EP3672869A1 - Mécanisme propulseur - Google Patents

Mécanisme propulseur

Info

Publication number
EP3672869A1
EP3672869A1 EP18848216.0A EP18848216A EP3672869A1 EP 3672869 A1 EP3672869 A1 EP 3672869A1 EP 18848216 A EP18848216 A EP 18848216A EP 3672869 A1 EP3672869 A1 EP 3672869A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
pitch
motor
rotor
vehicle
control
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP18848216.0A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP3672869A4 (fr
Inventor
Michael Andrew STEARNS
Marc Mignard
Srinivasan K. Ganapathi
W. James MCKEEFERY
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Vimaan Robotics Inc
Original Assignee
Vimaan Robotics Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Vimaan Robotics Inc filed Critical Vimaan Robotics Inc
Publication of EP3672869A1 publication Critical patent/EP3672869A1/fr
Publication of EP3672869A4 publication Critical patent/EP3672869A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63H—MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING
    • B63H3/00—Propeller-blade pitch changing
    • B63H3/02—Propeller-blade pitch changing actuated by control element coaxial with propeller shaft, e.g. the control element being rotary
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B64C27/04—Helicopters
    • B64C27/12—Rotor drives
    • B64C27/14—Direct drive between power plant and rotor hub
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B64C27/54—Mechanisms for controlling blade adjustment or movement relative to rotor head, e.g. lag-lead movement
    • B64C27/58—Transmitting means, e.g. interrelated with initiating means or means acting on blades
    • B64C27/68—Transmitting means, e.g. interrelated with initiating means or means acting on blades using electrical energy, e.g. having electrical power amplification
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B64C27/54—Mechanisms for controlling blade adjustment or movement relative to rotor head, e.g. lag-lead movement
    • B64C27/72—Means acting on blades
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U10/00—Type of UAV
    • B64U10/10—Rotorcrafts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U10/00—Type of UAV
    • B64U10/10—Rotorcrafts
    • B64U10/13—Flying platforms
    • B64U10/14—Flying platforms with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
    • B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
    • B64U30/21—Rotary wings
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
    • B64U50/10—Propulsion
    • B64U50/11—Propulsion using internal combustion piston engines
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
    • B64U50/10—Propulsion
    • B64U50/19—Propulsion using electrically powered motors
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B64C27/54—Mechanisms for controlling blade adjustment or movement relative to rotor head, e.g. lag-lead movement
    • B64C27/72—Means acting on blades
    • B64C2027/7205—Means acting on blades on each blade individually, e.g. individual blade control [IBC]
    • B64C2027/7211—Means acting on blades on each blade individually, e.g. individual blade control [IBC] without flaps
    • B64C2027/7216—Means acting on blades on each blade individually, e.g. individual blade control [IBC] without flaps using one actuator per blade
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T50/00—Aeronautics or air transport
    • Y02T50/30—Wing lift efficiency

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to electromechanically driven systems, such as aerial or underwater rotor driven craft. More particularly, the invention relates to electromechanical helicopters having safe, precise, and quiet operation.
  • rotorcraft for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles include helicopters having one or two rotors about a central axis and a tail rotor, and a "multi- rotors" class that have rotors arranged along two or more nearly parallel axes.
  • SUAVs Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • multi- rotors class that have rotors arranged along two or more nearly parallel axes.
  • These classes of rotorcraft rely on the underlying principle that lift can be changed either by changing the rotational velocity of the rotors or by changing the "pitch" of the blades, where the angle of the rotor blades changes with respect to the plane of rotation.
  • a uniform change in rotational velocity of all the rotors results in vertical up or down motion due to increased or reduced lift, while a relative change in rotational velocity between the rotors, or a relative change in blade pitch between rotors, or a change in blade pitch within a single revolution of the rotors can all generate a horizontal component of the lift vector, which results in thrust or lateral motion of the rotorcraft.
  • the most popular consumer SUAVs today are based on multi-rotor technology which are interchangeably referred to as drones. Drones with four rotors are the most common and are referred to as "quad-copters" or "quad-rotor” drones, although some other drones use three, six or eight rotors.
  • the use of multiple rotors is popular due to low cost motors, electronics, sensors and software that control the speed of the motors to maintain drone stability and enable it to hover or translate in space.
  • the torque generated from any single motor makes the entire drone "yaw” about the vertical axis in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor.
  • adjacent motors rotate in opposing directions, which allows the drone to be stable with respect to yaw.
  • the speed of the appropriate motors is changed, which changes the relative lift from the different motors, and results in either a pitch or roll motion or combination thereof.
  • multi-rotor drones suffer from several drawbacks.
  • multi-copters have to fit multiple rotors within a given area footprint, which results in multiple rotors each with a small radius, rather than a single rotor with a large radius.
