ARTICULATING COUPLING ASSEMBLY

Abstract

An articulating coupling assembly for coupling a pipe end to a support structure, the assembly including: a pipe end fitting configured for fitting onto a free end of a pipe; a spherical bearing which is part of said pipe end fitting, the spherical bearing having a maximum diameter not greater than that of the pipe end fitting; a flanged collar configured to receive the pipe end fitting in a snug fit; a radially outer wall of the spherical bearing having one or more slots extending along the bearing in a direction parallel to the axial direction of said pipe; and a radially inner wall of the flanged collar having one or more radially inwardly protruding dogs proportioned to be received snugly in the one or more slots of the radially outer wall of the spherical bearing.

Claims

1. An articulating coupling assembly for coupling a pipe end to a support structure, the assembly comprising; a pipe end fitting configured for fitting on a free end of a pipe, the fitting equipped with a spherical bearing, the spherical bearing having a maximum diameter not greater than the pipe end fitting, a flanged collar configured to receive the pipe end fitting in a snug fit, a radially outer wall of the spherical bearing having one or more slots extending along the spherical bearing in a direction parallel to the axial direction of said pipe, a radially inner wall of the flanged collar having one or more radially inwardly protruding dogs proportioned to be received snugly in the one or more slots of the radially outer wall of the spherical bearing.

2. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the number of slots in the spherical bearing is equal to the number of dogs provided on the flanged collar.

3. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the number of slots in the spherical bearing is greater than the number of dogs provided on the flanged collar.

4. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spherical bearing has a circumferential array of equally spaced slots.

5. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the number of dogs is a factor of the number of slots.

6. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein the number of dogs is a factor of the number of slots.

7. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 5 comprising 3 equally spaced dogs and 9 equally spaced slots and the dogs are arranged to engage in every third slot.

8. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 6 comprising 3 equally spaced dogs and 9 equally spaced slots and the dogs are arranged to engage in every third slot.

9. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a long reach nut configured to threadedly engage with the pipe end fitting.

10. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the long reach nut is configured to couple with a connecting pipe.

11. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 arranged to couple a double skinned pipe to a connecting pipe.

12. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein an inner skin of the double skinned pipe is located within the spherical bearing and an outer skin of the double skinned pipe has an inner diameter approximately equal to the maximum outer diameter of the spherical bearing and there are less dogs than slots.

13. An articulating coupling assembly as claimed in claim 1 used to couple sections of an oil feed or oil scavenge pipe line extending across a gas turbine engine in a radial direction with respect to the engine axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] By way of example, an embodiment of an articulating coupling assembly in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which;

[0019] FIG. 1 shows an articulating coupling assembly as is known in the prior art;

[0020] FIG. 2 shows the articulating coupling assembly of FIG. 1 in situ coupling pipes passing through a wall of a support structure;

[0021] FIG. 3 shows a 3-D wire frame drawing of an embodiment of an assembled articulating coupling assembly in accordance with the invention;

[0022] FIG. 4 shows a section through the embodiment of FIG. 3 taken in a radial plane passing through the spherical bearing of the embodiment of FIG. 3;

[0023] FIG. 5 shows a section through the embodiment of FIG. 3 taken in an axial plane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0024] As can be seen in FIG. 3, a double skinned pipe has an inner skin 31 and an outer skin 32. An end of the outer skin 32 is snugly received within a bore of a flanged collar 33. At an end of the inner skin 32, a pipe end fitting 34 is provided which contains a spherical bearing 35. An outer wall 35a of the spherical bearing 35 is provided with an array of axially extending and circumferentially equally spaced recessed slots 36. A radially inner wall of the flanged collar 33 has radially inwardly extending dogs 37 proportioned to fit within the recessed slots 36 whereby to prevent relative rotation between the inner skin and the flanged collar 33. A flange 38 is arranged at one end of the collar 33 and has a circumferential array of bolt holes 38a by means of which it can be secured to a support surface (not shown) having a matching array of holes with the aid of a plurality of bolts secured through the holes.

[0025] A long reach nut 39 is inserted from the flanged end of the flanged collar 33 and threads onto the pipe end fitting 34. The long reach nut 39 is proportioned to provide a small clearance between it and other adjacent components. A connecting pipe (not shown) may be connected by means of this long reach nut 39, for example with an inner skin inserted into the bore of the long reach nut 39 and an outer skin locating around an outer wall of the long reach nut 39.

[0026] As stated, FIG. 4 provides a cross sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 taken in a radially extending plane which passes through the spherical bearing 35. Similar components are referenced with the same reference numerals as used in FIG. 3. As can be seen, the flanged collar 33 sits snugly around an outer diameter wall of the spherical bearing 35. Nine recessed slots 36 in the spherical bearing 35 extend in a circumferential array, equally spaced around the bearing 35. Three dogs 37 extend radially inwardly from the collar 33 and engage in every third recessed slot 36. The remaining slots 40 provide an array of conduits connecting between opposite ends of the spherical bearing 35. In use the conduits allow fluid to flow continuously in an outer channel bounded by connecting outer skins 32 of a pair of connected double skinned pipes.

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a section through the embodiment of FIG. 3 taken in an axial plane. The same reference numerals correspond to the same components as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0028] In an alternative arrangement, the spherical bearing may be arranged around both skins of the double skinned pipe and the coupling assembled as if the outer skin were a single skin pipe.

[0029] Whilst specific examples herein refer to feed and scavenger pipes for use in a gas turbine engine, the skilled person will understand the assembly of the invention has much wider application for coupling pipes of a range of sizes and uses and in a range of operating environments. The coupling assembly of the invention is, however, of particular value in gas turbine engine applications since it is resilient to the high forces and temperatures encountered therein and is more compact and lightweight than prior known arrangements used in such environments.

[0030] It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments above-described and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concepts described herein and claimed in the appended claims. Except where mutually exclusive, any of the features may be employed separately or in combination with any other features and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.