Patent Description:
The present invention discloses a helicopter flight support for allowing a helicopter to safely land in the event of rotor failure.

Helicopters typically fly at much lower altitudes than airplanes during routine use. As a result, any failure of the rotor can quickly land in a crash landing due to the reduced height. Most attempts at safety or escape systems have focused on deploying a parachute from the top of the helicopter or ejecting the pilot/passengers in a capsule or ejection seat. However, both of these escape systems do not provide any control over the descent and rely on parachutes to deploy which can require hundreds of feet to successfully deploy and slow objects as large as a helicopter. Therefore, a need exists for a helicopter flight support that can be safely deployed in the case of rotor failure that prolongs the descent, thus slowing the helicopter, while allowing some control over the descent. Document <CIT> describes a deployable wing, comprising: - a double membrane fabric sail having an upper section disposed above and joined to a lower section, said sail having a leading edge with a front point, a trailing edge, and wing tips, - an internal structure disposed between said upper section and said lower section, said internal structure having, i. two leading edge spars, each of said leading edge spars having a first end and a second end, said first ends of said leading edge spars pivotally connected together at approximately said front point, ii. a keel spar connected to and disposed between said leading edge spars at said front point and extending rearward toward said trailing edge, and iii. at least two cross spars pivotally attached to said leading edge spars and to a sliding mechanism which transverses along said keel spar.

To solve the problems mentioned above, the claimed invention proposes a helicopter flight support according to claim <NUM>. Optional features are mentioned in the dependent claims <NUM>-<NUM>. Disclosed herein is a helicopter flight support for use in case of emergencies.

The helicopter flight support comprises a motor which causes a threaded shaft to turn which is coupled to an underside of the helicopter. This causes outer supports and inner supports to be deployed until they reach a wing-like configuration. The interior of the wing comprises a plurality of support cables for tensioning the wing. The helicopter flight support further comprises upper and lower support cables mounted to the tips of the wing to provide horizontal stability.

<FIG> depicts a perspective view of helicopter flight support <NUM> mounted to an underside of helicopter <NUM>. A first end <NUM> of helicopter flight support <NUM> is coupled to the underside of the passenger compartment <NUM> or cockpit <NUM> between landing skids <NUM>. The exact coupling position is determined by the requirements of the helicopter <NUM> (e.g., geometry, weight). A second end <NUM> of the helicopter flight support <NUM> is coupled to an underside of tail <NUM> or rudder <NUM>. The exact coupling position of the second end <NUM> is also determined by the requirements of helicopter <NUM> or the shape/design.

The helicopter flight support <NUM> is shown in the stowed position in <FIG> and the majority of its components are shielded by cover <NUM> which forms a shell surrounding the majority of helicopter flight support <NUM> in the closed position. As will be described later, cover <NUM> is preferably formed from two C-shaped cross-sectional pieces that mate to form a cylinder or elliptic cylinder surrounding helicopter flight support <NUM>. A first half of cover <NUM> preferably mates with the second half of cover <NUM> via a lip, such that the two halves overlap along their length when closed. Cover <NUM> protects many mechanical parts of helicopter flight support <NUM> from inclement weather and helps to hold helicopter flight support <NUM> in the stowed state. Cover <NUM> also provides lift as in an airplane. The cross-section of cover <NUM> decreases from the front of helicopter flight support <NUM> to the rear of helicopter flight support <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts a perspective view of helicopter flight support <NUM> with the cover <NUM> removed and <FIG> depicts a bottom view of helicopter flight support <NUM>. Helicopter flight support <NUM> generally comprises front mounting bracket <NUM>, motor <NUM>, outer supports <NUM>, inner supports <NUM>, fabric <NUM>, rear mounting bracket <NUM>, threaded shaft <NUM>, deployment support <NUM>, coupling gears <NUM>, and stability supports <NUM>. Other features of helicopter flight support <NUM> not visible in <FIG> will be described in the subsequent drawings.

First end of outer supports <NUM> are pivotally coupled to front mounting bracket <NUM> and second ends of outer supports <NUM> are pivotally coupled to first ends of inner supports <NUM>. Second ends of inner supports <NUM> are coupled to wing bracket <NUM> of deployment support <NUM>. An example pivot joint showing the coupling of an outer support <NUM> to an inner support <NUM> is depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>. In this embodiment, a pin <NUM> is inserted between the supports to allow pivoting. It should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that any type of joint allowing pivoting can be used. <FIG> further depicts cover <NUM> mounted to outer supports <NUM> to provide lift as previously described.

