US-12617548-B2 - Aircraft with moving system for moving sensing means during flight

US12617548B2US 12617548 B2US12617548 B2US 12617548B2US-12617548-B2

Abstract

An aircraft is provided that has a moving system for moving, during flight, sensors of the aircraft between a rest position in which the sensors are arranged within the aircraft, and a work position in which the sensors face directly, along a sensing direction, towards outside of the aircraft and towards the ground when the aircraft is in flight. The moving system has a frame arranged inside the aircraft, a slide supporting the sensors, and a pair of guides, each guide having a rail part supported on the frame, and at least one draw part arranged telescopically slidable relative to the relevant rail part along a direction of movement perpendicular to the sensing direction. The slide, mounted integrally with the draw parts of the pair of guides, slides along the direction of movement internally within the aircraft to move the sensors between the rest and work positions.

Inventors

Antonio Guerra
Giuseppe VIGLIONE

Assignees

LEONARDO S.P.A.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220926
Priority Date: 20210927

Claims (13)

1 . An aircraft comprising: a moving system adapted for use when the aircraft is in flight to move sensing means of the aircraft between a rest position, wherein the sensing means are arranged inside the aircraft, and a work position, wherein the sensing means face directly, along a sensing direction, toward an outside of the aircraft and toward the ground when the aircraft is in flight, the moving system comprising: a frame arranged inside the aircraft; a slide, adapted to support said sensing means; and a pair of guides, each guide of the pair of guides comprising a rail part supported on said frame, and at least one draw part, the at least one draw part of each guide being arranged telescopically slidable relative to the respective rail part along a direction of movement essentially perpendicular to said sensing direction; the slide being mounted integrally with the draw parts of the pair of guides in such a way to slide along the direction of movement inside the aircraft to move said sensing means between said rest position and said work position.
2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the moving system further comprises drive means adapted to drive a sliding movement of said slide along the direction of movement.
3 . The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the drive means comprise a handle, arranged integrally with the slide, and adapted to allow manual drive of the slide.
4 . The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the drive means comprise at least one actuator.
5 . The aircraft of claim 4 , wherein the at least one actuator is an electric actuator or a hydraulic actuator.
6 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the moving system further comprises an abutment element arranged in such a way to limit a sliding movement along the direction of movement of the slide, or in such a way that the slide goes into abutment against the abutment element when the sensing means are in said work position.
7 . The aircraft of claim 6 , wherein the moving system further comprises a ramp arranged integrally with the abutment element and facing towards said slide, and a caster mounted rotatably on a pin arranged on the slide, and wherein the caster is adapted to come into contact with said ramp to facilitate or direct the sliding movement of the slide along the direction of movement.
8 . The aircraft of claim 6 , wherein the abutment element has a tilted part adapted to cooperate with the at least one draw part of a guide of the pair of guides, or with an edge of the slide, to guide the sliding movement of the slide along the direction of movement.
9 . The aircraft of claim 6 , wherein the moving system further comprises a blocking element arranged integrally with the abutment element, and adapted to be arranged in a blocking configuration wherein the blocking element blocks the sliding movement of the slide along the direction of movement.
10 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the moving system further comprises a plurality of dampeners, arranged on said slide and adapted to dampen transmission of vibrations to said sensing means.
11 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising sensing means arranged on said slide and integral thereto in a sliding movement along the direction of movement.
12 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the sensing means comprise at least one among: optical sensors, a radar sensor, lidar sensors, remote sensing sensors, temperature sensors, Doppler-effect sensors, spectral sensors or hyperspectral sensors.
13 . The aircraft of claim 11 , further comprising: a structure having an opening adapted to put the inside and the outside of the aircraft in communication, the opening being openable and closable by a hold door; wherein in the work position the sensing means face directly toward the outside of the aircraft by said opening, and the opening is open.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Phase Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/IB2022/059078, having an International Filing Date of Sep. 26, 2022 which claims priority to Italian Application No. 102021000024629 filed Sep. 27, 2021, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an aircraft comprising a moving system for moving sensing means of the aircraft, particularly for placing said sensing means at an opening and being able to turn them directly toward the outside of the aircraft when the aircraft is in flight. PRIOR ART In the field of aerial photography or reconnaissance by sensors, sensing means and/or cameras mounted on board an aircraft are used and directed so that, during flight, they point towards the ground in order to carry out the required surveys and reconnaissance. In particular, in airplanes equipped with a pressurized cabin which may be reconfigured for multi-mission purposes (e.g., maritime surveillance, transportation of cargo or products, transportation of personnel or passengers, search and rescue missions), the installation of sensing means or cameras is provided for remote sensing at altitude on an external surface of a fuselage facing the ground, or on an opening hatch, or on an opening window, so that the sensors or cameras may be exposed directly to the outside without the detection passing through glass, degrading the quality of the sensing signal which is for example optical or radio. Indeed, the sensing means and cameras, due to their inherent characteristics of operation, need to be pointed directly at the ground, without any interference in the visible and non-visible range, such as refraction and/or reflection phenomena through the transparent parts of the aircraft (such as windows, etc.). Airplanes, especially those for cargo, or which are at least partly assigned to transport cargo, often have cramped spaces and require distinctive, specific, and complex installations to be applied on the platforms that support the sensing means, or cameras. Indeed, in order to allow the sensor to exit the aircraft through a port during the unpressurized flight, a mechanical arm is used in many applications, which results in the use of space on the aircraft and has repercussions on the vibrational performance that need to be properly compensated for. All this has major consequences on the reconfigurability and stowage of the equipment on which the sensing means are mounted after use. The arrangements of sensors generally used in aircraft according to the prior art, such as the one just described, have several drawbacks. First, the known arrangements require a large volume to move the sensors and therefore create a large footprint inside the aircraft. In particular, in the arrangements according to the prior art, when the use of the sensing means is no longer necessary, the area or bay in which the sensing means are arranged during use may still not be reused. In addition, if the sensing signal from the sensing means is not able to reach the ground directly except by passing through a transparent part (such as a window or windowed hatch), the quality of the signal and consequently the sensing will be compromised, due to the aforementioned refraction and/or reflection problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft with a moving system for moving sensing means that does not have the drawbacks of the prior art. This and other objects are fully achieved according to the present invention by an aircraft as described and claimed herein. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are also described. In short, the invention is based on the idea of providing an aircraft comprising: a moving system adapted for use when the aircraft is in flight to move sensing means of the aircraft between a rest position, wherein the sensing means are arranged within the aircraft, and a work position, wherein the sensing means face directly, along a sensing direction, towards the outside of the aircraft and towards the ground when the aircraft is in flight, the moving system comprising: a frame arranged inside the aircraft;a slide, adapted to support said sensing means; anda pair of guides, each comprising a rail part supported on said frame, and at least one draw part, the draw part of each guide being arranged telescopically slidable relative to the relevant rail part along a direction of movement that is essentially perpendicular to said sensing direction; the slide being mounted integrally with the draw parts of the pair of guides in such a way to slide along the direction of movement within the aircraft to move said sensing means between said rest position and said work position. Advantageously, the moving system may further comprise drive means adapted to actuate the sliding movement of said slide along the direction