US2478546A - Rudder pedal adjusting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

' Aug. 9, 1949.

2 Sheetrs-Shet 1 Filed oct. 11, 1946 J2 INVENTORS I ll l'lll'am A. Pic/(ens Freeman D'Vl'ncenf Aug. 9, 1949. w. A. PICKENS ET AL 2,478,546

RUDDER PEDAL ADJUSTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS y Freeman .0 Vince/7f Jun/I'm A. PHI/(6N5 Patented Aug. 9, 1 949 V 234785546 I x RUBBER BEDALJADJUSTINGrMECHANISM William" A." Pi'okens; San Diego, and" Freeman- DWin'cent? 17a 001121.; Califi, a'ssig'nors to Consul}- datd wlte Aircraft =G'0rporation, San Diego; Giiiifdamomoratiomof Delaware Am licatibn fictoherzll, 1946,,SerialuN0. 7021388" This; inventionirelates'rto' airnlanexudderpedi als a'ndimore. particularly, to adjustingii mechanism therefor.

An objectof "the present invention lies in" the" provision of improvedr adjusting: mechanism? for rudderipedals. wh'ereby thaoperatingl position of 1 the:v rudder. pedalsow-ithih. the airplane may be readiiyctiangedl o Another; obj ect' oflthe invention is t'o. provide improyedmeansior. adjusting, the operating p osition of. rudder pedals. to. accommodate. pilots: havingsdiffrentlg lngtiis;

Anadditional object". of? the. invention, residesinotheprovision of; improved "adjusting, means for changingth'eoneratihg positinbfltwo co-agctirigl rudder pedals.v simultaneously, Without affecting; the. position :of the controhcables leading to rudder v A further. object istlie. providingof "improved" adjusting means. fol: changing-.Lthe operating, pp;- sitionofrudder. peda1s,..which a ciiustr'i'i'eni; may be maderwh'ile the airplane islin flight andwith out interfering with .the operation of the rudder pedals Qtisien objects and features. ofthe invention w-i1I'..be readilin apparent to, those: skilled in" the art'ifrom.theifoilowingespecification and "append ed drawings illustrating; certain preferred" em b'odi'inent's in which: a o

Figureiisiavplanrview of arudder. controrsys temembodying the rudderspedal adjustingmechanismofithepresentinvention; V

Figure 2-isi.a -.top.p1an view ofltheiadjustmentf mechanisms accordings to thepresenti invention Ei'gure 3 iSarSidB e1evationa1.view;;

Figurais astopipl'amview, enlargedQofi'the. adjusting;.mechani$m with i certain partsbroken awayjfonclarityzoi'disclosure; and

Eigureofi is alsectional mow showingltiie gear ingsystemzemployediby thaadJDstihgmechaniSm 1' ofnthecpresent invention. c

Referring. more, particularly to; the. drawings therewis shown-in Figure Lapairioflrudderipedah assemblies l0 and II which .areadapted, tonbe disposed in. the pilotiss compartment; imposition for operationiby. an operator andI connected by; control. cables 5 l2 1 and; [3; to ialusua'li rudder. I4}; withihe contrnli cable. IZYpassihg over a. mair r pnlleyflE and sLIitabI'e-pllllesrgJS, and-.lthacontroli cabies l 3= assing, were .main. pulley. I Iiandsuitiable pulleys:- IBQFY Eachsofltha rudder. pedal; as; semblies, l0 and; H; are; adaptedlindividfialli to? operateithetrudderiflfl V i For, efiectinga ohangeinsthe. operating ,Dbsi: tions 'of' the rudder pedal assemblies I0 and I1" 'z cl'imsr (01. 2114+) 1 to; adapt' it'ito the length of the '1'eg of tl'i'e'pfliit there are provided adjustingassemblies'fl and 22 which are supported on a" usual bulkhead -or other fixed portion of the fuselage: Each? of the rudder'pedai assemblies i Wand l i are adapt ed through their respective associated adjusting" assemblies '2! and 22410 be" individually and separately adjusted as desired;

