Submerged gear and bearing guard

摘要

A gearbox for an auxiliary power unit (APU) includes features that prevent submersion of gears in lubricant in extreme attitude orientations. The gearbox includes a plurality of gears that drive various pumps, generators and/or other aircraft systems. A shield surrounds a portion of one of the plurality of gears to prevent lubricant from submerging the gear. The shield defines at least a portion of an open chamber that is at least partially surrounded by lubricant at extreme attitude orientations.

主权项

1. A gearbox assembly comprising:
a housing defining a common open interior space; at least one gear supported for rotation within the common open interior space of the housing; a chamber defined by a shield disposed around less than an entire circumference of the at least one gear, the chamber open to the common open interior space; a shaft supporting the at least one gear, the shaft including an inner cavity in communication with a supply of lubricant; a jet supported within the housing for propelling lubricant into the inner cavity of the shaft; and a sump for storing lubricant at a level at least partially surrounding the chamber within the common open interior space of the housing, wherein the shield includes a passage in communication with the inner cavity of the shaft for supplying lubricant to the at least one gear within the chamber.