System for aligning a propeller
AssigneeAeroVironment, Inc.
InventorsJason Allen Firanski, Justin Bates McAllister, Ronald Howard Olch, Lane Dennis Dalan, Emil Ghapgharan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A motor assembly that includes a motor (102) having a rotatable shaft, a hub coupled to the rotatable shaft, the hub having a propeller indexer to receive a propeller (104), when the propeller is present, a sensor trigger rotatable with the shaft (100) and positioned at a propeller offset angle θPROP from the propeller indexer, and a sensor coupled to the motor and positioned to detect the sensor trigger so that the propeller indexer may be positioned at the propeller offset angle θPROP from the sensor through rotation of the shaft so that said sensor is proximate to the sensor trigger.
Claims22
A method, comprising:
- rotating a sensor trigger by rotating a shaft of a motor;
- sensing the sensor trigger as the sensor trigger rotates to a point adjacent a sensor fixedly coupled to a casing of the motor;
- and
- holding a propeller in alignment with a wing of an aircraft by a control signal to the motor;
- wherein the propeller is substantially aligned with the wing of the aircraft when the sensor trigger and the sensor are aligned.
An assembly, comprising:
- a hub coupled to a rotatable shaft of a motor;
- a propeller indexer of the hub, the propeller indexer to receive and align a propeller relative to the hub;
- a first sensor trigger rotatable with the rotatable shaft of the motor;
- and
- a sensor fixedly coupled to the motor;
- wherein the propeller is substantially held in alignment with a wing of an aircraft by a control signal to the motor when the first sensor trigger and the sensor are aligned.
An assembly, comprising:
- a sensor trigger rotatable with a rotatable shaft of a motor;
- and
- a sensor fixedly coupled to a casing of the motor;
- wherein the sensor trigger and the sensor are substantially held in alignment by a control signal to the motor when a propeller coupled to the rotatable shaft of the motor is in a horizontal position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.