Abstract:
Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a system configured for installing or removing a door from an aircraft, the system comprising: a pin, a hinge comprising a slot that forms a cavity for rotatively coupling the hinge and the pin, a clamp coupled to the pin, and a retaining mechanism on the clamp that selectively bears against the hinge to maintain the pin in the cavity when the retaining mechanism is engaged and releases the hinge when the retaining mechanism is disengaged.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    A hinged door is often supported by a hinge pin which defines the axis of rotation of the door. In order to remove the door, the hinge pin may be removable by sliding it off of the hinge. In some applications, however, there may be an obstruction which impedes the removal of the hinge pin. The present invention is directed towards removing a hinged door or panel without removal of the hinge pin. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0002]    The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below. 
         [0003]    Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a system configured for installing or removing a door from an aircraft, the system comprising: a pin, a hinge comprising a slot that forms a cavity for rotatively coupling the hinge and the pin, a clamp coupled to the pin, and a retaining mechanism on the clamp that selectively bears against the hinge to maintain the pin in the cavity when the retaining mechanism is engaged and releases the hinge when the retaining mechanism is disengaged. In some embodiments, the hinge is configured as a gooseneck hinge. In some embodiments, the door is coupled to the hinge, and the door is a latch access door. In some embodiments, the clamp comprises a through hole that rotatively receives the pin for coupling the clamp and the pin. In some embodiments, the clamp is configured to removably rotate about the pin when the retaining mechanism is disengaged with respect to the hinge. In some embodiments, the system further comprises an attachment mechanism to couple the pin to a structure of the aircraft. In some embodiments, the structure of the aircraft comprises a latch beam on a thrust reverser. In some embodiments, the system further comprises a thermal blanket that is positioned to physically obscure access to the attachment mechanism. In some embodiments, the retaining mechanism comprises at least one of a screw, a nut, or a bolt. 
         [0004]    Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a system comprising: a hinge comprising a slot that forms a cavity for rotatively coupling the hinge and a pin, a clamp coupled to the pin, and a retaining mechanism that couples the clamp and the hinge when the retaining mechanism is engaged with respect to the hinge and decouples the clamp and the hinge when the retaining mechanism is disengaged with respect to the hinge. In some embodiments, the retaining mechanism is on the clamp and selectively bears against the hinge to maintain the pin in the cavity when the retaining mechanism is engaged and releases the hinge when the retaining mechanism is disengaged. 
         [0005]    Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a system comprising: a door, a hinge coupled to the door, the hinge including a slot configured to form a cavity for receiving a pin. In some embodiments, the system further comprises the pin. In some embodiments, the hinge is configured as a gooseneck hinge. In some embodiments, the door is a latch access door associated with an aircraft nacelle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a hinge attached to a door and configured to rotate about a pin. 
           [0008]      FIGS. 2A-2B  illustrate a hinge and door coupled to a pin via a slot formed in the hinge and a clamp for selectively retaining the hinge. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates the clamp of  FIGS. 2A-2B  disengaged from the hinge. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  illustrate a perspective view of the clamp of  FIGS. 2A-2B  and an associated retaining mechanism. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 5A-5B  illustrate flow charts of exemplary methods in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates an additional view of the retaining mechanism. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    It is noted that various connections are set forth between elements in the following description and in the drawings (the contents of which are included in this disclosure by way of reference). It is noted that these connections are general and, unless specified otherwise, may be direct or indirect and that this specification is not intended to be limiting in this respect. A coupling between two or more components may refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection. An indirect connection may incorporate one or more intervening components. 
         [0014]    Various aspects of the disclosure are directed to a removal or installation of a unit of an aircraft, such as a latch access door or other types of access panels or doors. Opening the latch access door may enable a user (e.g., a technician or a mechanic) access to additional latches that may be used to open or close components on an aircraft, such as a fan cowl or a thrust reverser on an aircraft&#39;s nacelle. 
         [0015]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a prior art gooseneck hinge  102  is shown as being coupled to a latch access door  104  via one or more nuts-and-bolts  105 . One or more attachment mechanisms  106 , such as a nut-and-bolt configuration, may be used to couple the hinge  102  to a portion of the aircraft via a hinge/clevis pin  108 . The pin  108  may define an axis for opening or closing the latch access door  104  via a rotation of the hinge  102  about the pin  108 . The attachment mechanism  106  may couple the pin  108  to a structure of the aircraft such as the aircraft&#39;s engine nacelle, and more particularly to a thrust reverser latch beam. 
         [0016]    In some embodiments, access to an attachment mechanism  106  may be obscured by another component, such as a thermal blanket (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). In order to gain access to the attachment mechanism  106  and remove the pin  108  to remove the door, a user would need to bend out of the way or remove the thermal blanket, which is not ideal. 
