Rotor for a dual mode aircraft
OwnerJianhui Hong, Jinru Wuinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotor for use on an aircraft has a plurality (N) of rotor blades mounted on a plurality (N) of concentric masts. Each of the rotor blades has a rounded leading edge and a tapered trailing edge. The plurality (N) of concentric masts each operably mount one of the plurality of rotor blades at N different elevations. A locking element selectively locks or unlocks the concentric masts together in a plane of rotation, enabling the angle between any two rotor blades to be variable from 0-360 degrees during flight. A feathering hinge is operably attached to each blade for changing the pitch of each blade with respect to the plane of rotation as controlled by a pitch control mechanism.
Claims10
A rotor comprising:
- two rotor blades, each having a rounded leading edge and a tapered trailing edge to reduce drag and improve lift efficiency;
- two concentric masts, each for operably mounting one of the plurality of rotor blades at two different elevations substantially parallel to a plane of rotation;
- a locking element for selectively locking and unlocking the concentric masts such that an angle between any two rotor blades may be variable within the plane of rotation during flight when the locking element is unlocked;
- a feathering hinge attached to each blade for changing the pitch of each blade with respect to the plane of rotation;
- and
- a pitch control mechanism operably attached to the feathering hinges of the blades for controlling the pitches of the blades collectively.
An aircraft capable of flying in both rotary wing mode and fixed wing mode, the aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage having right and left sides;
- two fixed wings extending from the left and right sides of the fuselage;
- two rotor enclosures mounted on or adjacent to the fuselage and/or the two fixed wings;
- and
- a pair of rotors, each of the rotors being operably mounted on one of the rotor enclosures, each of the rotors comprising:
- two rotor blades, each having a rounded leading edge and a tapered trailing edge to reduce drag and improve lift efficiency;
- two concentric masts, each for operably mounting one of the plurality of rotor blades at two different elevations;
- a locking element for selectively locking or unlocking the concentric masts together, enabling the angle between any two rotor blades to be variable from 0-360 degrees during flight when the locking element is unlocked;
- a feathering hinge attached to each blade for changing the pitch of each blade with respect to the plane of rotation;
- and
- a pitch control mechanism operably attached to the feathering hinges of the blades for controlling the pitches of the blades collectively.
An aircraft capable of flying in both rotary wing mode and fixed wing mode, the aircraft comprising:
- a fuselage having a top, right and left sides, and a longitudinal axis;
- two fixed wings extending from the left and right sides of the fuselage;
- and
- a pair of counter rotating rotors mounted on the top of the fuselage laterally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, each of the rotors comprising:
- a pair of rotor blades, each having a rounded leading edge and a tapered trailing edge to reduce drag and improve lift efficiency;
- a pair of concentric masts, each for operably mounting one of the plurality of rotor blades;
- a locking element for selectively locking or unlocking the concentric masts together in a plane of rotation, enabling the angle between the two rotor blades to be variable during flight when the locking element is unlocked;
- a feathering hinge attached to each blade for changing the pitch of each blade with respect to the plane of rotation;
- and
- a pitch control mechanism operably attached to the feathering hinges of the blades for controlling the pitches of the blades collectively,
- whereby the counter rotating rotors are operably mounted such that the rotors intermesh with each other in the rotary wing mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.