Patent ID: 8840057

Claim:
An aircraft comprising a fuselage, a power plant, a rotary wing having at least one main rotor providing at least part of the lift of the aircraft, a fixed wing providing at least part of the lift of the aircraft in cruising flight, said fixed wing comprising two half-wings extending on either side of the fuselage, said aircraft including at least two propulsive propellers situated on either side of the fuselage and each positioned on a respective half-wing, the aircraft including an anti-torque and yaw-control tail rotor, wherein the aircraft includes a transmission system connecting the power plant to each main rotor and to the tail rotor to drive each main rotor and the tail rotor continuously, said transmission system connecting the power plant to each propeller via a differential mechanism that is controllable on request so that each propeller may be driven in cruising flight and need not be driven in rotation by the power plant on the ground, said differential mechanism of a particular propeller comprising: an inlet gearwheel driven by the power plant via a lateral portion of said transmission system, said inlet gearwheel being secured to a shell carrying at least one planet gear; an idler shaft passing through said inlet gearwheel, said idler shaft being constrained to rotate with an inlet sun gear meshing with the planet gear and being free to rotate relative to said inlet gear; a propeller shaft driving said particular propeller, the propeller shaft being constrained to rotate with an outlet sun gear, the outlet sun gear meshing with the planet gear; and a propeller brake for braking said propeller shaft and an inlet brake for braking the idler shaft.