Back to results
US 2026/0298152 A1Published application
Gearbox assemblies with idler gears
AssigneesGeneral Electric Company, GE Avio S.r.l.
InventorsSimone Iurlaro, Juraj Hrubec, Andrea Piazza, Michele Gravina, Leonardo Coviello, Daniele Pampalone, Darek Zatorski, David Ostdiek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gear assembly for use with a turbomachine comprises a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, and a ring gear. The gear assembly is connected to an input shaft and an output shaft. The sun gear is configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline of the gear assembly, and is driven by the input shaft. A component of the gear assembly drives the output shaft. The gear assembly further comprises an output shaft reversal mechanism configured to reverse the rotational direction of the output shaft.
Claims20
A turbomachine engine comprising:
- a fan assembly comprising a plurality of fan blades;
- a core engine comprising a turbine;
- an input shaft rotatable with the turbine and configured to rotate in a first rotational direction;
- and
- a gear assembly that receives the input shaft at a first speed and drives an output shaft coupled to the fan assembly at a second speed, the second speed being slower than the first speed, the gear assembly comprising:
- a sun gear coupled to the input shaft, the input shaft configured to cause the sun gear to rotate in the first rotational direction;
- a plurality of planet gear layshafts that each support a first stage planet gear and a second stage planet gear, each of the respective first stage planet gears coupled to the sun gear such that rotation of the sun gear causes the respective first stage planet gears and the respective second stage planet gears to rotate in a second rotational direction, the second rotational direction being opposite the first rotational direction;
- a plurality of idler gears each coupled to the respective second stage planet gears such that rotation of each of the respective second stage planet gear causes the plurality of idler gears to rotate in the first rotation direction;
- and
- a ring gear coupled to the plurality of idler gears such that the ring gear rotates with the plurality of idler gears, the ring gear configured to rotate to drive the output shaft in the first rotational direction.
7 more elements
An aircraft comprising:
- a first turbofan engine having a first fan assembly, a first core engine, a first input shaft, a first gear assembly, and a first output shaft that is configured to drive the first fan assembly, the first core engine being configured to drive the first input shaft in a first rotational direction, and the first gear assembly being configured to drive the first output shaft in a second rotational direction that is opposite the first rotational direction so that the first fan assembly is configured to rotate in the second rotational direction;
- and
- a second turbofan engine having a second fan assembly, a second core engine, a second input shaft, a second gear assembly, and a second output shaft that is configured to drive the second fan assembly, the second core engine being configured to drive the second input shaft in the first rotational direction, and the second gear assembly being configured to drive the second output shaft in the first rotational direction so that the second fan assembly rotates in the first rotational direction, the second gear assembly including
- a sun gear coupled to the second input shaft, the second input shaft configured to cause the sun gear to rotate in the first rotational direction;
- a plurality of planet gear layshafts that each support a first stage planet gear and a second stage planet gear, each of the respective first stage planet gears coupled to the sun gear such that rotation of the sun gear causes the respective first stage planet gears and the respective second stage planet gears to rotate in a second rotational direction, the second rotational direction being opposite the first rotational direction
- a plurality of idler gears each coupled to the respective second stage planet gears such that rotation of each of the respective second stage planet gear causes the plurality of idler gears to rotate in the first rotation direction;
- a ring gear coupled to the plurality of idler gears such that the ring gear rotates with the plurality of idler gears, the ring gear configured to rotate to drive the second output shaft in the first rotational direction,
- wherein the first fan assembly and second fan assembly are configured to rotate in opposite rotational directions with the first fan assembly being configured to rotate in the second rotational direction and the second fan assembly being configured to rotate in the first rotational direction.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.