Spring assembly
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorRobert Ian THOMPSON
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spring assembly 100 for aircraft landing gear 10 including: an interface 110 via which the spring assembly 100 is attachable to a support 1a; a loading point 120 for receiving a load from one or more wheels 150 or skids in use, wherein the loading point 120 is movable relative to the interface 110; a spring system 130 that is configured to apply a resilient biasing force to the loading point 120 to oppose movement of the loading point 120 relative to the interface 110. The spring system 130 is configured so that, during application of an increasing load to the loading point 120 against the resilient biasing force of the spring system 130, a spring rate of the spring system 130 changes from a first spring rate k1 to a second spring rate k2, the second spring rate k2 being less than the first spring rate k1.
Claims16
A spring assembly for aircraft landing gear, the spring assembly comprising:
- an interface via which the spring assembly is attachable to a support;
- a loading point configured to receive a load from one or more wheels or skids of the landing gear, wherein the loading point is movable relative to the interface;
- and
- a spring system configured to apply a resilient biasing force to the loading point to oppose movement of the loading point relative to the interface;
- wherein the spring system is configured so that, during application of an increasing load to the loading point against the resilient biasing force of the spring system, a spring rate of the spring system changes from a first spring rate to a second spring rate, the second spring rate being less than the first spring rate.
A suspension system for aircraft landing gear, the suspension system comprising:
- a loading point for receiving a load from one or more wheels or skids;
- and
- a spring mechanism configured to oppose movement of the loading point;
- wherein the spring mechanism is configured so that, during application of an increasing load to the loading point, a spring rate of the spring mechanism changes from a first spring rate to a second spring rate and then to a third spring rate, the second spring rate being less than each of the first and third spring rates.
A method for operating a spring assembly for a landing gear of an aircraft, the spring assembly including an interface connecting the spring assembly to a support in the aircraft, the method comprising:
- applying an increasing load from a wheel or from a skid of the landing gear to a loading point of the spring assembly, wherein the loading point is movable relative to the interface;
- applying, by a spring, a resilient biasing force to the loading point to oppose movement of the loading point relative to the interface;
- and
- during application of the increasing load to the loading point and the application of the resilient biasing force, changing a spring rate of the spring changes from a first spring rate to a second spring rate, wherein the second spring rate is less than the first spring rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.