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US 9,487,291 B2Granted
Apparatus, system, and method for pitching and twisting a blade of a rotorcraft
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsThomas A. Zientek, Terrence S. Birchette, Friedrich K. Straub
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for moving a blade of a rotorcraft. The method comprises operating the rotorcraft and applying a torque to an elongate member connected to a tip portion of the blade during operation of the rotorcraft using a tip actuation mechanism that is external to the blade and associated with the elongate member such that the tip portion of the blade rotates about an axis through the blade.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- a blade of a rotorcraft;
- and
- a tip actuation mechanism that is external to the blade and associated with an elongate member that is connected to a tip portion of the blade, wherein the tip actuation mechanism is configured to apply a torque to the elongate member such that the tip portion of the blade twists relative to a root portion of the blade about an axis through the blade defined by the elongate member.
A rotor system comprising:
- A plurality of blades;
- and
- A pitch and twist system comprising a plurality of actuation systems in which each of the plurality of actuation systems is associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of blades and comprises:
- A root actuation mechanism that is external to a blade and associated with a root portion of the blade, wherein the root actuation mechanism is configured to apply a first torque to the root portion of the blade such that the root portion of the blade rotates about an axis through the blade;
- and
- A tip actuation mechanism that is external to the blade and associated with an elongate member that is connected to a tip portion of the blade, wherein the tip actuation mechanism is configured to apply a second torque to the elongate member such that the tip portion of the blade twists about an axis through the blade defined by the elongate member, the tip portion twisting relative to the root portion of the blade.
3 more elements
A method for moving a blade of a rotorcraft, the method comprising:
- Operating the rotorcraft;
- and
- Applying a torque to the elongate member connected to a tip portion of the blade during operation of the rotorcraft using a tip actuation mechanism that is external to the blade and associated with the elongate member such that the tip portion of the blade twists about an axis through the blade defined by the elongate member, the tip portion twisting relative to a root portion of the blade.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.