System for changing the pitch of a turboprop engine comprising an upstream pair of contrarotating propellers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11052994-B2
Application number	US-201616067523-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2016
Priority date	Jan 5, 2016
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

A turbine engine module including an upstream propulsive unit including a propellers doublet that are upstream and downstream, respectively mounted around an axis, a power turbine shaft with axis of rotation intended for rotating the propellers doublet, a speed reducer connected to the propellers doublet and driven by the shaft, and, a pitch-changing system including a cylinder that controls the pitch of the blades of the upstream propeller the rotational axis of the propellers doublet is shifted in relation to that of the shaft. The cylinder is placed downstream of the reducer, and the pitch-changing system includes a shaft for controlling the pitch of the blades that connect the cylinder to the blades of the upstream propeller.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Turbine engine module comprising:
an upstream propulsive unit comprising a propellers doublet respectively upstream and downstream, each of said upstream and downstream propellers comprising blades,
a power turbine shaft intended for rotating the propellers doublet,
a speed reducer connected to the propellers doublet and driven by the power turbine shaft,
a pitch-changing system comprising a cylinder that controls the pitch of the blades of the upstream propeller,

a rotational axis (XX) of the propellers doublet being shifted in relation to a rotational axis (YY) of the power turbine shaft, characterised by the fact that the cylinder is placed downstream of the speed reducer, and in that the pitch-changing system comprises a control shaft for controlling the pitch of the blades that connect the cylinder to the blades of the upstream propeller, the cylinder being arranged in such a way as to move the control shaft axially, the speed reducer of which comprising a differential gear train with a sun gear, a planetary carrier and a ring gear, with the control shaft for controlling the pitch of the blades passing through the sun gear.

2. The module according to claim 1 , of which the control shaft is movable in translation along the rotational axis of the propellers doublet.

3. The module according to claim 1 , the pitch-changing system of which comprises a pitch-changing mechanism which comprises pivots of the blades, with the control shaft being connected to the pivots of the blades in such a way that the axial movement of the control shaft causes the change in the pitch of the blades.

4. The module according to claim 3 , wherein the kinematics between the pitch-changing mechanism, the control shaft and the cylinder is arranged in such a way that the control shaft works primarily in traction.

5. The module according to claim 4 , the control shaft of which is rotatably mounted with respect to a movable member of the cylinder by a load transfer bearing.

6. The module according to claim 1 , the control shaft of which is integral in rotation with the upstream propeller.

7. The module according to claim 6 , the control shaft of which is guided by guideways, inside the rotor of the upstream propeller.

8. The module according to claim 7 , wherein the control shaft is guided by the guideways with balls.

9. The module according to claim 1 , an air intake of which of an engine comprises an air intake sleeve, with the air intake sleeve having the form of a lobe adjacent to the speed reducer.

10. The module according to claim 1 , the speed reducer of which comprises a first stage in the form of a simple gear train between the power turbine shaft and the differential gear train.

11. The module according to claim 10 , wherein the simple gear train of the first stage comprises a wheel connected to the sun gear of the speed reducer.

12. The module according to claim 1 , the planetary carrier of which is connected to the upstream propeller and the ring gear to the downstream propeller of the propellers doublet, with the module further comprising a fixed structure with a sleeve, a first shaft element being supported by bearings inside the sleeve, said first shaft element connecting the ring gear to the upstream propeller, a second shaft element supported by bearings inside the first shaft element, with the second shaft element connecting the planetary carrier to the downstream propeller.

Assignees

• Safran Aircraft Engines

Inventors

• Charier Gilles Alain
• Nguyen Van Thomas Julien

Classifications

• B64C11/306 Primary

  specially adapted for contrarotating propellers · CPC title

• Y02T50/60

  Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft · CPC title

• F05D2250/44

  by counter rotation · CPC title

• F01D7/00

  Rotors with blades adjustable in operation; Control thereof (for reversing F01D1/30) · CPC title

• F05D2260/40311

  of the epicyclical, planetary or differential type · CPC title