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US 11,027,834 B2Granted
Inboard centrifugal force bearing attachment
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorsAndrew Maresh, Troy Cyril Schank, Chyausong Tzeng, John Richard McCullough, Robert Wardlaw
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inboard bearing attachment for carrying centrifugal force (“CF”) loads in a rotor blade assembly of a rotorcraft includes a CF fitting having a curved surface and a shear bearing retainer aligned with the curved surface. A mounting flange connected to either the CF fitting or the shear bearing retainer is used to mount the inboard bearing attachment to a yoke.
Claims13
A rotor system for a rotorcraft comprising:
- a yoke including a yoke arm having an outboard tip, the yoke arm forming a cut-out inboard of the outboard tip;
- a shear bearing;
- a centrifugal force bearing;
- and
- an inboard bearing attachment disposed in the cut-out of the yoke arm, the inboard bearing attachment comprising:
- a centrifugal force fitting including a block abutting the centrifugal force bearing having top and bottom sides and leading and lagging edges, the centrifugal force fitting including a mounting plate on one of the top or bottom sides of the block, the mounting plate extending beyond the leading and lagging edges of the block to form at least one leading mounting hole adjacent to the leading edge of the block and at least one lagging mounting hole adjacent to the lagging edge of the block, the mounting plate configured to mount to the yoke arm via the leading and lagging mounting holes;
- and
- a shear bearing retainer forming a hollow cylinder axially aligned with the block, the hollow cylinder having an interior cylindrical surface configured to encompass the shear bearing, the hollow cylinder having a leading side and a lagging side;
- wherein, the shear bearing retainer includes a leading flange protruding from the leading side of the hollow cylinder to form at least one second leading mounting hole and a lagging flange protruding from the lagging side of the hollow cylinder to form at least one second lagging mounting hole, the leading and lagging flanges curving in an inboard direction such that the second mounting holes are inboard of the hollow cylinder;
- and
- wherein, the top and bottom sides and the leading and lagging edges of the block are curved to form a circle.
8 more elements
A tiltrotor aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a wing supported by the fuselage;
- and
- a rotor system coupled to the wing, the rotor system comprising:
- a yoke including a yoke arm having an outboard tip, the yoke arm forming a cut-out inboard of the outboard tip;
- a shear bearing;
- a centrifugal force bearing;
- and
- an inboard bearing attachment disposed in the cut-out of the yoke arm, the inboard bearing attachment comprising:
- a centrifugal force fitting including a block abutting the centrifugal force bearing having top and bottom sides and leading and lagging edges, the centrifugal force fitting including a mounting plate on one of the top or bottom sides of the block, the mounting plate extending beyond the leading and lagging edges of the block to form at least one leading mounting hole adjacent to the leading edge of the block and at least one lagging mounting hole adjacent to the lagging edge of the block, the mounting plate configured to mount to the yoke arm via the leading and lagging mounting holes;
- and
- a shear bearing retainer forming a hollow cylinder axially aligned with the block, the hollow cylinder having an interior cylindrical surface configured to encompass the shear bearing, the hollow cylinder having a leading side and a lagging side;
- wherein, the shear bearing retainer includes a leading flange protruding from the leading side of the hollow cylinder to form at least one second leading mounting hole and a lagging flange protruding from the lagging side of the hollow cylinder to form at least one second lagging mounting hole, the leading and lagging flanges curving in an inboard direction such that the second mounting holes are inboard of the hollow cylinder;
- and
- wherein, the top and bottom sides and the leading and lagging edges of the block are curved to form a circle.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.