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US 2015/0308288 A1Published application
Impeller retention apparatus
AssigneeSikorsky Aircraft Corporation
InventorsThomas L. Tully, JR., Daniel Vincent Brown, Yuriy Gmirya
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An impeller retention apparatus is provided and includes a bearing element, a rotatable shaft, which is rotatably supported within an outer body by the bearing element, an impeller disposed about and coupled to the shaft to rotate with the shaft and a preload spacer disposed along the shaft between the impeller and the bearing element, the preload spacer comprising an elastic element which biases the impeller away from the bearing element in an axial direction along the shaft.
Claims15
An impeller retention apparatus, comprising:
- a bearing element;
- a rotatable shaft, which is rotatably supported within an outer body by the bearing element;
- an impeller disposed about and coupled to the shaft to rotate with the shaft;
- and
- a preload spacer disposed along the shaft between the impeller and the bearing element, the preload spacer comprising an elastic element which biases the impeller away from the bearing element in an axial direction along the shaft.
2 more elements
An aircraft, comprising:
- an engine;
- a transmission;
- and
- an impeller retention apparatus comprising:
- an outer body;
- a gear shaft rotatably drivable by the engine via the transmission and disposed to extend through the outer body, the gear shaft including a first axial portion and a second axial portion aft of the first axial portion;
- bearing elements disposed on the first axial portion of the gear shaft;
- a flexible coupling including a first axial portion coupled to the second axial portion of the gear shaft and a second axial portion aft of the first axial portion,
- the outer body and an exterior surface of the first axial portion of the flexible coupling cooperatively defining an annulus;
- an impeller configured to receive airflow from the annulus, the impeller being disposed on and movable in an axial direction relative to the second axial portion of the flexible coupling;
- and
- a preload spacer disposed between the impeller and the bearing elements to bias the impeller toward aft axial movement.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.