Device for mounting an aircraft tail wheel

Abstract

A device for mounting an aircraft tail wheel includes a support plate having, on the one hand, an articulation shaft with an arm and, on the other hand, an articulation shaft with a fork receiving the freely rotating tail wheel, while the articulation shaft of the plate is positioned near a rotation shaft of the tail wheel.

Claims

1. A device for mounting an aircraft tail wheel on an attaching arm made integral with said tail and for preventing loss of aircraft control in a ground loop, wherein the device includes: a support plate including a vertical aft bore and a vertical fore bore upstream of the aft bore, the fore bore offset from and parallel to the aft bore; a vertical aft articulation shaft mounted in the aft bore and attached to the attaching arm; and a vertical fore articulation shaft mounted in the fore bore upstream of the aft articulation shaft, offset from and parallel to the aft articulation shaft, and attached to a fork receiving the freely rotating tail wheel; wherein an axis of the aft articulation shaft intersects with a horizontal axis of rotation of the tail wheel; and wherein the support plate is connected to a rudder bar arranged around the aft articulation shaft to steer the support plate with respect to the aft articulation shaft.

2. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the support plate includes a lock that releasably locks the articulation shaft of the fork.

3. The mounting device according to claim 2, wherein the lock can be operated from the aircraft cockpit.

4. The mounting device according to claim 3, wherein the lock includes a pin mounted against a return spring and mounted to slide freely in a housing of the plate and to be engaged, in the locking position, in a part of the fork with said pin being connected to a control cable operable from the cockpit.

5. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the aft articulation shaft is freely rotatable with respect to aft sealed running components and the fore articulation shaft is freely rotatable with respect to fore sealed running components.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in the following in greater detail with reference to the illustrations of the attached figures in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the principle of the assembly of a tail wheel according to the prior art of the technique;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the overall device;

(4) FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device with the fork in the locked position with respect to the plate;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 with the fork in the unlocked position with respect to the plate;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view before the assembly of the main components of the device according to the invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is a plan view of the device with the fork receiving the tail wheel in the unlocked position to receive the tail wheel; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6 with the fork receiving the tail wheel in the locked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) According to the invention, the desired goal is to assemble a tail wheel R on and attaching arm 1 made integral by any known and appropriate means with the tail of the aircraft in question.

(10) The design of arm 1 is not described in detail because the arm is not a specific part of the invention. For instance, conventionally this arm consists of a spring leaf.

(11) According to the invention, the assembly device includes a support plate 2 having, on the one hand, an articulation shaft 3 with arm 1 and, on the other hand, an articulation shaft 4 with a fork 5 receiving the freely rotating tail wheel R. By means of these arrangements, the assembly of the tail wheel R with respect to arm 1 is by means of a double articulation with major advantages as will be explained in the continuation of this description.

(12) After assembly on the plate 2, the two axes 3 and 4, are offset and arranged in parallel in the same alignment. The articulation shaft 3 of the plate is arranged near the rotation shaft 6 of the tail wheel.

(13) In the illustrated embodiment, the articulation shaft 3 is attached by any known and suitable means, for instance by screwing, to the free end of the attaching arm 1. The shaft 3 is mounted free to turn in a bore 2a of the plate connected to the sealed running components 7, comprising, for instance, ball bearings.

(14) In the same way, the rotation shaft 4 of the fork 5 is coupled to said fork 5 by any known and are suitable means such as screwing, and is engaged to turn it freely in a bore 2b of plates 2 connected to the sealed running components 8. Therefore, it is evident that the plate is mounted free to rotate with respect to articulation arm 1 whereas tail wheel R is mounted free to rotate with respect to the plate 2.

(15) According to one important characteristic, support plates 2 have means of locking the articulation shaft 4 of fork 5, that is, of tail wheel R. As shown more particularly in the FIGS. 3 and 4, these locking means consist of a mobile pin 9 mounted opposite a return spring 10. The pin 9 is mounted free to slide in a housing 2c of plate 2 being suitable for engaging, in the locking position, in a part with a hole 5a for instance, in a base plate 5b of fork 5. Pin 9 is connected to a control cable 11 operable from the aircraft cockpit.

(16) In addition, plate 2 is connected to a control rudder bar 12 for angular orientation, for instance by means of a system of cables, also operable from the aircraft cockpit.

(17) Taking these characteristics into consideration, operation is as follows: With the tail wheel R in the locked position, the path is fully controlled, this locked position being illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7. The pin 9 is engaged in fork 5 locking articulation shaft 4 to prevent it from rotating. In this locked position, plate 2 can be controlled angularly with respect to shaft 3 by working, as indicated, on the rudder bar 12. With the tail wheel in this locked position, total taxiing stability will be observed, eliminating any castor phenomenon and any influence of centrifugal force on the steering of the tail wheel. Precise adjustment is obtained on takeoff and landing. With the tail wheel in the unlocked position (FIGS. 4 and 6), the pin 9 is retracted so that fork assembly 5, fitted with the tail wheel, is free to rotate with respect to the plate 2. This results in allowing the aircraft the possibility of making a U-turn, with considerable maneuverability, and its easy storage in a hangar.

(18) Therefore, the articulation 3 allows the precise guidance of the aircraft on takeoff and landing whereas the articulation 4, after the unlocking of the fork receiving the tail wheel, allows tight maneuvering by unlocking, for instance, one wheel of the main landing gear.

(19) The advantages are evident in the description.

(20) The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

(21) These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.