JP2700734B2 - Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention of this application relates to the invention of a manned or unmanned vertical take-off and landing aircraft. More specifically,
The present invention relates to an invention of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft capable of performing not only vertical takeoff and landing but also takeoff and landing and cruising like a normal fixed wing aircraft by a tiltable fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of vertical take-off and landing aircraft have heretofore been proposed (JP-A-62-27319).
No. 7) are practically used in a tilt rotor type and a tilt wing type.

[0003] Tilt rotor type vertical take-off and landing aircraft
As shown in FIG. 3, during takeoff, the rotor provided at the tip of the main wing is made vertical to take off vertically, and during normal operation, the rotor is made horizontal and sails. As shown in FIG. 4, a tilt wing type vertical take-off and landing aircraft is provided with a fan on a main wing, takes off vertically with the main wing vertical, and operates with the main wing horizontal during normal operation. In the vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the attitude control during vertical take-off and landing, that is, the moment (balance) around the center of gravity is important. There is also proposed a type in which a balance is provided by providing the front and rear of the fuselage.

[0004]

The above-mentioned aircraft of the tilt rotor and tilt wing types have a drawback that the wing cannot be horizontally tilted on the ground because the propeller diameter becomes large. For this reason,
There was a safety problem that the rotor could not land if the rotor tilt mechanism failed. Especially in the tilt wing, the tilt mechanism has become larger,
Generally, the weight of the aircraft increases due to reasons such as complicating the attitude control mechanism (fans at the front and rear of the aircraft, etc.) for ensuring balance during vertical takeoff. Therefore, there has been a problem that the establishment at the time of vertical takeoff is concerned or the phenomenon of the payload is caused.

It is an object of the present application to provide a lightweight and efficient vertical take-off and landing aircraft capable of taking off and landing normally, having a high attitude control capability, solving the above-mentioned problems.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of this application is directed to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft which includes a fan 1 surrounded by a duct 2 and capable of tilting in the forward direction of the fuselage near the center of gravity of the fuselage. Provided on both sides of the fuselage 7, a main wing 8 is provided at the rear of the fuselage behind the fan, a tail wing 9 is provided at the front of the fuselage in front of the fan, and fuel tanks 10, 11 are provided at the front of the fuselage and inside the main wing. It is provided.

[0007]

[Function] The duct 2 surrounding the fan 1 improves the thrust of the fan 1 so that a small-diameter fan capable of inclining even on the ground can secure a predetermined thrust. Further, the fan 1 provided in the vicinity of the center of gravity of the aircraft facilitates attitude control during vertical takeoff and landing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a typical embodiment of the aircraft of the present invention. 1 is a fan for propulsion of an aircraft. 2 is a duct surrounding the fan 1. duct
The fan 1 surrounded by 2 (hereinafter referred to as ducted fan 3) can generally output about 1.5 to 2 times the thrust of a normal fan of the same diameter.

The fan 1 is connected via a gear box 4 to an engine 5 at the rear body. Duct 2 should have short stays to minimize the structural weight of the fuselage and the weight of the tilt mechanism.
It is desirable to attach to both sides of the body 7 at 6. The ducted fan 3 is tilted by a pilot input or a signal of a mission computer via a hydraulic or electric actuator. It is desirable that the fan 1 be capable of inclining at an angle of 90 ° or more during flight and takeoff and landing.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a main wing. Usually, the wing of an aircraft is
Although it is attached close to the center of gravity, in this embodiment,
In order to mount the ducted fan 3 near the center of gravity of the fuselage, it is necessary to lower the main wing 8 backward. This wing 8
Is attached to the rear of the fan 1 to increase the dynamic pressure due to the wake of the fan, and in particular, in the transition mode described later, an increase in lift represented by the following equation is obtained. Lift L = 1/2 · ρ · V ² · S · CL ρ: Air density, V: Speed, S: Representative area, CL: Lift coefficient

Reference numeral 9 denotes a tail fin (canard). During cruising, a large head-down moment is generated by the lift of the wing 8 provided at the rear, so that a relatively large tail
9 is set to cancel the moment. Reference numeral 10 denotes a front fuel tank provided in the fuselage at the front of the fuselage. Reference numeral 11 denotes a fuel tank in the main wing provided in the main wing at the rear of the fuselage. It is desirable to use the fuel in both fuel tanks equally to reduce the change in the center of gravity during flight and to further facilitate the attitude control.

The attitude control during vertical takeoff and landing is as follows:
Pitch & Yaw is a well-known RCS (Reaction Control System) using engine bleed provided on the front or rear body.
Perform at The roll uses the right and left thrust balance, and the change of the traveling direction is performed by the outlet vane 13 below the ducted fan. Further, at the time of cruising, the ladder 16 of the flaperon 14, the front tail fin 9, and the vertical tail 15 is used in the same manner as a normal fixed wing aircraft.

Next, a vertical take-off method of the vertical take-off aircraft will be described with reference to FIG. In normal takeoff, as shown in the figure, first, the fan is set horizontal to take off vertically (FIG. 2A, vertical takeoff mode). Next, the fan is gradually tilted ((b)
Transition mode). Finally, cruise with the fan 1 vertical ((c) cruise mode). At this time, the balance of the thrust, lift, resistance, and gravity in each mode is as schematically illustrated, and the balance at the time of takeoff and landing is ensured. In the event of an abnormality such as when the tilt mechanism of the fan 1 breaks down during flight, the landing is performed with the fan 1 vertical or inclined, and the same applies to takeoff.

[0014]

Since the invention of this application is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained. First, the provision of the ducted fan makes it possible to tilt the fan on the ground, and even if the tilt mechanism breaks down, landing is possible, and the effect of ensuring the safety of occupants and the like is achieved. Further, since the ducted fan is provided in the vicinity of the center of gravity, the attitude control during vertical takeoff and landing is facilitated, and an effect that stable vertical takeoff and landing can be achieved without providing a special attitude control mechanism is exerted. In addition, by providing the ducted fan on the fuselage, the weight of the fuselage structure and the tilt mechanism can be minimized, and the weight of the fuselage can be reduced.

Further, by providing the ducted fan in the vicinity of the center of gravity, the main wing can be provided at the rear, which also has the effect of increasing the dynamic pressure due to the wake of the fan. Providing the tail wing also has the effect of canceling a large head-down moment due to the lift of the main wing and ensuring balance during cruising.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an outline view of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flight mode of the vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an outline view of a conventional tilt rotor type aircraft.

FIG. 4 is an outline view of a conventional tilt wing type aircraft.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 fan 2 duct 7 fuselage 8 main wing 9 tail wing

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference US Pat. No. 4,469,294 (US, A) US Pat. No. 4,116,405 (US, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A fan surrounded by a duct and capable of tilting with respect to a body forward direction is provided on both sides of a body near a center of gravity of the body.
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft comprising a main wing provided at a rear fuselage rear of the fan, a tail wing provided at a front fuselage front of the fan, and a fuel tank provided at the front fuselage and the main wing.