Airfoil member assembly

Claim 1

IN AN AXIAL-FLOW TURBOMACHINE: SUPPORTING STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY AXIAL GROOVE HAVING ANGLED WALLS AND WIDER AT THE BASE AND ARRANGED IN ROWS; A PLURALITY OF BLADE MEMBERS HAVING ROOT AND AIRFOIL PORTIONS, SAID ROOT PORTIONS BEING RECEIVED IN SAID GROOVES AND SHAPED TO ABUT SAID ANGLED WALLS FOR RETENTION IN SAID GROOVES, THERE BEING CLEARANCE BETWEEN SAID ROOT PORTIONS AND GROOVES TO ALLOW RADIAL MOVEMENT THEREIN; BLADE MEMBER STIFFENING MEANS PROJECTING LATERALLY FROM OPPOSITE SURFACES OF SAID AIRFOIL PORTIONS, WITH OPPOSING STIFFENING MEANS CONTIGUOUSLY FORMING A SHROUD RING ALONG LINE OF ABUTMENT DIRECTED AT AN ANGLE TO THE AXIS OF THE GROOVES; A SPACER ELEMENT RECEIVED IN EACH GROOVE, SAID SPACER ELEMENT HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE AND A LOWER SURFACE AND BEING LOCATED INTERMEDIATE THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID GROOVE AND THE BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID BLADE MEMBER ROOT PORTION, SAID BLADE MEMBER ROOT PORTION BEING SUPPORTED ON SAID UPPER SURFACE, SAID LOWER SURFACE HAVING A LONGITUDINAL CHANNEL THEREIN; LOCKING MEANS FOR RETENTION OF SAID SPACER ELEMENTS AND SAID BLADE MEMBERS IN SAID GROOVES, SAID LOCKING MEANS COMPRISING A KEY MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED TAB END PORTIONS JOINED BY A FLAT INTERMEDIATE PORTION, SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING RECEIVED IN SAID CHANNEL AND SAID TAB END PORTIONS BEING BENT TRANSVERSELY THEREOF TO CLOSELY OVERLIE SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE ADJACENT SAID GROOVES WHEN IN AN ASSEMBLED RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH, WHEREIN THE RADIAL EXTENT OF SAID SPACER AMBIENT IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE RADIAL EXTENT OF SAID SHROUD RING, WITH RESPECT TO SAID TURBOMACHINE AXIS, IN ORDER THAT ANY ONE OF SAID BLADE MEMBERS MAY BE MOVED RADICALLY AND REMOVED FROM OR INSERTED INTO ITS ASSOCIATED GROOVE INDIVIDUALLY AND WITHOUT INTERFERENCE FROM ADJACENT BLADE MEMBER STIFFENING MEANS, IN THE ABSENCE OF ITS ASSOCIATED SPACER AND KEY MEMBERS.