Foldable Aircraft Wing Tip Drive With Groove-Spigot Actuation
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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 assembly and maintenance efforts.
Innovation Solution
A drive unit design featuring a groove and spigot mechanism, where one of the drive arm and the foldable wing tip portion includes a groove or slot, and the other includes a spigot or pin, allowing for a simple, compact, and robust actuation without high precision gear teeth, with a radial play and guided movement for efficient load transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high precision gear teeth are used in the drive unit, then the reliability and precision of actuation is improved, but the manufacturing cost and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex high precision gear teeth from the drive unit, replacing them with a simple groove-spigot mechanism. The groove is formed directly in the drive arm, and the spigot is a simple pin mounted on the foldable wing tip portion, removing the need for精密齿轮传动 components while maintaining reliable actuation through the groove-spigot engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex gear components with simple, inexpensive groove and spigot elements. The groove can be formed by conventional machining or molding, and the spigot is a simple pin, both significantly reducing manufacturing cost and complexity compared to high precision gear teeth while maintaining sufficient reliability for the application.
2Manufacturing precision
If high precision gear teeth are used in the drive unit, then the actuation precision is improved, but the assembly and maintenance effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the complex gear assembly process entirely, replacing it with simple groove formation (via machining or molding) and spigot mounting. This extraction of complex manufacturing steps dramatically reduces assembly effort while maintaining adequate actuation precision through the geometric constraint of the groove-spigot engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove and spigot components can be manufactured using conventional, inexpensive processes rather than precision gear manufacturing. The groove is formed by simple machining or molding operations, and the spigot is a basic pin component, making assembly straightforward and maintenance simple compared to precision gear systems.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact drive unit is used, then the space requirements are reduced, but the load transfer efficiency may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the drive function and the structural connection into a single integrated groove-spigot mechanism. The groove in the drive arm serves both as the actuation interface and as the load transfer path, eliminating the need for separate drive and support components. This merging achieves compactness while maintaining load transfer efficiency through the direct structural connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove-spigot mechanism performs multiple functions simultaneously: it provides actuation through the groove-spigot engagement, transfers loads from the drive arm to the foldable wing tip portion, and defines the rotational motion path. This multi-functionality reduces the overall drive unit volume while maintaining sufficient load transfer capability for the wing folding application.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Disclosed is a wing (3) for an aircraft (1), comprising 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) comprises a rotary actuator (25) mounted to the fixed wing (5) and having at least one drive arm (27) rotatably driven about a rotation axis (29) and drivingly engaging the foldable wing tip portion (9). The object to provide a wing having a simple, reliable and space-efficient drive unit, is achieved in that one of the drive arm (27) and the foldable wing tip portion (9) comprises at least one groove (31) and the other one of the drive arm (27) and the foldable wing tip portion (9) comprises at least one spigot (35) drivingly engaging the groove (31).