Aircraft landing gear with integrated brake actuation system

Abstract

An aircraft brake assembly, wherein the actuator portion of the brake assembly is no longer provided as part of the brake assembly but instead as part of the aircraft landing gear. Accordingly, the actuator portion or individual actuators assemblies are designated as Line Replacement Units (LRUs), which are replaceable independently of other brake components, e.g., the torque tube and heat sink, which then comprise the brake assembly designated as a separate LRU. This new arrangement is particularly suited to electro-mechanically actuated brakes, where actuator maintenance intervals will typically be more closely related to landing gear maintenance intervals than to brake maintenance (i.e., hydraulic actuator and/or heat sink maintenance). The invention also provides for more effective and desirable mounting of one or more electromechanical actuators wherein reactionary loads are transferred in compression as opposed to in tension through mounting bolts or other removable fasteners.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A wheel and brake assembly comprising a wheel support, a wheel rotatably mounted on the wheel support, a torque transfer member coupled to the wheel support for transfer of torque from the brake disk stack to the wheel support during braking, a brake disk stack supported on the torque tube, and an actuator assembly mounted on the wheel support for applying braking force to the brake disk stack, wherein the brake disk stack and torque transfer member are removable from the wheel support without removal of the actuator assembly.  
     
     
         2 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the brake disk stack is carried on the torque transfer member and removable therewith as a unit from the wheel support.  
     
     
         3 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the actuator includes a plurality of actuator modules individually removably mounted to the wheel support.  
     
     
         4 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the wheel support has at least one flange thereon to which the actuator modules are mounted.  
     
     
         5 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the actuator modules have a mounting flange secured to an outboard side of the at least one flange.  
     
     
         6 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the actuator modules have mounting flanges abutting axially outwardly facing mounting surfaces on the wheel support.  
     
     
         7 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the torque transfer member is a torque tube having a mounting ring, and wherein the mounting ring is retained on the wheel support by a retainer and a thrust bearing interposed between the retainer and the mounting ring.  
     
     
         8 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the torque transfer member is relatively rotatable on the wheel support, and the torque transfer member and wheel support include a cooperating lug and recess interengaged to transfer torque for the torque transfer member to the wheel support.  
     
     
         9 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 8 , including a load transducer interposed between the lug and recess for sensing the transferred braking load.  
     
     
         10 . A wheel and brake assembly comprising a wheel support, a wheel rotatably mounted on the wheel support, a torque transfer member coupled to the wheel support for transfer of torque from the brake disk stack to the wheel support during braking, a brake disk stack supported on the torque tube, and an actuator assembly mounted on the wheel support for applying braking force to the brake disk stack, wherein the actuator includes a plurality of actuator modules individually removably mounted to the wheel support, and the actuator modules have at least one mounting flange abutting axially outwardly facing mounting surface on the wheel support.  
     
     
         11 . A wheel and brake assembly as set forth in  claim 10 , wherein each actuator module includes a housing, a reciprocating ram mounted in the housing, an electric motor, and rotary-to-linear motion transfer device connecting the motor to the ram, and wherein the reactionary axial loads caused by the motion transfer device are passed as compression loads from the motion transfer device to the mounting flange.