OPENING MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT DOOR WITH STOP EXHAUST

Abstract

The invention relates to an opening mechanism for an aircraft door (1) by releasing lower (B1) and upper (B2) stops, said mechanism comprising, on the one hand, two lateral arms (2) providing an articulated connection between the upper part of the door and the fuselage (F) and, on the other hand, an operating handle (3) mounted on a transverse rotation shaft (31), characterized in that it comprises, on either side, - on the door (1), a first ramp (11) and a second ramp (12) intended to receive and guide, respectively, a first roller (21) and a second roller (22) mounted on the inner face of the arm (2), - on the outer face of this arm (2), a third ramp (23) intended to receive and guide a roller (32) controlled by the shaft (31) of the handle (3) and, - on the inner edge of the fuselage (F), a fourth ramp intended to receive and guide a roller carried by the lower edge of the door (1) near the lower stops,such that the operation of the handle (3) successively causes, by guiding the rollers (42, 21, 22, 32) and the roller (14) in the ramps (F2, 11, 12, 23), the tilting towards the outside of the fuselage F of the lower part of the door resting on the lower stop (B1), then the escape of the roller (14) from the fourth ramp (F4) and the release of the lower (B1) and upper (B2) stops. Abstract figure: Figure 10,

Description

Title of the invention: OPENING MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT DOOR WITH STOP EXHAUST Technical field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of aeronautics and, more particularly, to the architecture of aircraft openings and concerns an improvement in the mechanism for opening outwards doors of the so-called "semi-plug" type by release of stops.

[0002] Generally speaking, aircraft openings and, in particular, these “semi-plug” doors, require, when they are opened, to be raised or lowered in order to clear the stops mounted on either side of the door and around the fuselage. This clearing movement is only possible thanks to the presence of a clearance between the door panel and the fuselage. However, for aerodynamic reasons, this intermediate clearance must be filled, in the closed position of the opening, by obstruction and deflection means flush with the external wall of the fuselage.

[0003] Currently, these deflection means are formed from fixed semi-rigid deflectors or elastically deformable parts such as flexible seals or semi-rigid flaps fixed to the structure of the door and bearing against the outer skin of the fuselage in the closed position.

[0004] However, the presence of these flexible seals or rigid deflectors contributes to increasing the forces to be exerted on the handles to open and close the door.

[0005] Furthermore, these deflection means are generally protruding and are therefore exposed, in the closed position of the opening, to the aerodynamic flow which causes vibrations and leads to their erosion and / or premature wear. Consequently, structural reinforcement is often necessary which leads to making the door heavier and generating additional manufacturing costs.

[0006] In this problematic context, the invention aims to propose a mechanical solution making it possible to avoid the need to provide a clearance space between the structure of the door and the fuselage of the aircraft, or at least to reduce it significantly. This solution makes it possible to avoid the use of a deflector and thus eliminate the technical problems generally associated with it while retaining the specific kinematics of retraction of the stops when opening the “semi-plug” doors.

[0007] This object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of an opening mechanism for an aircraft door by releasing lower and upper stops, said mechanism comprising, on the one hand, two lateral arms ensuring an articulated connection between the upper part of the door and the fuselage and, on the other hand, an operating handle mounted on a transverse rotation shaft, characterized in that it comprises, on either side,

[0008] - on the door, a first ramp and a second ramp intended to receive and guide, respectively, a first roller and a second roller mounted on the inner face of the arm,

[0009] - on the outer face of this arm, a third ramp intended to receive and guide a roller carried by the handle shaft and,

[0010] - on the inner edge of the fuselage, a fourth ramp intended to receive and guide a roller carried by the lower edge of the door near the lower stops, so that the operation of the handle successively causes, by guiding the rollers of the upper part of the door and the support of the latter on the lower stop, the tilting of the lower part of the door towards the outside of the fuselage, then the escape of the roller of the fourth ramp and the release of the upper and lower stops.

[0011] According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the mechanism further comprises, on either side of the door, a pivoting locking bellcrank carrying two rollers intended to move in contact with two ramps carried by the inner edge of the fuselage.

