Rotor hub systems and methods
US7871034B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 22, 2009 |
| Grant date | Jan 18, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 7, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64C29/0033
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A rotorcraft is equipped with a rotor hub of large diameter in order to accommodate high loads from a hingeless rotor. In preferred embodiments, a rotorcraft has a rotor disposed on a mast with blades attached to a hub by means of a feather bearing that receives a shank of a blade. The hub is attached to non-rotating structure such as a tilting nacelle by means of a hub bearing. This facilitates the transfer of moments generated on the rotor to the airframe. The hub and feather bearings can be sized and arranged such that a feather bearing on a hub is disposed within an imaginary cylinder centered at a rotational axis of the hub and having a diameter no greater 1.2 times an inner diameter of the hub bearing. This can result in a large diameter hub and hub bearing capable of withstanding very large bending moments.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.