Cable drive system for variable vane operation

• US 10,458,271 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2016
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rtx Corporation
• Original Assignee: United Technologies Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Chandler, Jesse M, Suciu, Gabriel L, Stack, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Seabe, Justin D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hasan, Sabbir
• Application Number:
  US15/079,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20170276011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/12 arranged in stator parts
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/14 varying effective cross-sectional area of nozzles or guide conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/16 by means of nozzle vanes
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/162 for axial flow, i.e. the vanes turning around axes which are essentially perpendicular to the rotor centre line F01D17/167 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 25/34 Turning or inching gear
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 9/04 forming ring or sector
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 9/042 fixing blades to stators fixing stator-rings in the casing or to each other F01D25/246
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/563 specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 19/005 for conveying oscillating or limited rotary motion
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 49/001 Wave gearings, e.g. harmonic drive transmissions harmonic drives specially adapted for positioning programme-controlled manipulators B25J9/1025
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A cable drive system for variable vane operation comprising an actuator, a harmonic drive driven by the actuator, a cable drive system driven by the harmonic drive; and a unison ring driven by the cable drive system.

Claims

1. A variable vane system, comprising:

an actuator;

a harmonic drive driven by the actuator;

a cable drive system driven by the harmonic drive; and

a unison ring driven by the cable drive system.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the cable drive system includes a drum that supports a cable.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the cable is connected to the unison ring such that the cable remains tangential to the unison ring in response to rotation of the drum.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the cable drive system includes a drum segment that supports a cable such that a cable segment remains tangential to the unison ring in response to rotation of a drum.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the harmonic drive includes a strain wave gearing mechanism.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the strain wave gearing mechanism includes a fixed circular spline, a flex spline attached to an output shaft, and a wave generator attached to an input shaft, the flex spline driven by the wave generator with respect to the circular spline.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the harmonic drive provides between a 30:

1-320;

1 gear ratio.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, further comprising a link between each of a multiple of variable vanes and the unison ring.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the actuator is an electric motor.

10. A gas turbine engine, comprising:

an actuator;

a harmonic drive driven by the actuator;

a cable drive system driven by the harmonic drive; and

a unison ring driven by the cable drive system.

11. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 10, wherein the cable drive system includes a drum that supports a cable.

12. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 10, wherein a cable is connected to the unison ring such that a cable remains tangential to the unison ring in response to rotation of the a drum.

13. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 10, wherein the cable drive system includes a drum segment that supports a cable.

14. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 13, wherein the cable is connected to the unison ring such that the cable remains tangential to the unison ring in response to rotation of the drum segment.

15. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 10, wherein the harmonic drive provides between a 30:

1-320;

1 gear ratio.