1. A blade balance system for a rotational airfoil assembly, comprising:
an elongated member which extends along a longitudinal axis; and
at least one balance weight mountable to said elongated member.
2. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a bulkhead positioned transverse to said longitudinal axis adjacent a root segment of the rotational airfoil assembly.
3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said elongated member extends through said bulkhead along said longitudinal axis toward a tip segment of said rotational airfoil assembly.
4. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said elongated member defines a flange.
5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein said flange is retained to said bulkhead by a plurality of threaded fasteners.
6. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said bulkhead comprises an extension segment, said extension segment extending along said longitudinal axis in a direction opposite of said elongated member.
7. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein at least a portion of said extension segment extends beyond a normal operating oil level of said rotational airfoil assembly along said longitudinal axis.
8. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein a root segment of said elongated member is retained within a central aperture of said extension segment by a snap ring.
9. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a support member positioned transverse to said longitudinal axis proximate a mid-span segment of the rotational airfoil assembly.
10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said at least one balance weight is mounted to said elongated member outboard said mid-span segment.
11. A rotational airfoil assembly, comprising:
an airfoil which includes a bore defined along a longitudinal axis;
an elongated member mounted within said bore; and
at least one balance weight mountable to said elongated member.
12. The assembly as recited in claim 11, further comprising a bulkhead bonded to said airfoil within a root segment of said airfoil.
13. The assembly as recited in claim 12, wherein said elongated member extends through said bulkhead along said longitudinal axis.
14. The assembly as recited in claim 11, further comprising a support member positioned within said bore and extending transverse to said longitudinal axis.
15. The assembly as recited in claim 11, wherein said elongated member defines a tip segment, said tip segment proximate to a mid-span segment of said airfoil.
16. The assembly as recited in claim 15, wherein said at least one balance weight is mounted within said tip segment of said elongated member.
17. A method of balancing a rotational airfoil comprising the steps of:
(1) attaching a master blade to a hub mounted at a pivot point;
(2) attaching an unbalanced blade to the hub opposite the master blade; and
(3) adding weight to an elongated member within the unbalanced blade to balance the unbalanced blade to the master blade about the pivot point.
18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein said step (3) comprises:
adding the weight to the unbalanced blade outboard of a mid-span segment of the unbalanced blade.
19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein said step (3) comprises:
adding the weight to the unbalanced blade proximate a tip segment of the unbalanced blade.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of operating a communications terminal which comprises a plurality of network interfaces each capable of establishing an access channel with a respective network by a process of connecting to one or more remote network nodes, the method comprising:
(a) establishing a first access channel between a first network interface of the communications terminal and a first remote network node;
(b) receiving over the first access channel, from a predetermined network address, profile information identifying one or more further network nodes, the profile information including access data to allow establishment of a further access channel between a network interface of the communications terminal and the or each further network node;
(c) detecting the presence of a second network node connected to, or in range of, the communications terminal; and
(d) in response to said detection, identifying whether the profile information received in step (b) corresponds to the second network node and, if so, using the access data automatically to establish a new access channel with the second network node and to communicate data thereover.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the access data received in step (b) includes security information required to establish a new access channel with the or each further network node, and in which step (d) comprises automatically transmitting said security information, or data encrypted with said security information, to the second network node.
3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising determining the geographical location of the communications terminal and transmitting information identifying said location over the first access channel such that, in response, the profile information received in step (b) is dependent on said transmitted location information.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the profile information received in step (b) corresponds to one or more further network node(s) located in the vicinity of said geographical location.
5. A method according to claim 3, wherein the profile information received in step (b) corresponds to one or more further network node(s) for which it is estimated, from the transmitted location information, that the communications terminal will be in the vicinity of at some future time.
6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the geographical location of the communications terminal is determined by one or more of Wi-Fi triangulation, cellular triangulation or IP address resolution.
7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which , when executed by a processor, performs the steps according to claim 1.
