Assembly for releasable locking of a spinner or nosecone to an engine structure

Disclosed is an assembly for a gas turbine engine, the assembly includes: a spinner or nosecone comprising a threaded rear portion, an engine structure comprising a threaded front portion, the nosecone being threadingly connected to the engine structure, wherein rotation of the spinner or nosecone about the engine structure in a first direction secures the spinner or nosecone to the engine structure and rotation of the spinner or nosecone about the engine structure in a second direction releases the spinner or nosecone from the engine structure; and a lock ring slidingly connected to the engine structure to slide between: a forward position to engage the spinner or nosecone and block rotation of the spinner or nosecone in the second direction, and a rearward position, where the lock ring is spaced from the spinner or nosecone.

BACKGROUND

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of spinners and nosecones for gas turbine engines and more specifically to locking of spinners and nosecones against engine structures of gas turbine engines.

Spinners and nosecones that are threaded onto gas turbine engines at assembly may require a lock connector which is assembled with specialized hardware and the lock connector may be permanently deformed upon locking. Removal of the spinners and nosecones may require destroying the connector. Obtaining a replacement for the destroyed connector may cause delays as well as the need to inventory the unique lock hardware at the location where removal is required, which may not be anticipated. As a result, spinners and nosecones may be installed using bolts to avoid assembly issues associated with single use lock connectors, and such ad-hoc modifications may introduce a number of associated drawbacks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is an assembly for an gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising: a spinner or nosecone comprising a threaded rear portion, an engine structure comprising a threaded front portion, the spinner or nosecone being threadingly connected to the engine structure, wherein rotation of the spinner or nosecone about the engine structure in a first direction secures the spinner or nosecone to the engine structure and rotation of the spinner or nosecone about the engine structure in a second direction releases the spinner or nosecone from the engine structure; and a lock ring slidingly connected to the engine structure to slide between: a forward position to engage the spinner or nosecone and block rotation of the spinner or nosecone in the second direction, and a rearward position, where the lock ring is spaced from the spinner or nosecone.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the rear portion of the spinner or nosecone includes a boss protruding rearwardly, and the lock ring includes a groove, and when the lock ring is in the forward position the groove receives the boss blockingly engages the boss to prevent rotation of the spinner or nosecone in the second direction.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the boss has a rectangular plan area and when the lock ring engages the boss and blocks the spinner or nosecone from rotation in the second direction.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, a biasing member biases the lock ring to the forward position to engage the spinner or nosecone.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the biasing member is a spring disposed between a rear portion of the lock ring and a second boss extending outwardly from the front portion of the engine structure.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the front portion of the engine structure includes a second groove that extends rearwardly away from the spinner or nosecone, and the lock ring includes a third boss that extends into the second groove to maintain rotational alignment of the lock ring against the engine structure.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the lock ring is slidable from the first position towards the second position to disengage from the spinner or nosecone.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, an outwardly facing surface of the front portion of the engine structure includes the second groove, an inwardly facing surface of the front portion of the engine structure is threaded for threadingly engaging the spinner or nosecone, and an outwardly facing surface of the rear portion of the spinner or nosecone is threaded for threadingly engaging the engine structure.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the outwardly facing surface of the lock ring is co-planar with at least a second outwardly facing surface of the rear portion of the spinner or nosecone.

In addition to the above disclosed features, or as an alternative, the engine structure is a fan hub.

Further disclosed is a gas turbine engine including an engine structure, the engine structure comprising a spinner or nosecone containing one or more of the above disclosed features. Further disclosed is a method of removing a spinner or nosecone from an engine structure of a gas turbine engine, comprising: sliding a lock ring on an engine structure away from the spinner or nosecone to disengage the lock ring from the spinner or nosecone, and rotating the spinner or nosecone in a direction to remove the spinner or nosecone from the engine structure.

DESCRIPTION

Turning toFIGS. 2A-2C, disclosed is an assembly100for an engine structure22which is a fan hub104of a fan section22of a gas turbine engine20. The assembly may include a spinner102having a threaded rear portion110and the fan hub104has a threaded front portion112. The spinner102may be threadingly connected to the fan hub104. Rotation of the spinner102about the fan hub in a first direction may secure the spinner102to the fan hub and rotation of the spinner102about the fan hub in a second direction may release the spinner102from the fan hub104.

The figures herewith and disclosure herein are directed to an embodiment wherein the spinner102is attached to the fan hub104. However, the present disclosure is applicable to gas turbine engines having nosecones attached to engine fixed structures. One applicable engine platform with a nosecone attached to an engine fixed structure includes the F100 afterburning turbofan engine manufactured by Applicant.

Turning back to the figures, a lock ring114may be slidingly connected to the fan hub104to slide between a forward position to engage the spinner102and block rotation of the spinner102in the second direction. The lock ring114may slide in a rearward position, where the lock ring may be disengaged from the spinner102.

The rear portion110of the spinner102may include a tab or first boss116which may be an anti-rotation boss protruding rewardly. The boss116may have a substantially rectangular plan area. The lock ring114may include a groove118which may be an anti-rotation groove, sized and shaped to receive the boss116. When the lock ring114is in the forward position the groove118may receive the boss116and blockingly engage the boss116to prevent rotation of the spinner102in the second direction.

As illustrated inFIG. 2B, a biasing member130may bias the lock ring114to the forward position to engage the spinner102. More specifically, the biasing member130may be a spring, which more specifically may be an annular wave spring. The spring130may be disposed between a rear portion132of the lock ring114and a second boss133(or projection) extending radially outwardly from the front portion112of the fan hub104. As illustrated inFIG. 2C, the lock ring114may be movable by a mechanic in a rearward direction to disengage the lock ring114from the spinner102.

The front portion112of the fan hub104may include a second groove134that may extend rearwardly, away from the spinner102. The lock ring114may include a third boss136that may extend into the second groove134to maintain rotational alignment of the lock ring114against the fan hub104.

An outwardly facing surface142of the front portion112of the fan hub104may include the second groove134. An inwardly facing surface144of the front portion112of the fan hub104may be threaded for threadingly engaging the spinner102. An outwardly facing surface146of the rear portion110of the spinner102may be threaded for threadingly engaging the fan hub104. For aerodynamic purposes, an outwardly facing surface138of the lock ring114may be flush, e.g., co-planar, with at least a second outwardly facing surface148of the rear portion110of the spinner102.

In addition, a rearwardly extending portion150of the lock ring114, which is structurally defined in part by the outwardly facing surface138of the lock ring113, may slide over the second boss133of the fan hub104. This configuration may support the lock ring114and provide an aerodynamic seal.