EP1656294A1

EP1656294A1 - Gyropter having increased safety

Info

Publication number: EP1656294A1
Application number: EP04767383A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michel Guilhot-Gaudeffroy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-06-18
Filing date: 2004-06-18
Publication date: 2006-05-17
Also published as: WO2004113166A1; FR2856378A1; FR2856378B1; WO2004113166B1; AU2004249457A1; CA2531820A1; RU2006101397A

Abstract

The invention relates to a gyropter having coaxial contrarotating rotating aerofoils, in particular, one having two crown rotors (2,1) that rotate in opposite directions about a pod (6) either provided in the form of a drone or of a manned pod with a machine piloting process involving the control of the angle of attack of the blades by control rings. The safety is advantageously increased by adapted structures, by a multifunctional protective envelop (27), and by a lift system between the crowns (2,1) and the pod (6) with regard to both the radial forces as well as the axial forces, assisting in the optimized control of stresses. The gyropter also comprises electronic controls that are adapted to both model making and drones as well as to manned and/or piloted aircraft.

Description

ENHANCED SECURITY GYROPTER,

The gyropters are old concepts. In the family of gyropters, there is now in the public domain, that of coaxial counter-rotating rotary wings, with in particular that of two rotors crowns rotating in opposite directions around a nacelle either in drone version or in manned nacelle version, this principle meets the desired goal, that of having a maximum free rotor surface and a minimum multidirectional wind translational drag, moreover during the translational flight or the geostat ionnaire flight in sustained wind vibrations at the foot of the blade due relative wind are much lower than in the case of axial rotor, There is also in the public domain the method of controlling the machine by controlling the incidence of the blades by a control rotor or by control rings. These include patents, the last two of which are active:

RONTEIX N ° 1.082.009 of May 19, 1953 FR

SPERRY N ° 597082 of August 10, 1944 USA

BAKE ELL N ° 2740595 of April 3, 1956 USA. ROGER DURAND No. 0,215,719 dated 7 May 1985 EUR DANIEL PAUCHARD N ^ϋ FR86 / 00330 of 27 September 1985 Cycon No. 0457 710 A3 May 18 1990 EUR

DANIEL PAUCHARD N ^ϋ FR01 / 00149 of 20 January 2000 EN

To successfully hatch an industry on these concepts, the whole design must not lead to a machine that is too heavy, too complicated, and above all with vibration problems incompatible with the control of the machine, in particular by gyroscopes and problems of danger to people, use and the environment, incompatible with current safety requirements.

The present invention described here takes account of all the forces at play, it does not lead to heavy, expensive manufacturing, with numerous radial rollers subjected to loads, discharges, therefore seat of vibrations, and which slip on the crown. bidding on maintenance and requiring a higher protective hood., reducing the visibility of the pilot and passengers.

The problems of vibrations come from the charges and discharges from the fact that the rotating parts are deformed because subjected to significant centrifugal and aeraulic forces, the system proposed here makes it possible to take into account the centrifugal and aeraulic forces by having contacts, rolling, sliding , floating by air or by electromagnetic force, crown / nacelle organized in such a way that not only the centrifugal axial forces are compensated but that also the radial forces of lift are not the seat of loads and discharges, that moreover in these points geographic of the crowns the transfer of electrical energy from the nacelle can be carried out without abnormal wear of the connections due to vibrations, which offers new possibilities for controlling the pitch of the blades, among others described below. For this, the lift system (5) between the crowns (2) and the upper structure rings (3) lower (4) of the nacelle (6) for both the radial and axial forces is located on the crowns according to equidistant geometry between each blade. The tensions due to the centrifugal forces of the blades in motion, are compensated at these contacts with an axial component ensuring the firmness of the contact, the choice of composite materials for the crown contributes to the optimized control of these tensions.

