JP7699766B2 - High-speed drones and other flying objects - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a new type of drone or other aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing and high-speed horizontal flight.

A normal airplane taxis down a runway until it reaches a speed where it can take off. Conversely, when landing, the airplane taxis from the time it lands until it stops, so a runway is also needed. A typical distance is about 1.5km to 3km. That's why a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) is needed.
Known examples of this type of aircraft include helicopters, Ospreys, drones, etc. A helicopter uses one propeller for each of hovering, ascending, descending, and horizontal flight, as shown in Figure 1. In Figure 1, 1 is an airframe, 3 is a tail rotor, and 32 is a motor for rotating the propeller.

Since helicopters have a slow horizontal speed, the Osprey (Figure 2) was developed, which has a fast horizontal speed. The Osprey was invented by the inventor in 1953, and was taught to Bell Aircraft CEO Lawrence Bell, who finally put it to practical use in recent years.
The aircraft has tilt-controllable propellers on both ends of the main wing, and by controlling the tilt angle of these propellers, it is possible to hover and fly horizontally. To ascend and fly straight, the propeller tilt angle is changed from 0 to 90 degrees. However, many accidents occur when changing the rotors from horizontal to vertical.
In Figure 2, 1 is the airframe, 34 is the propeller for the Osprey to ascend, descend, and advance, 4 is the horizontal stabilizer, 5 is the rotating shaft for the Osprey engine, and 33 is the engine for the Osprey propeller, which has only recently become popular.
Figure 3 shows a well-known drone, which was also invented by the present inventor in 1940, but has only recently become popular. In Figure 3, 6 is a drone propeller, 7 is a motor for raising and lowering the drone, 8 is a drone propeller guide, and 9 is a receiving device, camera, etc.

As mentioned above, airplanes cannot take off or land in places without runways. Normal airplanes have the disadvantage of not having vertical takeoff and landing or hovering capabilities. In order to solve these problems, flying objects with vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities were considered. Helicopters are flying objects with vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities, and are used to rescue lives in marine accidents and mountain rescue accidents. However, they have a slow horizontal flight speed, a short cruising range, and a small amount of cargo they can carry, so there is a demand for flying objects to replace helicopters.
When an Osprey-type aircraft takes off or lands vertically, the wind from the propellers whips the wings, making them aerodynamically inefficient.
In addition, drones such as the one shown in Figure 3 are publicly known, but drones have a slow horizontal flight speed and cannot fly long distances. They are not all-weather and can be flipped over by crosswinds. As a result, they are not suitable for parcel delivery or rapid transportation, although Amazon and others are planning to use them.

The present invention, which solves the above problems, is configured with a forward propeller for vertical ascent and descent and a stabilizing wing for horizontal flight. This is a different method from autogyros, which cannot ascend or descend vertically.

The present invention provides a vertical takeoff and landing type high-speed, long-distance, safe airplane that has a high horizontal speed, can fly long distances with little energy, can carry a large load, is all-weather, has safe and stable vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities, has no loss of wing power caused by the propeller wind hitting the wings during takeoff and ascent, does not require a tilt rotor, simplifies the control structure, and has no accidents. It is easy to manufacture and low-cost, and can transport mail-order goods reliably over long distances at high speed with high energy efficiency. This is a groundbreaking invention that saves time and creates profound effects for the industry.

Side view of a known helicopter Side view of a known tilt rotor (Osprey) Plan view of a known drone 10th embodiment of the present invention with the wings horizontal. Front side view of the same Side view of the same A top view of the tenth embodiment of the present invention with the wings vertical. Front side view of the same Side view of the same FIG. 2 is a side view of the drive mechanism with one wing rotation motor. Conceptual diagram of the present invention in which the blade of the present invention is rotated using a bevel gear During ascent and descent in the embodiment of the present invention, the rear propeller is not affected by the trailing influence of the front propeller. Same as above when flying horizontally

The present invention is a newly invented aircraft made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a new vertical take-off and landing aircraft (new VTOL) that is equipped with ascent and descent propellers, forward propellers, and rotating or non-rotating wings for horizontal flight, and that is capable of vertical take-off, landing, and hovering, as well as having a fast horizontal flight speed, little energy loss, long distances, and is an all-weather aircraft that can provide stable flight even in bad weather.
It should be noted that this invention is a different concept from conventional drones, helicopters, Ospreys, and autogyros.

