Integrated drive-generator system

• US 4,252,035 A
• Filed: 08/11/1978
• Issued: 02/24/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sundstrand Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Sundstrand Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Grimm, Duane H., Flygare, Wayne A., Cordner, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Downey, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US05/932,808
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 74/687, 74/730, 74/731
• US Class Current: 475/72
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 41/00 Power installations for auxiliary purposes
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2037/103 Power split variators with each end of the CVT connected or connectable to a Ravigneaux set
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 47/04 the mechanical gearing being of the type with members having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/116 with gears
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 Weight reduction

Abstract

An integrated drive-generator system having a drive input shaft with a mechanical differential positioned in coaxial relation with the drive input shaft, a generator positioned alongside said differential and drive input shaft, and a hydrostatic transmission having a pair of coaxial hydraulically interconnected units positioned alongside said differential and drive input shaft and circumferentially spaced from said generator. A pair of drive connections to said differential are at one end of said hydrostatic transmission and the generator is drivingly connected to another element of the differential and with all of the interconnecting drive elements being located in a generally planar relation at the top of a housing for the system.

Claims

1. An integrated drive-generator system comprising, a housing mounting a drive input shaft, a variable speed transmission, a generator spaced from and in nonaligned relation with the transmission and a mechanical differential positioned adjacent the transmission and the generator, said mechanical differential having a first drive input connection to said drive input shaft, a second drive input connection to the transmission, a first drive output connection to said transmission and a second drive output connection to the generator, both of said drive connections to the transmission being at one end thereof and in generally coplanar relation with the mechanical differential and said drive output connection to the generator.

2. An integrated drive-generator system as defined in claim 1 wherein said variable speed transmission is a hydrostatic transmission.

3. An integrated drive-generator system as defined in claim 2 wherein said hydrostatic transmission has a pair of hydraulically-connected coaxial units with one unit having a variable displacement and connected to said first drive output connection and the other of said units is connected to said second drive input connection.

4. An integrated drive-generator system as defined in claim 3 wherein each of said units has a separate rotatable shaft associated therewith and with one of the shafts being tubular to have the other shaft positioned therein in coaxial relation.

5. An integrated drive-generator system as defined in claim 1 wherein said mechanical differential has a carrier with intermeshing pinion gears and a pair of ring gears associated with said pinion gears, said carrier being connected to the drive input shaft to define said first drive input connection and geared to said transmission to define said first drive output connection, one of said ring gears being geared to said transmission to define said second input drive connection, and the other ring gear being geared to said generator to define the second output drive connection.

6. An integrated drive-generator system comprising a drive input shaft, a mechanical differential positioned in coaxial relation with said drive input shaft for driving thereby, a generator positioned alongside said differential and drive input shaft, a hydrostatic transmission positioned alongside said differential and drive input shaft and circumferentially spaced from said generator and having a pair of units, a pair of shafts connected one to each unit and with one shaft being tubular to receive the other shaft therein, a pair of adjacent gears associated one with each of said shafts, a pair of elements of the mechanical differential geared one to each of said adjacent gears, and another element of the mechanical differential adjacent said pair of elements geared to the generator.

7. An integrated drive-generator system as defined in claim 6 wherein there are a pair of hydrostatic transmissions alongside said differential and drive input shaft and which are geared to said differential.

8. An integrated drive-generator system which is compact and of minimum weight comprising a hydrostatic transmission having a pair of units with coaxial drive shafts connected one to each and each shaft having a gear with the gears being adjacent to each other, a generator and a mechanical differential having a carrier with an external gear, a plurality of intermeshing pinion gears, and a pair of ring gears each with an external gear, all of said external gears lying closely adjacent to each other, a drive connection between one ring gear and the generator, a drive connection between the other ring gear and one of the transmission shaft gears, and drive connections from the drive input shaft to said carrier and therethrough to the other of the transmission shaft gears.

9. An integrated drive-generator system comprising:

a housing;

a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing;

a mechanical differential in coaxial relation with said drive shaft and having a carrier with external gear teeth and which rotatably mounts intermeshing pinion gears, and a pair of ring gears each having external gear teeth and positioned to either side of said carrier gear teeth and geared by internal teeth one to each of said pinion gears;

a hydrostatic transmission having a fixed displacement unit and a variable displacement unit coaxial therewith and located alongside said drive shaft, a first shaft connected to the fixed displacement unit, a quill shaft connected to the variable displacement unit and surrounding the first shaft, a pair of gears connected one to the quill shaft and the other to said first shaft and positioned adjacent each other with the one gear geared to said carrier and the other gear geared to one of said ring gears; and

a generator positioned alongside said drive shaft circumferentially of said hydrostatic transmission and having an input shaft with a gear which is geared to the other of said ring gears, said ring and carrier gears and the gears geared thereto being in a generally planar relation.

10. An integrated drive-generator system comprising, a drive input shaft, a mechanical differential in coaxial relation with said drive input shaft and having a carrier with external gear teeth and which rotatably mounts intermeshing pinion gears, a pair of ring gears associated with different ones of said pinion gears, a hydrostatic transmission having a fixed displacement unit and a variable displacement unit coaxial therewith and located alongisde said drive shaft, a first shaft and a surrounding tubular quill shaft connected one to the fixed displacement unit and the other to the variable displacement unit, said first shaft and quill shaft being geared one to said carrier and the other to one of said ring gears, and a generator positioned alongside said drive shaft circumferentially of said hydrostatic transmission and having an input shaft which is geared to the other of said ring gears.

11. An integrated drive-generator system comprising, a drive input shaft, a hydrostatic transmission having a pair of hydraulically-connected coaxial units each having a drive connection at one end of the transmission, a generator spaced from and in nonaligned relation with the transmission and a mechanical differential positioned between the transmission and the generator, said mechanical differential having a first drive input connection to said drive input shaft, a second drive input connection to the transmission, a first drive output connection to said transmission and a second drive output connection to the generator, said drive connections to the transmission being in generally coplanar relation with said drive output connection to the generator.