Vane actuation system

• US 3,914,066 A
• Filed: 09/27/1974
• Issued: 10/21/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Noel L. Downing
• Original Assignee: Noel L. Downing
• Inventors: Downing, Noel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Raduazo, Henry F.
• Application Number:
  US05/509,840
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 415/147,149,150,151,18
• US Class Current: 415/151
• 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

Abstract

A turbojet engine compressor has a plurality of variable stator vane stages, each stage operated by rotary to linear actuators driven by a high speed drive cable connected to a single drive unit driven by the turbojet engine at high input speeds. Each drive cable is connected to two back-to-back hysteresis clutches which are selectively activated by one or the other of two field coils energized to determine the direction of cable rotation and stator vane adjustment.

Claims

1. A high speed actuator system for controlling a row of individually rotatable crank operated vanes coupled to a control ring on the exterior of a turbine engine comprising;

a rotary to linear drive actuator having a rotary input shaft and a reciprocating output shaft, means for coupling said reciprocating output shaft to the control ring for producing a predetermined arcuate movement of the control ring in response to reciprocation of the output shaft of the actuator, a drive transfer unit including a pair of electrically energized fluid gap clutch means, each of said clutch means including an input rotor and an output rotor, an energizable field coil for coupling said input and output rotors in accordance with energization thereof, an input shaft to said transfer unit connected to both of said input rotors, a drive cable having one end thereof connected to the rotary input shaft of said actuator and the other end thereof to one of said output rotors, reversing gear means connecting the other of said output rotors to said drive cable, means for selectively energizing one or the other of said energizable field coils to produce reverse rotation of said drive cable thereby to produce reverse reciprocation of said actuator output shaft, thereby to control arcuate movement of the control ring to produce a controlled adjustment of the angular position of each of the crank operated vanes.

2. In a variable stator turbo jet engine of a type having a plurality of stages of compressor stator vanes each operated by means of a control ring having crank means thereon coupled to each of the compressor stator vanes and a drive pin on the ring, the improvement comprising a turbine output shaft, a plurality of individual rotary to linear actuator means, means for coupling the output of each of said actuator means to selected ones of the control rings for controlling stages of compressor stator vanes individually, a power transfer unit having an input drive shaft thereto coupled to said turbine output shaft, a plurality of pairs of back-to-back fluid gap clutches each having an input shaft thereto, gear means for transferring power from the input shaft of said power transfer unit to each of said clutch input shafts, each of said fluid gap back-to-back clutches having an input rotor and an output rotor with a fluid gap therebetween, means connecting each of said input rotors to the input shaft of each clutch, energizable coil means for magnetically coupling said input rotors to said output rotors, an output shaft from each of said pair of clutches coupled directly to one of said output rotors, reversing gear means coupling the other of said output rotors to said output drive shaft, a flexible drive cable having one end thereof to said output shaft and the opposite end thereof connected to the input of one of said rotary to linear converters, and means for selectively energizing each of said field coils of the plurality of pairs of back-to-back fluid gap clutches to produce individual control of a plurality of individual compressor stator vane stages.