JPH0517073B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a propulsion device, and particularly has a pair of thrusters configured with opposite pitches to each other, and an engine is connected to these thrusters via a counter-rotating shaft. The present invention relates to a method of operating a propulsion device that is driven by transmitting power from the drive device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, aircraft such as helicopters, blowers, pumps, etc. are equipped with counter-rotating blades, counter-rotating impellers, etc. There are concerns about installing counter-rotating propellers in order to improve performance and save energy.

The propulsion device, which consists of counter-rotating propellers, is the eighth
As shown in the figure, a pair of fixed-pitch screw propulsors b and c are installed coaxially on the stern a, stacked in series along the axial direction, and configured with opposite pitches to each other.
Thrust is generated by rotating the two in opposite directions. In this case,
A counter-rotating axis d is employed to drive these propulsors b and c coaxially and in opposite directions. This counter-rotating shaft d is constructed by inserting an inner rotating shaft f, which drives the other propeller b, into a hollow outer rotating shaft e, which drives one propeller c, and transmits the power of the main engine g.
By transmitting the power in opposite directions to the respective rotational axes e and f via the gear train h, etc., the pair of propellers b and c can be reversed with respect to each other at approximately the same number of rotations. A bearing i is interposed between the outer rotating shaft e and the inner rotating shaft f in order to ensure smooth reversal.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, by using such a counter-rotating axis d, it is possible to drive a pair of fixed-pitch propulsors b and c, which are configured with opposite pitches to each other, to rotate coaxially in opposite directions. In the case of a propulsion device that generates thrust by rotating the shaft, the bearing i interposed between the outer rotating shaft e and the inner rotating shaft f of the counter-rotating shaft d may seize or the like.
There was a risk that these two axes e and f would become stuck together.
When bearing i becomes stuck in this way, the rotational axes e and f, which are mutually inverted, restrict the rotation of the other, making it impossible to rotate, and henceforth, the power transmission to the propellers b and c via the counter-rotating axis d becomes impossible. There was a problem that the ship became disabled and could no longer sail continuously. Here, in an emergency when the rotational axes e and f of the counter-rotating shaft d are unable to be reversed due to the fixation of the bearing i, and it becomes difficult to transmit power by the counter-rotating shaft d, for example, each rotation The idea is to ensure power transmission to at least one of the rotating shafts f and continue navigation by removing gear train h, etc. that distributes power to axes e and f from the power transmission mechanism. It will be done.

However, even in this case, the rotation axis e,
Due to the bearing i fixed between the bearings f, the other rotating shaft e rotates in the same direction with respect to the rotating shaft f, which causes the following problem. That is, the pair of propellers b and c are oppositely pitched and fixed in pitch,
These are designed to generate thrust in the same direction by being driven to rotate in opposite directions. Therefore, even if power transmission could be ensured, there was a problem in that if these propellers b and c rotate in the same direction, they cancel each other out and cannot generate thrust. As a result, even though power transmission from engine g could be secured, propulsion was not possible, and in the end it was not possible to escape from the critical situation. In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, it is desired to devise a propulsion system that is highly reliable as a whole and that allows continuous navigation even in emergency situations.

The present invention has been devised to effectively solve the above-mentioned problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a counter-rotating shaft in which an inner rotating shaft is inserted through a bearing into a hollow outer rotating shaft and transmits power coaxially while being reversed to each other; A power distribution means whose distribution output end is connected to each of the outer rotation shaft and the inner rotation shaft of the reversing shaft, and an engine is connected to the input end, and the power distribution means distributes and transmits the engine power to these rotation shafts, and the power distribution means a power cutting means provided between the input end and the distribution output end for cutting off power transmission to either one of the rotating shafts, and a coaxial In a method of operating a propulsion device including a pair of propulsion devices that are arranged one on top of the other along the axial direction, are configured with opposite pitches, and at least one of which has a variable pitch mechanism, the bearings become stuck and rotate. When the mutual rotation of the shafts becomes impossible, the power cutoff means cuts off the power transmission to one of the rotating shafts, and the variable pitch mechanism is operated to change the pitch from the opposite pitch to the pitch in the same direction. It is.

