CN113277078A

CN113277078A - Vertical take-off and landing aircraft and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113277078A
Application number: CN202110392697.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 熊俊; 吴凡; 刘照琳
Original assignee: Cetc Wuhu Diamond Aircraft Manufacture Co ltd; Cetc Wuhu General Aviation Industry Technology Research Institute Co ltd
Current assignee: Cetc Wuhu Diamond Aircraft Manufacture Co ltd; Cetc Wuhu General Aviation Industry Technology Research Institute Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-13
Filing date: 2021-04-13
Publication date: 2021-08-20

Abstract

The application relates to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft and a control method thereof. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft comprises: a body; wings arranged on two sides of the fuselage; the rotary wings are arranged on the wings, the axes of the rotary wings are parallel to the axis of the fuselage, and the rotary wings are coaxially reversed pairwise; the tail wing assembly comprises a plurality of tail wings and a tail wing driving unit, wherein a main control surface is arranged on each tail wing and is used for pitching and yawing control of the airplane; the nozzles of the auxiliary control system are respectively arranged at the two ends of the wing, the nose and the tail, and the conversion and adjustment of the attitude of the airplane in the air are realized by adopting the counter force generated by high-speed jet flow. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft adopts the same power system to realize vertical take-off and landing and plane flight of the aircraft, and the thrust-weight ratio of the aircraft is effectively improved.

Description

Vertical take-off and landing aircraft and control method thereof

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of flight equipment, in particular to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft and a control method thereof.

Background

At present, one structure of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft adopts a multi-rotor vertical take-off mode, a pull propeller or a push propeller is adopted to provide forward power for the aircraft during flat flight, and the multi-rotor vertical take-off and landing aircraft can keep a static state during flat flight, cannot generate effective thrust and becomes burden during flat flight of the aircraft.

In another vertical take-off and landing aircraft, a tilting rotor wing and a plurality of vertical take-off and landing rotor wings are combined with each other, when the aircraft takes off and lands, part of the rotor wings tilt to provide lifting force, and part of the aircraft in a flat flight state can tilt to provide forward force after the motor rotates 90 degrees. Or the tiltable rotor wings are all adopted to provide the power for vertical take-off, landing and advancing of the airplane. The tiltrotor mechanism is complex, the reliability of the mechanical structure is low, and potential safety hazards are easily caused, such as frequent accidents of the American osprey V22 tiltrotor aircraft.

Disclosure of Invention

Based on this, the application provides a VTOL aircraft and control method thereof, and the same driving system is adopted in VTOL and the peaceful flight of aircraft, promotes the effective thrust-weight ratio of aircraft, avoids the complicated structure of rotor verting.

One embodiment of the present application provides a VTOL aircraft, comprising: a body; wings arranged on two sides of the fuselage; the rotary wings are arranged on the wings, the axes of the rotary wings are parallel to the axis of the fuselage, and the rotary wings are coaxially reversed pairwise; the tail wing assembly comprises a plurality of tail wings and a tail wing driving unit, wherein a control surface is arranged on each tail wing and is used for pitching and/or yawing operation of an airplane, the tail wings are respectively hinged with the tail part of the airplane body, the tail wing driving unit drives the tail wings to be unfolded or retracted, the tail wings are used as landing legs of the airplane when being unfolded, and the tail wing assembly is used for balancing the air attitude of the airplane when being retracted; the auxiliary control system comprises a first air jet, a first high-pressure gas cylinder, a second air jet and a second high-pressure gas cylinder, and is multiple in that the first air jet is arranged at the end part of the wing respectively, the first air jet is connected with the first high-pressure gas cylinder, the first air jet is used for adjusting the rolling attitude of the VTOL aircraft, and is multiple in that a second group of air jets are arranged at the head part of the aircraft and the tail part of the empennage respectively, the second air jet is connected with the second high-pressure gas cylinder, and the second air jet is used for adjusting the pitching attitude of the VTOL aircraft.

According to some embodiments of the application, the tail drive unit comprises: a motor; the lead screw is connected with the motor; the sliding block is in threaded connection with the lead screw; one end of the connecting rod is hinged to the sliding block, and the other end of the connecting rod is hinged to the tail wing.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the tail of the tail wing is provided with rollers for ground movement when the aircraft lands.

According to some embodiments of the application, the wing is provided with a flap and an aileron, the aileron is used for adjusting the rolling posture of the VTOL aircraft, and the flap is unfolded at a low speed to increase the lift force of the VTOL aircraft.

According to some embodiments of the application, the wing is a foldable wing.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the VTOL aircraft further comprises a cargo handling assembly disposed on the fuselage.

An embodiment of the present application provides a method of maneuvering a VTOL aircraft as described above, comprising: a plurality of said tail fins splay to support said VTOL aircraft; starting the rotor wing, and separating the vertical take-off and landing aircraft from the ground; after the vertical take-off and landing aircraft is separated from the ground, the plurality of empennages are retracted; and after the vertical take-off and landing aircraft reaches a preset speed, controlling the auxiliary control system and a control surface on the empennage to adjust the vertical take-off and landing aircraft from a take-off and landing state to a flat flight state.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the auxiliary control system and ailerons are controlled to adjust the roll attitude of the VTOL aircraft.

According to the vertical take-off and landing aircraft and the control method thereof, the same power system is adopted for vertical take-off and landing and plane flight of the aircraft, the design of separating vertical take-off and landing power and propelling power is avoided, and the effective thrust-weight ratio of the aircraft is improved; the structure is simple, the reliability is high, and the problem of complex mechanical structure of the tilt rotor is avoided; the auxiliary control system is used for assisting in adjusting the attitude of the airplane and improving the operability of the airplane.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for a person skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without exceeding the protection scope of the present application.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a VTOL aircraft of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the present application of a VTOL aircraft;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft according to the embodiment of the present invention in a deployed state;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft according to the embodiment of the present application, showing the tail in a splayed state;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a first gas port and a second gas port in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft roll attitude adjustment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the components associated with a first gas port in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft pitch regulation state in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the components associated with a second gas port in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a first schematic view of a folded wing condition according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the present application in a folded condition;

fig. 12 is a schematic view of a cargo handling assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 3, the present embodiment provides a vertical take-off and landing aircraft 100. The VTOL aircraft 100 includes: fuselage 1, wings 2, rotors 3, tail assembly 4 and secondary operating system 5. Wings 2, rotors 3, tail assemblies 4 and auxiliary operating systems 5 are all provided on the fuselage 1.

The wings 2 are arranged on two sides of the fuselage 1, and the wings 2 of the embodiment are middle single wings, so that the balanced stress of the fuselage 1 during taking off and landing and flying of the airplane is facilitated. A nacelle is provided on the wing 2 for receiving a rotor 3.

The rotor 3 is arranged on the wing 2. The rotor 3 comprises an electric motor and a propeller, the electric motor of the rotor 3 being arranged in a nacelle of the wing 2. The number of the rotor wings 3 is multiple, and the rotor wings 3 are arranged in the middle of the wing 2 and at the end parts of the wing 2 far away from the fuselage 1. The number of blades of the propeller of each rotor 3 is set according to the requirements, for example, four blades may be provided on the first rotor 31 at the end of the wing 2 far from the fuselage 1, and two blades may be provided on the second rotor 32 in the middle of the wing 2. The axes of the individual rotors 3, such as the axes L2, L3, L4, L5 of the rotors 3 of the present embodiment, are parallel to the axis L1 of the fuselage 1, so that the rotors 3 provide power to the VTOL aircraft 100 parallel to the axis L1 of the fuselage 1.

