Removable Bearing Cap Structure for Compact Rotary Actuators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotary mechanisms in aircraft, such as rotary actuators, face challenges in maintaining effective bearing performance due to wear over time, necessitating improved access for bearing replacement while minimizing the size and weight of the mechanism.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a removable cap that forms a raceway with radially inner and outer bearing races, allowing for easy insertion and removal of bearings through an opening, and is retained by an annular component to close the opening and reduce the closure area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If a removable cap is provided to enable bearing replacement, then ease of repair is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The closure structure is segmented into a removable cap and the main housing body. The cap can be detached to provide access to bearings for replacement, while the main housing remains intact. This segmentation allows easy bearing replacement without compromising the overall structural integrity of the actuator assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap is extracted as a separate removable component from the housing. By taking out the closure function into a detachable cap, bearings become accessible for replacement while the cap itself can be stored or replaced independently when damaged.
2Volume of moving object
If the closure area is reduced to minimize size, then volume of moving object is improved, but ease of operation for bearing installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is designed with dynamic characteristics that facilitate easy removal and reattachment. The cap can be quickly detached to install bearings and securely reattached afterward, providing temporary open access during maintenance while maintaining a compact closed structure during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the closure into a removable cap, the design achieves a compact overall volume when closed while providing adequate access space when the cap is removed for bearing installation.
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary mechanism includes: an earth annulus, an output annulus, a radially inner bearing race formed on or by one of the earth annulus and the output annulus, a radially outer bearing race partially formed on or by the other of the earth annulus and the output annulus, an opening in the other of the earth annulus and the output annulus, and a removable cap configured to be received by the other of the earth annulus and the output annulus to form a raceway with the radially inner bearing race and the radially outer bearing race and to close the opening. The raceway extends circumferentially and between the earth annulus and the output annulus. The earth annulus is rotatable relative to the output annulus. A plurality of bearings is received in the raceway and is insertable into and removable from the raceway via the opening when the cap is removed.