Patent ID: 8459948
Filing Date: 2013-06-11
Classification: B64C,F05D

Abstract:
1. A retractable rotor blade assembly for providing vertical lift to a vehicle, the retractable rotor blade assembly comprising: a rotor hub assembly comprising a rotor hub wall, a rotor hub top casing, a rotor hub bottom casing, a blade top hinged casing hingedly connected to a top edge of the rotor hub wall, a blade bottom hinged casing hingedly connected to a bottom edge of the rotor hub wall, and a pitch disc having a longitudinal axis and being mounted to the rotor hub wall for undergoing rotation about the longitudinal axis, the pitch disc having a moment arm and a push rod connected to the moment arm; a plurality of retractable rotor blades each configured to be extended and retracted relative to the rotor hub assembly, each of the rotor blades comprising: an interlink assembly including a plurality of interconnected link base subassemblies each configured to be translated along a span of the rotor blade such that each subsequent link base subassembly becomes stacked one atop the other while remaining connected to a next link base subassembly, a blade base interconnected between the pitch disc and one of the interconnected link base subassemblies, and a damper for dampening movement of the interlink assembly during extension and retraction of the rotor blade, the damper having a collapsible section with a corrugated geometry and a slotted cylindrical section, and each of the link base subassemblies having a link hub within which the slotted cylindrical section of the damper is mounted for ensuring that during extension or retraction of the rotor blade only the collapsible section is collapsed or elongated, a pair of locking arms housed in the link hub for locking the rotor blade in the extended state, and a pair of retractable links by which the link base subassembly is interconnected with another of the link base subassemblies; a helical ribbon assembly for reinforcing the interlink assembly, the helical ribbon assembly comprising a plurality of sequentially overlapped ribbons each formed of a plurality of laminated or woven layers, each of the layers being helically wound around the interlink assembly; and a flexible and elastic sleeve configured to cover the interlink assembly and the helical ribbon assembly in the extended and retracted states of the rotor blade, the flexible and elastic sleeve including a flexible and elastic skin and a plurality of elastic ribs for imparting rigidity to the flexible and elastic skin; and a retraction reel assembly housed in the rotor hub assembly and configured to retract each of the rotor blades toward the rotor hub assembly, the retraction reel assembly having exterior and interior rotor axles configured to undergo rotation for imparting a torque to the rotor blades, a breaking actuator disposed coaxially between the exterior and interior rotor axles for undergoing rotation and having a plurality of breaking notches located at an exterior surface of the breaking actuator, and real cage formed of a plurality of recoiling spools around which respective ones of retraction cables are configured to be wrapped, each of the recoiling spools having a plurality of breaking pins configured to be guided into the breaking notches during retraction of the rotor blades toward the rotor hub assembly.