Non-contacting clearance seal for high misalignment applications

An air turbine starter comprising:

• a bearing housing;
• a rotatable shaft through a shaft passage formed in an end wall of the bearing housing;
• a slinger rotor mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, the slinger rotor including a slinger ring having an outboard seal face with a circumferential groove and a radially oriented slot;
• and
• wherein the circumferential groove is an inner circumferential groove, and further comprising an outer circumferential groove in the seal face and the radially oriented slot is one of a plurality of radially oriented slots with inner ends and outer ends, the inner ends being in contact with the inner circumferential groove and outer ends being in contact with the outer circumferential groove.

An air turbine starter comprising:

• a bearing housing;
• a rotatable shaft through a shaft passage formed in an end wall of the bearing housing;
• a slinger rotor mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, the slinger rotor including a slinger ring having an outboard seal face with a circumferential groove and a radially oriented slot;
• and
• wherein the circumferential groove is an inner circumferential groove, and further comprising an outer circumferential groove in the seal face and the radially oriented slot is one of a plurality of radially oriented slots with inner ends and outer ends, the inner ends being in contact with the inner circumferential groove and outer ends being in contact with the outer circumferential groove;
• wherein the slinger rotor has a bore formed therein,
• the bore of the slinger rotor is defined by a plurality of axially extending inboard lands at an inboard end face of the slinger rotor and a plurality of axially extending outboard lands at an outboard end segment of the slinger rotor,
• the inboard lands being separated by axially extending notches and the outboard lands being separated by outboard slots;
• wherein the outboard slots each having a diametric size which tapers with increasing diameter in an inboard direction;
• wherein the bore is further defined by an annular cavity located between the outboard lands and the inboard lands, the cavity is tapered with increasing diametric size in an inboard direction and the annular cavity communicates with the outboard slots and axially extending notches;
• and
• wherein the axially extending notches are cut axially into the inboard end face of the slinger rotor and into the annular cavity such that the annular cavity is in direct communication with the notches.

A kit for installing a non-contacting clearance seal for high misalignment applications to a housing of an air turbine starter, the kit comprising:

• a seal stator plate to form an end wall of the housing, thee seal stator plate including a generally cylindrical wall segment projecting in a axially inboard direction into the housing, said cylindrical wall segment having an inner wall segment that cooperates with an outer generally cylindrical wall segment to define an annular channel;
• an oil seal rotor including a slinger ring with a plurality of radially open slinger ports formed therein;
• said oil seal rotor further including a centrifuge sleeve extending axially from said slinger ring in an outboard direction and projecting axially into said annular channel, said centrifuge sleeve defining an internal centrifuge surface disposed in relatively close running clearance with said cylindrical wall segment and having a diametric size which tapers with increasing diameter in an inboard direction, said centrifuge surface having an inboard end in flow communication with radially inner ends of said slinger ports, whereby oil within the space between said centrifuge sleeve and said cylindrical wall segment is pumped by centrifuge action during shaft rotation along said centrifuge surface in a direction away from the end wall to said slinger ports, and
• the slinger ring having an outboard seal face with a circumferential groove and a radially oriented slot;
• an O-ring for statically sealing the stator plate to the housing;
• the oil seal rotor sized to press fit mount on an existing or modified shaft diameter.