JP7539683B2 - Aircraft - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an aircraft, in particular one in which a thrust section and a wing section are displaceably connected.

There are two known types of aircraft equipped with rotors (rotating wings) and main wings: the so-called tilt rotor type and the tilt wing type.

Patent Document 1 discloses an aircraft in which the main wings are fixed to the main body and the entire rotor including the motor is configured to be displaceable within a range in the vertical direction and the flight direction (tilt rotor system).

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses an aircraft in which the main wing and main body are configured to be displaceable within the vertical and flight directions, and the motor and the entire rotor are fixed to the main wing (tilt wing system).

Special table 2013-501677 publication JP 2017-81360 A

According to the technology of Patent Document 1, when ascending, the main wing enters a wide area of the propeller wake, resulting in poor flight efficiency of the main wing.

According to the technology in Patent Document 2, the entire main wing is displaced, which causes wind resistance and makes the aircraft unstable.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides an aircraft that enables an efficient and safe transition from hovering to horizontal flight.

According to the present invention,
a flying section including a wing section and a rotor provided on the wing section;
A body part;
The wing portion is
Configured to be able to maintain at least a negative angle of attack relative to the direction of travel;
You get a flying object.

This invention makes it possible to provide an aircraft that enables an efficient and safe transition from hovering to horizontal flight.

1 is a diagram of an air vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, the air vehicle is shown in a landing position. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the aircraft is in an ascending state. 1 is a diagram illustrating an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the aircraft is in flight in the direction of travel. 1 is a graph showing the lift and resistance characteristics of an airfoil. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the flying vehicle of the present invention.

The present invention according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
[Item 1]
a flying section including a wing section and a rotor provided on the wing section;
A body part;
The wing portion is
Configured to be able to maintain at least a negative angle of attack relative to the direction of travel;
Flying vehicle.
[Item 2]
Item 1, the flying object according to the present invention,
The wing portion is
The rotor is configured to be capable of maintaining a negative angle of attack with respect to a rotation central axis of the rotor at least during hovering.
Flying vehicle.
[Item 3]
The flying object according to item 1 or 2,
A boarding section that can be displaced independently of the aircraft body section is provided.
Flying vehicle.
[Item 4]
Item 3. The flying object according to item 3,
The fuselage section extends horizontally and vertically relative to a direction of flight,
The boarding section is provided at approximately the center of the aircraft body section in a side view.
Flying vehicle.

Next, with reference to the figures, an air vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

<Structure>
As shown in FIG. 1, the flying body 1 according to this embodiment generally includes a flying section 10, an aircraft section 20, and a boarding section 30. The flying section 10 includes a wing section 100, a motor 102, and a propeller (rotor) 104. The wing section 100 is configured to be able to maintain a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104 at least during hovering, and is fixed to the aircraft section 20. Various known methods can be used for the fixing method. In addition, the aircraft section 20 (and the flying section 10 fixed to the aircraft section 20) and the boarding section 30 are configured to be able to be independently displaced.

As shown in Figure 2, the flying object 1 according to this embodiment has an H-shape when viewed from above. That is, the flying object 1 has two flying sections 10, one at the front and one at the back, and an aircraft section 20 (and a boarding section 30) that connects them.

As described above, the flying section 10 includes the wing section 100, the motor 102, and the propeller 104. In the following description, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis in the drawings correspond to the directions as follows:
X-axis: 1st horizontal direction (+X direction: left, -X direction: right)
Y-axis: 2nd horizontal direction (+Y direction: front, -Y direction: rear)
Z axis: Vertical direction (+Z direction: top, -Z direction: bottom)

The wing portion 100 extends in the X direction and is the portion that generates lift using the motor 102. In the initial state (the state shown in FIG. 1), the leading edge faces up and the trailing edge faces down. The wing portion 100 is composed of a front wing portion 100 and a rear wing portion 100.

The thrust generating unit 10 generates forward thrust from the thrust generating unit 10 by rotating the propeller (thrust generating unit) 104.

