Patent ID: 11946540
Assignee: RTX CORPORATION
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 7:
8. A gas turbine engine comprising:
a fan section rotatable about an axis;
a core engine section disposed about the axis;
a primary lubrication system including a sump for gathering lubricant;
an auxiliary lubrication system configured to supply a lubricant flow in an absence of lubricant flow from the primary lubrication system;
a fan drive gear system driven by the core engine section for rotating the fan section about the axis, the fan drive gear system including:
a sun gear rotatable about the axis, the sun gear including a circumferential cavity disposed between a first gear region and a second gear region;
a plurality of intermediate gears driven by the sun gear;
a carrier supporting the plurality of intermediate gears;
a ring gear circumscribing the intermediate gears, wherein the ring gear is fixed and the carrier rotates about the axis; and
a baffle attached to the carrier and disposed between at least two of the plurality of intermediate gears for defining a lubricant flow path from an interface between the sun gear and at least one of the plurality of intermediate gears, the baffle including a channel with a flow splitter proportionally directing lubricant to the auxiliary lubrication system and toward the sump, a wedge extending into the circumferential cavity between oppositely facing helical gear regions of the sun gear, a first ramp portion directing lubricant toward one of the auxiliary lubrication system and the sump, a second ramp portion directing lubricant toward the other of the auxiliary lubrication system and the sump, wherein the flow splitter includes a splitter portion and a support portion extending radially within the channel from the splitter portion toward the first ramp portion and the second ramp portion.