Landing gear assembly
AssigneeThorsons Projects Canada, Inc.
InventorRobert J. Thorndike
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved landing gear assembly made up of a pair of supports having extensible legs, each support having a generally rectangular air lift bladder encased in a box enclosure, which forces a leg downwardly when the bag is inflated, there being an internal compression spring urging the leg upwardly against the air bladder, the leg and spring being located within a generally tubular housing. Each support includes a safety latch and lock mechanism for fixing the leg with respect to the leg housing. The safety latch and lock includes an array of notches formed on the lower end of the extensible leg, a pivoting latch for engaging a selected notch, a torsion spring urging the latch into engagement with a notch, a rotatable rod linked to the pivoting latch of each support, and a handle for rotating the rod.
Claims19
An improved landing gear-assembly including a pair of substantially identical supports, each support comprising:
- a box configured chamber having generally vertical side walls and a slot defined through one of said side walls;
- an air bladder located within said chamber and including a fitting for attachment to a source of compressed air, said fitting extending through said slot and riding up and down therein as said bladder is deflated and inflated, respectively;
- an extensible leg having a top end and a bottom end, said top end being surmounted by a reaction plate affixed to said leg top end, said reaction plate being located beneath said air bladder;
- a housing depending from said chamber, said leg being telescopically interfitted therewithin;
- and
- a spring urging said leg upwardly against the downward urging provided by said bladder when supplied with air under pressure;
- said chamber having lateral dimensions greater than those of said leg housing;
- said chamber including a bottom, the maximum extension of said leg from said housing occurring as said reaction plate meets said chamber bottom.
An improved landing gear assembly including a pair of substantially identical supports, each support comprising:
- an enclosure chamber;
- an air bladder located within said chamber and including a fitting for attachment to a source of compressed air;
- an extensible leg having a top end and a bottom end, said top end being surmounted by a reaction plate affixed to said leg top end, said reaction plate being located beneath said air bladder, said reaction plate and said air bladder being completely free of any mechanical interconnection therebetween;
- a housing depending from said chamber, said leg being telescopically interfitted therewithin;
- a spring urging said leg upwardly against the downward urging provided by said bladder when supplied with air under pressure;
- said chamber having lateral dimensions greater than those of said leg housing;
- said chamber including a bottom, the maximum extension of said leg from said housing occurring as said reaction plate meets said chamber bottom;
- and
- a safety latch-and lock mechanism, comprising:
- means defining a linear array of latch notches along a selected, exposed, lower surface of said extensible leg;
- a pivoting latch mounted onto said leg housing and pivotal about a generally horizontal axis into interengagement with a selected one of said latch notches;
- and
- manual means for moving said pivoting latch into and out of interengagement with said latch notches.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.