[0012] According to a characteristic specific to this variant, the two ramps of the fuselage are formed of ribs substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the fuselage. Preferably, this bellcrank is controlled by the shaft of the handle.

[0013] According to an advantageous characteristic of the mechanism of the invention, the roller cooperating with the third ramp is mounted on the inside of the shaft of the handle.

[0014] According to another characteristic of the mechanism of the invention, the first ramp is located opposite the lower end of the arm and has an intermediate bent section whose convex face is oriented towards the interior of the fuselage.

[0015] Preferably, this bent section is located at the intersection between a first rectilinear section oriented towards the outside of the door and a second rectilinear section oriented parallel to the plane of the door.

[0016] According to yet another characteristic of the mechanism of the invention, the second ramp is located opposite the middle part of the arm and extends parallel to the plane of the door.

[0017] According to other characteristics of the mechanism of the invention, the third ramp is located at the lower end of the arm and extends perpendicular to the plane of the door and this third ramp is open at its two ends.

[0018] According to another variant embodiment of the mechanism of the invention, the fourth ramp extends parallel to the vertical plane of the fuselage.

[0019] Preferably, this fourth ramp has a closed upper end forming a stop for the roller in the closed position of the door and an open lower end allowing the roller to escape when the door tilts.

[0020] Furthermore, the lower end of the fourth ramp is extended by a beveled inner flank ensuring the guidance of the roller towards the outside and facilitating the tilting towards the inside of the fuselage of the upper part of the door.

[0021] Another object of the invention is an aircraft opening of the semi-plug type equipped with the mechanism whose characteristics are defined above.

[0022] Thanks to the invention, the door does not require a deflection means while being able to tilt in a guided and controlled manner to allow the stops to escape during the initial phase of opening.

[0023] This specific configuration of the door opening mechanism thus avoids the occurrence of disturbances in the air flow along the fuselage of the aircraft and consequently eliminates the risks of erosion and wear of a possible deflector.

[0024] The mechanism of the invention is structurally simple and light and, moreover, its installation on semi-plug doors is easy and inexpensive. PRESENTATION OF FIGURES

[0025] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the non-limiting description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0026] [Fig.l] is an interior view of a “semi-plug” door equipped with an embodiment of the mechanism of the invention here in the closed position.

[0027] [Fig.2] is a vertical sectional view along plane AA of the door of [Fig.l] in the closed position.

[0028] [Fig.3] is a vertical sectional view along plane BB of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] in the closed position.

[0029] [Fig.4] is a vertical sectional view along plane CC of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] in the closed position.

[0030] [Fig.5] is a vertical sectional view along plane BB of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] during the initial opening phase.

[0031] [Fig.6] is a vertical sectional view along plane CC of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] during the initial opening phase.

[0032] [Fig.7] is a vertical sectional view along plane AA of the door of [Fig.l] in the intermediate opening position after the stops have been released.

[0033] [Fig.8] is a vertical sectional view along plane BB of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] in the intermediate opening position after the stops have been released.

[0034] [Fig.9] is a vertical sectional view along plane CC of the upper part of the door of [Fig.l] in the intermediate opening position after the stops have been released.

[0035] [Fig. 10] is an interior view of the upper part of the door and the fuselage with part of the mechanism of the invention.

[0036] 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 proposed and combined with each other to propose others. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The invention relates to aircraft openings and is more particularly concerned with openings of the so-called "semi-plug" door type, the opening of which is effected by a first movement towards the interior of the fuselage upwards or downwards (as in the case of application of the embodiment described hereinafter and illustrated by the figures) to allow the escape of upper and lower stops installed on the frame of the fuselage and on the opening.

[0038] This movement of disengagement of the stops requires the presence of a clearance between the opening and the fuselage. However, for aerodynamic reasons, this intermediate clearance must be filled, in the closed position of the opening, by closing means.

[0039] However, these closing means must avoid generating aerodynamic disturbances and they are therefore generally profiled, dimensioned and positioned to be flush with the external wall of the fuselage after closing the opening.

