Back to results
US 2019/0291861 A1Published application
Rotor blade afterbody
AssigneeBell Helicopter Textron Inc.
InventorsJoel J. McIntyre, Michael Christopher Burnett
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An afterbody for a rotor blade of a rotorcraft is unitarily formed of a single material of construction. The afterbody includes an upper surface disposed from a lower surface, a concave leading edge connected to the upper surface and the lower surface, and a trailing edge formed at an intersection of the upper surface with the lower surface.
Claims20
An afterbody for a rotor blade of a rotorcraft, comprising:
- a body unitarily formed of a single material of construction including an upper surface disposed from a lower surface, a leading edge connected to the upper surface and the lower surface, and a trailing edge formed at an intersection of the upper surface with the lower surface.
A rotor blade for a rotorcraft, comprising:
- a one-piece afterbody formed of a single material of construction without a separate upper skin and without a separate lower skin;
- and
- a spar adhered to the one-piece afterbody.
A rotor blade for a rotorcraft, comprising:
- a spar including a root section and a tip section;
- an afterbody including a curved leading edge, an entirety of the curved leading edge adhered to the spar with a single bonded joint;
- and
- a chord-wise cross-sectional shape of the afterbody includes an upper surface connected to the curved leading edge, a lower surface connected to the curved leading edge, a trailing edge formed at an intersection of the upper surface with the lower surface, and a customized internal structure unitarily formed of a single material of construction with and encompassed by the upper surface, the lower surface, and the curved leading edge.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.