Actuator mounted to torque box

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9777643-B2
Application number	US-201514684689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 13, 2015
Priority date	May 31, 2012
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

An actuator system mounted to a gas turbine engine that communicates mechanical power for positioning variable guide vanes within the gas turbine engine. The actuator system includes a torque box having components for communicating mechanical power to the variable guide vanes for positioning the vanes and an actuator mechanically coupled to provide mechanical power to the components of the torque box used to communicate the provided mechanical power to the inlet guide vanes. The actuator is mounted to the torque box via an elongate fastener extending in one direction and another elongate fastener extending in another direction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An actuator system comprising:
a torque box having components for communicating mechanical power to variable guide vanes for positioning, wherein the torque box is mounted to an exterior side of an engine case associated with a gas turbine engine; and
an actuator mechanically coupled to provide mechanical power to the components of the torque box used to communicate the provided mechanical power to the variable guide vanes, wherein the actuator is mounted directly to the torque box via a first elongate fastener extending in a first direction between a first hole in the actuator and a second hole in the torque box and a second elongate fastener extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction between a third hole in the actuator and a fourth hole in the torque box.

2. The actuator system of claim 1 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

3. The actuator system of claim 2 , wherein the first direction extends radially from a centerline axis of the gas turbine engine and the second direction is tangential to the centerline axis.

4. The actuator system of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is further mounted directly to the torque box via a third elongate fastener extending in one of the first direction and the second direction.

5. The actuator system of claim 4 , wherein the third elongate fastener is attached to the torque box at a location radially inward of the first and/or second elongate fasteners.

6. The actuator system of claim 4 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

7. The actuator system of claim 5 , wherein the first direction extends radially from a centerline axis of the gas turbine engine and the second direction is tangential to the centerline axis.

8. The actuator system of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is a linear actuator that communicates mechanical power in a direction parallel with an engine centerline axis.

9. The actuator system of claim 8 , wherein the torque box includes a bell crank having at least a first end and a second end, wherein the bell crank is pivotally attached to the torque box at a pivot point located between the first end and the second end.

10. The actuator system of claim 9 , wherein the first end of the bell crank is attached to the linear actuator, and the second end of the bell crank is attached to linkages for communicating mechanical power to the variable guide vanes.

11. A gas turbine engine comprising:
an engine case;
a compressor and/or turbine stage having at least a first plurality of stationary variable guide vanes (VGVs) circumferentially spaced around the gas turbine engine radially inward of the engine case, and a second plurality of stationary variable guide vanes (VGVs) circumferentially spaced around the gas turbine engine radially inward of the engine case, wherein the first plurality of VGVs are axially spaced from the second plurality of VGVs;
a torque box mounted to the engine case that includes components for communicating mechanical power to the first plurality of VGVs and the second plurality of VGVs; and
a linear actuator mounted directly to the torque box via a first elongate fastener extending in a first direction between a first hole in the actuator and a second hole in the torque box and a second elongate fastener extending in a second direction that is different than the first direction between a third hole in the actuator and a fourth hole in the torque box and coupled to provide mechanical force to the components of the torque box to selectively position the first plurality of VGVs and the second plurality of VGVs.

12. The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

13. The gas turbine engine of claim 12 , wherein the first direction extends radially from a centerline axis of the gas turbine engine and the second direction is tangential to the centerline axis.

14. The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein the torque box is mounted to an exterior side of an engine case associated with the gas turbine engine.

15. The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the actuator is further mounted directly to the torque box via a third elongate fastener extending in one of the first direction and the second direction.

16. The gas turbine engine of claim 15 , wherein the third elongate fastener is attached to the torque box at a location radially inward of the first and/or second elongate fasteners.

17. The gas turbine engine of claim 15 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

18. The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the torque box includes a bell crank having at least a first end and a second end, wherein the bell crank is pivotally attached to the torque box at a pivot point located between the first end and the second end.

19. The gas turbine engine of claim 18 , wherein the first end of the bell crank is attached to the linear actuator, and the second end of the bell crank is attached to linkages for communicating mechanical power to the variable guide vanes.

20. An actuator system comprising:
a torque box having components for communicating mechanical power to variable guide vanes for positioning; and
a linear actuator mechanically coupled to the components of the torque box used to communicate the provided mechanical power to the variable guide vanes to provide mechanical power in a direction parallel with an engine centerline axis, wherein the actuator is mounted directly to the torque box via a first elongate fastener extending in a first direction between a first hole in the actuator and a second hole in the torque box and a second elongate fastener extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction between a third hole in the actuator and a fourth hole in the torque box.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Pudvah Bernard W
• Gasmen Eugene C
• Wiecko Stanley

Classifications

• F04D29/563

  specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F16H21/44

  for conveying or interconverting oscillating or reciprocating motions · CPC title

• F02C9/22 Primary

  by adjusting turbine vanes · CPC title

• F05D2260/56

  using cams or eccentrics · CPC title

• F05D2250/312

  the axes being parallel to each other · CPC title