Aircraft Fuel Supply Elevating Arm with Articulated Clamp
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft fuel supply systems with permanent pit coupler elevators interfere with the separable safety mechanism, requiring additional testing to ensure safe coupling release during impacts.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring an elevating arm with an articulated clamp and adaptable actuation mechanism, allowing the hydrant pit coupler to be elevated without interfering with the break-away system, utilizing a mobile trolley and multiple wheel configuration for movement, and offering pneumatic or mechanical actuation options for clamp operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a permanent fixing system is used to elevate the pit coupler, then the elevating mechanism is structurally simple and reliable, but it interferes with the separable safety mechanism and requires additional testing
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a mobile trolley for positioning, an elevating arm for vertical movement, and an articulated clamp for securing the coupler. This segmentation allows each component to perform its function independently without interfering with the separable safety mechanism of the pit coupler.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulated clamp acts as an intermediary between the elevating arm and the pit coupler handle. It provides a secure connection during elevation while allowing the original separable safety mechanism of the pit coupler to function independently, thus mediating between the need for secure elevation and the requirement for safety mechanism compatibility.
2Reliability
If an articulated clamp with actuation mechanism is added to the elevating device, then the ability to securely hold the pit coupler is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp is designed with articulation points that allow it to dynamically adjust its position and orientation as the elevating arm moves. This dynamic design enables the clamp to maintain a secure grip on the pit coupler handle through various positions without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuation mechanism is integrated into the clamp structure itself, utilizing the movement of the elevating arm to automatically actuate the clamp's gripping action. The system uses its own operational movements to secure the coupler, eliminating the need for separate complex actuation systems.
3Productivity
If the elevating arm is articulated between horizontal and elevated positions, then the device can efficiently move the pit coupler, but it requires more space and larger structural components
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having a large fixed structure that moves a small coupler, the invention inverts the approach by using a small mobile trolley with an articulated arm that elevates the coupler. This inversion allows efficient movement with minimal footprint, as the mobile platform requires far less space than a fixed elevating structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The elevating arm utilizes vertical space by articulating between horizontal and elevated positions, transforming the movement from a two-dimensional horizontal plane to a three-dimensional space-utilizing mechanism. This allows efficient coupler movement while maintaining a compact footprint on the horizontal plane.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for the supply of fuel to aircraft includes an elevating arm (1) situated above a mobile trolley (1.2) and where the elevating arm (1) is articulated with respect to a shaft (1.1) between a first position that is substantially horizontal and parallel to the surface of the floor and a second elevated position; an adaptor assembly (2) integrally joined to the upper surface of the elevating arm (1) and from which a drive handle (5) emerges frontally which is configured to mobilise the mobile trolley (1.2) by multiple wheels (1.3); and an articulated clamp (3) actuated by an actuation mechanism (4) integrally joined to the adaptor assembly (2) on the lower and internal surface of the elevating arm (1) such that the articulated clamp (3) is configured to be adjusted on a handle of the pit coupler.