4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show a tenth embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment is fundamentally different from the other embodiments.
Specifically, in the other embodiments, the wings are fixed and a forward propeller is provided separately, but the tenth embodiment has rotating wings and no forward propeller.
In the previous embodiments, no blades were placed in the propeller wake so as not to disturb the wake of the propeller for ascending and descending. The blades were fixed. In addition, the forward propeller and the propeller for ascending and descending were provided separately. The tenth embodiment is an embodiment with a completely different concept from the previous embodiments, and is an embodiment that further improves the efficiency of the present invention.
Specifically, in order to streamline the structure, propellers for ascending and descending are mounted on the wings, and the wings are positioned perpendicular to the propeller to increase propeller efficiency without disturbing the propeller wake with the wings, and if the axial direction of the propeller changes, the wing direction also rotates accordingly, so that the propeller wake is aligned with the wing surface direction, and the propeller wake is not constantly disturbed by the wings.
In addition, instead of providing a forward propeller, in order to use it as both an ascending and descending propeller, the blades are rotated about 90 degrees as described above, and the propeller direction is rotated about 90 degrees to make it a forward propeller.
This is often mistakenly thought to be the same as the Osprey, but it is a fundamentally different invention from the Osprey. The Osprey has fixed wings, and a rotating engine and propeller are attached to the tip of the wing, so that the wing does not rotate even when the propeller rotates, whereas in this invention, the engine and propeller are fixed to the wing, and the wing is not fixed and rotates together with the wing that rotates in the propeller direction.
In this way, it is different from the Osprey. Furthermore, in the case of the Osprey, the propeller wake hits the wing, reducing the propeller efficiency, whereas in this invention, the propeller and the wing are always at a right angle, and when the propeller tilts, the wing tilts at the same angle, so the propeller wake does not hit the wing, and the propeller wake is greatly improved.
In addition, because the Osprey's engine and propeller rotate at the wing tips, structural problems such as vibration and strength occur, but in the present invention, the engine and propeller are firmly fixed to the wing, so no structural problems occur. Also, because the Osprey has a rotating engine and propeller at the tip of the wing, the wing spars need to be made strong, which increases weight and reduces aerodynamic performance.
In contrast, the present invention improves aerodynamic performance because the wing spar is lighter than that of the Osprey system. Since the Osprey has an engine and propeller at the wing tip, resonance occurs due to the long span, causing large vibrations and poor vertical alignment, which ultimately leads to crashes due to vibrations.
In contrast, with the present invention, the engine propeller is not located at the tip of the wing, but in the center where the structure is stronger, so there is no resonance, making it safe and comfortable.

This will be explained with reference to FIG.
4 is a plan view of an example of the tenth embodiment. A motor 55 for rotating wings 57, a motor 56 for rotating wings 58, a battery 54 for driving the motors 55, 56, a vertical stabilizer 14, a front main wing 57, and a rear main wing 58 are provided on a fuselage 53. A propeller motor 7 and a propeller 6 are mounted on the front main wing 57, and a motor 7' for driving the propeller 6' and a propeller 6' are mounted on the rear main wing 58.

FIG. 5 shows this as seen from the front.

FIG. 6 shows this as seen from the side.
Reference numeral 59 denotes a landing gear and luggage holding section. The camera and luggage 60 are mounted on the CG 68 of this aircraft, and the aircraft is designed to always fly horizontally regardless of the weight of the luggage.
What is important here is that the motor 7 for the propeller 6 is attached to the front wing 57 so that the wing 57 has an angle of attack α 62 with respect to the thrust line of the propeller 6 .

Similarly, a motor 7' for a propeller 6' is attached to the rear wing 58 so that the rear wing 58 has an angle of attack β.

Of course, α and β are different angles.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the front wing 57, the rear wing 58, and the propeller 6, the motor 7, the propeller 6', and the motor 7' mounted thereon, rotated 90 degrees by the rotating shaft 67 of the motor 55 and the rotating shaft 70 of the motor 56.

FIG. 8 shows this as seen from the front.

FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG.

In this state, the aircraft of the present invention rotates the propeller 6 by the motor 7, and rotates the propeller 6' by the motor 7', and takes off and ascends vertically.
At this time, the blades 57, 58 are designed not to completely block the wake of the propellers 6, 6'.

Next, the motors 55 and 56 are gradually rotated to rotate the propellers 6 and 6' and the blades 57 and 58 about the rotation shafts 69 and 70, respectively, to the positions shown in FIG.
This allows the aircraft to float on wings 57 and 58 and fly horizontally at high speed with the thrust of propellers 6 and 6'. Photographs can be taken with camera 60 if necessary.

