Parallel Door Mechanism with Spherical Joint for Slide Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door mechanisms for large commercial aircraft with larger escape slides require longer hinge arms that are too long to fit on standard doors, necessitating wider doors which increase cost and weight, and can impact galley and lavatory locations.
Innovation Solution
A door mechanism with an arm-body interface and arm-door interface, featuring a spherical joint, allows the door to pivot and remain parallel to the opening, with a lower joint pivoting outboard to accommodate larger escape slides without increasing hinge arm length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If longer hinge arms are used to accommodate larger escape slides, then additional space for the slide bustle is provided, but the hinge arms become too long to fit on standard width doors
Solution Approach 1:
The door mechanism is divided into multiple segments: a first arm rotatably coupled to the door, a second arm rotatably coupled to the first arm, and a third arm rotatably coupled to the second arm. This segmentation allows the door to achieve the necessary outboard movement for large escape slides while keeping each individual arm segment within acceptable length limits for standard door widths.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism introduces a vertical dimension to the door movement by having arms of different lengths arranged in a multi-level configuration. The first arm has a first length, the second arm has a second length, and the third arm has a third length, creating a three-dimensional movement path that provides outboard clearance without requiring excessively long horizontal hinge arms.
2Volume of stationary object
If door width is increased to accommodate larger escape slides, then space for the slide bustle is provided, but cost and weight increase and galley and lavatory locations are impacted
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the overall door width, the mechanism segments the movement function across multiple arms of varying lengths. This allows the door itself to remain a standard width while achieving the necessary clearance for large escape slides through the articulated arm mechanism, thereby avoiding the weight and cost penalties of a wider door.
3Volume of stationary object
If door width is increased to accommodate larger escape slides, then space for the slide bustle is provided, but galley and lavatory locations are impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism segments the clearance function across multiple articulated arms, allowing the door width to remain standard while achieving sufficient outboard space for the slide bustle. The first arm, second arm, and third arm work together to create the necessary movement envelope without requiring an increased door width that would encroach on galley and lavatory spaces.
4Volume of stationary object
If the arm-door lower joint is positioned inboard, then the door can be coupled to the arm, but the door lower portion cannot move outboard to accommodate larger escape slides
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism uses a multi-dimensional articulated arrangement where the arm-door lower joint is positioned inboard on the first arm, but the combination of the first arm, second arm, and third arm creates a three-dimensional movement path. This allows the door lower portion to achieve outboard movement for slide bustle accommodation while maintaining proper coupling through the inboard joint position.
Data Source
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AI summary
A door mechanism has an arm (302), an arm-body interface (320), and an arm-door interface (340). The arm-body interface (320) couples the arm (302) to a door opening in a body (100) in a manner allowing rotation of the arm (302) about an arm-body hinge axis (326). The arm-door interface (340) couples the arm (302) to a door configured to remain parallel to the door opening when moved between closed and open positions. The arm-door interface (340) comprises an arm-door upper joint (342) and an arm-door lower joint (360) located below and inboard of the arm-door upper joint (342). The arm-door upper joint (342) is a spherical joint (346). The arm-door lower joint (360) is located inboard of the arm-door upper joint (342) when the door is in the closed position. The arm-door lower joint (360) pivots about the spherical joint (346) in a manner causing a door lower portion (232) to move in an outboard direction (116) away from the body (100) when the door is moved to the open position.