The higher the number of blades, the more economically controllable the phenomenon, and the lower the load on the blade, the greater the rotor efficiency, the more an odd number of blades is better for controlling the vibrational resonances, aerodynamic calculations favor three to five blades per rotor, this depends on the size of the machine and the expected missions. The machine consists of an even number of structural rings, the shape of which allows devices, here represented by three rollers (5), two upper for the lift forces and one lower for carrying the weight of the rotors. stop, located on the crowns (2) interspersed and equid-Lstant s to the blades, to transmit the forces at play, in an advantageous design both in terms of the cost of manufacturing the parts, the assembly, and that of the maintenance, these rings are executed (3) (4) in two parts, only the upper part (3) would have to be changed after many hours of operation. In the case of driving the crowns in counter rotation by a bevel wheel (7), and to ensure the contact bevel wheel crown, the plane of rotation of the rotors (8) is slightly higher than the plane (9) of the rings of corresponding structure, which leads to a moment due to the centrifugal force of the blades, coming in opposition to the moment due to contact with the bevel drive wheel. In a more advantageous and balanced design, this is no longer necessary due to the direct rotation of the crowns by brushless electric motors, where the magnets are on the crown and winding on the nacelle, the speed coupling is regulated electronically, this system allows a reduction in speed by the choice of the number of magnets and that of the windings thereby increasing the overall efficiency, the more the center of the nacelle is fully freed up, allowing both upper and lower access, rich in facilities and security. Due to this arrangement, it is possible to supply power to the servomotors, six in the case of a three-bladed double rotor, located on the crowns, and acting directly on the control of the pitch of the blades, thereby simplifying the mechanism , and transferring the mass to the crowns, a source of energy in reserve for the needs of the autorotation flight.

In a more conventional arrangement, these servomotors (10) each act on a shoe (11) along the vertical axis, they thus control the position in space of the two control rings (12) (13) associated with the • levers (14 ) sleeves of the corresponding blades, these six servomotors control by rods (19) the vertical movement of two pads located in the example drawn on the same rail (20) themselves arranged at 120 ° on the nacelle, the rings are controlled in the example presented as a helicopter rotor at three points (15) (16) (17), four points would be wobbly and a source of unnecessary vibrations. The predominant advantage of these independent servomotors is that they are easily electrically couplable and thus make it possible to obtain more security by new possibilities of yaw / pitch flight, roll. In the arrangement shown here, these pads each support elastically by a spring (18) for example a device comparable to that of the bearing structure (21), thus acting on the positioning of the rings in space and therefore on the pitch of each blade. This control device by these servomotors which can be combined with the functions of the requirement, also makes it possible to be intended for models of remote-controlled model making, remote-controlled drones, tele, piloted or autonomous or machine piloted or with automatic piloting assistance of all dimensions by integrating the possibility assistance for piloting for more safety, the machine capable of autonomous flight can be simply controlled (up, down, right, left etc.). Whatever the model making, drone or piloted use, the dangerousness of the blades is to be taken into account, also the structure (22) must also meet this objective also the invention also includes a device on this subject: The fairing (23) propellers or rotary blades is part of the state of the art for propulsive improvement. Gains are obtained on noise and efficiency, to be evaluated with the disadvantage of overweight. The case of flying machines equipped with these devices as levitation tools by differential flow control with action only on the speed of the rotors has too much inertia, so the device by controlling the incidence of the blades remains the most appropriate.

Coaxial counter-rotating gyros without axis, on a rotating crown around a nacelle constituting the passenger compartment, and with an adapted control of the incidence of the blades, have the advantages of stability, low Cx, and compactness in relation to maximum rotor area. These gyropters do not have a tail with anti-torque rotor, steering is free over 360 °, the center of gravity is generally on the vertical central axis and is located 1/3 above the low rotor plane, it is easily adjustable, this adaptability is also a safety gain.

Safety and respect for the environment, particularly with regard to noise pollution and savings in energy consumption from fossil fuels, have become important criteria.

To respond to this, the invention proposes a set of multi-functional envelopes (26) (25) (24) (23) with options of accessories used according to the missions to be carried out, in particular for equipping the gyropters described above.

The primary function is the security of people, also preferably the envelope consists of a grid (27) responding to the test finger. People, the environment and the machine must be protected from rotating blades. This will facilitate even more flight authorizations ^λ public place and protection of the mission in crowded areas and disturbed. Due, among other things, to the kinetic energy stored, the danger of the rotating blades is then controlled.