  • lifting efficiency increases with an increase in rotor diameter because thrust per torque increases with increased Reynolds number.
  • multi-copters traditionally operate the rotors at very high rotational velocities, which increases the frequency as well as the amplitude of the noise generated by the rotors, resulting in significant noise.
  • the maneuverability and agility of multi-rotor drones is limited, because translation is enabled by changing the motor speeds, which requires the inertia of the motors to be overcome, resulting in a relatively large time lag.
  • Helicopters operate differently compared to multi-rotor drones because they typically have a single rotor that does not rely on the relative changes in rotor speeds of multiple rotors to initiate lateral thrust vectors.
  • helicopters change the pitch angle of the rotor blades within a single revolution of the rotor, where the angle is measured relative to a horizontal plane of rotation of the blades.
  • a blade with a higher pitch angle generates more lift, so by setting the blade pitch high or low at different points in the rotation of the rotor, one can generate differential lift within a rotor revolution, which in turn generates a torque on the vehicle and provides the lateral thrust vector needed for translation of the helicopter.
  • cyclic pitch This mechanism of changing the blade pitch within a single cycle of rotor revolution is known as "cyclic pitch”.
  • helicopters In addition to cyclic pitch, helicopters also have the ability to generate “collective pitch”, which signifies a blade pitch that can be varied, but stays constant within a single revolution.
  • Collective pitch can be used to increase or decrease the lift of the vehicle, while cyclic pitch is used to affect a lateral thrust vector and enable lateral translations of the vehicle.
  • collective pitch and rotational velocity of the rotors have the same effect of increasing or decreasing lift, collective pitch is generally used to affect rapid, small changes in lift, due to the inherently lower inertia of changing blade pitch compared to the significantly higher inertia of speeding up or slowing down the rotors.
  • a swashplate includes a rotatable plate bearing with one stationary plate holding a movable plate that rotates parallel to the stationary plate.
  • the movable plate contains linkages to the rotating rotors of the helicopter.
  • the "height" and angle of the plate with respect to the rotational axis are controlled by three or more servo motors.
  • the swashplate can adjust in terms of the blade position that include offset, amplitude and phase.
  • the "offset” determines the degree of collective pitch, since it imparts the same blade pitch to all blades around an entire revolution.
  • the "amplitude” denotes half of the angle difference between maximum and minimum blade pitch within a single revolution, and therefore impacts the magnitude of the thrust vector generated, where a greater amplitude results in a greater lateral thrust vector, and thus the higher the speed at which the helicopter laterally translates.
  • the "phase” denotes the angular position in a rotational cycle where the pitch is maximum and minimum, which impacts the direction of the thrust vector on the vehicle to enable translation.
  • swashplates While swashplates have been widely deployed in commercial transport helicopters, they are not popular for SUAVs, since they cause other problems at reduced vehicle scale. At a reduced scale, the mechanical complexity of swashplates results in disproportional added weight compared to the size of the vehicle, reduced reliability due to a mechanical system that involves multiple servo motors, linkages and ball joints, and require significant increases in the vertical form factor or "z-height" profile of the vehicle.
  • actuators were directly coupled to the blade.
  • trailing edge flaps were configured on the rotor blades to control lift instead of changing the pitch.
  • the disadvantages of these actuator mechanisms are that they require a slip ring to send power and control to the actuators, in addition to doing relatively little to overcome the inherent disadvantages of the mechanical complexity at small scales as described above for traditional swashplate mechanisms.
  • one group provided a mechanism that uses angled blade hinges combined with motor torque pulses. While this system eliminates some of the drawbacks of swashplates for SUAVs, it is only capable of cyclic pitch. Additionally, the motor torque pulses inherently lack control of cyclic pitch, where the cyclic pitch of this system is based on "open loop" actuation of motor torque, in addition to aero- elasticity of the system, where the friction in the bearings and the stiffness of the hinges could change with operational use.
  • the form factor of SUAV's in both multi-rotor drones and helicopters using swashplates suffer from other disadvantages at a system level. Specifically, the exposed rotating blades of the rotors rotating at relatively high rotational velocity pose a danger to humans and assets when deployed in commercial environments, especially when they are flying at relatively low altitudes in the presence of people.
  • What is needed is a quiet, efficient and safe drone having a single large diameter rotor that is capable of collective and cyclic pitch, without the complexities and disadvantages of a swashplate mechanism.
  • a vehicle includes at least one control motor having a drive motor including a stationary portion and a rotatable portion, where the drive motor rotatable portion is coupled to a rotor shaft, and the drive motor is configured to rotate the rotor shaft, where the rotor shaft is coupled to a rotor blade by a variable pitch rotor blade holder connected to the rotor shaft and connected to the rotor blade, and at least one pitch motor that includes a stationary portion and a rotatable portion, where the stationary portion of the pitch motor is a stator, where the pitch motor rotatable portion is driven by the stator and rotates about an axis coaxial with the rotor shaft, where the rotatable portion includes a pitch control linkage, where the pitch motor rotatable portion is coupled to the variable pitch rotor blade holder through the pitch control linkage, where the pitch motor rotatable portion, the pitch control linkage, the variable pitch rotor blade holder, and the rotor
  • the at least one pitch motor stationary portion is electromagnetically coupled to the pitch motor rotatable portion, where the pitch motor rotatable portion is controlled by signals from an electrical circuit that is stationary in the vehicle reference frame, which is a reference frame that is attached to the frame of the vehicle and to which the stationary portion of the drive motor is mounted.
  • the at least one pitch motor is independently connected through each the pitch control linkage to a single rotor blade.
  • the at least one pitch motor is independently connected through each pitch control linkage to a plurality of rotor blades.
  • the vehicle further includes a second plurality of rotor blades that are coaxially aligned with the plurality of rotor blades and are driven in an opposite angular direction of the rotor.
  • the second rotor blade is driven by a second drive motor, where the second drive motor includes a second control motor, an electrical motor or a mechanical motor.
  • the drive motor, the pitch motor, and the second drive motor can include a brushed DC motor, a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, a magnetic brake, a combustion engine, a gas motor, an axial flux motor, a voice coil actuator, or a hybrid motor including groups of magnets electromagnetically coupled to current carrying coils, where the current carrying coils or the magnets are configured to move semi-independently.
  • the pitch motor of the control motor moves the variable pitch blade holder according to an output command of a transmitted control signal, where a pitch motor of the second control motor controls a variable pitch blade holder of the second control motor according to the output command of the transmitted control signal.
  • each pitch motor is disposed to independently and dynamically adjust the pitch angle of each variable pitch blade holder at a frequency that is higher, the same, or lower than a frequency of a rotational rate of the rotor.
  • the current embodiment further includes a noise abatement housing fixedly connected to the stationary portion of the drive motor, where the noise abatement housing is disposed to surround the rotor and the second rotor, where the inner surface of the noise abatement housing includes a noise abatement structure, where an outer surface of the noise abatement housing includes an impact compliant material.
  • the invention further includes a plurality of the control motors arranged in a pattern.
  • the drive motor and the pitch motor share a stator.
  • control signals are routed through wires that are stationary in the vehicle reference frame.
  • the drive motor and the pitch motor can include a brushed DC motor, a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, a magnetic brake, a combustion engine, a gas motor, an axial flux motor, a voice coil actuator, or a hybrid motor having groups of magnets electromagnetically coupled to current carrying coils, where the current carrying coils or the magnets are configured to move semi- independently.
  • the pitch motor moves the variable pitch blade holder according to an output command of a transmitted control signal.
  • the pitch control linkage includes a pair of opposing gears, where a first gear is connected to the variable pitch blade holder and an opposing second gear is connected to the pitch motor rotatable portion.
  • each gear is a bevel gear.
  • each pitch motor is disposed to independently and dynamically adjust the pitch angle of each variable pitch blade holder at a frequency that is higher, the same, or lower than a frequency of a rotational rate of the rotor.
  • the invention further includes a noise abatement housing fixedly connected to the stationary portion of the drive motor, where the noise abatement housing is disposed to surround the rotor blade, where the inner surface of the noise abatement housing includes a noise abatement structure, where an outer surface of the noise abatement housing includes an impact compliant material.
  • the noise abatement housing includes carbon fiber sheets with a structural foam or a honeycomb layer disposed therebetween.
  • the housing includes spectra or aramid fibers.
  • a control motor in one embodiment, includes a drive motor having a stationary portion and a rotatable portion, where the drive motor rotatable portion is coupled to a rotatable shaft, where the drive motor is configured to rotate the rotatable shaft, where the rotatable shaft is coupled to a rotor element by a variable pitch rotor element holder connected to the rotatable shaft and connected to the rotor element, and at least one pitch motor having a stationary portion and a rotatable portion, where the stationary portion of the pitch motor is a stator, where the pitch motor rotatable portion includes a pitch control linkage, where the pitch motor rotatable portion is connected to the rotor element through the pitch control linkage, where the pitch motor rotatable portion is coupled to the variable pitch rotor element through the pitch control linkage, wherein the pitch motor rotatable portion, the pitch control linkage and the variable pitch rotor element are configured to rotate at the same nominal rotational rate as the rotor shaft, there a
  • the invention includes a rotor blade pitch control mechanism having a plurality of rotor blades configured to rotate around a common axis, at least one pitch motor that includes a rotatable portion and a non-rotating portion, where the non-rotating portion of the pitch motor is a stator, where the rotatable portion rotates coaxially with the rotor blades, where the rotor blades are driven around the common axis by at least one other drive source than the pitch motor, a control system configured to control the non-rotating portion of the pitch motor, and a linkage between the rotatable portion of the pitch motor and at least one of the rotor blades, where the control system changes a pitch angle of at least one linked rotor blade according to changes in an angular position of the pitch motor rotatable portion relative to a reference frame of the at least one linked rotor blade in a rotating state, where the change in angular position is according to a control signal to a stator of the pitch motor.
