Concentric Shaft Gear Alignment via Biasing Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
In integrated drive generators for aircraft engines, gear contact issues arise due to packaging constraints and variable rotational speeds, leading to undesirable interactions between nested coaxial gears.
Innovation Solution
A gear assembly with concentric shafts and a biasing assembly, including a loading member and a helical spring, maintains a desired gap between adjacent gears, utilizing a splined connection and bearings to ensure proper spacing and prevent gear contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If nested coaxial shafts with adjacent gears are used to meet packaging constraints, then the device compactness is improved, but gear contact and interference occur during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs nested coaxial shafts where the variable speed shaft is positioned inside the fixed speed shaft, allowing both shafts with their respective gears to occupy a compact radial space. This nesting arrangement achieves space efficiency while preventing gear contact through the introduction of a biasing assembly that maintains proper axial spacing between the nested gears.
Solution Approach 2:
A biasing assembly comprising a spring and loading member is introduced as an intermediary element between the variable speed shaft and the fixed speed shaft. This biasing assembly actively maintains a desired gap between the adjacent gears on the nested shafts, preventing harmful gear contact while allowing the compact nested configuration to be maintained.
2Power
If gear widths are increased to handle loading requirements, then the power transmission capability is improved, but gear contact between adjacent gears occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing assembly is pre-configured with appropriate spring force to establish the desired gap between gears before operation begins. This preliminary action ensures that as the variable speed shaft moves axially during operation, the gears remain properly spaced and never contact each other, even under varying load conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing assembly provides dynamic adjustment of the gap between gears as the variable speed shaft moves axially during operation. The spring force automatically compensates for changes in operating conditions, maintaining optimal gear spacing throughout the range of motion and preventing contact under varying power transmission demands.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively maintains a consistent gap between gears, preventing contact and ensuring a fixed rotational speed output to the generator, enhancing operational reliability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing element urging the loading member against the end
Data Source
AI summary
A gear assembly includes first and second shafts concentric with one another. First and second gears are respectively provided by the first and second shafts and are arranged adjacent to one another. A biasing assembly cooperates with at least one of the first and second shafts to maintain a desired gap between the first and second gears.