INTERFACE BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OPENING HANDLE OF AN AIRCRAFT DOOR AND AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EMERGENCY OPENING ASSISTANCE
A mechanical interface in aircraft doors activates an electrical energy reserve via handle pivoting, addressing latency issues in emergency openings by ensuring immediate power availability.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2022012172
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2022-11-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-03
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-11-22
AI Technical Summary
Existing aircraft door systems face challenges in quickly opening during emergencies due to increased opening efforts, especially when the electrical system is deactivated during a motor failure, leading to potential latency and security delays.
A mechanical interface between the interior/exterior actuation handle and a transmission mechanism that activates an electrical energy reserve by pivoting the handle to a predetermined angle, ensuring immediate electrical power for emergency door opening.
Ensures rapid activation of the electrical energy reserve through a simple handle maneuver, maintaining emergency system availability without electrical latency, even in power failures.
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: INTERFACE BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OPENING HANDLE OF AN AIRCRAFT DOOR AND AN ELECTRICAL EMERGENCY OPENING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM Technical field
[0001] The invention relates to the field of aeronautics and, more particularly, to safety devices integrated into the architecture of an aircraft door.
[0002] Generally speaking, such a door comprises, in particular, an arming handle intended for the reversible activation of the security system and a main opening mechanism comprising interior and exterior operating handles.
[0003] The resistance of the door to the pressure differential between the inside and the outside of the aircraft cabin is achieved by means of stops installed on the perimeters of the opening and its frame. The operating handles ensure, as a priority, the escape of these stops and the movement of the door to its fully open position.
[0004] In critical emergency situations (risk of fire, unsafe landing, serious technical problem, etc.), the door must be able to be opened quickly in a single operation.
[0005] However, due to the operational constraints of the flight crew, the forces exerted, in normal situations, on the door operating handle for opening or closing it are limited. However, in an emergency situation, the forces increase following the implementation of safety measures, in particular when the slide is triggered. This increase in opening forces prevents normal personnel from opening the door without the aid of assistance means.
[0006] Under these conditions, aircraft doors are generally equipped with a safety system providing assistance with opening and comprising either a hydropneumatic system where the emergency power source consists of a compressed air bottle, or in certain devices, an electrical system comprising, in particular, motors and actuators powered by a current source which guarantee an appropriate supply of mechanical power to guide and move the door according to pre-established kinematics. This electrical safety system is generally activated automatically in an emergency situation.
[0007] In a conventional aircraft door, the arming handle is used to activate or deactivate the emergency system. By placing this handle in the "armed" position, the operator activates the safety system and sets the lever that will activate the door opening actuator at the end of the stops exhaust. Of course, moving the arming handle to the reverse position ("disarmed") will cause opposite actions.
[0008] However, in the current configuration of the door, the activation of an electrical safety system is problematic for the following reasons.
[0009] Indeed, the door is not part of the flight systems considered essential and, consequently for reasons of energy saving, it is cut off from its electrical power supply in the event of an engine failure of the aircraft. In this case, depending on the ETOPS qualification (for "Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards") of the aircraft, a more or less long flight may result (the current maximum duration being 370 minutes).
[0010] In this case, if the detection of the loss of current is used to activate the emergency electrical circuit, it is then necessary to oversize the capacity of the energy source. It would be possible to activate the electrical energy reserve only simultaneously with the opening of the door, which would reduce the electrical consumption. However, this solution is likely to cause a latency time and therefore a delay in opening, which is detrimental to safety. This latency problem is, moreover, more severe if the unlocking of the slide is carried out, when opening from the outside, by means of an electric actuator.
[0011] In this context, the invention aims to find a solution making it possible to resolve the technical problems posed by prior security systems by proposing a mechanical interface ensuring the prior activation of the electrical energy reserve by means of a simple operation of the internal (or external) operating handle.
[0012] In order to be compatible with the time sequencing requirements of the electrical safety triggers, this activation occurs by pivoting the handle from its initial position. Thus, according to the approach followed by the present invention, a predetermined angle value of the interior handle (or the exterior handle) relative to its closing position, makes it possible to guarantee that the door is supplied with electrical energy and that the emergency safety system will then be available at the slightest request.
[0013] To this end, according to the invention, by means of a mechanical interface between an interior / exterior actuating handle, ensuring by rotation around an axis the opening of an aircraft door, and a reserve of electrical energy intended to assist in the emergency opening of the door, said interface comprising, in particular, an arming handle movable between an armed position and a disarmed position and which is coupled to the interior / exterior actuating handle by means of a transmission mechanism, said transmission mechanism comprising:
[0014] - a first lever connected, by one end, to the cocking handle and, by its other end, to a shaft carrying a second free lever on which is fixed a rod for activating the safety electric energy reserve and a clutch element cooperating in rotation with said first and second levers and,
[0015] - a cam mounted on said shaft and cooperating with a carried drive element by the actuating handle such that, in the armed position of the arming handle, a prior rotation of the actuating handle through an angle of between 3° and 50° from its rest position causes, jointly, the rotation of the cam, the pivoting of the second free lever, the translation of the rod and the activation of the electrical energy reserve.