[Function] To describe the function of the present invention, between the input end and the distribution output end of the power distribution means that distributes and transmits the input power to the outer rotation shaft and the inner rotation shaft of the counter-rotating shaft, respectively. By cutting off the power transmission to one of the rotating shafts using the power cutting means, even if the bearings become stuck and the rotating shafts cannot be reversed, the power transmission can be continued by driving the other rotating shaft to rotate. In addition to making it possible to carry out continuous operations, at least one of the pair of thrusters is configured with opposite pitches and is reversed to generate thrust in the same direction when the counter-rotating shaft is normal. By setting the pitch, when the outer rotation axis and the inner rotation axis of the counter-rotating shaft are rotated in the same direction in an emergency, the pitch can be changed and the pair of propellers can be set in the same pitch with the same direction. It is designed to generate thrust in the same direction by rotating the direction.

[Embodiment] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, a pair of screw propulsors 1 and 2, which are configured with opposite pitches to each other, are installed coaxially and stacked in series along the axial direction, and these propulsors 1 and 2 are connected to each other. By reversing the direction, it is possible to achieve high propulsion efficiency. These propulsors 1 and 2 are provided with counter-rotating shafts 3 to coaxially drive them to rotate in opposite directions.
are concatenated. The counter-rotating shaft 3 is constructed by inserting an inner rotating shaft 6 through a bearing 5 into a hollow outer rotating shaft 4, and drives these propulsors 1 and 2 by coaxially transmitting power while being reversed with respect to each other. I'm starting to do that. Here, the outer rotating shaft 4 is rotatably supported by a housing 7 fixed to the hull via a thrust bearing 8 and a radial bearing 9. Further, the inner rotating shaft 6 is connected to the stern propeller 1, and the outer rotating shaft 4 is coupled to the bow propeller 2.

Counter-rotating shaft 3 that transmits power in this way
The distribution output ends 10a and 10b are connected to the outer rotary shaft 4 and the inner rotary shaft 6, respectively, and the input end 10 is connected to the engine (not shown) that generates power.
power distribution means 10 for distributing and transmitting power input from c to these rotating shafts 4 and 6 in reverse rotation;
will be provided. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, this power distribution means 10 includes a flange coupling 12 connected to an intermediate shaft 11 for transmitting engine power from an engine, and a planetary gear set supported within a housing 7. 13, and a gear coupling 14 that connects the planetary gear device 13 and the flange coupling 12. The flange coupling 12 is detachably fitted into and attached to the inner rotating shaft 6 of the counter-rotating shaft 3. On the other hand, the planetary gear device 13 has a general configuration, and includes an annular sun gear 16 that is fitted and attached to a sleeve body 15 surrounding the inner rotating shaft 6, and a housing 7 that supports it so that it can rotate freely on its axis while its revolution is restricted. sun gear 1
6 and the planetary gear 17 meshed with the planetary gear 1.
7 and an annular internal gear 18 meshed with the gear 7. A gear portion 4a formed on the outer rotating shaft 4 is meshed with this internal gear 18. Further, the gear coupling ring 14 is formed in an annular shape and meshes with gear portions 12a and 15a formed on the flange coupling ring 12 and the sleeve body 15, respectively, to connect them. The engine power is input to the flange coupling 12 via the intermediate shaft 11, and part of the power is transmitted directly from the flange coupling 12 to the inner rotating shaft 6, and the rest is transmitted via the gear coupling 14 to the planetary The power is transmitted to the gear device 13, the direction of rotation is reversed by the planetary gear device 13, and the power is transmitted from the internal gear 18 to the outer rotating shaft 4, and the flange coupling 12 connects the input end 10c of the power distribution means 10. In addition, the flange coupling 12 and the internal gear 18 constitute the distribution output ends 10b, 10a to the inner rotating shaft 6 and the outer rotating shaft 4, respectively.

The internal gear 18 serving as one distribution output end 10a of the power distribution means 10 configured in this manner and the input end 10
A power cutting means 19 for cutting off power transmission to the outer rotating shaft 4 is provided between the flange coupling ring 12 and the outer rotary shaft 4 . In this embodiment, the power cutting means 19 extends from the inside to the outside of the housing 7 and is swingably supported, and has one end connected to an engagement formed in the gear coupling 14. It is composed of a swing lever 20 that is engaged with a recess 14a. By swinging this swinging lever 20, the gear coupling 14 is moved and detached from between the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15, so that the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15 are separated from each other. The power transmission to the outer rotating shaft 4 is cut off by separating the outer rotary shaft 4.

With this configuration, even if the bearing 5 is stuck and the rotating shafts 4 and 6 cannot be rotated and power transmission cannot be performed, the power cutting means 19 can still disconnect the outer rotating shaft 4. By cutting off the power transmission, the outer rotary shaft 4 is free to rotate, and engine power can be continuously transmitted from the flange coupling 12 to the inner rotary shaft 6. Therefore,
The propulsion device 1 can be continuously driven.

