US-20260125161-A1 - ROTARY AIRCRAFT PASSIVE ROTOR TIP LIGHTING SYSTEM

US20260125161A1US 20260125161 A1US20260125161 A1US 20260125161A1US-20260125161-A1

Abstract

A passive rotor tip lighting system for a rotary aircraft includes a light engine, a supply fiber optic cable, a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, a plurality of light transmission optics, and a fiber optic rotary joint. The light is configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam. The supply fiber optic cable is arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine. Each rotor fiber optic cable is associated with and disposed on or within a different rotor blade. Each light transmission optic is disposed on or within a rotor blades. The fiber optic rotary joint is mounted on, and is rotatable with, the rotor. The fiber optic rotary joint is configured to receive light transmitted from the supply fiber optic cable and supply the light to each of the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables.

Inventors

Raeesa Farsana V A
Harish Nagarajaiah

Assignees

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241218
Priority Date: 20241105

Claims (19)

1 . A passive rotor tip lighting system for a rotary aircraft that includes a fuselage and at least one rotor that is rotationally mounted on the fuselage and is configured to rotate about a rotational axis, the rotor having plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom, the rotor tip lighting system comprising: a light engine coupled to the fuselage and configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam; a supply fiber optic cable arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine; a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, each rotor fiber optic cable associated with and disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades; a plurality of light transmission optics, each light transmission optic disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades and associated with a different one of the rotor fiber optic cables, each light transmission optic further disposed to receive light transmitted through its associated rotor fiber optic cable; and a fiber optic rotary joint mounted on, and rotatable with, the at least one rotor, the fiber optic rotary joint configured to receive light transmitted from the supply fiber optic cable and supply the light to each of the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables; and a processing system in operable communication with the light engine, the processing system including at least one processor that is configured, by programming instructions, to (i) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam in a predetermined color and/or pattern and (ii) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam with a wavelength that is in either the visible spectrum or the non-visible spectrum.
2 . (canceled)
3 . (canceled)
4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising: light supply optics disposed between the light engine and the supply fiber optic cable.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the light supply optics comprise at least one or more collimators or one or more gradient-index lenses.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each light transmission optic comprises one or more lenses, reflectors, and diffusers.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the light engine is at least partially disposed within the fuselage.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the light engine is at least partially disposed within the at least one rotor.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each rotor fiber optic cable extends around an outer perimeter of its associated rotor blade.
10 . A rotary aircraft, comprising: a fuselage; at least one rotor rotationally mounted on the fuselage and configured to rotate about a rotational axis, the at least one rotor having plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom; and a rotor tip lighting system, the rotor tip light system comprising: a light engine coupled to the fuselage and configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam; a supply fiber optic cable arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine; a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, each rotor fiber optic cable associated with and disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades; a plurality of light transmission optics, each light transmission optic disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades and associated with a different one of the rotor fiber optic cables, each light transmission optic further disposed to receive light transmitted through its associated rotor fiber optic cable; a fiber optic rotary joint mounted on, and rotatable with, the at least one rotor, the fiber optic rotary joint configured to receive light transmitted from the supply fiber optic cable and supply the light to each of the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables; and a processing system in operable communication with the light engine, the processing system including at least one processor that is configured, by programming instructions, to (i) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam in a predetermined color and/or pattern and (ii) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam with a wavelength that is in either the visible spectrum or the non-visible spectrum.
11 . (canceled)
12 . (canceled)
13 . The rotary aircraft of claim 10 , further comprising: light supply optics disposed between the light engine and the supply fiber optic cable.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the light supply optics comprise at least one or more collimators or one or more gradient-index lenses.
15 . The rotary aircraft of claim 10 , wherein each light transmission optic comprises one or more lenses, reflectors, and diffusers.
16 . The rotary aircraft of claim 10 , wherein the light engine is at least partially disposed within the fuselage.
17 . The rotary aircraft of claim 10 , wherein the light engine is at least partially disposed within the at least one rotor.
18 . The rotary aircraft of claim 10 , wherein each rotor fiber optic cable extends around an outer perimeter of its associated rotor blade.
