AIRCRAFT LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLY

Abstract

An aircraft landing gear bogie beam including first and second ends and a mounting bearing for connection to an aircraft landing gear main strut between the ends. Each end has a respective axle, and each axle defines a wheel mounting portion on each side of the bogie beam. The bogie beam is arranged to enable the first and second axles to each pivot relative to the bearing about a respective longitudinal axis of the bogie beam by an amount that is sufficient to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating.

Claims

1. An aircraft landing gear assembly comprising: a first elongate bogie beam including a first bearing via which the first bogie beam is arranged to be pivotally mounted to an aircraft landing gear main strut and defining a first bogie pivot axis; a second elongate bogie beam including a second bearing, defining a second bogie pivot axis, via which the second bogie beam is arranged to be pivotally mounted to the aircraft landing gear main strut in a side by side adjacent relationship with the first bogie pivot axis being coaxial with respect to the second bogie pivot axis; a first axle mounted at a first end region of the first bogie beam, the first axle defining a first wheel mounting portion on a first side of the first bogie beam for supporting a first wheel assembly; a second axle mounted at a second end region of the first bogie beam, the second axle defining a second wheel mounting portion on the first side of the first bogie beam for supporting a second wheel assembly; a third axle mounted at a first end region of the second bogie beam, the third axle defining a third wheel mounting portion on a second side of the second bogie beam for supporting a first wheel assembly, the second side facing away from the first bogie beam; and a fourth axle mounted at a second end region of the second bogie beam, the fourth axle defining a fourth wheel mounting portion on the second side of the bogie beam for supporting a fourth wheel assembly; wherein the first bogie beam and the second bogie beam can independently pivot about the respective bogie pivot axis in order to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating.

2. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1, further comprising the aircraft landing gear main strut, the main strut comprising: a body portion including a main aircraft coupling via which the main strut is arranged to be movably coupled to an aircraft; a bogie mounting portion including a first axle portion arranged to pivotally mount the first bogie beam via the first bearing and a second axle portion arranged to pivotally mount the second bogie beam via the second bearing; and a flexible or dynamic bearing region connecting the body portion to the bogie mounting portion for pivotal movement between them.

3. The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 2, wherein the flexible or dynamic bearing region comprises a spherical bearing.

4. An aircraft including one or more aircraft landing gear assemblies according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] FIG. 1a is a schematic side view of a known aircraft landing gear assembly including a bogie beam;

[0035] FIG. 1b illustrates the landing gear assembly of FIG. 1a with a deflated tyre;

[0036] FIG. 2a is a schematic front view of a known landing gear assembly in which two wheels are mounted on a common axle;

[0037] FIG. 2b illustrates the landing gear assembly of FIG. 2a with a deflated tyre;

[0038] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landing gear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landing gear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landing gear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0041] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bottom end of a strut which can carry the landing gear assembly of FIG. 5.

[0042] FIGS. 7a-7c schematically illustrate a cross section view of a bogie beam flexure zone, as viewed along a longitudinal axis of the bogie beam, in which the cross section comprises a box section, a C section, and an I section, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] FIG. 1a illustrates a known aircraft landing gear assembly generally at 100.

[0044] The landing gear assembly 100 includes a main strut 102 which is movably coupled to an aircraft (not shown). A bogie beam 104 is pivotally mounted at a lower end of the main strut 102 via a pivot pin 106. At one end, or front, of the bogie beam 104 there is mounted a wheel assembly 112 on axle 108. At the other end, or back, of the bogie beam 104 there is mounted a second wheel assembly 114 via a second axle 110. Each wheel assembly can incorporate a brake assembly.

[0045] FIG. 1b shows the landing gear assembly of FIG. 1a with a deflated rear tyre 114. As can be seen, the bogie beam 104 has rotated relative to the strut 102 to account for the difference in rolling radius due to the deflated tyre 114.

