Patent 9828089 was granted and assigned to Sikorsky Aircraft on November, 2017 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A rotor drive system includes a mast defining a rotation axis, an electric motor with a stator portion fixed to the stationary mast, a rotor portion rotatably relative to the stator portion, and a clutch disposed along the rotation axis and connected to the rotor portion of the electric motor. A rotor assembly is rotatable about the rotation axis and operably connected to clutch such that, when rotational speed of the rotor assembly exceeds rotational speed of the rotor portion of the electric motor, the clutch disengages the rotor assembly from the electric motor rotor portion.