[0016] According to an advantageous characteristic of the interface of the invention, the cam is coupled to a return spring which is under tension. In the disarmed position, the tension is reduced and it is reinforced a first time during arming and then again a second time when the main handle is actuated.
[0017] According to another advantageous characteristic, the first lever is mounted in free rotation on the shaft.
[0018] According to yet another advantageous characteristic of the interface of the invention, the second lever is mounted in free rotation on the shaft between the clutch element and the first lever.
[0019] Furthermore, the invention provides that the clutch element is preferably secured to the cam via the support shaft which is parallel to the axis of the actuating handle.
[0020] According to a specific embodiment variant of the interface of the invention, the clutch element carries a first finger and a second finger, the first finger being driven by the second lever and positioned so as to come into abutment against the second lever in the cocking position of the handle, while the second finger is positioned on the clutch element so as to come into abutment against the first lever from the disarming position to the cocking position of the cocking handle and vice versa under the action of the spring. The second finger thus drives the second lever into the cocking position which makes it possible to activate the electrical energy reserve.
[0021] According to another particular variant embodiment of the interface of the invention, the drive element carried by the actuating handle is formed of a pin and the cam is formed of a ramp arranged opposite the pin.
[0022] According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the drive element and said cam are positioned relative to each other so that when the cocking handle is in the cocked position, the rotation of the actuating handle causes, via the drive element, the joint pivoting of the cam and the second lever via the shaft and the clutch element.
[0023] Conversely, the invention provides that the drive element and said cam are positioned relative to each other so that when the cocking handle is in the disarmed position, rotation of the actuating handle is free and the cam remains fixed.
[0024] Furthermore, the invention provides that the cocking handle is preferably connected to the connecting arm by a set of connecting rods.
[0025] Consequently, thanks to the interface of the invention, the activation of the energy reserve is ensured, in the armed position, by pulling the rod under the simple action of the cam and therefore of the main actuating handle.
[0026] Another object of the invention is an aircraft door provided with at least one handle for actuating the opening from the inside or from the outside and a safety system comprising an electrical energy reserve, said door being equipped with a mechanical interface as defined above.
[0027] The interface of the invention allows the use of an electrical architecture for doors with lateral escape of the stops and the advantages associated therewith, namely, the pooling of the energy of the emergency systems and the device for deploying and inflating the slide and the so-called "swivelling" motor.
[0028] The invention relates to the provision of the electrical energy reserve in the event of emergency opening, and can also be applied to any type of door. In these other applications, it will be sufficient to keep the same arrangement around the axis of the handle. PRESENTATION OF FIGURES
[0029] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the non-limiting description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings which represent respectively:
[0030] [Fig. 1] an overall side view of a preferred embodiment of the mechanical interface of the invention in the disarmed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0031] [Fig.2] an overall side view of the mechanical interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0032] [Fig.3] a detailed sectional view along AA of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0033] [Fig.4] a detailed perspective view of the interface of [Fig.l] in the disarmed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0034] [Fig.5] a detailed sectional view along BB of the interface of [Fig.l] in the disarmed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0035] [Fig.6] a detailed perspective view of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0036] [Fig.7] a detailed sectional view along BB of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in the rest position;
[0037] [Fig.8] a detailed perspective view of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in an intermediate position for activating the safety electrical energy reserve;
[0038] [Fig.9] a detailed sectional view along BB of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in an intermediate position for activating the safety electrical energy reserve, and
[0039] [Fig. 10] a detailed sectional view along BB of the interface of [Fig.l] in the armed position with the actuating handle in the final position for activating the safety electrical energy.
[0040] For greater clarity, identical or similar elements are indicated by identical reference signs in the following description and in the figures. Naturally, the embodiments of the invention illustrated schematically by the figures presented above and described below are given only as non-limiting examples. It is explicitly provided within the scope of the invention that different embodiments can be combined with each other to propose others while remaining within the scope of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] The invention relates to aircraft doors and is more particularly concerned with the system for triggering the electrical energy necessary to open these doors in an emergency situation.
