Patents by Inventor Robert J. Bufe

Robert J. Bufe has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7611090
    Abstract: Rotorcraft including an airframe having a fuselage extending between a forward and an aft end and a powerplant producing high-pressure fluid. The rotorcraft includes a rotor assembly rotatably mounted on the airframe and having a plurality of rotor blades extending from a hub. Each rotor blade has a base, a tip, a leading edge extending between the base and tip, and a trailing edge extending between the base and tip opposite the leading edge. Each rotor blade has a jet adjacent its trailing edge in fluid communication with the powerplant by way of a fluid path. Each jet is adjustable between an open position in which the jet allows the high-pressure fluid from the power plant to pass through the jet and out of the rotor blade and a closed position in which the jet prevents the high-pressure fluid from passing through the jet and out of the rotor blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Michael L. Oleshchuk, Robert J. Bufe, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20080135677
    Abstract: Rotorcraft including an airframe having a fuselage extending between a forward and an aft end and a powerplant producing high-pressure fluid. The rotorcraft includes a rotor assembly rotatably mounted on the airframe and having a plurality of rotor blades extending from a hub. Each rotor blade has a base, a tip, a leading edge extending between the base and tip, and a trailing edge extending between the base and tip opposite the leading edge. Each rotor blade has a jet adjacent its trailing edge in fluid communication with the powerplant by way of a fluid path. Each jet is adjustable between an open position in which the jet allows the high-pressure fluid from the power plant to pass through the jet and out of the rotor blade and a closed position in which the jet prevents the high-pressure fluid from passing through the jet and out of the rotor blade.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Inventors: Michael L. Oleshchuk, Robert J. Bufe