Epicyclic gear train of aircraft powerplant
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorMichel Desjardins
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An epicyclic gear train of an aircraft powerplant is provided. The epicyclic gear train includes a sun gear having a rotation axis, a ring gear, a plurality of intermediate gears circumscribed by the ring gear and being meshed with the sun gear and with the ring gear, a carrier supporting the intermediate gears, and a torque frame attaching the carrier to a stationary structure of the aircraft powerplant to prevent rotation of the carrier and of the intermediate gears about the rotation axis of the sun gear. The torque frame is attached to the carrier at a connection. The torque frame and the carrier cooperatively define a lubricant passage extending through the connection and supplying lubricant to at least one of the intermediate gears.
Claims20
A star-configured epicyclic gear train of an aircraft powerplant, the star-configured epicyclic gear train comprising:
- a sun gear having a rotation axis;
- a ring gear;
- a plurality of intermediate gears circumscribed by the ring gear, and being meshed with the sun gear and with the ring gear;
- a carrier supporting the intermediate gears;
- and
- a torque frame attaching the carrier to a stationary structure of the aircraft powerplant to prevent rotation of the carrier and of the intermediate gears about the rotation axis of the sun gear, the torque frame engaging the carrier at a connection, the torque frame and the carrier cooperatively defining a lubricant passage extending through the connection and extending to a lubricant outlet directed toward at least one of the intermediate gears.
An aircraft powerplant comprising:
- a source of rotational power;
- a bladed rotor;
- and
- an epicyclic gear train drivingly coupling the source of rotational power to the bladed rotor, the epicyclic gear train including:
- an input gear for receiving the rotational power from the source of rotational power, the input gear having a rotation axis;
- an output gear drivingly coupled to the bladed rotor;
- an intermediate gear drivingly coupling the input gear to the output gear;
- a carrier supporting the intermediate gear;
- and
- a torque frame attaching the carrier to a structure of the aircraft powerplant to prevent rotation of the carrier and of the intermediate gear about the rotation axis of the input gear, the torque frame being attached to the carrier at a connection, the torque frame and the carrier cooperatively defining a lubricant passage extending through the connection for supplying lubricant to the epicyclic gear train.
A method of operating an epicyclic gear train associated with an aircraft powerplant, the method comprising:
- transferring rotational power between a sun gear and a ring gear of the epicyclic gear train via intermediate gears of the epicyclic gear train;
- preventing the intermediate gears from revolving relative to the sun gear by using a torque frame interacting with both a carrier of the epicyclic gear train and a structure of the aircraft powerplant;
- and
- supplying lubricant to part of the epicyclic gear train through a connection between the torque frame and the carrier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.