1、-立一建、如 1IPA.TENT SPECIFICATIONConvention Date(United States): March 17, 1936. Application Date (In United Kingdom): March 17, /937. CompleteSpecification Accepted: Sept. 19.1938.COMPLETE SPECIFICATION492,289No.7821/37.Improvements in or relating to MechanicsPlatforms for Aircraft Ve,UNITED .A.IRCRAI

2、.l.可 CORPORATION, a and which is adapted to be secured in corporation organized uncler the Laws ofclosed position in which it constitutes 55 the State of Delaware, T 了 nit ed States ofpart of the stream line or aerofoil area, America, 0 400,South Main Street,and which ran he supported in a hori-5 Ea

3、stHartford,. Connecticut,_Unitedzcmtal position when -open to provide a States of America, do hereby declare theplatform. for the support of -a person nature of thisinveniionancl inwhatengagecl in duties necessary to, the -opera- 60 manner the same is to be performed, to hetion of the aircraft ancl

4、including nieans par_ticularly d, erihecl and aRcertainecl inmovably _attached_ to the movable portion10 andhy the-following statement :S? as to 15e mov d outwardly to iii,crease Thi invention refates to improvemE!ntsthe ar:_ea_o the platfo 皿 bey nd that con-in mechanicsplatforms and has partfou-tai

5、ned in th-e aerofoil surface of the65 1ar reference to the ap.plication of amovable portioIl mechanicsplatform to aircraft. )n th e ccompanying rlrawings there is15An object 0 the invent.ion resides inillustrated a suitable mechanical embodi the provi,sion in aircra.t 0 a movablement 0 the idea of t

6、he invention and oneport1on which may be moved to one posi-smnewhat modified orm thereof.The 70 tion to provide a- suitable support :for ad a- ings, _however,are for the purpose person engaged induties necessary orof_ illustr_ation only and are nof to- be20 incidental- fo the operation of the- air-t

7、aken a limiting the invention, the scope crat. and may at other times be movedoj which is to ne measured entirely 1iytopo;ition in whi h itorms a con-the scope _of the appended. claims vv75tinuation of-the stream lined or aerofoilIn the dr awings：一 surface or the aircrat. and in the provi-_ Figure 1

8、 is a top plan view of an aero- 25 sion of means by whfoh the 杠ead surfacepla.ne, in this instanee a murti-motored of the pla媯for m may be extended, ifflymgboat, showingthe ocation of the佃 ired, t increase the area thereofand:mechanicsplatforms in the structure of80of means for supporting and mainta

9、iningthe aeroplane;the movable secti -on i-n either 0 its oper-Figure 2 is a side elevational view of30 ative positions._t!i,e ying_ boat il1.:1 trated _ in _ Figu:r:e_ 1 Other objects andadvantages will beshowing the movable section in position more particular_ly pointed out-hereinaterto provide a

10、_platform or the support of 85 or will become- ap-parent as the descrip-a person working on one of the eng 江 es, tion procee s. - -_ _cer ain_ p rtio_ns -0_ the_ a roplane _ bei!l,g36It- has been proposed to provide ao_mitted _for the sake of clea.rness in the retractable servicln plat.form built in

11、toill s_tration;the leading edge of the wing of_ an air-ign:r:_e 3 _is a sectional v eVI.: on _ an 90 crat, and -which in dosed position con-enlarged scale of a portion of the wing stitutes a continuation of the stream lineshowing a mechani-csplat fo 血 ， which40 or -aerofoil area, ancl which can be

12、swungordinarily orms a portion of the leading rlownwardto sucha position that aeclge of the.wing, in extended position; mechanic can easily reach the engine anrl_ Figure 4_ is a view similar to Figure_ 3 95 its ac-ces:sories. It has also been pro-showing themechaniesplatfo皿iIl posed to pr 吐 1e an en

13、trance door for teretra(ted position in which it fo 而 s a45 hull or fuselage of an aircraft situated inco_ntinuation of the leading edge of the the nose of the hull of a door capable 0wing.being lowered about hinges to serve as_ Referring:_to_ the dr in_gs_jn deta l, 100entrance stepst.othe numeral

14、10 generally indicates theAcc(rc1_inithe prese12- invention_ih ll 01_; fu elage ot a f! ing boat.o!.aero- 60 aireraft having a trea_m 1ine., or a_erofoilplane. h ving a_ wi12,g 1? 1 pon .:hich :r:e STtrf.ace area a:movable portion is pro-inotrnted a-plnralfty of- engines 14.vided in saidarea hinged

15、to the:fixedObviously the -number of engines whether 105 portion thereofalong its bottom edge,one or more, or the mounting of the Pl油i1月 2 492,289engines whether directl;y upon the 而 ng or in some location adja-cent to the wing 12 or hull 10 is in no way a limitation upon the scope of this invention

16、. the particular5 丑 ying boat illustrated being shown for tlie purpose of illustrating the invention only.In the construction illiistrated, the engines are lll0nnted 飛 pon. J.he mou:r_iti 哩 IO rin-gs 16, particularly illustrated inFigure 3, which mouniiI:g rings are rigidly connected to the wing shu