The fabric <NUM> is coupled to outer supports <NUM> and inner supports <NUM> to form a wing structure when helicopter flight support <NUM> is fully deployed as will be shown later. Preferably, the fabric <NUM> is arranged in two layers with an upper layer and a lower layer. Outer supports <NUM> and inner supports <NUM> are preferably constructed from a durable but lightweight material such as aluminum or carbon fiber.

<FIG> depicts a side view showing the coupling between motor <NUM> and threaded shaft <NUM>. Motor <NUM> and sheath <NUM> are coupled to an underside of helicopter <NUM> and/or front mounting bracket <NUM>. The motor <NUM> receives power from an internal battery or directly from the power system of helicopter <NUM>. Motor <NUM> turns a first coupling gear <NUM> whose teeth mate with a second coupling gear coupled to an end of threaded shaft <NUM>. A first end of threaded shaft <NUM> comprises no threads so that the threaded shaft <NUM> can freely rotate within ball bearing support <NUM> which is mounted to sheath <NUM> (<FIG>). In the stowed state of helicopter flight support <NUM>, deployment support <NUM> resides at the first end <NUM>. Two upper support cables <NUM> are coupled to the deployment support <NUM> at a first attachment point <NUM> and two lower support cables <NUM> are coupled to the deployment support <NUM> at a second attachment point <NUM>. The other ends of upper support cables <NUM> and lower support cables <NUM> are coupled to edges of the wing of helicopter flight support <NUM> (<FIG>).

A perspective view of a preferred embodiment of deployment support <NUM> is depicted in <FIG>. Deployment support <NUM> is preferably rectangular or square in shape and comprises threaded opening <NUM> which mate with the threads on threaded shaft <NUM>. As will be discussed later, rotation of threaded shaft <NUM> by motor <NUM> causes deployment support <NUM> to move along threaded shaft <NUM>. A wing bracket <NUM> extends from a bottom of deployment support <NUM> below sheath <NUM> and preferably has a T-shape. Each side of the wing bracket <NUM> is pivotally coupled to a single outer support <NUM> with a coupling similar to that shown in <FIG>.

The left and right sides of deployment support <NUM> may comprise one or more linear protrusions <NUM> which mate with a corresponding groove in sheath <NUM>. This helps to ensure that deployment support <NUM> does not rotate and only moves linearly along the length of threaded shaft <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts a side view showing the coupling between second end <NUM> and helicopter <NUM>. A rear of sheath <NUM> and/or rear ball bearing support <NUM> is coupled to tail <NUM> or rudder <NUM>. The exact coupling positions are dictated by the geometry of helicopter <NUM>. The end of threaded shaft <NUM> comprises no threads so it can rotate freely within rear ball bearing support <NUM> (<FIG>). The threaded shaft <NUM> can freely rotate within the ball bearing opening while the body of ball bearing support <NUM> is fixed to helicopter <NUM>. Further, as depicted in <FIG>, the ends of all support cables <NUM> are coupled to ball bearing support <NUM>.

Upper support cable <NUM> is routed along the length of sheath <NUM> and exits the rear over upper pulley(s) <NUM> into a first stability support <NUM>. Lower support cable <NUM> is routed along the length of sheath <NUM> and exits the rear over lower pulley(s) <NUM> into a second stability support <NUM>. Stability supports <NUM> are rigid tubes that are maintained in a vertical position through a coupling to helicopter <NUM>. Both upper support cables <NUM> and lower support cables <NUM> are maintained under tension during deployment of helicopter flight support <NUM>.

The deployment of helicopter flight support <NUM> will be described with respect to <FIG>. Upper support cables <NUM> and lower support cables <NUM> are not shown in these views for clarity. Upon detection of an emergency or by a pilot of helicopter <NUM>, motor <NUM> begins turning threaded shaft <NUM>, causing deployment support <NUM> to move along threaded shaft <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the pivoting of inner supports <NUM> about deployment support <NUM> causes outer supports <NUM> to pivot outward about front mounting bracket <NUM>.

