COMPACT SPINAL TRANSMISSION

Abstract

The invention relates to an assembly comprising a drive gearbox (10) for an aircraft (1) and an accessory (30), the gearbox comprising: a connecting shaft (110) adapted to be driven by the propulsion system, a main shaft (120) adapted to be driven by the connecting shaft (110), and two bevel gears (122, 123) which are integral with the main shaft (120) and have different diameters (d.sub.122, d.sub.123), the accessory comprising: a high-speed accessory shaft (31) comprising a bevel gear (310), a low-speed accessory shaft (32) comprising a bevel gear (320), such that each gear (310, 320) on the accessory shafts (31, 32) meshes with one of the two bevel gears (122, 123) on the main shaft (120), so that the two accessory shafts (31, 32) rotate at different speeds relative to one another.

Claims

1. An assembly comprising an accessory gearbox of an aircraft and a piece of equipment selected from among a multistage pump or a multistage lubrication unit, said gearbox being adapted for transmitting the power of a propulsion unit of the aircraft to the piece of equipment, the gearbox comprising: A connection shaft, adapted for being driven by the propulsion unit, A main shaft, adapted for being driven by the connection shaft, Two bevel gears integral with the main shaft, said gears having different diameters, the piece of equipment comprising: a high-speed equipment shaft comprising a bevel gear, a low-speed equipment shaft, comprising a bevel gear, characterized in that each gear of the equipment shafts is meshed respectively with one of the two bevel gears of the main shaft, so that the two equipment shafts rotate at different speeds from each other.

2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bevel gears are placed facing one another, so that driving the two equipment shafts occurs in opposite directions.

3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein the connection shaft is tilted with respect to the main shaft.

4. A system comprising an assembly according to claim 1, also comprising a propulsion system, said propulsion system driving the connection shaft.

5. The assembly or system according to claim 1, comprising at least two pieces of equipment, the two pieces of equipment being driven by the same bevel gears of the gearbox.

6. The assembly or system according to claim 1, wherein at least one bevel gear is a spiral bevel or hypoid gear.

7. An aircraft comprising a system according to claim 6, wherein the propulsion system is a turboprop.

Description

PRESENTATION OF THE FIGURES

[0050] Other features, aims and advantages of the invention will be revealed by the description that follows, which is purely illustrative and not limiting, and which must be read with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

[0051] FIGS. 1 and 2 show AGBs conforming to the prior art,

[0052] FIG. 3 shows a 3D view of an AGB conforming to the invention,

[0053] FIG. 4 shows a schematic of an AGB architecture conforming to a first embodiment,

[0054] FIG. 5 shows a geometric feasibility schematic,

[0055] FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment,

[0056] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment,

[0057] FIG. 10 shows several pieces of equipment driven by a single bevel gear,

[0058] FIG. 11 shows the first and the third embodiments integrated in the same AGB.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1.SUP.st .Embodiment

[0059] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the AGB 10 comprises first of all: [0060] a connection shaft 110 adapted to be meshed with the propulsion unit, said connection shaft 110 comprising a leading meshing member 111, [0061] a main shaft 120, comprising a receiving meshing member 121. The leading 111 and receiving 121 meshing members form a first bell crank R1.

[0062] The main shaft 120, due to its rotation, transmits mechanical power to the equipment 30, 40, . . . , 60. For this purpose, the mains shaft 120 further comprises a first bevel gear 122 and a second bevel gear 123 integral with the main shaft 120. What is meant by integral is integral in rotation due to a screw, welding or clamping connection. The two bevel gears 122, 123 have different respective diameters d.sub.122, d.sub.123 and different pitch angles δ.sub.122, δ.sub.123. The pitch angle is defined with respect to the shaft on which the bevel gear is mounted (see FIG. 5).

[0063] The pitch angles δ.sub.122, δ.sub.123 define axes Δ.sub.122, Δ.sub.123 which are concurrent at one point P.

[0064] The first bevel gear 122 comprises Z.sub.122 teeth and the second bevel gear comprises Z.sub.123 teeth. It is well understood that the number of teeth is directly correlated to the diameter of the gear.

