Aircraft Wing Drive Path With Lost Motion Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft wing systems face challenges in efficiently controlling aerodynamic devices like trailing edge flaps during different flight phases, particularly in varying wing camber for improved fuel efficiency and reliability, especially in the event of actuator or drive system failures.
Innovation Solution
A system incorporating a power drive unit, actuators, and a lost motion device with position sensors, allowing for differential movement and selective connection/disconnection of drive paths between actuators to manage the movement of aerodynamic devices, enabling synchronous and differential flap positioning while ensuring mechanical protection and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single power drive unit controls multiple actuators simultaneously, then the system structure is simplified, but the reliability decreases when one actuator fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the drive system into separate drive paths for each actuator. The first actuator has its own drive path from the power drive unit, and the second actuator has a separate drive path. This segmentation allows independent control and isolation of failures, resolving the contradiction by maintaining simple overall structure while ensuring reliability through path separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a lost motion device as an intermediary mechanism in the second drive path. This device includes a clutch mechanism that can selectively connect or disconnect the power drive unit from the second actuator. The intermediary allows the system to maintain a unified power source while providing independent control capability, thus resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and operational reliability.
2Reliability
If the lost motion device selectively disconnects the power drive unit from the first actuator, then the reliability improves by isolating failures, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic drive path configuration where the lost motion device can selectively connect or disconnect drive paths based on operational needs or failure conditions. The clutch mechanism allows the system to transition between connected and disconnected states, providing dynamic reliability improvement without permanently increasing structural complexity. The complexity is managed through controlled dynamic reconfiguration rather than static multiplicity.
3Measurement precision
If position sensors monitor the lost motion device components, then the control precision improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates position sensors that provide feedback on the position of components in the lost motion device. This feedback enables precise control of the clutch mechanism and monitoring of actuator positions. The feedback system resolves the contradiction by enabling high-precision control through intelligent monitoring, where the added sensor complexity is justified by the significant improvement in measurement precision and control accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for an aircraft wing including a power drive unit (101), a first actuator (104C) for actuating a first aerodynamic device (103), a second actuator (104A) for actuating a second aerodynamic device (102), a first drive path (109B) configured to operate between the power drive unit (101) and the first actuator (104C), a second drive path (109A) operably connecting the power drive unit (101) and the second actuator (104A), the first drive path (109B) including a lost motion device (108A), the lost motion device (108A) being configured to selectively operably connect the power drive unit (101) to the first actuator (104C) and selectively operably disconnect the power drive unit (101) from the first actuator (104C).