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US 9,604,722 B1Granted
Mission-adaptive rotor blade
AssigneeGroen Aeronautics Corporation
InventorDavid L. Groen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotorcraft may include an airframe and a rotor connected to the airframe. The rotor may include a hub and a rotor blade connected to the hub to extend radially away therefrom. The rotor blade may include biasing fibers, oriented to increase the twist of the rotor blade in response to an increase in the speed of rotation of the rotor corresponding to a mission, task, or maneuver.
Claims9
A method comprising:
- selecting a rotorcraft comprising an airframe and a rotor, the rotor rotatably connected to the airframe and comprising a hub and a rotor blade, the rotor blade connected to the hub to extend radially away therefrom and comprising biasing fibers arranged in a spiral within the rotor blade;
- rotating the rotor with respect to the airframe at an angular velocity having a first value;
- increasing the centrifugal force acting on the rotor blade by transitioning the angular velocity of the rotor with respect to the airframe from the first value to a second value greater than the first value;
- and
- inducing automatically, by the biasing fibers in response to the increasing, greater twist in the rotor blade.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.