[0046] However, as illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b, in the case of landing gear assemblies in which a pair of wheel assemblies 112a, 112b are mounted on a common axle 108, and one wheel 112b deflates, the bogie beam 104 cannot pivot to account for the deflated tyre 112b because the end region of the bogie beam 104 adjacent the axle 108 is supported by the inflated tyre 112a. This results in flexure of the landing gear components including the axle 108, bogie beam 104 and strut 102. Consequently, these components must be of sufficient size and/or strength to withstand such loading. Other components of the landing gear also need to be sized to deal with the increased load on them i.e. the full load taken on three tyres, or the full load taken on two tyres.

[0047] The present inventor has identified that the weight of known landing gear can be reduced by designing a landing gear assembly in which the bogie beam is arranged to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating. As such, the landing gear can be designed for the full load distributed evenly across four loading points (tyre or wheel rim).

[0048] FIG. 3 is a diagram of part of an aircraft; more specifically, an aircraft landing gear assembly 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The landing gear assembly 10 is shown in cross section through the longitudinal axis of the bogie beam 12.

[0049] The bogie beam 12 is generally of conventional construction in that it includes a central pivot bearing 14 by which it can be pivotally connected to an aircraft landing gear main strut (not shown), such as a rigid strut or a shock absorbing strut, so as to pivot about a bogie pivot axis M.

[0050] At a first end region 22, the bogie 12 includes axle mounting bushes 16 in which a first axle 18 is mounted. A second end region 24 of the bogie 12 also includes axle mounting bushes 16 via which a second axle 20 is mounted. The longitudinal axis B of the first axle 18 is parallel with respect to the longitudinal axis B of the second axle 20.

[0051] The aircraft landing gear assembly 10 of the illustrated embodiment differs from a conventional aircraft landing gear assembly in that it includes flexure zones FZ1, FZ2.

[0052] The first flexure zone FZ1 is located between the bogie pivot bearing 14 and the first axle 18. It encompasses a majority of the length of the bogie beam 12 between these two items. However, in other embodiments the flexure zone can be defined by the entirety of the distance between the bogie pivot bearing 14 and the first axle 18, or the flexure zone FZ1 can be defined by less than half the distance between these two items.

[0053] Similarly, the second flexure zone FZ2 is located on the other side of the bogie beam 12 between the bogie pivot bearing 14 and the second axle 20. Otherwise, the second flexure zone FZ2 can be identical to the first flexure zone FZ1.

[0054] The flexure zones FZ1, FZ2 are arranged to permit the axles 18, 20 to rotate relative to bogie pivot bearing 14 about the longitudinal axis L of the bogie beam. As such, in the event of a tyre deflating, the bogie beam 12 can flex to allow the axle to rotate sufficiently to place the deflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground, meaning that each wheel is equally loaded despite the deflated tyre(s). For a wheel assembly with a deflated tyre, the load can be supported by the wheel rim.

[0055] The present inventor found a bogie beam 12 with flexure zones FZ1, FZ2 of box section, or open section, such as C or I section, can provide the required degree of flexure in the event of a tyre deflation. Suitable geometries can be determined using routine testing.

[0056] FIG. 4 shows an aircraft landing gear assembly according to a further embodiment of the invention generally at 30. The aircraft landing gear assembly 30 is similar to the aircraft landing gear 10 according to the previous embodiment and like parts have been given like reference numerals. For brevity, the following description will focus on the differences.

[0057] The aircraft landing gear assembly 30 of the present embodiment is configured to enable the axles 18, 20 to rotate or pivot relative to the bogie pivot axis M about the longitudinal axis L of the bogie beam by virtue of rotatable end sections 34, 36.

[0058] More specifically, the bogie beam 32 comprises a main body portion 32 which has cylindrical end bearings 32a, 32b at its ends. The end bearings 32a, 32b are arranged to rotatably support first and second end bosses 34, 36 such that the end bosses 34, 36 can rotate relative to the bogie body 32 about the longitudinal axis L. The bosses 32, 36 each include axle mounting bushes 16 arranged to mount the first and second axles, 18, 20 in the conventional manner.

[0059] In the event of a tyre on an axle deflating, the boss and axle can rotate together relative to the bogie beam in order to place the rim of the deflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground, thereby equalizing loading on the wheel.

