The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 15, 2020
Filed:
Jan. 10, 2019
Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US);
Colton Gilliland, Northlake, TX (US);
Tyson Henry, Arlington, TX (US);
Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US);
Abstract
A dynamic rotor-phasing unit can phase rotors in-flight for dynamic rotor tuning and in an idle state for aircraft storage. The input and output shafts can be clocked (e.g., rotated) from 0 degrees apart to in excess of 360 degrees apart or from 0 degrees apart to 140 degrees apart. Such rotation can minimize the footprint of an aircraft for stowing purposes, as the rotor blades can be folded to fit within a smaller area without disconnecting the drive system. Additionally, the unit can allow tiltrotor blades to be clocked during flight, which can allow the live-tuning of the aircraft's rotor dynamics. A fail-safe rotary actuator can rotate a stationary planet carrier to clock the input shaft and the output shaft. Alternatively, an actuator can position a slider housing to clock the input shaft and the output shaft.