IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
UP-0280036
(2005-11-16)
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등록번호 |
US-7677492
(2010-04-21)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Carter, Jr., Jay W.
- Lewis, Jeffrey R.
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
5 인용 특허 :
23 |
초록
▼
A rotary aircraft has a fuselage with wings and a rotor. The blades of the rotor are twistable about a pitch axis to vary collective pitch. A collective pitch shaft moves in an advancing direction to increase the collective pitch. Weights are mounted to the blades for outward movement along the blad
A rotary aircraft has a fuselage with wings and a rotor. The blades of the rotor are twistable about a pitch axis to vary collective pitch. A collective pitch shaft moves in an advancing direction to increase the collective pitch. Weights are mounted to the blades for outward movement along the blades in response to an increase in rotational speed of the blades. A linkage between each of the weights and the collective pitch shaft moves the collective pitch shaft in the advancing direction in response to an increase in rotational speed. A spring acting through a cam mechanism exerts a non linear force in opposition to the outward movement of the blades.
대표청구항
▼
The invention claimed is: 1. An autogyro rotor aircraft, comprising: a fuselage; a power source mounted to the fuselage; a thrust device coupled to the power source for providing forward thrust to the aircraft; a rotor mounted above the fuselage for providing lift during takeoff and landing, the ro
The invention claimed is: 1. An autogyro rotor aircraft, comprising: a fuselage; a power source mounted to the fuselage; a thrust device coupled to the power source for providing forward thrust to the aircraft; a rotor mounted above the fuselage for providing lift during takeoff and landing, the rotor having blades extending outward from a hub, each of the blades being twistable about a pitch axis to vary a collective pitch from a minimum pitch to a maximum pitch, the rotor being operatively connected to the power source for rotation only prior to take-off and freewheeling after take-off; a collective pitch assembly mounted to the rotor that moves in an advancing direction to increase the collective pitch and in a decreasing direction to decrease the collective pitch; a mechanical pitch controller operatively coupled to the collective pitch assembly for automatically increasing and decreasing the collective pitch in a selected relationship to the rotational speed of the rotor while freewheeling; a lockout member cooperatively engaged with the pitch controller and having a locked position that prevents movement of the collective pitch assembly from the minimum pitch while the aircraft is on the ground and the rotor is being prerotated by the power source prior to its takeoff RPM, the lockout member being releasable to allow the collective pitch assembly to move in the advancing direction toward the maximum pitch in response to disengagement of the power source from the rotor; and wherein the pitch controller is free to increase and decrease the pitch between the minimum and the maximum pitches continuously while the rotor is autorotating after take-off for a duration of the flight. 2. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the pitch controller comprises: a pitch increasing mechanism that is coupled to the collective pitch assembly for providing a force that increases the collective pitch in a given relationship to an increase in rotational speed of the rotor while freewheeling; a spring; and a cam mechanism, the spring and cam mechanism being coupled to the collective pitch assembly to urge the collective pitch assembly to decrease the collective pitch, the spring and the cam mechanism, creating a non linear response in opposition to the force provided by the pitch increasing mechanism. 3. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the lockout member comprises: a piston and cylinder cooperatively engaged with the collective pitch assembly and the pitch controller, defining a chamber containing a fluid that while closed resists relative movement between the piston and cylinder, which prevents movement of the collective pitch assembly in the advancing direction; a passage extending from the chamber to enable the fluid to flow from the chamber and the piston and cylinder to move relative to each other to allow movement of the collective pitch assembly in the advancing direction in response to increasing freewheeling rotational speed of the rotor and in the decreasing direction to the minimum pitch in response to decreasing rotational speed of the rotor; and a valve having a closed position that closes the passage to prevent movement of the collective pitch assembly from the minimum pitch while the power source is driving the rotor during pre-rotation, the valve being movable to an open position to allow movement of the collective pitch assembly between the minimum and maximum pitches after the power source ceases to drive the rotor. 4. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the lockout member comprises: a piston and cylinder cooperatively engaged with the collective pitch assembly and the pitch controller, defining first and second chambers on opposite sides of the piston, the chambers containing a fluid that resists movement of the piston and cylinder relative to each other, which prevents the collective pitch assembly from moving in the advancing and decreasing directions while the chambers are closed; a bypass passage extending between the first and second chambers to enable the fluid to flow around the piston between the chambers and allow relative movement of the piston and cylinder and movement of the collective pitch assembly in the advancing and decreasing directions; and a valve having an open position opening the bypass passage and a closed position closing the bypass passage to prevent movement of the collective pitch assembly, the valve being in the closed position while the power source is pre-rotating the rotor and being movable to the open position to allow movement of the collective pitch assembly between the minimum and maximum pitches after the engine disengages from the power source. 5. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the pitch controller comprises: a plurality of weights carried by blades of the rotor near the tips of the blades for outward movement along the blades in response to centrifugal force occurring as the rotor is freewheeling; and a plurality of linkage assemblies, each of the linkage assemblies connected between one of the weights and the collective pitch assembly for moving the collective pitch assembly in the advancing direction as the weights move outward. 