Tilt-rotor wing fold mechanism and method
First Claim
1. A wing fold mechanism for a tilt-rotor aircraft, said aircraft including a fuselage, a single-segment tilt-rotor wing having a tilting rotor-prop assembly on each wing tip and engine cross-shafting therebetween, and a tail empennage, comprising:
- a rotatable load bearing member, disposed between the tilt-rotor wing and a high point of the fuselage, wherein the tilt-rotor wing is rotatably affixed to the high point of the fuselage;
at least one load bearing pin joint, each having an upper pin joint member rigidly affixed to the tilt-rotor wing, a lower pin joint member rigidly affixed to the fuselage, and a locking means, detachably connecting said upper and lower pin joint members, wherein each load bearing pin joint transfers the ground and flight loads between the tilt-rotor wing and the fuselage; and
,wherein the tilt-rotor wing is reversably rotatable from a flight configuration, perpendicular to the fuselage, to a storage configuration, substantially parallel to the fuselage, and may be locked in each of said configurations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism and method for folding the wing of a tilt-rotor aircraft, hav a rotatable load bearing member cooperatively disposed between a high point of the fuselage and the tilt-rotor wing, and a plurality of locking, load bearing pin joints disposed between the fuselage and the tilt-rotor wing, concentric to the rotatable load bearing member, and wherein the tilt-rotor wing may be stored by rotating the tilt-rotor wing, as a single segment, about the rotatable load bearing member, to a position substantially parallel to the fuselage, and wherein the wing may be locked in the flight configuration and the storage configuration with the same pin joints.
84 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A wing fold mechanism for a tilt-rotor aircraft, said aircraft including a fuselage, a single-segment tilt-rotor wing having a tilting rotor-prop assembly on each wing tip and engine cross-shafting therebetween, and a tail empennage, comprising:
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a rotatable load bearing member, disposed between the tilt-rotor wing and a high point of the fuselage, wherein the tilt-rotor wing is rotatably affixed to the high point of the fuselage; at least one load bearing pin joint, each having an upper pin joint member rigidly affixed to the tilt-rotor wing, a lower pin joint member rigidly affixed to the fuselage, and a locking means, detachably connecting said upper and lower pin joint members, wherein each load bearing pin joint transfers the ground and flight loads between the tilt-rotor wing and the fuselage; and
,wherein the tilt-rotor wing is reversably rotatable from a flight configuration, perpendicular to the fuselage, to a storage configuration, substantially parallel to the fuselage, and may be locked in each of said configurations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for folding the wing of a tilt-rotor-aircraft, said aircraft including a fuselage, a single segment tilt-rotor wing having a tilting rotor-prop assembly on each wing tip and engine cross-shafting therebetween, a tail empennage having a foldable control surface, a rotatable load bearing member disposed between the wing and the fuselage, and at least one lockable load bearing pin joint radially disposed concentric to the rotatable load bearing member, said method comprising the steps of:
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folding the rotors of each tilt-rotor-prop assembly inboard; unlocking each load bearing pin joint; rotating the single segment tilt-rotor wing relative to the fuselage on the rotatable load bearing member to a configuration substantially parallel to said fuselage; and locking each load bearing pin joint. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A wing fold mechanism for a tilt-rotor aircraft, said aircraft including a fuselage, a one piece single-segment tilt-rotor wing having a tilting rotor-prop assembly on each wing tip and engine cross-shafting therebetween, and a tail empennage, comprising:
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a rotatable load bearing member, disposed between the tilt-rotor wing and a high point of the fuselage, wherein the tilt-rotor wing is rotatably affixed to the high point of the fuselage; at least one load bearing pin joint, each having an upper pin joint member rigidly affixed to the tilt-rotor wing, a lower pin joint member rigidly affixed to the fuselage, and a locking means, detachably connecting said upper and lower pin joint members, wherein each load bearing pin joint transfers the ground and flight loads between the tilt-rotor wing and the fuselage; and
,wherein the tilt-rotor wing is reversibly rotatable from a flight configuration, perpendicular to the fuselage to a storage configuration, substantially parallel to the fuselage, and may be locked in each of said configurations. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification