Aircraft Door Slide Arming Mechanism with Elastic Hooks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional arming/disarming mechanisms for aircraft slide doors are fragile, prone to failure due to environmental debris and frost, and result in increased mass and complexity, leading to potential deployment failures during emergencies.
Innovation Solution
The mechanism employs elastically mounted hooks on the door connected by a hook bar, with drive mechanisms remaining protected from environmental attacks, utilizing a simplified design with reversible attachment to anchors on the door sill, allowing for efficient arming and disarming through a single command, and includes energy sources for mechanical or electrical actuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional arming/disarming mechanisms are used, then the slide can be coupled/uncoupled from the fuselage floor, but the mechanism becomes fragile and prone to failure due to environmental debris and frost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary protective structure (housing or shield) that separates the mechanical arming/disarming mechanism from environmental debris and frost. This mediator protects the sensitive components while allowing the mechanism to function, directly addressing the reliability issue caused by environmental factors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs protective housings or shields that enclose the mechanical components. These flexible or rigid enclosures prevent environmental debris and frost from directly contacting the mechanism, thereby reducing harmful effects while maintaining operational reliability.
2Ease of operation
If conventional arming/disarming mechanisms are used, then the slide can be controlled, but the mechanism mass and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated mechanism. The arming and disarming operations are achieved through a unified mechanical system rather than separate complex subsystems, reducing overall complexity while maintaining ease of operation through a single control interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a universal mechanism that performs multiple functions: coupling, uncoupling, and maintaining the slide attachment. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate specialized components, thereby reducing mass and complexity while preserving operational capability.
3Reliability
If conventional arming/disarming mechanisms are used, then the slide can be secured to the floor, but the mechanism mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary heavy components from the conventional mechanisms. By identifying and eliminating redundant parts while retaining only the essential functional elements, the system achieves reduced mass without compromising the reliability of the slide securing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters or structural characteristics of the mechanism components. By using lighter materials or optimizing structural parameters, the system reduces mass while maintaining the necessary strength and reliability for securing the slide to the floor.
4Ease of operation
If the mechanism is exposed to the environment, then it can be operated, but frost and debris can block the mechanism causing deployment failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary protective structure (housing or shield) that separates the mechanical arming/disarming mechanism from environmental debris and frost. This mediator protects the sensitive components while allowing the mechanism to function, directly addressing the reliability issue caused by environmental factors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements protective measures in advance before environmental conditions can harm the mechanism. By providing pre-installed protective housings or shields, the system prepares itself against frost and debris accumulation, preventing deployment failures before they can occur.
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 reduces the mechanism's mass and complexity, enhances reliability by protecting internal components, and simplifies operation, ensuring consistent deployment of the slide during emergencies while being less susceptible to environmental interference.
Implementation Method 1
Each connector is equipped with an elastic centralizer as well as a locking/unlocking grapple
Implementation Method 2
actuated by an energy source, mechanical or electrical
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to an assembly for arming/disarming an aircraft door slide, said assembly comprising a system with two releasable connection mechanisms (2) connecting to the door (1) and an aircraft cabin floor, each mechanism (2) comprising a releasable connector (21b) which is secured to the door (1) and extends perpendicularly to the floor on either side of a door bottom, and an anchor fitting (22b) fixed to the cabin floor. Each connector (21b) is provided with an elastic centring element (70) and a locking/unlocking grapple (25b) on the corresponding anchor fitting (22b), the connectors (21b) being connected by a fastening bar (5). Since each grapple (25b) is rotatably movable, one of said grapples (25b) is driven by a single command (5; 25b) which rotates the other grapple via the fastening bar (5).