Rotary-wing aircraft rotors with automatically folding blades and electrical connection installation for the blades
AssigneeEurocopter
InventorsJean Mondet, Stëphane Mazet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
On the rotor, between each blade integral with its folding mount and the member for linking with the hub, an electrical connecting cable comprises a first section of which one part is held, in any position of the blade about the folding axis, above the mount and the radially outer end of the link member on which the mount pivots, in an off-centered position with respect to the folding axis and on the side towards which the blade is designed to be folded. This holding is provided by a cable support tied to the folding pivot and on which an arm, receiving the held part of this section of cable, is mounted in cantilever manner on the folding side.
Claims13
A rotary-wing aircraft rotor, of the type comprising:
- a hub, designed to be driven in rotation about an axis of the hub which is the axis of rotation of the rotor,
- at least two blades, each of which is connected to the hub by a link member that is substantially radial with respect to the axis of rotation, each blade being firmly connected by a root to a folding mount, mounted in a pivoting manner at a radially outer end of said link member, about a spindle for folding said blade between two positions, one of which is a flight position, in which said mount is attached to said link member in such a way that said blade is substantially aligned with the radial projection of said link member, and the other of which is a position folded along one side of the rotary-wing aircraft rotor, in which said mount and blade are pivoted about said folding spindle on one side of said link member, and
- an electrical connection installation comprising, for each blade, at least one electrical connecting cable connecting a first connector, carried by the hub and electrically connected on the hub, to a second connector on the blade and connected to at least one electrical device of said blade, wherein the connecting cable comprises a first flexible section, of essentially cylindrical shape with a rounded cross section, connecting said second connector to a second section, held on the corresponding link member, of said connecting cable, whose first section comprises a held part which, in all positions of the blade about the folding spindle, is maintained fixed on a cable support tied to said folding spindle, such that said held part is maintained above said mount and said radially outer end of said link member, in an off-centered position with respect to said folding spindle and substantially on the folding side of said blade, in order that the folding of the blade by pivoting about said folding spindle causes the first section of cable to curve and to move naturally in order to accommodate itself to said folding without extension of said first section of cable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.