In this embodiment, a part of the rotor 3 is disposed at the front end of the wing 2, and the other part of the rotor 3 is disposed at the rear end of the wing 2. Two liang of coaxial reversals of a plurality of rotors 3 reduce gyro moment, increase rotor relative speed, raise the efficiency. Alternatively, four rotors 3 are provided at the front end of the wing 2 and four rotors 3 are provided at the rear end of the wing 2. During operation, the rotor of four front ends is rotatory clockwise, and the rotor anticlockwise of four rear ends is rotatory, provides aircraft VTOL lifting force and the propulsive force when flying flat jointly through eight rotors.

The tail assembly 4 includes a tail 41 and a tail drive unit 42. The number of the tail wings 41 is plural, the plural tail wings 41 are evenly distributed around the circumference of the axis L1 of the body 1, and the plural tail wings 41 are respectively hinged with the tail part of the body 1. The hinge connection of the tail 41 to the fuselage 1 may be made by any known hinge structure. The tail driving unit 42 drives the plurality of tails 41 to open or retract at the same time.

As shown in fig. 4, when the vtol aircraft 100 lands on the ground, the nose of the vtol aircraft 100 is upward, and the plurality of tail fins 41 are opened as legs to support the vtol aircraft 100. After the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 100 takes off, the tail fins 41 are retracted, and the tail fins 41 are attached to each other for the air attitude trim of the aircraft. A control surface 411 is provided on the tail 41, which control surface 411 may be used for aircraft pitch and/or yaw manoeuvres.

As shown in fig. 5 to 9, the auxiliary operating system 5 includes a first air jet 51, a first compression motor 52, a first air compressor 53, a first high-pressure air cylinder 54, a second air jet 55, a second compression motor 56, a second air compressor 57, and a second high-pressure air cylinder 58.

A plurality of first air ports 51 are provided at the end of the wing 2 remote from the fuselage 1. When the aircraft is in a low-speed state, the first air nozzle 51 is controlled to spray high-speed jet flow, and the rolling attitude of the aircraft is adjusted through the reaction force of the high-speed jet flow. In this embodiment, the upper and lower surfaces of the wing 2 are provided with the first air nozzles 51, and the four first air nozzles 51 are differentially combined in pairs, so as to eject high-speed jet flow in opposite directions, thereby realizing the control of the rolling attitude of the aircraft. The arrows in fig. 6 represent the roll torque of the aircraft.

The first compression motor 52 is arranged in the wing 2, the first compression motor 52 drives the first air compressor 53 to compress air into the first high-pressure air bottle 54, and the air outlet of the first high-pressure air bottle 54 is connected with the first air jet 51 through a valve so as to provide a required air source for high-speed jet flow for the first air jet 51 according to requirements.

A plurality of second air injection ports 55 are provided at the head of the fuselage 1 and the rear wing 41, respectively. When the aircraft is in a low-speed state, the aerodynamic efficiency of the control surface 411 is reduced, the second jet port 55 is controlled to jet high-speed jet flow, and the pitching attitude of the aircraft is adjusted through the reaction force of the high-speed jet flow.

In the present embodiment, the four tail fins 41 are respectively provided with one second air nozzle 55, and six second air nozzles 55 are uniformly distributed around the axis of the fuselage 1 at the head of the fuselage 1. When the pitching attitude control is performed, the three second air nozzles 55 on the lower surface of the head of the airplane body 1 are combined with the two second air nozzles 55 on the two upper tail wings 41, or the three second air nozzles 55 on the upper surface of the head of the airplane body 1 are combined with the two second air nozzles 55 on the two lower tail wings 41, and high-speed jet flow is ejected in opposite directions, so that the pitching attitude control of the airplane is realized. The arrows in fig. 8 represent the pitching moment of the aircraft.

In this embodiment, a second compression motor 56 is arranged in the wing 1, the second compression motor 56 drives a second air compressor 57 to compress air into a second high-pressure air cylinder 58, and an air outlet of the second high-pressure air cylinder 58 is connected to the second air jet 55 through a valve, so as to provide a required air source for high-speed jet flow to the second air jet 55 as required.

The efficiency of the control surface 411 is low when the airplane is at low speed, the control moment generated by the aerodynamic force of the control surface 411 may not be enough to adjust the airplane attitude, and the adjustment from the take-off and landing state to the flat flight state is realized by the auxiliary force generated by the auxiliary control system 5 jetting high-speed jet flow.

The control method of the control surface 411 is prior art. Alternatively, the number of the flight 41 in this embodiment is four, forming an X-shaped flight group.

When the vtol aircraft 100 of the present application lands, the vtol aircraft 100 is supported by the tail 41 that is extended. When the vertical lift is empty, the power of the plurality of rotor wings 3 is raised to the takeoff gear, when the propeller pulling force is greater than the gravity, the vertical take-off and landing aircraft 100 is suspended and gradually rises, at the moment, the tail wing 41 is retracted, the power of the rotor wings 3 is further increased, a high propeller rotating speed is provided, and the vertical climbing rate of the aircraft is gradually increased. When the speed of the aircraft reaches a preset value, the control surface 411 and the auxiliary control system 5 are controlled to adjust the aircraft from a vertical take-off and landing state to a horizontal level flight state. In the flat flight state, the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 100 is still powered by the plurality of rotors 3. When the aircraft lands, the control surface 411 and the auxiliary control system 5 are controlled to adjust the vertical take-off and landing state of the aircraft from the flat flight state to the vertical take-off and landing state.

The vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the embodiment realizes vertical take-off and landing and plane flight by using the same power system through a simple structure, effectively improves the thrust-weight ratio of the aircraft, and improves the reliability of the aircraft.

According to an alternative solution of the present application, the tail drive unit 42 comprises: motor 421, lead screw 422, slider 423 and connecting rod 424.

The motor 421 is arranged at the tail of the body 1. The lead screw 422 is connected to an output shaft of the motor 421, and the lead screw 422 extends along an axis of the body 1. The slider 423 is threadedly coupled to the lead screw 422. One end of the link 424 is hinged to the slider 423 and the other end of the link 424 is hinged to the rear wing 41. When the motor 421 drives the screw 422 to rotate, the sliding block 423 moves upward or downward to drive the plurality of fins 41 to open or retract simultaneously.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of tail wings 41 are provided with rollers 43 at the tail thereof for vertical movement on the ground after landing of the takeoff and landing aircraft 100.

According to an alternative solution of the present application, the wing 2 is provided with ailerons 21 and flaps (not shown in the figures). The control flap 21 is used to adjust the roll attitude of the VTOL aircraft 100 when the VTOL aircraft 100 is in a high speed state. The flaps are deployed at low speeds to increase lift of the VTOL aircraft 100. Alternatively, at low speed, the first jet port 51 of the auxiliary steering system 5 is controlled to jet a telling jet to cooperate with the aileron 21 to adjust the roll attitude of the VTOL aircraft 100.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, according to an alternative embodiment of the present application, the wing 2 is a foldable wing. A rotating pivot and a latch are provided at the nacelle in the middle of the wing 2 so that the wing 2 can be folded. The pivot and latch are of known construction. When the airplane lands and enters a hangar or is transported, the outer wing is folded, and the occupied area of the airplane is reduced.

As shown in fig. 12, the vtol aircraft 100 also includes a cargo-handling assembly 6. The cargo handling assembly 6 includes a telescopic electric cylinder 61, a wire rope 62 and a pulley, the telescopic electric cylinder 61 is disposed on the body 1, and the wire rope 62 is disposed on the telescopic electric cylinder 61 through the pulley. The telescopic electric cylinder 61 and the wire rope 62 cooperate to load the cargo 63 into the nacelle or unload the cargo in the nacelle to the ground.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, a battery, which may be a fuel cell or a lithium ion battery, is installed in the wing to power the vtol aircraft 100.