[0040] Generally speaking, these closing means are therefore formed of semi-rigid and fixed deflectors or elastically deformable parts such as flexible seals or flaps fixed to the structure of the door and coming to bear against the outer skin of the fuselage when it is closed.

[0041] However, these deflectors are exposed during the flight of the aircraft to significant aerodynamic flows causing detachments, vibrations and leading, in a detrimental manner, to their erosion and / or premature wear.

[0042] In this problematic context, the invention aims to propose a technical solution in the form of an opening mechanism suitable and intended to be integrated into semi-plug doors associated with upper and lower stops in order to eliminate the presence of these deflectors. Traditionally, the stops are divided between fixed stops secured to the fuselage and movable stops fixed to the door. These stops cooperate mutually in pairs to immobilize the door in its closed position.

[0043] The semi-plug doors 1 to which the invention specifically applies generally comprise, as illustrated by Figures 1 and 10, on the one hand, two arms lateral 2, ensuring an articulated connection between the upper part of the door and the fuselage F and, on the other hand, an operating handle 3 mounted centrally on a transverse rotation shaft 31.

[0044] The invention consists of providing the opening and the fixed frame, on either side, with a mechanism shown in Figures 2 to 10 which comprises:

[0045] - on door 1, a first ramp 11 and a second ramp 12 intended to receive and guide, respectively, a first roller 21 and a second roller 22 mounted on the inner face of the arms 2,

[0046] - on the outer face of the arm 2, a third ramp 23 intended to receive and guide a roller 32 carried by the shaft 31 of the handle, here on its inner side and,

[0047] - on the inner edge of the fuselage F, a fourth ramp F4 intended to receive and guide a roller 14 carried by the lower edge of the door 1 near the lower stops B1 (the upper stops B2 are only shown in figures 2 and 7).

[0048] This mechanism is designed in such a way that the operation of the handle 3 (here downwards) successively causes, by guiding the various rollers 42, 21, 22, 32, and the roller 14 in the corresponding ramps F2, 11, 12, 23 and F4, the tilting outwards of the fuselage F of the lower part of the door 1 resting on the lowest stop B1, the descent of the door 1, the escape of the stud 14 of the fourth ramp F4 and the separation of the stops, lower B1 and upper B2.

[0049] The sectional views along AA (figures 2 and 7) represent the cooperation of the ramps F2, F3 of the fuselage F with the rollers 42, 43 of the bell crank 4 which is controlled by the handle 3 (door locking / unlocking phases and transverse movement).

[0050] The sectional views along BB (figures 3, 5 and 8) represent the cooperation of the ramps 11, 12 of the door 1 and the rollers 21, 22 of the arm 2 which corresponds to the kinematic guidance provided by the mechanism of the invention.

[0051] The sectional views along CC (figures 4, 6 and 9) represent, for their part, the cooperation of the ramp 23 of the arm 2 with the roller 32 of the handle 3 (vertical movement of the door). From the combination between the transverse movements (represented by the sectional views along AA) and the vertical movements (sectional views along CC) results the kinematics represented by the sectional views along BB. This kinematics, ensured by means of the specific mechanism of the invention, thus allows, by a combined movement of descent and tilting of the door, to obtain the escape of the lower and upper stops as illustrated by [Fig.7]. This mechanism is described in detail in the following description.

[0052] As illustrated by figures 3, 5 and 8, the first ramp 11 is located opposite the lower end of the arm 2 and has an intermediate bent section 11a whose convex face is oriented towards the inside of the fuselage F. Preferably, this section elbow 11a is located at the intersection between a first rectilinear section 11c oriented towards the outside of the door 1 and a second rectilinear section 11b oriented parallel to the plane of the door 1. The second ramp 12 is located, for its part, opposite the middle part of the arm 2 and extends parallel to the plane of the door 1.

[0053] As illustrated by figures 4, 6 and 9, the third ramp 23 is located at the lower end of the arm 2 and extends perpendicular to the plane of the door 1. This third ramp 23 is located on the side opposite the rollers 21, 22 and is open at its two ends.