[0060] Means can be provided to maintain the orientation of the axles 18, 20 relative to the bogie pivot axis M during weight off wheels operations such as pre-touchdown landing descent and immediately following take off. For example, biasing means such as springs may be provided to bias the axles to parallel planes with respect to the longitudinal axis and bogie pivot axis M, the spring forces being such that it can be overcome in the event of a tyre deflating.

[0061] Thus, both of the above-identified embodiments of the invention include a bogie beam which is arranged to permit the axles to rotate relative to the central portion of the encompassing the bogie pivot axis in the event of tyre deflation.

[0062] FIG. 5 shows an aircraft landing gear assembly 40 according to a further embodiment of the invention. The landing gear assembly 40 includes first and second bogie beams 42a, 42b arranged to be mounted in a parallel side by side relationship. The bogie beams 42a, 42b each include identical pivot bearings 44a, 44b arranged to receive a common bogie pivot pin, or coaxial bogie pivot pins, (not shown) so that the bogie beams 42a, 42b pivot about a common bogie pivot axis M.

[0063] At a first end, the first bogie beam 42a includes a conventional mounting bushing 46a by which a first axle half 50a is mounted. The second bogie beam 42b includes a corresponding mounting bushing 46b which carries a second axle half 50b. The first and second axle halves 50a, 50b are aligned with a common axis B when the bogie beams 42a, 42b are aligned in registration with one another i.e. in the same plane.

[0064] Similarly, a second end of the first bogie beam 42a includes a conventional mounting bushing 46a which mounts a third axle half 48a and the second 42b includes a conventional mounting bushing 26b which mounts a fourth axle half 48b.

[0065] Each axle half 50a, 50b, 48a, 48b, is arranged to mount a single wheel assembly.

[0066] Therefore, in the event of the tyre of a wheel assembly mounted on the first axle half 50a deflating, the first bogie 42a can rotate about the bogie pivot axis M independently of the second bogie 42b so as to place the rim of the deflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground. Likewise for any of the other wheel assemblies.

[0067] While the arrangement of the landing gear assembly 40 reduces the amount of flexure required by components of the aircraft landing gear in order to account for the deflated tyre, it does not substantially eliminate such flexure.

[0068] Therefore, and referring additionally to FIG. 6, the strut 52 can comprise an upper strut portion 54 arranged to be movably coupled to an aircraft (not shown) and a bogie mounting formation 58 connected to the upper portion 54 via a multi-axis joint 56, such as a spherical joint. The bogie mounting formation 58 can include a first axle portion 60a arranged to mount the first bogie beam 42a, and a second, coaxial, axle 60b arranged to mount the second bogie beam 42b. Thus, the bogie mounting formation 58 can move relative to the upper strut portion 54 in a lateral direction to substantially isolate the remaining components of the landing gear assembly from loads that would otherwise be imparted due to tyre deflation.

[0069] In any embodiment, it is preferred that the bogie beam is arranged to enable the first and second axles to each pivot relative to the mounting formation about the longitudinal axis of the bogie beam by at least 8 and in some embodiments at least 10 or 12. The degree of pivoting required depends on the ratio of tyre rolling radius to wheel rim radius and the spacing between the two wheel assemblies on the axle. In one example, a wheel assembly may have a rolling radius of approximately 0.65 m, a wheel rim radius of approximately 0.36 m and a spacing of approximately 1.4 m centre to centre between wheel assemblies on an axle, meaning that one flat tyre would require an angle of approximately 12 to place the wheel rim in contact with the ground in the event of the tyre fully deflating. In another example, a wheel assembly may have a rolling radius of approximately 0.65 m, a wheel rim radius of approximately 0.36 m and a spacing of approximately 1.74 m centre to centre between wheel assemblies on an axle, meaning that one flat tyre would require an angle of approximately 9.6 to place the wheel rim in contact with the ground in the event of the tyre fully deflating.

[0070] Landing gear assemblies according to embodiments of the invention can be formed of conventional aerospace materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum or titanium. Certain components such as the bogie beam can be formed from fibre reinforced composite material.

[0071] Landing gear assemblies according to embodiments of the invention can be main landing gear assemblies for medium to large aircrafts.

[0072] Although the invention has been described above with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes or modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The word comprising can mean including or consisting of and therefore does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim or the specification as a whole. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.