Equipment for folding the blades of a main helicopter rotor
First Claim
1. Equipment for folding the blades of a main helicopter rotor, in particular of the type having a star-shaped hub with a rigid central part and provided with arms which are flattened in the plane of the star and flexible perpendicularly to this plane, a blade root being joined to the end of each arm of said hub by means of members having at least one link shaft which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the star, said equipment essentially comprisinga housing adapted to be fitted over said rigid central part of said hub,and rigid elongate supports linked by one end to said housing,and a folding shaft linking the other end of each of said elongate supports to one of said blade roots with the number of supports at most equal in number to the number of blades of the helicopter rotor.
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Abstract
The invention relates to equipment which makes it possible to fold the blades of a rotor, in particular of the type comprising a star-shaped hub with arms flexible in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the star-shaped hub.
This equipment comprises a housing which is detachably mounted on the rigid central part of the rotor hub. This housing carries elongate supports at the side. The free end of each support is detachably joined to the upper part of the folding shaft of the corresponding blade. This folding shaft can consist of a spindle replacing a link shaft between the foot of the blade and the corresponding arm of the hub.
49 Citations
15 Claims
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1. Equipment for folding the blades of a main helicopter rotor, in particular of the type having a star-shaped hub with a rigid central part and provided with arms which are flattened in the plane of the star and flexible perpendicularly to this plane, a blade root being joined to the end of each arm of said hub by means of members having at least one link shaft which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the star, said equipment essentially comprising
a housing adapted to be fitted over said rigid central part of said hub, and rigid elongate supports linked by one end to said housing, and a folding shaft linking the other end of each of said elongate supports to one of said blade roots with the number of supports at most equal in number to the number of blades of the helicopter rotor.
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13. Process for manually folding the blades of a main helicopter rotor having a hub with a rigid central part comprising the steps of fitting a housing, provided with elongate supports, over the rigid central part of the rotor hub, and then, for each blade which has not stopped above the longitudinal axis of the helicopter, supporting the blade by means of a pole, substituting a folding shaft for one of the link shafts of the blade, fixing the upper part of the said folding shaft to the end of the corresponding elongate support, removing any further link shaft from the blade, causing the blade to pivot about the folding shaft towards the rear of the helicopter, using the said pole, and then, immobilising the blade, relative to the fuselage, using fastening means, in a position in which the folded blade is substantially parallel to the said longitudinal axis.
- 14. Process for manually folding the blades of a main helicopter rotor having a hub with a rigid central part comprising the steps of fitting a housing, provided with elongate supports, over the rigid central part of the rotor hub, and then, for each blade which has not stopped above the longitudinal axis of the helicopter, fixing the upper part of a link shaft acting as a folding shaft to the end of the corresponding elongate support, removing any further link shaft from the blade, causing the blade to pivot about the folding shaft towards the rear of the helicopter, using a pole, and then immobilizing the blade, relative to the fuselage, using fastening means, in a position in which the folded blade is substantially parallel to the said longitudinal axis.
Specification