Another feature of helicopter flight support <NUM> is depicted in <FIG>. Preferably, helicopter flight support <NUM> comprises an upper layer of fabric <NUM> and a lower layer of fabric <NUM>. Fabric <NUM> is preferably a nylon parachute fabric such as Terlyene. A plurality of support cables <NUM> are sandwiched between the two layers of fabric. First ends of each support cable <NUM> are coupled to outer support <NUM> and exit through openings in inner support <NUM>. The second ends of all support cables <NUM> are coupled to ball bearing support <NUM> at an attachment point (<FIG>). The upper and lower layers of fabric are preferably sewed together at points surrounding support cables <NUM> to form internal channels for support cables <NUM>. Support cables <NUM> help to maintain the rigidity of helicopter flight support <NUM> when deployed and help to cause fabric <NUM> to collapse when helicopter flight support <NUM> is stowed. It should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the number and location of support cables <NUM> can be varied in accordance with the requirements of helicopter flight support <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts helicopter flight support <NUM> almost fully deployed. The fabric <NUM> is almost fully tensioned and begins to form a wing shape. <FIG> depicts helicopter flight support <NUM> fully deployed. At this point, the inner supports <NUM> are in line with each other and the helicopter flight support <NUM> has a triangular/wing shape. The support cables <NUM> are all parallel at this point and are perpendicular to inner supports <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts helicopter flight support <NUM> in its final deployed state. At this point, deployment support <NUM> has moved to the rear of threaded shaft <NUM> and motor <NUM> stops turning, locking helicopter flight support in this state. The fabric <NUM> is fully tensioned into the described wing shape. All support cables <NUM> are parallel at this point and help provide rigidity to helicopter flight support <NUM>. The complete routing of upper support cables <NUM> and lower support cables <NUM> can be seen in this view. First ends of upper support cables <NUM> are coupled to deployment support <NUM>, are routed over upper pulley(s) <NUM>, through stability support <NUM>, over second upper pulley(s) <NUM>, and are coupled to the connection points between outer supports <NUM> and inner supports <NUM> (i.e., to edges of the wing). Similarly, first ends of lower support cables <NUM> are coupled to deployment support <NUM>, are routed over lower pulley(s) <NUM>, through stability support <NUM>, over second lower pulley(s) <NUM>, and are coupled to the connection points between outer supports <NUM> and inner supports <NUM> (i.e., to edges of the wing). Since upper support cables <NUM> and lower support cables <NUM> are under tension, they help to provide further stability to helicopter flight support <NUM> in the deployed state.

While helicopter flight support <NUM> is deployed, it provides a large amount of surface area under helicopter <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Because there is separation between the top of fabric <NUM> and the underside of helicopter <NUM>, helicopter flight support <NUM> acts similar to a glider and allows helicopter <NUM> to glide and have a longer and slower descent. The pilot can also use rudder <NUM> or the rotor to have some control over the descent of helicopter <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A helicopter flight support (<NUM>) for a helicopter (<NUM>) comprising:
a first outer support (<NUM>) having a first end configured to be pivotally coupled to a bottom of the helicopter near the front of the helicopter;
a second outer support (<NUM>) having a second end configured to be pivotally coupled to the bottom of the helicopter opposite the first outer support;
a rotatable shaft (<NUM>) having a threaded portion configured to be coupled to the helicopter between the first outer support and the second outer support;
a motor (<NUM>) for rotating the threaded shaft;
a deployment support (<NUM>) having a threaded opening configured to mate with the threaded portion of the rotatable shaft;
a first inner support (<NUM>) having a third end pivotally coupled to a fourth end of the first outer support at a first pivot joint;
a second inner support (<NUM>) having a fifth end pivotally coupled to a sixth end of the second outer support at a second pivot joint,
wherein a seventh end of the first inner support is pivotally coupled to the deployment support, and
wherein an eighth end of the second inner support is pivotally coupled to the deployment support; and
a first layer of fabric (<NUM>) and a second layer of fabric (<NUM>) having a wing shape coupled to the first outer support, the second outer support, the first inner support, and the second inner support;
wherein rotation of the rotatable shaft in a first direction by the motor causes movement of the deployment support along the threaded section towards, in use, a rear of the helicopter to cause deployment of the helicopter flight support.