Aircraft Armrest Roller Linkage With Spring-Biased Rail Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing armrest roller mechanisms in passenger vehicles often become dislodged or misaligned due to repeated forces, leading to instability and requiring time-consuming adjustments, which results in significant downtime, especially in aircraft where dozens of passengers need frequent adjustments.
Innovation Solution
The armrest roller assembly features a linkage with grooved rollers, upper and lower adjustment cylinders, a roller adjustment screw, and a compression spring, providing a scissor hinge effect for continuous adjustment and maintaining constant contact with the rail, allowing for quick and easy adjustment without the need for multi-point adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If tight tolerance machining is used for rollers and rails, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The roller assembly includes self-adjusting mechanisms with adjustment screws and slots that allow the rollers to automatically compensate for wear and misalignment through repeated movement cycles, eliminating the need for tight tolerance machining and complex precision manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows for parameter changes in roller position and orientation through adjustment mechanisms, enabling the system to adapt to wear and manufacturing variations without requiring initial high-precision machining
2Reliability
If multi-point adjustments are implemented for roller alignment, then reliability is improved, but adjustment time and labor requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple adjustment functions are merged into a single adjustment mechanism located at one end of the rail, allowing all roller alignment adjustments to be performed simultaneously through one adjustment point rather than requiring separate multi-point adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The single adjustment mechanism performs multiple functions including aligning all rollers, compensating for wear, and maintaining roller pressure on the rail, replacing the need for multiple specialized adjustment points
3Ease of operation
If adjustment mechanisms are added to correct roller misalignment, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment mechanism is segmented into simple, modular components including adjustment screws, slots, and linkages that can be easily manipulated individually but work together as a unified simple system
Solution Approach 2:
Adjustment linkages and slots serve as intermediaries that translate simple rotational motion of adjustment screws into precise linear adjustments of roller positions, providing ease of operation without complex mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures the armrest rollers remain securely aligned and functional, reducing downtime by allowing adjustments in under three minutes and maintaining performance through 1000 cycles without measurable looseness or failure, thus reducing maintenance needs and labor costs.
Implementation Method 1
a compression spring positioned around the single adjustment screw and between the pair of links for providing pre-tension on the single adjustment screw and for holding the plurality of rollers in position about the rail as the plurality of rollers wear over time
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of grooved rollers meshing with the rail and attached to a pair of links for providing smooth uninterrupted movement of the aircraft armrest rail roller linkage about the rail
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft armrest may incorporate a rail roller linkage. The roller linkage may include an armrest plate, a rail attached to an aircraft seat assembly, a top roller link, and a bottom roller link. The top roller link may have a threaded upper adjustment cylinder, a pivot joint, and a pair of grooved rollers diagonally disposed on either side of the pivot. The bottom roller link may have an unthreaded lower adjustment cylinder, a pivot joint, and a pair of grooved rollers diagonally disposed on either side of the pivot. The grooved rollers may mesh with the rail. The roller linkage may include a roller adjustment screw, having a threaded portion, and extending through both of the adjustment cylinders. A compression spring may bias the roller link around the rail and may be disposed between the top roller link and the bottom roller link and surrounding the roller adjustment screw.