Patent Application
20100269321
The present invention relates to a tool for removing from or joining together two objects. More specifically, the embodiments pictured herein are especially useful for assembling or disassembling a spindle and hub.
No federal funds were used to create or develop the invention herein.
Not Applicable
For many years now Sikorsky has designed and built safe reliable aircraft for our service men and women around the world. The H-60 and other similar aircraft are relatively new helicopters, which Sikorsky and others are constantly improving with respect to features, safety, support equipment, and maintenance. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,415, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a pitch actuation restrain device that may be used with the H-60 and other Sikorsky helicopters.
The safety of the H-60 and any other aircraft during operation is highly dependent on proper maintenance. Many maintenance schedules for helicopters require that, at minimum, the spindles be removed from the main rotor hub annually. However, close tolerances between the elastomeric bearing (to which the spindle is secured) and rotor hub make spindle removal and installation very difficult. Many helicopters are four-blade designs, meaning each helicopter includes four spindles each. Using traditional methods, the removal or installation of just one spindle may require two or three maintenance personnel working for 24 hours, for a total of 48-72 man hours.
The traditional methods that maintenance personnel have learned and developed involve inherent risks as a consequence of a desire to minimize aircraft downtime. Maintenance workers often scrape or polish paint and primer off of opposing surfaces of the rotor hub and bearing because of the difficulty of installation of the spindles. Furthermore, maintenance workers often fail to apply sealant between these opposing surfaces and instead apply sealant only to the exterior seam between the bearing and hub. The absence of sealant between the opposing surfaces somewhat mitigates the difficulty of spindle removal, but decreases rotor hub and bearing life due to increased corrosion (which may be a dissimilar metal corrosion depending on materials of construction) between the opposing surfaces of these components.
Maintenance personnel have permanently damaged $130,000 rotor hubs and/or $14,000 elastomeric bearings by attempting to pry the bearing from the rotor hub with a screwdriver, chisel, or other tool. Sometimes personnel use an over head crane at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the bearing to provide a means of force in the direction of spindle removal.
Such procedures have proved very dangerous due to the increased likelihood of the spindle assembly, which may weigh in excess of 150 pounds, to swing uncontrollably from the overhead crane once the spindle assembly has become dislodged from the rotor hub.
Accordingly, a need exists for a better tool and method for removing bearings from hubs, and particularly for removing elastomeric bearings from main rotor hubs of various aircraft.
The present disclosure related to a tool and method to aid in the removal from and/or installation of a bearing to a hub. The embodiments pictured herein are specifically designed to aid removal and/or installation of a spindle assembly (which is secured to an elastomeric bearing) from a main rotor hub of a helicopter.
The tool and method allow maintenance personnel to use proper corrosion preventative primer, paint, and sealant on the opposing surfaces. The tool and method allows personnel to use the manufacturer recommended procedures during spindle assembly removal and installation. This would decrease corrosion between the bearing and rotor hub and eliminate damage to rotor hubs and bearings caused by prying tools. The present tool and method would also save countless man hours and aircraft downtime due to increased efficiency. Additionally, the present tool and method virtually eliminate the likelihood of maintenance personnel injury and/or death during spindle removal and installation.
Universal in its design, the tool may be configured to bolt directly to the spindle (such as the case with the Sea Hawk) or the bearing bolt plate. In the case of pinned-type blades, such as those found on the Sikorsky Black Hawk, the coupler of the tool pins directly to the spindle. A weight may be reciprocated about a handle secured to the coupler to transmit mechanical energy to the spindle and/or bearing. The mechanical energy the tool transmits to the spindle and/or bearing is parallel to the direction the spindle and/or bearing must travel to be removed from or installed in the rotor hub.
In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limited of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings.
Before the various embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that phraseology and terminology used herein with reference to device or element orientation (such as, for example, terms like “front”, “back”, “up”, “down”, “top”, “bottom”, and the like) are only used to simplify description of the present invention, and do not alone indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation. In addition, terms such as “first”, “second”, and “third” are used herein and in the appended claims for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance. Furthermore, any dimensions recited or called out herein are for exemplary purposes only and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention in any way unless so recited in the claims.
