Cable drive system for variable vane operation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10458271-B2
Application number	US-201615079392-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 24, 2016
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

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.

First claim

What is claimed is:

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.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Chandler Jesse M
• Suciu Gabriel L
• Stack Joseph

Classifications

• F01D25/34

  Turning or inching gear · CPC title

• F01D17/14

  varying effective cross-sectional area of nozzles or guide conduits · CPC title

• F01D17/12

  arranged in stator parts · CPC title

• F01D9/042

  fixing blades to stators (fixing stator-rings in the casing or to each other F01D25/246) · CPC title

• F01D17/16

  by means of nozzle vanes · CPC title