Patents Assigned to Messier
  • Publication number: 20080303726
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft undercarriage including at least one axle having at least one wheel mounted to rotate thereon, the undercarriage including a communication device for connecting a sensor mounted on a rim of the wheel to stationary processor means mounted on the aircraft. According to the invention, the communication device comprises firstly an antenna secured to the sensor and thus rotating together with the wheel, and secondly a stationary antenna extending at the end of the axle and connected to the processor means, the two antennas being in radio communication through a cover of non-conductive material secured to the wheel and covering the end of the axle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventors: Jean-Clair PRADIER, Thomas Lavaud
  • Publication number: 20080302614
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft brake for braking a wheel received on an axle presenting in succession a large-diameter cylindrical upstream portion, a conical portion, and a smaller-diameter cylindrical downstream portion suitable for receiving the wheel, the brake comprising: a stack of disks; a structural engaged on the axle and having the disks mounted thereon, the structural part comprising a support member for receiving braking actuators and including a centering portion for centering the structural part on the upstream cylindrical portion of the axle; and a torsion tube receiving the disks, the torsion tube being made integrally with the support member and the centering bearing surface and extending substantially to extend the centering bearing surface in register with the conical portion of the axle; and a braking force takeup member separably fitted on a free end of the torsion tube remote from the centering bearing surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventor: Jean Souetre
  • Publication number: 20080302613
    Abstract: The invention relates to a wheel-and-brake assembly for an aircraft, the assembly comprising: a wheel having a rim for mounting on an aircraft axle; and a brake comprising a stack of disks with alternating stator disks that are stationary in rotation and rotor disks mounted to rotate with the wheel. According to the invention, the assembly comprises a drum extending around the disks to be interposed between the disks and the rim, the drum including drive means for driving the rotor disks in rotation and fastener means for fastening the drum to the rim of the wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventor: Jean Souetre
  • Publication number: 20080303727
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft undercarriage including at least one axle having at least one wheel mounted to rotate thereon, the undercarriage including a communication device for connecting a sensor mounted on a rim of the wheel to stationary processing means mounted on the aircraft, the communication device comprising a rotary antenna mounted on the wheel rim to rotate therewith and connected to the sensor, and a stationary antenna facing said rotary antenna so that the antennae are in electromagnetic relation, said stationary antenna being connected to the processing means, wherein the stationary antenna and the rotary antenna extend on the inner side of the wheel facing the undercarriage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventors: Jean-Clair PRADIER, Bertrand MAES
  • Patent number: 7454275
    Abstract: An airplane undercarriage including a shock absorber having first and second portions that are movable relative to each other. The undercarriage further including a first wave transceiver assembly disposed on the first movable portion. The assembly includes a first transmitter for transmitting a first wave towards the second movable portion and a first receiver for receiving the first wave after it has been reflected on an obstacle formed by a mechanical part secured to the second movable portion. The undercarriage also includes an independent second wave transceiver assembly disposed on the first movable portion. The second assembly includes a second transmitter for transmitting a second wave towards the second movable portion, and a second receiver for receiving the second wave after it has been reflected on an obstacle formed by a free surface of a hydraulic fluid contained in the shock absorber or a mechanical part defining the free surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Dowty S.A.
    Inventor: Christelle Seror
  • Patent number: 7426983
    Abstract: A damper for an airplane landing gear leg comprises a main strut (11) and a rod piston (13) co-operating with the strut (11) to define a main chamber (15) and annular chamber (16) for hydraulic fluid, and presenting internally two adjacent chambers (19, 20) that are isolated from each other by a separator piston (21). The damper (10) further comprises a first secondary strut (26) telescopically Slidable on the above-mentioned rod piston (13), and a second secondary strut (37) telescopically slidable on the other end of the first secondary strut (26). The two second annular chambers (31, 40) as defined in this way are respectively connected to associated control circuits thus enabling the total length of the damper to be shortened or lengthened respectively for the purpose of causing the landing gear to contract or to be extended.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Dowty SA
    Inventors: Dominique Ducos, Jean-François Locufier, Ian Bennett, David Smart
  • Publication number: 20080217107
    Abstract: This invention provides a pin assembly that is self-lubricating and includes a pin, a pin insert that is received within the pin and a quantity of lubricating agent. The present invention also provides an insert for a pin that may be used in a pin joint that contains an automatic lubrication dispensing mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2008
    Publication date: September 11, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-DOWTY INC.
