Rotor blade control device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9555878-B2
Application number	US-201214345615-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 2, 2012
Priority date	Sep 19, 2011
Publication date	Jan 31, 2017
Grant date	Jan 31, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a rotor blade control device for a helicopter. The rotor blade control device may include a swash plate disk with a non-rotating component coupled to the helicopter. At least three actuators may be arranged around a rotor shaft axis of the helicopter, and a coupling element may be located between each actuator and the non-rotating component. The coupling element can be adjusted to change the position of a crosspoint at the non-rotating component of the swash plate disk alongside the rotor shaft axis in order to adjust the rotor blades. The actuators may be arranged onto the non-rotating component and may be able to pivot around a respective swivel axis. A radial distance of the first crosspoint to the rotor shaft axis may change with the swivel movement of an actuator around the swivel axis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rotor blade control device for a helicopter comprising a swash plate disk, the swash plate disk comprising:
a non-rotating part of the swash plate disk;
at least three actuators which are arranged around a rotor shaft axis of the helicopter, each of the at least three actuators connected to a stationary component in relation to the helicopter; and
a coupling element between each of the at least three actuators and the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk,
wherein each of the at least three actuators comprises a control shaft, which can be twisted around a control axis, and the coupling element is connected to the control shaft in a torque-proof way at a first crosspoint being located on the control axis, and to the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk at a second crosspoint in a flexible way, so that by means of a twisting of the control shaft the second crosspoint is moved at least alongside the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk via the coupling element,
wherein the control shafts of each of the at least three actuators can be twisted at a certain adjustment angle respectively, independent of each other, according to a desired tilt or movement of the non-rotating part of swash plate disk, so that the second crosspoint at the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk takes a defined point in space,
wherein the coupling element, which can be swiveled in all directions around the second crosspoint, is made up in a rigid way, and each of the at least three actuators is arranged onto the stationary component, being able to pivot around a respective swivel axis, and that the first crosspoint having a radial distance to the swivel axis, and
wherein the control axis and the swivel axis are arranged in such a way toward each other, and a radial distance of the first crosspoint to the rotor shaft axis changes with the swivel movement of each of the at least three actuators around the swivel axis.

2. The rotor blade control device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least three actuators and the coupling element are arranged radially inside of the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk.

3. The rotor blade control device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least three actuators is an electric motor.

4. The rotor blade control device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least three actuators is a hydraulic swivel motor.

5. The rotor blade control device according to claim 1 , wherein the swivel axis is arranged parallel to the rotor shaft axis, and the control axis is located in a vertical plane, perpendicular to the orientation of the rotor shaft axis, the control axis having a radial distance to the rotor shaft axis.

6. The rotor blade control device according to claim 5 , wherein the control axis and the swivel axis are arranged perpendicular towards each other, and the control axis and the swivel axis have a common point of intersection while being positioned in the same plane.

7. The rotor blade control device according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling element is formed in one piece as a lever.

8. The rotor blade control device according to claim 7 , wherein a ball joint is arranged inside the second crosspoint, between the lever and the non-rotating part of the swash plate disk.

Assignees

• Arnold Uwe
• Wintjen Carsten
• Hausberg Andre
• Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen

Inventors

• Arnold Uwe
• Wintjen Carsten
• Hausberg Andre

Classifications

• B64C27/605 Primary

  including swash plate, spider or cam mechanisms · CPC title

• B64C27/04 Primary

  Helicopters · CPC title