8. A method of communicating data between a communications terminal and a network, the terminal comprising a plurality of network interfaces each capable of establishing an access channel to the network by connecting to a network node, the method comprising:
(a) establishing a plurality of separate access channels between at least one network interface and at least one network node;
(b) receiving over a first of the access channels, from a predetermined network address, operating parameters in respect of each established access channel;
(c) receiving a request from an application level program running on the terminal to transfer data to or from the network; and
(d) in response to step (c), transferring data between the terminal and the network using a selected one of the established access channels, wherein selection is made in accordance with predefined selection rules indicating which access channel is to be selected in dependence on the operating parameters received in step (b).
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the operating parameters received in step (b) includes security information required to establish a new access channel with another network node, and in which step (d) comprises automatically transmitting said security information, or data encrypted with said security information, to the another network node.
10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising determining the geographical location of the communications terminal and transmitting information identifying said location over the first of the access channels such that, in response, the operating parameters received in step (b) is dependent on said transmitted location information.
11. A method of providing access information to a communications terminal which comprises a plurality of network interfaces each capable of establishing a respective access channel with a network by means of connecting to one or more remote network node(s), the method comprising:
(a) establishing a first access channel with the communications terminal;
(b) receiving, over the first access channel, data enabling the communications terminal to be identified; and
(c) returning, based on said identity data, profile information identifying one or more further network nodes, and including access data to allow establishment of a new access channel between a network interface of the communications terminal and the or each further network node.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the access data returned in step (c) includes a password andor encryption key required to establish a new access channel with the or each further network node.
13. A method according to claim 11, further comprising receiving, over the first access channel, data from which can be determined the geographical location of the communications terminal such that, in step (c), the returned profile information is dependent on said location.
14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the determined geographical location is used to access a database identifying one or more further network node(s) in the vicinity of said geographical location, the returned profile information corresponding to said identified network node or nodes.
15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the determined geographical location is stored for a time frame sufficient to enable the future location of the communications terminal to be estimated, the profile information returned in step (c) corresponding to one or more further network node(s) in an estimated future location.
16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the geographical location of the communications terminal is determined by one or more of Wi-Fi triangulation, cellular triangulation or IP address resolution.
17. Communications apparatus comprising a plurality of network interfaces each capable of establishing a respective access channel with a network by means of connecting to one or more remote network nodes, the apparatus comprising:
a first network interface arranged to establish a first access channel with a first network node and to receive, over the first access channel and from a predetermined network address, profile information identifying one or more further network nodes, the profile information including access data to allow establishment of a new access channel between a network interface of the communications terminal and the or each further network node(s);
memory for storing said received profile information;
a connection manager arranged to detect the presence of a second network node connected to, or in range of, the communications terminal and, in response to said detection, to identify whether the received profile information corresponds to the second network node and, if so, automatically to establish a new access channel with the second network node and to communicate data over the new access channel using either the first network interface or a different network interface.
18. The communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the received profile information corresponds to one or more further network node(s) for which it is estimated, from transmitted location information representing geographical location of the communications apparatus, that the communications apparatus will be in the vicinity of the one or more further network node(s) at some future time.
19. Apparatus for providing access information to a communications terminal which comprises a plurality of network interfaces each capable of establishing a respective access channel with a network by connecting to one or more remote network nodes, the apparatus comprising:
an interface arranged to establish a first access channel with the communications terminal;
a data receiver arranged to receive, over the first access channel, data enabling the communications terminal to be identified; and
a data transmitter arranged to return, based on said identity data, profile information identifying one or more further network node(s), the profile data including access data to allow establishment of a new access channel between a network interface of the communications terminal and the or each further network nodes.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the profile information corresponds to one or more further network node(s) for which it is estimated, from received location information representing geographical location of the communications terminal, that the communications terminal will be in the vicinity of the one or more further network node(s) at some future time.