Vacuum adhering apparatus for automated maintenance of airfoil-shaped bodies
US9302787B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 5, 2014 |
| Grant date | Apr 5, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 17, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64F5/30
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Devices for enabling navigation of a crawler vehicle along an airfoil-shaped body, such as a helicopter blade, in a low-cost fashion with high reliability, especially for swept configuration blades. Using the natural tendency of vacuum adherence devices to adhere to changing surface contours, the crawler vehicle can adhere itself to airfoil-shaped structures in a way that allows the crawler vehicle to easily translate along an airfoil-shaped body while accommodating extreme variations along the surface of the airfoil-shaped body. The crawler vehicle can be designed to eliminate any trailing edge follower wheel, which simplifies the crawler's ability to accommodate trailing edge protrusions, such as trim tabs.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.