Variable directional thrust for helicopter tail anti-torque system
AssigneeBell Helicopter Textron Inc.
InventorsThomas Dewey Parsons, Carlos Alexander Fenny, Erik John Oltheten
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention includes an anti-torque assembly for a helicopter comprising a plurality of fixed blade pitch motors mounted on one or more pivots on the tail boom of the helicopter, wherein the plurality of fixed blade pitch motors on the one or more pivots are adapted to be oriented substantially in-plane with a tail boom of a helicopter during a first mode of operation that comprises a hover mode and wherein the fixed blade pitch motors are adapted to be oriented substantially off-plane from the tail boom of the helicopter during a second mode of helicopter operation that is different from the first mode.
Claims20
An anti-torque assembly for a helicopter having a tail boom and one or more pivots on the tail boom, the anti-torque assembly comprising:
- a plurality of electrically driven, variable-speed motors mounted on the one or more pivots on the tail boom of the helicopter, wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor drives a fixed blade pitch rotor and the plurality of electrically driven, variable-speed motors on the one or more pivots are adapted to be oriented substantially in-plane with the tail boom of the helicopter during a first mode of operation that comprises a hover mode and wherein the fixed blade pitch electrically driven, variable-speed motors are adapted to be oriented substantially off-plane from the tail boom of the helicopter during a second mode of helicopter operation that is different from the first mode;
- and
- wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor is independently controlled.
An anti-torque assembly system for a helicopter, the system comprising:
- a plurality of electrically-driven, variable-speed motors mounted on one or more pivots on a tail boom of the helicopter, wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor drives a fixed blade pitch rotor;
- one or more drive mechanisms to orient the electrically-driven, variable-speed motors to be substantially in-plane with the tail boom of the helicopter during a first mode of helicopter operation that comprises a hover mode and that orients the electrically-driven, variable-speed motors substantially off-plane with the tail boom of the helicopter during a second mode of helicopter operation that is different from the first mode, wherein the second mode of helicopter operation is a flight mode;
- and
- wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor is independently controlled.
A method of operating a helicopter, the method comprising:
- orienting an anti-torque assembly comprising two or more electrically-driven, variable-speed motors on a pivot at the end of a tail boom of the helicopter, wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor drives a fixed blade pitch rotor and the two or more electrically-driven, variable-speed motors are substantially in-plane with the tail boom of the helicopter during a first mode of helicopter operation that comprises a hover mode and wherein the two or more electrically-driven, variable-speed motors are substantially off-plane with the tail boom of the helicopter during a second mode of helicopter operation that is different from the first mode, wherein the second mode of helicopter operation is a flight mode;
- and
- wherein each electrically driven, variable-speed motor is independently controlled.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.