The motor 102 can be replaced by an engine or the like. The propeller 104 can be driven by the motor 102 and rotates clockwise and/or counterclockwise about the rotational axis of the motor 102 (e.g., the longitudinal axis of the motor).

In this embodiment, the motor 102 can rotate the propellers 104 all in the same direction, or can rotate them independently. Some of the propellers 104 rotate in one direction, and other propellers 104 rotate in the other direction. The blades that make up the propellers 104 can all rotate at the same rotation speed, or they can each rotate at a different rotation speed. The rotation speed can be determined automatically or manually based on the dimensions of the moving object (e.g., size, weight) and the control state (speed, direction of movement, etc.).

The propeller 104 rotates upon receiving output from the motor 102. The rotation of the propeller 104 generates a thrust force for causing the flying object 1 to take off from the ground G, move horizontally, and land at the destination. The propeller 104 can rotate to the right, stop, and rotate to the left.

The propeller 104 of the present invention has an elongated blade shape. It can have any number of blades (rotors) (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, or more blades). The blades can have any shape, such as flat, curved, twisted, tapered, or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that the shape of the blade can vary (e.g., extend, fold, bend, etc.). The blade can be symmetric (having identical upper and lower surfaces) or asymmetric (having upper and lower surfaces of different shapes).

The blade can be formed into a suitable geometry to generate aerodynamic forces (e.g., lift, thrust) as the airfoil, wing, or blade is moved through the air. The blade geometry can be selected to optimize the aerodynamic properties of the blade, such as increasing lift and thrust and reducing drag.

The fuselage section 20 extends rearward from the center of the forward wing section 100 and is connected to the center of the rear wing section 100.

The body section 20 in this embodiment can be formed from a material appropriately selected from carbon, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, etc., or alloys or combinations thereof.

The aircraft section 20 has a substantially annular storage section that contains the boarding section 30. The storage section is located approximately near the center of the aircraft section 20.

The riding section 30 has a generally annular shape that corresponds to the shape of the storage section and is located inside the storage section. The riding section 30 and the storage section are configured to be independently displaceable in the circumferential direction of the generally annular shape.

<Flight mode>
Next, the configuration and deformation during flight will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG.

In this embodiment, the propeller 104 is located in front of the leading edge of the wing 100. In the landing state shown in Figure 1, the leading edge of the wing 100 faces upward, and the motor unit is oriented to generate at least an upward thrust. The legs 202 and the rear wing (and the motor 102) function as parts that support the aircraft 1 during landing.

3, when the aircraft 1 is ascending or hovering, the wing section 100 has a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104. At this time, both the front propeller 104 and the rear propeller 104 have a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when moving from vertical takeoff (Figure 3) to horizontal movement (Figure 4), the aircraft body 20 moves circumferentially as indicated by the double-headed arrows in the figure, causing it to move from a horizontal position to a forward-tilted position. At this time, the boarding section 30 remains facing in the same direction.

As shown in Figure 4, even during horizontal movement, the wing portion 100 has a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104. At this time, both the front propeller 104 and the rear propeller 104 have a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104. At this time, both the front propeller 104 and the rear propeller 104 have a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104.

Figure 5 is a graph showing the lift and resistance characteristics of an airfoil. The horizontal axis of Figure 5 shows the angle of attack, and the vertical axis shows the drag coefficient and lift coefficient. As is clear from Figure 5, a negative angle of attack has a smaller drag coefficient than a positive angle of attack. It can also be seen that if an aircraft is manufactured with an angle of attack of minus 6 degrees, the same lift force of the main wing can be obtained as with an aircraft with a zero angle of attack. In this way, by making the wing section 100 have a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the propeller 104, it is possible to suppress the drag of the propeller wake while avoiding excessive angle of attack of the wing section 100.

Therefore, the aircraft of this embodiment can safely transition from hovering to horizontal flight.

<General Structure>
6 is a functional block diagram of the flying object of the present invention. The flying object described above may have a configuration as shown in FIG.

