Oil baffle for gas turbine fan drive gear system
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsWilliam G. Sheridan, Michael E. McCune
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes an epicyclic gear train that drives a turbo fan. The epicyclic gear train employs a one-piece carrier in which the spaced side walls are interconnected with circumferentially spaced apart mounts to form a unitary structure. Baffles are secured to the carrier near the mounts and provide lubrication passages that spray oil onto the sun gear and/or intermediate gears arranged between the baffles. The baffles can be constructed from a different material than the carrier since the baffles are not structural components in the gear train.
Claims9
A carrier for an epicyclic gear train comprising:
- spaced apart walls with circumferentially spaced mounts interconnecting the walls, the mounts providing circumferentially spaced apart apertures between the mounts at an outer circumference of the carrier;
- baffles arranged between the walls near the mounts, the baffles secured to at least one of the walls and the mounts by a fastening element, gear pockets provided between the baffles, and the baffles including a lubrication passage terminating at least one of the gear pockets;
- wherein the lubrication passage includes a primary passage extending laterally between the walls and first and second passages in communication with the primary passage and arranged transverse to one another;
- and
- wherein intermediate gears are arranged between the baffles and intermesh with a sun gear, the first passage directed at the sun gear and the second passage directed at the intermediate gears.
A carrier for an epicyclic gear train comprising:
- spaced apart walls with circumferentially spaced mounts interconnecting the walls, the mounts providing circumferentially spaced apart apertures between the mounts at an outer circumference of the carrier;
- baffles arranged between the walls near the mounts, the baffles secured to at least one of the walls and the mounts by a fastening element, gear pockets provided between the baffles, and the baffles including a lubrication passage terminating at least one of the gear pockets;
- and
- wherein one of the walls includes a hole, and a tube extends through the hole and is received in an opening in the baffle, the tube in communication with the lubrication passage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.