Accidents very often take place more on landing than on take-off, and in flight physical avoidance 'obstacles (cables, antennas, vegetation, building, flying object), in particular cables which are not always detectable whatsoever. by the human eye than by sonar, constitutes an important gain in safety. This protection will participate in the possibility for people less trained in the safety rules of piloting (radio control or remote piloting of a model, or direct piloting)

This type of machine can be equipped with a parachute, so this envelope participates in a less hard landing, it is possible on certain version to equip them with an inflatable structure, anti-shock as anti-immersion.

This covering, which can be made of composite materials, has very little influence on the air flows, it constitutes a reasonable overweight especially if the principle of the shelving of a cycle wheel is adopted to solidify the frame (28), and that the lower part is used as an all-terrain undercarriage (29). This type of contra-wing machine, by design, controls self-accelerating pendular imbalances, especially sensitive when a moving load is carried on a sling, also a machine provided with a landing gear and a winch with projection of a sling attachment can perform acrobatic landings safely, smoothly, for example on steep slope, slippery surface, glacier, windy surface, building roof, reduced funnel area, ship in motion, takeoff can be ensured in the same way way by automatic release of the sling, or that the knot is automatically opened.

The current composite materials allow economical, light and very resistant realizations. New materials using nanotechnologies hold great promise for even more efficient solutions.

The more or less flattened lenticular shape, presented by way of example, it can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, and allows numerous flight profiles depending on the expected missions and it also allows to maintain the multidirectional flight qualities of the machine

This covering allows the optional installation of a fairing (23) with the advantages described above, while giving it an aerodynamic shape so that it contributes to more lift in flight in translation. This covering allows the use of the principle of asymmetric capacitors which allows to treat the air to improve its action on the blade. This covering can be transformed inter alia by small plates (30) approximately triangular freely pivoting on a triangular framework in flying disc with multidirectional flight, or wing shape among other delta for high speeds in translation with low energy consumption especially if in the more we associate asymmetric capacitor techniques. This covering can be fitted with sails (31) facilitating takeoff and landing on moving ground, sand, water, marsh, and use in an airboat. The danger of blades or propellers in motion is only very partially addressed by the inventors of rotary-wing aircraft, but safety has become an essential function, it has different levels of requirement depending on the use of the machine: very small to very large; machine in autonomous flight, wire-guided, remote-controlled, remote-controlled, piloted; flight in a disturbed and or congested environment, and or with a landing, difficult takeoff; work in s t ationary, or geostationary, or work in high speed translation. This machine can be equipped with a safety parachute with automatic opening

Claims

1. Gyropter with coaxial counter-rotating rotary wings, with in particular that of two crown rotors (2, 1 figure 1,2,3) rotating in opposite directions around a nacelle (6) or the nacelle space as much higher, as 'lower, outside the main vertical flow is free, in particular for image taking and, for transmissions, microphone, loudspeaker, robot arms for fixing, transport, or various actions, this principle meets the desired goal, that of having a maximum free rotor surface and a translational drag in the multidirectional wind and minimum, moreover during the translational flight or the geostationary flight in sustained wind the vibrations at the foot of the blade due to the relative wind are good lower than in the case of axial rotors, and equipped with the process of controlling the machine by controlling the incidence of the blades, for example by control rings. characterized in that a protective covering (27 figures 1,5,6) is created on the test finger

(for example, dismountable or not), on rotary wing aircraft, protecting the machine from impact on the blades and the public against the danger of rotating blades.

2. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that this envelope is with physical circumvention of obstacles by its shape substantially ellipsoid or ellipsoid flattened below and or above for example, the fact of blades with foot of blade which start from a crown rather than an axis allows the cone described by the wing to have a comparatively smaller height and that of two superimposed rotors, this allows the largest surface of airfoil in the smallest space and therefore this envelope will be smaller, lighter, and with the most flattened shape possible, the quality of the flight will be much higher in translation, or in geos tationary flight in sustained wind whatever its azimuth .

3. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that it can carry sensors (optical, sonar or other), and transmitters outside the main stream and that it can act as antenna, or antenna support.

4. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that this envelope (part 29 in FIG. 6) is the main element of the all-terrain landing, take-off, or even optional upper landing function without loss of the wind of froude wind with multi bumper steering, no loss of drag due to a landing gear, nor a protrusion that could cause the machine to hang on a cable for example, the main safety function is not here faulted.

5. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the horizontal bumper function is ensured by, inter alia, the adoption for the structure of the principle of the shelving of the cycles (for example 28 figure 1, 5, 6), and or l adoption of the umbrella structure principle,

6. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the fairing function can be easily adapted and that the shape (for example 23 figure 5,6) of the fairing in the envelope contributes to improve the penetration in the air, and contributes to the lift of the machine in translational flight,

7. Gyropter according to claim 1 characterized in that this envelope, optionally provided with flaps (fins for example 30 Figure 5, 6) can be transformed into a large flying wing and thus contributes to an increase in economic lift in the case of flight in translation, the device in translation is no longer just as sliding on a slope, but pushed by the main flow thus diverted without having to add a rear reactor on the ring.

8. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that this envelope allows the use of the principle of asymmetrical capacitors for a better aerodynamic result, whether at the blades, than at the level of the entire envelope, the transmission without directional wire which can be protected in the free spaces above and below the nacelle, and, or, an adapted frequency,

9. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the lift system (for example 5 figure 2 and 2 section) between the crowns and the nacelle for both the radial and axial forces is located on the crowns according to an equidistant geometry between each blade. In the example presented in FIG. 2, the machine is made up of an even number of structural rings (3 and 4 in figures 2,3), the shape of which allows lift devices (5 in figures 2,3), shown here, for example, by three rollers, two upper for the lift forces and one lower for carrying the weight of the stationary rotors, located on the interposed crowns and equidistant from the blades, the vibrations encountered on the basic concept of these machines are thus mastered, avionics are less disturbed and flight safety enhanced.

10. Gyropter according to claim 9, characterized in that in the case of driving the crowns in contra rotation by a bevel wheel, the plane of rotation of the rotors (for example 8 figures 3 and 3 section) is slightly offset in the opposite direction to the bevel wheel (7 figure section 3) than the plane of the corresponding structural rings (by example 9 Figures 3 and 3 section), a moment is created by the centrifugal force of the rotors in movement in opposition to the moment created by the bevel wheel on the crowns and therefore safety is enhanced by a better assured contact between the crown and the wheel.

11. Gyropter according to claim 1, or the rotation of the crowns is carried out directly by motors, for example electric brushless, where the magnets are on the crown and the winding on the nacelle, the speed coupling is regulated electronically,

12. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the nacelle (6 figure 3 section, 7) is equipped here for the example of six servomotors (10 figure 4) which each act on a pad (11 figure 4.7) according to the vertical axis, pad associated with a guide support here represented for the example by three

I rollers and controlling the position in space of the guide ring (12 Fig 7), (three control system arranged at 120 ° on the platform by ring ^'guide), or they are not on the same rail that the pad of the other guide ring of the rotor in counter rotation according to the geometry of the pitch control levers of the blade root sleeves, these independent servomotors are electrically coupled for yaw flight in all directions / pitch, roll, cyclic translation ,

13. Gyropter according to claim 12, characterized in that in the arrangement shown here, these pads each elastically support a device (for example spring 18 in FIG. 4),

14. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with as many servomotors as blades, six servomotors in the case of a double three-bladed rotor, located on the crowns, and acting directly on the control of the pitch of the blades,

15. Gyropter according to claim 6, characterized in that in a particular version the interior vacuum of the fairing contains a folding sail or inflatable balloon which once unfolded transforms the machine also into a slider.

16. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the machine can be guided by adding a cable even if the operator is above the machine without risk of contact with the rotating part.

17. Gyropter according to claim 1, characterized in that the machine can be equipped with a parachute with automatic opening in the event of technical failure without risk of contact with the rotating part.