[0054] The fourth ramp F4 extends parallel to the vertical plane of the fuselage F, as illustrated by figures 2 and 7. It has a closed upper end ensuring that the stud 14 is placed in abutment in the closed position of the door 1 and an open lower end conversely allowing the escape of the roller 14.

[0055] Preferably, the lower end of this fourth ramp F4 is extended by a beveled inner flank Fl ensuring the guidance of the roller 14 towards the outside and thus facilitating the tilting of the upper part of the door 1 towards the inside of the fuselage and the release of its lower part.

[0056] In the specific and preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in Figures 2 and 7, the mechanism further comprises, on either side of the door 1, a pivoting locking bellcrank 4 carrying two rollers 42, 43 intended to move in contact with two ramps F2, F3 carried by the inner edge of the fuselage F. These ramps F2, F3 are located close to the upper fixed stops B2 of the fuselage F and of the door 1.

[0057] Still in this embodiment, the two ramps F2, F3 of the fuselage F are formed of ribs substantially parallel both to each other and to the plane of the fuselage. Preferably, this bellcrank 4 is controlled by the shaft 31 of the handle 3.

Claims

Claims

1. Opening mechanism for an aircraft door (1) by releasing lower (B1) and upper (B2) stops, said mechanism comprising, on the one hand, two lateral arms (2) providing an articulated connection between the upper part of the door and the fuselage (F) and, on the other hand, an operating handle (3) mounted on a transverse rotation shaft (31), characterized in that it comprises, on either side, - on the door (1), a first ramp (11) and a second ramp (12) intended to receive and guide, respectively, a first roller (21) and a second roller (22) mounted on the inner face of the arm (2), - on the outer face of this arm (2), a third ramp (23) intended to receive and guide a roller (32) carried by the shaft (31) of the handle (3) and, - on the inner edge of the fuselage (F), a fourth ramp (F4) intended to receive and guide a roller (14) carried by the lower edge of the door (1) near the lower stops (Bl),such that the operation of the handle (3) successively causes, by guiding the rollers (42, 21, 22, 32) of the upper part of the door in the ramps (F2, 11, 12, 23, F4) and the support of the latter on the lower stop (Bl), the tilting of the lower part of the door towards the outside of the fuselage (F), then the escape of the roller (14) of the fourth ramp (F4) and the release of the lower (Bl) and upper (B2) stops.,

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises, on either side of the door, a pivoting locking bellcrank (4) carrying two rollers (42, 43) intended to move in contact with two ramps (F2, F3) carried by the inner edge of the fuselage (F).

3. Mechanism according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the two ramps (F2, F3) of the fuselage (F) are formed of ribs substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the fuselage.

4. Mechanism according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that said bell crank (4) is controlled by the shaft (31) of the handle (3).

5. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the roller (32) cooperating with the third ramp (23) is mounted on the inner side on the shaft (31) of the handle (3).

6. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first ramp (11) is located opposite the in- end lower part of the arm (2) and has an intermediate section (11a) bent whose convex face is oriented towards the inside of the fuselage (F).

7. Mechanism according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said bent section (11a) is located at the intersection between a first rectilinear section (11c) oriented towards the outside of the door (1) and a second rectilinear section (11b) oriented parallel to the plane of the door.

8. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second ramp (12) is located opposite the middle part of the arm (2) and extends parallel to the plane of the door (1).

9. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said third ramp (23) is located at the lower end of the arm (2) and extends perpendicular to the plane of the door.

10. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said third ramp (23) is open at its two ends.

11. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fourth ramp (F4) extends parallel to the vertical plane of the fuselage (F).

12. Mechanism according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fourth ramp (F4) has a closed upper end forming a stop for the roller (14) in the closed position of the door (1) and an open lower end allowing the roller to escape when the door tilts.

13. Mechanism according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lower end of the fourth ramp (F4) is extended by a beveled inner flank (F1) ensuring the guidance of the roller (14) towards the outside and facilitating the tilting towards the inside of the fuselage (F) of the upper part of the door.

14. Aircraft opening of the semi-plug type equipped with an opening mechanism according to one of the preceding claims.

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