Air turbine starter with decoupler
AssigneeGE Aviation Systems LLC
InventorsSubrata Nayak, Pallavi Tripathi, David Raju Yamarthi, Navin Soni, Dhiraj Thakare, Shiloh Montegomery Emerson Meyers, David Allan Dranschak
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and decoupler for disengaging an output shaft from an engine in a back drive event with a backdrive decoupler. The backdrive decoupler includes an output shaft, drive shaft wherein the output shaft is selectively coupled to the drive shaft. Permanent magnets are used to transmit torque from the drive shaft to the output shaft. In a backdrive event, the decoupler decouples the output shaft from the drive shaft by uncoupling the torque transfer.
Claims20
An air turbine starter for starting an engine, comprising:
- a housing defining an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet for communicating a flow of gas therethrough;
- a turbine member journaled within the housing and disposed within the flow path for rotatably extracting mechanical power from the flow of gas;
- a gear train drivingly coupled with the turbine member;
- a clutch having a drive shaft that is operably coupled with the gear train;
- an output shaft configured to be operably coupled to and rotate with the engine;
- and
- a backdrive decoupler, comprising:
- a first set of magnets operably coupled to the drive shaft;
- a second set of magnets, operably coupled to the output shaft;
- and
- a member moveable between a first position and a second position wherein the member breaks a flux between the first set of magnets and the second set of magnets;
- wherein driving torque is transmitted from the drive shaft of the clutch to the output shaft through magnetic field lines created between the first set of magnets and the second set of magnets, when overrunning torque is transmitted the member moves to the second position and is configured to break the magnetic flux between drive shaft and output shaft thereby uncoupling torque transfer between the drive shaft and the output shaft to define a decoupled position where the output shaft is disengaged from the gear train.
A decoupler assembly for decoupling an output shaft from a drive shaft during backdrive, comprising:
- a first set of magnets operably coupled to the drive shaft;
- a second set of magnets operably coupled to the output shaft;
- and
- a member moveable between a first position and a second position wherein the member breaks a magnetic flux between the first set of magnets and the second set of magnets;
- and
- wherein driving torque is transmitted from the drive shaft of a clutch to the output shaft through magnetic flux created by the first set of magnets and second set of magnets, when overrunning torque is transmitted the member moves to the second position and is configured to break magnetic field lines between drive shaft and output shaft thereby uncoupling torque transfer between the drive shaft and the output shaft to define a decoupled position where the output shaft is disengaged from a gear train.
A method for operating an air turbine starter, comprising:
- extracting mechanical power from a flow of gas utilizing a turbine and driving a gear train and clutch having a drive shaft with a first set of magnets operably coupled thereto therewith;
- transferring a driving torque from the drive shaft to an output shaft having a second set of magnets, opposite in polarity to the first set of magnets, operably coupled to the output shaft, and where the output shaft is operably coupled to an engine;
- and
- during back driving moving a member to a position wherein the member decouples a magnetic flux between the first set of magnets and the second set of magnets;
- and
- wherein driving torque is transmitted from the drive shaft of the clutch to the output shaft through magnetic flux created by the first set of magnets and the second set of magnets, when overrunning torque is transmitted the member moves to a second position and is configured to weaken the magnetic flux between the drive shaft and the output shaft by redirecting magnetic field lines uncoupling torque transfer between the drive shaft and the output shaft to define a decoupled position where the output shaft is disengaged from the gear train.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.