Sliding contact for a propeller ice protection system
AssigneeThe B. F. Goodrich Company
InventorMichael J. Giamati
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved sliding contact for use with a propeller ice protection system is provided. According to an aspect of the invention, a silver graphite brush forms a sliding contact with a hardened copper alloy slip ring. A sliding contact according to the invention demonstrates improved performance in an oil contaminated environment.
Claims45
A device for transferring electrical power from an electrical power supply mounted on an aircraft to an electrical load mounted on an aircraft propeller, comprising:
- a slip ring assembly configured for attachment to the aircraft propeller, said slip ring assembly having a plurality of slip rings comprised of a copper alloy having a surface hardness of at least a Rockwell B60, said plurality of slip rings being adapted to be electrically connected to the electrical load;
- and,
- a brush assembly configured for attachment to the aircraft, said brush assembly having a plurality of electrically conductive brushes for conducting electrical power to the slip rings with at least one brush per slip ring, each brush being comprised of a carbonaceous matrix impregnated with silver on the order of 45% to 70% by weight, a plurality of springs with at least one spring per brush for urging each brush against a slip ring, a housing with a plurality of apertures for receiving said plurality of springs and for slidably receiving said plurality of brushes in alignment with said slip rings, a plurality of electrical connectors attached to said housing for connection with the power supply with at least one electrical connector corresponding to each slip ring, and a plurality of flexible shunts with at least one flexible shunt per brush that electrically connects each brush that aligns with a single slip ring to said electrical connector corresponding to that slip ring.
An apparatus for propelling an aircraft through atmospheric icing conditions, comprising:
- propeller drive means mounted to the aircraft for driving an aircraft propeller;
- an aircraft propeller driven by said propeller drive means;
- ice protection means mounted to said propeller for conserving propeller performance in atmospheric icing conditions;
- an electrical power supply mounted to the aircraft;
- a slip ring assembly mounted to said aircraft propeller having a plurality of slip rings comprised of a copper alloy having a surface hardness of at least a Rockwell B60, said plurality of slip rings being electrically connected to said ice protection means;
- and,
- a brush assembly mounted to the aircraft proximate said propeller drive means and facing said slip ring assembly, said brush assembly having a plurality of brushes comprised of a carbonaceous matrix impregnated with silver on the order of 45% to 70% by weight, said plurality of brushes being electrically connected to said electrical power supply, and means for biasing said plurality of brushes in contact with said plurality of slip rings.
A sliding contact for conducting electrical power from an electrical power supply mounted on an aircraft to a propeller having an electrical load, comprising:
- a slip ring comprised of a copper alloy having a hardness of at least a Rockwell B60, said slip ring being adapted to attach to the propeller and conduct electrical power to the electrical load;
- and,
- a brush comprised of a carbonaceous matrix with a silver content on the order of 45% to 70% by weight, said brush being adapted to receive electrical power from the power supply, said brush forming a contact with said slip ring that conducts electrical power from said brush to said slip ring during sliding movement of said slip ring relative to said brush while being subjected to oil contamination.
A method for conducting electrical power from an aircraft to an electrical load mounted on a propeller, comprising the steps of:
- conducting electrical power to a plurality of brushes slidably received within a brush assembly mounted to the aircraft facing a slip ring assembly mounted to the propeller at a location subjected to oil contamination, said plurality of brushes being comprised of a carbonaceous matrix with a silver content on the order of 45% to 70% by weight, said slip ring assembly having a plurality of slip rings comprised of a copper alloy having a surface hardness of at least a Rockwell B60, said brush assembly having biasing means for biasing said plurality of brushes against said plurality of slip rings thereby forming a plurality of sliding contacts;
- conducting electrical power from said plurality of brushes to said plurality of slip rings through said plurality of sliding contacts;
- and,
- conducting electrical power from the plurality of slip rings to the electrical load.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.