VISUAL FAILURE INDICATION FOR SELECTOR LEVER |
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申请号 | EP15186648.0 | 申请日 | 2015-09-24 | 公开(公告)号 | EP3000727A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2016-03-30 |
申请人 | Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation; | 发明人 | CRANDALL-SEIBERT, Cory M.; BAINES, Andrew N.; MAYER, Timothy Michael; VOSS, Gary L.; BRADSHAW, Sean; GLENN, Roger F.; | ||||
摘要 | A selector lever (1) that comprises a shaft (2) rotatably attached to a pivot (4) and arranged between two detent plates (8,10), each of the detent plates (8,10) having a plurality of slots (9,11) arranged for receiving a detent pin (12,13) located on the shaft (2). Each of the plurality of slots (9,11) on each of the two detent plates (8,10) is defined by a radial depth (D1,D2). One or more of the plurality of slots (9,11) is a failure detection slot (16,17) having an extended radial depth (E1,E2). When one of the detent pins (12,13) has failed, the opposing detent pin (12,13) is allowed to travel into the extended radial depth (E1,E2) when placed in the failure detection slot (16,17). This action reveals a failure indicator (18), providing a visual indication that one of the detent pins (12,13) has failed. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present disclosure relates generally to selector levers and, more particularly, to a failure detection mechanism for selector levers that may be found, for example, in the cockpit of an aircraft. Conventional aircraft are commonly equipped with a selector lever for manually controlling the actuation of flaps, ailerons, or other moveable features of the aircraft. The selector lever is mounted in the cockpit for the pilot to select the desired equipment configuration by moving the lever to a position corresponding to the desired equipment configuration. The conventional selector lever is typically constructed with a shaft rotatably arranged adjacent one or two detent plates. One or two detent pins corresponding to the detent plates are movably arranged on the shaft. This configuration provides a measure of redundancy that allows the selector lever to be functional after one detent pin has failed. The ability to detect the failure of one or both detent pins would reduce maintenance costs and improve aircraft safety. Accordingly, the industry is receptive to new developments that provide the capability to detect the failure of a detent pin. Disclosed herein is a selector lever that includes a shaft rotatably attached to a pivot. The pivot is disposed in a housing and the shaft extends from the housing. A slide is movably arranged on the shaft. First and second detent pins are operatively connected to the slide. A first detent plate is disposed in the housing having a first plurality of slots for receiving the first detent pin, each of the first plurality of slots having a first radial depth. At least one of the first plurality of slots is a first failure detection slot defined by a first extended radial depth that is greater than the first radial depth. A second detent plate is disposed in the housing having a second plurality of slots for receiving the second detent pin. At least one of the second plurality of slots is a second failure detection slot defined by a second extended radial depth that is greater than the second radial depth. A failure indicator is arranged to provide a visual indication when the either of the first or second detent pins enters the first or second extended radial depths, respectively. Another aspect of the disclosure provides a selector lever for actuating features of an aircraft. The selector lever includes a housing with a pivot disposed in the housing. A shaft is also arranged in the housing, a proximal end of the shaft being rotatably attached to the pivot with a distal end of the shaft extending from the housing. A slide is arranged to move along the shaft with first and second detent pins connected to the slide. A first detent plate is disposed in the housing having a first plurality of slots for receiving the first detent pin, each of the first plurality of slots having a first radial depth. At least one of the first plurality of slots is a first failure detection slot defined by a first extended radial depth that is greater than the first radial depth. A second detent plate is disposed in the housing having a second plurality of slots for receiving the second detent pin. A failure indicator is configured to provide a visual indication when the first pin is placed in the first failure detection slot The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, the disclosure provides various examples related to a selector lever for aircraft, whereas the advantages of the present disclosure as applied in a related field would be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. As shown in In operation, the operator moves the selector lever 1 from one position to another by first moving the slide 7 along the shaft 2 to disengage the first and second detent pins 12, 13 from the respective slot. As described above, the present disclosure provides a visual indication of a detent pin failure during the normal operation of the selector lever 1. The failure indication may be provided at one or more positions of the selector lever 1. For example, each incremental position of the selector lever 1, (for which a pair of corresponding slots has been provided, one in each detent plate), may include one first or second failure detection slot 16, 17. Also, the present disclosure provides a positive indication confirming that at least one of the detent pins remains intact. As those in the art will ascertain, the features described above are merely exemplary and may be provided in many forms to achieve some or all of the advantages herein. For example, Other configurations are also possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the selector lever may be provided with markings on the housing to indicate which of the first and second detent pins has failed in the event of a failure indication. While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. , do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. |