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2A-2B  (collectively referred to as  FIG. 2 ), an embodiment of a hinge  202  and the door  104  is shown about the pin  108 . The hinge  202  may be similar to the hinge  102  of  FIG. 1 . However, whereas the hinge  102  may radially encircle or radially encapsulate the pin  108 , the hinge  202  may be configured to include a slot  208  such that the pin  108  can reside in a cavity formed via the slot  208 . 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , a clamp  210  may be included. The clamp  210  has two parallel legs  252  and  254  and an end  256  connecting the first end of the legs. Each of the legs  252  and  254  may be configured with a through hole  228  proximate the second end of the legs  252  and  254  (opposite the first end  256 ) to allow the clamp  210  to be rotatably coupled to the pin  108 . The clamp  210  may include, or be coupled to or associated with, a retaining mechanism  216  that may be used to selectively lock the pin  108  into the cavity of the slot as shown in  FIG. 2 . The retaining mechanism  216  provides a compressive force against the hinge to push the slot  208  onto the pin  108  to prevent the slot  208  from disengaging from the pin  108 . At the same time a tension force is created in each of the legs # of the clamp  210 . The clamp  210  and the retaining mechanism  216  may limit wear of the slot  208  and pin  108  by providing a biasing force to keep them together and minimize vibration between them. 
         [0019]    In some embodiments, the retaining mechanism  216  may include one or more of a screw, a nut-and-bolt, etc.  FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment of the retaining mechanism  216 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  illustrates an embodiment of the hinge  202  and the door  104  coupled to a structure  322  (e.g., a latch beam) via the pin  108 . Also shown in  FIG. 3  is an instance of a thermal blanket  324  that may obscure or make difficult access to attachment mechanisms (e.g., attachment mechanisms  106  of  FIG. 1 ) and pin  108  for removal. In contrast to  FIG. 2 , where the retaining mechanism  216  is shown in an engaged state/condition with respect to the hinge  202 , in  FIG. 3  the retaining mechanism  216  is shown in a disengaged state/condition with respect to the hinge  202  and the clamp  210  is shown as having been slightly rotated (in a clockwise direction) in preparation for removal of the door  104 . When the retaining mechanism  216  is disengaged in such a manner, the hinge  202  may be removed by disengaging the pin  108  from the slot  208  (e.g., in order to remove the door  104 ) or installed by engaging the pin  108  in the slot  208  (e.g., in order to install the door  104 ). 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates an embodiment of the hinge  202  and the door  104  in association with the clamp  210  and the retaining mechanism  216 .  FIG. 4  illustrates the ease of user access to the retaining mechanism  216  and the clamp  210  for removing or installing the door  104 . In this respect, the retaining mechanism  216  and the clamp  210  may implement a so-called quick-release feature. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 5A , a flow chart of an exemplary method  500  is shown. The method  500  may be used to install a door (e.g., the door  104 ) to an aircraft structure (e.g., a latch beam). 
         [0023]    In step  501 , a slot (e.g., the slot  208 ) may be formed in a hinge (e.g., the hinge  202 ). In step  501 , a through hole (e.g., the through hole  228 ) may be formed in a clamp (e.g., the clamp  210 ). 
         [0024]    In step  502 , the clamp may be rotated about a pin (e.g., the pin  108 ) in a first direction in order to create room for the hinge to be seated on the pin. 
         [0025]    In step  504 , the hinge may be seated on the pin. As part of step  504 , the pin may be inserted into a hole/cavity formed via a slot (e.g., the slot  208 ) in the hinge. 
         [0026]    In step  506 , the clamp may be rotated about the pin in a second direction. The rotation of the clamp in step  506  may be in an opposite direction to the rotation of step  502 , so as to (re)align the clamp with the hinge. 
         [0027]    In step  508 , a retaining mechanism (e.g., the retaining mechanism  216 ) associated with the clamp may be engaged with respect to the hinge. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 5B , a flow chart of an exemplary method  550  is shown. The method  550  may be used to remove a door (e.g., the door  104 ) from an aircraft structure (e.g., a latch beam). 
         [0029]    In step  552 , a retaining mechanism (e.g., the retaining mechanism  216 ) associated with the clamp may be disengaged with respect to the hinge. 
         [0030]    In step  554 , the clamp may be rotated about a pin (e.g., the pin  108 ) to misalign the clamp and the hinge in order to create room for the hinge to be unseated from the pin. 
         [0031]    In step  556 , the hinge may be unseated from the pin. The removal of the hinge from the pin in step  556  may be achieved using a combination of rotations and/or translations to avoid striking the door or any adjacent structure. 
         [0032]    While described above as separate methods  500  and  550  for the sake of illustrative convenience, in some embodiments one or more of the aspects of the method  500  may be combined with one or more aspects of the method  550 . 
         [0033]    Technical effects and benefits of the present invention include an ability to quickly remove or install an access door or panel without removing a hinge pin or its associated fasteners, or without removing any components that might obstruct or impede removal of a hinge pin. 
         [0034]    Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrative embodiments thereof Numerous other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this disclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the steps described in conjunction with the illustrative figures may be performed in other than the recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.