  • FIGs. 1A-1B show a cutaway view and an isometric view, respectively, of a control motor according to one embodiment of the current invention.
  • FIGs. 2A-2B show the general principle of operation of the pitch control motor changing the pitch angle of a rotor blade, according to the current invention.
  • FIG. 2C shows the pitch motor moves the variable pitch blade holder according to an output command of a transmitted control signal that is received by a controller/receiver, according to the current invention.
  • FIG. 3 shows a compound motor mechanism, according to one embodiment of the current invention.
  • FIGs. 4A-4D shows some exemplary embodiments of the coax, counter-rotating motor configuration, according to the current invention.
  • FIGs. 5A-5C show various embodiments of the current invention.
  • the current invention is directed to a swashplateless helicopter that can be used for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs), which results in reduced noise and improved efficiency.
  • SUAVs Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • collective and cyclic pitch is provided with a closed loop feedback, which allows dynamic control of the pitch of the rotor blades at any given instant in the rotation of the rotor blade about a rotor shaft axis.
  • the swashplateless mechanism provides heightened reliability over conventional swashplate-based vehicles, and enables effective collective and cyclic pitch that was previously unattainable.
  • the invention enables cyclic pitch that may be non-sinusoidal in nature, as well as independent pitch control of each rotor blade to further reduce resulting noise.
  • the invention includes an electromechanical system mounted at the hub or about the central axis of the rotor system.
  • a main drive motor supplies power to spin the rotor blades.
  • Rotor blade pitch angle adjustment is established by electrically controlled elements mounted on a stationary platform and coupled electromagnetically to other non-stationary elements that are mechanically linked to the rotor blades.
  • the electromagnetically and mechanically coupled elements can actuate the rotor blades to enable an arbitrarily defined and temporally variable blade pitch angle during rotation of the rotor blades.
  • the advantage of this mechanism is that the electrical connections or wires for the electromagnetic actuator are stationary, and therefore do not require a slip ring, which avoids the problem of supplying power to a rotating element.
  • a rotor comprises a rotor shaft, and rotor blades, where the rotor can include a single rotor blade, an opposing pair of rotor blades, or a plurality of rotor blades.
  • the current invention provides an improved rotorcraft having two sets of rotor blades stacked along a common axis to form a "coaxial counter-rotating rotorcraft".
  • a system to control the pitch of the individual rotor blades independent of each other is described herein, in addition to a specially designed "duct" to surround the rotors of the rotorcraft to enhance the efficiency and absorb the sound from the motors and the rotors to reduce the noise from the vehicle.
  • the resulting vehicle displays enhanced efficiency, reduced noise and improved safety when compared with traditional multi-rotor drones.
  • the electrically controlled elements are the stators of two separate BrushLess Direct Current (BLDC) motors.
  • the "rotor" elements of these motors are electromagnetically coupled to the stators, and can rotate in response to electrical currents passed through the stator tooth windings.
  • a single motor stator arranged about the vehicle rotor hub is electromagnetically coupled to three independent and isolated motor rotors that are arranged adjacent to each other around the circumference of the stator.
  • One motor rotor segment is used to drive the main vehicle rotor, while the other motor rotor segments are each mechanically coupled to the individual blades of the vehicle rotor through gears or other mechanical linkages. It is understood that the motor, shaft, vehicle, and linkage sizes are not indicative of scale and individual mechanical components may be differently sized depending on the vehicle design.
  • the electrically controlled elements are concentrically arranged and electrically isolated stators about a central hub axis of the vehicle rotors.
  • One of these stators is electromagnetically coupled to a motor rotor element that drives the main rotor of vehicle, while the other two stators are electromagnetically coupled to two other isolated motor rotors, each of which is in turn mechanically linked to a blade of the vehicle rotor system.
  • the electrically controlled stationary element is a coil that is placed close to the rotating hub of the vehicle rotor.
  • the coil is electromagnetically coupled to magnets that are mechanically linked to and rotate with the vehicle rotor blades.
  • current is passed through the coils at the appropriate moment during the rotation of the rotors, the magnets are actuated, and the mechanical linkage that couples them to the blades causes a pitching action of the blades.
