Landing gear joint lubrication
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorRichard Holt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pin assembly for insertion into a pin joint of an aircraft landing gear is disclosed. The pin assembly includes a reservoir for storing a lubricating agent and a piston mounted for reciprocal movement within the reservoir, the piston dividing the reservoir into a first chamber and a second chamber. A bi-directional flow path between the first and second chambers via the surface to be lubricated is provided by means of a first bi-directional flow path between the first chamber and the exterior of the pin assembly and a second bi-directional flow path between the second chamber and the exterior of the pin assembly. A pin assembly including an indicator system, and a pin insert in the form of a replaceable cartridge is also disclosed along with associated methods.
Claims15
A pin assembly for use in a pin joint of an aircraft landing gear, the pin assembly, comprising:
- structure defining a reservoir for storing a lubricating agent, said structure being configured for insertion into the pin joint,
- a piston mounted for reciprocal movement within the reservoir, the piston dividing the reservoir into a first chamber and a second chamber;
- a first bi-directional flow path configured to permit flow of the lubricating agent in a first direction between the first chamber and the exterior of the pin assembly and a second direction opposite the first direction, and
- a second bi-directional flow path configured to permit the flow of the lubricating agent in a first direction between the second chamber and the exterior of the pin assembly and a second direction opposite the first direction.
A method of lubricating a pin joint of an aircraft landing gear using a pin assembly comprising a reservoir containing a lubricating agent and a piston dividing the reservoir into first and second chambers, the method comprising:
- the piston reciprocating within the reservoir, said reciprocation comprising movement in a first direction and movement in a second, opposite, direction;
- and
- movement of the piston in the first direction causes lubricating agent to flow in a first flow direction along a bi-directional flow path connecting the first chamber to the second chamber via a surface to be lubricated;
- and
- movement of the piston in the second direction causes lubricating agent to flow in a second, opposite, flow direction along the bi-directional flow path.
A pin assembly for use in a pin joint of an aircraft landing gear, the pin insert comprising
- structure defining a reservoir for storing a lubricating agent, said structure being configured for insertion into the pin joint,
- a piston mounted for reciprocal movement within the reservoir, said reciprocal movement comprising a plurality of cycles, each cycle comprising a movement of the piston in a first direction followed by a movement of the piston in a second, opposite, direction;
- wherein the reservoir is configured to allow the flow of the lubricating agent in a first direction and second direction opposite the first direction,
- an indicator system configured to provide an indication that the piston has completed a predetermined number of cycles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.