Note that the swing lever 20 is operated with the engine stopped.

Incidentally, the pair of thrusters 1 and 2 are constructed with opposite pitches, and these thrusters 1 and 2 are designed to generate thrust in the same direction by being reversed to each other. On the other hand, in the above-mentioned power transmission mechanism, when the power cutting means 19 is actuated to cut off the power transmission to the outer rotating shaft 4 and transmit power only to the inner rotating shaft 6, the fixing of the bearing 5 causes the outer rotation. The shaft 4 rotates in the same direction as the inner rotating shaft 6,
Since the thrusters 1 and 2 rotate in the same direction, they cancel each other out and cannot generate thrust.

Therefore, in order to generate thrust even when the thrusters 1 and 2 are driven to rotate in the same direction, at least one of the pair of thrusters 1 and 2 is equipped with a variable pitch mechanism, and the power cutting means 19 is equipped with a variable pitch mechanism. When the power is cut off at , the variable pitch mechanism is activated so that the pitch can be changed so that forward thrust can be generated even if the thrusters 1 and 2 are rotated in the same direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the variable pitch mechanism 23 is provided in the stern propeller 1 connected to the inner rotating shaft 6 because of its simple structure. Further, if necessary, it may be installed in the bow side propulsion unit 2 or both propulsion units 1 and 2.

As shown in the figure, the variable pitch mechanism 23 has a general configuration, and mainly includes a crosshead 40 attached to the proximal end of the blade 25, and a crosshead 40 provided inside the propeller boss 24, which is reciprocated while engaging with the crosshead 40. Yoke 26 for rotating the crosshead 40
, an oil passage 27 that is formed through the inner rotating shaft 6 along its axial direction and supplies and discharges hydraulic oil for reciprocating the yoke 26 , and a flange coupling 1 .
2 and a supply/discharge port 28 that communicates the oil passage 27 to the outside of the shaft.

And when the engine stops, the flange coupling spring 12
By supplying and discharging hydraulic oil to and from the yoke 26 through the oil passage 27 from the supply and discharge port 28 of the blade, the pitch of the blade 25 can be changed by reciprocating the yoke 26 and rotating the crosshead 40. .

With this configuration, even if the outer rotating shaft 4 rotates in the same direction with respect to the inner rotating shaft 6 due to fixation of the bearing 5, the pair of propellers 1 and 2 can be rotated in the same direction by changing the pitch. It is possible to generate thrust in the same direction by rotating in the same direction.

Further, installing the variable pitch mechanism 23 in at least one of the pair of propulsors 1 and 2 in this manner has the following advantages. That is, when designing the blades, it is preferable to consider the water flow component that flows forward while being dragged by the hull of the water flowing from the rear of the ship to the propulsion unit, but this water flow is uneven and the distribution is not uniform. Also, since there are many unknown factors,
It is not always possible to optimally design a blade. If at least one of the pair of propulsors 1 and 2 is provided with a variable pitch mechanism 23, the operating conditions can be made as good as possible by changing the pitch of the blades. This function can be used not only in an emergency due to a stuck bearing, but also during normal navigation, improving propulsion performance. This is effective in that the propulsion state can be optimized by pitch adjustment, especially when the blade design is difficult.

In particular, in this embodiment, since the variable pitch mechanism 23 is configured to be hydraulically operated, there is no backlash or the like compared to a gear configuration, and the pitch can be changed smoothly. Furthermore, since the hydraulic oil is directly supplied to and discharged from the propeller boss 24, the main components of the variable pitch mechanism 23 can be installed only within the boss 24, and the structure is simple and can be adopted at low cost.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show other configuration examples of the variable pitch mechanism 23.

In the one shown in FIG. 3, the yoke 26 is operated from the intermediate shaft 11 side via a rod 32. The variable pitch mechanism 23 includes a cylinder chamber 30 formed by interposing a sleeve 29 between the intermediate shaft 11 and the flange coupling 12;
A piston 31 is provided in the cylinder chamber 30 so as to be able to reciprocate along the axial direction, and an inner rotating shaft 6
A rod 32 is inserted through the sleeve 29 so as to be able to reciprocate along the axial direction, and has one end connected to the piston 31 and the other end connected to the yoke 26. It is composed of a pair of supply and discharge ports 28 for supplying and discharging water.
By supplying and discharging hydraulic oil into the cylinder chamber 30, the rod 32 can be reciprocated to change the pitch.

