Planetary gearbox for gas turbine engine
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorLazar Mitrovic
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft includes first and second engines, one or more aircraft rotors associated with the first and second engines, a first epicyclic gearbox having: a) an output operatively connected at least one of the one or more aircraft rotors, and b) an input defined by a sun gear of the first epicyclic gearbox; and a second epicyclic gearbox having: a) an output operatively connected to at least one of the one or more aircraft rotors, and b) an input defined by a sun gear of the second epicyclic gearbox. Output of the first epicyclic gearbox is defined by the carrier. Output of the second epicyclic gearbox is defined by its ring gear. A multi-engine aircraft and a method of operating a multi-engine aircraft are also described.
Claims20
An aircraft, comprising:
- first and second engines;
- one or more aircraft rotors associated with the first and second engines;
- a first epicyclic gearbox having:
- a) an output operatively connected at least one of the one or more aircraft rotors, and b) an input defined by a sun gear of the first epicyclic gearbox;
- and
- a second epicyclic gearbox having:
- a) an output operatively connected to at least one of the one or more aircraft rotors, and b) an input defined by a sun gear of the second epicyclic gearbox;
- and
- wherein:
- the first engine is operatively connected to the input of the first epicyclic gearbox;
- the second engine is operatively connected to the input of the second epicyclic gearbox;
- each of the first and second epicyclic gearboxes has gears carried by a carrier, and a ring gear meshed with the gears,
- the output of the first epicyclic gearbox is defined by the carrier of the first epicyclic gearbox, and
- the output of the second epicyclic gearbox is defined by the ring gear of the second epicyclic gearbox.
A multi-engine aircraft with multiple aircraft rotors, comprising:
- a first engine operatively connected to an input of a first epicyclic gearbox, the input of the first epicyclic gearbox defined by a sun gear thereof, the first epicyclic gearbox having an output operatively connected to a first aircraft rotor of the multiple aircraft rotors;
- and
- a second engine operatively connected to an input of a second epicyclic gearbox, the input of the second epicyclic gearbox defined by a sun gear thereof, the second epicyclic gearbox having an output operatively connected to a second aircraft rotor of the multiple aircraft rotors;
- and
- wherein each of the first and second epicyclic gearboxes has gears carried by a carrier and a ring gear meshed with the gears of that carrier, the output of the first epicyclic gearbox is defined by the carrier of the first epicyclic gearbox, and the output of the second epicyclic gearbox is defined by the ring gear of the second epicyclic gearbox.
A method of operating a multi-engine aircraft having first and second gas turbine engines, the method comprising:
- rotating a sun gear in a first epicyclic gearbox of the first gas turbine engine and rotating a sun gear in a second epicyclic gearbox of the second gas turbine engine, the sun gears meshed to respective gears of the carriers of the first and second epicyclic gearboxes;
- rotating a carrier of the first epicyclic gearbox relative to a ring gear of the first epicyclic gearbox and transmitting rotation of the carrier of the first epicyclic gearbox to a first rotor shaft of the aircraft;
- and
- rotating a ring gear of the second epicyclic gearbox relative to a carrier of the second epicyclic gearbox and transmitting rotation of the ring gear of the second epicyclic gearbox to a second rotor shaft of the aircraft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.