US3885758A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Airplane wing camber control
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-08-22
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Granted: 1975-05-27
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Expires: 1993-08-22
Abstract
Abstract The angular configuration of a fluid control surface, with respect to the relative direction of fluid flow, is controlled by selectively heating the structural portions of only one side of the control surface to expand the structural members on the one side with respect to the structural members on the other side for warping the control surface generally from its leading to its trailing edge. Particularly, the camber of an airplane wing is changed by this selective heating for controlling the wing portion lift. Preferably, wires extend generally from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing as wing structural members closely adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of the wing, with both sets of wires being prestressed to provide an intermediate camber for the wing portion when the upper and lower wires are the same temperature, a generally symmetrical wing configuration when only the lower wires are heated, and a high lift maximum camber when only the upper wires are heated. The wires may be electrically heated by the passage of current therethrough, closely adjacent the wing surface for air cooling, deeply embedded in the wing structure for insulation, or contained within concentric tubes conducting a cooling or heating fluid. Further, the wires may be organic synthetic fibers with electrically conductive material embedded in them for thermal expansion, or a composite of electrically conductive and nonelectrically conductive fibers for thermal expansion, or composed of an electrostrictive material to shorten upon the passage of electrical current, or of composite structure as above mentioned, with an electrostrictive component for shortening with the passage of a current.
Inventors
- 👤 Jr Thomas L Croswell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 11:01
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64C; B64C3/00; B64C3/38; B64C3/44; B64C3/48; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T50/00; Y02T50/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
111 words
An airplane, comprising: a fuselage; a fluid flow affecting generally planar member extending from said fuselage and having opposed aerodynamic surfaces defining generally a leading edge and a trailing edge; a first set of generally parallel structural pretensioned wires closely adjacent one of said aerodynamic surfaces and a second set of structural pretensioned wires that is in structural opposition to said first set; and means for selectively heating only said first set of structural pretensioned wires for thermally expanding said first set of structural pretensioned wires to a substantial extent to warp said planar member in one direction and substantially affect its aerodynamic characteristics for the inflight control of the airplane.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
111 words
An airplane, comprising: a fuselage; a fluid flow affecting generally planar member extending from said fuselage and having opposed aerodynamic surfaces defining generally a leading edge and a trailing edge; a first set of generally parallel structural pretensioned wires closely adjacent one of said aerodynamic surfaces and a second set of structural pretensioned wires that is in structural opposition to said first set; and means for selectively heating only said first set of structural pretensioned wires for thermally expanding said first set of structural pretensioned wires to a substantial extent to warp said planar member in one direction and substantially affect its aerodynamic characteristics for the inflight control of the airplane.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
The airplane of claim 1, including means for separately heating only said second set of structural pretensioned wires without heating said first set of structural pretensioned wires to thermally expand said second set of structural pretensioned wires and warp the planar member in the opposite direction from said one direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
The airplane of claim 2, wherein one of said sets of structural pretensioned wires is normally pretensioned in its unheated state to a greater extent than the other of said set of structural pretensioned wires.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
115 words
The airplane of claim 2, wherein said planar member is a wing of the aircraft; including a third set of generally parallel structural pretensioned wires closely adjacent the one of said aerodynamic surfaces and being generally perpendicular to the wires of said first set, a fourth set of generally parallel structural pretensioned wires closely adjacent the other of said aerodynamic surfaces and being generally perpendicular to the wires of said second set, and means for separately heating said third and fourth sets for selective control of surface contour perpendicular to the control of said first and second sets of wires; and including a second opposed aircraft wing a mirror image of said first mentioned wing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
97 words
The airplane of claim 4, wherein each of said wing first sets of wires extend generally from the respective leading edge to the respective trailing edge for a major portion of its associated wing to control the wing camber and thus control the airplane lift; each of said wings having a separate set of generally parallel structural pretensioned wires closely adjacent at least one of their aerodynamic surfaces outwardly from said first set; and means for selectively and independently heating said separate sets of structural pretensioned wires to warp their associated wing portions to function as ailerons.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
The airplane of claim 1, wherein said planar member has outer continuous resinous skins forming said aerodynamic surfaces; and said wires are embedded within their respective one of said resinous skins for a major portion of the extent of said one aerodynamic surface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
