Foldable rotor blade assembly and aerial vehicle with a foldable rotor blade assembly
First Claim
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:
- a fuselage body; and
a lift mechanism coupled to the fuselage body, the lift mechanism including;
a motor assembly including a rotor and a stator operatively coupled to the rotor for rotating the rotor about a rotor centerline axis, the rotor including a blade assembly support member and a motor shaft extending outwardly from the blade assembly support member along the rotor centerline axis; and
a rotor blade assembly coupled to the rotor, the rotor blade assembly including;
a plurality of rotor blades, each rotor blade extending between a root portion and a tip portion, the root portion including a positioning aperture extending through the root portion; and
a rotor blade clamping mechanism including;
an upper paddle clamp including;
an upper support body including an upper outer surface and a lower outer surface; and
,
a plurality of blade support protrusions extending outwardly from the lower outer surface, each of the blade support protrusions configured to be inserted through a corresponding positioning aperture of a corresponding rotor blade to facilitate pivotably coupling the corresponding rotor blade to the upper paddle clamp, each blade support protrusion having a length that is greater than a thickness of the root portion of the corresponding rotor blade, wherein each blade support protrusion includes a blade fastener positioning aperture configured to receive a blade fastener; and
a lower paddle clamp including;
a lower support body; and
a plurality of apertures defined along an outer surface of the lower support body, each aperture in the outer surface of the lower support body being aligned with a respective blade fastener positioning aperture for receiving the respective blade fastener, the upper and lower support bodies forming a gap configured to receive the root portion of a respective rotor blade, the gap having a predefined distance, the upper and lower paddle clamps forming a center shaft aperture configured to receive the motor shaft therethrough,wherein the root portion of each rotor blade is in contact with the upper paddle clamp and the lower paddle clamp.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An aerial vehicle is described herein. The aerial vehicle includes a lift mechanism that includes a rotor blade assembly coupled to a motor assembly. The rotor blade assembly includes a plurality of rotor blades that are pivotably coupled to a rotor blade clamping mechanism. The rotor blade clamping mechanism includes an upper paddle clamp that is coupled to a lower paddle clamp. The upper paddle clamp includes a center protrusion and a plurality of blade support protrusions extending outwardly from the lower outer surface. The center protrusion includes a center shaft aperture sized and shaped to receive a motor shaft therein. Each blade support protrusion is sized and shaped to be inserted through a corresponding positioning aperture of a corresponding rotor blade. The lower paddle clamp includes a central recess to receive the center protrusion therein and a plurality of blade recesses to receive a corresponding blade support protrusion therein.
6 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:
-
a fuselage body; and a lift mechanism coupled to the fuselage body, the lift mechanism including; a motor assembly including a rotor and a stator operatively coupled to the rotor for rotating the rotor about a rotor centerline axis, the rotor including a blade assembly support member and a motor shaft extending outwardly from the blade assembly support member along the rotor centerline axis; and a rotor blade assembly coupled to the rotor, the rotor blade assembly including; a plurality of rotor blades, each rotor blade extending between a root portion and a tip portion, the root portion including a positioning aperture extending through the root portion; and a rotor blade clamping mechanism including; an upper paddle clamp including;
an upper support body including an upper outer surface and a lower outer surface; and
,
a plurality of blade support protrusions extending outwardly from the lower outer surface, each of the blade support protrusions configured to be inserted through a corresponding positioning aperture of a corresponding rotor blade to facilitate pivotably coupling the corresponding rotor blade to the upper paddle clamp, each blade support protrusion having a length that is greater than a thickness of the root portion of the corresponding rotor blade, wherein each blade support protrusion includes a blade fastener positioning aperture configured to receive a blade fastener; anda lower paddle clamp including;
a lower support body; and
a plurality of apertures defined along an outer surface of the lower support body, each aperture in the outer surface of the lower support body being aligned with a respective blade fastener positioning aperture for receiving the respective blade fastener, the upper and lower support bodies forming a gap configured to receive the root portion of a respective rotor blade, the gap having a predefined distance, the upper and lower paddle clamps forming a center shaft aperture configured to receive the motor shaft therethrough,wherein the root portion of each rotor blade is in contact with the upper paddle clamp and the lower paddle clamp. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A rotor blade assembly for use with unmanned aerial vehicle including a fuselage body and a lift mechanism coupled to the fuselage body, the lift mechanism including a motor assembly including a motor shaft, the rotor blade assembly including:
-
a plurality of rotor blades, each rotor blade extending between a root portion and a tip portion, the root portion including a positioning aperture extending through the root portion; and a rotor blade clamping mechanism including; an upper paddle clamp including; an upper support body including an upper outer surface and a lower outer surface; and
,a plurality of blade support protrusions extending outwardly from the lower outer surface, each of the blade support protrusions configured to be inserted through a corresponding positioning aperture of a corresponding rotor blade to facilitate pivotably coupling the corresponding rotor blade to the upper paddle clamp, each blade support protrusion having a length that is greater than a thickness of the root portion of the corresponding rotor blade, wherein each blade support protrusion includes a blade fastener positioning aperture configured to receive a blade fastener; and a lower paddle clamp including; a plurality of apertures defined along an outer surface of the lower support body, each aperture in the outer surface of the lower support body being aligned with a respective blade fastener positioning aperture for receiving the respective blade fastener, the upper and lower support bodies forming a gap configured to receive the root portion of a respective rotor blade, the gap having a predefined distance, the upper and lower paddle clamps forming a center shaft aperture configured to receive the motor shaft therethrough, wherein the root portion of each rotor blade is in contact with the upper paddle clamp and the lower paddle clamp. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
Specification