Retention assembly with a conical interface for a propeller blade

Abstract

A retention assembly for a propeller blade includes an inner ring that is conformally shaped to a bore of an annular loop, the annular loop being associated with a root portion of the propeller blade; a base that is configured to be immediately adjacent the annular loop; an annular outer ring including a bearing race interface that is conical in shape and includes a radially inner surface that conforms to a radially outer surface of the annular loop; and an adhesive that adhesively connects complementary surfaces of the outer ring and the annular loop. Also, a propeller blade assembly includes a propeller blade having a blade portion and a root portion; and the retention assembly that is configured to attach to the propeller blade.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A retention assembly for a propeller blade, comprising:
 an inner ring that is conformally shaped to a bore of an annular loop, the annular loop being associated with a root portion of the propeller blade;   a base that is configured to be immediately adjacent the annular loop;   an annular outer ring including a bearing race interface that is conical in shape and includes a radially inner surface that conforms to a radially outer surface of the annular loop; and   an adhesive that adhesively connects complementary surfaces of the outer ring and the annular loop.   
     
     
         2 . The retention assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the outer ring further comprises a bearing race groove, a lower annular groove, and an upper annular groove. 
     
     
         3 . The retention assembly of  claim 2 , further comprising a bearing assembly coupled to the bearing race groove. 
     
     
         4 . The retention assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the outer ring further comprises a plurality of annular flanges that contains the lower annular groove. 
     
     
         5 . The retention assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the lower annular groove is configured to receive an annular O-ring. 
     
     
         6 . The retention assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a sleeve that is adhesively connected to each of the root portion and the outer ring. 
     
     
         7 . The retention assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive couples the radially inner surface of the bearing race interface to the radially outer surface of the annular loop. 
     
     
         8 . The retention assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the annular loop is configured to receive the inner ring within the bore. 
     
     
         9 . A propeller blade assembly, comprising:
 a propeller blade including a blade portion and a root portion; and   a retention assembly configured to attach to the propeller blade, the retention assembly further comprising:
 an inner ring that is conformally shaped to a bore of an annular loop, the annular loop being associated with a root portion of the propeller blade; 
 a base that is configured to be immediately adjacent the annular loop; 
 an annular outer ring including a bearing race interface that is conical in shape and includes a radially inner surface that conforms to a radially outer surface of the annular loop; and 
 an adhesive that adhesively connects complementary surfaces of the outer ring and the annular loop. 
   
     
     
         10 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the outer ring further comprises a bearing race groove, a lower annular groove, and an upper annular groove. 
     
     
         11 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising a bearing assembly coupled to the bearing race groove. 
     
     
         12 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the outer ring further comprises a plurality of annular flanges that contains the lower annular groove. 
     
     
         13 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the lower annular groove is configured to receive an annular O-ring. 
     
     
         14 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising a hub having a hub race groove that is coupled to the bearing assembly. 
     
     
         15 . The propeller blade assembly of  claim 9 , further comprising a sleeve that is adhesively connected to each of the root portion and the outer ring.