[0042] Generally speaking and as illustrated by the overall views of figures 1 and 2 attached, these doors comprise an interior actuating handle 1 ensuring, by rotation around an axis 1a, the opening of the door, a reserve of safety electrical energy (not shown) for assistance in the emergency opening of the door and a mechanical interface comprising, in particular, an arming handle 2 movable between a disarmed position (illustrated by the overall view of [Fig.l] and the detailed views of figures 4 and 5) and an armed position (illustrated by the overall view of [Fig.2] and the detailed views of [Fig.3], 6 and 7), with the actuating handle in the rest position. The interface being in the armed position, the actuating handle is in intermediate positions in the detailed figures 8 and 9 and in the final position in the detailed figure in [Fig. 10].
[0043] The cocking handle 2 is connected to the actuating handle 1 via a transmission mechanism which will be described hereinafter more particularly with reference to the figures 4 and 6 respectively, in the disarmed position and in the armed position, the handle 1 then being in the rest position and in [Fig.8] in the armed position with the handle moved angularly here by 5°.
[0044] The security system generally comprises a source of electrical energy, and a circuit integrating motors powered by this source and which guarantee an appropriate supply of mechanical power, actuators coupled to the motors and intended to guide and move the door according to a pre-established kinematics. Where appropriate, a pump jointly ensures the inflation of an evacuation slide from a dedicated system located under the threshold of the door (these latter components are not shown in the figures because they are not directly concerned by the invention).
[0045] The invention consists of integrating a specific mechanical interface ensuring the prior activation of the electrical energy reserve by means of a simple operation of the interior operating handle 1 or, where appropriate, of the exterior handle.
[0046] More precisely, the invention provides that the activation of the electrical safety energy is pre-established, from the armed position of the arming handle 2, thanks to a pivoting of the interior actuating handle 1 from its initial rest position corresponding to the locking of the door.
[0047] Thus, according to the invention, a predetermined angle value of the interior actuating handle 1 relative to the closed position makes it possible to guarantee that the door is supplied with electrical energy and that the emergency safety system will then be available at the slightest request.
[0048] For this purpose, the interface of the invention comprises a transmission mechanism ensuring the connection between the cocking handle 2 and the actuating handle 1. This transmission mechanism comprises, respectively, an arm 21, a first end of which is connected to the handle 2 by a set of connecting rods 20 and which is movable in translation between the uncocked and cocked position of the handle 2. The second end of the arm 21 is coupled to a first lever 22 mounted in free rotation on a shaft 24 which extends parallel to the axis 1a of rotation of the actuating handle 1.
[0049] Under the first lever 22, a second lever 23 is mounted in free rotation on the shaft 24 of the transmission mechanism. This second lever 23 is, on the one hand, connected to a rod 3 ensuring, via an element 30, the activation of the safety electrical energy reserve and cooperates, on the other hand, with a clutch element 25.
[0050] This clutch element 25 is fixed on the shaft 24 under the second lever 23 and carries two peripheral fingers 25a, 25b extending diametrically opposite and parallel to the shaft 24. The two fingers 25a, 25b have precise angular positions on the periphery of the clutch element 25 and cooperate, by rotation of this element 25, alternately, with the second free lever 23 and the first cocking lever 22, as described below.
[0051] In particular, the end piece of the second lever 23 ensures the attachment of the rod 3, while its edge 23a ensures the stop by contact with the finger 25a during the angular travel. Jointly, the lateral edge 22a of the first lever 22 ensures the stop of the finger 25b in its angular travel, as illustrated in particular by [Fig.6].
[0052] The first finger 25a is thus positioned on the clutch element 25 so as to come into abutment against the connecting rod 23 in the cocking position of the handle 2, while the second finger 25b is positioned on the clutch element 25 so as to come into abutment against the first lever 22 from the disarming position to the cocking position of the cocking handle 2 and vice versa, thanks to the action of a return spring 5 which will be described later.
[0053] Thus, generally speaking, in the disarmed position (see in particular [Fig.4]) the finger 25b is in contact with the first lever 22 and the finger 25a is free. Alternatively, when arming is carried out (see in particular [Fig.6]), the finger 25b is pushed by the lever 22 and pivots around the axis of the shaft 24 at the same time as the finger 25a which then comes into contact with the second lever 23, exerting a first pull on the rod 3 so as to take up any existing play.
[0054] On the shaft 24 and under the second lever 23 is fixed, in addition, a cam 4 positioned and coupled to the return spring 5, fixed moreover to the structure of the door or any other frame present in the door. In the armed position, the shaft 24 and the cam 4 have pivoted under the action of the first lever 22 and the clutch element 25 by putting the spring 5 under tension. Conversely, when disarming is carried out, the finger 25b follows the lever 22 thanks to the traction exerted by the return spring 5 coupled to the cam 4 but which nevertheless remains under tension.
