Aircraft Pivot Bin Spring-Damped Self-Opening Under Variable Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Overhead luggage compartments in aircraft, known as 'pivot bins', often fail to self-open reliably due to shifting center of gravity caused by luggage placement, leading to partial opening or closure without user intervention.
Innovation Solution
A luggage compartment with a spring device and damping mechanism that ensures the bucket self-opens regardless of loading conditions, using a compression spring to generate an opening torque and a damping device to prevent abrupt movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pivot axis is arranged horizontally near the common center of gravity of the bucket and the piece of luggage to enable self-opening by gravity, then the user requires minimal force to close the bucket, but the bucket can lose its self-opening property in certain loading situations and may remain in a partially open state or pivot into a partially open state without user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a spring device that acts as a counterbalancing mechanism. The spring is arranged to exert a force on the bucket that counteracts the gravitational force causing the bucket to close. This allows the bucket to be designed with a pivot axis near the center of gravity for easy operation, while the spring provides the necessary self-opening force regardless of loading conditions, preventing the bucket from remaining partially open or self-closing undesirably.
2Reliability
If a spring device is added to push the bucket toward the open position to ensure self-opening under all loading conditions, then the self-opening reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring device is designed to be automatically activated when the bucket is closed. The spring is compressed during the closing motion and automatically expands to push the bucket open without requiring any additional user intervention or complex control mechanisms. This self-service mechanism ensures reliable self-opening under all loading conditions while minimizing the increase in device complexity by using a simple passive spring system.
3Reliability
If the spring element exerts an opening torque on the bucket to ensure self-opening, then the bucket reliably opens under all loading conditions, but the force required to control the bucket movement may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spring device operates in a periodic manner: it is compressed during the closing phase and then expands during the opening phase. This periodic action allows the spring to store energy when the bucket closes and release it when the bucket needs to open, providing the necessary opening torque without requiring continuous user force. The damping device works in conjunction to control the movement during the transition phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping device acts as an intermediary between the spring force and the bucket movement. It moderates the force exerted by the spring, allowing controlled movement of the bucket during opening and closing transitions. This intermediary mechanism ensures that the spring's opening torque is applied effectively to ensure self-opening reliability while preventing excessive forces that would make bucket control difficult.
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
Ensures consistent self-opening and closing of the bucket, maintaining functionality across various load distributions without user intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a spring device with a spring element (17) that pushes the bucket (6) toward the open position
Implementation Method 2
The spring element exerts an opening torque, i.e., a torque acting in the direction of the open position, on the bucket
Implementation Method 3
a damping device to prevent abrupt movement
Data Source
AI summary
A luggage compartment for an aircraft, comprising: a luggage compartment housing, a bucket for accommodating a piece of luggage, a hinge between the luggage compartment housing and the bucket, wherein the bucket can be lowered from a closed position to an open position by pivoting about the hinge, a device for self-opening of the bucket both in an unloaded state and in a state loaded with the piece of luggage, wherein the device for self-opening of the bucket comprises a spring device having a spring element that pushes the bucket in the direction of the open position.