Michigan Patent of the Month – August 2021
An axial modulating mechanism is conceptually made of a threaded bolt and nut. In this concept, a bolt represents a rotating shaft, and the nut an axial modulator. As the axial modulator, or “nut” is spun above and beyond the rotation in the rotating shaft, the axial motion can be deployed to do useful work. Cool Mechatronics has deployed this conceptual design, creating a gear-driven axial modulating mechanism for use in propellers.
Using the conceptual axial modulating mechanism, Cool Mechatronics has developed a way to control and manipulate the pitch of the blades of a fan or propeller. The shaft is built with a rotor thread to emulate the thread of a bolt. The blade hub is made to allow the axial modulator to move backwards and forwards within the hub, while the rotor thread allows the axial modulator to pass within the blade hub. The controllable pitch blades interact with the axial modulator, who’s motion causes the blades to rotate. The pitch manipulator is connected to the axial modulator. These manipulators are configured to force the blades to rotate as the manipulator is forced in and out of predefined blade hubs. Picture a gear forcing the rotation of the blades as the voids and teeth fit together and push each other away. When a fan or turbine is operated under varying speed, it’s inefficient – unless the pitch of the fan’s blade is varied at the same time. Some airplanes and large ships manage to achieve a varied pitch using hydraulics – but still inefficiently. This gear-driven mechanism overcomes the inefficiencies seen by hydraulic methods. It offers use in anything with propellers – turbines, automotive cooling fans, AC fans, motors, aeronautic propellers, and any industrial fans controllable pitch.
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