Aircraft Wing Tip Actuation Without Precision Gears
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable wings for aircraft require complex and costly drive units with high precision gear teeth, leading to increased maintenance efforts and space inefficiencies during maneuvering and parking.
Innovation Solution
A drive unit comprising a rotary actuator with a drive arm having a groove and a spigot mechanism, allowing for a simple, compact, and robust design that reduces the need for high precision gear teeth and assembly tolerances, enabling easy assembly and maintenance, and allowing for dual load paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high precision gear teeth are used in the drive unit, then the load transfer is smooth and efficient, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the gear teeth mechanism from the drive unit, replacing it with a groove-spigot system. This extraction of the complex gear component eliminates the need for high precision manufacturing while maintaining the essential function of smooth load transfer through the groove geometry and spigot engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a simpler, more economical groove-spigot mechanism instead of expensive high-precision gears. The groove can be easily formed in the drive arm and the spigot is a simple cylindrical element, making the entire drive unit more cost-effective and easier to manufacture while achieving the required functional performance.
2Reliability
If high precision gear teeth are used in the drive unit, then the load transfer is smooth and efficient, but the assembly tolerances and maintenance efforts increase
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the gear teeth from the drive unit, the patent eliminates the associated assembly tolerance requirements. The groove-spigot system requires significantly tighter tolerances only on the groove geometry and spigot fit, which are easier to manufacture and assemble compared to precision gear teeth, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.
3Length of moving object
If the foldable wing tip portion is folded upwards, then the overall span of the aircraft is reduced, but the space requirements during maneuvering and parking increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamically foldable wing tip portion that can change its configuration between extended and folded positions. The drive unit enables the wing tip to be folded upwards during parking and maneuvering to reduce span, while being extendable during flight to provide full wingspan for optimal aerodynamic performance, thus adapting to different operational requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A wing (3) for an aircraft (1) including a fixed wing (5), a foldable wing tip portion (9) mounted to the fixed wing (5) rotatably about a folding axis (13) between an extended position (15) and a folded position (17), and a drive unit (24) for driving the foldable wing tip portion (9) for movement between the extended position (15) and the folded position (17), wherein the drive unit (24) includes a rotary actuator (25) mounted to the fixed wing (5) and having a drive arm (27) rotatably driven about a rotation axis (29) and drivingly engaging the foldable wing tip portion (9).