Helicopter with cross-flow fan
First Claim
1. A helicopter comprising:
- a fuselage having a roll axis extending longitudinally, and at least one driving unit disposed in the fuselage;
at least one main rotor mounted to the fuselage and drivable by the at least one driving unit to rotate about a yaw axis perpendicular to the roll axis;
a cross-flow fan housing mounted to the fuselage extending essentially in the direction of the roll axis with an offset relative to the yaw axis; and
an air inlet for incoming air and an air outlet for outgoing air are provided along at least a part of a circumference of the fan housing, the air inlet and the air outlet being formed by angularly offset and separate gaps between an inside segment and an outside segment essentially extending in the direction of the roll axis; and
at least one rotatable compressor provided with a plurality of airfoil blades oriented radially about a fan axis inside the fan housing, the at least one rotatable compressor being drivable by the at least one driving unit;
wherein operation of the at least one rotatable compressor within the fan housing is configured to produce;
lift oriented from the air inlet in a lift direction opposite to a flow direction of the incoming air due to ingestion of the incoming air into the at least one rotatable compressor, andlateral thrust oriented from the air outlet in a lateral thrust direction opposite to a flow direction of the outgoing air for anti-torque,wherein the cross-flow fan housing is split into a front section, an aft section and a mid-section, the front section being closest to the yaw axis, the aft section being distal to the yaw axis and the mid-section being between the front section and the aft section, the front section, the aft section and the mid-section being separately and independently from each other pivotable about the fan axis.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A helicopter with a fuselage (4), at least one engine, a roll axis, at least one main rotor, and at least one housing (2) mounted to said fuselage (4). An air inlet (8) and an air outlet (7) are provided along at least a part of a circumference of the at least one housing (2), said air inlet (8) and said air outlet (7) being formed by angularly offset and separate gaps between an inside segment (33) and an outside segment (34) essentially extending respectively longitudinally in direction of said roll axis. At least one rotatable compressor (1) with a plurality of airfoil blades (6) is provided radial inside said at least one housing (2) between said air inlet (8) and said air outlet (7), said at least one rotatable compressor (1) being drivable by said at least one engine about a fan axis (5) and each chord of said airfoil blades (6) is essentially radial oriented with regard to said fan axis (5).
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A helicopter comprising:
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a fuselage having a roll axis extending longitudinally, and at least one driving unit disposed in the fuselage; at least one main rotor mounted to the fuselage and drivable by the at least one driving unit to rotate about a yaw axis perpendicular to the roll axis; a cross-flow fan housing mounted to the fuselage extending essentially in the direction of the roll axis with an offset relative to the yaw axis; and an air inlet for incoming air and an air outlet for outgoing air are provided along at least a part of a circumference of the fan housing, the air inlet and the air outlet being formed by angularly offset and separate gaps between an inside segment and an outside segment essentially extending in the direction of the roll axis; and
at least one rotatable compressor provided with a plurality of airfoil blades oriented radially about a fan axis inside the fan housing, the at least one rotatable compressor being drivable by the at least one driving unit;wherein operation of the at least one rotatable compressor within the fan housing is configured to produce; lift oriented from the air inlet in a lift direction opposite to a flow direction of the incoming air due to ingestion of the incoming air into the at least one rotatable compressor, and lateral thrust oriented from the air outlet in a lateral thrust direction opposite to a flow direction of the outgoing air for anti-torque, wherein the cross-flow fan housing is split into a front section, an aft section and a mid-section, the front section being closest to the yaw axis, the aft section being distal to the yaw axis and the mid-section being between the front section and the aft section, the front section, the aft section and the mid-section being separately and independently from each other pivotable about the fan axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A cross-flow fan for a helicopter having a fuselage extending lengthwise in a longitudinal direction and having a rotor rotating about a yaw axis being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the cross-flow fan comprising:
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a fan housing adapted to be pivotally mounted to the fuselage and having a fan axis extending in the longitudinal direction, a rotatable compressor provided inside the fan housing and having a plurality of airfoil blades extending radially from and rotating about the fan axis; and an air inlet provided along a first part of a circumference of the fan housing and an air outlet provided along a second part of the circumference of the fan housing provided at an angular offset from the air inlet and; wherein the fan housing pivots thereby changing an angular position of the air inlet and air outlet to produce; lift oriented from the air inlet in a lift direction opposite to a flow of incoming air into the air inlet, and lateral thrust oriented from the air outlet in a lateral thrust direction opposite to a flow of outgoing air from the air outlet for anti-torque, wherein the cross-flow fan housing is split into a front section, an aft section and a mid-section, the front section being closest to the yaw axis, the aft section being distal to the yaw axis and the mid-section being between the front section and the aft section, the front section, the aft section and the mid-section being separately and independently from each other pivotable about the fan axis. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A helicopter comprising:
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a fuselage having a roll axis extending in a longitudinal direction, at least one main rotor mounted to the fuselage to rotate about a yaw axis perpendicular to the roll axis; a cross-flow fan housing pivotally mounted to the fuselage and having a fan axis extending in the longitudinal direction, the fan housing having a front section, an aft section and a mid section positioned longitudinally between the front section and the aft section, each of the aft section, the front section, and the mid section being pivotally mounted about the fan axis; a rotatable compressor provided inside the fan housing and having a plurality of airfoil blades extending radially from and rotating about the fan axis; and an air inlet and an air outlet extending longitudinally along each of the front section, aft section and mid section, wherein the air inlet is angularly offset along a circumference of the cross-flow fan housing from the air outlet, wherein angular positions of the air inlet and the air outlet of each of the aft section, the front section, and the mid section is adapted to be varied with respect to each other when each of the aft section, the front section, and the mid section are pivoted. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification