U.S. patent application number 14/278526 was filed with the patent office on 2015-03-26 for propeller blade assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to GE Aviation Systems Limited. The applicant listed for this patent is GE Aviation Systems Limited. Invention is credited to Kevin Michael John Pentony.
Application Number | 20150086379 14/278526 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49553458 |
Filed Date | 2015-03-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150086379 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pentony; Kevin Michael
John |
March 26, 2015 |
PROPELLER BLADE ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A propeller blade assembly having a propeller blade having a
leading edge, a trailing edge, and a tip edge extending between the
leading and trailing edge, a replaceable guard selectively
mountable to the propeller blade to cover at least the leading
edge, and multiple fasteners selectively coupling the replaceable
guard to the propeller blade.
Inventors: |
Pentony; Kevin Michael John;
(Tewkesbury, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GE Aviation Systems Limited |
Cheltenham |
|
GB |
|
|
Assignee: |
GE Aviation Systems Limited
Cheltenham
GB
|
Family ID: |
49553458 |
Appl. No.: |
14/278526 |
Filed: |
May 15, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
416/247A |
Current CPC
Class: |
B64C 11/205 20130101;
B63H 1/26 20130101; B60V 1/14 20130101; B64C 11/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
416/247.A |
International
Class: |
F01D 5/14 20060101
F01D005/14; B63H 1/26 20060101 B63H001/26; B63H 7/02 20060101
B63H007/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 26, 2013 |
GB |
13171012 |
Claims
1. A propeller blade assembly, comprising: a propeller blade having
front and rear surfaces bounded by a leading edge, a trailing edge,
and a tip edge extending between the leading and the trailing edge;
a replaceable guard selectively mountable to the propeller blade to
cover at least the leading edge; and multiple fasteners selectively
coupling the replaceable guard to at least one of the front and
rear surfaces wherein at least one of the multiple fasteners does
not extend beyond an exterior of the replaceable guard.
2. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the multiple
fasteners operably couple the replaceable guard to the front and
rear surfaces of the propeller blade.
3. The propeller blade assembly of claim 2 wherein the multiple
fasteners alternate between the front and rear surfaces along a
length of the propeller blade.
4. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1, further comprising an
insert bonded into a portion of the propeller blade and sized to
receive one of the multiple fasteners.
5. The propeller blade assembly of claim 4, wherein the propeller
blade further comprises a glass fiber block molded therein and
wherein the insert is bonded into the block.
6. The propeller blade assembly of claim 4 wherein at least one of
the multiple fasteners comprises a rivet selectively receivable in
the insert.
7. The propeller blade assembly of claim 6, further comprising a
washer and wherein the replaceable guard is clamped between the
washer and the insert when the rivet is received within the
insert.
8. The propeller blade assembly of claim 4 wherein at least one of
the multiple fasteners comprises a screw that is at least partially
threaded and sized to be threaded into the insert.
9. The propeller blade assembly of claim 8, further comprising a
washer and wherein the replaceable guard is clamped between the
washer and the insert when the screw is threaded into the
insert.
10. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the propeller
blade comprises a composite body.
11. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the replaceable
guard comprises a backer layer and an erosion protection rubber
layer.
12. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the replaceable
guard covers at least the leading edge and the tip edge.
13. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the replaceable
guard is multi-segmented.
14. The propeller blade assembly of claim 13 wherein a first
segment covers the leading edge and a second segment covers the tip
edge.
15. The propeller blade assembly of claim 1 wherein all of the
multiple fasteners do not extend beyond an exterior of the
replaceable guard.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
to British Patent Application No. 13171012, filed Sep. 26, 2013,
the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Contemporary vehicles, such as hovercrafts, may include
propeller blades to provide propulsive force. The propeller blades
may be exposed to environments that erode portions of the propeller
blades. Propeller failures may be caused by sand and stone nicks to
the leading edge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In one aspect, an embodiment of the invention relates to a
propeller blade assembly, having a propeller blade having a leading
edge, a replaceable guard selectively mountable to the propeller
blade to cover at least the leading edge, and multiple fasteners
selectively coupling the replaceable guard to the propeller blade
and wherein at least one of the multiple fasteners does not extend
beyond an exterior of the replaceable guard.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] In the drawings:
[0005] FIG. 1 is a schematic embodiment of an environment in which
a propeller blade assembly may be used.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a top view of a propeller blade assembly according
to an embodiment of the invention.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a propeller
blade assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0008] FIG. 4 is an alternative cross-sectional view of a portion
of the propeller blade assembly of FIG. 3.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a propeller
blade assembly according to another embodiment of the
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0010] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle, more
specifically a hovercraft 8, in which a propeller blade assembly 10
may be used. It will be understood that the propeller blade
assembly 10 may be used in any suitable vehicle and hovercraft.
FIG. 2 illustrates a propeller blade assembly 10 having a propeller
blade 12, a replaceable guard 14, and multiple fasteners 16. The
propeller blade 12 may have an airfoil configuration. The propeller
blade 12 may include a front surface 20 and a rear surface (not
shown) bounded by a leading edge 22, a trailing edge 24, and a tip
edge 26, which extends between the leading edge 22 and the trailing
edge 24.
[0011] The replaceable guard 14 may be selectively mountable to the
propeller blade 12 to cover at least the leading edge 22 of the
propeller blade 12. In the illustrated example, the replaceable
guard 14 covers the leading edge 22 and the tip edge 26. Further,
the replaceable guard 14 has been illustrated as being
multi-segmented although this need not be the case. In the
illustrated example, two of the multiple segments are used to cover
most of the leading edge 22 while a third is used to cover the tip
edge 26. Alternatively, in a multi-segmented configuration, a first
segment may cover the leading edge 22 and a second segment may
cover the tip edge 26. It is contemplated that there may not be a
replaceable guard 14 on the trailing edge 24.