Since each of the rudder pedal-assemblies;- HF and i i and their associated "adjustingessembliesf 2! and 22 are similar inconstflctibnbut oneof them will be described, which here -will be the rudder pedal assembly I0 and its adjustment assembly-2i 7 The rudder pedal. assembly 18 embodies a pair of usuai pedalsor" foot treads 23"-'and"23&-' each fixedly; hunted" onand between a; pair ofspaced" eiongate'd verticalor side= members zvan'difi w-hieh in turn" are? pivotally mounted at? theii'fi app ehd's to a bracket25 supported by'a" gem WU siiapedfixed"channehmember- 21. With? this" construction: the pedals 23 and' 236K are adapted to be swingingly moved, this i pivotal movement being" about the pivot "of members 2 1- and'iZEf 7 The adjdstiirgmechanism 2! for rudder assembly 19 comprises a" generallytriangular shaged? bracket 2'8 which" is rigidly" attached" to the aircraft strhctureqin any well "known man ner':

bracket 2.8-;

The bracket' fia includes two horizontally? spacedarmszt and" 3H} With-the arm ii i bein'gg provided with flange portion' 3 I; which 7 flange is riveted "or" otherwise" securedto a: bracamem ber'f to thereby supply; a further support for.

Disposed between the spaced; arms" 29* and 3f isa c'ontrol quadrant or pivotal member 32l'ha'v ing a wihgedportion and an elongatedipor= tiorr 34"extending;centrally,therefrom: This'cerrti'a'i portion" 3 is 'pivot'aliy, mounted at its: end

3? upon a? vertical shaft 361 is." supported;

shown) provided ithe'rein; andrpassed over pulley? I5 and thento the' rudderi4. A mounting g'gacket' 3 s 'supports pulley I 5 adj acent quadrant the pivot -provided"by shaftSfi, by ruddermed'al 235' through means" to he hereinafter described will effect movementiof cable If To; secure movement oilthe opliosite cable: l3"tiiereiis" providd' a link "memberwi which" operativelymom Rotative movement of quadrant32'; about" 7 nects quadrant 32 of adjusting assembly 2| to similar quadrant 32a of adjustin assembly 22 to which is attached cable l3 in a manner similar to the attachment of cable |2 to quadrant 32. Therefore when quadrant 32 is actuated by rudder pedal 23a, in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed-in Figure 2, connecting link 4| will also be actuated to effect movement of quadrant 32a, counter-clockwise, thereby moving cable i3 to operate rudder M.

A pair of oppositely directed lever members 42 and 43 are also pivoted upon shaft 36, the lever members 42 and 43 respectively being provided with horizontally spaced arms 42a and 42b, and 43a and 4% with one arm of each being located on a side of the extended portion 34 of quadrant 32 and at the point where it is pivotally mounted on this same shaft 36. Horizontally disposed connecting rods 44 and 45 interconnect the lever members 42 and 43 respectively to rudder pedals 23 and 230., with the ends 44aand 45a of the rods 44 and 45 pivotally connected to levers 42 and 43 and with their opposite ends pivotally connected to the vertical (2); side members 25 of the rudder pedals 23 and.

Carried by the extended portion 34 of quadrant 32 is a shaft 46 the ends of which are smooth faced and with the portion therebetween threaded to provide a worm. An annular bearin sur-- face 4? provided on extended portion 34 of quadrant 32 supports one end of worm 46. with the opposite end of the worm fitting into a recess :2; provided by the winged portion 33 of quadrant Supported by the worm 46 for longitudinal movement thereon is an internally threaded nutlike member Elongated link members 52 and 53 interconnect the two lever members 42 and 43 and the nut-like member 5|, one end of each link member 52 and 53 being pivotally attached to a lever member and the other end pivotally attached to traveling member 5|. Movement of nut-like member 5| on worm 46 will, through the connections described, effect pivotal movement of the lever members 42 and 43, as will be further hereinafter described.