[0055] The interface of the invention provides that the cam 4 of the transmission mechanism cooperates with a drive element 10 carried by the actuating handle 1. The cooperation between the cam 4 and this element 10 is achieved in such a way that the second lever 23 pivots under the action of the finger 25a when the cam 4, integral with the clutch element 25 via the shaft 24, is rotated by the handle 1, via the drive element 10, and then exerts a second traction on the rod 3 to activate the electrical energy reserve, as illustrated for example by [Fig. 8] where the actuating handle is in an intermediate position (at 5°). Figures 9 and 10 illustrate, respectively, an intermediate position (at 9°) and a final position (here at 15°) of the actuating handle 1 corresponding to the activation of the electrical energy reserve.
[0056] The drive element 10 is carried by a branch 11 extending transversely to the axis 1a. The element 10 is intended to move in a plane parallel to the cam 4 so that, in the armed position of the arming handle 2, a rotation of the actuating handle 1 by an angle of between 3° and 50° and, preferably, between 10° and 15°, around the axis 1a from its rest position jointly causes a pivoting of the cam 4 driven by the element 10.
[0057] According to a specific embodiment of the interface of the invention, the drive element 10 carried by the actuating handle 1 is formed of a pin and the cam 4 is formed of an L-shaped section ramp arranged opposite the pin. The pin 10 and the ramp 4 are positioned relative to each other so that when the handle 2 is in the armed position, the rotation of the actuating handle 1 causes the pin to press against the ramp and the latter to pivot.
[0058] In the same way, the pin 10 and the ramp 4 are positioned relative to each other so that when the arming handle 2 is in the disarmed position (see for example [Fig.4]), the rotation of the actuating handle 1 is free and the pin is outside the ramp which, for its part, remains fixed as do the second lever 23 and the rod 3, the electrical safety system then being kept inactive.
Claims
Claims
1. Transmission mechanism and mechanical interface between an interior actuating handle (1) ensuring, by rotation around an axis (1a), the opening of an aircraft door and an electrical energy reserve intended to assist in the emergency opening of the door, said interface comprising, an arming handle (2) movable between an armed position and a disarmed position and which is coupled to the interior actuating handle (1) by means of the transmission mechanism, characterized in that said transmission mechanism comprises: - a first lever (22) connected, by one end, to the arming handle (2) and, by its other end, to a shaft (24) carrying a second free lever (23) on which is fixed a rod (3) for activating the safety electrical energy reserve and a clutch element (25) cooperating in rotation with the second lever (23) and the first lever (22) and,- a cam (4) mounted on said shaft (24) and cooperating with a drive element (10) carried by the actuating handle (1) capable of carrying out, in the armed position of the arming handle (2), a preliminary rotation of the actuating handle (1) by an angle of between 3° and 50° and from its rest position jointly driving the rotation of the cam (4), the pivoting of the second lever (23), the translation of the rod (3) and the activation of the electrical energy reserve.,
2. Transmission mechanism and interface according to claim 1, characterized in that said cam (4) is coupled to a return spring (5) whose tension is reinforced in the armed position of the handle (2) and reduced in the disarmed position.
3. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said first lever (22) is mounted in free rotation on the shaft (24).
4. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said second lever (23) is mounted in free rotation on the shaft (24) between the first lever (22) and the clutch element (25).
5. Transmission mechanism and interface according to claim 4, characterized in that the clutch element (25) is integral with the cam (4) via the shaft (24).
6. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the shaft (24) and the axis (1a) of the actuating handle (1) are parallel to each other.
7. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said clutch element (25) carries a first finger (25a) and a second finger (25b), the first finger (25a) being driven by the second lever while being positioned so as to come into abutment against the second lever (23) in the cocking position of the handle (2).
8. Transmission mechanism and interface according to claims 2 and 7, characterized in that the second finger (25b) is positioned on the clutch element (25) so as to come into abutment against the first lever (22) from the disarming position to the arming position of the handle (2) and vice versa under the action of the spring (5).
9. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the drive element (10) carried by the actuating handle (1) is formed of a pin and in that said cam (4) is formed of a ramp arranged opposite the pin.
10. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said drive element (10) and said cam (4) are positioned relative to each other in such a way that when the cocking handle (2) is in the cocked position, the rotation of the actuating handle (1) causes, via the drive element (10), the joint pivoting of the cam (4) and the second lever (23) via the shaft (24) and the clutch element (25).
11. Transmission mechanism and interface according to claim 10, characterized in that said drive element (10) and said cam (4) are positioned relative to each other such that when the cocking handle (2) is in the disarmed position, rotation of the actuating handle (1) is free and the cam remains fixed.
12. Transmission mechanism and interface according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises an arm (21) of which a first end is connected to the cocking handle (2) by a set of connecting rods (20) and the second end is coupled to the first lever (22).
13. Aircraft door provided with at least one opening actuating handle and a safety system comprising an electrical energy reserve, said door being equipped with a transmission mechanism and a mechanical interface according to any one of claims 1 to 12.