    Inventor: R. Kyle SCHMIDT
  • Publication number: 20080203217
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for managing a steering control of an aircraft landing gear provided with at least one wheel steerable by the steering control, comprising the following steps: monitoring one or several taxi parameter(s) (51, 54, 64, 59, 61) of the aircraft to determine whether said aircraft enters a towing situation, setting the steering control in a free steering mode of the steerable wheel, if the aircraft enters the towing situation; activating the steering control so that the steerable wheel has an angular controlled steering by the steering control if the aircraft leaves said towing situation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2007
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventor: David FRANK
  • Patent number: 7416156
    Abstract: Disclosed is an arrangement in which the main landing gear assemblies of a large commercial airplane are each joined to the airplane at four attachment points. Two of the attachment points connect the landing gear side brace and drag brace to the airplane. The two remaining attachment points are aft and forward trunnions that are mounted to the airplane wing. The aft trunnion pivotally connects one side of the landing gear shock strut to the airplane and carries both vertical and torsional loading. The forward trunnion is pivotally connected to the other side of the shock strut by a trunnion link. An actuator is coupled between the shock strut and the trunnion link. When the landing gear is down and locked the actuator is not activated and the trunnion link does not have the rigidity and stiffness required to transfer vertical loads to the forward trunnion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Dowty (USA), Inc.
    Inventor: Roland Hinton
  • Publication number: 20080201025
    Abstract: The invention provides a method of managing the braking of an aircraft having a plurality of brakes comprising friction elements, the method comprising the following steps for at least one group (12, 13) of brakes: estimating an energy level (?E) to be dissipated by the brakes of the group; and estimating individual braking setpoints (Fi) for each of the brakes of the group so that the individual braking setpoints make it possible, at least under normal operating conditions of the brakes, to implement braking that dissipates said energy level, the individual braking setpoints also being determined so as to satisfy at least one other given operating objective.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2007
    Publication date: August 21, 2008
    Applicant: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Stephane Dellac, Arnaud Jacquet, Gerard Leon Gissinger, Michel Basset, Yann Chamaillard, Jean-Pierre Garcia
  • Patent number: 7404921
    Abstract: Free fibers (10) are deposited on a rotary support turntable (30) by means of a hollow deposition cone (40) having an outer wall surrounding a chamber and pierced by multiple perforations. The fibers are delivered to the outer surface of the perforated wall of the cone (40) in a cone feed zone that is remote from the zone for deposition on the turntable (30), and they are then held by suction being established inside the chamber, leading to suction through the perforations in the cone, so as to be transported by rotation of the cone from the cone feed zone to the zone for deposition on the turntable, and the fibers cease to be held on the cone in the deposition zone by localized interruption of the suction through the perforations in the wall of the cone, at least in said zone, such that the transported fibers are deposited on the turntable which is rotated about its own axis simultaneously with the cone being rotated. The fibers deposited on the rotary turntable (30) may be compacted and needled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventor: Renaud Duval
  • Patent number: 7401869
    Abstract: The invention relates to an architecture for a braking system for an airplane fitted with a plurality of undercarriages each carrying a plurality of wheels, at least some of which are fitted with brakes, the architecture comprising at least two braking computers each having two modules such that in each computer, one of the modules controls a first fraction of the brakes and the other module controls a second fraction of the brakes complementary to the first. According to the invention, the architecture is configured to operate in any one of the following modes of operation: a first normal mode in which both modules of one of the braking computers are active for controlling all of the brakes; a second normal mode in which both modules of the other braking computer are active for controlling all of the brakes; and an alternative mode in which one module of one of the braking computers and one module of the other braking computer are active for controlling all of the brakes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Stéphane Mallevais, Jean-Pierre Garcia
  • Patent number: 7395905
    Abstract: The invention provides an electromechanical actuator for a vehicle brake, the actuator comprising: a motor; a screw-and-nut system having a first element, the screw or the nut, rotated by the motor; and an antirotation member preventing rotation of the second element of the screw-and-nut system, the nut or the screw, so that the second element moves linearly in response rotation of the motor so as to exert compression selectively on friction elements of the brake. According to the invention, the actuator is subdivided into a first portion comprising the screw-and-nut system, and a second portion comprising the motor, the portions being designed to be separable while the actuator is mounted on a brake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Sylvain Solignat, Patrick Baldassara
  • Patent number: 7394242