  • the rotating motion of the main drive motor and the at least one pitch control actuator must be coordinated for this mechanism to operate properly.
  • the blade pitch is changed by changing the instantaneous position of the pitch control mechanism with respect to the torque generating mechanism.
  • FIGs. 1A-1B show a cutaway view and an isometric view, respectively, of a control motor 100 according to one embodiment of the current invention, where shown is a drive motor 102 having a stationary portion 104 and a rotatable portion 106, where the drive motor rotatable portion 106 is coupled to a rotor shaft 108, and the drive motor 102 rotates the rotor shaft 108, where the rotor shaft 108 is coupled to a rotor head 110.
  • pitch motors 112 along the rotor shaft 108, having a stationary portion 114 with respect to the rotor shaft 108, and a rotatable portion 116 with respect to the rotor shaft 108, where the stationary portion of the pitch motor 114 can be a stator or connected to a stator.
  • the pitch motor stationary portion 114 is located inside the pitch motor rotatable portion 116.
  • each pitch motor rotatable portion 116 includes a pitch control linkage 118b/119b where the pitch motor rotatable portion 116 is connected to the variable pitch blade holder 120 through the pitch control linkages 118a/118b and 119a/119b, having the blade holder linkage 118a/119a and motor linkage 118b/119b.
  • the pitch motor rotatable portion 116 is coupled to the variable pitch rotor blade holder 120 through the pitch control linkage 118a/118b and 119a/119b, where the pitch motor rotatable portion 116, the pitch control linkage 118a/118b and 119a/119b, the variable pitch rotor blade holder 120, and the rotor blade 122 are configured to rotate at the same nominal rotational rate as the rotor shaft 108, where a pitch angle of the variable pitch rotor blade 122 is adjusted according to changes in an angular position of the pitch motor rotatable portion 116 relative to a reference frame of the rotor blade in a rotating state, where the change in angular position is according to a control signal to the stationary portion 114 of the pitch motor 112.
  • Variable pitch blade holders 120 are connected to the blade holder linkage 118a/119a, where a pitch angle of the variable pitch blade holder 120 holding a rotor blade 122 is capable of being adjusted by the pitch motor 112 through the use of control signals, where a circuit board having control electronics is disposed on a stationary portion of the vehicle systems, such as the mount plate 103, or a vehicle frame mounted to such mount plate.
  • the pitch motors 112 are independently connected through each pitch control linkage 118b/119b and 118a/119a to a blade holder 120.
  • the pitch motor stationary portion which could be the stator of a traditional motor, is controlled with signals without the use of a slip ring, where the pitch motor stationary portion 114 is electromagnetically coupled to the pitch motor rotatable portion 116, which could be the rotor of a traditional motor, such as a basic electric motor or a mechanical motor.
  • the wires for the two pitch motors 112 are routed through a slot that runs up the side of the hollow stationary shaft 124. Since the inner portion of the pitch control motors 112 do not rotate with respect to the main vehicle structure, the wires can remain stationary.
  • the wires are connected to control electronics on the vehicle frame or the mount plate 103, and these electronics allow signals to control the rotational speeds and positions of the pitch control motors 112 and thus the pitch angles of the rotor blades 122.
  • the pitch control motors 112 are both Brushless DC (BLDC) motors.
  • the torque to rotate the rotor blades 122 through the rotor shaft 108 is provided by the drive motor 102, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, this is a standard outrunner BLDC motor.
  • the stationary part of the drive motor 102 is also mounted to the vehicle, drone, or helicopter frame (see FIGs. 4A-4B).
  • the drive source can include motors such as electro-magnetic or combustion engines, as well as mechanical, aerodynamic and fluid dynamic sources.
  • the stators of the two pitch control motors 112 rigidly are attached to the hollow support shaft 124, but their pitch motor rotatable portions 116 are free to rotate independently of each other, and with respect to the drive motor 102. In operation, the pitch motor rotatable portions 116 on the two pitch motors 112 will generally rotate at the same speed.
  • the rotor blade 122 For cyclic pitch, the rotor blade 122 typically experiences a full range of maximum to minimum pitch angles within a single cycle of revolution. To pitch the rotor blade 122 in one direction requires the pitch motor 112 to accelerate to a faster speed than the drive motor 102. That requires energy from the battery. However, after 180 degrees of rotor blade rotation, the pitch of the blade is positioned in the opposite direction, which requires the pitch control motor 112 to decelerate to a slower speed than the drive motor 102. If regenerative braking is used to decelerate the motor, most of the energy that was previously used to change the blade pitch is recovered.
  • the drive motor 102 can be a brushed DC motor, a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, a magnetic brake, a combustion engine, a gas motor, an axial flux motor, a voice coil actuator, or a hybrid motor having groups of magnets electromagnetically coupled to current carrying coils, where the current carrying coils or the magnets are configured to move semi-independently.