[0065] According to a first variant, the bevel gears 122, 123 are placed facing one another, in other words the point P is situated between the two wheels 122, 123 (see FIG. 4) or the pitch angles δ.sub.122, δ.sub.123 defined in an oriented manner have opposite signs.

[0066] According to a second variant, the bevel gears 122, 123 are placed in series, in other words the point P is located outside the two gears 122, 123 (not shown in the figures) or the pitch angles δ.sub.122, δ.sub.123 defined in an oriented manner, have the same sign.

[0067] In this manner, the bevel gears 122, 123 are adapted for receiving a piece of equipment 30 requiring two input speeds. To that end, the equipment 30 comprises a first equipment shaft 31 and a second equipment shaft 32, the two shafts being concentric. When the equipment 30 is installed on the AGB 10, the axis defined by the two equipment shafts runs through the point P defined previously.

[0068] The first equipment shaft 31 comprises a bevel gear 310, with .sub.2310 teeth, which is meshed with the first bevel gear 122 of the main shaft 120. Said two bevel gears 122, 310 thus form a second bell crank R2.

[0069] The second equipment shaft 32 comprises a bevel gear 320, with .sup.2.sub.320 teeth, which is meshed with the second bevel gear 123 of the main shaft 120. Said two bevel gears 123, 320 thus form a third bell crank R3.

[0070] In order to allow the equipment 30 to be assembled, it is naturally necessary that the axes defined by the pitch angles δ.sub.30, δ.sub.320 of the bevel gears 310, 320 of the equipment shafts 31, 32 join at said point P.

[0071] Preferably, the equipment shafts 31, 32 are orthogonal to the main shaft 120 but such a condition is not necessary.

[0072] FIG. 5 illustrates the geometric feasibility of the architecture as well as the rotation speeds of the various shafts.

[0073] The speed of rotation of part i is designated ω.sub.i. Setting d.sub.122>d.sub.123 (and consequently Z.sub.122>Z.sub.123) and, arbitrarily δ.sub.122<δ.sub.123 with δ.sub.122+δ.sub.310=δ.sub.123+δ.sub.320a=90° (orthogonality of the shafts);

[0074] Thus, we have:

ω.sub.31=Z.sub.310/Z.sub.122.Math.ω.sub.120=tan (δ.sub.122);

Ω.sub.32=Z.sub.320/Z.sub.123.Math.ω.sub.120=tan (δ.sub.123);
but δ.sub.122>δ.sub.123, hence ω.sub.31>ω.sub.32.

[0075] Two coaxial equipment shafts 31, 32 are thus obtained, which rotate at different speeds. The speeds of the two shafts 31, 32 are thus independent, that is to say that by selecting suitable parameters, the speeds can be adjusted independently of one another, even if the two equipment shafts 31, 32 are driven by the same main shaft 120.

[0076] In fact, the reduction ratios depend directly on the number of teeth of the bevel gears 122, 123 of the main shaft 120 and the bevel gears 310, 320 of the equipment 30.

2.SUP.nd .Embodiment

[0077] The structure of the AGB is similar to that of the first embodiment, with the connection shaft 110 and the main shaft 120 with the first bell crank R1.

[0078] The main shaft 120 comprises a bevel gear 124.

[0079] An epicyclic gear train 13 is meshed with the bevel gear 124. The epicyclic gear train 13 comprises an entry sun gear 131, an output sun gear 132, at least one planet gear 133 and a planet carrier 134. The output sun gear also comprises an output shaft 132a.

[0080] According to a first alternative (see FIG. 6), the planet carrier 134 comprises a shaft 134a and a bevel gear 134b which is meshed with the bevel gear 124 of the main shaft 120. The equipment shafts 31, 32 are integral in rotation with respectively the planet carrier 134 and the output sun gear 132 (or the reverse), which for their part are rotating along the same axis at different speeds.

[0081] According to a second alternative (see FIG. 7), the input sun gear 131 comprises a shaft 131a and a bevel gear 131b which is meshed with the bevel gear 124 of the main gear 120. The equipment shafts 31, 32 are integral in rotation respectively with the input sun gear 131 and the output sun gear 132 (or the reverse), which are themselves rotating on the same axis at different speeds.