19 . A passive rotor tip lighting system for a rotary aircraft that includes a fuselage and a plurality of rotors that are each rotationally mounted on the fuselage and are configured to rotate about a rotational axis, each rotor having plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom, the rotor tip lighting system comprising: a light engine coupled to the fuselage and configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam; a plurality of supply fiber optic cables arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine; a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables including a subset of rotor fiber optic cables, wherein each subset of rotor fiber optic cables is associated with a different on of the plurality of rotors, and each rotor fiber optic cable in each subset of rotor fiber optic cables is disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades of its associated rotor; a plurality of light transmission optics, each light transmission optic disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades and associated with a different one of the rotor fiber optic cables, each light transmission optic further disposed to receive light transmitted through its associated rotor fiber optic cable; a plurality of fiber optic rotary joints, each fiber optic rotary joint mounted on, and rotatable with, a different one of the rotors, each fiber optic rotary joint configured to receive light transmitted from one of the supply fiber optic cables and supply the light to one of the subsets of rotor fiber optic cables; and a processing system in operable communication with the light engine, the processing system including at least one processor that is configured, by programming instructions, to (i) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam in a predetermined color and/or pattern and (ii) selectively energize the light engine to emit the light beam with a wavelength that is in either the visible spectrum or the non-visible spectrum.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims benefit of prior filed India Provisional Patent Application No. 202411084640, filed Nov. 5, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to rotary aircraft, and more particularly relates to a rotary aircraft passive rotor tip lighting system. BACKGROUND Rotary aircraft, such as helicopters, urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft, and unmanned air vehicle (UAV) aircraft, include rotor tip lighting systems. These lighting systems, among other things, improve the visibility of the rotary aircraft to other air traffic, thereby enhancing overall airspace awareness and safety. Current rotor tip lighting systems include light sources on each rotor that are electrically energized using power lines that are routed through the rotor. Although current rotor tip lighting systems are generally safe and reliable, these current systems do present various challenges. For example, the light sources and associated wiring can be exposed to harsh environmental conditions, such as vibration, lightning, EMI/EMC, temperature variations, and exposure to various other weather phenomena, which can potentially reduce overall system reliability. Hence, there is a need for a rotor tip lighting system that improves system reliability by not exposing the light sources and associated wiring to various harsh environmental conditions. The present disclosure addresses at least this need. BRIEF SUMMARY This summary is provided to describe select concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. In one embodiment, a passive rotor tip lighting system for a rotary aircraft that includes a fuselage and at least one rotor that is rotationally mounted on the fuselage and is configured to rotate about a rotational axis, and where the rotor having plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom, the rotor tip lighting system includes a light engine, a supply fiber optic cable, a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, a plurality of light transmission optics, and a fiber optic rotary joint. The light engine is coupled to the fuselage and is configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam. The supply fiber optic cable is arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine. Each rotor fiber optic cable is associated with and disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades. Each light transmission optic is disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades and is associated with a different one of the rotor fiber optic cables. Each light transmission optic is further disposed to receive light transmitted through its associated rotor fiber optic cable. The fiber optic rotary joint is mounted on, and is rotatable with, the at least one rotor. The fiber optic rotary joint is configured to receive light transmitted from the supply fiber optic cable and supply the light to each of the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables. In another embodiment, a rotary aircraft includes fuselage, at least one rotor, and a rotor tip lighting system. The at least one rotor is rotationally mounted on the fuselage and is configured to rotate about a rotational axis and has a plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom. The rotor tip lighting system includes a light engine, a supply fiber optic cable, a plurality of rotor fiber optic cables, a plurality of light transmission optics, and a fiber optic rotary joint. The light engine is coupled to the fuselage and is configured, upon being energized, to emit a light beam. The supply fiber optic cable is arranged to receive and transmit the light beam emitted by the light engine. Each rotor fiber optic cable is associated with and disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades. Each light transmission optic is disposed on or within a different one of the plurality of rotor blades and is associated with a different one of the rotor fiber optic cables. Each light transmission optic is further disposed to receive light transmitted through its associated rotor fiber optic cable. The fiber optic rotary joint is mounted on, and is rotatable with, the at least one rotor. The fiber optic rotary joint is configured to receive light transmitted from the supply fiber optic cable and supply the light to each of the plurality of rotor fiber optic cables. In yet another embodiment, a passive rotor tip lighting system for a rotary aircraft that includes a fuselage and a plurality of rotors that are each rotationally mounted on the fuselage and are configured to rotate about a rotational axis, and where each rotor having plurality of rotor blades extending therefrom, the rotor tip