US 4,125,235 AGranted

Apparatus for opening an aircraft door and for arming and disarming an escape slide deploying mechanism

AssigneesThe Boeing Company, Aeritalia S.p.A.

InventorsJames T. Fitzgerald, Burton Bergman

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Abstract

An escape slide container is mounted for selective, upward movement with a track-mounted, overhead sliding door in an aircraft fuselage. Slide deployment mechanism for releasing the container from the door and for attaching it to the floor of the aircraft allows the door to move upwardly independently of the container, leaving the container attached to the floor. An over-center linkage supports the container above the floor while upward movement of the door trips the over-center linkage to propel the container outwardly through the door opening to deploy the escape slide under the urging of gravity. Apparatus for arming and disarming the slide for deployment operates in conjunction with door opening and closing apparatus that simultaneously effects movement of a door carrier to unplug the aircraft door from the opening in the fuselage and initiates upward traverse of the door along a plurality of tracks from which the door is supported at three points. Upon movement of a manually-actuated lever in a first direction, the door is unplugged and is opened. Upon movement of the same lever in the opposite direction, the door is closed, plugged in the door opening in the fuselage. Depending upon the position of a second manually-actuated lever, the slide either rises with the door or is deployed through the fuselage opening.

Claims16

Dependent claims

In a door system for an aircraft including a fuselage having a door opening, a floor adjacent the bottom of said door opening, a door and means mounting the door for upward and downward movement between a closed position and an open position, locking means for holding said door in said closed position, an escape slide container normally attached to said door and coupling means for releasing said container from said door and for attaching said container to said floor for deployment through said door opening, improved actuating mechanism for closing and opening said door and for arming and disarming said coupling means comprising:

a first interior handle mounted on said fuselage for swinging movement between a first and second position, said first handle operably associated with said locking means to respectively lock and unlock said door upon movement of said first handle between said first and second positions,
a second interior handle mounted on said fuselage for swinging movement between first and second positions for respectively arming and disarming said coupling means,
a first exterior handle mounted on said fuselage for swinging movement between first and second positions, and means for coupling said first exterior handle to said first interior handle to simultaneously move said first interior and exterior handles between respective ones of said first and second positions, and
a second exterior handle mounted on said fuselage for swinging movement between first and second positions, and means coupling said second exterior handle with said second interior handle to simultaneously move said second handles between respective ones of said first and second positions.

1 more element

In a door system for an aircraft fuselage having a door opening, a door and lower track means for mounting the door for upward and downward sliding movement between a closed position and an open position spaced above said door opening, said door when in said closed position plugging said door opening, said door having follower means thereon associated with said lower track means and cooperating with said lower track means when said door is opened to move said door inwardly relative to said door opening, to unplug said door from said door opening and to position said door for upward traverse to a location over said door opening, an improved apparatus for suspending the upper end of said door and for plugging and unplugging said door from said door opening comprising:

upper track means mounted on said fuselage above said door opening, said upper track means having an upper portion extending upwardly from a first location adjacent the upper portion of said door opening and a second location spaced upwardly from said first location, said upper track means having a terminal portion curving outwardly toward said fuselage from said first location;
a carrier having followers thereon operatively associated with and guided by said upper track means, said carrier including an arm affixed to and extending downwardly from said carrier and means for pivotally attaching said arm to the upper portion of said door,
a rotatable member mounted for rotation on said fuselage about an axis spaced from and oriented transversely to said upper track means, said rotatable member and said carrier including first means for coupling said rotatable member to said carrier for moving at least a portion of said carrier from a rest position in the terminal portion of said upper track means into the upper portion of said upper track means solely in reaction to the rotational movement of said rotatable member, and for releasing said rotatable member from said carrier for upward movement of said carrier in said upper portion when said carrier has reached a location adjacent the junction of said terminal portion and said upper portion of said upper track means.

In a door system for an aircraft fuselage having a door opening, a door and lower track means for mounting the door for upward and downward sliding movement between a closed position and an open position spaced above said door opening, said door when in said closed position plugging said door opening, said door having follower means thereon associated with said lower track means and cooperating with said lower track means when said door is opened to move said door inwardly relative to said door opening to unplug said door from said door opening and to position said door for upward traverse to a location over said door opening, an improved apparatus for suspending the upper end of said door and for plugging and unplugging said door from said door opening comprising:

upper track means mounted on said fuselage above said door opening, said upper track means having an upper portion extending upwardly from a first location adjacent the upper portion of said door opening and a second location spaced upwardly from said first location, said upper track means having a terminal portion curving outwardly toward said fuselage from said first location;
a carrier having followers thereon operatively associated with and guided by said upper track means, said carrier including an arm affixed to and extending downwardly from said carrier, and means for pivotally attaching said arm to the upper portion of said door;
and,
a rotatable member mounted for rotation on said fuselage about an axis spaced from and oriented transversely to said upper track means, said rotatable member being movable between a first and a second position, said rotatable member in said first position cooperating to lock said carrier in said terminal portion of said upper track means, said rotatable member when moving from its first position to its second position causing said carrier to transit from the terminal portion of said upper track means and to release said carrier for upward movement in said upper track means when said rotatable member is in said second position, said rotatable member and said carrier including first means for releasably coupling said rotatable member to said carrier for transiting said carrier from a rest position in the terminal portion of said upper track means toward the upper portion of said upper track means, and second means for moving said carrier from a location adjacent the terminal portion of said upper track means into said terminal portion of said upper track means as said rotatable member moves from said second position to said first position and for locking said carrier in the terminal portion of said upper track means when said rotatable member is in said first position.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.