[0012] The multiple fasteners 16 may selectively couple the
replaceable guard 14 to at least one of the front surface 20 and
the rear surface (not shown). At least one of the multiple
fasteners 16 will not extend beyond an exterior of the replaceable
guard 14. It is contemplated that all of the multiple fasteners 16
will not extend beyond an exterior of the replaceable guard 14. In
the illustrated example, multiple fasteners 16 operably couple the
replaceable guard 14 to both the front and rear surfaces of the
propeller blade 12. More specifically, the multiple fasteners 16
alternate between the front and rear surfaces along a length of the
propeller blade 12. While no fasteners 16 have been illustrated as
attaching the replaceable guard 14 to the rear surface at the tip
edge 26 of the propeller blade 12 it will be understood that
fasteners 16 may attach the replaceable guard 14 to the rear
surface at such a location.
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a portion of a propeller
blade, replaceable guard, and fastener, which may be used in a
propeller blade assembly including the propeller blade assembly 10.
As the propeller blade 112, replaceable guard 114, and fastener 116
are similar to those previously described, like parts will be
identified with like numerals increased by 100, with it being
understood that the description of the like parts of the propeller
blade assembly 10 applies to the propeller blade assembly having
the propeller blade 112, replaceable guard 114, and fastener 116,
unless otherwise noted.
[0014] As with the earlier described embodiment, the propeller
blade 112 includes a front surface 120 and a rear surface 118 as
well as a leading edge (not visible), a trailing edge (not
visible), and a tip edge 126. One difference is that the propeller
blade 112 is illustrated as a composite body including a foam core
130, a carbon and glass fiber layer 132, and a polyurethane layer
134. It will be understood that the propeller blade 112 may be
formed in any suitable manner from any suitable material(s).
Further, a foam insert 136 has been illustrated as being located
between a portion of the propeller blade 112 and the replaceable
guard 114. An insert 140 may be bonded into a portion of the
propeller blade 112 and sized to receive one of the multiple
fasteners 116. In the illustrated example, a block 142 has been
moulded within the propeller blade 112 and the insert 140 is bonded
into the block 142. The block 142 may be formed from a composite
such as a glass fiber and insert moulded into the propeller blade
112.
[0015] By way of non-limiting example, the replaceable guard 114
has been illustrated as including a backer layer 150 and an erosion
protection rubber layer 152. It will be understood that the
replaceable guard may be formed from any number of layers including
a single layer. It will be further understood that the replaceable
guard may be formed from any suitable material(s).
[0016] In the illustrated example, only a single fastener 116 has
been illustrated; however, multiple fasteners may be included and
may operably couple the replaceable guard 114 to the front surface
120 and/or the rear surface 118 of the propeller blade 112. The
fastener 116 is illustrated as including a rivet 160 selectively
receivable in the insert 140 and a washer 162. The replaceable
guard 114 is clamped between the washer 162 and the insert 140 when
the rivet 160 is received within the insert 140 and the fastener
116 does not extend beyond an exterior 164 of the replaceable guard
114. By way of non-limiting example, FIG. 4 illustrates the
fastener 116 operably coupling the replaceable guard 114 to the
rear surface 118.
[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative propeller blade 212, a
replaceable guard 214, and a fastener 216. As the propeller blade
212, replaceable guard 214, and fastener 216 are similar to those
previously described, like parts will be identified with like
numerals increased by 100, with it being understood that the
description of the like parts of the propeller blade assembly 10
and the propeller blade 112, replaceable guard 114, and fastener
116 applies to the propeller blade assembly having the propeller
blade 212, replaceable guard 214, and fastener 216, unless
otherwise noted.
[0018] One difference is that the fastener 216 has been illustrated
as including a screw 260 that is at least partially threaded and
sized to be threaded into the insert 240. Another optional
difference is that the insert 240 may be at least partially
threaded and has been illustrated as being fully threaded. As with
the previously described embodiment the fastener 216 includes a
washer 262 and when assembled, the replaceable guard 214 is clamped
between the washer 262 and the insert 240 when the screw 260 is
threaded into the insert 240.
[0019] The embodiments described above provide for a variety of
benefits including that the embodiments above allow for an erosion
protection guard to attach to at least a leading edge of a
propeller blade in a manner that enables speedy replacement of an
eroded guard using simple tools without damaging the propeller
blade. In this manner, multiple guard changes may be made without
replacement of the propeller blade and corrosion has no effect on
its operation. In the above described embodiments, removal of the
guard does not require any contact with the composite material of
the propeller blade. Thus, the composite in the propeller blade
will not be affected by guard fitting and removal. The internal
insert spreads the clamping load of the rivet. Further,
discontinuity with the airfoil is minimal as the fasteners are
flush with or do not extend beyond an exterior of the replaceable
guard. One contemporary design relies on the use of bolts with
special nuts fitted from each side of a through bore in the
propeller blade. The bolt heads and nuts extend above the guard and
may corrode and erode making it difficult to remove them causing
high replacement costs. In the above described embodiments,
corrosion will have no effect and because the design is flush or
below the guard erosion will be minimal.
[0020] To the extent not already described, the different features
and structures of the various embodiments may be used in
combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be
illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed
that it may not be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus,
the various features of the different embodiments may be mixed and
matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new
embodiments are expressly described. All combinations or
permutations of features described herein are covered by this
disclosure.
[0021] This written description uses examples to disclose the
invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and
using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the
claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled
in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope
of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ
from the literal language of the claims, or if they include
equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from
the literal languages of the claims.
* * * * *