US 6,463,819 B1Granted

Uninterruptible oil supply system

AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.

InventorGiusseppe Rago

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An oil supply system supplies oil under pressure to a bearing or journal enclosure during normal positive gravity conditions as well as negative gravity and zero gravity conditions. A closed oil storage tank containing a volume of oil below a gas filled headspace with primary drain in a bottom portion normally supplies a pressure pump which passes a pressure control valve before entering an inlet of the enclosure. In negative gravity or zero gravity conditions oil is absent from the tank bottom and the primary pressure pump is starved of oil. The invention solves this problem with an auxiliary tank outlet disposed above the bottom drain (at the top and/or sides of the tank) and the oil-air separator separates the air before pumping the oil under pressure to the bearing or journal enclosure past a directional switch. The directional control switch (1) connects the switch oil inlet to the switch oil return outlet and oil tank when oil pressure delivered by the pressure pump exceeds a predetermined minimum threshold pressure; and (2) connects the switch inlet to the oil supply outlet and enclosure when oil pressure delivered by the pressure pump is less than the threshold pressure.

Claims7

Dependent claims

An oil supply system for supplying oil under pressure to an enclosure, the system comprising:

a closed oil storage tank containing a volume of oil below a gas filled headspace, the tank having a primary drain in a bottom portion;
a pressure pump having:
a pump inlet communicating with the tank drain;
and a pump outlet;
an oil-air separator with:
an inlet communicating with an enclosure outlet;
an air outlet venting separated air;
and an oil outlet;
an auxiliary tank outlet disposed above the drain;
the oil-air separator having an auxiliary inlet communicating with the auxiliary tank outlet;
and
a unitary valve and directional switch having:
a primary oil inlet communicating with the pressure pump outlet;
a gas pressure inlet communicating with gas within the enclosure;
an auxiliary oil inlet in communication with the oil outlet of the separator;
an oil return outlet in communication with an oil tank return inlet;
and an oil supply outlet in communication with the enclosure, the unitary valve and directional switch:
connecting the switch auxiliary oil inlet to the switch oil return outlet when oil pressure, relative to gas pressure in the enclosure, delivered by the pressure pump exceeds a predetermined minimum threshold pressure differential;
and
connecting the switch auxiliary oil inlet to the oil supply outlet when oil pressure, relative to gas pressure in the enclosure, delivered by the pressure pump is less than the threshold pressure differential.

17 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.