Mounted on the right-hand end of the Worm 46, as viewed in the drawings, is a bevel gear 54, the bevel gear 54 being rigidly secured on Worm 46 by a pin or in any other well known manner. Rotatively mounted on shaft 36 is an idler bevel gear 55 having teeth 56 provided on its under surface which mate with bevel gear 54 and teeth 57 on its upper surface which mate with a bevel gear 58. The latter bevel gear 58 is carried by a shaft 6| which in turn is rotatively mounted on upwardly extending spaced lugs 62 and 63 which are integral with arm 29 of supporting bracket 26. Tubular member 64 is secured to an end of shaft 6| and forms a continuation thereof. Tubular member 64 passes through an opening in a support bracket 65 mounted on channel member 21 and into the pilots compartment. A knob 66 is secured to the end of tubular member 64 to facilitate manual rotation of tubular member 64 and shaft 6| and thereby effect rotation of bevel gear 58.

The operation of the invention will now be described:

When the pilot or operator of an aircraft equipped with the present invention desires to adjust the operating position of a pair of rudder pedals 23 and 23a to a position that is more comfortable and better adapted to the length of his legs, it is necessary for him only to rotate knob 66 which will effect a movement of the rudder pedals forward or aft, dependent on the direction of rotation of the knob; rotation of knob 66 is continued until the rudder pedals are disposed in the desired position.

As is obvious from the drawings, rotation of knob 66 will rotate shaft" 6| and bevel gear 56 affixed thereon. Rotation of bevel gear 58 will effect rotation of the idler gear 55 which mates with bevel gear 58; the moving idler gear 55 will then cause rotation of bevel gear 54 carried by worm 46 to thereby effect rotation of worm 46 with a resultant longitudinal movement of the nut-like member 5| upon the worm, with forward or aft longitudinal movement being dependent on the direction of rotation of the worm 46. The nut-like member 5| moving along the worm 46 will effect pivotal movement of the levers 42 and 43 about shaft 36 through means of the connections therewith afforded by the link elements 52 and 53. The levers 42 and 43 being connected to the vertical members 25 of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a by connecting rods 44 and 45 will, when themselves rotated about their common pivot 36 by traveling member 5|, cause a pivotal movement of the rudder pedals to the desired new position. Movement of the traveling member 5| forwardly on worm 46, that is away from the pilot, will therefore rotate levers 42 and 43 about their common pivot 36 to rotate vertical members 25 about their pivots to move the rudder pedals 23 and 23a forwardly and away from the pilot thereby placing them in operating position for the longer legged pilot. Movement of the traveling member 5| aft (toward the pilot) on the worm 46 will rotate levers 42 and 43 in the opposite direction to effect movement of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a toward the pilot, thereby placing them in position to be operated by a shorter legged pilot. The forward and aft positions that may be assumed by levers 42 and 43 are indicated in dotted outline in Figure 4.

It is here specifically pointed out that the adjustment of the operating position of the rudder pedals may be made when the airplane is in flight and even though flight conditions may be such that one of the rudder pedals is being held in a forward position, as when a strong side wind is present. I

Adjustment of the operating position of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a may be secured also by electrical means if so desired. The alternate arrangement involves the substitution of an electric motor 61, shown in dotted outline in Figure 3, for the knob 66 and the long tubular element 64. drive directly shaft 6| and rotate bevel gear 58 and thereby effect the adjustment of the rudder pedals. The motor 61 should be of the reversible type to permit rotation of bevel gear 58 in either direction to obtain fore and aft adjustment of the rudder pedals. The motor 61 can be controlled by a switch, not shown, disposed in the pilot's compartment.

