Electric rotorcraft cyclic control system
AssigneeSiFly Aviation, Inc.
InventorBrian L. Hinman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved electrically powered rotorcraft is of the type having a rotor including a rotor hub and a pair of rotor blades mounted to the rotor hub on opposite sides thereof, the rotor being rotatably mounted on a primary drive shaft, and a rotary electric motor coupled to the drive shaft. In this rotorcraft, the improvement includes a common pitch-angle shaft coupled to each of the blades; a limited-angle electric motor, mechanically coupled to the common pitch-angle shaft, and configured to cause rotation of the common pitch angle shaft and therefore adjustment of pitch of the pair of rotor blades; and a controller system in communication with the limited-angle electric motor, configured to provide cyclic control of pitch of the pair of rotor blades.
Claims17
An improved electrically powered rotorcraft, of the type having a rotor including a rotor hub and a pair of rotor blades mounted to the rotor hub on opposite sides thereof, the rotor being rotatably mounted on a primary drive shaft and configured to perform a 360 degree sweep, and a rotary electric motor coupled to the primary drive shaft, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a common pitch-angle shaft extending between each of the blades such that angular adjustment of the common pitch-angle shaft causes a corresponding angular adjustment of each of the blades;
- a limited-angle electric motor, mechanically coupled to the common pitch-angle shaft, and configured to cause angular adjustment of the common pitch angle shaft and therefore adjustment of pitch of the rotor blades;
- and
- a controller system in communication with the limited-angle electric motor, configured to provide cyclic pitch control of the pair of rotor blades via the common pitch-angle shaft.
An electrically powered rotorcraft, comprising:
- a rotor including a rotor hub and a pair of rotor blades mounted to the rotor hub on opposite sides thereof, the rotor being rotatably mounted on a primary drive shaft;
- a rotary electric motor coupled to the primary drive shaft;
- a common pitch-angle shaft extending between each of the rotor blades, rotatably mounted on the rotor hub, and coupled to each of the blades;
- a limited-angle electric motor, mechanically coupled to the common pitch-angle shaft, and configured to cause angular adjustment of the common pitch angle shaft and therefore adjustment of pitch of the rotor blades;
- and
- a controller system in communication with the limited-angle electric motor, configured to provide cyclic pitch control of the pair of rotor blades via the common pitch-angle shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.