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US 2010/0166540 A1Published application
Variable geometry vane
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsLucas R. Perez, Gary Steed, Terry Penrod
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention includes a pivotable vane having an airfoil with a vane spindle or stem extending toward a distal end thereof. The vane stem has a head with a pair of tapered flats having an outwardly extending angle as defined from the distal end of the head towards the airfoil. A vane arm having a substantially C-shaped connector with a pair of contact ends is constructed to maintain a gap with the tapered flats at an initial assembly step and positively engage the tapered flats at a final assembly step.
Claims21
An apparatus comprising:
- a pivotable gas turbine engine vane having an airfoil with a vane stem extending toward a distal end;
- a head having a tapered surface formed adjacent the distal end of the vane stem, the tapered surface having an outwardly protruding angle extending from the distal end towards the airfoil;
- and
- a vane arm including a substantially C-shaped connector having a contact end constructed to maintain a gap with the tapered surface at an initial assembly step and positively engage the tapered surface at a final assembly step.
1 more element
An apparatus comprising:
- a rotatable gas turbine engine vane;
- a unison ring operable to impart a rotation to the rotatable gas turbine engine device;
- and
- wherein the rotatable gas turbine engine vane is coupled to the unison ring when a contact portion of an extended arm is engaged with a contact surface of a coupling structure, the contact surface oriented at an angle relative to an axis along which the extended arm is urged toward the connector when coupling the extended arm to the coupling structure, the extended arm projecting toward the coupling structure having an angle different than the angle of the contact surface such that a non-contact area is created between the extended arm and the coupling structure when coupled.
1 more element
An apparatus comprising:
- a gas turbine engine having a row of movable vanes;
- a unison ring operable to change an orientation of the movable vanes;
- and
- means for coupling the unison ring to at least one of the movable vanes.
1 more element
A method comprising:
- positioning a variable vane of a gas turbine engine in preparation for attachment to a unison ring;
- coupling the variable vane to the unison ring by:
- urging a contact end of a coupling arm into contact with a tapered surface of a coupling structure;
- and
- wherein the urging includes flexing the coupling arm and creating a gripping force between the contact end and the tapered surface.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.