JP2012111475A - Vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft by wing-rotor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aircraft provided with the characteristics of a fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter while maintaining the performance which solves the problem that the fixed wing aircraft has high horizontal flight capability but it requires a runway thereby limiting its operation, and that the latter has high degree of freedom in its operation but its cruising performance is inferior to that of the former.SOLUTION: The unmanned aircraft achieves both horizontal flight capability and vertical takeoff and landing capability with a simple mechanism by controlling a pair of main wings 2 provided to change their angles of mounting independently on the right and left sides, a main wing propeller 3 and an elevator 4.

Description

The present invention operates as a wing during cruise flight,
Acts as a rotor during vertical takeoff and landing,
The present invention relates to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft equipped with a Wing-Rotor.
It relates to unmanned aerial vehicles according to the flight principle.

Various unmanned aerial vehicles have been developed for reconnaissance from the air, observation, scientific research, resource exploration, spraying of agricultural chemicals, and communication relay.

Fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles, like conventional manned fixed wing aircraft, cannot continue to fly below the aircraft's inherent forward speed. For this reason, takeoff and landing are generally performed with a forward speed, and a sufficient space such as a runway is generally required. One of the characteristics of unmanned aerial vehicles is that it hinders flexible and easy operation.

On the other hand, helicopter type unmanned aerial vehicles are able to take off and landing vertically and the flexibility of operation regarding takeoff and landing is ensured, but the flight speed and cruising time are inferior to those of fixed wing type unmanned aerial vehicles.

As a vertical take-off and landing aircraft that combines efficient horizontal flight with the main wing of fixed wing aircraft and flexibility of operation by vertical take-off and landing,
Tail-sitting type makes the propeller vertically
The Tilt-Wing type rotates the main wing and the propeller fixed to the main wing in the vertical direction,
The Tilt-Rotor type rotates only the propeller vertically.
The thrust-vectoring type deflects the airflow from the thruster downward,
Lift-Fan type uses a propeller fixedly installed in the vertical direction,
Each vertical thrust is generated to achieve vertical takeoff and landing.
The following patent documents are examples that represent the respective formats.
JP 2001-213397 A JP-A-9-002395 JP 2001-80590 A JP 2007-118891 A

All of the aforementioned vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are limited by the shape of the fuselage,
Compared to the helicopter type, the blower down area during vertical takeoff and landing is small,
As a result, the required output increases, which is disadvantageous because hovering efficiency is poor.

All of the propellers for the aforementioned vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
During cruise flight, thrust is generated within the airspeed equal to the forward speed,
Because it is necessary to generate lift without airspeed when hovering,
Cruise flight efficiency, hovering efficiency,
It is disadvantageous because it is difficult to design a thruster that optimizes both.

The problem is solved by the following vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft by Wing-Rotor described in claims 1 to 3.

A main body containing a control device and an observation device, and a pair of main wings provided so that the mounting angle can be changed independently on the left and right with respect to the main body,
A main wing mounting angle changing device for independently changing the main wing left and right;
Two main wing thrusters fixed to the left and right sides of the main wing to generate thrust,
An energy source mounted on the aircraft body or the main wing;
Provided at a position away from the aircraft center of gravity of the aircraft body to give attitude angle control force to the aircraft during cruise flight,
An aircraft comprising an elevator.

The aircraft includes a speed sensor for measuring the speed of the aircraft;
An attitude sensor for measuring the attitude of the aircraft;
A position sensor for measuring the position of the aircraft,
The speed sensor, the attitude sensor, and the position sensor signal;
Receive the signal sent from
The main wing attachment angle changing device, the main wing propulsion device, the elevator,
An aircraft having an autonomous flight control device for controlling the aircraft.

The aircraft uses the apparatus of claim 1 and claim 2,
An aircraft that performs vertical takeoff, cruise flight, vertical landing, and hovering.

According to the present invention, the main wing of the aircraft is changed by the apparatus for changing the main wing attachment angle of the aircraft.
As an efficient wing during cruise flight,
For use as an efficient rotor during vertical takeoff-vertical landing-hovering
It is advantageous that efficient flight can be realized in each state.

According to the present invention, the main wing thruster of the aircraft
In each flight state during vertical take-off-vertical landing-hovering-cruise flight
Because it operates within a constant airspeed,
It is advantageous because the propulsion device can be optimized in common for each flight state.

Hereinafter, embodiments (examples) of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the aircraft designed as a small unmanned aerial vehicle that can be transported without using a vehicle. The specifications of the aircraft 1 are as follows.
The total weight of aircraft 1 is 10 kilograms.
The forward speed of aircraft 1 during cruise flight is 25 meters per second.
The aircraft can travel continuously for 1 hour during cruise flight.
The center of gravity of the aircraft 1 is the intersection of the rotation axis of the main wing attachment angle changing device and the center axis of the aircraft.
The wing cross section of the main wing 2 is a general symmetric wing cross section for aircraft.
The span of main wing 2 is 1.8m and the wing area is 0.2 square meters.
The main wing propulsion unit 3 is a propulsion unit fixed to the main wing 2 composed of a propeller and an electric motor.
The thrust generated by the main wing thruster 3 is 50 newtons each.
The wing area of the elevator 4 is 0.02 square meters.
The main wing attachment angle changing device 5 changes the attachment angle of the main wing 2 independently on the left and right.
The mounting angle change range of the main wing mounting angle changing device 5 is from 0 degrees to 180 degrees.
The flight control device 6 is installed in the center of the aircraft and guides and controls the aircraft 1 to an arbitrary target point.
The battery 7 supplies power to the main wing propulsion device 3, the elevator 4, the main wing attachment angle changing device 5, and the flight control device 6.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the main wing attachment angle changing device 5.
The rotating shaft 8 passes through the center of gravity of the aircraft 1.
The bearing 9 holds the main wing 2 so as to freely rotate about the rotation shaft 8.
The bearing holder 10 holds the bearing 9 and transmits the force from the main wing to the aircraft 1.
The servo motor 11 generates an operating force for changing the wing attachment angle.
The toothed belt 12 transmits the operating force of the servo motor 11 to the main wing.
To change the left and right main wing mounting angles independently,
Equipped with two main wing attachment angle changing devices 5.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the flight control device 6.

