Aircraft Folding Table Cable-Pull Drive for Quiet Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing folding tables for aircraft face issues with space requirements, weight, noise generation, and uneven power assistance during deployment, which hinder efficient and reliable operation.
Innovation Solution
A folding table design utilizing a cable pull device connected to a linear drive element, such as a gas spring, to facilitate smooth and uniform deployment, with guide devices and rolling elements for precise guidance and reduced noise, allowing for a compact and lightweight structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rack-and-pinion gear is used for deploying the table top, then the table top can be lifted in a synchronized manner, but the space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the rack-and-pinion gear from the system and replaces it with a cable pull mechanism connected to a linear drive element. This removes the bulky mechanical gear system while retaining the essential function of synchronized table top deployment through cables that pull the support devices on both sides simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cable pull device as an intermediary between the linear drive element and the support devices. The cable acts as a flexible mediator that transmits force from the compact linear drive element to the support devices, enabling synchronized movement without requiring rigid mechanical connections like rack-and-pinion gears.
2Reliability
If a rack-and-pinion gear is used for deploying the table top, then the table top can be lifted in a synchronized manner, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the heavy mechanical rack-and-pinion gear system with a lighter cable pull mechanism and linear drive element. This substitution maintains the synchronized lifting function while significantly reducing the weight of the drive mechanism, which is critical for aircraft applications where weight reduction lowers fuel consumption.
3Reliability
If a rack-and-pinion gear is used for deploying the table top, then the table top can be lifted, but noise generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the noisy mechanical engagement of rack-and-pinion gears with a smoother cable pull mechanism. The cable-based system eliminates the clicking and grinding noises associated with gear teeth engagement, providing a quieter deployment operation while maintaining reliable table top lifting functionality.
4Reliability
If a rack-and-pinion gear is used for deploying the table top, then the table top can be lifted, but the power assistance is not uniform throughout the deploying process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a linear drive element with a cable pull mechanism that can be designed to provide uniform force distribution throughout the deployment stroke. By adjusting the cable routing and drive element characteristics, the system achieves consistent power assistance from start to finish of the deployment process, improving ease of operation compared to the variable force characteristics of rack-and-pinion systems.
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
The solution reduces space and weight requirements, minimizes noise, and ensures a reliable, easy, and uniform deployment process, enhancing the overall performance and user experience of the folding table.
Implementation Method 1
the drive device comprises a linear drive element which is connected to the displacement device via a cable pull device... as a linear drive element a gas (compression) spring comprising a piston element
Implementation Method 2
The cable pull device comprises at least a traction cable, which on the one side is connected to the linear drive element and on the other side is connected to the displacement device. By actuating the linear drive element a tensile force is applied onto the displacement device via the cable pull device
Implementation Method 3
with guide devices and rolling elements for precise guidance and reduced noise
Data Source
AI summary
Folding table, in particular for an aircraft, with a frame preferably to be installed in an armrest or in a side-panelling in the aircraft, with a support device for a table top, with a displacement device for displacing the support device along the frame from a stowed position to a deployed position, with a folding device for folding a support element of the support device from the deployed position to a use position, and with a drive device for assisting the displacement device in displacing the support device from the stowed position to the deployed position, wherein the drive device comprises a linear drive element which is connected to the displacement device via a cable pull device.