Devices for enabling navigation of a crawler vehicle along an airfoil-shaped body, such as a helicopter blade, in a low-cost fashion with high reliability, especially for swept configuration blades. Using the natural tendency of vacuum adherence devices to adhere to changing surface contours, the crawler vehicle can adhere itself to airfoil-shaped structures in a way that allows the crawler vehicle to easily translate along an airfoil-shaped body while accommodating extreme variations along the surface of the airfoil-shaped body. The crawler vehicle can be designed to eliminate any trailing edge follower wheel, which simplifies the crawler's ability to accommodate trailing edge protrusions, such as trim tabs.
Vacuum adhering apparatus for automated maintenance of airfoil-shaped bodies
2016-04-05
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | G01D MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE , Anzeigen oder Aufzeichnen in Verbindung mit Messen allgemein / B64F GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT , Boden- oder Flugzeugträgerdeckeinrichtungen besonders ausgebildet für die Verwendung in Verbindung mit Luftfahrzeugen |
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