Electro-mechanically biased supercritical flight control surface loading to reduce high pressure actuation cycles
US10793261B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 2018 |
| Grant date | Oct 6, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64C13/50
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An actuator assembly for an aircraft includes a support strut operatively coupled to a hinge axis of a flight control member of the aircraft, a hydraulic actuator operatively coupled to the flight control member via a pivot element, and an electro-mechanical actuator (EMA) having first and second opposing ends and a biasing member. The first end is operatively coupled to a support structure of the aircraft, and the second end is operatively coupled to both the support strut and the hydraulic actuator. The biasing member moves between a compressed state and an expanded state in response to a varying biasing load exerted on a surface of the flight control member, thereby reducing an amount of current needed to drive the EMA, as well as a number of high-pressure hydraulic cycles of the hydraulic actuator to control the flight control member.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.