17、dure by means of suitable bra-ces 18 so that the engines are positioned_ immedi:at-ely. in15 front of the leading edge of the w.ing.Preferably -each eng-ine is enclosed in a streamlined cowl 20oaL.d the engine sup porting.structure is encl()s d in a suit_!:bl streamUned.nacelle22.An,aeronautical20 p

18、ropeller 24 is positioned in front of each engine and i,s rotatable by the engine to provide the prnpulsive forcenecessaryor the operation of the aerop1ane. mThe I ding e_dg!) of_ the wing 12 i$ provided25 11 仰 n :.ea-ch.s.Me 9 each of. the engine 邱 ceIles 22 with a mo 飛 rah1e portion 26 particularl

19、y illustrafoc:l in Fig-ure 1 and shown in detail in Fign 吁 s 3 and 4.In the caseof an aeroplan_e sueh as is30 illstrated in Figure l, having four engines mounted on, or adjacent to. the wing, -there are provileil eight plat forms, any one, or any mm1ber of whicl1 may be extended to pro 吐 le a platfo

20、rn135 for the support: of a person engaged in duties in connection with an en.gine or the engines.It ii?, o_f co:urse, not. :the intentionthat thesepJ 吐伈n ps -win. be _ll el. whjle t.he40 aer.oplane or flying boat is in flight, but are for use _ during mainten 們 nceand repafr work at the aeroplane t

21、erminus and for em-ergency work 寸 hen the aero p11!,ne Ji.as been grounded and pRrtieularlv45 in the caseof a 丑ying boat, as ill1Jstr at侖d, when the bpat has leen for l 打own upon the_ sifrface of tb.e water. In the use _of theplafform, prefe:rably the two,plat forms .lpon. the.opposite sides of Jhe5

22、0 engine requiring atte.ntion are extendeaat the sa-metime. ana, if(1esired. a uet or hammock mav be :suspended between thefall within the scope of the appended claims.Referring to Figures 3 -and 4, the wing12 is provided interiorly thereofand adjacent to its leading edge with a longi- 70 tudinal sp

23、ar generally indicated at 28.and comprising upper and lower members30 and 32 工 especti rnly which may be formed 0 extruded aluminium or 0 steeland preferably have a substantially T 75 section comprisinga 且ang-underl歸the surface of the wing. aIl(1 a. eb portiollextending from the flange vert1ca1ly in

24、io the interior of the wing.The leadingedge of the wing is attarherl to tlii s 丑ang80 member, preferably by lemov-able mean 、 such as screws so that the entire leading edge may be.remoYed if lesired to pro vide access for insper!ion and mam- tenance operations iipon the structure 85 within the wing.

25、The sections 26 of this leadingedge whichconstitutethe mechanicsplatform arehingedalongtheir lower edges by mean,; of suitable hing-e j oin 休 34, either to supporting 90 structures 36 attached to thelower wingspar member 32 or directly to the flange 1;ortion 0 the ineniber 32 as may 1;e desired. A 丑

26、 ap member 38 is hinged tothe upper edge- of each of the movable 95sections by 1nans _of a similar hinge joint. 40 and is provirled with a plurality of securil!g members 42 in the form of bayonet slot screws by means of,rhfrhthe edge of the 廿 ap1emote from tlie 10011:inge 40 ma be detachaLl_v connec

27、ted to tlw flange portion of the up.per spar mem - her 30 婦 pa! tirularlr illusfraterl _in Figure 4. Each movahle portion of thele dfng _edge is provi_ded :wit a suitahle 105 reinforcing construction in the form of Rpaced parallel transverse ribs 44 and. if desired, may be additionally reinforcedhy

28、means of spaced longitudinal rnemlier.,46.The rib members 44 extend from 110 one edge to the other of themornh!e section _and arecun-ed to follow the a1:rofoil ecti_on of the leading edge of thewing. T_he hi ge.! 34 and 40 ar; rigidly conneeted to the opposite ends. of th e 滬 115 reinforcing 、 rib .

29、 member.l o that themovablesection when extended as ilh 氐 two pl-at fom立 s . beneath th engine torated in Figure 3 will constitute a solideatch any_ parts_ -or_ fools that. may_ he55 dropped and prevent their falling- into+he water,and being lost.袒 In Figure-. _3 a:o.d 4 there _isillustraterl a spee

30、ific 社 r uct ure for a suitah1e nlechanicsp1atforlll for 1he t 燈 rp e of air-60 era 灶 打 Iustraf ed in Fign1e1. If is t() 加 - 、 undersfood 加 weve-r. that the invention is p.ot limit d to the s_pecifff. construction so ilIustrated and preently to be described, but that siueh a range of65 eq_uivalent s

31、tructures is contemplated asan_cLrigid ;rnppo:rt.Tl1e mov_ab1e. section is supported in 120!ie extendedposition illustratedin:Figure 3 by means of a pair of link mem hers 48 nd fiO pivotall_ : connected to the upper edge of the movahJe section and tot e UQp_er sJmr mernlwr 30 by me:-ins of 125 pi 丫

