Torque compensation for a helicopter
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorOliver Heid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to compensation for the torque which is produced by the main rotor (110) of a helicopter (100). The apparatus according to the invention for torque compensation is intended for a helicopter whose main rotor rotates about a rotation axis (RH) during operation and thus produces a torque, which acts on the fuselage (120) of the helicopter and would cause it to rotate. The apparatus comprises a lateral flow fan (200) having a housing (210) and having a rotor (220) which is mounted in the housing, wherein the lateral flow fan is arranged on the tail boom (130) of the helicopter such that it produces a thrust effect (F) during operation which compensates for the torque of the main rotor.
Claims24
A device for torque compensation for a helicopter having a fuselage and a tail boom, comprising:
- a main rotor which is arranged on the fuselage of the helicopter and which, in operation, rotates about an axis of rotation of the rotor and thereby produces a torque;
- and
- a cross-flow fan having a housing and a rotor mounted in the housing and an axis of rotation which is transverse to the axis of rotation of the main rotor, said cross-flow fan being arranged on an end of the tail boom which faces away from the fuselage of the helicopter such as to have in operation an airflow forced away at an angle to an axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan and thereby to produce a thrusting effect which compensates for a torque of the main rotor,
- wherein the housing of the cross-flow fan has two elongated openings which extend in a direction of rotation of the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan and are provided at opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan as considered in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan, such that air is sucked in through one of the elongated openings, passes through an interior of the housing of the cross-flow fan, and is forced out through the other elongated opening, and thereby the produced airflow is transverse to the axis of rotation of the main rotor and transverse to the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan.
A helicopter, comprising:
- a fuselage and a tail boom;
- and
- a device for torque compensation for a helicopter, said device including a main rotor which is arranged on the fuselage of the helicopter and which, in operation, rotates about an axis of rotation of the rotor and thereby produces a torque, and a cross-flow fan having a housing and a rotor mounted in the housing and having an axis of rotation which is transverse to the axis of rotation of the main rotor, said cross-flow fan being arranged on an end of the tail boom which faces away from the fuselage such as to have in operation an airflow oriented at an angle to an axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan and thereby to produce a thrusting effect which compensates for a torque of the main rotor,
- wherein the housing of the cross-flow fan has two elongated openings which extend in a direction of the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan and are provided at opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan as considered in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan, such that air is sucked in through one of the elongated openings, passes through the interior of the housing of the cross-flow fan and is forced out through the other elongated opening and thereby the produced air flow is transverse to the axis of rotation of the main rotor and transverse to the axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan.
A method for torque compensation on a helicopter, said method comprising:
- arranging on a fuselage a main rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation,
- attaching a cross-flow fan having a housing, a rotor rotatable in the housing, and an axis of rotation transverse to the axis of rotation of the main rotor, to an end of a tail boom of the helicopter which faces away from a fuselage;
- and
- operating the cross-flow fan so that air is sucked in through one elongated opening of the housing, passes through an interior of the housing and is forced out through another transversely opposite elongated opening of the housing to produce an airflow transversely to the axis of rotation of the main rotor and to an axis of rotation of the cross-flow fan and thereby to produce a thrusting effect which compensates a torque caused by the rotating main rotor of the helicopter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.