  • FIGs. 2A-2B show the general principle of operation of the pitch control motor 112 (see FIG. 1A) changing the pitch angle of a rotor blade 122.
  • FIG. 2A-2B show the rotor blade 122 held by the variable pitch blade holder 120, where the variable pitch blade holder 120 is connected to the blade holder link 118a, and the blade holder link 118a is coupled to the pitch control linkage 118b.
  • FIG. 2A shows the rotor blade 122 in a horizontal first state
  • FIG. 2B shows the rotor blade 122 in an angled second state, where the pitch motor rotatable portion 116 is shown to translate from right to left between FIGs. 2A-2B, respectively, where the pitch control linkage 118b drives the blade holder link 118a to rotate the pitch blade holder 120 and the rotor blade 122.
  • the blades may typically be required to pitch in either the same or opposite directions at any given instant. When they pitch in opposite directions, one pitch motor may be required to accelerate with respect to the drive motor and the other pitch motor may be required to decelerate with respect to the drive motor. If the gear mechanism is designed properly, one blade pitch mechanism requires energy, and the other mechanism releases stored energy. If the gear mechanism requires both pitch control motors to accelerate together, then the battery or a separate capacitor must be used to store the energy during half the rotor rotation.
  • the pitch control motors 112 are BLDC motors.
  • the advantage of this is that the pitch can be adjusted in either direction, depending on whether the actuator phase needs to be positive or negative with respect to the drive motor.
  • the disadvantage is that a complete electronic motor control system is required, and the motor controller must minimize any torque ripple, which would contribute to undesirable blade pitch changes.
  • a Field Oriented Control (FOC) is used for this motor controller to minimize torque ripple.
  • the drive motor 102 and the pitch motor 112 can include a brushed DC motor, a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, a magnetic brake, a combustion engine, a gas motor, an axial flux motor, a voice coil actuator, or a hybrid motor having groups of magnets electromagnetically coupled to current carrying coils, where the current carrying coils or the magnets are configured to move semi-independently.
  • BLDC brushless DC
  • FIGs. 1A-1B shows bevel gears as the linkage 118a/118b disposed to transmit torque from the pitch control motors 112 to the rotor blades 122, however other mechanisms are possible.
  • the bevel gear may be replaced with a spur gear, or a crown gear, or a linkage arm with ball joints from the pitch control motor to the blade.
  • FIG. 3 shows an example drawing of this embodiment, where the main drive motor and the pitch control motors are replaced with a "compound motor” 300 mechanism.
  • This compound motor mechanism 300 enables spin up of the rotor blades (not shown) attached to the rotor blade holder 120 at the desired rotational rate to generate vehicle lift, but also "pulses" a sub-section of the motor 300 during a cycle, which is translated into pitching of the rotor-blades through the linkage 118a/118b gear mechanism, where a bevel gear is shown here.
  • the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is essentially the topology of FIG. 1A, but where the drive motor and both pitch motors from FIG.
  • the stator 302 comprises several coils (not shown) wound around the stator teeth.
  • the "rotor" of the motor is the rotatable part of the motor, and is the outer ring that contains the magnets around the periphery.
  • the drive motor rotatable portion 314 as well as the pitch motor rotatable portion 316 make up separate and independent parts of this rotor ring around the common or shared stator 302.
  • a significant difference from a BLDC motor is that in the compound motor 300, the outer rotor ring is not continuous, but split into four segments.
  • the drive rotor portion comprising two elements 314 (only one shown) on either side of the circumference of the rotor that drives the rotor shaft 310, and pitch motor rotatable portions 316 that rotate about the stationary shaft 304 disposed between the two drive rotor portions 314 on either side.
  • the drive rotor segments are connected to a rotor shaft 310 that runs inside the stationary shaft 304 (which is connected to the stator) but exits out the top of the stationary shaft 304.
  • the two-pitch rotor movable portions 316 are mounted on the outside of the stationary shaft 304 with radial bearings (not shown) such that the pitch motors can rotate about the stationary shaft.
  • Attached to the rotor shaft 310 is a "rotorhead" 306 which extends out orthogonally from the rotor shaft 310.
  • the two rotor blade grips 120 are attached to either end of this rotorhead 306 with bearings, which allows the blade grips 120 to "pitch" about the rotorhead axis.
  • Each blade grip 120 is also connected to one of the pitch rotor movable linkages 118b with a bevel gear 308, such that when the angular position of the pitch motor rotatable portion 116 is changed relative to a reference frame of the rotor blade in a rotating state, the blade holders 120 and blades also change pitch.
  • the coils 302 are driven such that both the drive rotor rotatable portion 314 and the pitch motor rotatable portion 316 are at the same phase, which allows the rotor blades to spin at the same rotational rate.
