Carriage assembly with overload protection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12330788-B2
Application number	US-202117353207-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2021
Priority date	Jun 21, 2021
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

A carriage slider and rail assembly is disclosed. The assembly may include a linear rail including one or more surfaces that define a channel. The assembly may include a carriage slider sub-assembly. The sub-assembly may include a slider configured to be axially displaceable within the channel of the linear rail. The sub-assembly may include one or more overload protection lobes including a first overload protection lobe positioned adjacent to a first end of the slider and a second overload protection lobe positioned adjacent to a second end of the slider. The sub-assembly may include one or more friction reducing portions. The overload protection lobes may make contact with the channel of the linear rail when an abuse load is applied to provide overload protection. The overload protection lobes may be configured to not make contact with the channel of the linear rail when an abuse load is not applied.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. An actuatable door system comprising:
an actuatable door; and
one or more carriage slider and rail assemblies coupled to one or more portions of the actuatable door, each carriage slider and rail assembly comprising:
a linear rail, wherein the linear rail extends in a longitudinal direction, the linear rail including one or more surfaces that define a channel, the linear rail including one or more through holes to couple the linear rail to a portion of at least one of a suite wall or the actuatable door, wherein the suite wall is positioned proximate to the actuatable door; and
a carriage slider sub-assembly, the carriage slider sub-assembly comprising:
a slider, the slider configured to be axially displaceable within the channel of the linear rail, wherein the actuatable door is configured to translate between a stowed door position and a deployed door position upon axially displacing the slider within the channel of the linear rail, the slider comprising:
a plurality of lobes configured to be axially displaced within the channel of the linear rail, the plurality of lobes including a first lobe on a first end of the slider and a second lobe on a second end of the slider, wherein the first end is opposite the second end;
one or more friction reducing portions positioned between the first lobe on the first end of the slider and the second lobe on the second end of the slider; and
a horizontal raised portion, wherein the horizontal raised portion is arranged along a full length of a body of the slider between the first lobe on the first end of the slider and the second lobe on the second end of the slider, wherein the horizontal raised portion is configured to protrude through a horizontal opening in the linear rail, wherein the horizontal raised portion includes one or more additional through holes to couple the carriage slider sub-assembly to the at least one of the suite wall or the actuatable door,

wherein the plurality of lobes are formed of metal and the channel of the linear rail is formed of metal, wherein metal-to-metal contact between the plurality of lobes and the channel of the linear rail is made when an abuse load is applied to the assembly.

2. The actuatable door of claim 1 , wherein the one or more friction reducing portions are formed of a plastic.

3. The actuatable door system of claim 1 , wherein the carriage slider sub-assembly further comprises:
a fastening block configured to couple to the horizontal raised portion, wherein the fastening block is configured to couple the horizontal raised portion of the linear rail to the carriage slider sub-assembly via the one or more additional through holes of the horizontal raised portion, wherein the fastening block is configured to couple the carriage slider sub-assembly to the at least one of the suite wall or the actuatable door.

4. The actuatable door system of claim 1 , wherein the channel of the linear rail includes a C-shaped channel.

5. The actuatable door system of claim 4 , wherein the slider is rectangular with rounded corners to correspond to the C-shaped channel of the linear rail.

6. The actuatable door system of claim 1 , wherein metal of at least one of the plurality of lobes or the channel of the linear rail comprises at least one of:
aluminum or stainless steel.

7. An aircraft passenger suite installed within an aircraft cabin, comprising:
a suite wall;
an actuatable door; and
one or more carriage slider and rail assemblies, each carriage slider and rail assembly comprising:
a linear rail, the linear rail including one or more surfaces that define a channel, the linear rail including one or more through holes to couple the linear rail to a portion of the suite wall; and
a carriage slider sub-assembly, the carriage slider sub-assembly coupled to a portion of the actuatable door, the carriage slider sub-assembly comprising:
a slider, the slider configured to be axially displaceable within the channel of the linear rail, the slider comprising:
a plurality of lobes, the plurality of lobes including a first lobe on a first end of the slider and a second lobe p on a second end of the slider, wherein the first end is opposite the second end;
one or more friction reducing portions positioned between the first lobe on the first end of the slider and the second lobe on the second end of the slider; and
a horizontal raised portion that spans a length of a body of the slider, wherein the horizontal raised portion is arranged between the first lobe on the first end of the slider and the second lobe on the second end of the slider, wherein the horizontal raised portion is configured to protrude through a horizontal opening in the linear rail, wherein the horizontal raised portion includes one or more additional through holes to couple the carriage slider sub-assembly to the at least one of the suite wall or the actuatable door,

wherein the plurality of lobes are formed of metal and the channel of the linear rail is formed of metal, wherein metal-to-metal contact between the plurality of lobes and the channel of the linear rail is made when an abuse load is applied to the assembly,
the actuatable door being coupled to the suite wall of the aircraft passenger suite, the suite wall including an opening configured to allow for access to the passenger suite from an open area within the aircraft cabin,
the actuatable door being configured to actuate between a stowed door position and a deployed door position via at least one intermediate door position upon axially displacing the slider within the channel of the linear rail, the actuatable door being configured to separate the passenger suite from the open area within the aircraft cabin when in the deployed door position and provide privacy to the aircraft passenger suite.

8. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 7 , wherein a first rail is coupled to a first portion of the suite wall and a second rail is coupled to a second portion of the suite wall, a first carriage sub-assembly is coupled to a first portion of the actuatable door and a second carriage sub-assembly is coupled to a second portion of the actuatable door, the first carriage sub-assembly configured to be axially displaceable within the channel of the first rail and the second carriage sub-assembly configured to be axially displaceable within the channel of the second rail.

9. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 7 , wherein the one or more friction reducing portions are formed of a plastic.

10. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 7 , wherein the carriage slider sub-assembly further comprises:
a fastening block configured to couple to the horizontal raised portion, wherein the fastening block is configured to couple the horizontal raised portion of the linear rail to the carriage slider sub-assembly via the one or more additional through holes of the horizontal raised portion, wherein the fastening block is configured to couple the carriage slider sub-assembly to the at least one of the suite wall or the actuatable door.

11. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 7 , wherein the channel of the linear rail includes a C-shaped channel.

12. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 11 , wherein the slider is rectangular with rounded corners to correspond to the C-shaped channel of the linear rail.

13. The aircraft passenger suite of claim 7 , wherein metal of at least one of the plurality of lobes or the channel of the linear rail comprises at least one of:
aluminum or stainless steel.

Assignees

• Be Aerospace Inc

Inventors

• Warwick Michael R G
• Davis Lyle T
• Jacob Twinkle V
• Steele Bradley

Classifications

• B64D11/0606

  with privacy shells, screens, separators or the like (class dividers B64D11/0023) · CPC title

• E05D15/0682

  on sliding blocks · CPC title

• E05D15/0647

  on sliding blocks · CPC title

• F16C2220/04

  by injection-moulding · CPC title

• F16C2326/43

  Aeroplanes; Helicopters · CPC title