Method for rotating an aircraft wheel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10618639-B2
Application number	US-201615003043-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 21, 2016
Priority date	Jan 23, 2015
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

Drive equipment for rotating by friction an aircraft wheel equipped with a drive track and mounted to turn about an axis (X) on an axle of an aircraft undercarriage. The equipment comprise a base ( 22 ), a slide ( 24 ) mounted on the base on a sliding axis extending in a radial direction (R 1 , R 1 ), a support ( 26 ) pivotable on the slide on an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel; two rollers ( 21 ) rotatable on rotation axes parallel to the pivot axis; a central shaft ( 28 ) mounted for rotation on the support and being in engagement with the two rollers to provide their rotation; and an actuator ( 23 A, 23 B, 30 ) for moving the slide and the support between a disengagement position with the rollers distant from the wheel drive track and an engagement position with the rollers are held in contact with the drive track of the wheel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A drive equipment mountable on a bottom part of an aircraft undercarriage for selectively rotating an aircraft wheel by frictional engagement with a drive track mounted to the wheel so as to turn the wheel about a wheel rotation axis on an axle carried by the bottom part of the aircraft undercarriage, the equipment comprising:
a base fixable to the bottom part of the aircraft undercarriage;
a slide mounted slidably and not rotatably on the base on a sliding axis extending in a direction in service perpendicular to the wheel rotation axis;
a support mounted so as to pivot on the slide on a pivot axis parallel to the wheel rotation axis;
two rollers mounted for rotation on the support on roller rotation axes parallel to the pivot axis;
a central shaft mounted for rotation on the support and provided with means for rotating the central shaft, the central shaft being in engagement with the two rollers to provide the rotation of the two rollers; and
an actuator for moving the slide and the support between a disengagement position in which the rollers are distant from the drive track of the wheel and an engagement position in which the two rollers are held in contact with the drive track of the wheel with a given bearing force, so that the two rollers rotate the wheel by friction when the central shaft is driven in rotation.

2. The drive equipment according to claim 1 , in which the actuator comprises a piston secured to the slide and sliding sealingly in a cylindrical cavity of the base so as to define therein two hydraulic chambers to form the hydraulic actuator for hydraulically moving the slide and the support between the engagement and disengagement positions.

3. The drive equipment according to claim 2 , including spring means arranged so as to push the slide and the support towards the disengagement position.

4. A drive device for rotating by friction comprising:
at least one drive equipment according to claim 1 disposed so as to cooperate with the wheel to be driven;
a rotational drive actuator secured to the bottom part of the aircraft undercarriage and having an output shaft; and
a motion transmitter for transmitting a rotation movement between the output shaft of the drive actuator and the central shaft of the equipment compatible with the movements of the equipment support.

5. The drive device according to claim 4 , in which the output shaft of the drive actuator is mounted so as to turn on a shaft rotation axis parallel to the roller rotation axes, the motion transmitter comprising a flexible endless drive element wound around a drive member secured to the output shaft of the drive actuator, and around a member driving the central shaft of the drive equipment, the flexible element extending towards the central shaft while forming two portions substantially perpendicular to the sliding axis of the slide of the drive equipment.

6. The drive device according to claim 5 , comprising two drive equipment disposed on either side of the output shaft of the drive actuator, the flexible endless drive element being wound around two drive members of the central shafts of the drive equipment.

7. The drive device according to claim 5 , in which the flexible endless drive element is also wound around an auxiliary wheel secured to the drive equipment, so that the flexible element defines two portions substantially parallel to the sliding axis of the drive equipment, the auxiliary wheel being rotated by the drive actuator at least when the rollers are in contact with the track on the wheel.

8. The drive device according to claim 7 , in which the actuator of the drive equipment consists of the flexible endless drive element, the tension of which when the drive actuator is activated causes the movement of the rollers and the holding of the rollers in the engagement position.

9. The drive device according to claim 8 , in which auxiliary wheel can be moved radially by a pressure actuator in order to selectively increase the tension of the flexible endless drive element so as to control the pressure force of the rollers on the drive track.

10. The drive device according to claim 4 , in which the output shaft of the drive actuator is mounted so as to turn on a shaft rotation axis parallel to the roller rotation axes, comprising two drive equipment, the motion transmitter comprising two flexible endless drive elements wound around one of the drive members of the central shafts of the drive equipment while having two portions oblique with respect to the sliding axis of the drive equipment, the two flexible endless drive elements being wound around the output shaft of the drive actuator.

11. The drive device according to claim 10 , in which the portions of the flexible endless drive elements are oriented in directions determined so as to guarantee equality of the radial forces exerted by the rollers of a given drive equipment, whatever the torque transmitted by the drive actuator.

12. The drive device according to claim 10 , in which all of the portions of the flexible elements are oriented in the same direction.

13. The drive equipment according to claim 1 , wherein said drive track has an inside surface disposed towards said wheel rotation axis and defining an inside location and an outside surface disposed away from said wheel rotation axis and defining an outside location, and,
wherein said support and said two rollers are disposed at said outside location while said slide is disposed at said inside location and extends to said outside location.

14. The drive equipment according to claim 13 , wherein said central shaft is disposed at said outside location.

15. The drive equipment according to claim 13 , wherein said slide, at said inside location, has a hydraulically moveable piston coupled thereto.

Assignees

• Messier Bugatti Dowty

Inventors

• Martin Frederic
• Courtois De Lourmel Yves
• Wangermez Maxence
• Daffos Mathieu
• Phelut Pierre-Guillaume

Classifications

• B64C25/405 Primary

  Powered wheels, e.g. for taxing · CPC title

• B64C25/36

  Arrangements or adaptations of wheels, tyres or axles in general · CPC title

• Y02T50/823

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02T50/80

  Energy efficient operational measures, e.g. ground operations or mission management · CPC title