United Technologies Corporation

Robert A Stone

Jules G Kish

Raymond G Carlson

Charles J Isabelle

Leo Kingston

Ray D Leoni

An elastomeric load sharing device, interposed in combination between a driven gear and a central drive shaft to facilitate balanced torque distribution in split power transmission systems, includes a cylindrical elastomeric bearing and a plurality of elastomeric bearing pads. The elastomeric bearing and bearing pads comprise one or more layers, each layer including an elastomer having a metal backing strip secured thereto. The elastomeric bearing is configured to have a high radial stiffness and a low torsional stiffness and is operative to radially center the driven gear and to minimize torque transfer through the elastomeric bearing. The bearing pads are configured to have a low radial and torsional stiffness and a high axial stiffness and are operative to compressively transmit torque from the driven gear to the drive shaft. The elastomeric load sharing device has spring rates that compensate for mechanical deviations in the gear train assembly to provide balanced torque distribution between complementary load paths of split power transmission systems.

Elastomeric load sharing device

A spring clutch assembly has an input clutch member (2), an output clutch member (3), and a spring (12) disposed over a coaxial arbor (9). The spring clutch assembly further includes an independently rotatable shaft (16) disposed in a passage extending through the arbor. The shaft includes a splined surface (19) engaged by an axially movable collar (23) having a mating splined surface. The collar is mounted a chamber (20) in the input member, and has extending ears (25) and (26) located in slots (21) and (22) in the chamber sidewall. A cap (30) is fitted to an output end of the shaft and has an arm (38) extending into engagement with an end coil (41). The arm includes a projection which engages a recess in the coil. Axial movement of the collar causes the shaft to turn, relative to the arbor, with the arm forcing the coil spring to compress, disengaging the teaser coils from the output drive surface. Utilizing a shaft assembly for manual clutch disengagement allows the input member to be rotated without rotating the output member.

Actuated spring clutch assembly

A tunable vibration absorber in a helicopter rotor hub arrangement with a central mass suspended in a symmetrical outer casing over the rotor hub, including an air spring for variably stiffly supporting said central mass in three dimensions.

Helicopter air-spring vibration absorber

A ramp/roller freewheeling clutch (FIG. 2) has a driving member with ramps 19 adapted to wedge rollers 21 against the driving surface 28 of a driven member 29 when the driving member 13 is rotated in the driving direction. The rollers are positioned adjacent the ramps by a primary cage 22, which can be rotated with respect to the driving member 13 so as to force the rollers out of engagement with the ramps 19 and into recesses 20. A secondary cage 39 disposed in fixed relation with the driving member 13 has cam surfaces 37 such that rotation of the primary cage to disengage the rollers forces them up the ramps and locks them in place with the recesses 20 of the driving member 13, thereby to avoid contact with the driven member 29 when the clutch is disengaged.

Freewheel ramp/roller clutch with positive lock-out

A vibration isolation system in which a supported body is supported from a vibration excitation body which is prone to vibrate at a predominant frequency and to impart such vibratory forces and motions to the supported body. The isolation system is of the antiresonant type and operable to provide vibration force and motion isolation of the supported body from the vibration excitation body both axially along and rotationally about three mutually perpendicular axes, thereby giving the supported body six degrees of vibration isolation from the vibration excitation body.

Vibration isolation system

A coupling for connecting two high speed rotating shafts and fabricated so as to have torsional and radial stiffness and angular and axial softness and to accommodate maximum misalignment variation between the axes of the shafts so joined.

High speed shaft flexible coupling with maximum shaft misalignment

An angle gear box for a helicopter main rotor drive has a more compact arrangement of the usual gear train elements of the input section as well as a freewheel unit. The input section gear train includes a power input shaft mounted on bearings and having a bevel pinion and a power output shaft mounted on bearings and having a bevel gear meshing with the pinion. The output shaft has an axial chamber in which the freewheel unit is housed and from which it can be readily removed without disturbing the mounting elements of the gear train and the critical relationship of the high speed bevel gears.

Growing community of inventors

Sandy Hook, CT, United States of America

Robert A Stone