When the aircraft arrives at the destination, the motors 55 and 56 are rotated in the reverse direction to the above, and the blades 57 and 58 and the propellers 6 and 6' are gradually turned upward around the rotating shafts 60 and 76, and the aircraft descends vertically. At this time, the blades do not interfere with the propeller wake, so the propeller efficiency is improved.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which wings 57, 58 are rotated by only one motor 55, without using the two motors 55, 56 shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, thereby making it possible to reduce the weight of the aircraft.
The motor is preferably a stepping motor.
A torque 66 of the motor 55 passes through a lever 61 , a pivot 62 , a connecting beam 63 , a pivot 64 , and a lever 65 to become a torque 67 , which rotates a shaft 70 .

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the present invention different from that shown in FIG. 10, in which the blades 57, 58 are rotated by utilizing the non-reversible nature of a bevel gear 68.
Figures 12 and 13 show other embodiments of the present invention, and in the embodiments of Figures 7, 8, and 9, the efficiency of the rear propeller 6' is reduced by the wake of the front propeller 6. This has been improved in the other embodiments of the present invention shown in Figures 12 and 13. In this embodiment, the wake of the front propeller 6 is outside the rotation range of the rear propeller 6', so the efficiency of the rear propeller 6' does not decrease. Figure 12 shows the aircraft ascending or descending, and Figure 13 shows the aircraft in level flight.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft comprises a single tilt main rotor 69, a torque correcting tail rotor 70, fixed main wings 57, and fixed tail fins 58.

The present invention applies not only to drones but also to actual aircraft. In such cases, the propellers are rotated by an engine. The present invention also includes cases where a jet engine or rocket is used instead of a propeller.

The present invention is a new type of aircraft that is safer and has a faster horizontal speed than other vertical take-off and landing aircraft, such as known drones, known tilt rotor aircraft such as the Osprey, and helicopters. Current drones are too slow to fly long distances for long-distance goods transportation and logistics such as mail order sales, and they consume a lot of energy, so they are not suitable for high-speed transportation. However, when the present invention is applied to a drone, goods can be transported at high speed and long-distance photography becomes possible. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to an aircraft that carries people, it can be used for rapid mountain rescues, maritime rescues, and the like in remote locations, and therefore has great industrial applicability.
In addition, the airplane of the present invention does not require pitch control compared to helicopters, so the rudder is simple and low cost, and the horizontal speed is fast, the flight range is long, and there are no accidents caused by the tilt of the Osprey, so it is safe and the range of use will be expanded. Also, if the size of the aircraft is increased, it can carry many people and can be operated on islands without airfields, making up for the inconvenience of transportation for islanders, and the potential for use in defense and industry is extremely great.
Furthermore, if this invention is flown near the stratosphere, and the solar energy received by its wings is converted into microwaves and transmitted to the ground, where it can be used as electrical energy, it can provide valuable energy to our resource-poor country and can also serve as a substitute for reconnaissance satellites. It has extremely great potential for use in defense and industry.

1 Airframe 2 Main rotor 3 Tail rotor 4 Horizontal stabilizer 5 Rotor shaft for Osprey engine 6 Drone propeller 6' Same as above (rear)
7 Drone ascent/descent motor 7' Same as above (rear)
8 Drone propeller guard 9 Receiver, camera, etc. 14 Vertical tail 32 Propeller rotation motor 33 Osprey propeller engine 34 Osprey ascent, descent, and forward propeller 45 Fuselage girder 46 Actual aircraft forward propeller engine 47 Actual aircraft forward propeller 48 Actual aircraft ascent and descent dedicated rotor 49 Actual aircraft horizontal flight dedicated main wing 50 Actual aircraft horizontal flight dedicated horizontal tail 51 Actual aircraft horizontal flight dedicated vertical tail 52 Actual aircraft ascent and descent dedicated rotor engine 53 Fuselage 54 Battery, electronic circuit, etc. 55 Front wing rotation motor (stepping motor)
56 Rear wing rotation motor (stepping motor)
57 Front wing 58 Rear wing 59 Cargo loading and landing gear 60 Cargo 61 Rotation transmission lever of motor 55 62 Same as pivot 63 Same as rear wing rotation connecting beam 64 Same as pivot 65 Same as lever 66 Front wing rotation motor rotation direction 67 Same as rear wing 68 Wing rotation bevel gear 69 Tilt main rotor 70 Torque correction tail rotor

Claims (1)

An aircraft characterized in that rotating horizontal flight wings consisting of front and rear wings are provided at the same height in front and behind the fuselage, and a propeller/drive unit that can be used directly for ascent, descent and forward movement is provided only at the longitudinal ends of all of the horizontal flight wings , so that the horizontal flight wings do not interfere with the wake of the propeller during ascent and descent, and the wake of the propeller of the front wing is outside the rotation range of the propeller of the rear wing during horizontal flight.

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