  • this "rotating reference frame" of the rotor blades if one of the pitch motor movable portions 316 is briefly “accelerated” or “decelerated” with respect to the drive rotor rotating portion 314, it results in a pitching motion of the linked rotor blade through the bevel gears 308.
  • each coil 302 in the stator must be driven independently from all the other coils 302.
  • there are only 3 wires to control 3 phases in the motor which requires 6 transistors in total (3 half H-bridges).
  • each coil is effectively an independent motor phase, and an 18-coil stator (as pictured) would require a half H-bridge on each leg of each coil, for a total of 72 transistors.
  • An advantage of the current embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is, especially in the case of micro-UAVs (or small rotorcraft drones), one can significantly reduce the "z-height" profile as well as the mass of the vehicle because a single motor can serve the function of the main drive motor as well as the mechanical swashplate. Also, in small UAVs, the small linkages in a swashplate mechanism are typically not very reliable, and require frequent replacement. The gear mechanism in this invention is far more reliable. The ability to change the actuation frequency and wave shape of the pitch actuators also allows reduction in noise by spreading the sound across different frequencies.
  • the blades in the event of power failure, it is desirable for the blades to assume a preferred pitch to facilitate autorotation.
  • a spring is already required, and the spring should be mounted so that it drives the blade pitch to an optimum angle for autorotation when the brake is not actuated.
  • torsion springs between the blade holders and the rotor may be used to keep the blades at that preferred autorotation pitch if the motors are not driven.
  • the gear may be designed so that a hard stop is encountered at minimum pitch, which is close to the optimum for autorotation.
  • electric motors have stators with iron cores.
  • One effect of an iron core is that there is always hysteresis losses and eddy current losses in the iron core.
  • the invention uses a coreless stator to reduce these losses.
  • Coreless motors also are capable of reducing weigh for a given power output.
  • the vehicle includes a second drive motor that is coaxially aligned with the control motor or off-axis from said control motor, where the second drive motor shaft drives a second set of rotor blades (which are coaxially aligned with the first set of rotor blades) in an opposite direction of the control motor shaft to enable control of yaw of the vehicle during flight.
  • the second drive motor includes a second control motor or a single-axis motor.
  • the second drive motor is a brushed DC motor, a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, a magnetic brake, a combustion engine, a gas motor, an axial flux motor, a voice coil actuator, or a hybrid motor having groups of magnets electromagnetically coupled to current carrying coils, where the current carrying coils or the magnets are configured to move semi-independently.
  • a pitch motor of the second drive motor moves the variable pitch blade holder according to an output command of a transmitted control signal.
  • each pitch motor is disposed to independently and dynamically adjust the pitch angle of each variable pitch rotor blade.
  • the embodiment further includes a noise abatement housing fixedly connected to the stationary portion of the drive motor, where the noise abatement housing is disposed to surround the blades of the first rotor, and the blades of the second rotor, where the inner surface of the noise abatement housing includes a noise abatement structure, where an outer surface of the noise abatement housing includes an impact compliant material.
  • FIGs. 4A-4D Some exemplary embodiments of the coax, counter-rotating motor configuration 400 are shown in FIGs. 4A-4D, where the current embodiments require no swashplate mechanism, no flybar, and no tail rotor.
  • the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A comprises two sets of counter-rotating rotor blades, with a common rotational axis and spaced a short distance apart, and spinning at substantially the same rotational rate but in opposite directions to eliminate any yaw effects.
  • FIG. 4B shows two sets of coaxial counter-rotating rotor blades, with an off-axis drive rotation.
  • the current invention also has a duct 404 (see FIGs. 4C-4D) that surrounds the two rotors to form a cylindrical shape, where it is understood that the duct 404 can be used to surround a single rotor craft.
  • the duct provides multiple advantages, as listed below:
  • the duct improves the efficiency of the drone by reducing the vortices at the tips of the blades, which act to reduce the lift generated at the tips of the blades. It also increases the induced velocity due to the aerodynamic shape of the duct, increasing total thrust at a given RPM.
  • the duct serves to increase safety by preventing direct exposure to the blades from the sides.
  • the duct serves to absorb some of the noise generated by the motors and the blades.
  • the duct 404 is made of a thin but relatively stiff material, such as two carbon fiber sheets with a lightweight structural foam or honeycomb layer sandwiched between them.
  • the duct 404 is connected to the central axis hub, which is on the same axis as both of the sets of rotor blades through a "frame" as shown in FIGs. 4C- 4D.
  • the frame comprises multiple elements: a) "struts" above and below the rotors that extend from the central hub to the outer circumference; and b) vertical members that hold the upper and lower rings together. These members can be made of individual elements, or three independent U-shaped members, each connected to the central hub. The thickness of the elements of the frame is minimized in order not to impede the airflow through the rotors and also to minimize the weight of the frame.