[0082] These alternatives are not limiting and are adaptable without difficulty for a person skilled in the art to different types of epicyclic gear trains. In fact, an epicyclic gear train is defined by three values of angular rotation (those of the input sun gear 131, of the output sun gear 132, and of the satellite carrier 133). Consequently, there exists a plurality of alternatives.

[0083] More generally, an input shaft 131a, 134a and an output shaft 132a, integral in rotation respectively with one of the two equipment shafts 31, 32 are defined. Moreover, the input shaft 131a comprises a bevel gear 131b, 134b driven by the bevel gear 124 of the main shaft.

3.SUP.rd .Embodiment

[0084] Referring to FIG. 8, the bell crank R1 is strictly comprised between 0 and 90°, that is to say that the axes of the transfer shaft 110 and of the main shaft 120 do not define a right angle. To that end, the leading meshing member 111 of the connection shaft 110 is a bevel gear with pitch angle δ.sub.111 and the receiving meshing member 121 of the main shaft is a bevel gear with pitch angle δ.sub.121 and with diameter d.sub.121. Recall that the pitch angle is defined with the shaft on which the bevel gear is mounted.

[0085] The pitch angles δ.sub.111, δ.sub.121 define axes Δ.sub.111, Δ.sub.121 which are concurrent at a point Q.

[0086] The connection shaft 110 is tilted with respect to the mains shaft 120, which means that the sum of the pitch angles δ.sub.111+δ.sub.121 is not equal to 90°.

[0087] In this embodiment, a secondary shaft 150 is assembled, concentric with the main shaft 120. This secondary shaft 150 comprises a first bevel gear 151 with diameter d.sub.151 which is meshed with the bevel gear 111 of the connection shaft 110. For reasons of geometry, the axis Δ.sub.151 defined by the pitch angle δ.sub.151 also runs through the point Q.

[0088] Due to the non-orthogonality of the connection shaft 111 and of the main shaft 120, diameter d.sub.121 is less than diameter d.sub.151. Consequently, given that the bevel gears 121, 151 mesh with a common meshing part—the bevel gear 111, the rotation speeds of the main shaft 120 and of the secondary shaft 150 are different. Note also that the direction of rotation are different. The secondary shaft 150 comprises at least one second bevel gear 152, which feeds a piece of equipment 40 through the equipment shaft 41 and a bevel gear 42 on said shaft 41. In the present case, the equipment 40 requires only needs to be fed at one speed.

[0089] In a complementary fashion, the main shaft 120 comprises at least one other bevel gear 125 which meshes with another piece of equipment 50.

[0090] Thus, the architecture presented makes it possible to have different speeds for supplying different equipment.

[0091] According to a variant of the third embodiment, the equipment 30 as defined in the first embodiment can be fed by the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, in this variant, the bevel gear 152 of the secondary shaft 150 meshes with the bevel gear 310 of the equipment shaft 31 and the bevel gear 125 of the main shaft meshes with the bevel gear 320 of the equipment shaft 32.

[0092] In this manner, the third embodiment also makes it possible to feed a piece of equipment requiring two input speeds.

[0093] In the foregoing description, each bevel gear of the main shaft 120 drives only one piece of equipment 30, 40, 50. For reasons of optimizing space and bulk, each bevel gear of the main shaft 120 can drive several pieces of equipment, by positioning them around the shaft, either at regular angular intervals (between 30° and 180° for example, see FIGS. 3 and 10) via multiple meshing.

[0094] Finally, the three embodiments are not exclusive and can be implemented two by two, or all three in the same AGB 10. FIG. 11 thus shows for example the first and third embodiments (with the two variants) on one AGB 10.

[0095] Advantageously, the bevel gears used to drive the different elements are spiral bevel gears, or Zérol® type gears, or hypoid gears, or more generally helical gearing.

[0096] Combinations of different types of gearing can be contemplated, depending on the type of power transfer, speeds of rotation and mechanical constraints.