Low-Profile Floor Brace for Aircraft Payload Mounting Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft mounting systems for C4ISR electronics and sensors require airframe modifications and compromise backend cargo operations, lack flexibility, and do not allow for 360-degree field of view or in-flight reconfiguration.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile floor brace system (LPFBS) with a deployable payload support stanchion that secures to the aircraft floor without modifications, allowing 360-degree field of view and in-flight extension/retraction, using bolts and a spreader bar with rollers, and incorporates an actuated or non-actuated stanchion for various sensor configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mounting pallet is used to support payloads without airframe modifications, then the aircraft can accommodate various payloads flexibly, but the pallet must absorb all flight induced loads which compromises backend cargo air drop operations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the load-bearing function from the mounting pallet by introducing a separate floor brace system that transfers loads directly to the aircraft floor structure. This allows the pallet to be removed or repositioned without interfering with cargo air drop operations, while the floor brace system handles the structural load transfer independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor brace system acts as an intermediary between the payload mounting points and the aircraft floor structure. It provides a dedicated load transfer path that bypasses the pallet, allowing the pallet to serve purely as a mounting platform without bearing flight loads, thus eliminating interference with cargo operations.
2Strength
If wing or belly mounting pylons are used for payload carriage, then the payloads can be mounted externally with stable support, but airframe modifications are required which reduce adaptability to different aircraft
Solution Approach 1:
The floor brace system is designed to interface with the aircraft's existing floor structure and cargo handling system, which are common across different aircraft types. This universal interface allows the same mounting system to be adapted to various aircraft without modifying the airframe, while still providing stable external payload support.
3Reliability
If a mounting system is designed for specific aircraft dedication, then the mounting configuration can be optimized for that aircraft, but the system lacks flexibility for rapid installation and reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into modular components including the floor brace system, mounting pallet, and payload interfaces. These segmented components can be independently configured and assembled, allowing rapid installation and reconfiguration while maintaining optimized mounting configurations for different payload types and aircraft.
4Strength
If the brace system has a high profile configuration, then it provides adequate structural support, but it interferes with air drop operations and requires adjustment of the mechanism position
Solution Approach 1:
The floor brace system is designed with a low profile that extends horizontally along the aircraft floor rather than vertically upward. This dimensional change allows the brace to provide adequate structural support through distributed load paths while maintaining clearance for air drop operations without requiring position adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a payload mounting apparatus for an aircraft is provided. The payload mounting apparatus includes a brace system. The brace system includes a support plate that is parallel to a floor of the aircraft and perpendicular to a cargo handling rail face. The brace system also includes a surface of the support plate that interfaces with the floor of the aircraft, a spreader bar, wherein the spreader bar is parallel to both of the floor of the aircraft and the support plate and perpendicular to the cargo handling rail face, and a plurality of apertures in the support plate configured to accommodate one or more rollers.