The speed sensor 13 is a measuring instrument that detects the speed of the aircraft 1 using a Pitot tube.
The attitude sensor 14 is a measuring instrument that senses the three-axis attitude angle of the aircraft 1.
The position sensor 15 is a measuring instrument that senses the three-dimensional position of the aircraft 1 by GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like.

The flight calculation device 16 includes information from the sensors 13 to 15,
With the built-in flight control program,
Main wing propulsion unit 3, elevator 4, main wing attachment angle changing device 5,
To control autonomous flight.

The flight calculation device 16 accepts a remote pilot's control command 17 and, according to the command,
Main wing propulsion unit 3, elevator 4, main wing attachment angle changing device 5,
It is possible to control and fly.

FIG. 4 shows the aircraft 1 during vertical take-off, vertical landing, hovering,
It is a figure explaining the floating method in.

Regarding lift during vertical take-off of aircraft 1-vertical landing-hovering,
With the wing attachment angle changing device 5, the neutral position of the left wing attachment angle is set to 15 degrees,
Set the neutral position of the right wing attachment angle to 165 degrees,
Due to the thrust of the main wing thruster 3, the entire aircraft 1 is rotated clockwise as viewed from above,
The main wing operates as a rotary wing, so that the aircraft 1 is suspended in the air.

For altitude control during vertical takeoff of aircraft 1-vertical landing-hovering,
Increase / decrease in thrust of the main wing thruster 3,
Change of the left and right main wing mounting angle by the main wing mounting angle changing device 5,
To increase or decrease the wing lift.

FIG. 5 shows the aircraft 1 during vertical take-off, vertical landing, hovering,
It is a figure explaining the movement method in.

Regarding the movement of aircraft 1 during vertical take-off-vertical landing-hovering,
With the main wing attachment angle changing device 5, the angle of the main wing reached in the traveling direction is
Change the direction to reduce the angle with the main wing rotation surface, reduce the lift,
The angle of the main wing opposite to the traveling direction is changed to a direction that increases the angle with the main wing rotation surface, the lift is increased, and the main wing rotation surface is directed in the traveling direction.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a floating method during cruise flight of the aircraft 1.

Regarding lift during cruise flight of aircraft 1,
By using the main wing mounting angle changing device 5, the neutral position of the left and right main wing mounting angles is
Like general fixed-wing aircraft, the wing lift-drag ratio is set to about 6 degrees,
The aircraft 1 is suspended in the air by the lift by the main wing 2 and the thrust by the main wing thruster 3.

Regarding the pitch attitude angle control during horizontal flight of the aircraft 1,
This is done by increasing or decreasing the lift of the elevator 4.

For yaw attitude angle control during level flight of aircraft 1,
This is done by the difference in thrust between the left main wing thruster 3 and the right main wing thruster 3.

Regarding the roll attitude angle control during the horizontal flight of the aircraft 1,
The main wing attachment angle changing device 5 is used to change the main wing attachment angles of the left main wing and the right main wing in the opposite directions, increasing one lift and decreasing the opposite lift.

For altitude control in the cruise flight state of aircraft 1,
This is done by increasing or decreasing the thrust of the main wing thruster 3.

The aircraft 1 can also take off and take off in a cruise flight mode.

Aircraft 1 combines the various controls described above,
During vertical take-off-vertical landing-hovering-during cruise flight
It can move to any point.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the aircraft designed as a small drone. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the main wing attachment angle changing device 5. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the flight control device 6. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a floating method when the aircraft 1 is in vertical take-off, vertical landing, and hovering. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a moving method of the aircraft 1 during vertical take-off, vertical landing, and hovering. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a flight method during cruise flight of the aircraft 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Aircraft 2 Main wing 3 Main wing propulsion device 4 Elevator 5 Main wing attachment angle changing device 6 Flight control device 7 Battery 8 Rotating shaft 9 Bearing 10 Bearing holder 11 Servo motor 12 Toothed belt 13 Speed sensor 14 Attitude sensor 15 Position sensor 16 Flight Arithmetic unit 17

Claims (3)

A main body containing a control device and an observation device, and a pair of main wings provided so that the mounting angle can be changed independently on the left and right with respect to the main body,
A main wing mounting angle changing device for independently changing the main wing left and right;
Two main wing thrusters fixed to the left and right sides of the main wing to generate thrust,
An energy source mounted on the main wing or the fuselage body;
An elevator that is provided at a position away from the aircraft center of gravity of the aircraft body and generates lift in the vertical direction;
An aircraft characterized by comprising: The aircraft includes a speed sensor for measuring the speed of the aircraft;
An attitude sensor for measuring the attitude of the aircraft;
A position sensor for measuring the position of the aircraft,
The speed sensor, the attitude sensor, and the position sensor signal;
Receive the signal sent from
The main wing attachment angle changing device, the main wing propulsion device, the elevator,
An aircraft having an autonomous flight control device for controlling the aircraft. The aircraft uses the apparatus of claim 1 and claim 2,
An aircraft that performs vertical takeoff, cruise flight, vertical landing, and hovering.

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