Multi-functioning locking mechanism of a hold open rod
AssigneeMarathonNorco Aerospace, Inc.
InventorSteven Pape
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hold open rod that includes a locking collar that may be configured to operate in a first unlocked mode and a second unlocked mode in which the hold open rod is adjustable in a different manner than the first unlocked mode. For example, when in the first unlocked mode, the locking collar may be configured to lock the hold open rod when the hold open rod is compressed to an intermediately compressed configuration. When in the second unlocked mode, the locking collar may be configured allow the hold open rod to compress to the intermediately compressed configuration and continue compressing without locking the hold open rod, thereby bypassing locking of the hold open rod when in the intermediately compressed configuration.
Claims30
A hold open rod, comprising:
- an outer tube;
- an inner tube, wherein the inner tube and the outer tube are configured to translate relative to one another when the hold open rod is unlocked such that the inner tube translates within the outer tube along a longitudinal axis;
- and
- a locking collar that is configured to lock and unlock the outer tube and the inner tube, wherein the locking collar is movable to a first unlocked position and a second unlocked position, wherein the hold open rod is configured to be in a first mode when the locking collar is in the first unlocked position, and wherein the hold open rod is configured to be in a second mode when the locking collar is in the second unlocked position;
- wherein when in the first mode, the locking collar is configured to lock the outer tube and the inner tube when the outer tube translates relative to the inner tube in a first axial direction such that the locking collar moves to a first locking portion of the inner tube and prevents the outer tube from translating relative to the inner tube in the first axial direction beyond a predetermined position, and when in the second mode, the locking collar is configured to not lock the outer tube and the inner tube when the outer tube translates relative to the inner tube in the first axial direction to the first locking portion of the inner tube such that the locking collar allows the outer tube to translate relative to the inner tube to and beyond the predetermined position.
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A method of operating a hold open rod, comprising:
- moving a locking collar, which is movable to a first unlocked position and movable to a second unlocked position, to the second unlocked position, wherein the hold open rod is in a first mode when the locking collar is in the first unlocked position, and wherein the hold open rod is in a second mode when the locking collar is in the second unlocked position;
- and
- translating, while the hold open rod is in the second mode, an outer tube relative to an inner tube in a first axial direction along a longitudinal axis such that the locking collar moves toward a first locking portion of the inner tube, wherein hold open rod remains unlocked such that the outer tube translates relative to the inner tube in the first axial direction to and beyond a predetermined position;
- wherein the locking collar is configured to, when in the first mode, lock the outer tube and the inner tube when the outer tube translates relative to the inner tube in the first axial direction such that the locking collar moves to the first locking portion of the inner tube and prevents the outer tube from translating relative to the inner tube in the first axial direction beyond the predetermined position.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.