6. The aircraft according to claim 5, further comprising: a spring; and a cam mechanism, the spring and cam mechanism being coupled to the collective pitch assembly to urge the collective pitch assembly to decrease the collective pitch and for creating a non linear response in opposition to outward movement of the weights. 7. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the pitch controller comprises: a slide mounted to and extending lengthwise on each of the blades near a tip of each the blades; a weight slidably carried on each of the slides for outward movement in response to centrifugal force occurring as the blade is freewheeling; a link extending from each of the weights; and a guide member operatively coupled between the link and the collective pitch assembly for moving the collective pitch assembly in the advancing direction as the weights move outward. 8. An autogyro rotor aircraft, comprising: a fuselage; a thrust device mounted to the fuselage for providing forward thrust to the aircraft; a rotor mounted above the fuselage; a power source coupled to the thrust device for powering the thrust device, the power source being releasably coupled to the rotor for pre-rotating the rotor prior to liftoff and disengaging rotation of the rotor immediately before liftoff; the rotor having blades extending outward from a hub, each of the blades being twistable about a pitch axis to vary a collective pitch; a collective pitch shaft coaxial with the rotor that moves in an axial advancing direction to increase the collective pitch and in axial decreasing direction to decrease the collective pitch; a plurality of weights, each of the weights being mounted to one of the blades for outward movement along each blade in response to an increase in centrifugal force while the rotor is rotating after liftoff; a spring operatively engaged with the weights for causing the weights to move inward in response to a decrease in centrifugal force while the rotator is rotating after liftoff; a plurality of cables, each having one end connected to one of the weights and another end extending around a guide member and connected to the collective pitch shaft for moving the collective pitch shaft in the advancing direction in response to outward movement of the weights and the decreasing direction in response to inward movement of the weights; a piston and cylinder cooperatively engaged with the collective pitch shaft, defining first and second chambers on opposite sides of the piston for containing a fluid that resists relative movement between the piston and the cylinder while the chambers are closed, which prevents movement of the collective pitch shaft in the advancing and decreasing directions; a bypass passage extending between the first and second chambers to enable the fluid to flow between the chambers and allow relative movement between the piston and the cylinder, which allows movement of the collective pitch shaft in the advancing and decreasing directions; a valve that is in a closed position closing the bypass passage only during pre-rotation of the rotor to prevent movement of the collective pitch shaft from a minimum pitch position and is movable to an open position opening the bypass passage when the power source disengages from the rotor; and wherein the valve remains in an open position after takeoff for the duration of the flight and the weights are free to continuously move between fully inward and fully outward positions, which moves the collective pitch shaft between the minimum pitch and a maximum pitch during the flight in response to changes in the rotational speed of the rotor. 9. The aircraft according to claim 8, further comprising: a cam mechanism, the cam mechanism and the spring being operatively coupled to the collective pitch shaft for creating a non linear response in opposition to the outward movement of the weights. 10. The aircraft according to claim 8, further comprising a slide mounted to each blade of the rotor, each of the weights being movably carried by one of the slides for inward and outward movement along one of the blades. 11. A method of controlling collective pitch of the blades of an auto gyro rotor aircraft having a power source and a thrust device for applying forward thrust to the aircraft, comprising: (a) operatively coupling a mechanical collective pitch controller to the rotor that has weights movable along the blades in response to centrifugal force to vary the collective pitch between a minimum level and a maximum level in a selected relationship to the rotational speed of the rotor; (b) operatively coupling a lockout member with the pitch controller that has a locked position and a released position; (c) placing the lockout member in the locked position, and with the power source, driving the thrust device and pre-rotating the rotor while with the lockout member, preventing the weights of the collective pitch controller from moving along the blades, so as to retain the collective pitch at the minimum level; then (d) disengaging the power source from the rotor and continuing to drive the thrust device, allowing the rotor to rotate due to inertial to cause lift off, then auto rotate due to air flow; and (e) moving the lockout member to the released position, thereby allowing the weights to move along the blades, causing the pitch controller, to automatically vary the collective pitch between the minimum level and the maximum level in selected relationship to an auto-rotational speed of the rotor after lift off and continuously during the flight. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein step (e) further comprises: after lift off and continuously during the flight, exerting a force with the weights of the pitch controller that automatically increases the collective pitch in a given relationship to an increase in rotational speed of the rotor; and exerting a non linear response on the pitch controller in opposition to said force. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein step (d) further comprises: After lift off, decreasing and increasing the auto-rotational speed of the rotor during the flight; and step (c) further comprises: By movement of the weights along the blades, automatically decreasing and increasing the collective pitch between the minimum level and the maximum level in a given desired relationship to the decrease and increase in auto-rotational speed of the rotor.
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