Integral heat exchanger for vertical lift aircraft gearboxes
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorsRyan Lee Robinson, William Wolcott, Zachary Scott Poster
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gearbox assembly includes a main housing, a plurality of gears, and a lubricant sump. The main housing defines an internal cavity. The gears are disposed within the internal cavity. The lubricant sump is coupled to the main housing. The lubricant sump includes a sump body and a heat exchanger core. The sump body defines a sump cavity and an airflow passage. The sump cavity is fluidly coupled to the internal cavity to collect lubricant used with the gears. The heat exchanger core is coupled to and extends from the sump body and is disposed at least partially within the airflow passage to cool the lubricant passing through the heat exchanger core.
Claims20
A gearbox assembly, comprising:
- a main housing defining an internal cavity;
- a plurality of gears disposed within the internal cavity;
- and
- a lubricant sump coupled to the main housing, the lubricant sump comprising:
- a sump body defining:
- a sump cavity that is fluidly coupled to the internal cavity to collect lubricant used with the plurality of gears;
- and
- an airflow passage;
- and
- a heat exchanger core coupled to and extending from the sump body and disposed at least partially within the airflow passage to cool the lubricant passing through the heat exchanger core.
A lubricant sump for a gearbox assembly, comprising:
- a sump body defining:
- a flange structured to couple the sump body to a housing of the gearbox assembly;
- a sump cavity configured to receive a volume of lubricant therein;
- and
- an airflow passage;
- and
- a heat exchanger core coupled to and extending from the sump body and disposed at least partially within the airflow passage to cool the lubricant passing through the heat exchanger core.
A method of making a lubricant sump for a gearbox assembly, comprising:
- forming a sump body defining:
- a flange structured to couple the sump body to a housing of the gearbox assembly;
- a sump cavity configured to receive a volume of lubricant therein;
- and
- an airflow passage;
- and
- coupling a heat exchanger core to the sump body so that the heat exchanger core is disposed at least partially within the airflow passage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.