Patent ID: 8226359

Claim:
An actuator for positioning guide vanes of a turbine engine, the actuator comprising: a housing defining a bore; a piston slideably disposed in the bore, the piston having a head spaced from the housing bore and having a rod extending from the head; a metallic head seal mounted to the head to create a sliding seal against the housing bore; a metallic rod seal mounted to the housing to create a sliding seal against the rod; and an output member coupled to the piston; wherein the piston is disposed within the bore such that the piston position is independent of the position of the housing and the output member is moveable independent of the position of the housing whereby the housing is substantially isolated from side loads acting on the piston and transferred to the piston head; wherein the actuator further includes a position sensor for sensing the position of the piston; and a heat shield at least in part covering the position sensor, wherein the head shield is mounted to be movable with respect to the housing and translate with the piston.