32、otal braPes 52 all(1 54 respect i 下 ely. If歸 rerl, the joint 54 may be support 叫upon 3:._ bracket member 56 extending: utwarilly. and d_ownwardly from the:flange portion of the upper spar member 1308 492,28930. The tw-0link members 48 and 50 are connected together by means of an_ elbow joint which c

33、omprises the pivota:l joint 58 and a iitop pin 60 carried b_y an exten-5 sion on one of the link lll(:;mbers, in the constructionillustmted. the stop pin being carriecl below the link Ill.ember 48 by an extension upon the low_er e d of the upper link member 50.When the10 movable .ection is moved to

34、its retracted position illustrate(lin Figure 4. the link members 48 and 50 fold into the 1.,pa:re within the wing immediatfly in front of the spar 28.15 Ea(h mov,able section 26 is providedbetween the ends 0 t he reinforcing ribs 44 with a tread member 62 which consti tutes a platform upon the upper

35、 surface of the movable section when the section is20 in the extended position illustrated in Figure 3. For the sake of lightness this tread member is prefe.ralily formed of a piece of corrugated sheet metal, or if desired, may be formed of a plurality of25 bars made 11p of sheet metal bent to a U.s

36、ection. rrhi member is pemnanently secured along its opposite edges to the opposite ends of the reinforcing ribs 44 by suitable means surh as the rivets 64.80 _rn c_ases where the leading edge of the wi 噸 does not have a su:fficient thickness to provide a platform of comfortable 滬 ze, it has been fo

37、llllr1 desirable toincrease the size of tbe platform by con-85 necting to the movable section or to the tread member 62, a treacl extension such as is indicated at 66 in Figure 3. The tread extension 613 is preferably con nected by means of a,;uitable hinge 6840 to the outer edge of the tread memb-e

38、r 62 so that it may he swung from a position in which it overlies the -tread -member 62 as illustrated in Figure 4 to the extended po ition illustrated in Figure 3. Prefer-45 ably the hinge connection 68 is reinforced by,suitable means such as the bracket 70如 dly secnred to the outer ends of therein

39、forcing ribs 44 and the outeredge oi the tread Illember 62. The tread exten-50 sion 66 is also preferably forI11ed of corn1gated sheet metal or a plurality of spaced para1lel.b?rs of sheet metal formed to a U section and is provided along its outer edge with a reinforcing55 channel member 72 npo.n w

40、hich are per manently secured a pair of bra:ckets 74 which carry connection 7fi for the lower ends of a pair of cables 78 which extend f?om the outer edge of the treaa exten-60 sion to the upper portion of the links 50 as illustrated in Figure 3 or to the upper spar member 30, it being understood. o

41、f cour:,e, that there is one set of links 48 and 50, and one cable 78 at each end of65 each of the movable section1;1 26,Wh the aircraft is in flight -them o 平able section is secured in the position illustrated in Figure 4 in,vhich it.01,ms a smooth -continuation of the aerofoil contour of the (adin

42、g e1ge of the,villg.I70 this po ifomthe upportinglinks and伴 bles the tread member and tread exten sion are all folded within the interior of the wing and there is no stn1ct ue pr?: jecting utside of the wing whichwouhl 75in any way interrupt the r,rnooth contClur of the wing leading edge. Th_e mo 飛

43、rabl e Redion is inaintained in the r et 諒 cted position illustrated in Figure 4 by meansof the bayonet,slot s(rews 42 which 80 extend through the o_1ward portion ofthe flange of the 11pper spar member 30 and engage larking pins 80 carried upon the undersurf.are of the flange. In this 呻 acted positi

44、on the movable section is 85,.olidIY. atta(hed to the fixed stru,cture of the wing and constitutes an operative portion of the wing leading edge.When it is 01md nece sary or desirable to make adiustments or r;pairs to an 90叩 g-i ne, the movable sections adjacent to the enginP or respective engines _

45、are moved -to the extended positfon illus trated in Fignre 3 by releasing the screws42 and swinging- the sectlons down- 95warclly about the hinged connections 34 to a subsfantially horizontal position. 1- Yith the movable sections located in the horizontal position, the tread exten,sion66 may be swn

46、ng outwardly to provide 100 platforms of adequate and comfortablesize adjacent to the opposite sides of the respeciive engine and propeller so that mechanics may work o 五 the engines lnd propellers 1,yhile eupported upon the plat- 105 forms adjacent thereto.飛 Y hile there has been illustrated and de

47、scribed a specific- constr 讓 ction al form of the idea of the invention, it is to be understood that. the invention is not 110 limited to the particular construction so illu,strnted and-de cribed 、 but that such changes in the size, shape, and arrange ment of parts may be resorted to as -comewithin

48、the scope of the appended claims. 115 Having- now particularly described andascertained the nature 01 our said inven tion and in what manner the same i,s to be performed, we declare that what weclaim is: -1201. An aircraft havi.ng a stream line or aerofoil surface area in which a movable portion is provided in said area, hinged to th e 缸 ed portion _ thereof along itsbottom edge and which is adapted -to be 125 secured in closed position in wh.ich it con stitutes part of the stream line or aerofoil area, anc! which can be s