A perspective view of one embodiment of the tool 10 is shown in
As shown in
In the embodiment pictured herein, the plate coupler 30 includes six plate apertures 34 arranged in two groups of three near the periphery of the plate coupler 30. Within each group of three, the plate apertures 34 are equally spaced from adjacent plate apertures 34, wherein the angle between adjacent plate apertures 34 is approximately forty five degrees. Accordingly, the angle between the outermost plate apertures 34 of the two groups is approximately ninety degrees. However, this configuration/orientation of plate apertures 34 merely serves as an illustrative example of one embodiment. In another embodiment of the tool 10 not pictured herein, eight plate apertures 34 are equally spaced about the periphery of the plate coupler 30. In still another embodiment not pictured herein, five plate apertures are unequally spaced about the periphery and interior of the plate coupler 30.
The block coupler 40, which is shown in detail in
In the embodiment pictured herein, the block coupler 40 includes two pin apertures 44 positioned adjacent either end of the block coupler 40. The pin apertures 44 are configured such that the longitudinal axis thereof is perpendicular to that of the connector aperture 32 formed in the block coupler 40. However, this configuration/orientation of pin apertures 44 merely serves as an illustrative example of one embodiment. In another embodiment not pictured herein, the block coupler 40 is formed with a single pin aperture therein, wherein the pin aperture 44 is offset to one side of the block coupler 40.
In the embodiment of the tool pictured herein, the plate coupler 30 and block coupler 40 are secured to one another via a plurality of corresponding bolt apertures 16, threaded apertures 17, and bolts 14. As shown in
The arm 50 is shown in perspective removed from other components of the tool 10 in
The arm 50 may be secured to the coupler 30, 40 with a connector 20. In the embodiment pictured herein, the connector is formed with a connector tube 22 and a connector base 24. The connector tube 22 and connector base 24 may be formed as separate elements and later joined together, or they may be integrally constructed with one another. The connector tube 22 passes through the connector apertures 32 in the plate coupler 30 and block coupler 40 such that the connector base 24 is positioned adjacent the plate coupler 30. The coupler base 24 may be formed with a plurality of bolt apertures 16 therein that correspond to bolt apertures 16 formed in the plate coupler 30 and threaded apertures 17 formed in the block coupler 40 and/or plate coupler 30.
The connector 20 may be secured to the plate and/or block coupler 30, 40 using corresponding bolts 14. In the embodiment shown herein, two threaded apertures 17 are arranged perpendicularly with respect to the major length of the block coupler 40 such that two bolts 14 positioned in the corresponding bolt apertures 16 in the connector base 24 may directly engage those threaded apertures 17, thereby securing the connector 20 to the plate coupler 30. Two bolt apertures 16 may be formed in the plate coupler 30 so that those bolt apertures 16 align with the block coupler 40 (as shown in
In other embodiments not pictured herein, the arm 50 may be secured to the coupler 30, 40 using a different structure and/or method (or the same method with various elements differently configured), and the tool 10 is not limited by the structure and/or method for securing the arm 50 to the coupler 30, 40. Accordingly, any structure and/or method known to those skilled in the art suitable for securing one object to another may be used to secure the arm 50 to the coupler 30, 40 without limitation, including but not limited to screws, rivets, chemical adhesives, welds, and/or combinations thereof.
The interior surface of the connector tube 22 may be formed with threads thereon configured to engage threads formed on the end of the arm 50 opposite the handle 58. Accordingly, the arm 50 may be secured to the connector 20 (and consequently the coupler 30, 40) via engagement of the threads in the connector tube 22 with the threads formed on the arm 50. However, in other embodiments not pictured herein, the arm 50 may be secured to the connector 20 using a different structure and/or method, and the tool 10 is not limited by the structure and/or method for securing the arm 50 to the connector 20. Accordingly, any structure and/or method known to those skilled in the art suitable for securing one object to another may be used to secure the arm 50 to the connector without limitation, including but not limited to screws, rivets, chemical adhesives, welds, and/or combinations thereof.
The threaded interior of the connector tube 22 may be made accessible from both ends of the connector tube 22 to facilitate simple conversion of the tool 10 from the plate coupler 30 to the block coupler 40 and vice versa. Accordingly, to convert the tool 10 from the plate coupler 30 to the block coupler 40, the operator simply unscrews the connector engagement member 52 of the arm 50 from the end connector tube 22 adjacent the block coupler 40 and screws the connector engagement member 52 of the arm 50 into the end of the connector tube 22 adjacent the plate coupler 30.