127 words
A fluid flow controlling member having opposed fluid contacting surfaces defining a leading edge and a trailing edge with respect to the relative fluid flow; a plurality of generally parallel pretensioned wires generally extending in the direction from said leading edge to said trailing edge closely adjacent at least one of said surfaces and said pretensioned wires maintain said surfAces in a predetermined shape; and means selectively heating only the wires in said one surface for thermally expanding said pretensioned wires to expand said member in the direction of fluid flow on the side having said one surface to a greater extent than the other side having the other surface to generally warp said member from its leading edge to its trailing edge in a smooth manner.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
127 words
A fluid flow controlling member having opposed fluid contacting surfaces defining a leading edge and a trailing edge with respect to the relative fluid flow; a plurality of generally parallel pretensioned wires generally extending in the direction from said leading edge to said trailing edge closely adjacent at least one of said surfaces and said pretensioned wires maintain said surfAces in a predetermined shape; and means selectively heating only the wires in said one surface for thermally expanding said pretensioned wires to expand said member in the direction of fluid flow on the side having said one surface to a greater extent than the other side having the other surface to generally warp said member from its leading edge to its trailing edge in a smooth manner.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
The control member of claim 7, wherein said pretensioned wires are electrically conductive wires generally insulated from each other and said means for heating includes means for passing electric current through said wires.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
89 words
The device of claim 8, including a second set of generally parallel pretensioned wires closely adjacent the other of said surfaces and electrically insulated from said first mentioned pretensioned wires at one of their ends; said means for heating including means for supplying an electric current to the second set of pretensioned wires independently of said first mentioned pretensioned wires in one mode of operation and supplying an electric current to the first mentioned pretensioned wires independently of said second set of pretensioned wires in another mode of operation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
The device of claim 7, including a separate tubular member surrounding each of said pretensioned wires for substantially its entire extent; and means for passing a heat exchange fluid through said tubes in contact with said pretensioned wires.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The device of claim 7, wherein said pretensioned wires extend for substantially the full extent of said controlling member in the direction of fluid flow from its leading edge continuously to its trailing edge.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for controlling the curvature of a fluid flow control member having a leading edge generally transverse to the fluid flow, a trailing edge generally transverse to the fluid flow, opposed surfaces over which the fluid flows, and opposed structural generally parallel wires extending in the direction of fluid flow and respectively adjacent each surface, comprising: selectively heating only the structural wires adjacent one surface for a portion of said member to expand the heated structural wires on the one side to at least an extent greater than the structural wires adjacent the other surface to curve the member in cross section generally from said leading edge to said trailing edge.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for controlling the curvature of a fluid flow control member having a leading edge generally transverse to the fluid flow, a trailing edge generally transverse to the fluid flow, opposed surfaces over which the fluid flows, and opposed structural generally parallel wires extending in the direction of fluid flow and respectively adjacent each surface, comprising: selectively heating only the structural wires adjacent one surface for a portion of said member to expand the heated structural wires on the one side to at least an extent greater than the structural wires adjacent the other surface to curve the member in cross section generally from said leading edge to said trailing edge.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 12, including the step of at other times selectively heating only the structural wires adjacent said other surface to expand the other strutural wires on the other side and reversely curve said member in cross section generally from said leading edge to said trailing edge, with the member assuming a curvature midway between the curvatures provided by said first two steps when the structural wires are not heated.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 13, wherein each of said steps of heating heat the structural wires sufficiently to change the angle between the plane of symmetry for the leading edge and the plane of symmetry for the trailing edge for the portion being selectively heated more than 5* between the first step and the second step.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 12, wherein said elongated member is the wing of an aircraft; and said step of selective heating is carried out during flight of the aircraft to vary the camber of the wing and correspondingly change the lift for the airplane.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 12, wherein said step of heating includes passing an electrical current through the structural wires to be heated.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3042371A
Cited
US3183975A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-26 | 1978-11-25 | 1979-05-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-26 | 1982-11-25 | 1983-05-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-26 | 1986-11-25 | 1987-05-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |