Front structure of an aircraft fuselage comprising landing gear

• US 8,840,063 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Lieven, Patrick, Chaumel, Pascal
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Application Number:
  US13/689,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20130134259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 244/102.A, 244/102.R
• US Class Current: 244/102.A
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/0683 Nose cones
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/14 fore-and-aft
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/20 mechanical

Abstract

A front structure of an aircraft fuselage comprising landing gear pivoting about a main shaft and a stay shaft. The front structure also comprises a first reinforcing frame and a second reinforcing frame, the main shaft and the stay shaft being respectively connected to the first and second frames, and a device for the mechanical connection and transfer of forces connecting the stay shaft and the main shaft and transferring to the main shaft a portion of the forces induced by the wheels of the landing gear onto the stay shaft, the second frame and said device being perpendicular to one another.

Claims

1. A front structure of an aircraft fuselage, comprising landing gear capable of pivoting about two parallel pivoting shafts, a main shaft and a stay shaft in order to allow the deployment or the retraction of the gear, the landing gear comprising a leg supporting wheels that is connected to the main shaft and a strut connecting the leg to the stay shaft, wherein the front structure further comprises:

a first reinforcing frame and a second reinforcing frame, the main shaft and the stay shaft being respectively connected to the first and second frames, and

a device for the mechanical connection and transfer of forces connecting the stay shaft and the main shaft and transferring to the main shaft a portion of the forces induced by the wheels of the landing gear onto the stay shaft,

the second frame and said device being perpendicular to one another.

2. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 1, wherein the front structure extends in a longitudinal direction, the first frame extending in a lateral cross section of the front structure perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the second frame being inclined relative to this cross section.

3. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 1, further comprising a landing-gear housing, a portion of the first frame of the front structure forming a rear wall of the landing-gear housing and the landing-gear housing comprising reinforcing elements resting on the rear wall and extending longitudinally toward the front of the housing following the local internal curvature of the fuselage.

4. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 3, wherein the main shaft is attached to the reinforcing elements close to their bearing surface on the rear wall of the landing-gear housing.

5. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 3, wherein the landing-gear housing comprises a roof having a convexity oriented toward the inside of the landing-gear housing.

6. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 1, wherein the device for mechanical connection and transfer of forces comprises several mechanical connection members extending in an extension direction and connecting the main shaft to the stay shaft.

7. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to one claim 1, wherein the device for mechanical connection and transfer of forces comprises a rod assembly which comprises at least one connecting rod and at least one clevis.

8. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 7, wherein said at least one connecting rod is connected, at one of its opposite ends, to the main shaft and, at its other end, to the stay shaft, the clevis directly connecting the stay shaft to the second frame of the front structure.

9. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 7, wherein the rod assembly comprises two connecting rods and two devises associated respectively with the two connecting rods, the connecting rods being parallel with one another.

10. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 7, wherein the landing gear also comprises at least one lifting cylinder placed on said at least one connecting rod of the rod assembly.

11. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claims 9, wherein the landing gear comprises two lifting cylinders each placed on one of the two connecting rods of the rod assembly.

12. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical connection members comprise at least two parallel bars directly connecting the first frame of the fuselage to the second frame of the fuselage, the main shaft having two opposite ends connected to the first frame, a first bar being arranged on the side of one of the two opposite ends of the main shaft and a second bar being arranged on the side of the other end of the main shaft, so that the bars, the main shaft and the stay shaft form a parallelogram.

13. The front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 12, wherein the mechanical connection members also comprise a third bar and a fourth bar, the third bar being arranged beside the first bar and the fourth bar beside the second bar, all the bars being parallel with one another.

14. An aircraft comprising a front structure of an aircraft fuselage according to claim 1.