The present embodiment provides a method for maneuvering a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 100 as above, including:

1. when the VTOL aircraft 100 is on the ground, the plurality of empennages 41 are splayed to support the VTOL aircraft 100;

2. when the VTOL aircraft 100 takes off, the rotor 3 is started, and the VTOL aircraft is separated from the ground;

3. after the VTOL aircraft 100 is separated from the ground, the plurality of empennages are retracted;

4. after the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 100 reaches the preset speed, the control surface 411 and the auxiliary control system 5 are controlled to adjust the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 100 from the takeoff and landing state to the level flight state.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present application, the auxiliary control system 5 and the ailerons 21 are controlled to adjust the roll attitude of the vtol aircraft 100 when the aircraft is in a low speed state.

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail above. The principle and the implementation of the present application are explained herein by applying specific examples, and the above description of the embodiments is only used to help understand the technical solutions and the core ideas of the present application. Therefore, the person skilled in the art should, according to the idea of the present application, change or modify the embodiments and applications of the present application based on the scope of protection of the present application. In view of the above, the description should not be taken as limiting the application.

Claims

1. A VTOL aircraft, comprising:

a body;

wings arranged on two sides of the fuselage;

the rotary wings are arranged on the wings, the axes of the rotary wings are parallel to the axis of the fuselage, and the rotary wings are coaxially reversed pairwise;

the tail wing assembly comprises a plurality of tail wings and a tail wing driving unit, wherein a control surface is arranged on each tail wing and is used for pitching and/or yawing operation of an airplane, the tail wings are respectively hinged with the tail part of the airplane body, the tail wing driving unit drives the tail wings to be unfolded or retracted, the tail wings are used as landing legs of the airplane when being unfolded, and the tail wing assembly is used for balancing the air attitude of the airplane when being retracted;

the auxiliary control system comprises a first air jet, a first high-pressure gas cylinder, a second air jet and a second high-pressure gas cylinder, and is multiple in that the first air jet is arranged at the end part of the wing respectively, the first air jet is connected with the first high-pressure gas cylinder, the first air jet is used for adjusting the rolling attitude of the VTOL aircraft, and is multiple in that the second air jet is arranged at the head part of the aircraft and the tail part of the empennage respectively, the second air jet is connected with the second high-pressure gas cylinder, and the second air jet is used for adjusting the pitching attitude of the VTOL aircraft.

2. The vtol aircraft as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the tail drive unit comprises:

a motor; the lead screw is connected with the motor;

the sliding block is in threaded connection with the lead screw;

one end of the connecting rod is hinged to the sliding block, and the other end of the connecting rod is hinged to the tail wing.

3. A vtol aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tail of the empennage is provided with rollers for ground movement during landing of the aircraft.

4. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wings are provided with flaps and ailerons for adjusting the roll attitude of the VTOL aircraft, and wherein the flaps are deployed at low speed to increase the lift of the VTOL aircraft.

5. The vtol aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wing is a foldable wing.

6. The VTOL aircraft of claim 1, comprising a cargo handling assembly disposed on the fuselage.

7. A method of maneuvering a VTOL aircraft as claimed in any of claims 1-6, comprising:

a plurality of said tail fins splay to support said VTOL aircraft;

starting the rotor wing, and separating the vertical take-off and landing aircraft from the ground;

after the vertical take-off and landing aircraft is separated from the ground, the plurality of empennages are retracted;

and after the vertical take-off and landing aircraft reaches a preset speed, controlling the auxiliary control system and a control surface on the empennage to adjust the vertical take-off and landing aircraft from a take-off and landing state to a flat flight state.

8. The method of maneuvering a VTOL aircraft of claim 7, wherein controlling the auxiliary maneuvering system and ailerons adjusts a roll attitude of the VTOL aircraft.