Sundstrand Corporation

Richard E Walsh

David J Lang

David G Bannon

Duane H Grimm

John M Vandyke

John E Ames

Leslie L Bevans

Craig S Legault

A control mechanism is provided which feathers the propeller blade pitch during stopping and stores restart energy in the blade pitch governor mechanism. Deceleration to the feathered mode is aided by the airstream. During restart, excess stored energy is used to increase reliability, but is then dissipated mechanically, as by a flywheel mechanism, to maintain low internal impact stresses. More specifically, where single governor spring is used for controlling the pitch of all propeller blades, a braked ball screw device is used to compress that spring during stoppage. Upon restart, the governor spring expands and causes blade pitch change. The ball screw arrangement then dissipates a large portion of the excess energy through torque transmission to mechanical components.

Control mechanism for RAM air turbine

Drag produced by cold, viscous oil, interacting with the gear meshes of a gear drive (8) connected to a ram air turbine (2) of an aircraft (1), is controlled to allow proper start-up of the ram air turbine. The lubricating oil is isolated from the gear meshes in remote sumps (11, 12) when the turbine is located in the stowed, inoperative position. An oil metering orifice controls the oil flow from the remote sumps to gearbox sumps with movement of the turbine from the stowed position (A) to the deployed position (B), so as to delay the application of cold, viscous coil to the gear meshes until after start-up of the turbine. This avoids excessive start times and failure to start from the high drag caused by cold, viscous oil on the gear meshes.

Method and apparatus for deploying ram air turbine and lubricating gear

A mechanical stop mechanism (15 or 15') adapted to be accommodated in a container (29) having at least one fixed stop (18, 19) defining a limit position for the stop mechanism (15 or 15'). The stop mechanism (15 or 15') includes a helical spring member (S) mounted on a hub (20), with the helical spring member (S) having an active spring length (l) dimensioned so as to absorb impacting forces of the stop mechanism (15 or 15') against the at least one fixed stop (18, 19) by compression of the material of the helical spring member (S).

Low spring rate mechanical stop

A mechanism for converting linear displacement of a piston to angular displacement of a shaft by positioning a cam in a recess of a unitary piston which is adapted for positioning by differential fluid forces applied to opposite ends of the piston. To provide a linear displacement drive for a shaft positioned to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the piston, a cam profile consisting of two symmetrical, opposite and identical involutes is employed.

Involute cam actuator with piston drive

A pressure sealed, laminated fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger is disclosed herein. The heat exchanger includes a laminated stack of alternating orifice and spacer plates with the orientation of the spacer plates relative to the orifice plates defining first and second fluid paths. A low pressure fluid conduit is provided for connecting a low pressure fluid supply to one of the fluid paths. A high pressure shell houses the stack and includes inlet and outlet ports for a high pressure fluid. The high pressure fluid enters the shells and traverses the other fluid path and also places the stack under compression to aid the bonds between the spacer plates and the orifice plates.

Pressure sealed laminated heat exchanger

Rapid wear in a gear pump construction due to shaft deflection during pump operation and of the sort including a housing having an interior wall defining a pumping chamber, opposed inlet and outlet ports meshed gears within the chamber, a pair of shafts mounting the gears and bushings journalling the shafts is avoided by providing at least some of the bushings near their ends remote from the gears and on their sides remote from the outlet with radially outwardly opening slots extending generally transverse to the shafts.

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Rockford, IL, United States of America

Richard E Walsh