With the rudder pedals 23 and 23a disposed in the operating position best suited to the legs of the pilot, movement of rudder M in a desired direction may then be secured by movement of the appropriate rudder pedal 23 or 23a. Movement of the rudder pedals 23 and-23a will effect pivotal movement of the quadrant 32 which will actuate the cables l2 and I3 to move the rudder 4. For example, movement of rudder pedal 23 by the foot of the operator will move connecting The electric motor 61 will be arranged to rod 44 to rotate lever 42 about its pivot 36. Lever 42 will through link member 52 apply force on the nut-like member 5| to thereby rotate quadrant 32 in a counter-clockwise direction about shaft 36 to pull on cable I2 to rotate the rudder l4 clockwise. To effect movement of the rudder H1 in the opposite direction rudder pedal 23a is moved forward to actuate connecting rod 45 to pivot lever 43 and effect rotative movement of quadrant 32 in a counter-clockwise direction thereby moving connecting link 4| downwardly to effect counter-clockwise movement of quadrant 32a to provide a pull on cable I3 which will move rudder l4 counter-clockwise. It is understood that rudder assembly may be omitted and only one set of rudder pedals provided for efiecting operation of the rudder [4. case the cable l3 would be connected to quadrant 32 at a point opposite the point of attachment of cable I2, so that rotative movement of quadrant 32 in opposite directions will provide a pulling force on first one cable and then the other.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been specifically disclosed it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto as many variations will be readily ap-' parent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest possible interpretation within the terms of the following claims;

What is claimed is: I

1. Rudder control mechanism comprising a pair of co-acting rudder pedals, means pivotally mounting said rudder pedals in operating position, a quadrant member, a shaft on which said member is pivotally mounted, rudder control cables operatively connected to said pivotal member for movement thereby, a pair of lever members pivotally mounted on said shaft, connecting mean pivotally secured to said lever members and said rudder pedals to join said lever members to said rudder pedals to permit the latter to effect pivotal movement of the former, an elongated externally threaded member mounted for rotative movement on said quadrant and bodily movable with said quadrant, a nut member carried by said threaded member and movable longitudinally thereupon on rotation of said threaded member, link means pivotally attached at the ends thereof to said lever members and said nut'member to interconnect said lever members with said movable nut member whereby said lever members when actuated by said rudder pedals move said quadrant member to operate said rudder control cables, a bevel gear carried by said threaded member, a gear mounted on said shaft which mounts said quadrant member and said pair of lever members, said gear mating with said bevel gear and being adapted to effect movement thereof to rotate said threaded member to move In this the nut member carried thereon relative to said quadrant member to actuate said lever members to change the operating position of said rudder pedals, and means actuable from a remote point to operate said gear.

2. Rudder control mechanism comprising a pair of co-acting rudder pedals, means pivotally mounting said rudder pedals in operating position, a quadrant member, a shaft on which said member is pivotally mounted at one end, rudder control cables operatively connected to said pivotal member at the end opposite its pivotal mounting for movement thereby, a pair of lever members, pivotally mounted at one of their ends on said shaft, connecting means pivotally secured to said lever members and said rudder pedals to join said lever members to said rudder pedals to permit the latter to effect pivotal movement of the former, an elongated externally threaded member, spaced bearing surfaces provided by said quadrant 'for supporting said threaded member for rotative movement on said quadrant, a nut member carried by said threaded member and movable longitudinally thereupon on rotation of said threaded member, link means pivotally attached at the ends thereof to said lever members and said nut member to interconnect said lever members with said movable nut member whereby said lever members when actuated by said rudder pedals move said quadrant member to operate said rudder control cables, a bevel gear carried by said threaded member, an idler gear mounted on said shaft which mounts said quadrant member and said pair of lever members, said idler gear mating with said bevel gear and being adapted to effect movement thereof to rotate said threaded member to move the nut member carried thereon relative to said quadrant member to actuate said lever members tochange the operating position of said rudder pedals, a second bevel gear adapted to move said idler gear, and manually operable means for actuating said second bevel gear from a remote position.

WILLIAM A. PICKENS. FREEMAN DVINCENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,902,094 Page Mar. 21, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 99,858 Sweden July 18, 1940 321,087 Great Britain Oct. 21, 1929 526,026 Great Britain Sept. 10, 1940 668,292 Germany Nov. 30, 1938

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