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US 12,352,323 B1Granted
Sprag clutch system for rotorcraft
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorsEric Olson, Mark Przybyla, Jacob Speed
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotorcraft includes a drive shaft coupled to an engine; a sprag clutch coupled the drive shaft; and an output shaft coupled to the sprag clutch, wherein the sprag clutch physically contacts a first contact surface of the output shaft during operation, wherein a first cross-sectional thickness of the output shaft near the middle of the first contact surface is greater than a second cross-sectional thickness of the output shaft near a first edge of the first contact surface.
Claims20
A rotorcraft, comprising:
- a drive shaft coupled to an engine;
- a sprag clutch coupled to the drive shaft, wherein the sprag clutch comprises:
- a plurality of first sprags distributed around a first retainer;
- and
- a plurality of second sprags distributed around a second retainer;
- and
- an inner race coupled to the sprag clutch, wherein the sprag clutch physically contacts a first contact surface of the inner race during operation, wherein a first cross-sectional thickness of the inner race near the middle of the first contact surface is greater than a second cross-sectional thickness of the inner race near a first edge of the first contact surface.
4 more elements
A structure, comprising:
- an inner race configured to rotate about an axis, wherein the inner race comprises a first inner surface that faces the axis and a second inner surface that is opposite the first inner surface, wherein the first inner surface is sloped with respect to the axis and the second inner surface is parallel to the axis;
- an outer race surrounding the inner race and configured to rotate about the axis, wherein the outer race comprises a first outer surface that faces the axis and a second outer surface that is opposite the first outer surface, wherein the first outer surface is parallel to the axis and the second outer surface is sloped with respect to the axis;
- and
- a sprag clutch between the second inner surface and the first outer surface.
1 more element
A method comprising:
- rotating an outer race;
- and
- using a sprag clutch to couple the rotation of the outer race to an inner race, wherein the sprag clutch comprises a plurality of first sprags distributed around a first retainer;
- and a plurality of second sprags distributed around a second retainer;
- wherein a first thickness of the outer race at a first edge of the first sprags of the sprag clutch is different from a second thickness of the outer race at a second edge of the first sprags of the sprag clutch, wherein a first edge of the second sprags is adjacent the second edge of the first sprags, wherein a third thickness of the outer race at the first edge of the second sprags of the sprag clutch is different from a fourth thickness of the outer race at a second edge of the second sprags of the sprag clutch.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.