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. 29, 2009
Filed:
Jan. 23, 2003
Daniel B. Robertson, Southlake, TX (US);
Dudley E. Smith, Arlington, TX (US);
Charles L. Hollimon, North Richland Hills, TX (US);
Jimmy C. Narramore, Bedford, TX (US);
Robert B. Mullins, Mansfield, TX (US);
Daniel B. Robertson, Southlake, TX (US);
Dudley E. Smith, Arlington, TX (US);
Charles L. Hollimon, North Richland Hills, TX (US);
Jimmy C. Narramore, Bedford, TX (US);
Robert B. Mullins, Mansfield, TX (US);
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX (US);
Abstract
A proprotor blade () having a fixed, spanwise, leading edge slot () located in at least the inboard portion of the proprotor is disclosed. The slot () is formed by a selectively shaped slat () disposed in a selectively shaped recessed area () located at the leading edge () of the main portion of the proprotor blade. The slot () is selectively shaped so the a portion of the airflow over the lower airfoil surface of the proprotor blade is diverted between the main portion of the proprotor blade and the slat () and exits at the upper airfoil surface of the proprotor blade. The present invention may be used on both military-type tiltrotor aircraft () and civilian-type tiltrotor aircraft () with only minor variations to accommodate the different shapes of the proprotor blades.