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US 6,202,960 B1Granted
Aircraft landing gear absorber
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsMatt H. Travis, Nathan D. Batts, Garrett H. DeVlieg
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsMatt H. Travis, Nathan D. Batts, Garrett H. DeVlieg
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for eliminating aircraft landing gear fore-and-aft vibration is provided. The method includes using a tuned mass absorber attached to the landing gear. The gear walk motion has a peak amplitude motion and a pre-peak amplitude motion. The tuned mass absorber includes a mass and a spring, with the mass being oriented to move in a fore-and-aft direction at a frequency and amplitude that counterbalances the gear fore-and-aft vibration. The mass in one embodiment is of an amount in the range of 1 to 2 percent of the effective landing gear mass. In one embodiment, the tuned mass absorber is attached to a landing gear strut near the strut's distal end. The motion of the tuned mass absorber mass moves at a frequency and amplitude that counterbalances the gear walk pre-peak amplitude motion. Therefore, the absorber mass is of an amount less than the mass required to counterbalance gear walk peak amplitude motion. The tuned mass absorber thereby eliminates the gear walk motion in its formation.
In an aircraft landing gear system having a braking assembly, an elongated strut, and a wheel-and-tire assembly attached to a strut distal end, during use the landing gear system exhibiting fore and aft gear walk motion about an axis of rotation located above the wheel in a lateral plane, the gear walk vibration being a divergent motion caused by self-excited brake forces, the divergent motion including a peak amplitude motion and a pre-peak amplitude motion, an improvement comprising:
A method of eliminating aircraft landing gear fore-and-aft vibration having a peak amplitude motion and a pre-peak amplitude motion, the method comprising using a tuned mass absorber attached to the landing gear, the tuned mass absorber including a mass and a spring, the tuned mass absorber being oriented to cause its mass to move in a fore-and-aft direction at a frequency and amplitude that counterbalances the gear fore-and-aft vibration, the mass being of an amount addressed to the pre-peak amplitude motion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.