A target type thrust reverser is provided for reversing the thrust of jet
engines, particularly on aircraft. The thrust reverser preferably has a
plurality of doors that occupy a stowed position about the nozzle of the
jet engine until deployed. In the stowed position, the doors are out of
the exhaust stream of the jet engine. The doors are mounted to pivot
joints on the rear portions of the doors. To deploy the thrust reverser,
actuators connected to the pivot joints cause the pivot joints to
translate linearly aft, and link rods attached to the forward portions of
the doors cause the doors to pivot about the sliding pivot joints. In this
manner, the distance between the doors and the engine exhaust nozzle is
minimized during deployment, which enables significant weight savings due
to reduced loads and fewer parts. A novel lock is also provided for
simultaneously locking the thrust reverser doors and the actuators.
