US 12,234,011 B2
Convertiplane with stopped rotors, and repositionable rotor blades
Gerald E. Brown, McLean, VA (US)
Filed by Gerald E. Brown, McLean, VA (US)
Filed on Jul. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/814,500.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/228,224, filed on Aug. 2, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0234703 A1, Jul. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64C 11/04 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 29/0025 (2013.01) [B64C 11/04 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A Rotor Control Assembly for an aerial vehicle capable of vertical takeoff and landing in rotor-wing mode, rotor-wing vertical flight operations, and horizontal flight operations in fixed-wing mode, wherein the aerial vehicle comprises a wing having a wingtip, the rotor control assembly comprising a Power Section having: a lower drive gear; a hollow drive shaft axially mounted to the center of said lower drive gear, said drive shaft rotatably mounted in said wingtip; an electric motor and associated controls to power said drive gear; an electric slip ring operably mounted within said drive shaft to provide power and signal paths to and from electric actuators within a plurality of rotoron blades; an upper guide gear; a hollow guide shaft axially mounted to the center of the guide gear and concentrically mounted onto said drive shaft; an electric motor and associated controls to power said guide gear; a device to latch and hold said drive gear in place; a device to latch and hold said guide gear in place; two spring-loaded coupler locks, wherein each of said spring-loaded coupler locks directly engages with said drive gear and said guide gear to couple said drive gear and said guide gear together as a single unit when operating the rotoron blades as rotors during rotor-wing flight operations and when operating the rotoron blades as extended ailerons during fixed-wing flight operations, and to decouple said drive gear and said guide gears during a process in which said aerial vehicle transitions from a vertical flight configuration to a horizontal flight configuration; an electric actuator for each of said spring-loaded coupler locks; and a gear cover providing protection for said drive gear and said guide gear.