Aircraft Assembly Jig with Equal-Support Receiver Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft component assembly jigs often result in partial contact of large structures like fuselage panels with receiving members, leading to upward flipping and improper assembly due to uneven support, making it difficult to achieve equal support across all receiving members.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft component assembly jig and inspection tool with header plates, positioners, and a controller that adjust receiving members to ensure equal support by detecting and adjusting their positions within a design tolerance, preventing partial contact and flipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the aircraft component is placed on the AJ at an ideal position exactly as indicated on CAD, then the component should be properly positioned, but the component comes into contact with only part of the receiving members (partial contact) causing upward flipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the receiving members movable rather than fixed. Each receiving member can independently adjust its position in the vertical direction to adapt to the actual component surface, ensuring full contact and stable support while maintaining precise positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by allowing the receiving members to change their vertical position parameters. The control unit adjusts the position of each receiving member based on detected support states, transforming the system from static to dynamically adjustable to achieve equal support across all receiving members.
2Manufacturing precision
If the receiving members are fixed at ideal positions, then the component can be positioned accurately, but the component shape cannot be accurately determined due to partial contact and flipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using support state detectors to monitor whether each receiving member is properly supporting the component. The control unit receives this feedback and automatically adjusts the receiving member positions to achieve equal support, ensuring accurate component shape determination without partial contact or flipping.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by automatically detecting support states and adjusting receiving member positions without manual intervention. The control unit autonomously manages the positioning of all receiving members to achieve optimal support conditions for accurate measurement.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple receiving members are used to support the component, then the support coverage is improved, but the support distribution becomes uneven causing flipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the support function into multiple independent receiving members, each capable of individual adjustment. This segmentation allows the system to cover a larger area while maintaining uniform support distribution, as each segment can adapt to local variations in the component surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses dynamics by making each receiving member independently adjustable in position. This dynamic capability allows the system to distribute support evenly across multiple receiving members by adjusting their individual positions based on actual contact conditions, preventing flipping while maintaining broad coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft component assembly jig includes: header plates; positioners provided on each of the header plates, each positioner including a receiver that comes into contact with a lower/upper surface of an aircraft component, each positioner causing the receiver to advance and retract; receiver state detectors, that each detects, as control data, a supporting state of a corresponding one of the receivers; and a circuitry. The circuitry compares each of detection values of the control data with a preset reference value to determine whether an equal support state is achieved, the equal support state being a state where all the receivers are equally supporting the aircraft component. If it is determined that the equal support state is not achieved, the circuitry controls an adjustment-requiring positioner among all the positioners to adjust an advancing/retracting position of the receiver of the adjustment-requiring positioner within a design tolerance.