The one shown in FIG. 4 is composed of gears. This is interposed between a first bevel gear 33 provided at the base end of the blade 25, a second bevel gear 34 meshed with the first bevel gear 33, and the intermediate shaft 11 and flange coupling 12. A gear 36 provided in a sleeve-shaped gear box 35 is inserted into the inner rotary shaft 6 so as to be rotatable along the axial direction thereof, and one end is connected to the gear 36 and the other end is connected to a second end. A rotating rod 37 is connected to a bevel gear 34, and a pinion 39 has an operation rotating shaft 38 extending outside the gear box 35 and is meshed with a gear 36. By rotating the pinion 39, the bevel gears 33 and 34 can be rotated via the rotating rod 37 to change the pitch.

Even in these cases, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

Further, FIGS. 5 to 7 show other configuration examples regarding the power transmission mechanism.

In the case shown in FIG. 5, the gear coupling 14 is omitted, and a sleeve body 15 is slidably spline-fitted between the sun gear 16 and the flange coupling 12, and this sleeve body 15 is pivoted. It is constructed so that power transmission is cut off by slidingly moving it with a dynamic lever 20 and separating it from the sun gear 16.

What is shown in FIG. 6 is an internal gear 18 connected between the planetary gear 13 and the gear portion 4a of the outer rotating shaft 4.
The engagement recess 18a formed in this internal gear 18
By moving the internal gear 18 with the shifter 21, which is the power cutting means 19 that engages with the outer rotating shaft 4,
It is configured to separate from the gear portion 4a and cut off power transmission. In this embodiment, the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15 are integrally joined.

The one shown in FIG. 7 eliminates the gear coupling 14 and places a ring body 2 that can be divided into two in the radial direction between the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15.
2 is interposed as a power cutting means 19, and these are fastened together with bolts or the like. To cut off power transmission, remove the bolts and the like and remove the ring body 22 from between the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15, creating a clearance between the flange coupling 12 and the sleeve body 15, and removing them. It is possible to disconnect the power transmission and cut off the power transmission.

Even in these cases, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

[Effects of the Invention] In summary, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects are achieved.

Between the input end and the distribution output end of the power distribution means for distributing and transmitting power to the counter-rotating shaft, there is provided a power cutting means for cutting off power transmission to either the outer rotating shaft or the inner rotating shaft. By establishing
Even if the rotating shafts cannot be reversed due to stuck bearings, etc., power can be continuously transmitted through either one of the rotating shafts. Of a pair of thrusters that are reversed to generate thrust in the same direction when the counter-rotating shaft is normal, at least one of the thrusters has a variable pitch. When the rotating shafts are rotated in the same direction, the pitch can be changed and the pair of thrusters can be rotated in the same direction to generate thrust in the same direction by setting the pitches in the same direction. It also enables continuous navigation and improves the reliability of the propulsion system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view showing the main part of the power transmission mechanism, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show other configuration examples of the variable pitch mechanism. 5 to 7 are side sectional views showing other configuration examples of the power transmission mechanism, and FIG. 8 is a schematic side sectional view showing a conventional example. In the figure, 1 and 2 are screw propulsors illustrated as propulsors, 3 is a counter-rotating shaft, 4 is an outer rotating shaft, 5 is a bearing, 6 is an inner rotating shaft, 10 is a power distribution means, 1
0a and 10b are its distribution output ends, 10c is its input end, 19 is a power cutting means, and 23 is a variable pitch mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An inner rotating shaft is inserted into the hollow outer rotating shaft via a bearing, and a counter-rotating shaft that transmits power coaxially while being reversed with respect to each other, and an outer rotating shaft and an inner rotating shaft of the counter-rotating shaft, respectively. A power distribution means is provided between the input end and the distribution output end of the power distribution means, the distribution output end of which is connected, and an engine is connected to the input end of the power distribution means for distributing and transmitting the engine power to these rotating shafts. power cutting means for cutting off power transmission to either one of the rotating shafts, and provided coaxially and overlappingly along the axial direction on each of the outer rotating shaft and the inner rotating shaft of the counter-rotating shaft, In an operating method of a propulsion device equipped with a pair of propulsion devices configured with opposite pitches and at least one of which has a variable pitch mechanism, when the bearings become stuck and mutual reversal of the rotating shafts becomes impossible, the above-mentioned method is applied. 1. A method of operating a propulsion device, comprising cutting off power transmission to one rotating shaft using a power cutting means, and operating the variable pitch mechanism to change the pitch from a reverse pitch to a pitch in the same direction.