  • the frame also needs to be designed to be stiff enough to resist excessive bending in any direction, or excessive torsional twist in the circumferential direction.
  • the struts and other elements of the frame are preferably made of a material like carbon fiber, fiberglass or aramid fiber, which have high stiffness to weight ratios, and can be fabricated at reasonable costs.
  • the region above and below the rotors may be covered with a "net' (such as a tennis racket like web or other pattern) to prevent humans or objects from directly coming in contact with the blades from the top or bottom direction, which enhances the safety of the drone.
  • a "net' such as a tennis racket like web or other pattern
  • Materials for this "net” include spectra or aramid fibers which are light weight, resist abrasion, can handle high tension, and are readily available.
  • the outside cylindrical periphery of the duct 404 is covered with a soft shell, as shown in FIGs. 4C-4D, which has elastic properties.
  • the shell's elastic properties could be achieved either by building it from a soft and low stiffness material, such as a foam, or by encasing the region between the shell and the duct with air and making the shell out of a soft compliant material. This approach serves to compress the shell upon impact and absorb much of the kinetic energy through compression of the material or the air pocket within the shell. In this manner, if there is a collision between the drone and a human or another object, the drone absorbs much of the energy upon impact. Examples of the material used for the foam to surround the duct include polyurethane, EPP, MiniCell, etc.
  • the region above the struts connecting the central hub to the outer periphery of the frame is also covered with an elastic member to provide "cushioning" during an impact and allow the drone to absorb a part of the energy upon impact.
  • This part can be made out of numerous plastics such as nylon, PET, PP, fiber reinforced plastics, or a combination of such materials.
  • the current invention is configured to provide noise mitigation by a combination of "Individual Blade Control (IBC)" and the duct.
  • IBC Intelligent Blade Control
  • Noise on a rotorcraft comes from several sources that include:
  • IBC is a method of helicopter control whose goal is to achieve a Higher Harmonic Control (HHC) of the pitch of the blades.
  • HHC Higher Harmonic Control
  • the duct 404 is configured to reduce BVI as well as broadband noise. This is due to the property of ducts to reduce the vorticity at the tip of the blade. This reduces the magnitude of the vortex when it interacts with the second blade as well as reduces the overall turbulence of the system.
  • Thickness noise is affected by the duct 404 as well. This is due to the reflection of noise off the internal surfaces of the duct. A selection of acoustic liners is provided for this purpose that absorb these reflected sounds.
  • the current invention allows for the use of an IBC system and a duct to significantly reduce the sound properties of a rotor.
  • FIGs. 5A-5C show further exemplary embodiments of the invention, where FIG. 5A shows a plurality of the control motors arranged in a pattern.
  • FIG. 5B shows a bevel gear 308 connecting the drive motor 102 to the control motor 112 through an axel 500.
  • FIG. 5C shows a combustion engine 502 operating as a drive motor.
  • Some variations include vehicles of different sizes, or vehicles having a gear ratio different from 1 : 1 could be employed to generate similar results, where the angle change of the pitch motor makes a different angle change in the blade according to the gear ratio.
  • the gears could be in the linkages, which could result in different speeds of the various mechanical elements such as pitch motor vs. blade holder.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Connection Of Motors, Electrical Generators, Mechanical Devices, And The Like (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un véhicule comprenant : au moins un moteur de commande qui comprend un moteur de propulsion ayant une portion fixe et une portion rotative, la portion rotative du moteur de propulsion étant accouplée à un arbre de rotor, le moteur de propulsion étant conçu pour faire tourner l'arbre de rotor et l'arbre de rotor étant couplé à un rotor ; au moins un moteur de pas ayant une portion fixe et une portion rotative, la portion fixe du moteur de pas étant un stator, chaque portion rotative du moteur de pas comprenant une liaison de commande de pas, la partie rotative du moteur de pas étant reliée au rotor par le biais de la liaison de commande de pas ; et au moins un support de pale à pas variable connecté à la liaison de commande de pas, un angle de pas du support de pale pouvant être réglé par le moteur de pas au sein de chaque tour du rotor par l'utilisation de signaux de commande.
EP18848216.0A 2017-08-23 2018-08-21 Mécanisme propulseur Withdrawn EP3672869A4 (fr)

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US201762549250P 2017-08-23 2017-08-23
US201762549238P 2017-08-23 2017-08-23
PCT/US2018/047322 WO2019040490A1 (fr) 2017-08-23 2018-08-21 Mécanisme propulseur

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CN111065577A (zh) 2020-04-24
JP2020531366A (ja) 2020-11-05
WO2019040490A1 (fr) 2019-02-28

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