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US 12,703,481 B2Granted
Rotor position control system
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorGuy Bernard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An tiltrotor aircraft includes a rotor position control system (RPCS). The RPCS includes an electric motor configured to selectively rotate the rotor blade, a target marker kinematically associated with the rotor blade, a sensor configured to sense a position of the target marker, and a flight control computer configured to selectively control the electric motor in a normal mode of operation in which the rotor blade provides thrust and a phase lock mode of operation in which the electric motor maintains the rotor blade in a predetermined indexed position.
Claims16
A rotor position control system (RPCS), comprising:
- a rotor blade;
- an electric motor configured to selectively rotate the rotor blade to provide thrust;
- a target marker kinematically associated with the rotor blade;
- a sensor configured to sense a position of the target marker;
- and
- a flight control computer configured to selectively control the electric motor in a normal mode of operation in which the rotor blade provides thrust and a phase lock mode of operation in which the electric motor is configured to, without using mechanical connections not used when the electric motor provides thrust, maintain the rotor blade in a predetermined indexed position by applying power to the electric motor while the rotor blade is stopped in the predetermined indexed position to prevent movement of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position;
- wherein in response to the rotor blade being perturbed from the predetermined indexed position during the phase lock mode of operation, power is applied to the electric motor as a function of at least one of (1) passage of a predetermined amount of time and (2) differentially as a function of an amount of angular offset of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position.
4 more elements
A tiltrotor aircraft, comprising:
- a rotor position control system (RPCS), comprising:
- a rotor blade;
- an electric motor configured to selectively rotate the rotor blade to provide thrust when the tiltrotor aircraft is operating in a helicopter mode of operation;
- a target marker kinematically associated with the rotor blade;
- a sensor configured to sense a position of the target marker;
- and
- a flight control computer configured to selectively control the electric motor in a normal mode of operation in which the rotor blade provides thrust and a phase lock mode of operation in which the electric motor is configured to, without using mechanical connections not used when the electric motor provides thrust, maintain the rotor blade in a predetermined indexed position by applying power to the electric motor while the rotor blade is stopped in the predetermined indexed position to prevent movement of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position;
- wherein in response to the rotor blade being perturbed from the predetermined indexed position during the phase lock mode of operation, power is applied to the electric motor as a function of at least one of (1) passage of a predetermined amount of time and (2) differentially as a function of an amount of angular offset of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position.
5 more elements
A method of operating a tiltrotor aircraft, comprising:
- providing a rotor system comprising a rotor blade;
- providing an electric motor configured to selectively rotate the rotor blade about an axis of rotation to provide thrust when the tiltrotor aircraft is in a helicopter mode of operation;
- switching operation of the electric motor from operating in a normal mode to drive the rotor blade to generate thrust to a phase lock mode of operation that stops rotation of the rotor blade in a predetermined indexed position;
- wherein when the tiltrotor aircraft is in an airplane mode of operation and while the rotor blade is stopped in the predetermined indexed position and not providing thrust, applying power to the electric motor to, without using mechanical connections not used when the electric motor provides thrust, maintain the rotor blade in the predetermined indexed position so as to prevent movement of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position;
- and
- during the phase lock mode of operation, responding to the rotor blade being perturbed from the predetermined indexed position by applying power to the electric motor as a function of at least one of (1) passage of a predetermined amount of time and (2) differentially as a function of an amount of angular offset of the rotor blade from the predetermined indexed position.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.