A weight 60, which is shown in detail in
The embodiment of the tool 10 pictured herein is specifically designed for use with Sikorsky H-60, S-70, S-76, S-92 and various other European- and/or Asian-specific models or variations thereof. However, the tool 10 may be configured for use with other machinery. For example, in one embodiment of the tool 10 not pictured herein, the plate coupler 30 may be configured to directly engage the outboard face of an elastomeric bearing 80. It is contemplated that such an embodiment would be especially useful for machinery in which the spindle 70 may be removed from a hub 18 prior to removing the bearing 80 from the same hub 18.
One method for using the embodiment of the tool 10 pictured herein with a Sikorsky Black Hawk or Sea Hawk aircraft will now be described. After the main rotor blades (not shown) have been removed and the associated hydraulics, electronics and other control systems have been disconnected, and after the bolts securing the bearing bolt plate 80 to the hub 18 have been removed, the coupler 30, 40 may be secured to the spindle 70 via the blade engagement portion 72 of the spindle 70.
After the coupler 30, 40 is sufficiently secured to the spindle 70, the weight 60 may be slid over the connector engagement member 52 and onto the arm 50. The arm 50 may then be secured to the coupler 30, 40 by engaging the threads of the connector engagement member 52 with the threads on the interior of the connector tube 22.
To remove the spindle 70, the operator may slide the weight 50 along the stroke 54 from a first position adjacent the coupler 30, 40 to a second position adjacent the handle 58. Once the weight 50 reaches its outboard limit of travel, the kinetic energy of the weight 50 is transferred to the tool 10, and consequently to the spindle 70 and bearing. The weight 50 may be returned to the first position and again moved to the second position to provide a force in the outboard direction (i.e., away from the center of the hub 18). This tool 10, when used in this manner, allows the operator to dictate the amount of force transmitted to the spindle 70 from the weight 50 by adjusting the mass and/or speed of the weight 50 when it approaches the limit of travel at the second position.
The procedure for installing a spindle 70 using the embodiment of the tool 10 pictured herein is a corollary to the removal thereof. However, when installing a spindle 70 the energy transfer from the weight 50 to the spindle 70 occurs when the weight 50 is moved from the second position (adjacent the handle 58) to the first position (adjacent the coupler 30, 40). In this manner, the movement of the weight 50 provides a force in the inboard direction (i.e., toward the center of the hub 18).
The various elements of the aircraft in both
The tool 10 and various elements thereof may be constructed of any suitable material known to those skilled in the art. It is contemplated that in the embodiment as pictured herein, the connector 20, coupler 30, 40, arm 50, and weight 60 will be constructed of a metal or metallic alloy, but other embodiments may be constructed of other materials, such as polymers, other non-metallic materials, or any combinations thereof. It is also contemplated that in the embodiment of the tool 10 as pictured herein, the handle 58 and/or sleeve 66 will be constructed of a friction-reducing material, such as Teflon®, or any other suitable material known to those skilled in the art. In certain applications of the tool 10 it may be desirable to have the contacting surfaces be intrinsically safe and constructing of non-sparking materials, such as bronze. Accordingly, various components of the tool 10, such as the connector 20, coupler 30, 40, arm 50, limiter 56 (if so equipped) and/or weight 60 may be plated with a non-sparking material or constructed entirely therefrom.
It is contemplated that the tool 10 may be packaged as a kit having multiple couplers 30, 40, arms 50, and/or weights 60. For example, the tool 10 may be packaged with one plate coupler 30 having a diameter of six inches, one plate coupler 30 having a diameter of eight inches, one block coupler 40 having a major length of six inches, one arm 50 having a length of twenty inches, one arm having a length of thirty inches, one weight 60 having a mass of seven pounds, and one weight 60 having a mass of ten pounds. However, the specific dimensions and/or configuration of any couplers 30, 40, arms 50, and/or weights 60 included in such a kit are in no way limiting to the scope of the tool 10 as disclosed and claimed herein. Furthermore, those specific dimensions and/or configuration are also not limiting to the scope of the kit.
It should be noted that the tool 10 is not limited to the specific embodiments pictured and described herein, but is intended to apply to all similar apparatuses and methods for removing a spindle 70 and/or bearing from a hub 18. Modifications and alterations from the described embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, modifications and alterations from the described embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit and scope of any method of use of the present invention. While certain methods have been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the method following, in general, the principles of the method and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the method pertains and as may be applied to the essential features herein before set forth, and as follows in the scope of the appended claims.
Applicant states that this utility patent application claims priority from provisional U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/214,464 filed on Apr. 24, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61214464 | Apr 2009 | US |
