Wing for an aircraft with a slat assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12539959-B2
Application number	US-202418985396-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2024
Priority date	Dec 20, 2023
Publication date	Feb 3, 2026
Grant date	Feb 3, 2026

Abstract

A wing for an aircraft, including a main wing and a slat assembly including a slat and at least one connection assembly movably connecting the slat to the main wing, such that the slat is movable between a retracted position and at least one extended position, such that the connection assembly has an elongate slat track, and the front end of the slat track is mounted to the slat, such that the rear end and/or the intermediate portion of the slat track are mounted to the main wing by a roller or slide bearing such that the slat track is movable along the track longitudinal axis, such that the connection assembly has a drive unit configured for driving the slat track, such that the drive unit includes a rotary actuator having at least one drive arm rotatably driven about a rotation axis and drivingly engaging the slat track.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A wing for an aircraft, comprising:
a main wing; and a slat assembly, comprising:
a slat; and
at least one connection assembly movably connecting the slat to the main wing, such that the slat is movable between a retracted position and at least one extended position,
wherein the connection assembly comprises a slat track that is elongated and extends along a track longitudinal axis between a front end and a rear end and has an intermediate portion between the front and rear ends, wherein the front end of the slat track is mounted to the slat, wherein at least one of the rear end of the slat track and the intermediate portion of the slat track is mounted to the main wing by a roller or slide bearing such that the slat track is movable along the track longitudinal axis, wherein the connection assembly comprises a drive unit configured for driving the slat track for movement along the track longitudinal axis, wherein the drive unit comprises a rotary actuator mounted to the main wing and having a drive arm rotatably driven about a rotation axis and drivingly engaging the slat track, wherein the drive arm comprises at least one groove and the slat track comprises at least one spigot drivingly engaging the groove, wherein the groove defines an inner end position and an outer end position between which the spigot is movable in a guided manner when the drive arm is rotated about the rotation axis, wherein the groove defines a center line extending from the inner end position to the outer end position, wherein the groove has a curved form, wherein a distance between the center line and the rotation axis increases from the inner end position towards the outer end position, and wherein the groove has such a form that a distance between the center line and a first reference line increases continuously and overproportionately from the inner end position towards the outer end position, the first reference line having a straight radial extension from the rotation axis and intersecting the inner end position of the groove.

2 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein an angle α between the first reference line and a tangent to the center line at the inner end position is between −30° and 45°.

3 . The wing according to claim 2 , wherein the angle α between the first reference line and the tangent to the center line at the inner end position is between −10° and 20°.

4 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein an angle β between a second reference line and the tangent to the center line at the outer end position is between 20° and 90°, the second reference line having a straight radial extension from the rotation axis and intersecting the outer end position of the groove.

5 . The wing according to claim 4 , wherein the angle β between the second reference line and the tangent to the center line at the outer end position is between 30° and 70°.

6 . The wing according to claim 4 , wherein an angle γ between the first reference line and the second reference line is between 20° and 90°.

7 . The wing according to claim 6 , wherein the angle γ between the first reference line and the second reference line is between 30° and 70°.

8 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the groove has a convexly curved form with respect to the slat.

9 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the groove has a concavely curved form with respect to the slat.

10 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the groove has one or more locking positions where the curvature differs from other areas of the groove.

11 . The wing according to claim 10 , wherein a locking position is formed at at least one of the inner end position and the outer end position.

12 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the spigot comprises a spigot roller for rolling engagement with a slot.

13 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the spigot or the groove is provided at a lateral side of the slat track at the intermediate portion of slat track.

14 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the groove is open at an outer end of the drive arm.

15 . The wing according to claim 1 , wherein the roller or slide bearing comprises a guide rail mounted to the main wing and a first roller unit mounted to the rear end of the slat track and engaging the guide rail,
wherein the roller or slide bearing comprises a second roller unit that is mounted to the main wing and that engages an engagement surface provided at the intermediate portion of the slat track, wherein the slat track has a profile comprising an upper flange portion, a lower flange portion and at least one web portion connecting the upper and lower flange portions, wherein the second roller unit is arranged in at least one recess between the upper and lower flange portions and engages the engagement surface provided at at least one of the upper flange portion and the lower flange portion, wherein the slat track has such a profile that a first recess of the at least one recess is formed between the upper and lower flange portions at a first side of the web portion, and a second recess of the at least one recess is formed between the upper and lower flange portions at a second side of the web portion opposite the first side, wherein the second roller unit comprises a first roller element and a second roller element, wherein the first roller element is arranged in the first recess and the second roller element is arranged in the second recess, wherein the first and second roller elements are arranged coaxially and have the same radius, and wherein the groove or the spigot is arranged in the web portion.

16 . A slat assembly, comprising:
a slat; and at least one connection assembly for movably connecting the slat to a main wing for an aircraft, the connection assembly comprising: an elongate slat track that extends along a track longitudinal axis between a front end and a rear end and has an intermediate portion between the front and rear ends, wherein the front end of the slat track is configured to be mounted to the slat, wherein at least one of the rear end of the slat track and the intermediate portion of the slat track is configured to be mounted to the main wing by a roller or slide bearing such that the slat track is movable along the track longitudinal axis, wherein the connection assembly comprises a drive unit configured for driving the slat track for movement along the track longitudinal axis, wherein the drive unit comprises a rotary actuator configured to be mounted to the main wing and having a drive arm rotatably driven about a rotation axis and drivingly engaging the slat track, wherein the drive arm comprises at least one groove and the slat track comprises at least one spigot drivingly engaging the groove, wherein the groove defines an inner end position and an outer end position between which the spigot is movable in a guided manner when the drive arm is rotated about the rotation axis, wherein the groove defines a center line extending from the inner end position to the outer end position, wherein the groove has a curved form, wherein a distance between the center line and the rotation axis increases from the inner end position towards the outer end position, and wherein the groove has such a form that a distance between the center line and a first reference line increases continuously and overproportionately from the inner end position towards the outer end position, the first reference line having a straight radial extension from the rotation axis and intersecting the inner end position of the gr

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Schlipf Bernhard
• Lorenz Florian

Classifications

• B64C9/22 Primary

  at the front of the wing · CPC title

• B64C9/24 Primary

  by single flap · CPC title