    Abstract: A tachometer for an aircraft wheel mounted on an axle to rotate about an axis of rotation. The tachometer has a stationary part secured to the axle and a rotary part driven in rotation by the wheel. The stationary part and the rotary part are mountable independently on the axle and on the wheel, respectively, and have portions facing each other in a radial direction. A sensor and a target element carried by the stationary and rotary parts portions that extend facing each other in a radial direction and are in register with each other in a radial direction. The portion secured to the rotary part extends inside the axle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Jean-Clair Pradier, Thomas Lavaud
  • Publication number: 20080154471
    Abstract: The invention provides a braking control method for a vehicle having a plurality of wheels fitted with tires and with brakes, the control method including generating a braking setpoint for each wheel in response to a braking order, and comprising the following steps for each wheel: regularly updating a grip model Ca/C0=fq1, . . . qn (?) representative of a relationship between a coefficient of friction and a wheel slip rate; using the regularly rest grip model and its characteristic shape to establish in a given prediction horizon, the variation for the braking setpoint that, while complying with the braking order and predictable variation therein during the prediction horizon, also complies with a given calculation constraint; and retaining as the value for the braking setpoint a value of the variation as determined in this way that corresponds to a first calculation cycle in the prediction horizon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 26, 2008
    Applicant: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Garcia, David Frank, Gérard Léon Gissinger, Michel Basset, Yann Chamaillard, Arnaud Jacquet
  • Publication number: 20080111023
    Abstract: The invention provides a telescopic member comprising a cylinder in which a rod carrying a piston is mounted to slide telescopically, the telescopic member including internal abutment means that are overridable over a predetermined force when the rod comes into abutment inside the cylinder in the shortening direction, wherein the internal abutment means comprise an abutment piece extending in an open bore within the rod and projecting therefrom, the abutment piece being held to the rod via a pin.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Publication date: May 15, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-DOWTY SA
    Inventors: ANDRE LAHARGOU, MARC BRUNE
  • Publication number: 20080111022
    Abstract: The invention relates to a shock absorber for an aircraft undercarriage, the shock absorber comprising a main cylinder in which a rod is mounted to slide telescopically, the shock absorber having one or more pneumatic chambers filled with gas, a supply of hydraulic fluid, and throttle means for throttling the hydraulic fluid such that when the shock absorber is shortened, the gas in the pneumatic chamber(s) is compressed and the hydraulic fluid is throttled, in which the pneumatic chamber(s) is/are fully contained in one or more auxiliary cylinders external to the main cylinder, and in each of which a sealed piston is slidably mounted to separate a pneumatic chamber contained in said external auxiliary cylinder from a fluid chamber in fluid flow communication with the main cylinder. According to the invention, the throttle means are disposed at the inlet of a fluid flow connection between the main cylinder and the auxiliary cylinder(s).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Publication date: May 15, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-DOWTY SA
    Inventors: ANDRE LAHARGOU, MARC BRUNE
  • Patent number: 7369922
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system architecture for managing aircraft landing gear and suitable for extending/retracting retractable undercarriages, steering steerable wheels, and braking braked wheels. According to the invention, the architecture comprises a communications network having connected thereto extension/retraction actuators, steering actuators, and braking actuators, together with one or more control units adapted to control all of the actuators connected thereto, the communications network having transmission characteristics that are adapted to enabling the control unit(s) to implement antilock servo-control for controlling the braking actuators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventor: Jean-Pierre Garcia
  • Patent number: 7367892
    Abstract: An actuator includes: at least one drive motor; an outlet (22); an adjustable torque limiter which is disposed between the/each motor and the outlet (22), the torque limiter having a mobile element (100) which is used to set the maximum torque transmitted; and a case which houses the motor and the torque limiter. The case is provided with an opening (110) for accessing the mobile element (100) used to set the maximum torque transmitted and the torque limiter is mounted in the case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventor: Cedric Zordan
  • Publication number: 20080087766
    Abstract: The invention relates to an architecture for a hydraulic system for operating the landing gear of an aircraft including at least one pressure source and at least one hydraulic return, the system having a hydraulic circuit comprising a first hydraulic line that, when pressurized, causes the landing gear to be lowered, and a second hydraulic line that, when pressurized, causes the landing gear to be raised, said lines being selectively pressurized by means of a hydraulic distribution member comprising at least an isolation valve and a selector for putting one of the lines into communication with pressure and the other line into communication with return.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: MESSIER-BUGATTI
    Inventors: David LEUTARD, Eric FELEMEZ, Sebastien FREMIOT