Actuator rate control with energy absorbing pressure relief system

An actuator assembly comprising:

• an assembly housing having opposing first and second ends and a hollow interior;
• at least one coil spring attached to an exterior of the assembly housing;
• a bearing member fixedly attached within the hollow interior of the assembly housing and being sealingly engaged therewith;
• a piston assembly comprising:
• a piston rod;
• and
• a piston head supported by the piston rod and having a plurality of axial orifices, the piston assembly being movable through a sealed opening of the bearing member into a chamber filled with hydraulic fluid;
• a check valve disposed in one of the axial orifices, the check valve preventing fluid flow through the orifice when fluid is moved in one axial direction;
• an accumulator piston biased by an accumulator spring at an opposite end of the assembly housing relative to the bearing member;
• and
• at least one spring coupled to a distal end of the piston rod within the hollow interior of the assembly housing and distal to the piston head, the at least one spring being pre-loaded in compression to enable energy storage of an applied load at the end of an extension stroke of the piston head.

An actuator assembly for an emergency door of a commercial aircraft, the assembly comprising:

• a housing having a first end, an opposing second end and a hollow interior;
• connecting end members at the first and second ends of the housing;
• at least one coil spring attached to the exterior of the housing;
• a piston assembly including a piston rod and a piston head, the piston assembly being movably attached to one of the connecting end members;
• an accumulator piston biased by an accumulator spring, the accumulator piston and the piston head each being sealingly engaged within the hollow interior of the cylindrical housing and defining a fluidic chamber therebetween, wherein the piston head includes axial orifices extending therethrough, one of the orifices including a check valve;
• a bearing member disposed between the piston head and the first end that is sealingly engaged with the assembly housing;
• and
• at least one spring member disposed adjacent the piston head in which movement of the piston assembly in a first direction causes fluidic flow through each of the orifices of the piston head and in which fluidic flow is prevented through the check valve when the piston assembly is moved in a second direction opposite to the first direction to create damping as the emergency door is moved to an open position.

An emergency door system for a commercial aircraft, comprising:

• a door being movable between an opened and a closed position;
• and
• an actuator assembly comprising:
• an assembly housing having opposing first and second ends and a hollow interior containing a hydraulic fluid, the first end being connected to the movable door and the second end being fixedly connected to the aircraft structure;
• a movable piston assembly attached to the movable door and disposed within the hollow interior, the piston assembly including a piston head having a fixed orifice and a check valve disposed in another orifice;
• at least one spring member disposed on a distal end of the piston rod and distally in relation to the piston head, the at least one preloaded spring member being preloaded in compression to create energy storage at the end of an extension stroke of the piston head;
• and
• at least one coil spring attached to an exterior of the assembly housing.