, informed by the present invention, may make any possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of protection of the claims. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent variations, and modifications made to the above-described embodiments in accordance with the technical essence of the present invention that do not depart from the technical solution of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wing structure, mounted to a main wing of an aircraft, having a front side and a rear side opposite to each other, comprising: an upper wing surface and a lower wing surface facing each other, wherein leading edges of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface on the front side are spaced apart from each other, and trailing edges of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface on the rear side are connected together; It is characterized in that the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface are both flexible, and the leading edge of one of the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface is fixed relative to the main wing. Furthermore, the wing structure further comprises: a plurality of connection structures disposed between the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface to connect the two, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of connection structures is elastically deformable; and One or more actuating mechanisms are mounted to the other of the upper airfoil surface and the lower airfoil surface.

2. The wing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that The actuating mechanism includes an actuator and an attachment hingedly connected to the actuator, The actuator comprises a fixed portion fixed to the main wing of the aircraft, and a movable portion capable of translational and telescopic movement relative to the fixed portion along the heading direction. The movable portion is hingedly connected to the attachment, and the attachment is fixed to the upper wing surface or the lower wing surface.

3. The wing structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The attachment comprises a rigid strip extending in the spanwise direction, the rigid strip being fixedly connected to the leading edge of the upper or lower airfoil.

4. The wing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that The connecting structure includes a plurality of elastic beams and at least one rigid beam. The plurality of elastic beams can be elastically deformed during the flipping of the wing structure and are arranged in a first area close to the front side of the wing structure. The at least one rigid beam does not deform during the flipping of the wing structure and is arranged in a second area close to the rear side of the wing structure.

5. The wing structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first region and the second region are continuous with each other, and the projection length of the wing structure along the heading direction is L. The first region extends at least L / 2 from the front side of the wing structure in the heading direction, and the second region extends correspondingly at most L / 2 from the rear side of the wing structure in the opposite direction of the heading direction.

6. The wing structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plurality of elastic beams and the at least one rigid beam are arranged parallel to each other.

7. The wing structure according to claim 4, characterized in that The cross-sectional shape of the elastic beam is a zigzag shape, while the cross-sectional shape of the rigid beam is a straight shape extending in a vertical direction.

8. The wing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The wing structure can move under the action of the actuating mechanism and remain stationary in one of an upturned state, a normal state and a downturned state. The rear side of the wing structure is higher in the vertical direction when in the flipped-up state than when in the normal state. The rear side of the wing structure is lower in the vertical direction when in the flipped-down state than when in the normal state, And wherein, the upper wing surface and the lower wing surface of the wing structure maintain bending and extending without inflection points in any one of the flipped-up state, the normal state and the flipped-down state.

9. The wing structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper leading edge of the upper wing surface and the lower leading edge of the lower wing surface are spaced apart by a distance in the vertical direction, wherein the distance between the two gradually decreases along the span direction, or the distance between the two remains unchanged along the span direction.

10. The wing structure according to claim 1, wherein: The wing structure is arranged at the trailing edge portion of the main wing of the aircraft.

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