The flight controller may have one or more processors, such as a programmable processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)).

The flight controller has accessible memory (not shown) that stores logic, code, and/or program instructions that the flight controller can execute to perform one or more steps.

The memory may include, for example, a separable medium such as an SD card or random access memory (RAM) or an external storage device. Data acquired from a camera or sensor may be directly transmitted to and stored in the memory. For example, still image and video data captured by a camera or the like is recorded in the built-in memory or an external memory.

The flight controller includes a _control module configured to control the state of the air vehicle. For example, the control module controls the propulsion mechanisms (e.g., motors) of the air vehicle to regulate the spatial orientation, velocity, and/or acceleration of the air vehicle having six degrees of freedom (translational motion x, y, and z, and rotational motion θ _x , θ y, and θ _z ). The control module can control one or more of the states of the payload and sensors.

The flight controller can communicate with a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive data from one or more external devices (e.g., a terminal, a display device, or other remote control). The transceiver can use any suitable communication means, such as wired or wireless communication.

For example, the transceiver may utilize one or more of a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), infrared, radio, WiFi, a point-to-point (P2P) network, a telecommunications network, cloud communications, and the like.

The transceiver unit can transmit and/or receive one or more of the following: data acquired by sensors, processing results generated by the flight controller, specified control data, user commands from a terminal or a remote controller, etc.

The sensors in this embodiment may include inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyro sensors), GPS sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., lidar), or vision/image sensors (e.g., cameras).

The aircraft of the present invention is expected to be used as an aircraft dedicated to medium- to long-distance delivery services, and as an industrial aircraft for wide-area surveillance services and reconnaissance and rescue services in mountainous areas. The aircraft of the present invention can also be used in the aircraft-related industry, such as multicopters and drones, and can also be suitably used as an aircraft equipped with a camera or the like to perform aerial photography missions, and can also be used in various industries, such as the security field, agriculture, and infrastructure surveillance.

The above-described embodiment is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents.

In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the aircraft of the present invention is applied to a manned aircraft. However, this is not limited to this. The aircraft of the present invention may also be applied to an unmanned aircraft.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been shown in which the wing portion 100 is configured to be able to maintain a negative angle of attack with respect to the central axis of rotation of the rotor at least during hovering. However, this is not limited to this. It is sufficient that the wing portion 100 is configured to be able to maintain a negative angle of attack with respect to at least the direction of travel.

Reference Signs List 1 Aircraft 10 Flying section 100 Wing section 102 Motor 104 Propeller (rotor)
20 Aircraft body 30 Boarding section

Claims (4)

A flying section including a wing section and a plurality of motors and propellers provided on the wing section;
a body section in which the flying section is provided ,
The blade portion is provided at a position to receive a propeller wake of the propeller,
The wing portion is configured to maintain a negative angle of attack with respect to a direction of an airflow generated along a central axis of rotation of all the propellers provided on the wing portion and rotating, at least during horizontal movement.
Flying vehicle. 2. The flying object according to claim 1,
In a side view, a storage section is provided at approximately the center of the body section.
Flying vehicle. a flying section including a wing section and a plurality of motors and propellers provided on the wing section;
a body section in which the flying section is provided ,
A flying method for an aircraft , the wing portion being provided at a position receiving a propeller wake of the propeller , comprising:
The wing portion flies so as to maintain a negative angle of attack with respect to the direction of airflow generated along the central rotation axes of all the propellers provided on the wing portion and rotating, at least during horizontal movement.
How to fly. a flying section including a wing section and a plurality of motors and propellers provided on the wing section;
a body section in which the flying section is provided ,
The wing unit is a program for controlling an aircraft provided at a position receiving a propeller wake of the propeller ,
The aircraft is flown so that the wing portion maintains a negative angle of attack with respect to a direction of an airflow generated along a central axis of rotation of all the propellers provided on the wing portion and rotating, at least during horizontal movement.
program.

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